Xmas in Mexico

Dearests!
I'm leaving for Christmas in Mexico.

I'll miss you!!!
Besos

-EV 

W: Trace

Dear W, 

Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME? $150 per person prix fixe for NYE dinner? Ha... Only the naïve out-of-towners that are staying in your gorgeous rooms will pay that much. 

Good luck. We're going to Uchiko (yum!!!).

P.S.- Your decision to have a tiny kitchen to service the 135 seat restaurant for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, AND the 159 residences AND 250 guest rooms for 24/7 Whatever/Whenever® room service surprised me. Only time will tell if that was a smart move. Starwood, what were you thinking?!?!

xoxo
-EV

****Note that I have NOT tried the food... therefore this is NOT a critique****
Image: www.statesman.com

Red House Pizzeria

Thank you Art Alliance! For not only providing me with awesome volunteer opportunities (which totally give me the warm and fuzzies), but also for feeding my hungry belly. 

Last night I met the ladies at Red House Pizzeria, which I'm ashamed to admit I had only drank at...never eaten. I was late, of course, so the ladies had already ordered. 

Risotto Balls appeared in front of me... oozing with pesto and fontina and covered in marinara. I was skeptical, but with the first bite I was in heaven. Seriously, delish!!! Soft and creamy on the inside, perfectly fried and crispy on the outside.

The Greek Salad was good, but lacking. It was just a way to get our veggies in the midst of carb land.

***Also, on a side note, what is up with all Pizzerias serving Greek Salad?***

The Margherita Pizza was not very good. No sauce, very little cheese, the crust was soggy, and the flavors were quite bland... don't worry, I still ate two slices and the tip of another one... I was hungry!

Great thing about this place is that it mixes Italian comfort food with booze. Head over to the bar behind the restaurant and enjoy a merry little cocktail! 

http://www.redhousepizza.com/home.html

Wine & Swine: Pig Roast

This past weekend, in efforts to prepare for the actual Festival in the Spring, the peeps of the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival along with local Chefs hosted an awesome array of events showcasing the variety of ways to   cook, enjoy, and marvel at a pig.

Yours truly attended the Bridges Ranch to partake in the last event of the weekend and sample tasty swiney morsels.

$35 got you endless (or until each pig ran out) tastings of each Chef's food as well as loads of wine!!! I was surprised to see so many Californian wineries there and only St. Arnold's Brewery to represent Texas. 

Some chefs cooked their little piggies over night, and some began early in the morning. Everyone served a light app, most were cold, and a heartier dish. I tried most of them, and some of them more than once...hehe :)

Chef Josh Watkins from The Carillon served pork belly black beans and a cold tiny cut of some part of the pig with slaw in between a soggy bun. Not his best...

Chef Jon Gelman from The Driskill Grill made Kahlua tamales garnished with chicharron and some sort of delicious salsa thing that was to die for. This tamal was incredible. Kudos for kicking butt at something so difficult to nail.

Larry McGuire from Lamberts served a couple of cold items (which ran out before I got to them) and pulled pork with delicious bbq sauce right out of the smoker with a sweet little bun and a pickled jalapeno. More please!

Chef John Bullington from Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar gave us one of my least favorites- very bland pork, and tasteless, insipid, butternut squash and potatoes as a side. I didn't even finish it.

Chef Rene Ortiz from La Condesa made chicken liver pate topped with tomato jam and later pork tacos with a creamy green salsa and chipotle mayo...I went back twice for apps and then again for tacos. He cooked his pig like he did for Outstanding in the Field  catching a lot of attention from attendees.

Chef Jason Dady- The only San Antonio dude - served head cheese as his appetizer and later just a piece of pork with quinoa, cauliflower, and a  mustard that I find hard to describe. It overpowered all of the flavors, and his pork was poorly cooked -- very dry.

Finally I went to Rebecca Rather's tent...What can I say, when you sell yourself as Rebecca Rather from Rather Sweet Bakery (which I was told she sold and is notorious for its delicious sweets--- try her Mexican Chocolate Cake, yum!!), why the heck would you serve pork tacos? She served it chopped in a corn tortilla with a white balsamic jicama slaw (you can find this recipe in her Pastry Queen Parties book). It was cold, poorly executed, and seriously skimpy...I'm talking two tiny chunks of pork in my taco with a whopping pile of jicama and apples on top.

I think it's safe to bet this is only the beginning of an Austin/Driftwood annual tradition.
Can't wait til the Spring for the Festival :)

http://www.texaswineandfood.org/wineandswine.html