Tony Bourdain at Book People, Austin

Chef/writer/TV bon vivant Tony Bourdain was in town to sign copies of his new book, "Medium Raw" at Book People which is right 'round the corner from Whole Foods flagship store.

Salmon-Flavored Vodka

The best part of the story: it took 48 tries to get the formula right. Here's the quote from the company founders- "Definitely the first few times we had our heave bucket close by."

Cake Balls, Anyone?

We were first introduced to cake balls at this food cart on S. 1st in Austin called Holy Cacao. They are small bites of heaven that won't wreck your diet (too much). I know a number of cake ball-eries have spread through Austin, but I didn't know it was a trend making its way across Texas.

Twitter & Food Truck/Food Carts

I won't go into this topic in great detail here as it will be a feature in the first issue of American Foodways magazine, but one of the keys to the growing popularity of food carts is the ability to use social media tools such as Twitter to tell legions of hungry fans where the cart will be parked that day. In some cities, such as Austin and Portland, there are designated spots for food carts so Twitter is used to send out specials and reminders. Again, we will cover this topic in more depth.

In the meantime, here is an NPR story about how one food truck in L.A. uses Twitter to keep its fans informed. 

The Intersection of Rap & Food

Minneapolis rapper P.O.S. visits Pure Food and Wine and starts to make music with cups, silverware and whatever else in his line of sight. The show is called "Infatuation TV."


Infatuation TV: P.O.S Performs "Optimist" @ Pure Food & Wine from Immaculate Infatuation on Vimeo.

Jamie Oliver & Sarah Silverman as Lunch Crusaders

Proving she's not just a funny face, comedian Sarah Silverman is trying to do for U.S. kids what Oliver did for UK kids which is to force a policy change related to providing health school lunches.

Nachos for the Rest of Us

Like many Americans, I suffer from food allergies. One is corn, so that means every time I have nachos or chips & salsa, I pay the price. I cam across a new corn-free chip, made with beans, called Beanitos that I will give a try when I am in Austin. (Looks like Central Market and HEB carry them).