The Souvenir Menu – A movie, cooking demo and good food

Imagine being in a theatre watching a movie where the actors are eating a great looking pizza, slices so beautiful that you can smell them. That happened to me over the weekend at a screening of ‘Eat, Prey, Love’, but people were actually eating fragrant freshly made Pizzas Margherita while Julia Roberts was indulging in [...]

The Souvenir Menu – Sullivan’s

Sometimes dinner in an old favorite restaurant is just the thing to set the world right again. I hadn’t been to Sullivan’s in while, but have pretty fond memories of many good dinners there. I invited a friend for a good indulgent meal, and a bruised wallet later I was a very happy man. We [...]

Colombian Independence Day in Austin

To Colombians, July 20 is symbolic because that is the day their country became an independent republic. Some Austin area Colombians celebrated their country’s 200th year of independence from Spain, Bicentennial Day, this past weekend. “Colombia is the country with the 29th largest population in the world, 4th largest economy in Latin America. People celebrating [...]

The Souvenir Menu: Dulces interior Mexican food

On Tuesday night I had planned dinner out with friends and the usual round of “I dunno, where do you wanna go” started. They suggested a restaurant at Lakeline mall. I said no. They said it was interior Mexican food (really) and that it had received some pretty good reviews.  I didn’t want to seem [...]

The Souvenir Menu: Authentic German at the Walburg Restaurant

I tend to eat a lot of different things each week; Thai, Japanese, Indian, Burgers, BBQ, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, etc., but sometimes I like a little variety. We have a couple of good Persian places and even an Ethiopian restaurant in town, but what we lack in Austin is a dedicated place for good German [...]

Where to watch the World Cup around Austin

When it comes to sports events, this is not Austin’s first rodeo.  A city that has made it to the BCS championship twice in the last five years is not new to hosting large numbers of sports fans eager to find a big screen to watch the game.  However, with the World Cup games being [...]

NHPO Hosts Think Tank on Arizona’s Immigration Law

A representative from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF, the organization leading efforts on disputing the Arizona immigration initiatives), members from the National Hispanic Professional Organization (NHPO) of Austin, and community members gathered at Dario’s Mexican Restaurant in East Austin to discuss the effect and consequences of Arizona’s Immigration Law, which will [...]

The Souvenir Menu: Why Guero’s is still one of Austin’s best

It seems strange to write about a restaurant that is so popular that further compliments just seem redundant, but my relationship with Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress Avenue is a bit different. For decades now, Guero’s has been a frequent but temporary cure for home sickness. I moved to Austin from South Texas in [...]

The Souvenir Menu: Salad Niçoise with a Malbec rosé

In the book “A Year in Province”, Peter Mayle explains that in France, even the simplest questions on food can become a twenty minute plus discourse-or even an argument-about the correct ingredients and method. Such was the case with one of my favorite summer meals, salade Niçoise. I had always accepted that the salad that [...]

Rio’s Brazilian restaurant

Upon returning from a month trip to Brazil, I returned with new favorite foods and cravings I could not satisfy.  I was drinking liters of Guarana, a Brazilian soda similar to Fresca, and was breaking the bank and my diet trying to go to Fogo de Chao on a regular basis. With my tan starting [...]