As this year’s Austin Food and Wine Festival comes to an end, there were certainly some great changes made to the layout of the festival. The addition of more fire pits and more spacious layout of the tasting tents made for a smoother and more accessible experience.
A beautiful morsel from Chef Kocurek of Counter3fiveVII.
The addition of more restaurants from the Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio areas was a great move for veteran festival attendees. Let’s take a look back at some highlights from this year.
Hendrick’s Gin did it again. Not only did that bring that behemoth of a negroni maker (above), they brought the gin hike complete with a punchbowl side car.
Best necklace at the festival was this necklace of pork hocks. It is better than my koozie on a lanyard.
Most stylish apron goes to Chef Kocurek of Counter3fiveVII. I love the bold look of leather and hardware paired with the neutral cloth. It reminds me of hanging out with horses, which is pretty awesome. Here he is hanging out with Kristi Willis.
Most awesome cake goes to Walton’s Fancy and Staple. While I didn’t get to eat this cake, it was certainly a head turner.
Tastiest cake I actually got to eat goes to the avocado cheesecake from Corner Bar located in the JW Marriott downtown. The rich and creamy cake on a tart and eye catching berry sauce was a little piece of spring on a plate.
A little piece of nostalgia shout out goes to Qui for their grilled pineapple shaved ice - the snow version. This reminds me of my childhood Summers. Shaved ice on a humid day, and bike riding into the sunset. Minus the bike at the festival of course.
And here's Jorge Hernandez of Qui shaving ice. Old World Style.
Three of Austin's shiny stars at the Austin Food and Wine Festival. From left to right, Chefs Page Pressley, Frank Mnuk, and Andrew Lewis. You can visit this handsome crew outside of the festival at St. Philip Pizza Parlor and Bakeshop. Don’t forget to get the Japanese cheesecake in the bakeshop.
The obligatory meat on a stick photo by Chef Shawn Cirkel. No festival in Texas is complete without things on a stick - topped with puffed mustard seeds is optional. These meaty morsels with pop spicy mustard were the perfect bite while enjoying a lovely cocktail and warm day.
Going the whole hog with Jack Allen’s Kitchen is turning into one of my favorites at the festival. This is another Texas thing - whole animals on a stick.
The fantastic display of knife work goes to Wu Chow for their amazing watermelon. Making pretty things out of fruit never ceases to amaze me. Whoever carved this baby has some serious brain surgery precision.
No festival is completely with a little bloody mary for your hangover needs. Luckily for us, Delysia made some sweet bloody mary truffles. That wraps up a pretty awesome Austin Food and Wine Festival.
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