Austin's Best New Restaurant winner dishes out secret recipe for favorite summer dessert

Cooking With Chefs

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This year's CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant winner is whipping up a no-bake mango float cake to help you cool down just in time for summer. Be More Pacific Kitchen and Bar is bringing you a sweet Filipino flavor that you never knew you needed, with an easy-to-follow recipe and fun video.

Shop with owner and founder Giovan Cuchapin as he grabs all his favorite Whole Foods Market ® ingredients to make this creamy dessert. Then follow the steps below to recreate this simple yet elegant dessert.

No-bake mango float cake

Ingredients
4-5 fresh mangoes, ripe
1/2 box graham crackers
2 cups whipped cream
1/2 cup condensed milk

Instructions
Stand a mango stem-down on a cutting board and place a knife about a quarter of an inch from the widest center line, then cut down to the bottom, using the seed as a guide. Repeat this cut on the other side.

Separate the flesh of the mango from the skin with a large spoon, trying to keep the whole piece intact. Lay the extruded mango flat side down and cut as many quarter-inch slices as possible. Place the slices aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream in a medium bowl for about a minute, then slowly add the condensed milk. Mix until well combined.

Start off with a layer of graham crackers at the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish. Fill the gaps by trimming graham crackers or using leftover crumbs. Spread about a quarter of the whipped cream and condensed milk mix evenly on top of the crackers, followed by a layer of mango slices. Repeat this about three to four times or until you are out of product. For the best presentation, try to end up with the mango slices on the top layer.

Refrigerate the baking dish overnight or in the freezer for a couple of hours to set completely before serving. Enjoy!

Photo by Shelley Neuman

Austin's culinary all-stars and local luminaries pack festive Tastemaker Awards affair

Foodie's Best Fest

On April 12, Austin foodies and glamorous glitterati descended on Fair Market for CultureMap's marquee event, the Tastemaker Awards. Presented by Woodford Reserve and benefiting the Austin Food & Wine Alliance, the evening showcased the very best in Austin's bar and restaurant community.

The perfect weather outdoors echoed what would be a perfect evening indoors, complete with sips and snacks stationed throughout the lofty event space, which took on a cozy garden party vibe for the occasion. More than 750 attendees sampled bites from Austin restaurants and Tastemaker nominees, including Aviary Wine + Kitchen, Eldorado Cafe ATX, El Chipirón, Yuyo, Foreign & Domestic, Garbo's Lobster Truck, District Kitchen + Bar, Intero, Juniper, Le Politique, LeRoy and Lewis, Nightcap, Paperboy, Olive & June, Puli-Ra, Colleen'sKitchen, and Phoebe'sDiner, as well asand San Antonio's Dee Dee, Cured, and Restaurant Gwendolyn.

Meanwhile, three 2018 Bartender of the Year nominees, CaerFerguson of The Roosevelt Room, JaysonBlack of Garage, and BrettEsler of Whisler's, were stirring up their own creative cocktails which guests sipped and sampled throughout the event. (ErinAshford of Olamaie ended up taking home the crown.)

And not to be upstaged were boozy premade cocktails like Woodford Reserve Old Fashioneds and tasty margaritas. Those looking to add a little sparkle to their night were treated to flutes of Korbel or brews from Deep Ellum Brewing Co. and Alaskan Brewing Co.

With champagne in hand, guests gathered to watch local TV personality Taylor Ellison emcee the evening's capstone event — the Tastemaker Awards ceremony. Among this year's winners were Austin Restaurant of the Year L'Oco d'Oro and Chef of the Year Kevin Fink of Henbit and Emmer & Rye.(In addition to being named Best Pastry Chef, fellow Emmer & Rye-er Tavel Bristol-Joseph took home the unofficial award for best entrance when he bypassed the stairs and instead climbed up the side of the stage.)

San Antonio's Pieter Sypesteyn was awarded Chef of the Year while Battalion took home Restaurant of the Year. "[An award like this] means all the work and all the bullshit has paid off, and somehow you're the best. If I had given up, I wouldn't be here right now — and I really appreciate it," said chef StefonBowers of Battalion.

Clenching his own award for Rising Star Chef and looking out over the packed house, chef Zach Hunter of the soon-to-open The Brewer's Table mused about the star-studded success of Austin's culinary scene. "We have a bunch of cooks just cooking their hearts out in Austin right now," said Hunter. "We can't wait for Brewer's Table to be a part of that."

The evening's ceremony also concluded the anticipated Best New Restaurant contest, sponsored by Whole Foods Market. The award, which was voted on by the public, went to Be More Pacific in Austin and Tenko Ramen in San Antonio.

Throughout the evening, guests floated around Fair Market's garden area, playing lawn games, listening to live music, and enjoying the perfect spring weather. Among the local notables in attendance were XavierSchipani, KathyBlackwell, TimTaliaferro, LesleyTaylor, AlicynnFink, MariamParker, DavidGow, VeronicaMeewes, Better Half's MatthewBollick, HaydenWalker, Ankur Sansanwal, ChristineLee, SofiaSokolove, AshleyBaker, KateWilliams, MaryDaniels, and KristenKistler.

Guests packed into Fair Market for the 2018 Tastemaker Awards.

CultureMap Austin 2018 Tastemaker Awards at Fair Market

Photo by Shelley Neuman

Guests packed into Fair Market for the 2018 Tastemaker Awards.

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Cuddle up to this Austin bartender's strong and smooth cocktail

The Cocktail Chronicles

Simple, yet with a hint of mystery, the classic old fashioned gets an extra kick thanks to bartender Chelsey Salisbury's choice of bourbon: the 95-proof Old Forester Statesman.

The powerful liquor is so smooth, though, that it practically cuddles you as you drink.

Watch the video and then get a kick — and a cuddle — of your own with the recipe below.

Statesman Old Fashioned
Yields 1 drink

Ingredients
2 ounces Old Forester Statesman Bourbon Whiskey
3 dashes angostura bitters
1 orange peel
1 bar spoonful of luxardo cherry juice
1 sugar cube
Luxardo cherries

Place the orange peel, sugar cube, and bitters in a large mixing glass and muddle.

Top the mixture with ice and add the whisky and cherry juice. Stir well.

Strain the mixture over a large-format ice cube in the cocktail glass, and add a luxardo cherry.

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Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, 43-50% Alc. by Volume, Brown-Forman Distillers Company, Louisville, KY.

PLEASE SIP OLD FORESTER RESPONSIBLY.

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Austin bartenders toast fall with their take on a classic cocktail

The Cocktail Chronicles

Two things that everyone seems to love — fall and bourbon — form the basis for this spin on a classic cocktail by bartenders Bryan King and Megan Draughon.

Their Fall Fashioned highlights the full flavor of Old Forestor's bourbon whisky, with an added spice from black walnut bitters.

Watch the video and then stir up a glass of your own with the recipe below.

Fall Fashioned
Yields 1 drink

Ingredients
2.5 ounces Old Forester 100 Proof Bourbon Whiskey
4 dashes black walnut bitters
1 ounce maple simple syrup
1 orange peel
Luxardo cherries
Candied pecans

Add a Luxardo cherry to a mixing glass with ice, then add the bitters, whisky, and simple syrup.

Stir well and strain the mixture over a large-format ice cube in the cocktail glass.

Rim the glass with the orange peel, and add the pecans for garnish.

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Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, 43-50% Alc. by Volume, Brown-Forman Distillers Company, Louisville, KY.

PLEASE SIP OLD FORESTER RESPONSIBLY.

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Sugar and spice make this Austin bartender's cocktail a surefire winner

The Cocktail Chronicles

Lighting a cocktail on fire is always a surefire (pun intended) crowd-pleaser.

Austin bartender Ayron Vandergriff knows this, and so therefore flames figure into his recipe for the Madison Old Fashioned, which was designed to highlight the existing flavors in the whisky.

Watch the video and then (safely) mix up a glass of your own with the recipe below.

Madison Old Fashioned
Yields 1 drink

Ingredients
2 ounces Old Forester Bourbon Whiskey
4 dashes angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
0.5 ounces vanilla bean syrup
1 fresh orange peel for garnish
2 whole cloves

Combine the whiskey, bitters, and vanilla bean syrup in a large, tall glass with ice and stir for 15 seconds.

Strain the mixture over a large-format ice cube in the cocktail glass.

Stud the orange peel with cloves, then flame over the glass and add when finished.

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Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, 43-50% Alc. by Volume, Brown-Forman Distillers Company, Louisville, KY.

PLEASE SIP OLD FORESTER RESPONSIBLY.

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This San Antonio bartender's bourbon cocktail is ideal for red wine lovers

The Cocktail Chronicles

As much fun to drink as it is to say, kalimotxo is a Spanish drink made of equal parts red wine and cola. Bartender Benjamin Krick is combining it with Old Forester Statesman bourbon whisky to put a spin on a classic cocktail.

Watch the video and then mix up a glass of your own with the recipe below.

Iberian Old Fashioned
Yields 1 drink

Ingredients
2 ounces Old Forester Statesman bourbon whisky
0.5 ounces kalimotxo reduction
2 dashes Bolivian cola bitters
1 spritz fino sherry mist
1 peel of dehydrated clementine for garnish
1 lemon peel

Combine the whisky, bitters, and kalimotxo reduction in a large, tall glass with ice and add the fresh lemon peel. Stir well.

Mist the cocktail glass with the fino sherry.

Strain the mixture over a large-format ice cube in the cocktail glass. Garnish with the clementine peel.

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Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, 43-50% Alc. by Volume, Brown-Forman Distillers Company, Louisville, KY.

PLEASE SIP OLD FORESTER RESPONSIBLY.

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Shuttered Salvation Army shelter in downtown Austin will get new life

Salvation Army

When the Salvation Army shelter on East Eighth Street shut its doors back in April, Austin City Council member Zohaib "Zo" Qadri (District 9) said it was unfortunate to see as an Austin resident and leader.

"The Salvation Army kind of abruptly stated that they were pulling out without much of a notice to the residents of the shelter in the district – a shelter that largely houses or housed women and children," Qadri said. "So, you know, that was a huge disappointment for us."

Now the City of Austin has reached a compromise and solution that Qadri believes will help those experiencing homelessness. The Austin City Council on Thursday, June 8, approved a 12-month lease agreement for the former Salvation Army shelter that will cost more than $1 million.

The site will be operated by California-based nonprofit Urban Alchemy, which also provides services at the ARCH, or the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless. The council also approved a contract for Urban Alchemy to add more funding, extend the ARCH program and run the former Salvation Army shelter, providing 150 beds.

Urban Alchemy will get more than $4 million.

Later this summer, City leaders will also consider a temporary emergency shelter that will provide around 300 more beds for people experiencing homelessness.

ECHO, or the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, estimates there are thousands of people experiencing homelessness in Austin. Since the city's camping ban was reinstated in May 2021, many of these individuals have spread out throughout the city or gone into hiding, making it harder to connect them with services.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

Tenacious D will play the best song in the world in Austin this fall

Spicy Meatball

America's favorite (only?) comedy rock duo is back on tour, and lucky for Austinites, they've announced the addition of three Texas dates this fall. Of course, we're talking about none other than Tenacious D, comprised of Jack Black and Kyle Glass.

The duo's Spicy Meatball Tour is currently underway this month in Europe, with newly extended dates including Houston (September 13), Grand Prairie (September 14), and Austin (September 15).

Supporting acts are yet to be announced, but tickets are on sale as of Friday, June 9, at 10 am. Fans can purchase tickets HERE.

According to a release, the tour dates come on the heels of the recently-released recorded version of Tenacious D’s viral, fan-favorite live cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” The single is accompanied by a video directed by longtime D collaborator Taylor Stephens, and features our dynamic duo in a glorious, romantic romp by the sea. Last month, they released their first new song in five years, “Video Games,” which has been streamed over 18 million times across all platforms in less than a month. The animated music video, created by Oney Plays, brings video game-ified versions of Black and Glass to life in classic and hilarious ways.

In addition to the single releases, Tenacious D will be the special guest at this year’s Video Game Awards, happening on June 25 at the Hollywood Bowl, where they will perform their new single.

But of course the burning question remains: Will Black perform his equally viral "Peaches" from the recent Super Mario Bros. movie? There's only one way to find out.

Full Tour Dates are below (new dates in bold font):
6/7/23 Berlin, Germany @ Zitadelle
6/8/23 Nickelsdorf, Austria @ Nova Rock Festival
6/10/23 Milan, Italy @ Carroponte
6/12/23 Zurich, Switzerland @ The Hall
6/13/23 Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
6/14/23 Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Ahoy
6/16/23 London, England @ O2 Arena
6/18/23 Clisson, France @ Hellfest Open Air Festival
6/25/23 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl (Video Game Awards)
9/6/23 Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
9/7/23 Franklin, TN @ Firstbank Amphitheater
9/9/23 Indianapolis, IN @ All IN Music Festival
9/11/23 Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP
9/13/23 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
9/14/23 Grand Prairie, TX @ Texas Trust CU Theatre
9/15/23 Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is ridiculous and fun at the same time

Movie Review

The Transformers series has been one marked by near universal derision by the critics and (mostly) massive box office, highlighting the divide between those who watch movies for a living and those who just go for fun. Given that history, it seemed unlikely that the latest film, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, would unite the two factions.

Like the last film, Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts is a prequel to the Transformers films directed by Michael Bay from 2007-2017 (Bay remains as a producer). Set in 1994, it features a way-too-complicated story involving something called the Transwarp device prized by three separate groups of Transformers: The Autobots led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen); the Maximals, animal-esque bots led by Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman); and the Terrorbots, led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage). One guess as to which of those groups is the evil one.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Mirage (Pete Davidson) in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is a former soldier in Manhattan who can’t find a job and tries his best to take care of his sickly brother, Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez). Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) works at a museum on Ellis Island, where she encounters an artifact with unusual markings. Through a series of unlikely but still fun events, both of them are dragged into the conflict between the Transformers, with nothing less than the fate of the universe at stake.

Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and written by a team of five writers, the film is as ridiculous as any of the previous iterations, and yet somehow it becomes the most entertaining entry yet. Some of this has to do with the human characters, who are given engaging scenes outside of the ones with Transformers, allowing them to be relatable instead of just pawns in the robot battles.

The trifecta of Transformer groups turn out to be actually interesting, rather than an excuse to fill the screen with CGI nonsense. The Autobots, as usual, are the main heroes, and with Bumblebee using movie quotes to talk and Mirage (Pete Davidson) lobbing wisecracks constantly, they’re rarely unentertaining. Having the animal-like Maximals on board gives a new dimension, and the seemingly unstoppable Scourge makes for an intimidating villain.

That’s not to say, of course, that the film doesn’t devolve into chaos on multiple occasions. Several of the battles, including the final sequence, seem designed to be almost incomprehensible. But Caple and the visual effects team appear to have understood that clarity makes for a better moviegoing experience, and so even as bedlam reigns, there’s a level of focus to the film that other films in the series have not had.

Even though his character isn’t fully fleshed out, Ramos brings a kind of streetwise energy to the role that makes him stand out. Fishback is not given as much to do, but she’s still highly enjoyable. Cullen, who’s been voicing Optimus Prime since the 1980s, is still a commanding presence, allowing Davidson, Michelle Yeoh, Perlman, and more to bring their own unique flair to their characters.

It may be a low bar to jump, but Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the best film so far in the series, cracking the code of pairing humans with robots for a (semi)intelligible story. A late movie teaser will have fans geeking out over the future, but it’s best to enjoy this film for being as good as it is.

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens in theaters on June 9.

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