Any questions about the legitimacy of a namesake steakhouse from former UT QB  should be alleviated by this invitation. When Vince Young Steakhouse cooked at the James Beard House last weekend in New York, Executive Chef Philip Brown said, “Cooking at the Beard House is one of those pinnacle moments, a bucket-list item for your career. It was an amazing experience for myself and my team and truly exceeded every expectation I had.”

Menu
Hors d’Oeuvre
Crispy Pork Belly with Fennel and Garlic
Braised Short Ribs on Grit Cakes
Duck Prosciutto Flatbread with Goat Cheese and Arugula
Pulled Pork Tacos with Pickled Onions, Cilantro–Jalapeño Crème Fraîche, and Margarita Shooters
Champagne Jean Pernet Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV

Dinner
Foie Gras Duo > Foie Gras Custard with Seared Foie Gras and Brioche
Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume 2007

Farm-to-Table Salad > Roasted Local Texas Beets with Texas Blue Cheese and Champagne Vinaigrette
Siduri Sierra Mar Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

Fish and Chips > Olive Oil–Poached Halibut with Parsnip–Apple Purée and Brown Butter
Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas Blanc 2009

Meat and Potatoes > Prime Rib-Eye with White Truffle–Gnocchi Macaroni and Cheese, Broccolini, and Bone Marrow–Red Wine Demi-Glace
V Madrone Old Vine Zinfandel 2007

Milk and Cookies > Brown Butter Financiers with Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate–Cabernet Sauvignon Milkshake
The Rare Wine Co. Historic Series Charleston Sercial Special Reserve Madeira NV

Bread and beer. Things I shouldn’t eat but happen to love. [Sidenote: there's a new bakery in Aspen on the mall under the Psychic called Annette's and the bread there is TO DIE FOR, so to speak, as I ate almost half a loaf and spent the rest of the night with sores in my mouth and farting. Sorry that's gross. But I'm pretty sure I can thank the high gluten factor for that. But there's sourdough...] Back to Easy Tiger, 709 E. Sixth Street, the long-awaited new bake shop and beer garden (this post has it opening in May … of 2011)  from the 24 Diner people.

The key players:

Bread: Artisan baker David Norman [creds: Grand Central Bakery (leading artisan bakery in Pacific Northwest), TriBakery (supplying NY greats such as Tribeca Grill and Nobu), Ecce Panis (NY, NJ) and Bouley Bakery (NY)]. Breads: baguettes, French country levain, rye bread, German pretzels, Danish, turnovers and more all day long.

Beer: Billy Caruso [creds: CIA graduate and 24 Diner sommelier] Cocktails, wine, unique bombers, and 30 craft beers on tap: local Real Ale and Jester King and boutique domestics such as Avery, Lagunitas and Ommegang.

Meat: Andrew Curren [creds: CIA valedictorian, worked for top New York restaurateurs Danny Meyer and Jonathan Waxman, nom for People’s Best New Chef from Food & Wine magazine/CNN’s Eatocracy, Top Chef: Texas] House-cured meats: housemade sausages, jerky, corned beef and pastrami, as well as homemade krauts, relishes and peperonata.

Decor: Veronica Koltuniak [creds: clients include Madonna, Courteney Cox, and Jennifer Lopez] The Royal Tenenbaums: “Turn-of-the-century building meets end-of-the-century kitsch.”

Seriously. Someone go and report back. I can’t put myself in another gluten coma.

easytigeraustin.com / twitter.com/EasyTigerATX / facebook.com/EasyTigerATX

The Blind Cafe comes to Austin January 26-28 and Aspen February 14. The Blind Cafe is a completely dark dinner, live music, and speaking experience. For more on the individual events in each of the cities, read on.

AUSTIN Blind Cafe

Keynote speaker Richie Flores will lead a Q&A and discussion on life with blindness. Richie is the president of the National Federation of the Blind in Austin, runs The BELL program (helping young blind children learn valuable life skills) and will also be doubling as a musician in the band.

Dinner is a delicious multicourse vegetarian/vegan meal prepared by local Chef Brian Henderson and includes a decadent, dark chocolate dessert. Then, guests indulge their ears during a full set of live music by Rosh & One Eye Glass Broken. Proceeds from The Austin Blind Café will be donated to support The BELL Program (a two week workshop for blind children in Austin).                        

Where: The Church of Christ (1903 University Avenue)

When:  January 26th, 27th & 28th  (Thursday – Saturday)

Thurs & Fri: (6:45pm check-in / 7pm seating)

Sat: (5:45pm check-in / 6pm seating)

Tickets: Available by calling 1-800-838-3006 and online at brownpapertickets.com/event/212981

Cost:  *Special pricing note: Guests are asked to ‘pay what you can’ from $45-$95 (suggested ticket cost is $55) to keep the event accessible to all. Group rates (8+ people) call 720.495.7797

theblindcafe.com/austin-blind-cafe.htm

ASPEN Blind Cafe

Make this Valentine’s Day something extraordinary: spend an evening in an event completely unlike anything else. Visit the Sky Hotel in for a delicious three course meal, full concert and community awareness event in complete darkness. The servers at the event are blind and guests have the special opportunity to explore darkness with their keynote speaker, Gerry Lerry, who will lead a Q&A and discussion on life with blindness. Gerry has been blind since birth. He was a car mechanic for over 40 years and then shifted gears to pursue one of his great loves, coffee. Gerry taught himself the roasting industry and opened his own coffee roasting business and café, The Unseen Bean, in Boulder, Colorado.

Dinner is a delicious three course meal that includes a decadent dark chocolate dessert that will be prepared by the Sky Hotel’s star chef. Full set of live music by founder Rosh & One Eye Glass Broken. Then there is the Black Box. It’s something special for this Valentines Café. While in the darkness guests will open their Black Box. What’s inside? To figure that out, they’ll have explore their senses of smell, taste and touch!

The Blind Café is also committed to giving back and improving the lives of sight limited individuals in our communities and will donate 10% of proceeds to Challenge Aspen to help their efforts supporting the blind.

Where: Aspen’s Sky Hotel

When:  February 14th  (Two times: 5pm or 8:30pm)

Tickets: Call 1-800-838-3006 or online at brownpapertickets.com/event/215857

Cost:   $195

theblindcafe.com/aspen-blind-cafe-valentines-day.htm

The second location of Chef Tyson Cole’s critically-acclaimed restaurant, Uchi, will open to the public on February 2^nd.  In the iconic former Felix space on Westheimer near the corner of Montrose. Offerings from the kitchen and sushi bar showcase his signature style of combining unexpected textures and flavors, pushing the boundaries of Japanese cuisine, drawing flavor inspiration from numerous points around the globe and mixing traditional master knife work with cutting-edge techniques.

Acclaimed pastry chef Philip Speer ends things on a sweet note with his ground-breaking desserts that showcase familiar flavors in completely original forms and combinations. Chef Cole is pleased to name Kaz Edwards of the original Uchi as chef de cuisine in Houston.  Monica Glenn, longtime protégé of Philip Speer, will be pastry chef.

The transformation of the building from the Felix space was helmed by (obviously) Michael Hsu, who also designed almost every impressive restaurant space in Austin including Uchi, Uchiko, Malverde, and so on.

“We have been looking forward to becoming a part of the Houston community for many months,” says Chef Tyson Cole, recent winner of James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest. “It’s a thrill to open our doors.”

904 Westheimer / Houston, Texas 77006

However, I apparently forgot how much I also love lattes and cappuccinos.

I made that^. With a one-shot espresso and steamed milk in the accessory milk foamer. It heats it up but not too hot, which is perfect since I use raw milk and I don’t want it heating up too hot or it kills the good bacteria.

Turns out, it’s just as easy to cold-brew coffee as it is to press a button on the one-touch machine. At least now I have options: cold-brew coffee, or one-touch brew espresso and foamed milk.

If I didn’t have the milk foamer, I’m not sure I’d use the machine quite as much. I’m enjoying using it, but if I had to invest in one, I’m not sure I would. It is a lot of fun to play with the different flavors, and a total party trick hit. But either way, it looks good sitting on my counter:

There’s also the issue of the waste of the one-cups from an ecological perspective. Keurigs have a refillable cup you can use, but as far as I can see there’s nothing like that for the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Kaldi …

I have one of the fabulous Kaldi one-cup coffee and tea makers from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, review coming soon. But if someone you know (like, you know, yourself) wants one of the $179.95 babies for Christmas, this weekend is a great time to pop into one of six Austin locations, get a sample, and get $25 off. Sweet!

Basically, the fastest women in the world (downhill ski racers) are racing Saturday & Sunday November 26-27 down Ruthie’s, with spectators and a village at the base of Aspen Mountain at Lift 1A. There’s a big screen TV for action you can’t see, and prime viewing of the finish line from the grandstands. It’s an awesome experience, even if you just stop by for one racer, you need to go.

Saturday, make sure you plan to attend the launch of the Red Bulletin, where Lindsey Vonn will be signing autographs and beer flows like … well, you know, it’s an open bar.

RSVP to Helen.Roche@theskyhotel.com

Then take your autographed self over to the Gondola plaza for the  first Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series of the season featuring Cowboy Mouth.

All that spectating and partying will likely leave you hungry, so be sure to snag an incredible deal through The Bud Light Dine Around Aspen now through next Thursday, December 1st, from 6-9pm every night. Top restaurants offer special Winternational prix fixe menus that are even better than their off-season deals. Can’t-miss: Matsu’s bento for $30.

Dine Around Aspen Deals:

Ajax Tavern / Distinct American Bistro / $28
BB’s Kitchen / American Classic Fare / $30
Elevation / Modern American Cuisine / $28
Jimmy’s / American Restaurant & Bar / Dining Room: $28 / Bar: $12
L’Hostaria / Italian Cuisine / $30
Matsuhisa / Gourmet Japanese Seafood & Sushi / $30 Lounge Only
The Red Onion / American Southwest / $25
Syzygy / New American Cuisine / $30
Ute City / American Classics with European Flavor / $30
Zocalito / Latin Cuisine / $26

Sunday evenings at Olive & June are family nights, and the menu will solely feature piccoli piatti and family-style entrées. Saturday and Sunday brunch will come shortly after the opening.

Olive & June is located at 3411 Glenview Ave. in Central Austin (my nabe, Brykerwoods!).

2. You can heat almost anything in a coffee pot. Cold-brew coffee? Tomato soup? Steamy.

3. I will never complain about unloading or loading the dishwasher again. Washing each dish by hand generally means I eat off “less dirty than the others” dishes.

Resources:

Lansdowne Resort - Big, lush resort property with nice rooms, lots of amenities, and tons of golf course land. Health club is open to golf members so is more substantial than most resorts, with scheduled group fitness classes and yoga too.

Patowmack Farm - A working farm, wedding destination, and Wednesday-Sunday dinner restaurant with Chef Christopher Edwards at the helm.

Catoctin Creek Distilling - Organic local whiskey and other spirits.

Middleburg Country Inn - A B&B in Middleburg with lots of charm—and four-poster beds in every room!

Home Farm Store - All-happy, all-local butcher shop started by Sandy Lerner, former owner of Urban Decay cosmetics and Cisco Systems.

National Sporting Museum & Library - Devoted entirely to sporting, a non-lending library and really neat museum.

Red Fox Inn – Historic B&B and restaurant with lots of Civil War history.

Boxwood Winery – No winery tours (by appt) but tasting room in Middleburg.

Chrysalis Vineyards - Focused on Norton grapes, very fun tasting experience.

8 Chains North- Fun winery with live music, brother Ben Renshaw makes all the wines. Tried and liked an Otium Dornfelder 2009, the Dornfelder grape is apparently pretty rare so this was unique.

Mom’s Apple Pie - One of the most famous Virginia companies, whose blackberry pie has been named the best in the nation, owner/baker/sister-of-Ben Avis is really open and friendly. Amazing pumpkin muffins.

On The Potomac - One of Landsdowne’s restaurants, eclectic and innovative drinks and food, led by a team of young managers: the GM & bar master is 25 while Chef Wes Rosati is 31.

Tarara Winery - My fave visit featured amazing wines and even more amazing conversation with winemaker Jordan Harris about the realities of an agriculture-based business and how Tarara is experimenting with their grapes to make unusual wines.

The Wine Kitchen - One of Leesburg’s most popular dining spots, the lovely interior is designed to look like a kitchen—down to the walls in the bathroom, which have a bathtub painted to mimic the feeling of being in someone’s home.

Battle of Ball’s Bluff - Relatively unimportant battle in the Civil War that the Confederates won, however 1,000 reenactors and 2,000 spectators came to watch the 150-year reenactment!

Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm - A giant, local’s favorite restaurant that sources many farm-to-table ingredients. The most creative calamari I’ve ever had, and delicious everything else as well.