Hog heaven

East Austin hot spot pigs out with backyard edition of favorite fall food event

Wine and Swine Austin Food & Wine Alliance

Make a pig of yourself at the annual Wine & Swine benefit.

Hey, pork lovers, get ready to squeal. Austin’s ultimate snout-to-tail pork party is back!

The 10th annual Wine & Swine event, the top hog benefit for the Austin Food & Wine Alliance, brings home the bacon on Sunday, November 14 from 2-5 pm at award-winning east side joint Nixta Taqueria.

Tickets for the fest are $95 and are on sale now at austinfoodandwinealliance.org. All funds raised from the event will support the nonprofit’s grant program for culinary innovation and community giveback. Since 2012, the alliance has granted $367,500 to fund local culinary projects, and will award an additional $34,500 in December.

Though this year’s Wine & Swine event will be somewhat scaled back from its usual size due to the pandemic, more of the backyard barbecue variety with a limited capacity, the alliance is promising attendees will have no trouble hamming it up at the authentic Mexican-style pig roast.

Featuring premium wine and beer tastings, backyard games, and enough porky bites to go hog wild, Wine & Swine will welcome attendees with a Tito’s-laced prickly pear mule cocktail before they dive in whole hog.

Hosting the event are celebrated taqueria owners chef Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi, whose Nixta was an alliance grant recipient in 2019. Joining them in the family-style roast fest are members of the illustrious Austin Taco Mafia: chef Luis “Beto” Robledo of Cuantos Tacos, chefs Anthony Pratto and Xose Velasco of Discada, and chef Gerardo Guerrero of La Tunita 512.

Additionally, chef Joseph Gomez of new local taco truck Con Todo and Marco Silvestrini of Dolce Neve will sweeten the pot with dessert bites.

The Wine & Swine menu includes the following pork treats:

Chef Edgar Rico of Nixta Taqueria
Passed appetizer of acorn squash skewer with confit squash, whipped queso fresco, verde salsa macha, fermented spicy honey, and sage
Fire-roasted suckling pig
Confit heritage pork carnitas
Fresh Barton Springs Mill heritage corn tortillas

Chefs Anthony Pratto and Xose Velasco of Discada
Elote en vaso with Tajin, mayo, queso fresco, lime, and cilantro

Chef Luis “Beto” Robledo of Cuantos Tacos
Frijoles especiales with campechano meat from pot

Chef Gerardo Guerrero of La Tunita 512
Birria jasmine rice with roasted tomatoes, birria stock, spices, and aromatics

Chef Joseph Gomez of Con Todo
Cajeta dream cookies

Marco Silvestrini of Dolce Neve
Arroz con leche gelato with milk, cinnamon, and vanilla bean

Wine & Swine will take place at Nixta, at 2512 E. 12th St. Get tickets and more info online.

barbecue pets tex-mex tacos charity chefs

WHOM THE BELL SOTOLS

Poolside sotol bar splashes into high-end downtown Austin hotel

Photo by Jade Hammer

Cantero Austin.

Austin's thirst for desert spirits may not be precisely quantifiable, but there's no doubt it is on the rise. Over the last decade, several mezcal and tequila bars have popped up throughout the city. No wonder the Line Austin is eager to enter the game with its newest nightlife offering, Cantero.

Officially open as of November 12, it's the Capital City's first bar emphasizing sotol, a sibling spirit of mezcal made with the desert spoon plant instead of agave. The chic space, decorated with Mexican modernist neutrals, opens up to the downtown property's pool.

"When planning Cantero, we knew we wanted to highlight local ingredients and Texas spirits," explained Line head of creative Stefan Merriweather in a release. "Sotol, a regional gem, stood out as something we hadn't yet encountered in a dedicated bar, and we saw an opportunity to introduce our guests to something fresh and unexpected."

Although the bar stocks other spirits, it has one of the broadest sotol collections in the region. While Mexican brands like Flor del Desierto are featured, Cantero stocks Texan trailblazers like Desert Door and Marfa Spirit Co.

Guests can enjoy sotol via standalone tastings or mixed in signature cocktails like the Yucca with Aperol, lemon cordial, habanero bitters, and soda; or the Strelitzia with ginger, lemon, and lavender-honey soda. Other liquors anchor more sippers, like the Dahlia with mezcal, green pepper, sweet corn, and smoked chili bitters.

The lounge also enjoys proximity to the Line's outpost of Veracruz All Natural. Guests can soak up the booze with the entire taco and appetizer menu from the Austin favorite, located adjacent to Cantero.

Cantero is now open from noon to 10 pm Monday through Thursday, 10 am to midnight Friday through Saturday, and 10 am to 10 pm on Sunday.

Photo by Jade Hammer

Cantero is dedicated specifically to sotol.

nightlife hotels bars cocktails openings