Tribeza Talk July 2017
An Insider’s Guide to Austin’s Hidden Gems
Made with Soul
If you thought popcorn’s flavor appeal was strictly limited to salt and butter, think again. Chicken ‘n waffles, red velvet cake, sweet potato soufflé, and sour dill pickle all get captured in kernel form thanks to Soul Popped Gourmet Popcorn. Soul Popped, which was started by De J Lozada, relies on natural ingredients to lend its flavorful combinations. As popcorn and movies go hand in hand, Soul Popped is on the menu at Alamo Drafthouse Mueller, and it’s available for online orders for at home movie nights.
Sweets on Command
“I grew up baking challah with my mother on Friday afternoons,” Aaron Seriff-Cullick says. This weekly baking ritual gave way to another when Seriff-Cullick got to high school and started a Friday afternoon “cake club” for fellow students. “When I was a kid, the most accessible recipes were always desserts,” Seriff-Cullick says.
As an adult Seriff-Cullick turned this early passion into an on-demand baking business, launching Paper Route Bakery in June 2016. Co-founding with childhood friend Morry Mitrani, Seriff-Cullick turned to using organic and sustainably farmed ingredients. “This is going to sound cheesy, but this is really how it happened. Morry texted me one day and said, ‘I want to do something good for the world, do you want to help?’” That planted the seed for what would become Paper Route. “I have this lifetime of experience of bringing people pastries and seeing them smile, so that is probably the most happiness I can bring to people,” Seriff-Cullick says.
Fine and Dandy
From t-shirts and tote bags bearing the phrase “rosé all day” to the popularity of summertime “frozé” drinks, the pink-hued beverage seems to be having a moment. “It’s been having a long moment in my world,” says winemaker Rae Wilson, noting the rising demand for rosé in the U.S. “Austin is also the largest market for dry rosé in the entire state,” Wilson says. “That was kind of what made me think that Austin was ready for one of its own, a Texas one, that’s made with Austin in mind.”
Working with grape producers in the Hill Country and the Texas high plains, Wilson bottles a traditional Provencal-style dry wine labelled Dandy Rosé. Now in its third vintage, it can be versatilely paired with a variety of dishes, Wilson notes. “Honestly, I live on tacos and almost any kind of taco can go with it.”
Brews and ‘Dos
Going beyond the customary glass of water while you’re at the barber, Birds Barbershop is doing its clientele one better—offering a complementary craft beer with a cut. Partnering with local Independence Brewing Co., Birds will make a can of Austin Amber, Power & Light Pale Ale, or Redbud Berliner Weisse available to over-21 customers after noon each day. Drop in for a trim and enjoy Independence’s World Beer Cup 2016 Gold Award Winner Power & Light, with its Seaholm Power Plant-inspired can in a take-home koozie, on the house.
Brunching Texas-style
What does it take to serve up a proper Texas brunch? A little bit of Whiskey Milk Punch never hurt. Terry Thompson-Anderson shares recipes for brunch drinks, including some with an alcoholic kick, as well as menus for celebratory special occasion brunches in her new cookbook “Breakfast in Texas: Recipes for Elegant Brunches, Down-Home Classics & Local Favorites.” Bottoms up!
Photograph by Sandy Wilson
utpress.utexas.edu/books/thompson-anderson-wilson-breakfast-in-texas
Incredible Edibles
“I had never eaten bugs before,” Ashley Blom says. That was until she started work on her new book “How to Eat a Lobster: And Other Edible Enigmas Explained.” Here Blom explores not only how to ingest insects, but also the proper way to filet a whole fish, open a coconut, carve a chicken, and, perhaps most difficult, eat a pig’s head. “It’s something that’s so cultural, but also so uncommon,” Blom says.
After winning a Twitter contest called “So You Want to Write a Cookbook” in 2013, Blom turned her attention from her Forking Up food blog to penning the text for the creatively illustrated how-to guide. Selected as Oprah Magazine’s “cookbook of the month” in May, “How to Eat a Lobster” lays out simple solutions and etiquette best-practices for complex culinary situations.
quirkbooks.com/book/how-eat-lobster
Read more from the Food Issue | July 2017