Austin, TX

I’ve been a bit slow getting back into the groove since my return from Seattle. The Cake Club is ramping up for our 2009 Show and that is keeping me pretty busy. Not only that but I have also lined up an incredible class featuring sugar artist, Lorraine McKay. We’re bringing her in all the way from Scotland to teach a figure modeling class.

I will be taking a class this Sunday with Carol Fouts in Houston. She’ll be teaching a class on making baby shoes in gumpaste.

This weekend is the big Bake for Barack/Bake for Change/Hungry for Change/ sale which appears to be happening at more than one location. The only one I have a definitive location on will be taking place from 9am-3pm at Far West & Hart Lane. If you know of others, please let us know!

If that’s not enough to satisfy your O’bama cravings, you can Bowl-O-bama from 2-6pm at the Saengerrunde Bowling Alley, 1607 San Jacinto, 627-8960 for a mere $7.

If you’re feeling spry, check out the Go Skateboarding Day activities. This is a new event being sponsored by Wahoos Fish Taco, Lowbrow Emporium and the Austin Longboard Club.

Go Skateboarding Day
House Park Parking Lot
1301 Shoal Creek Rd. near 12th Street
Cost: This is a FREE event ALL AGES are welcome

For you gamers out there, and I know there are a lot of you here in Austin, the Iron-Man of Gaming is taking place now! Technically this event is taking place in Grapevine but first place is $10k in cash and prizes so it may be worth the drive!

There will be a Rock Band competition, video-game music cover bands, and more to keep the spectators amused. All proceeds go to the Get Well Gamers Foundation that donates gaming systems to hospitals.

When: Thu.-Sun., June 19-22.
Where: Convention Center, Grapevine.
$$$: Competitors: $50 ($25, advance); spectators: $5 (free, advance).

My wine loving friends amongst you may enjoy Vino al Pastor this weekend. Visit nine wineries as you cruise the 290 wine trail through the Texas Hill Country. The Texas Pork Producers Association has teamed up with each winery who have in turned teamed up with top restaurants to tantalize your palate with tempting treats. At each winery you will a glass of wine paired with a specially prepared recipe. At the conclusion of each visit you will receive a copy of the recipe. The wineries along Highway 290 from one mile east of Johnson City to nine miles west of Fredericksburg make up one of the most successful wine travel destinations in the U.S., second only to NAPA.

Each of the wineries will offer their normal tasting and the PORK pairing taste will not cost extra. Participating wineries are Becker Vineyards, Bell Mountain Winery Tasting Room, Chisholm Trail Winery, Fredericksburg Winery, Grape Creek Vineyard, Lost Creek Winery Tasting Room, Texas Hills Vineyard, Torre di Pietra Vineyards, and Woodrose Winery. Wineries recommend that you plan to spend the evening locally (maybe a B&B) and enjoy dinner at one of the restaurants. Some of the participating restaurants are August E’s, Cotton Gin (Cabernet Grill), Navajo Grill, Silver Creek Restaurant & Bier Garten, and Silver K Cafe, with more to be named later. For more information call 830-868-2321. Mmmm…. my mouth is watering already!

Those are my picks for the weekend. Get out there, have some fun and enjoy the sunshine!

Austin, Weekend, Events, June, 6/21/08, Texas, Hill Country, Wine, Trail, Vino al Pastor, iron man, gaming, Grapevine, Carol Founts, Skateboarding, Day, Obama, bake sale, bowling, bowl-o-bama

Is it just me or does it piss off other people when Christmas goods are out before Halloween stuff is in the stores? I am up in Dallas today and the news just mentioned that Fort Worth put up it’s town Christmas tree today. I have one thing to say to the people of Ft. Worth:

If I had my way, Thanksgiving stuff would not be out until the day after Halloween and Christmas stuff would not be allowed to be displayed until after Thanksgiving. I think it should be illegal. Bah Humbug!

My drive from Austin was uneventful. Does anyone else measure their distance via Starbucks? First stop Temple, exit 301. Quick trip to the bathroom, a double espresso macchiato dopio to wake me up and then an iced tall chai to go. I drink down the espresso shot before leaving the store and that keeps me awake at least until the next stop. That’s Waco, by the way, exit 359. Waco is pretty much half way. The last Starbucks along the way is in Hillsborough. Today I made it on one Starbucks stop. My parents must have driven me around to put me to sleep with when I was a kid because you put me in a car and immediately I get sleepy. Hence the need for espresso. I’m not a big fan of Starbucks. I don’t care for their over-roasted burnt beans but I do like their chai and they are right there only the highway so they’re easy to get to, they have fairly clean bathrooms and they have darned good oatmeal cookies.

I went walking this morning and I’m really happy to report that my pace was 21.3 mph. That’s fast for my short little legs. Normally I walk at around 23 mph. Patrick, our Zen trainer told us early on that most people should be about to walk a 20 minute mile. Most people aren’t 4′11, say I.

Okay, I’m rambling now but before I go I want to send you over to Allison’s Reality on Bravo blog. Allison is having a great contest in which you could win a cool “Stop Global Warming” bracelet from Ecoist. For every bracelet Ecoist sells, they will plant a tree. What’s not to love about that? Ecoist restyles candy wrappers into super cool products like handbags, belts and other fun accessories. You’ve gotta love a company that “repurposes” sustainable materials and gives them a second life. Not only that, but they do it with style! Check out their movie billboard handbags. I want! My teenage niece would love the belt.

Ecoist, recycling, repurpose, sustainable, Starbucks, Austin, Dallas, road trip, rant, Christmas, thanksgiving, Halloween, candy wrappers, movie billboard handbags, fair trade, environmentally friendly

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for a drive in the Hill country and with visiting friends, an excellent opportunity to visit a local vineyard. We chose the Driftwood Vineyard for this excursion. The drive was about 30-40 minutes from downtown Austin and we found the vineyard with relative ease.

The wine tasting was held in a small portable that was fairly packed as we entered. The wait, however, was no more than 10 minutes. We thought they could use a bigger tasting room but we overheard that they were a bit short staffed and normally did the tastings out on their deck, which is a much larger area. They also have a larger building for weddings and other events.

Driftwood Vineyards is owned and operated by Gary and Kathy Elliott on land owned by Kathy’s family since 1951. The vineyard was planted a mere 9 years ago with their first grape crush just 5 years ago. Their first wine was bottled in 2003 and they opened to the public a month later. Not bad at all for a winery that already has several wine awards to its name!

The tasting menu allows you 6 selections of their wines for a mere $5. You can do your tasting individually or share with your friend/partner. Adam and I chose to share this time. Our selection:

1. 2006 Viognier (lovely bouquet)
2. 2004 Alamo Red
3. 2004 Lone Star Cab
4. Driftwood ‘06 Dry Rose
5. Driftwood ‘06 Sweet Blush
6. Wimberiey Valley Sangria (sweet but not cloying)

Our favourites were the Viognier and the Sangria.

We bought a bottle of each, along with some crackers and “cheese pops”. The cheese pops were goat cheese pyramids with lolipop sticks in them. We chose a curry coated one and an herb coated one. Both were good and we managed to drink the Sangria while sitting on the deck enjoying good conversation.

It was a fun day out and I’m definitely going to spend more time checking out the local vineyards.

Oh, and while you’re up there, you should definitely stop in at The Salt Lick, which many people consider to be the best BBQ in Austin. This is their original location and has been open since 1969. Get your fingers ready for licking!