The Austin Times

A Multicultural News Source

A tip about tipping

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Editor's note: Here is an article that we found online. We found it to be helpful and informative. This will help you become a more valuable member of civilization. So we’ve all been there. You were just handed the check at a restaurant and you find yourself having an internal debate on what to tip your waiter. Before you end your night in a blank stare reverting back to your days of calculus and algebra, don’t sweat it. Tipping shouldn’t be this complicated. It doesn’t have to be about … [Read more...]

The Souvenir Menu – Aquarelle

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Over the years, central Austin has had many restaurants situated in vintage houses; Green Pastures, Paggi House, Basil’s, East Side Café, Mars, and Starlight to name a few. Some are still going strong and others are just wonderful old memories.  I’ve always loved these kinds of restaurants. They are usually Chef owned, comfortable and romantic. For the last 10 years, Aquarelle on Rio Grande Street, just north of 6th has been serving classic gourmet French food in a beautiful restaurant that was … [Read more...]

The Souvenir Menu – Thanksgiving Wine

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When it comes to Thanksgiving, I get very nostalgic about food. Nothing I serve comes from trendy food magazines or celebrity chef shows. I don’t like star anise in my cranberries or tarragon on my carrots. I don’t like garlic in my mashed potatoes, and my stuffing is good old-fashioned southern cornbread just like my grandmother used to make. Her stuffing, a particular love of mine, is filled with diced onion, celery, pecans, apple, toasted bread crumbs, poultry seasoning, a lot of turkey stock … [Read more...]

The Souvenir Menu – F&D Foreign and Domestic Food and Drink

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Story has it that the Chefs from Lyon France considered themselves better than the rest because in their estimation, anyone could make great food from the greatest of ingredients while they could make even a pig’s ear taste great. Because of some of his uncommon menu items, and his training under some very great Chefs including Alain Ducasse, I asked F&D Chef Ned Elliott if that was in any way related to the way he approached his menu. To my very pleasant surprise the Lyonnais bias … [Read more...]

The Souvenir Menu – North by Northwest

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Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had about six meals at North by Northwest. I’ve had a couple of brunches, a couple of dinners, one lunch and some drinks and appetizers. This frequency wasn’t due to a lack of creativity; but mainly because the folks here tend to do something a bit uncommon; they manage to do many things well. I’d be the first to admit many of my favorite restaurants in town excel at a narrow range of dishes.  The dishes they do well, I love, and I can be a very devoted; … [Read more...]

Escoffier Culinary Academy launches in Austin

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To be more precise, Michel Escoffier, the great grandson of the revered French Chef Auguste Escoffier, came to Austin earlier this month to a reception celebrating the purchase and planned transformation of the Culinary Academy of Austin by the Triumph Higher Education Group based in Chicago. The acquisition was the second in the U.S. for the company which intends to launch a network of Auguste Escoffier Schools of Culinary Arts. The new schools will provide curriculums developed in … [Read more...]

The Souvenir Menu – Pacific Star

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On the frontage road of US 183, just passed Anderson Mill Road is an odd sight. Tucked away on the right hand side is a building that looks like a small slice of Aransas Pass or Galveston has been transported to Austin. Pacific Star Restaurant and Oyster Bar is a storm weathered looking place surrounded by a deck that looks like it belongs on the gulf coast, complete with large pier columns, boat motors, buoys and thick marine rope. The blue and white color scheme completes the picture. On … [Read more...]

Drink or two a week while pregnant might not harm baby: Study says

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Having one to two drinks a week during pregnancy may not actually harm a developing fetus, new research suggests. Researchers following children up to the age of 5 did not see any increased risk of behavioral or cognitive problems in those whose mothers classified themselves as "light drinkers" compared to mothers who were teetotalers during their pregnancy. However, although the findings may be "reassuring for those who have taken a few drinks during early pregnancy, I would not use … [Read more...]

The Souvenir Menu – Cipollina

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For Clarksville residents in central Austin, great food within walking distance has been the norm for decades. Jeffrey’s, long considered one of the best restaurants in the state has been at 12th and West Lynn since 1975. For Austin Restaurant Week recently I visited Jeffrey’s sister restaurant, Cipollina, about a half a block away. Though this casual Mediterranean styled restaurant has been in business since 1999, some big changes have happened this year. New chef, Daniel Hunt, a … [Read more...]

The Souvenir Menu – Chianti Classico

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Years ago before I had made any real effort to know much about wine, I identified a Chianti in a blind wine tasting game simply because I thought it was awful. There was no pondering the aroma, no washing the wine over the tongue to catch the flavors.  I just said “gosh I hate this…..I think it’s Chianti”. It had a particular roughness that was easy to remember. The problem was that even just 20 years ago, the general quality of Chianti was not very good.  Over the previous decades, primarily … [Read more...]

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