Eat Your Words

Locals cook up literary puns at the Austin Edible Book Festival

This "Tart of Darkness" is a feat of confectionery.

Dessert by Chris Jones via the Austin Edible Book Festival website

Austinites, prepare to "eat your words" at the 21st annual Austin Edible Book Festival on March 29 at the Baker School, an old school that was converted into a space for events and creative businesses.

This lighthearted event is all about puns. Participants think of a literary work that can be represented as food — often, but not always in the form of baked goods.

The festival has a light online presence, and it's not like there's much to explain: flyers posted on community boards specify that there is no fee or form that participants need to submit to enter. All they have to do is show up by noon with their creation. The event is family friendly, so keep this in mind if you are considering making a caramel-flavored tribute to Carmilla, for example.

Organizers have gathered some examples from past years to help inspire pun-makers:

An all-beef hotdog in a beer stein won Best Pun for "Frank in Stein"
A nutritionally concerning but artistic fly sculpted of lard, icing, and sanding sugar, dubbed "Lard of the Flies"
A marvelously simple orb of Gouda with continents drawn on, called "The Gouda rth" in tribute to 1931 novel The Good Earth
The classic Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist has inspired multiple Edible Book Fair works, including a bread twist made with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls that literally spell "Oliver"; and bowl of olives and Twix in brine ("Olive or Twix") that won Least Appetizing

While collecting puns, the event will also collect shelf-stable donations for Hope Food Pantry Austin.

The Baker School (listed on Google Maps as the Baker Center) is located at 3908 Avenue B. The event runs until 3 pm.

Thoroughly Open

Popular Austin bakery officially debuts Mueller café and grocery store

Photo by Dean Hawn

ThoroughFare is officially open after a soft-opening period.

One of Austin's favorite bakeries, ThoroughBread, soft-launched a new project in March and is ready for its full debut. ThoroughFare, a new bakery, café, deli, and grocery destination in the Mueller neighborhood, will host a public grand opening celebration on Thursday, May 21.

Even though the grand opening hasn't happened yet, a press release announces that the new business at 1905 Aldrich St., Ste. 110, is now officially open. This signals the end of the soft opening, a period that usually comes with some tweaks and limited service.

At ThoroughFare, guests can order signature toasts, sandwiches, soups, salads, and a range of beverages from a full-service drink bar, including coffee and matcha drinks, smoothies, and juices. The market contains fresh produce alongside roughly 170 house-made products: condiments, salad dressings, butters, jams, spreads, and nut butters. Guests might fall in love with one of them in a meal at the café.

ThoroughFare baked goods Bread is key at ThoroughBread and ThoroughFare.Photo by Dean Hawn

Shoppers won't find anything containing any seed oils, artificial additives or preservatives, colors, flavors, gums, or fillers — ingredients that have purpose in our food system and that experts say are often okay in moderation, but that are not necessary for the type of food ThoroughBread or ThoroughFare offers.

ThoroughBread is a bit hidden to much of Austin's daily traffic. The shop tucked into a largely residential section of the Zilker neighborhood is famous for its sourdough breads and super-thick chocolate chip cookies, which stay gooey on the inside. Founder Ryan Goebel started the brand after taking a deep dive into how better ingredients can improve food and how people feel. ThoroughBread products are not made to last a long time, but to be enjoyed fresh at their peak quality.

In 2022, Nick Vukmaravich joined the ThoroughBread team, and he and Goebel followed the same philosophy to a broader conclusion: the high standards that worked in the bakery should work in a grocery store, too, and later in shoppers' homes. A 2023 acquisition — a 40,000-square-foot production facility — made it possible to produce and deliver a wide range of products daily.

ThoroughFare drinks and cookie Keeping cookies on the menu was a must.Photo by Dean Hawn

“This began years ago with a simple belief — that food should just be food,” said Goebel in the release. “Made with real ingredients, without unnecessary shortcuts, and brought to people at its best. ThoroughFare is built on that standard, and we’re proud to finally open our doors and share it with our community.”

According to Google Maps, ThoroughFare is open Mondays through Fridays from 7 am to 8 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am to 8 pm. The grand opening event May 21 will take place from 4-8 pm.

bakery desserts smoothies juice openings deli grocery