Austin Film Festival

If you know me well you know that I would never be considered a film expert or even someone who watches movies often. I grew up in a home where watching anything besides the news was almost illegal. My brother and I would sneak in some quality Jerry Springer before our parents came home and then we were only allowed 1 hour of television which generally consisted of The Simpsons and Home Improvement. When our Dad was out of town I remember going to the video store with my Mom and "sneaking" movie time. Clearly Movies are related more as a guilty pleasure rather than a lifestyle. 

Not surprisingly, I have a dearth of knowledge on anything to do with the film industry. I know when I like a movie, but I probably couldn't tell you all the actors much less who the producer or the writers were. I do however, have y friend, Trever, who knows a lot more that I could ever care to know about films. I only enjoy about 10% of the movies Trever presents me, but that's not surprising since we have two totally different lifestyles. 

The only photo I took... I was watching movies!

When my brother Harlan was offered two producer badges to the Austin Film Festival for Parkside's involvment in the Film and Food Gala he naturally asked his wonderful sister and her movie fanantic friend Trever if they wanted the badges. Little did Harlan know these badges were worth about $700 a piece, because surely he would have tried to sell them. The Producer badge granted priority access to the week of movies, the conference, and of course parties. 


While I didn't partake in the conference nor did I take the week off of from work to spend to go to movies, I did see quite a few unique films and rub shoulders with famous writers and producers at various free parties around Austin. To be honest, I didn't quite know who I was rubbing shoulders seeing that I don't know who famous screenwriters and producers are, much less what they look like. I'm not complaining, because I still go my free drinks and shwag. :-)


The word on the street is the Austin Film Festival is unique because it focuses on the writers. It is also unique because it is in Austin. Luckily, Austin has the wonderful Alamo Drafthouses, an IMAX, the historic Paramount, and numerous other movie watching venues to host dozens of movies throughout the city. While the Austin Film Festival is less glitzy and well known as other film festivals such as Sundance or Cannes it is close to home and suitable to the Austin culture. And for me, it was an affordable fun new experience. I love the fact that I was able to    take part in some of the arts and culture Austin has to offer for free! 


The films I saw: I Love You Philip Morris (feature film), Dog Sweat (documentary), Treme (HBO series premier), Burned: Life in and Out of Texas Youth Prisons (documentary), Paradise Recovered (feature film), Weakness (feature film), and Black Swan (feature film, and my fave!).  

http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/new/mission

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Film_Festival

Love IN Austin!

Besides things I love about Austin, I love that Harlan and Casi are IN Austin so that can be a part of their lives. More specifically I love that I was a part of their recent engagement story. Had you asked me 10 years ago if I was going to be a part of my brother Harlan's proposal or even liked him enough to be around long enough to get to know his girlfriend I would have laughed out loud. Growing up, Harlan and I fought like cats and dogs and got in arguments just so we might get the other person in trouble. Now, we talk daily and I can't remember if we've fought since High School. 

A series of events led Harlan to make the decision to propose to his girlfriend, Casi, this weekend. I guess that's how it normally works out, but Harlan's original plan was foiled due to an unexpectedly discovered email to Casi's mother. While worse things have happened (cause she essentially said yes when she realized what she had stumbled upon), Harlan was incredibly disappointed. I quickly worked to make Harlan feel better about the situation and develop a new and even better scheme. 

Fortunately, there are a lot of wonderful places in Austin to propose, however, it isn't so easy to get a suspecting girlfriend to said places on short notice. Harlan created a convincing email that we sent through my friend Emily's cousin who works in a reasonable position at the Capitol with a logical involvement in "Austin Young Chamber of Commerce", that invited us lovely ladies to Zilker Botanical Gardens on a Saturday evening happy hour. 

Casi recently agreed to be my wing woman as needed so I was able to easily convince her this would be a good opportunity for her to excel in her new position if she were to join me. Harlan and I worked out the exact details as Casi readily agreed to join me at this free happy hour. Not allowing much time for error, I helped Casi get ready. I rushed her along and ensured her wine glass was never empty. Casi was none the wiser to my tricks and went right along with our plan. 

We walked along our path... I urged Casi forward and stopped walking as Harlan came out from nowhere. Their special moment was out of ear shot but it seems the point got across and Harlan snagged himself a fiancé by the end of the conversation. Casi's family and best friend were hidden out of the way and came and joined the couple after the question was... well implied... Harlan forgot to say the words, will you marry me? Good thing she helped him along and asked, "was there something you wanted to ask me?" 

After the pictures were taken, we all went for a wonderful dinner at Parkside, of course. Harlan was able to impress his future in-laws with a superb meal and excellent service. Celebrations lasted well into the night and the happy couple never went without a smile. 

I am thrilled that I have a new future family member and that I was able to be a part of the momentous occasion! I love that family lives in Austin and we were able to pull of a wonderful night. 

http://www.zilkergarden.org/

http://www.parkside-austin.com/

Chef Smackdown @ Stubbs

Whenever I have a chance, I try to peruse the weekly Chronicle for fun upcoming events. Recently, I was skimming through and I spotted the Stubb's Bad to the Bone Celebrity Chef Smackdown featuring: Chef Shawn Cirkiel of Parkside, David Bull of Bolla, and Paul Petersen of Rick's Chophouse.  Sweet, just a couple of months ago my brother, Harlan, became the General Manager of Parkside. Meaning... FREE TICKETS! How did he not tell me about this before? Immediately, I scope out my chances for a set of tickets. Highly unlikely; I was told. Since it never hurts to ask, I persisted that Harlan just check in with Shawn anyway. Lucky me, Shawn's wife decided not to go and 2 extra tickets were to be had! :-)

Naturally, I ask Emily to join me in order to continue our hot streak of adventure together. Free food, live music, and a competition - what's not to love? The event was held outside on the Stubb's outdoor stage. The competition consisted of each Chef pre-selecting a secret ingredient and then incorporating all three ingredients into one fabulous dish. Seeing as the event promised food for each guest, the chefs were able to plan their dish in advance but they were required to make the judges' dishes on stage within 30 minutes. The chosen ingredients consisted of goats milk or cheese, achiote, and tangerine. I never heard of achiote but apparently it is a sauce made of ground annoatto seeds often used in Latin American cuisine. 

Here were their dishes: 

David Bull - Achiote Glazed Salmon with Smoked Bacon Grits, Goat Cheese Crema and Tangerine Spinach Salad

Paul Peterson - Annato Crusted Pork Loin with Goat's Milk Corn Pudding and Achiote Seared Tangerines.

Shawn Cirkiel - Goat Milk Sorbet, Achiote and Tangerine Fritter, Tangerine Salad, Local Orange Blossom Honey. 

Not surprisingly, the dishes were all great; and for both Emily and I our top choices were between the Pork Loin and the Fritter (aka: a donut). Comparing savory and sweet is the epitome of apples and oranges but for us, and the rest of the crowd, Shawn's fritters won by a landslide! 

Afterwards we headed down to Parkside to completely fill our bellies with even more mouthwatering food. An entry for Parkside will have to wait for now, but clearly this was another unforgettable night in Austin!  

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-TX/Stubbs-Bad-to-the-Bone-Chef-Smackdown/227030227315

http://www.stubbsaustin.com/

http://www.parkside-austin.com/