Eat, Drink, Local

Discover local booze and brews during Eat Drink Local Week

Josh Loving, Drink Local Night 2010
Photo by Dustin Meyer
Garrett Mikell, Drink Local Night 2010
Photo by Dustin Meyer
Local Brew Fest 2010
Photo by Dustin Meyer

The Edible Austin farm-to-table culinary tour de force kicks off its Eat Drink Local Week this Saturday, December 3, with more than 50 of our finest local restaurants preparing special dishes made with locally sourced ingredients and events each night designed to showcase the bounty of local farms, farmers, brewers and distillers.

The fifth annual event starts with a proclamation by the Mayor Leffingwell delivered in Republic Square Park and with its ever popular Urban Farm Bicycle Tour. The nearly 50 mile round-trip jaunt takes bike riders to local farms where they can sample delectable food prepared by top local chefs using locally grown ingredients.

To do these events justice, maybe we need to abide by a new bumper sticker reading “Drink Locally, Act Responsibly.” Get a ride home.

Edible Austin, the quarterly magazine that organizes this week-long foodie fest, aims to raise $80,000 with the events, about double what they raised last year. They plan to accomplish this incredible feat in a tough economy by offering more accessible events and by holding an Online Chef Dinner Auction, for people to bid on a prize of a private dinner for eight prepared in their home by one of eight of Austin’s hottest chefs. The starting bid is $2,000 for a chance to amaze your friends with the best dinner they’ll ever have at your place.

Proceeds from Eat Drink Local Week will go to the Sustainable Food Center (SFC) and Urban Roots, which has been a recipient since the first year. SFC was added this year to support their work in increasing access to local food through farmers markets, the Happy Kitchen cooking classes for low income individuals, and its farm to school program, Sprouting Healthy Kids.

Smack in the middle of this gastronomic gala are two bacchanalian booze and brews bashes to make up the Drink portion of the week: “Drink Local Night” on Thursday, December 8 and “Local Brew Fest” on Saturday, December 10. To do these events justice, maybe we need to abide by a new bumper sticker reading “Drink Locally, Act Responsibly.” Get a ride home.

Drink Local Night showcasing Texas distillers

Drink Local Night has moved to larger digs this year and will be held at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center Grand Ballroom. Jenna Noel, Edible Austin associate publisher, says they expect to have about 500 people in attendance sampling cocktails and tasting spirits from more than a dozen distilleries as well as noshing on scrumptious snacks from Swift’s Attic, BC Tavern, and The Carillon.

Drink Local Night is all about introducing local spirits to the community. It has also served to get the distillers themselves acquainted According to Noel, the first event held five years ago was the first time all the Texas distillers were in one room together. This year there are several new distillers introducing their sauce including Cypress Creek Reserve, Railean Rum, Ranger Creek, Rebecca Creek Distillery, Republic Tequila, Tenneyson Absinthe and Wahaka Mezcal.

Experiencing new spirits is part of the fun. Graham Wasilition, founder of Tenneyson Absinthe Royale hopes Austinites discover his unique absinthe “Locally owned and produced spirits really can be top quality and create an experience that they will want to share with their friends, neighbors and visitors with pride. I want people to have a little bit better of an understanding of the absinthe category as a whole because it is something that is been misunderstood by many for a long time. We created an internationally acclaimed product and want to share it with our neighbors!”

Dan Garrison, proprietor of Garrison Brothers Distillery is confident in the quality of his whiskey and is putting his money where his mouth is. “The organizers, who I greatly admire and appreciate, requested a financial contribution from each distillery that would go toward a prize for the mixologist who created the best cocktail with their spirit. In addition to my participation fee, I will donate an additional money toward the mixologist award, but only if they promised not to mix my bourbon with anything.”

A highlight of the event is the “Official Drink of Austin Cocktail Contest” presented by Tipsy Texan and the “Crowd Favorite Award” sponsored by Google Places. Some new faces who have not previously competed in cocktail competitions are vying for this year’s prize. Finalists for the Official Drink of Austin Cocktail Contest were announced this week. Here are the finalists and cocktails:

Josh Loving, Baby's First Punch, FINO Restaurant Patio & Bar
Jessica Sanders, Hippie Harbest, Drink.Well.
Marcelo Nascimento, Texas Cup #9, Lucky 13 Cocktail Co.
Houston Eaves, Smokin' Gypsy, Contigo
Justin Chamberlin, The Pinetop, Sagra

David Alan, aka Tipsy Texan, says finalists were selected by a three-member panel based on their adherence to the contest rules with drinks that featured local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. “Drinks had to demonstrate knowledge of cocktail mixology, and need to show some of the creator’s creativity. I want to see what bartenders do with the spirits and produce and flavors around us, not just what is prescribed in the pages of a magazine or in marketing collateral from some big national or international brand.”

The winner will be selected at the event by a panel of judges including the Tipsy Texan and past winners, Lara Nixon (2009 winner) and Bill Norris (2010 winner). We get our say on the best cocktails too with the new People’s Choice Award. Bar stations will be set for attendees may taste the handiwork of the contestants.

Local Brew Fest featuring Texas brewers

For beer lovers, Black Star Co-op and Wheatsville Food Co-op are hosting the Local Brew Fest with 15 of the state's finest craft brewers on hand in a big tent outside Black Star Co-op. Oh, and it’s not just beer. Start-up cider brewers, Austin Eastciders and Texas Sake Co., the first Texan sake producer, will both be on hand as well. The event draws some of the best craft brewers from Austin and the rest of the state, and will have more brewers than previous years including new breweries Austin Beerworks and Hops and Grains.

Participants will be able to sample 12 two ounce tastes while chatting up the local brewers. Each brewer will bring a few selections and will have brewmasters on hand to talk about their craft. Wheatsville Food Co-op will provide a fine selection of noshes including Windy Hill Farm, Pure Luck Farm & Dairy, Veldhuizen Cheese and Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery to accompany all of that delicious brew.

Whether you are a foodie, a cocktail connoisseur or a beer geek, Eat Drink Local Week is a great event for to discover local fare and meet the people that bring it to your table. Tickets for Drink Local Night and the Local Brew Fest are $35 and $20 respectively, and can be purchased on the Edible Austin website.

Participating Restaurants Include:

ASTI Trattoria

Barley Swine

Buenos Aires Café

Chez Nous

Cipollina

Contigo

East Side Pies

East Side Showroom

Eastside Café

Fabi + Rosi

Fête Accompli

Finn & Porter

FINO Restaurant Patio & Bar

Food 4 Fitness Cafe

Green Pastures Restaurant

Guero’s

Home Slice Pizza

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

Jack Allen’s Kitchen

Judge’s Hill Restaurant

Kerbey Lane Cafe (all locations)

La Condesa

Manuels

Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill

Olivia

Sagra

Shoreline Grill

Snack Bar

Tacodeli (all locations)

Tacos and Tequila

The Leaning Pear

TRACE

Uchi

Uchiko

Urban an American Grill

Wink

Participating Brewers Include:

[512] Brewing Company

Austin Beerworks

Black Star Coop

Buddha's Brew

Circle Brewing

Hops and Grains

Independence Brewing Company

Jester King Craft Brewery

Live Oak Brewery

Rahr & Sons

Ranger Creek

Saint Arnold

Texas Sake Company

Thirsty Planet

Participating Distillers Include:

Balcones Distilling

Cypress Creek Reserve

Deep Eddy Vodka

Dripping Springs Vodka

Garrison Bros

Paula’s Texas Spirits

Ranger Creek

Rebecca Creek Distillery

Republic Tequila

Spirit of Texas

Tenneyson Absinthe

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Treaty Oak Rum

Wahaka Mezcal

unspecified

Omakase for Everyone

New South Austin restaurant swims against current of expensive omakase

Photo courtesy of Tancho Sushi

Tancho Sushi keeps things simple.

Austin had no shortage of beautiful sushi restaurants, but a new one at Lantana Place is doing drawing the trend away from the center of the city and sticking a lower price tag on the experience. Tancho Sushi, offering "everyday omakase," is now open at 7415 Southwest Parkway.

The thought of casual omakase feels like a bit of an oxymoron in Austin, where the service style — which tasks the chef with choosing what the diner will eat — is almost synonymous with something fancy and expensive. Factor in the interior design at Tancho, which certainly doesn't look pedestrian, and it's hard to believe it's actually an everyday meal.

But all things considered, these prices seem reasonable: $29 for the lightest dinner option, and capping out at a $59 feast. Lunch is even less expensive, starting at $24.

Tancho Sushi interior The airy space takes advantage of its surroundings outside of the city.Photo courtesy of Tancho Sushi

In some omakase experiences, the chef might factor in a diner's taste, the special ingredients that are available that day, and any number of other factors to determine what hits the table. But at Tancho, these prix fixe options are predetermined, doubtlessly contributing to the more accessible pricing.

The 50-seat restaurant also uses a clever marketing angle to get diners in who aren't necessarily experienced in sushi, or might otherwise be intimidated by letting a chef choose unfamiliar foods. "With thoughtfully curated preset menus, Tancho simplifies the dining experience by eliminating the guesswork so guests can focus on enjoying their meals," a press release announcing the opening says.

The release was sent November 22, but it looks like Tancho has been serving customers in a soft opening capacity for about a month, based on its Google reviews (which are stunningly high for a new restaurant at 4.7 stars).

Offerings at Tancho are simple.Photo courtesy of Tancho Sushi

Although each menu is different, there is a shared arc. All four experiences start with sunomono salad, a cucumber-based dish with red seaweed and sesame. Then there's tuna sashimi with smoked yuzu ponzu and scallions, and the rest depends on what the diner chooses.

Some standout items across the dinner service are sea bream on the light menu; akami (very red meat along the spine of a tuna) on the standard omakase menu; a lobster open hand roll on the rolls-only menu; and a tuna flight on the grand omakase menu.

No menu item is especially complicated. The focus is on doing each ingredient right, including the temperature the fish is served at and even the flavor of house-made soy sauce and ponzu.

“We keep the focus on the ingredients,” said co-founder Brad Van Otterloo in the release. “By stripping away unnecessary flourishes, we allow the quality of our fish to take center stage. This is a Texas-born concept through and through, and we’re proud to contribute to Austin’s growing sushi reputation.”

The open hand rolls are a signature for the restaurant.Photo courtesy of Tancho Sushi

Despite all this talk of omakase, it is possible to order à la carte items: some appetizers, nigiri (sliced fish on top of rice), and rolls. There's also a carefully curated beverage program, which largely focuses on sake. That includes the Kubota Manju or “Ten Thousand Celebrations" ($79), renowned in Japan for its complex layers and smooth mouthfeel.

“As Austin continues to grow, we wanted to introduce a fresh take on the sushi experience,” said Van Otterloo. “We’re here to make sushi approachable for Austinites while honoring the integrity of this cuisine. It’s about creating a space where everyone can discover and enjoy sushi at their own pace – no pressure, no pretense.”

Tancho Sushi exterior This restaurant is meant to be approachable.Image courtesy of Tancho Sushi

Tancho Sushi is located at 7415 Southwest Parkway, Building 4, Suite 300. It's open daily from 11 am to 10 pm, offering both dine-in and takeout. There are no reservations.

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