Food-o-File

In keeping with my obsession with gingerbread and my determination to mention it in as many columns as possible, I have to report that the Victorian gingerbread village pictured in the Dec. 22 column (above) was created by Four Seasons Hotel Executive Pastry Chef Judy Marts and her staff and was not on display at the Children's Hospital of Austin. As always, off with our heads, and we regret the error... The waning days of 2006 saw the debut of two new Austin eateries. The long-awaited Woodland (1716 S. Congress, 441-6800) is finally open, and we hear SoCo neighbors are thrilled. Proprietor Michael Terrazas and chef John Wolfe were kind enough to share the menus with me, and many things piqued my interest, especially the affordable prices. It seems the Woodland aims to be the kind of neighborhood place folks could afford to visit regularly. They are currently serving dinner from 5 to 11pm Tuesday through Sunday and will add Saturday and Sunday brunches from 10am to 3pm this weekend. Weekday lunches may not be a possibility due to parking concerns... The Opal Divine's folks sailed into the former Sea Island near Parmer and MoPac during the holidays, and now Opal Divine's Marina (12709 N. MoPac, 733-5353) is up and running. The newest Opal's menu features some grilled seafood items in addition to their established favorites, and their kitchen will serve until 1am, which makes them unique in that particular area... Had a chat with Central Market Cooking School director Kelly Ann Hargrove about her long holiday visit to NYC. She attended several events at the James Beard Foundation House and says the beleaguered culinary organization is making a comeback after the financial mismanagement scandal in 2005. "I did a lot of street-eating while I was there," she reports, "but I had some great meals at new, little up-and-coming places, one called Supper in Alphabet City and a wonderful tiny French place that's just opened up in the meatpacking district." Hargrove also caught a panel discussion on the recent proliferation of culinary memoirs staged at NYU, and she will share the scoop about that discussion with participants who've signed up for this Sunday's Eat the Book class about Bill Buford's Heat.