March 16, 2009: Food & Wine Blogger Bash
Leave it to a food
writer to throw an amazing party. Addie Broyles - cuisine queen for the Austin American Statesman, hosted the Food &
Wine Blogger Bash on Monday evening at the Whole Foods Culinary
School downtown. Co-sponsored by Whole Foods Market and Go
Texan,
the evening proved to be a writers’ networking paradise.
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Addie enticed chefs Jesse Griffiths from Dia Due Supper Club and Austin culinary star Tyson Cole from Uchi to stage cooking demonstrations, while guests sampled
all the delicious nibbles from the Whole Foods kitchens and
washed it down with Texas wines. Chef Griffiths created
a wonderful Texas pink flounder stuffed with crab, herbs and
grapefruit, explaining how he sources all his ingredients
locally - from produce to seafood.
Sushi expert Chef Tyson
carried on a lively discussion about all things sushi -
including why fresh water fish is never used for sushi (email
me and I’ll tell you why) - and his culinary philosophies, all the while demonstrating a delicious rice
ball stuffed with fresh grilled trout. Cole’s
knowledge of sushi is encyclopedic, and the education was
appreciated by the standing-room-only crowd.
He also let slip that
he’ll soon be opening another Uchi location on North
Lamar between 40th and 43rd Streets. Tentatively called
Uchi Ko - translated “son of Uchi” - the space will
include a much larger bar area - with 50 seats as opposed to
his now 5-seat bar at the South Lamar location - and a
“reservations only” dining room (no waiting!).
He also hinted that
he plans to eventually open a downtown tapas bar, but that is
still a few years in the making. The North Lamar location
should be open by the end of the year.
(Image: Chef Tyson Cole; photo:
dishola.com)