Feel Good Friday 072012

Feel Good Friday is a roundup of the things that made me feel good or that I’m grateful for all week. Join me and leave your Feel Goods in the comments!

• Happy wedding to Scott & Rhianna!
• Got to do almost everything on my ambitious Austin list, including some things not on the list: rock climbing with my baby bro, Barton Springs, and a hilarious dinner party at my parents’ house.
• New opportunities? Big decisions ahead, always exciting/terrifying!
• … last-minute trip to the beach! Toes in the sand. Body in the Pacific. ❤ beach hair.
  
• I’m grateful for my puppy dog and all the friends who help take care of her, run/bike with her, and bring her (and me!) treats.
• Finally made it to Thursday free concert in Snowmass! Also got to scarf Venga Venga’s delicious nachos and mezcal margaritas.

See last week’s Feel Goods here.

CalNaturale Wine

I’ve been exploring wine quite a bit recently (that’s not code for just getting drunk, though it could be), and trying out more of my mom’s fave Cameron Hughes (click here for $25 off your first order), perhaps encouraged by last year’s press trip to Loudoun County, VA with a total wine guru. When I heard about CalNaturale, a California certified organic wine packaged in eco-friendly Tetra Paks, I was more than happy to give it a shot.

Wine in a box is getting a better rep, but like screw-on tops it’ll be quite some time—if ever—for box wine to compete in the classiness category with bottles. That said, you really can’t complain about the portability, ease, and taste of many boxes, and once it’s in a wine glass you wouldn’t know the difference anyway.

At least, my co-testers didn’t. “Wait, this is the box wine? Tastes better than the other one,” said one of the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, which has won six gold medals in wine competitions, including a gold at the 2011 World Value Wine Challenge. The Cab is from French Camp Vineyard in the Paso Robles Appellation. The tasting notes say berries, spicy black currants, and a hint of French oak. My opinion is that it’s full-bodied without being too much.

Chardonnay isn’t really my cup-o-wine, as it were, but the 2009 CalNaturale Chardonnay is a silver medal winner. Tasting notes say it has a hint of vanilla from lightly toasted oak; shows fruit to the end with ripe apples, pear, and a hint of citrus. I taste a refreshing, apple-y white—definitely drinkable. It’s cultivated in Mendocino County.

Both wines are available in 500ML ($6.99) and 1L ($12.99) at HEB, Whole Foods, and other wine and grocery stores. The medals don’t lie … I’d highly recommend the Cab for a value wine (and/or for camping, boating, sporting events, and the like)!

Take Me There: Napa Valley

Despite my love for wine, travel, and the sunshine of California, I have not ever been to Napa Valley. Sad panda.

Just another reason to visit: Austin hotspot and “Best New Restaurant” James Beard Foundation Award nominee La Condesa just opened an outpost (view my coverage of the Austin location’s drinks here and food here). La Condesa Napa Valley, 1320 Main Street, St. Helena (707.967.8111; www.lacondesanapavalley.com) still features the vision of executive chef Rene Ortiz, blending traditional and innovative Mexican, an extensive tequila selection, artisanal cocktail menu, and California-driven wine list.

“The Napa Valley is one of the most beautiful places in the country, and its breadth of produce and ingredients is unparalleled,” says owner Jesse Herman.  “We’re excited to work hand-in-hand with the region’s growers and producers to combine the flavors of the Napa Valley with the spirit of La Condesa.”

La Condesa Napa Valley sources locally whenever possible and Ortiz has designed many new menu items that highlight ingredients from Northern California and Bay Area purveyors. The Napa Valley location also serves favorites from the Austin menu, including Taquitos Arábicos (seared venison, pickled cucumber, chipotle harissa, fennel pollen yogurt and cilantro rolled in a bacon-fat tortilla); Hongo Y Huitlacoche Huaraches (crispy masa flat breads topped with wild mushrooms, huitlacoche, yellow corn, farmer’s cheese, queso chihuahua, epazote and a dash of truffle oil); and Cangrejo Tostadas (lump crab meat, green mango, grapefruit, tomato, chives and chipotle mayo).

Food is cooked over a wood-fired grill imported from Texas to add an essential Lone Star flavor to the menu. La Condesa Napa Valley’s menu of unique cocktails is overseen by the 2011 42Below Cocktail World Cup national champion, Nate Wales but still features faves like El Cubico and all fresh juices.

The interior of an historic building has been retrofitted to reflect the interior, quirky Mexican of the Austin location, including the whimsical art of Ortiz’s brother.

The restaurant is open nightly for dinner, from 5-10p, Sunday through Wednesday and from 5-11p, Thursday through Saturday.  Lunch will be served from 11:30a to 2:30p, Monday through Friday; and brunch service will be available from 10a to 3p on Saturday and Sunday. Take me there!

Take a SXSW Break to Shop for Freewaters

When all the hipsters invade town (I’m looking at you, MUSIC festival), inevitably TOMS take over the streets. What’s more hipster than donating a pair of shoes to a barefoot kid somewhere else in the world while rocking the UGLIEST shoes known to man? (Even the wedges are ugly, and I really, really tried to believe they were cute.) Yes, I like golden sparkles and batik prints too, but the shoe is STILL UGLY.

Anyway, the point of this post was really positive, not to pee in the TOMS cheerios. A new line of sandals is launching called Freewaters, and they’re sassy flips that also donate drinking water for an entire year to someone in need of clean water!

How adorable are these?? The sandals offer a “Fit Perfect Design” to fit the foot instantly (click here for the nerdy details, Interactives). This style is only $36, a solid version is only $26. Cheap for a pair of flips for you and water for someone for a FULL YEAR! Women’s sandals in leather run up to $80; men’s sandals run $26-$100.

Love! … snag some NOW at freewaters.com.

New Celeb Hangout: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Driving down South Lamar the other day, I spotted a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf sign just after the bridge and thought to myself, “Wow, I saw lots of those in L.A. And you always hear about celebrities popping into them. We’re growing up …”

And not two days later, I get a press release on the joint! Here’s the good news: it’s cooler, and Austin-ier, than my initial thoughts would have led you (or me, for that matter) to believe. It’s all local owners, all local bakers, and all Austin-tastic. Here’s what I wrote on it for Glossy’s May issue, and here are some more details:

When the world’s oldest privately held coffee retailer opens for business in mid-June, it’ll offer over 20 varieties of the finest Arabica coffee from specially selected estates around the world. The company also produces over 20 unique, hand-picked, premium whole leaf teas harvested globally from exclusive tea growing estates, including black, oolong and green teas teas. The place is credited with creating the Original Ice-Blended drinks and for popularizing the Chai Latte and Tea Latte drinks in the mid-90s. Austinite Bill Duffy of Lone Star Bean is actually leading the CB&TL charge, saying “As longtime customers of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf during our travels, we are excited to have the opportunity to bring this caliber of coffee and whole leaf tea selections back home to Austin.”

After working with numerous local bakers, the following five top-notch local companies were selected to provide a variety of daily, fresh-baked breads, pastries and assorted dessert items:

• Mary Louise Butters Brownies – OMG these ridiculously decadent brownies–with awesome variations, like Kona Buzz, Stout beer-infused, and Grand Marnier-splashed–have garnered national attention on The Today Show and the Food Network since they were created in 2002.
• Austinuts – Austinuts has been our city’s ubiquitous nut producers since 1993. They specialize in dry roasting the highest quality nuts and seeds from around the world, which are free of added oils, food additives, preservatives or artificial ingredients.
• Bakerman’s Bakery – Owned and operated by award-winning pastry chefs Jeffrey Ontiveros and Hope Arabie, Bakerman’s is one of Austin’s premier bakeries and chocolatiers, offering an inspired selection of cakes, chocolates and pastries, including muffins, scones, cupcakes and cheesecakes.
• Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams – Blogged about here, this amazing cookie company was founded in 2008 by Alexandera Bruskoff, and has the finest quality ingredients. They hand-cut their nuts and chocolate, creating gourmet cookies in an assortment of traditional and unique flavors (hello All-Nighter with espresso and cayenne, I love you) that have been featured nationally on the Rachel Ray show.
• Round Rock Donuts – The iconic Round Rock baker has been making its unmistakable yellow doughnuts since 1926. Made daily from the original founder’s recipe, these yeast, hand-rolled, cut, fried and iced donuts have garnered local and national accolades… I don’t even like donuts and I nibbled this one and couldn’t stop.
  

So, we’ll see if the celebs migrate from Jo’s on SoCo to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, but either way it’ll be a nice addition to the neighborhood. In a city full of creatives and free spirits, we can’t get enough coffeeshops. Construction at the 221 S. Lamar site continues at a rapid pace, with plans in the works for a second location at 38th Street & Lamar to open mid-to-late-summer … that strip of Lamar is just bustlin’! (See: Uchiko) Luckily, I live right there, so I couldn’t be happier.