Food-o-File: Friday Lagniappe

Robert Irvine (courtesy of Dan McLean)

Sometimes there is too much Austin food news to squeeze into the print edition of the Chronicle. Rather than wait a week, we've decided to give our readers a little bite of something extra.

• Peripatetic British celebrity chef Robert Irvine brings his traveling stage show to the Long Center this week. According to the press materials, in Robert Irvine Live! the chef works with no recipes, no script, and no holds barred – sort of a live action version of his former Food Network series, Dinner: Impossible. When we spoke to chef Irvine himself last week, he described the family-friendly show as "a two-hour party for all your senses" that includes live action and video components, challenges from the audience, and "plenty of stupidity at my own expense." Irvine does 50-60 of these shows a year, in between taping episodes of his popular restaurant redemption series Restaurant: Impossible, promoting the Austin-based customer satisfaction survey technology from Humm Systems, and entertaining wounded warriors with actor Gary Sinise as he'll do at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio later in the week. Tickets are available. Wed., June 17, 8pm

• The Daily Meal has published their annual list of the 101 Best Burgers in America and five of the 10 Texas burgers were from Austin: the Congress burger at Second Bar + Kitchen #34; the cheeseburger at Parkside #61; Hut's Favorite at Hut's Hamburgers #74; the double with cheese at P. Terry's #77: and the Classic burger at Hopdoddy Burger Bar #88. My personal fave, the Big Ass bacon cheeseburger at the Roaring Fork didn't make the list, but I still love it.

• Tracy Claros, owner of Austin's award-winning Sticky Toffee Pudding Company, is having quite a run of good luck distributing her products to high profile food service operations. This summer, first class passengers on British Airways flights will enjoy her original Sticky Toffee Pudding while fliers on Virgin Atlantic are getting the Tart Lemon version. And this year, executive box holders at the Quicken Loans Arena and the FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland can enjoy her puddings while they watch the Cavaliers or the Browns play ball. How cool is that?

• Look for both Santa Rita Tex-Mex Cantina (1206 W. 38th and 5900 W. Slaughter) outlets to offer weekly live music on their patios during happy hour. Sundays, June 14-July 5, 6-8pm

• Wedding Oak Winery of San Saba recently brought home 11 medals from the prestigious 32nd annual Lone Star International Wine Competition in Grapevine. Their wins included at Best in Varietal gold medal for the Wedding Oak Sangiovese 2013, plus six silver and four bronze medals. For such a young winery to score these wins speaks well for the attention to terroir and the old world wine making skills of longtime Texas winemaker Penny Adams. Congratulations!

• Chef Josie Paredes has moved La Fantabulous Cabo-Style Taqueria food truck to the Seventh Street Eats (1402 E. Seventh) food trailer park and is serving breakfast and lunch there on weekdays. Meanwhile, she's installed a sibling truck, La Sirena Cabo-Stlye Taqueria, in her former spot at 74 Rainey to feed the hungry bar crowds Wednesday through Sunday evenings.

Pick Your Own Blackberries (courtesy of Backyard Pickins)

• Texas blackberry season is upon us and the folks who run Back Yard Pickins at the Old Thyme Store (2421 Post Oak Rd. in Webberville) want you to know they are open daily with 19 rows of organically grown, well-manicured, thorn-less blackberry bushes just waiting to be picked. Check them out of Facebook and then call 512/299-0882 to make reservations to pick berries.

Springdale Farm (photo by John Anderson)

Here is a list of events in the coming week you won't want to miss:

• The big open house at Make It Sweet (9070 Research Blvd.) this weekend also includes a bake sale by the Capital Confectioners cake club to help finance their annual events such as the Day of Sharing and That Takes the Cake Sugar Art Show & Competition. Fri. & Sat., June 12 & 13, 11am-4pm

• Urban farm supporters encourage you to show your love for Springdale Farm (755 Springdale Rd.) at their farmstand this weekend after the unexpected hit they took from the Planning Commission this week. Sat., June 13, 9am-1pm

• The INK Spring Brunch to benefit ASA at the lovely Hummimgbird House (12805 Arroyo Doble in Manchaca) will feature fabulous food from chefs Allie and Zack Teegardin, bottomless mimosas, a Bloody Mary bar, and fair trade coffee. Get tickets here. Sun., June 14, 11am-3pm

• Be sure to check out the amazing Kitchen Sale hosted by the Austin chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier International with used cookbooks, cookware, linens, china, flatware, gadgets, and more. Texas Farmers' Market at Mueller (4550 Mueller Blvd.) on Sun., June 14, 10am-2pm

• The finale of the CityWide 86'd mystery basket cooking competition between cooks from top Austin restaurants takes place at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center (1900 University Dr.). Tickets are $75. Mon., June 15, 6-9pm

• Celebrate the grand opening of the fourth Medici (1100 S. Lamar) outlet at Lamar Union by attending a screening of A Film About Coffee at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, followed by a panel discussion featuring several local coffee roasters in the new store. Tickets for the film at $10 at any Medici outlet and are good for the screening and a free drink at the post-show party. Tue., June 16, 4:30pm