Food-o-File
A Bullington baby; Hoover's heads north; plus, more Texas on TV
By Virginia B. Wood, Fri., Oct. 21, 2005
Pumpkin Full o' News
Congratulations to Alamo Drafthouse chef John Bullington and his wife, Molly, on the birth of their son Jack Harlan Bullington (8 lbs., 4 oz.; 211Ú2 inches) on Oct. 4. Blond-haired, blue-eyed Jack arrived just in time to rearrange his dad's busy event schedule for the rest of the month!... First-time restaurateur Leone Becker has bought out partner Debbie Mylius, and the former D&L's Texas Music Cafe is now Beck's on Congress (1321 S. Congress, 445-4441). We hear there are some new menu items to go along with the name change, but the concept of food and live music on the patio is pretty much the same... Driving through SoCo we happened to notice the brightly colored retro metal lawn chairs on the inviting patio at the new Doc's Motorworks Bar & Grill (1123 S. Congress, 448-9181). It's a relief to see some solid, comfortable seating instead of the flimsy resin yard furniture popular on so many local patios... In response to customer demand, the Clay Pit (1601 Guadalupe, 322-5131) is now serving lunch on Saturdays from noon until 3pm. On Saturdays, they offer an expanded lunch buffet, as well as a selection of appetizers and choices from both the lunch and dinner menus... Expansion is really in the air this fall. Three homegrown chains have added links to their popular local operations. Pok-e-Jo's Smokehouse (East 41st and I-35, 302-1200) has added a sixth outlet that just happens to be very convenient to the Chronicle's offices. The 10th Texadelphia (3706 Guadalupe, 420-9901) is serving up their distinctive cheesesteaks in a snazzy new development at the corner of 38th and Guadalupe, very accessible to Hyde Park and the midcity medical complexes. We bet folks in far North Austin are salivating at the thought of having the second Hoover's Cooking (13376 Research Blvd.) location in their neighborhood. Hoover Alexander tells us he'd like to complete renovation of the former Ray's Steakhouse in the Galleria Oaks Shopping Center and be open there by Thanksgiving.
More National Media Attention
Look for Texas Culinary Academy (www.tca.edu) pastry chef instructors Aimee Olson and Bronwen Weber on the Food Network during October in both the Cup Cake and Spooky Cake Challenges... Austin's beloved Soup Peddler David Ansel and his new book, The Soup Peddler's Slow and Difficult Soups (Ten Speed Press, $16.95), are the subject of an article in the November issue of Food & Wine, while sausages from Southside Market in Elgin are touted as a worthwhile choice in this month's Gourmet. And two of our regular Chronicle contributors are hitting wider markets this month, as well. Wes Marshall is spreading the word about Tito's Handmade Vodka in the San Francisco Chronicle, and Claudia Alarcón has edited a companion cookbook to be sold at the annual Blue Star Arts and Eats tasting event in San Antonio on Oct. 20.
Monster Dining
If you and your sweet baboo share a mutual devotion to Halloween celebrations, there's still time to book dinner and a movie reservations for the deliciously scary Monster Feasts at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown (409 Colorado, 476-1320) this month. Fellow mad scientists (chefs) have designed a Franken Feast menu to complement Boris Karloff's classic performance as Dr. Frankenstein, and you can sink your teeth into Dracula's Romanian Feast as Bela Lugosi bares Count Dracula's fangs. Make reservations online at www.originalalamo.com; Frankenstein, 7pm, Sunday, Oct. 23; Dracula, 7pm Sunday, Oct. 30.
Update: Earlier this month, it was reported that a fundraiser for the resurrected Dot's Place would take place on Friday, Oct. 21. The date has been changed to today, Thursday, Oct. 20, 10am at the restaurant (13805 Orchid Ln.).
