Sisters Are Cookin’ It for Yourselves

Some idiot somewhere opined that women can never be half the chefs that men are – but let’s never mind whoever that fuckwit might have been. Especially because it’s International Women’s Day here, just like it is everywhere else – thus the “International” part – but, in Austin, it’s also International Day Before SXSW Starts.

The world-class chefs of this year's SouthBites Dinner

And that means, along with everything else, plenty of food events.

And what’s really piqued our taste buds’ interest is the array of stellar female-centric dining opportunities – associated with the festival or otherwise.

Now, we’re not suggesting that, actually, women are twice the chefs that men will ever be – we ain’t trollin’ – but what these gastrosavants are cooking up is, well, you can be the judge of that, hungry citizen. Here’s just some of what’s available:

SXSW’s 2018 SouthBites Dinner boasts a team of Ashley Christensen, Sarah Grueneberg, Alex Raij, Ashleigh Martin, and Christina Tosi collaborating on a five-course, Williams-Sonoma-hosted meal at Olamaie on Monday, March 12 – with Alba Huerta and Carla Rza Betts covering the cocktail and wine pairings. Each of those names sparks a wildfire of culinary desire in our mind’s sensorium; but, tbh, just thinking about whatever Momofuku Milk Bar’s Tosi will conjure sends our imagination into anticipatory Yes, Please, Chef mode.

And maybe it’s because we’re so gung-ho about everything East African right now, thanks to that box-office-demolishing Black Panther movie, but the idea of enjoying head chef Selam Abebe’s excellent Ethiopian fare at Habesha has never resonated this strongly. No better-tasting noms to fuel your exploration of our burgeoning city, we suggest, than a dish of the lady’s buttery & spicy Alicha Siga Wot.

Or perhaps you’re in the mood for something South American? In which case, executive chef Maribel Rivero of the new Yuyo eatery on Manor has your cravings covered like wow. And Kati Grant-Luedecke’s Killa Wasi on Airport is, you may already know, like a bit of Peruvian culinary heaven in a decked-out schoolbus.

Not that what Shalou Barth of Unit-D Pizzeria is offering – the usual panoply of tasty pies, with all manner of specials going on during SXSW – is anything to sneeze at. Especially when, by showing your (age 21 and over) ID with a 78722, 78723, or 78702 ZIP code, you’ll get a free beer, house wine, or featured cocktail with your pizza purchase. Note: That #neighborlove deal is good from March 10-18.