You’ve probably seen them around South Austin – large murals covering sides of buildings depicting Sailor Jerry, his artwork, and bottles of rum. The latest is at the corner of Lamar and Oltorf. So what’s the deal?

It’s Sailor Jerry Day! For those of you who did not know, yes, Sailor Jerry was an actual person: Norman Collins. He was one of the pioneers of modern day tattooing and mentor to several well-known tattoo artists, including Don Ed Hardy, Mike Malone, and Zeke Owen.

Collins was also the inspriation behind the Sailor Jerry rum brand – and if you have ever tried it, you will understand why. It tastes like something an old sailor would create – spicy, a little sweet, potent.

On June 13 & 14, Sailor Jerry rum will play homage to Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins with a series of public screenings of the award-winning documentary, Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry: The Life and Times of Norman Keith Collins, written and directed by Erich Weiss.

Your friendly neighborhood Tasting Buds recently attended a Sailor Jerry event at local hot dog haven, Frank. We were treated to Sailor Jerry cocktails, including the Perfect Storm, which was a very potent, tangy, slightly bitter concoction. After a couple of Storms, I was ready to watch the film and learn more about the man and his art.

Luckily, my tablemate to the right was the director himself, Erich Weiss. He sipped a michelada and gave us the director’s commentary to what he called the “cliff’s notes” version of the documentary. He took us on a journey through Honolulu’s gritty, drunken Chinatown circa the 1960s, introducing us to the main characters that helped shape the world of modern tattooing.

Poutine and Cheese Fries at Frank

Between the on-screen anecdotes of Collins and company, and the litany of well-informed side notes from Weiss, I felt both disquieted and enamored. These figures were irreverent to everything else but their art, and I have to respect that.

Learn more about the world of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins in the full screening of Weiss’s documentary. The screenings will take place at Alamo Drafthouse South and are free for the public, but you must RSVP at http://horismokumovie.com/austin_screening/

Cheers,
Kristina

• Turkey Treats by Kaetlan

As the Tasting Bud who claims not to cook, I surprised everyone last Thanksgiving when I volunteered to bring a side dish to the feast. We were expecting more than 30 family members and friends, so I had to come up with something good. I thought about three of the essential food groups: carbs, cheese, and bacon. You really can’t go wrong with that combination, so I opted to make macaroni and cheese. I can, however, tell you a little about my process.

• Butternut Squash Bake by Kristina

I had never made it before, so I scoured the internet looking for a recipe. I looked at about a million recipes, and in the end, created my own recipe for macaroni & cheese made with four cheeses and topped with bacon. It was a heart-wrenching process, which resulted in one tossed out batch of cheese sauce, two oven burns, and a myriad new phrases comprised of colorful expletives. The dish was a hit, and only a small serving survived the Thanksgiving feeding frenzy.

Before I recount my Thanksgiving Day task, I have to thank my lovely sister-in-law, Sondra, for helping me avoid the grocery store headache altogether. She went ahead and picked up everything I needed while she was purchasing her Thanksgiving Day necessities. And yes, I did reimburse her.

I had never worked with butternut squash before, but luckily, my mom was on hand Wednesday night to help me peel and cube the gourds. The next morning, I looked over the recipe as I drank coffee and thought, “Ok, this is easy. Time for laundry.” I put the squash (tossed in olive oil and lightly salted) to roast in the oven, and then I took a couple of loads of laundry down to the laundry room. This really was a rare exhibit of domesticity on my part. After a quick shower, I checked on my squash, which was happily roasting away.

I prepared the next few steps of the recipe and went back downstairs to put my laundry to dry. When I came back to my kitchen, the squash was ready and it was time to put the whole thing together. The next 20 minutes went by in a blur of scallions, butter, cheese, and bread crumbs.

The completed dish was finally in the oven to finish baking, and I stood back to assess the damage. My tiny apartment kitchen had random bits of parsley scattered about. I had managed to get mascarpone on the stove, floor, and wall. I even found some bread crumbs on the vent hood. I’m not sure how they got there. Oh, and I successfully sliced open a finger while dicing scallions.

• Thanksgiving Feast by Tasting Buds

The result was a tasty dish that did not survive Thanksgiving 2009 – not even a bread crumb – so I would call it a great success. More importantly, I learned a very important lesson: always, always prep before you start cooking. Don’t wait until you need to sauté the scallions before dicing them. Don’t try to chop parsley while you’re trying not to burn butter. And definitely don’t get distracted by an email notification while wielding a very sharp knife.

Will I ever regress back to my bag o’ salad? Maybe someday. In the meantime, I’ve discovered that I actually like cooking, so you may see the occasional recipe posted in the future by this Tasting Bud.

Happy holidays!
Kristina

The Austin Chronicle held a Chrontorage wine tasting event this past week at Twin Liquors in Austin, TX. Of the numerous wines they were sampling, none were worth mentioning. However, a lone bottle sitting behind the tasting counter did catch my attention. Perhaps it was the snow capped mountains (60+ days of 100+ degree heat in Austin, Texas makes snow look very inviting) that made me inquire about it. The always courteous staff at Twin Liquors were happy to open it and pour a taste even though it was not part of the event. And I was very happy that they did!

Random Criteria: None. I sampled it at a wine tasting event.
Wine: 2007 Diseño
Origin: Mendoza province, Argentina
Varietal: Malbec
Price: < $15 (From Twin Liquors)
Notes: This wine is a great representation of the quality and value that can be had from wines from South America. The bouquet (smell) has very deep leather/tobacco/oak undertones that provide an aromatic introduction to the wine. The flavors that immediately hit me when I took my first drink was that of oak. Not in the “I’m chewing on a piece of bark” way, but a deep, rich, full bodied flavor that comes from aging in oak barrels.

Postscript: This wine pared up perfectly with the thick cut ribeye steaks that I grilled for dinner. Meat and Malbec, those Argentinians are on to something.

Salud,
Jon

• Trinchero Cabernet Sauvignon

 For as long as I can remember, I have been more than willing to try any food, and really, any drink, at least once.  After all, isn’t a sense of culinary adventure the key ingredient to being a foodie?  Part of my adventurous nature is inherited from my Mexican lineage – memories of my childhood include pig slaughters, fish frys, and barbacoa for Sunday breakfast.  The other side is continually nurtured by wonderful people I meet along the path of food discovery – a motley crew of cooks, mixologists, and people who just love to eat.  Mollejas (sweetbreads)? Sure. Chicken liver pate? Bring it on. Duck rillette? Um…do you really have to ask?

I first visited Parkside a couple of months ago for my birthday dinner with my brother and sister-in-law.  As we walked into the dining room, I was delighted by the unpretentious atmosphere, the austere, yet beautiful, décor – and the sound of My Morning Jacket floating from the speakers overhead!  We ordered a Trinchero Cabernet and excitedly discussed what we would each order and what we would share.

We started with the Blond Pate served with finely diced strawberries and crostinis.  For some, the taste of chicken liver might be more of an acquired taste than duck liver, but the smooth texture and liver flavor was fantastic when paired with the sweet strawberries and light, crispy crostinis.  Next up was the sliced veal tongue topped with perfectly breaded, fried sweetbreads.  I only have one word to sum up this dish: EXCELLENT.

As the three of us were fighting over the last nugget of sweetbread, the very gracious manager brought us a plate of fritters to apologize for the long wait for our meal.  We actually hadn’t noticed, as our attention was consumed by wine, food, and conversation.  The crab meat and puff dough fritters served with fresh herbs were crispy on the outside, flavorful and airy on the inside.

The final two plates we shared before our entrees included a butter lettuce salad served with thick, fatty cubes of bacon, which provided a nice contrast to the sweet and creamy lettuce.  We also got a taste of the raw bar: delicate slices of bass topped with lime and jalapeno served over fresh avocado slices. The light and savory dish made me want to come back just for the raw bar.

Our entrees were delivered soon after ordering our second bottle of wine, and I had the scallops with porcini mushrooms and potato risotto.  After having disappointing scallop dishes at other restaurants, I was impressed by these perfectly prepared scallops, which retained their full flavor and delicate texture.  We also ordered several sides to be shared by all of us.  The ratatouille was perfectly seasoned and garlicky, with the fresh flavor of each vegetable in each bite.  The white mac & cheese with gruyere and white cheddar and the lightly breaded fried okra with ranch dip were fantastic takes on some of my favorite comfort food.

After a couple of hours, we left Parkside full and happy – a great meal to celebrate the start of my new year.

We returned to Parkside with a few friends a couple of weeks ago and ordered a variety of starters for the table.  To our disappointment, some of the dishes we loved the first time were just mediocre this time.  The biggest inconsistency was in the ratatouille, which was simply not as flavorful, and we could tell by the cut of the vegetables that it was prepared by a different cook. The service was equally inconsistent, which could be attributed to a busy Saturday night, whereas our first time at Parkside was on a not so busy Tuesday night.

Despite our somewhat disappointing last trip, I will definitely return to Parkside soon to delve into the raw bar and to try the seasonal items Chef Shawn Cirkel will add to his already fabulous menu.

Cheers!
Kristina

Because we wish to respect the intellectual property of others, Foodingblog has now changed its name to TastingBuds, because that is what we are – a bunch of friends who love food and tasting all the world has to offer.

While we are sad to see the old name go, we love the new name because it better describes who we are and what we are all about (several of our Twitter followers have already commented that they like the new name too). Speaking of which, our Twitter address has changed too – we are now http://www.twitter.com/tastingbuds

If you liked our old blog, don’t worry – you will still have access to all of the great posts that were here before thanks to our techies Jon and Peter. We also have tons of new content planned for the next few months, so be on the lookout for more.

Thanks, we look forward to sharing more posts and making more friends in the food community!

Happy Tasting,
Peter

Ok, I admit it.  I am a geek.  This fact is evidenced by, but not limited to, the following: I love to watch British Sci-Fi shows like Dr. Who and Torchwood; I recently purchased the original Star Wars soundtrack – on vinyl; I think Joss Whedon is brilliant; and I really wish I had tickets to Comic-Con last weekend. 

My geekiness extends, of course, to my choice in novels, with authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Douglas Adams, and J.K. Rowling occupying prominent places on my bookshelf.  Naturally, I have eagerly awaited the movie version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince pretty much since the book was published.  Having re-read Half-Blood Prince, the story was fresh in my mind, and I was ready to see these beloved characters on screen.  My plan was to see the film in its opening week at Alamo Drafthouse, because – as I’ve mentioned many times before – a pint of beer makes everything better.

I missed the infamous Hobbit Feast which accompanied the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I was more than thrilled to find out about the Hogwarts Academy Feast to be presented with the screening of Half-Blood Prince.  The five course meal was inspired by the start of term feast enjoyed by Hogwarts students at the beginning of each book.

While I adore Alamo Drafthouse for their admirable beer list and usual fare, I was slightly apprehensive when I saw the menu for the Feast.  I was unsure how a kitchen which always produces such great pizza and fries would handle a terrine.  After a gracious welcome from Chef John Bullington, the room turned dark and our first course arrived.

Course 1:  Chilled Leek Soup paired with Wychwood WychCraft Blonde Beer
Although I am not a fan of chilled soups, the leek soup had a nice flavor and smooth texture.  The winning element of this course, however, was the fantastic WychCraft Blonde beer from the English brewery, Wychwood.  The pale golden blonde, with its fresh citrus aroma and light hop flavor, is my new favorite summer beer.

Course 2:  Cauliflower & Carrot Terrine paired with Fuller’s London Pride Ale
A good terrine, vegetable or meat, can showcase some very complex flavors, and is a welcome addition to any meal.  Unfortunately, the flavors in cauliflower and carrot terrine were overpowered by the mustard vinaigrette.  The vinaigrette was so strong that I could smell the vinegar as the servers walked down the aisles with the dish.  Again, the winning element of this course was the beer accompaniment.

Course 3:  Scallop-Mushroom Pie paired with Step Rd. Black Wing Chardonnay, Barossa
I was pretty excited about this dish after Chef John mentioned the mushrooms: morels and chanterelles.  Because we rarely, if ever, come across fresh morels in Texas, I assumed the chef used dried ones.  They were small but good and complemented the chanterelles nicely.  This dish was a different take on the traditional shepherd’s pie, made with scallops instead of lamb, and topped with mashed potatoes.  Despite the slightly gritty scallops, it was my overall favorite course of the evening.  The wine pairing, however, was less than desirable.  The chardonnay, with its buttery peach and melon tones, was too heavy for a dish with delicate flavors.

Course 4:  Roast Pheasant Supreme paired with Campion Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
The main course held two big highlights for me: the bacon and the wine pairing.  The tender and flavorful roast pheasant was wrapped in bacon, which came from local farmer’s market pork bellies and then cured in-house by Chef John.  It was perfect.  The buttery potato-stilton gratin and savory Cumberland sauce added excellent contrasting flavors.  The other highlight of this course was the Campion Pinot Noir, which perfectly complement the wide range of flavors offered in this dish.  My favorite pinots hail from the Carneros region in California’s North Coast, and this one is at the top of my list.

Course 5:  Bramble-Berry Pudding paired with LoDuca Lambrusco
By the time we got to the last course, I was pretty full, but I’m a big sucker for dessert.  I had never tried an English pudding – which, depending on where you are, could be a variety of different desserts.  This one was stuffed with several types of berries and served with a lavender cream, and it was perfect end to a long, delicious meal.  Although I am not a fan of sweet wines, this lambrusco paired well with the fruity dessert.

The movie itself was great, but I’ll leave the review to the movie critics.  I go to Alamo Drafthouse for the full experience: the funny pre-show entertainment, beer from a local brewery, sharing a big basket of fries with my companions, and of course, a great movie.  Eating in the dark is not a small feat, but I highly recommend the Drafthouse next time you are looking for more than just a night out at the movies.

- Kristina