Bits and Bites

Happy New Year! I hope everyone's year is off to a good start. I can certainly say mine is, as I got some pretty incredible news on Friday. The Austin Chronicle released their annual Top 10 lists of 2013, and I am humbled and honored to have been named one of Austin's top food bloggers! A sincere THANK YOU to the Chronicle and all of you out there reading my little blog, or following me on Facebook (South Austin Foodie), Twitter (@southatxfoodie), and/or Instagram (@southaustinfoodie). I will continue to offer you my honest opinions of the places I eat, create a few dishes in my own kitchen, and round up the local food scene news here in Bits and Bites!

And now, back to business!

Newsworthy
-- Back in December, the Austin Food and Wine Alliance announced their annual culinary grants. Big congrats to winners Confituras, Blacklands Malt, and Salt + Time!

-- My friends at Austin Bakes raised almost $5000 with their citywide bake sale on November 30th, with proceeds going to the Halloween day flood victims in southeast Austin, via the Austin Disaster Relief Network.

-- Travaasa Austin is hosting Jam + Jive, a two-day culinary weekend with canning and food preservation workshops, January 25 - 26, more info on their website.  Sessions include jam making, bread baking, kim chi fermenting, and citrus preserving, each led by local experts.

-- There's a new culinary product called Gourmet Starter. It's similar to a bouillon cube, but it's got onion, garlic, herbs and spices, and is used as a flavor base. Nothing artificial, and they are based here in Austin. They reached out to me via Facebook, asking if I'd help spread the word; I haven't tried it, but it sounds interesting.

-- Like Meyer lemons? Need suggestions on what to do with them? Check out my friend Girl Gone Grits, as she celebrates all things Meyer with guest posts from local bloggers (ok, slight shameless plug, as I will write a Meyer post too!).

-- Russian House is holding a fusion dinner of Russian dishes with New Orleans flavors, January 27th, $55. Details here.

-- Hops + Grain has just expanded their tap room, adding 80 additional seats; 507 Calles St. at East 2nd.

Openings, etc.
-- East Side King at 2310 South Lamar opened at the end of December.

-- Odd Duck at 1201 South Lamar opened in mid December.

-- Little Barrel and Brown opened at 1716 South Congress (the old Woodland) in December.

-- The 8th  P. Terry's drive-thru burger spot is now open, at 12018 N. Research Blvd.

-- Dolce Neve, an Italian gelateria, opens in my Bouldin Creek neighborhood at 1713 S. First on Friday!

-- G'raj Mahal is in the process of moving from their original trailer to brick and mortar.

-- Amaya's Taco Village will open a second location in Southpark Meadows this spring.

-- St. Philip, a pizzeria/bakery from the folks of Uchi, in the old Cannoli Joe's spot on 290 in Sunset Valley.

-- Mercury Pizza was sold to the owners of 360 Pizza, and rebranding is in process. 2107 Kinney.

-- Wu Chow, a Chinese food concept from the people at Swift's Attic, 500 W. 5th, sometime this summer.

-- Both locations of Lucy's Fried Chicken are now offering Sunday brunch and weekday Blue Plate specials.

Closed
-- The aforementioned Mercury Pizza.

-- Your Mom's Burger at Wm. Cannon and Hwy 290.