Fabulous Events Happening This Week and Next

While I'll be busy reporting on fabulousness on the first ever San Antonio Cocktail Conference there is a ton of fabulous events happening all over town.  One of which is the Prohibition Party taking place at Sullivan Steakhouse.

There will be cocktails, costumes, door prizes and fun to be had by all!  Come dressed in your finest get up for the costume contest that takes place at 9pm.

Next up, enjoy "Fancy Fridays" at Houndstooth Coffee.

Instead of casual Fridays, the fine folks of Houndstooth Coffee get fancy, which in my opinion is fabulous!  The fun starts in February from 8am-5pm where the Baristas sport bow ties, fedoras and such.  A new pop-up vintage shop offering fabulous finds for men and women is present too.  Fancy=Fabulous!

Next Saturday, join in the fabulous in the parking lot of Jo's Coffee on South Congress for the 6th Annual Chili Cook Off.

This year your attendance is especially appreciated as the beneficiary will be a young woman diagnosed with breast cancer, see more here:

The benefactor is our dear friend Lila Tenenbown of the SIMS Foundation, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32. Help join us raise proceeds for her Recovery Fund and enjoy some amazing chili as this year’s competition has a record-breaking 15 entries. Winner gets their chili featured on Frank’s menu. In addition, there will be live music and a two-stepping competition.

I hope to see you out and about partaking in one or all of these fabulous events!

Fabulous Drinks Reports: Easy Tiger is Open for Business

After a much anticipated and long wait Easy Tiger has finally opened it's doors to the public.  Last Wednesday marked a preview for close friends and family of Easy and a soft opening took place over the weekend.  They unlocked their doors at 7 a.m. this morning for their official grand opening and were pleasantly surprised to find much of their bakery items sold out.

When you walk in, you are greeted by a panoramic view of the open bakery with see-through windows acting as menu displays.  Abundant varieties of breads and soft pretzels line the walls and pastries are attainably laid out on the counter to entice you.

Friendly management welcomes you in and asks if you'd like to order at the counter to take your goods to-go or make your way down to the beer garden to stay awhile.

Being that it was lunchtime and in the high 60s with abundant sunshine, we opted to stay awhile and made our way to the outdoor beer garden. We snacked on vegetarian sausage, the Italian Easy Board, which included both country chicken and classic Italian sausage, and an abundance of sides available including braised red cabbage, potato salad, cole slaw and more.

Photo credit Justin Hissong

The service, quality, atmosphere and the company were none other than fabulous!

A Fabulous New Spa Experience -There Will Be Cocktails!

photo credit: Ryann Ford

Come out this Tuesday, January 17 for a fabulous introduction to an even more fabulous new spa in town.  Hiatus Spa is an Aveda-concept spa that offers high-qulaity, affordable spa treatments.  They believe that taking care of yourself, often, is the key to good health and that it shouldn't cost a fortune.  They are hosting an open house for the public on Tuesday.  I couldn't wait and visited this past weekend, my experience was none other than fabulous.  I hope to see you on Tuesday, as stated above, there will be cocktails to be had (delicious Treaty Oak Gin to be specific) and it will surely be fabulous!

Rescheduled: A Fabulous First (For Me) - A Torrid Affair Supper Club

Photo Credit Nom Nom PR

Update: This event has been rescheduled for a later date, please stay tuned. Monday, January 16 will mark this year's first A Torrid Affair's supper club event benefitting The Sustainable Food Center and Dell Children's Medical Center.  A six-course dinner and cocktail pairing will be held at Springdale Farm.  When I heard that Chef Bryce Gilmore of Barley Swine and mixologist Dwayne Allen Clark of Peche were teaming up to present January's  Supper Club event I was on board.  I have yet to experience a professional supper club and am excited to attend.  I already know it will be fabulous and will be sure to report back on that fabulousness for you.

A Fabulous Drink of Balance at Juiceland

So, just how does one who drinks for a living maintain proper balance when the work involves sampling, sipping and savoring a cocktail or two most nights of the week?  I incorporate balance.  Balance seems to be the theme of month and possibly the new year.  A friend of mine writes about the topic on his blog I Duno Balance (which, in spite of the blog's name, teaches me a thing or two about balance).  I also turned to Matt Shook, owner of JuiceLand to find out some delicious ways to sip my way to balance and learn his tricks of the trade as well.   Read the full article here in my column, A Girl Walks Into A Bar in Austin Woman Magazine.   Join us this Tuesday, January 10 for the magazine's launch party, a certain someone who definitely knows a thing or two about balance (ahem, Mardy Chen owner of Pure Bikram Yoga and our cover woman!) may make an appearance. Here's to a new year fabulously filled with balance!

A Fabulous Way to Survive the Holiday Season - Festive Cocktails

Here's a fabulous way to celebrate the joyous times and how to handle the not to so favorable times when family comes to visit, with a cocktail in hand, of course!  Read more here in my column, A Girl Walks Into A Bar  in Austin Woman Magazine, about where to find this season's most festive holiday cocktails.  

A Fabulous Hill Country Winery Experience with Chevrolet Texas

A couple weeks back I posted about my opportunity with Chevrolet Texas, if you need to refresh your memory, you can read the post here.  Allow me to share with you my fabulous experience.  I summoned my good friends, Casey and Scott, to join me in my adventure, say hello to them.

These are my two favorite men in Austin (sorry gents, but these two cook me dinner, feed me chocolate when I'm sad and occasionally let me beat them at Uno).  With a sack of road snacks including Beanitos (these pair fabulously with red wine, by the way) from Whole Foods Market we were off to our first stop, Pilot Knob Vineyard, who just had their grand opening this summer.  Winemaker, Kim McPherson, wowed us with his creation of the 2010 award-winning Viogner.  It won the Gold Medal Award at the 2011 Lone Star International Wine Competition, with reason.

At Pilot Knob they do their tastings a little differently.  In fact, they do everything differently, in a good way.  The tasting room is reminiscent of a French Provincial house. It has an expansive outdoor area with a wrap-around patio equipped with a fire place and comfortable chairs that beg you to sit, sip and stay away. We ordered a crusty loaf of French bread and herbed olive oil.  Here, they give you the remaining bottle of olive oil to enjoy later.

We were prepped and ready to taste some wine.  They put out numbered placemats with coordinating information so you can taste and enjoy at your own pace. 

We tasted the Proprietor's White.  This is a great starting wine for when your guests arrive or when you want a glass right in the moment.  It is crisp and light, the perfect white for Texas' warm summer-like days.  Next up was the star of the show (in my opinion), the 2010 Viogner, mentioned above for its gold medal worthiness.  The third wine we tasted was Casey and Scott's favorite, the Sweet Rosé, which garnered itself a Gold Medal award as well.  My second favorite was the Franco Rojo, a blend of Tempranillo and Merlot.  Texas' climate is conducive to producing excellent Viogner and Tempranillo and the Franco Rojo is a suburb example of this fact. It is aged in steel without any oak lending a smoothness and it has the body and structure of a Pinot Noir.  Lastly, we tried the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in French oak.  It can be enjoyed now or you can hold on to it and let it age.  It had an approachable, almost creamy mouth feel due to the wine making process of malolactic fermentation.  This process lends to reduced acidity, added complexity and a buttery-like taste.  We left with a bottle of Sweet Rosé for Casey and Scott and a bottle of Viogner for me.  Next stop, The Vineyard at Florence just 16 miles away.

When you arrive at The Vineyard at Florence you really feel like you are in Florence, Italy with Italian cyprus trees lining the drive.  The tasting room is housed in a stone structure with Italian-style architecture.  It is, for lack of better words, stunningly beautiful, warm and welcoming as is every staff member we encountered.  Dan Gatlin, winemaker for Inwood Estates, is the the man behind both The Vineyard at Florence label and their second label Bell 'Amore.  We started with the crisp, yet complex and refreshing Aurelia and Aura whites.  Both are Blanc du Bois and have characteristics of a buttery Chardonnay with a bright, golden hue and complex fruit.  The Aura is a reserve and lends a touch more crispness and minerality than the Aurelia, which mimics a traditional Chardonnay.  My personal favorites are from the second label, Bell 'Amore, the Luce in particular.  It is indicative of a traditional Italian Pinot Noir, light in color yet rich in flavor and character with a touch of welcomed acidity and a velvet finish. One word comes to mind, amore!  The second is the Chianti Classico Riserva from Sienna Italy, a private label for the vineyard.  It is a perfect blend of 80% Sangiovese and blending grapes from the Chianti region.  This wine is meant for food and do yourself a favor and save a bit for the end of your meal to enjoy with a bit of chocolate.  For your meal, it pairs well with steak, lamb and strong cheeses. 

Next, we skipped across the property (not literally) to Gatlin's on-site tasting room for Inwood Estates, the original winery and tasting room is in Dallas in the Design District.  Here, at The Vineyard, he has his own outpost for winemaking and tasting.  Pictured above are the 2009 Tempranillo-Cabernet blend, 100% Tempranillo Cornelius, a third that in all honesty I can't remember and lastly what they refer to as the "big boy" the 2006 Magellan, a Bordeaux blend.  Gatlin makes his wines in true old-world style, making great use of Texas' natural limestone in the terroir. I could go on and on, just trust me on this, his wines are fabulous.  Oh yeah, and Katie was a most gracious hostess at the tasting room that day. 

After our dual tasting we enjoyed a most delicious drunch (a very late lunch/early dinner) in the cafe of The Vineyard.  Simple, yet excellently prepared offerings of paninis, soups and salads are available.  We left the winery fully satiated and in a state of bliss.  

Two quick turns and a straight shot down I-35 South and we were back in Austin.  I dropped off my two favorite men and brought home with me, two of my favorite bottles.  The Chianti was for a certain someone special's wine frig and the other I shared the following afternoon with my good friend Katie.  She concurred that the Pilot Knob 2010 Viogner was known other than fabulous.  "I'm not a white wine drinker.  This is fabulous, not too sweet, not too dry, it's the perfect blend."  I couldn't have said it better myself.  Thank you Cherolet Texas, Casey and Scott and the fine folks at both Pilot Knob, Vineyard at Florence and Inwood Estates and oh yeah Whole Foods Market for the road snacks.  My Hill Country experience was fabulous!

A Fabulous Way To Get Involved This Holiday Season

Be fabulous this holiday season and help out the Pink Santa Toy Drive benefitting the children in Bastrop who were affected by the fires earlier this year.  Toy donations are being excepted at the following fabulous locations throughout Austin now through December 10.

Sullivan’s Steakhouse

Sully’s Side Bar

Ten Oak

Imperia

Speakeasy

Kenichi

Frank

Stack Burger Bar

Beso Cantina

Six Lounge

Tap Room

Hangar Lounge

Duo Boutique

Jo's Coffee (2^nd street)

The Common Thread
Unbridaled

Truluck’s (Downtown)
Cantina Laredo
Cultivate PR
Over the Rainbow
Ace Tailors (All four locations)

A Fabulous Adventure Begins

That's my new ride, it got delivered today!  Okay, let me rephrase, that's my new ride for the week, a Chevy Equinox.  I know, I know far from my normal style.  Once again, I have the privilege of participating in yet another really cool event (how do these awesome things keep happening to me?)  Long story short, Chevy Texas selected four area bloggers (yours truly being one of them) to have a Hill Country experience in one of their cars and then let our fabulous readers (like yourselves) know about our Hill Country finds.  They delivered our new set of wheels for the week and commemorated the event with a dinner at Soleil.  Rob Moshein a.k.a. Austin Wine Guy did the honors of selecting a lovely Pinot Gris to accompany dinner, thank you Rob.  Gathered around the table was Beth Stockwell from The Thread Austin, Rob Moshein, mentioned above, Kristi Willis and her guest Jenna Noel from Edible Austin, Heidi with Free Fun in Austin and our lovely hosts Matt and Katrina from Fleishman Hillard.  Even though we have the cars for a week, my Hill Country experience will just be over the weekend so stay tuned here for my fabulous Hill Country finds!

Fabulousness at Foreign & Domestic

I believe that an event that occurs within a month garners a month-long celebration, i.e. the birthday, I start the celebration on August 1.  So, in honor of my month-long celebration of giving thanks, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about the fabulousness of Foreign & Domestic, as if you already didn't know.  This past weekend, I had the privilege of dining there.  Immediately, I spied two features that had earned this fine establishment fabulous status - one being the open kitchen.  I am a big fan of the open kitchen, not just for the cleanliness factor, but because it's as though the chefs are "on stage."  Watching a chef work his culinary expertise is captivating (too bad my dining companion was equally as captivating, if not more so, as I didn't get to fully engage in what was going on in the kitchen).  The second feature is the creative effort made with cocktail creations from a place that serves only beer and wine.  While I didn't indulge, my friend had The Cyclist - Session Lager, preserved lemon and ginger beer.  I was contented with the Francois Montand Brut Blanc de Blanc, a fine selection that paired well with the multi-course feast laid out before us.  Will I be back?  Absolutely!  Maybe next time with a less captivating friend so I can truly focus on Chef Ned Elliot's fabulousness!