Prodigious Songcraft Blooms in Sarah Jarosz - The Austin Chronicle

food34A Great Wine forFrench BeginnersThe Languedoc wine region of France is ahuge area, encompassing the Mediterraneanpart of France from the border of Spain allthe way over to Provence. It is currently thesingle largest wine producing area in theworld, and up until the last decade, it routinelyoutproduced all of California – though it’snever had a great reputation because mostof its wine was produced for the cheapest ofgrocery store markets.However, there’s no reason why theLanguedoc can’t make wines that competewith the best in the world. The weather isfairly benign, there are thousands of acresof old vines, and many of the world’s bestwine companies see great possibilities inmaking high-quality Languedoc wines. Forreaders wanting to understand why so manypeople are nuts about French wines, this isa great place to start, since the wines arestill fairly priced.One of the U.S.’s most Francophile wineries,Clos du Val, is investing its resources inLanguedoc’sDomaine de Nizas.The company isproducing six differentwines, all lessthan $20 and allwell worth theprice. The winnerof the bunch for cost/qualityratio is Domaine de NizasRouge ($17). This is an AOCwine, which means it’s one ofthe more tightly regulatedwines of France. In this case, it’smade from 60% Syrah, 35%Mourvèdre, and 5% Grenache Noir, allof which are grown on the winery’s estates.The resulting wine is clearly French in flavor,yet it also has the fruity richness thatCalifornia wine drinkers expect. Enjoy it witha steak, a burger, or any other grilled meat.Domaine de Nizas Rouge is available atCostco’s north store, which is selling the 100or so bottles in stock for just $13, a greatbargain. It’s also available by special order atbetter wine shops.– Wes MarshallwineOF THEweekEvent Menu Jan. 15–20› The outdoor stage at Stubb’s (801 Red River, 480-8341) becomes a venue for Texas celebrity chefswhen the restaurant/music venue hosts the Bad tothe Bone Chef Smackdown to benefit the SustainableFood Center. Chefs David Bull of Bolla at theStoneleigh Hotel in Dallas, Paul Petersen of Rick’sChophouse in McKinney, and Shawn Cirkiel of parksidehere in Austin will create original dishes basedon secret ingredients during televised cooking demonstrations.Tasting samples will be distributed tothe crowd, and the contest winner will be determinedby a panel of local judges and popular vote from thecrowd via text message. A concert from CharangaCakewalk will follow. Tickets are $35 atwww.stubbsaustin.com. Friday, Jan. 15, 6-9:30pm.Gourdough’sPeace Through Pie 36 Restaurant Roulette1219 S. Lamar, www.gourdoughs.comDaily, noon-2am (it’s a trailer; take cash)“Big. Fat. Donuts.” That’s what is promisedon the side of the gleaming Airstreamtrailer that’s home base for Gourdough’s.It’s nestled into a lot on South Lamar thatwas once promised to a condo, just northof the Genie Car Wash, and across fromMaudie’s Too. Owners Ryan Palmerand Paula Samford opened the spotin October, and it’s been kryptonitefor diabetics ever since.A couple dozen options areposted on the menu, and you’reencouraged to create your own fromthe garnishing ingredients listed.Each 5- to 6-inch across doughnut willset you back $3.25 (add a dollar more formeat versions, and yes, there are savoryvarieties with meat). All of the doughnutsare cooked after you order them, so it takesa few minutes, but rest assured, it will befreshly fried, piled high with whatever goodiesyou selected, and warm when it reachesyou. One of these beauties is a meal.It seems like there is one basic batterthat gets slightly modified for several of thevariations. It is cakey or shortcakey, fried up› Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day at acommunity pie social at the historic SweetHome Missionary Baptist Church (1725 W.11th, 472-3621). See complete details onp.34. Saturday, Jan. 16, 2-4pm.› Messina Hof Winery & Resort (800/736-9463, www.messinahof.com) hosts a bridal showto showcase the hotel and restaurant facilitiesat the winery near Bryan. Contact wedding consultantsdirectly at 979/778-9463 x234.Sunday, Jan. 17, 10am-4pm.› Make necessary reservations for healthy living“noncooking” classes to be presented by chefVirginia Morgan of Borboleta Cafe at Casawith a nicely crispy exterior, and a moist,rich, buttery interior (very moist and rich ifyou select one of the options with a fillinginside). All of the flavoring accoutrementsseem to be of a high quality, and thesefolks do not scrimp in the least. You get acalorie bomb that will satisfy any sweetscraving for hours (and hours).We’ve tried the Razzle Dazzle, whichhas a raspberry filling and dense fudgeicing. Raspberry and chocolate? How canthat be wrong? Porkey’s has creamcheese topping with fried Canadian baconand a slightly assertive jalapeño jelly (oryou can sub the spicier habanero jelly).The balance of sweet and savory is a nicetwist. Sometimes you just want simplicity,and the Naughty & Nice fits the bill witha dusting of cinnamon sugar.Like to people-watch? This is a greatplace to eat your doughnut at one of thetables and watch the giggling stoners try todecide what to order. The trailer is openuntil 2am, so the late night crowd is alwaysa hoot. And yes, these doughnuts definitelymake your ass look fat, but who cares?They’re worth every bite.– Mick Vannde Luz (1701 Toomey, Cielo room upstairs).$115 until Jan. 18, $125 Jan. 19-24.Reservations: 828-7404. Sunday, Jan. 24,1:30-5:30pm.› Alamo Drafthouse chefs John Bullington andElijah Horgan square off against parksidechef/owner Shawn Cirkiel in the Alamo IronChef Battle Round VI at the Alamo Ritz(320 E. Sixth). The secret ingredient for thisbattle will be Elia Kazan’s classic film AStreetcar Named Desire. Diners will samplefour courses with wine pairings and decidewhose cuisine reigns supreme. Proceeds benefit6ixth Street Austin. Tickets are $80 atwww.originalalamo.com. Wednesday, Jan. 20, 7pm.JOHN ANDERSONfood-o-fileBY VIRGINIA B . WOODBoth of Austin’s remarkably successfulfarmers’ markets have geographicallysmall but logistically significant movesscheduled in the next few weeks. TheAustin Farmers’ Market (Fourth &Guada lupe, www.austinfarmersmarket.org) willmove from Fourth Street into RepublicSquare Park. Shoppers will be able toenjoy most of the market in the shade orthe interior green space of the park, andthe stage/seated dining area will belocated on a newly constructed woodendeck under the shelter of the historicAuction Oaks. A “Market in the Park”party is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23,to celebrate this weekend’s move.Meanwhile, the Sunset Valley FarmersMarket (www.svfm.org) will be moving fromthe concrete of the Burger Center parkinglot onto a contiguous piece of greenspace that belongs to the city of SunsetValley. Look for this move to take place byearly March. This weekend, customers atboth markets will welcome the long-awaitedreturn of North Central Texas dairymanMark Ganske (formerly Remem ber WhenDairy), who’s now doing business as WayBack When Dairy. Ganske’s exemplarymilk, buttermilk, cream, butter, and yogurtwill be for sale at both markets andWheatsville Co-op beginning this weekendand will re-emerge in the dairy cases oflocal retailers Central Market and WholeFoods Market in the very near future.I’ll be lining up for buttermilk myself…Longtime Austin restaurateur JeffWeinberger and key members of hisstaff have spent the last several monthsdeveloping a sustainable seafood policyfor the Shoreline Grill (98 San Jacinto,477-3300, www.shorelinegrill.com), and nowthe eatery is proud to announce that it’sthe first Texas restaurant to be certifiedas a sustainable seafood provider by theSeafood Watch Restaurant Programoperated by the Monterey Bay Aquariumin Monterey, Calif. This means theShoreline menu will only feature seafoodsourced by “environmentally safe methodsand from areas supporting healthyecosystems.” New Shoreline ExecutiveChef Quinten Frye is busy developingmenu items in keeping with the newguidelines… Olivia (2043 S. Lam ar,804-2700, www.olivia-austin.com) chef/ownerJames Holmes announced this week thatChef de Cuisine Morgan Angelone willbe leaving to take some time off beforepursuing projects of her own and thatchef Andrew Francis co will replace heras chef de cuisine by the end of themonth. Taff Mayberry, most recently ofShoreline, is the new pastry chef… Afteropening Mizu (3001 RR 620 South,263-2801, www.mizuaustin.com) near LakeTravis, chef Chris Bauer is back in DowntownAustin as executive chef at EddieV’s Prime Seafood (301 E. Fifth, 472-1860, www.eddiev.com), where he replacedJ.P. LaCoste, who recently moved on toMax’s Wine Dive (207 San Jacin to,904-0111, www.maxswinedive.com).a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m JANUARY 15, 2010 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 33