The Souvenir Menu: Maggiano’s Domain delight
Although it has only been open in Austin for two months, Maggiano’s Little Italy at the Domain has already become a popular destination for many Italian food lovers in Austin. Established in Chicago in 1991, the brand has grown to 44 restaurants nationwide and even has a franchise location in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Despite the many [...]
The Souvenir Menu: Houston’s, not your ordinary chain
Update: It was recently announced that Houston’s will be renamed Bartlett’s. Franchisee Tim Bartlett’s contract with Hillstone Restaurant Group is up this year and it will now be independently owned. Restaurant snobs will invariable bristle at even the thought of a chain restaurant; but the words “chain restaurant” no longer guarantees frozen cookie cutter food [...]
The Souvenir Menu: Sweet Celebration
For my mother’s 60th birthday, I hedged my bets. I bought several bottles of Champagne for her party, but also brought along several bottles of Moscato d’Asti. Over the years I have received consistently good feedback whenever I’ve served this wine. For orientation, Moscato (Bianco) is the Italian name for the Muscat grape, and Asti [...]
The Souvenir Menu: Spanish Grenache, a good value wine
In December, I was invited to lead a small class on wine for a local women’s organization. Several wines had been donated and I was asked to provide guidance in tasting, as well as general information about the wines and grapes. The plus for me was that I got to talk about wine for hours [...]
