Foodzilla

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Hey, nice to meat y’all! We are soup-er ha-pea to introduce you to our foodie magazine! We hope you enjoy the first and only edition of Foodzilla and that it suits your appetite. Lettuce dive into un-charded territory and explore our grate feature stories. You will olive our magazine and leave wonton more when you read about the importance of advertising and discover how artists trick our minds with a-maize-ing food tricks. Wheat till you get a loaf of how food trucks survive and thrive in the Austin community. And reading about the unique blends of restaurant cuisine will give you a raisin to be adventurous with your food choices. Last but not yeast, you’ll gain a new pear-spective naan your favorite restaurants when you hear what it takes to run and manage a business in Austin. Our sauces say it’s not an easy thing to do especially for up to 150 years.

The making of this magazine was also not an easy thing to do. We’d be lying if we said we were productive all of the thyme, but we’ve bean working hard to ketchup and deliver a beet-iful food magazine. We cannoli hope y’all will appreciate what we have poured into our stories. Our goal was to inspire and tea-ch others about the inner workings of restaurants. Our team is particularly proud of how much we’ve learned along the way and how we’ve im-proved our knowledge of teamwork and graphic designing. We are berry a-peach-iative of the friend-chips we made along the way.

Ok that’s enough, let’s call it a wrap. If you want to digest s’more great writing just take a look inside. Donut wok away just because of our corny puns, but read on and enjoy our eggs-cellent magazine.

Sin-celery,

MEET THE

Aurelia Byman is a kind and creative ninth grader at LASA High School. She enjoys baking, cooking, and mountain biking with her family. Aurelia is also very passionate about swimming and is on the LASA swim team. An interesting fact about her is that she makes her own clothes. Currently, Aurelia is unsure of what she would like to do after graduation, but she is the type of person to take the initiative with her ideas. For this Ezine, she wants to write about advertisements in the food industry and how small businesses use them to influence the public.

Esther is a freshman clarinetist at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. She enjoys creating art and crocheting in her free time. She doesn’t know what she wants to do after she graduates but is optimistic about the future. For her feature story, she has written an article on foods from unique cultures and the historical background of these cultures in Austin. A fun fact about her is that she is double-jointed in her elbow. She is very thankful to have been able to work with a wonderful group of people to create this magazine.

THE EDITORS

Jaiden is on the freshman basketball team for LASA. In his free time, he plays games and practices basketball with his friends. His favorite class at LASA is Ezine, where he is writing a feature story on food trucks. He comes from Paragon Prep, a small middle school, but has already made some new friends at LASA. He wants to take some organic chemistry classes at LASA in his junior and senior years since he is interested in pursuing biology in college and beyond.

Jack Cecil is a LASA ninth grader in marching band. He enjoys playing music as well as running and weightlifting. He likes math because his friends are in the class with him. Jack is writing about the history of old restaurants in Austin for his Ezine article. Jack has American heritage from his father’s side and British and Burmese heritage from his mother’s side. After he graduates high school, he wants to either go straight to college or become a military officer before going to college.

Front and back cover designs by Aurelia Byman

Inside cover designs by Jaiden Choksi

Letter from the editors, meet the editors, and table of contents designs by Esther Kwan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mind Tricks Sucess Story

Advertising in the Austin Restaurant Scene

Timeline of Austin Restaurants

In the Austin Resturant Scene Advertising

By Aurelia Byman

AAdvertising is a gamble in the success of a business. It can make or break a restaurant depending on how it’s used.

It’s such a huge deal in Aus-

tin, especially the culinary world. Advertising and marketing continues to evolve in different ways for each restaurant. Whether it’s a small business supported by the community or a premium fine dining restaurant, marketing is still a crucial

factor for success. Some may recruit the help of a company to plan their brand while others might take it into their own hands. David Wyatt founded Wyatt Brand, an advertising company to help restaurants make a name

By Nathan Byman

Local fish mural painted on neighborhood garage.

for themselves. Having worked with Google, FC, LBJ Library, Eldorado Cafe, and more, he agreed to help his close friends Joe and Joel Fried with the grand opening of their restaurant, Eldorado Cafe.

“We knew we wanted a different kind of restaurant with Eldorado, more community and neighborhood oriented,” Wyatt said.

Instead of standing out from the competition, they wanted a stable restaurant surrounded by a loyal community.

“We wanted a homage to old school Austin,” Joe said, “our big goal was to represent a time in Austin that was slowly slipping away.”

Every restaurant has a different approach and must weigh out priorities to the success of the restaurant.

But while some stick

to the past, others look toward the

future. Austin has historically had a good balance of tradition and growth, but in the last 15 years the culinary growth has been exponential, explained Phil Brown, co-owner of Vince Young Steakhouse. “When we first opened up in Austin we we were still kind of behind on

the culinary scene, compared to major cities like Houston, Dallas, New York and L.A,” Brown said, “but Austin’s caught up very quickly, and maybe even surpassed a lot of those places.”

“I mean, now there is just so much going on in Austin, what with the sheer amount of restaurants, music festivals, and store openings.”

The intials of Joe and Joel are hidden within a pillir in Eldorado Cafe.

Photo by Aurelia Byman

Eldorado employees rush around to satisfy hungry customers

By Aurelia Byman

Restaurants and other businesses have to find a way to keep up and stay afloat in the flood of new things popping up.

“It’s all about the newest, flashiest restaurant with which chef and which cool buildings,” Wyatt said.

As Austin grows, so does the competition, and strategies may have worked once may not be the solution

“It’s been very competitive, especially in the steakhouse genre,” Brown said. “As you’re coming through the

sur-

survival as a small business in Austin. Many restaurants choose to focus on creating a good reputation with loyal customers.

the

perfect community through supporting schools, sports teams, and Austin-area events.

And “we don’t fit in some places, because we’re not fine dining,” said Joe, “but we sort of get into our niches and stay there.”

As restaurant owners, Joe and Joael said they intended to “not to be the kind of place you would go to once and take a photo or go on a special occasion, but somewhere people want to come back weekly with families and where young people would come and spend time.”

Owners often recruit adver

“It’s really about the quality of the work, you’re not controlling how much water comes out, you’re just controlling how powerful it is.” - David Wyatt, owner of Wyatt Brand

Eldorado Cafe has attrached many customers wiht their colorful sign.

Photo by Aurelia Byman

The cafe has an array of free merch for the taking.

Photo by Aurelia Byman

make enough money for a living and to keep people employed … so they don’t have much left over for advertising.”

“People tend to think of advertising as icing on the cake, like that’s nice if you have time, but it is actually a core operational piece that enhances your value.”

The Eldorado owners Joel and Joe discussed recruiting the help of an advertising agency that was more professional than their work with Wyatt, but they decided not to collaberate with a third party.

“I think it’s less important for smaller restaurants that are looking to build trust than to keep up with the growth of more competitive restaurants,” said David.

Building trust and a good working environment is important to the success of a restaurant, as well as any workplace. “My favorite clients are ones with whom I can have a close partnership and work with them,” said David. “If you’re working with someone like Google or Austin FC you’re just kind of affecting a very,

very small part of their corporate plan,” said David. “So I like working with people where I can help them succeed and get involved.”

There’s a lot that agencies can help with to ensure success. “Generally you want to start about three months before your launch, so there’s time to come up with a plan, understand what their values are, gather materials, graphics, press releases, and social posts,” said David.

But once all that’s done, it’s up to how the restaurant is received by the public.

“A lot of what we do in marketing is sort of take the end of a hose and put your thumb over it so you’re sort of spraying it out,” said David. “

It’s really about the quality of the work, you’re not controlling how much water comes out, you’re just controlling how powerful it is.”

David Wyatt demostrates on of his hoddies.

Photo curtesy of David Wyatt

Cheery employees greet incoming customers.

Photo by Aurelia Byman

Different From The Herd

All restaurants have a target audience to get different outcomes with their crowd. And at Vince Young Steakhouse, they used marketing to ensure they’re getting the type of business they want.

“Our target demographic is the older generation, the baby boomers, and people 40+, because we’re not a cheap restaurant,” said Phil. Steak houses are generally more of the expensive side because of the type of food they’re serving. Steak has attracted a certain demographic for forever.

“It became an issue upon opening with an athlete’s name on the restaurant and people thinking it’s a sports bar … not some nice high end steakhouse, especially for the female crowd ... so that’s why we switched from radio to TV, because TV allowed us to showcase the restaurants and gave people a visual representation of what we actually are.”

Tv commercials are a very common type of advertising because tv is quickly surpassing radio in the media industry. It shows people something they can see and believe in.

“Showing people who you are as a restaurant is very im-

portant to gaining followers and some ways to do that are to support causes like animal rescue and voting, registration, and donating blood that people care about,” said David.

“You can make a bunch of claims to a target audience like we’re the best or the coolest, or you can just show them what you’re about and I think that speaks volume to an audience and gives them something to remember.”

Advertising can help bring customers into a restaurant, but the experience people have inside makes them want to come back.

“We try to have that interaction with our guests and call backs to our guests and thank them for coming,“ said Phil. “I really think that the number one form of advertising is always going to be word of mouth. “If people have a bad experience, they’re gonna tell 10 people, if it’s a great experience, they’re going to tell 4 people, so you want to limit those bad experiences. Physical interaction with customers is a factor in advertising that many restaurants do not act on.

“I think people appreciate when they’re talking to the owner of a business rather than just a manager,” said Brown.

There are so many types of advertising, and whether through social media, customer interaction, or flashy billboards, it is a crucial part of any successful business. Austin has seen such a growth of new and old restaurants as well as old and new tactics used. Marketing will always keep evolving with the times, and restaurants will always use it to their advantage.

“You will still have to have a moderate restaurant if you don’t advertise, but they both complement each other. You can’t have one without the other and you need both to be successful,” said Brown.

Cows in a line.

Photo by Aurelia Byman

Phil Brown (hat) interacts with employees to ensure sucess.

Photo by Aurelia Byman

“Late To Bed Early To Rise Work Like Hell And Advertise”

Long horn statue greets guests in the entrance of Vince Young Steak House.

by Aurelia Byman

Photo

The full basket of fries in a common misconception in fast food resturants. Each photo has the same amount of fries, but advertisements fool you by using a couple clever tricks. They stack the bottom of the box with styrofoam and stick tooth picks in it with fries on top to make they stand up and give it a fuller affect.

The edible whipped cream on the left deflates within seconds, while the harmeful shaving cream to the right can withstand hours. Making it the perfect trick for advertisers that gives them more time to shoot.

Both bowls have the same amount of soup and the same toppings. However, one has a secret trick. Advertisers stack a smaller bowl underneath to give the idea of a fuller bowl and keep the topping from sinking. Both bowls were left alone for a few minutes and the leaves in picture left were enveloped on soup while the leaves to the right are pristine.

Photos and Graphics by Aurelia Byman

SuccessStory

By Jack Cecil

AHistoryofResturauntsinAustin

Ever since Austin was founded, one commodity has been needed the most: food. Restaurants have been the mixing ground for Austin culture, and many restaurants have found major success in the capital city of Texas.

In 1866, a man named August Scholz set out to create his livelihood after multiple wars and a dark time in Texas history. Over 150 years later, Scholz Garten, a sports bar, has become a center of German Culture and proof that a successful restaurant can last centuries right here in Austin, Texas.

David Hale has been a manager for over 7 years at Scholz. As one of the most successful restaurants in Austin, I asked him how they succeeded in pulling in so much popularity for such a long time. While many restaurants in Austin have tightly competed with Scholz, no restaurant has maintained and held so much influence over Austin Culture as the sports bar.

David Hale attributes Scholz

Garten’s success to innovation from their culinary team and the Executive Chef, Steven Nelson. “Scholz’s menu has moved away from the basic foods of the 20th century and has ended up leaning toward more meals you can appreciate while watching a game.” Sports and food may have undoubtedly been one of the aspects that have kept Scholz as one of the top competitors in the Austin restaurant industry while allowing it to still keep its German-American roots.

Another reason why Scholz has been so successful is because of its sports culture. Sports bars have had a significant impact on the restaurant industry, pulling in large profit margins. Binwise reports that while general bars and restaurants pull in 25-70 profit margins, sports bars tend to average 70-80% profit margins annually.

Scholz Garten has gone through Austin’s history as a hub of German culture and The University of Texas’s

football scene and is currently on the National Register for Historic places.

“There isn’t any other venue in Austin that offers a more lively introduction to the College Football experience”.

Higher north up on Lamar sits a former site of an important part of Austin restaurant culture, the old Threadgills. Starting in the 30s, Kenneth Threadgill obtained his first beer license and set up a popular spot for musicians to pass through looking for drinks. I interviewed a former employee of Threadgills, Cindy Beck, who worked at Threadgills for 2 years.

Threadgills may not have had the most success after its closing in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, but it left a huge legacy on Austin. “From the 1930s to the restaurant’s closing years, musicians would come and go from Threadgills.”. The original owner, Mr. Threadgill, maintained a reputation among musical

artists coming through the area and would give them drinks in between performances. During her time there, Beck noticed, “At Threadgills, people of all personalities worked and visited, and there was a gathering place for many to mingle or simply listen to music.” Throughout its history, the restaurant has always maintained a welcoming atmosphere while also keeping things “weird.”

Threadgills suffered some financial hardships in 1977 when it was nearly destroyed before being purchased by Eddie Wilson. He kept it running until 2020 while welcoming much more musical talent to frequent the spot.

Wilson’s ownership was a “story of determination.” The restaurant burned down twice and was still kept in business, and Wilson spent most of his life as the caretaker of the spot.

Dan’s hamburgers has been a staple in Austin, Texas since the 1960s. Founded by Dan himself, the burger joint has been serving up delicious burgers and fries to satisfied customers for over 50 years.

laid-back vibe. The restaurant has a retro feel, with vintage posters and old-school soda machines Despite the rise of chain restaurants and fast food options in Austin, Dan’s has stood the test of time. It has become a beloved institution in the city known for its delicious burgers and nostalgic atmosphere.

three such establishments that have achieved financial success through their dedication to high-quality food and strong business strategies

“Scholz’s menu has moved away from the basic foods of the 20th century and has ended up leaning toward more meals you can appreciate while watching a game.” Steven Nelson, owner

Located on the bustling corner of 6th and Congress, Dan’s has become a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. The burgers are made with fresh, high-quality beef and topped with all the classicslettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and their signature “special sauce”. The fries are crispy and perfectly seasoned and their milkshakes are thick and creamy.

But it’s not just the food that keeps customers coming back to Dan’s. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with friendly staff and a

Over the years, Dan’s has remained true to its roots. The menu has stayed largely the same, with a few new additions like chicken sandwiches and salads, But the core offering-the burgers and fries remains the same as when the restaurant first opened its doors in the 1960s.

Dan’s s success is a testament to the power of quality and consistency. For over 50 years, they have been serving up delicious burgers and fries, and their loyal customers keep coming back for more. It’s no wonder that Dan’s has become an important part of Austin culture,

Austin is home to several iconic restaurants that have become beloved institutions in the local culinary scene. Dans Hamburgers, Threadgill’s, and Scholz Garten are

Scholz Garten is a German-style beer garden and restaurant that has been a popular spot for locals and tourists alike since it was founded in 1866. With a menu featuring classic German dishes like schnitzel and bratwurst, as well as a wide selection of imported beers, Scholz Garten has achieved financial success by consistently offering high-quality food and drink to its customers. “We’ve built a strong brand by consistently delivering great food and drink to our customers,” said Nelson “It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s paid off in terms of financial success

Threadgill’s has become a beloved fixture in the city, with a menu featuring everything from fried chicken and mashed potatoes to shrimp and grits. Threadgill’s financial success can be attributed to its dedication to offering.

According to austintexas.org, one of the largest industries in Austin is the hospitality industry.

DoyouKnow?

HISTORY OF AUSTIN

Austin has always been home to a 1839 and the American Civil War, provide Austinites with food and drink. the resturaunts from the previous Texas History that passed on these

Scholz Garten is Founded 1866

Texas Constituitional Convention 1875

Scholz becomes a major sports viewing venue as texas becomes a lead state in football viewership 1893

The Austin Saengurrunde Club purchases Scholz 1908

World War I 1914-1918

Austin, circa 1930

Founding of Threadgills 1933

American Civil War 1861-1865

World War II 1939-1945

Images Couresy of scholzgarten.com and austintexas.gov

Scholz Garten, 1866

AUSTIN RESTURAUNTS

a large resturaunt industry. After many establisments were set up to drink. The timeline below follows story and shows all the events in these resturaunts’ success story.

Rise of Rock Music

DoyouKnow?

Austin originally had a population of 856 residents, but over 150 years has grown to a population of 946,000, according to the 2020 census. That’s a lot of different peopleand tastes to feed!

Austin in the 21st Century Postcard of Scholz Garten, 1966 First Rock songs circa 1950

Old Threadgills burn down 1977

Austin Experiences massive surge in population and economy

Frans Hamburgers closes down 2013

Threadgills closes 2020

Jack Cecil

Culinary Cultivations

Experiencing global cuisines in Austin

By Esther Kwan

A prism held to the light reveals the true unison of colors within. Similarly, gazing into a kaleidoscope of the food culture in Austin unveils layers upon layers of rich history and cultural diversity.

Austin’s skyrocketing population has led to an ever-evolving food industry. With a current population of almost one million residents, Austin has grown by around 30% in the last three decades, with 18% of the current population being immigrants. This makes Austin a city with more immigrants than the national average, especially people with Hispanic roots. These immigrants bring their unique traditions and cultures from around the world to Austin, notably through food.

The numerous economic opportunities are a major pull factor that entices people to move to Austin. Many people are searching for employment, but some take it one step further to become an entrepreneur.

Thaison Nguyen has been the owner of Pho Thaison since 2012. After his parents immigrated from Vietnam to the United States, they started a franchise in 1994 before opening

Pho Thaison in 1999.

“They came here as immigrants after the Vietnam War, and they wanted to create their own business and work for themselves,” said Nguyen. “They were one of the first Vietnamese restaurants in Austin.”

Pho Thaison wasn’t the only restaurant that opened in the early 2000s by immigrants wanting to share food from their culture.

“[Tinku Saini and Rajina Pradhan] opened it back in 2009, and it was just an idea that they came up with,” said Isidro Vences, a shift leader who has been with Tarka Indian Kitchen for three years. “They’ve always been so invested in food and the food industry, and they wanted a small, fast food Indian place for Austin because Austin didn’t really have that much Indian food.”

The diverse food culture is constantly adapting, particularly in the many familyowned restaurants in Austin. The increase in people immigrating to the United States brings a variety of new customs and traditions from around the world.

“Austin’s food scene is, to me, very interesting,” said Nguyen. “In the sense that a lot of my favorite places that I’ve come to enjoy eating at are typically food trucks or smaller mom-and-pop shops. There’s more niche, or love, of the food

Isidro (purple shirt) grabs dishes from the kitchen to serve to customers at Tarka Indian Kitchen.

Photo by Esther Kwan.

Garlic naan, chicken kebobs, chicken biryani, vindaloo curry, and strawberry and mango lassis at Tarka Indian Kitchen. Photo by Esther Kwan.

The L.A. Roll at Pho Thaison is a California Roll topped with bright orange capelin roe, also known as masago. Photo by Esther Kwan.

put into it. It seems more personal, and there’s a lot more thought put into the food.”

As Austin has continued to expand and further industrialize over the years, there has been an influx of chain restaurants. Running a restaurant has become more challenging for small business owners because of the increase in living costs.

“The food scene in Austin has definitely changed, and it’s just so many more places open now that they’re owned by large restaurant groups where there’s investment companies that own restaurants rather than individual owners and whatnot,” said Nguyen. “There’s so many factors that go into it like the food costs have gone up, just because gas prices have gone up since Covid and supply chains; there’s a lot of stuff that just went up in price and just never went back down. Then there’s the cost of living in Austin is so high now that to offer employees a liveable wage, you have to increase their wages so they can make more money to actually afford to live in Austin, so that goes into the cost as well.” Owning a restaurant comes with a lot of trial and error. By learning from the surrounding

environment and other people’s experiences, businesses are able to grow and improve.

Tony Galindo’s family has been in the restaurant business for four generations. His grandfather began cooking in Austin in 1910 after moving from Mexico, which led to him and his father becoming involved in the restaurant industry. Galindo and his family owned a food truck named Mellizoz for ten years before his daughter opened Cruzteca Mexican Kitchen.

“The trailer business was mostly tourists,” said Galindo. “We had to put it on hold, and four years ago was when Cruzteca was started. As soon as it started, the pandemic hit also, so for the first two years, it was a little struggle, but we survived, and it keeps growing. And we’ve had tremendous growth, and we feel it’s going to grow even more.”

The pandemic brought its fair share of challenges to restaurants, especially limitations to how many people were allowed to be working at once. Tons of people lost their jobs or decided to quit working in the food service industry.

“From when Covid started, we had cashiers placed in some other locations because some people couldn’t come in here,” said Vences. “There would be times when there would be one cashier here, and now we’re fully staffed, so it’s been really changing.”

Not only did staffing pose a problem, but the lack of resources contributed to growing concerns for people. Countless restaurants had to permanently close or change the ways they were serving people in order to prioritize health and safety.

“When the pandemic hit, we had to transition to a business model with more to-go orders, which we

were used to because we had the trailer,” said Galindo. “So when the pandemic hit, we weren’t just selling the food; we were selling eggs, vegetables, fruits, even toilet paper. The lines were long at the grocery stores, so it’s been challenging, but it’s been interesting, and I think that we’re going to keep growing.”

With his deep family roots in Austin’s food industry, Galindo has learned quite a bit about how the industry has adapted since his grandfather moved from Mexico. There have been all sorts of different challenges that have presented themselves.

“Back in 1910, in those early years, you couldn’t get the ingredients you could get now as easy, so he had to come up with his own style of cooking,” said Galindo.

“Not just him, but other Hispanics that lived in the neighborhood. A Moroccan settled in New Braunfels, so my grandfather and them got some of the spices we use today, like cumin, from the Moroccans.”

Combining cuisines from different cultures has introduced new cooking techniques and recipes. Change brings plenty of new opportunities for improvement and experimenting.

“I say my grandfather started in that area the original Austin-styled Tex-Mex, which is not Mexican food, and it’s not Texan food- it’s called Tex-Mex,” said Galindo.

The influences from the environment and community of a place bring variety to the types of food in a culture. While some areas may not have certain ingredients, they may have other local specialties that make their food distinct.

At our home, food’s always been the vocal point. The kitchen is where everybody is and hangs out.

-Tony Galindo, coowner of Cruzteca

Del Mar and Shroom tacos and blackened tilapia torta with handcut garlic fries.

Photo by Esther Kwan.

Tony Galindro’s grandfather played a big role into what Tex Mex is today. Photo by Esther Kwan.

“In Mexican cuisine, there’s different styles, different regions,” said Galindo. “The city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca City, they’re famous for mole. And Oaxaca being close to the Pacific, they’re good with seafood. And you go back into the United States, Texas has more of a Tex-Mex style. If you go further west into Texas, the food starts changing. Because when you go to California, they’re closer to the ocean also, so their food has more seafood. So the beauty of Mexican food is that there are different cuisines, different regions.”

Having the opportunity to try unfamiliar foods from around the world piques peoples’ curiosity to attract them to different restaurants.

“I really like Indian food, the culture, and really like everything about it, but I don’t have much personal connection with it,” said Vences.

Working at Tarka has allowed him to experience Indian culture through its food. Vences has grown to love the exquisite cuisine and enjoys sharing his favorite dishes with others.

“The korma paneer is more of a pistachio, creamy curry, and it’s really good,” said Vences. “The paneer’s the blocks of cheese, and it just goes really well with it. It’s really soft- the cheese.”

Whether having been immersed in a culture throughout your life or coming to appreciate it through other means, sharing with others is a unique experience. While restaurant owners strive to share their food with the world, it is also essential for them to be able to cater to the interests of customers.

“Well, you know, my dad always told me growing up, you always have to get used to change,” said Galindo. “It never stays the same, and you need to adapt. So he said it was like a stepping

stone; you grow every year. You’ve got to watch and look at what the people want; you’ve got to listen.”

Expanding cities and communities lead to more opportunities for businesses. However, growth can also bring countless new obstacles.

“Earlier this year, in January, I opened up a food truck on the eastside called Pho Craft, and I realized that a lot of the recipes we had weren’t written down into a recipe book,” said Nguyen.

With family-owned restaurants, aspects are more open to change compared to larger chain restaurants. The process of discovering what works best and how to improve is constant.

“At our home, food’s always been the vocal point,” said Galindo. “The kitchen is where everybody is and hangs out. And by doing that, we’ve been able to create the dishes we have now here at Cruzteca.”

Being able to share passions with family creates a lively atmosphere and helps people grow closer together. Passing down traditions and staying connected to family background are ways to express cultural identity with others.

“Both of [my parents’] families

and family members cooked all the time, so they ended up cooking from a young age as well,” said Nguyen. “I think when you cook at home, it’s a lot of eyeballing or a lot of you already know what to put in it; the hardest part for them was getting everything into measurements.”

Transferring the traditional cuisines Nguyen’s parents had grown up with into written directions was essential so that they could be shared with more people. Food unites people no matter where they came from or the experiences they have faced.

“I’ve noticed all food is similar, especially street food,” said Galindo.

The varieties of cuisines around the world are connected through the ingredients they share and the influences they bring on each other.

In sharing the similarities and celebrating differences within a community, we can get a wider taste of the world to embrace the unique aspects of one another. Peering into Austin’s food scene is a window to the soul of all its people and the cultures they represent.

Cruzteca Mexican Kitchen often has live Mexican music for customers to enjoy.

Photo by Esther Kwan.

Thaison Nguyen took over Pho Thaison from his parents in 2012. Photo by Esther Kwan.

Pho Thaison opened in 1999 and was one of the first Vietnamese restaurants in Austin.

Photo by Esther Kwan.

Secrets of Avocado Oxidation

When an avocado is exposed to oxygen, the catechol in its cells are catalyzed by the enzyme polyphenol oxidase. This copper-containing enzyme converts the catechol and oxygen into 1,2-Benzoquinone, also known as o-Benzoquinone, and water. The oxidation process converts phenols into quinones, which will then form chains and create melanin. This pigment is what makes the avocado’s surface look brown, and it is also present in our hair, eyes, and skin.

Oxidation and Keeping Fresh

Esther Kwan

Putting lemon juice on avocados is one of many solutions to helping to reduce avocado browning.

Polyphenol oxidase is pH dependent, so lemon juice’s acidity inactivates the enzyme to prevent oxidation.

Covering or sealing avocados in an air-tight container will greatly reduce the effects of browning since it will not be exposed to as much oxygen.

Food on First The food truck experience

By Jaiden Choksi

The Rad-Dish food truck. Photo courtesy of Rad-Dish

Inside a 2-foot by 8-foot area with flaming grills and food everywhere is where some entrepreneurs’ dreams come true.

Many food truck owners have a passion for cooking and have previously worked in the restaurant industry but simply do not have the available money to start their own restaurant. Food trucks are a great alternative because they are mobile and have significantly lower initial and ongoing costs. But they have their own challenges and require lots of time and effort to be successful.

According to Mohammed Alzubidi, a TX Shawarma food truck employee, “A restaurant is more challenging. A food truck can be moved. The menu doesn’t have to be huge, and it is easy to work there. It is harder to have a building restaurant, [where there is] more to maintain…so you’ll need to hire more people than in a food truck.”

Food trucks are significantly easier to start and run than brick-andmortar restaurants, according to Tim Stevens, who worked at the Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company as the head chef for 9 years before downsizing when he started the RAD-DISH food truck with his wife, Natalie Stevens. Food trucks have much less of an initial investment, and they don’t have to pick a permanent location as the trucks are mobile. The trucks also do not need

as much equipment nor as many employees to run.

“It’s way less overhead having a food truck rather than brick and mortar that’s designed for sitdown eating,” Tim Stevens said. “Less overhead, make your own

hours, do your own thing.”

Another positive of owning a food truck is the ability to be in control. The owner can make the decisions and does not have any real obligation to anyone other than themselves.

Carlos Arrieta, one of

brought up one of the unique challenges that the food truck business model presents and how they manage to stay stocked to meet demand. “The morning manager is really good,” Arrieta said. “He keeps the supplies high. He is really good at that. He stops what he is doing and goes. ‘Y’all need this, I’m on my way.’ He got it. He only works in the morning but he is an on-call manager.”

A more-staffed food truck like Gourdough’s can stay open for more hours, have multiple managers, and stay better stocked due to having oncall managers always being ready to get more

Gourdough’s night managers,

Map of Food Trucks on South 1st Graphics By Jaiden Choksi

“I love the interaction from customers and getting feedback from the customers and knowing that what we are doing is being enjoyed by people.”

-Tim Stevens, owner

supplies or ingredients throughout the day.

“We run out of ingredients all the time,” Stevens said. “Pretty much every day you have to hit up one of the grocery stores.”

The RAD-DISH is a much smaller food truck, and therefore doesn’t have as many employees nor as much of a capability to keep everything in stock. According to Stevens, this problem is amplified since their menu changes every week and

they cannot predict which menu items are going to be popular.

“It was a cheap spot at the time,” Alzubidi said. “Not so cheap anymore.”

The location that TX Shawarma chose on the corner of 1st Street and Live Oak Street was quite cheap at the time, but as Austin developed, the rent went up. Location is even more important for food trucks than brick-andmortar restaurants since they have less money for marketing, but they have to balance that with the cost of rent.

“We were trying to do it downtown,

but just because 1st is well known because of the mural down the street so we still got a good spot here,” Stevens said. “Also downtown is crazy expensive and it’s a lot of apartments,” Arrieta said. “This gravel was not here, we did it; the tables, we did it. All that downtown would cost money like permits. Even if something so simple like the music being too loud [downtown] they would be like ‘ahh, turn it down.’ A little further away but close to downtown. It has always been a good spot at South 1st. Congress has always been really busy but is very expensive.”

The reason some restaurants, like the RAD-DISH, don’t use food delivery services to grow their revenue beyond their physical location is that food delivery services take about 30% of the money made from every sale. “You see this is empty [at 4:00], but eventually we have people in the parking lot eating and the employees rushing to get orders. All our orders take no more than ten minutes. You could wait an hour at the line,” said Arrieta. Many food trucks, like Gourdough’s, end up much more popular at night than during the day. Generally, there are no lines around 4:00, but around 6:30, people are clambering to get a spot in the huge line going through the parking lot.

“I love the interaction from customers and getting feedback from the customers and knowing that what we are doing is being enjoyed by people. And getting repeat customers and knowing that my wife and I are putting out products that are good. And knowing that what we are doing is genuine and real. We are doing

Tim Stevens making food for an order in the RAD-DISH food truck

Photo courtesy of Tim Stevens

really good food,” said Tim Stevens.

Food truck owners love to have customers compliment their food and appreciate the work they put into making it. Positive online reviews are important for growing the business. A perfect 5-star review is the top tier of reviews, and keeping a 5-star review is one of Stevens’ dreams. “As of right now on google we have 5 stars. High as you can get. I want that, and I don’t want it to go anywhere. I dread the day when I get a bad review,” said Tim Stevens.

“The way we respond to them is that if there are bad reviews we will see who was working that night and talk to them. The customer will be like sorry you had this experience with them. If you want to stop by and try a different donut or burger it’s on us. Try to reward them for what the employees did which was bad,” said Arrieta.

Gourdough’s has been around longer than RAD-DISH. They know it is unavoidable that businesses eventually receive a few bad reviews, but it matters how owners respond to them. Gourdough’s tries to keep its customers happy and keep them coming back. They have a high quality control process to ensure whatever made the customer unhappy doesn’t happen again.

A unique name is one way to get the attention of new customers. The RAD-DISH name has an interesting way of tying into their backstory.

“He loves radishes and since we were gonna be a farm-to-table truck he wanted to include the element of a radish or a vegetable of some kind. And we went back and forth until we came up with the RAD-DISH because that’s our time period, we are both 70’s babies so the 80s was a big time for us so that was when ‘rad’ was cool so

the RAD-DISH came to be,” said Natalie Stevens.

“Without Instagram or Facebook you probably are not going to make it unless you already established a clientele but if you are a start up you have to be a part of the whole Instagram piece,” said Natalie Stevens. Social media is a vital part of the Austin food truck industry. Almost every food truck has a social media platform, and for some it’s the reason they are still in business because it allows the food truck to reach more people and show people their food without any money being spent. While owning a food truck has many advantages over owning a brick-and-mortar restaurant, it is still difficult work and requires a lot of time and effort. It isn’t just cooking food. The job also requires staying stocked with ingredients, discovering the correct location, finding new customers, and keeping existing customers happy.

“It’s a labor of love,” Stevens said. “It’s one of those things like if I could tell someone whether or not to start a food truck I’d probably tell them no.”

The Black Out donut from Gourdough’s Photo courtesy of Neelan Choksi

The donut statue outside of Gourdough’s food truck Photo courtesy of Neelan Choksi

Peanut

salt,sugar,1tsp.bakingsoda,1/2tsp. peanut1/2cupshortening,1/2cup butter,2tbsp.milk,1tsp.

Buttercream

1.Inabowlhandmix11/4cupssugar,6largeeggwhites, and1/4tsp.CreamofTartar.

2.Placethebowlontopofapotofsimmeringwaterandmixuntil 130degreesorsugardissolves.

3.Machcinemixuntilstiffmeringueforms.

4.Slowlyadd2cupsofbutteruntilbuttercreamforms.

5.Add20Oreocookiefillingstoonecupofbuttercream.

6.Addthe20cookies(brokenintoapowder)tothemainbuttercream bowlandmix.

Cupcake

1.Inabowlmix11/2cupsflour,1/2cup+2tbps.cocoapowder, 11/8 tsp.bakingpowder,and1/4tsp.salt

2.Inadifferentbowlmix1largeegg,1largeeggyolk,3/4cupmilk, 1/3cupcanolaoil,and2tsp.vanillaextract.

3.Mix11/3cupsugarwiththesecondbowlthenaddthefirst bowlandmix.Thenadd2/3cupsboilingwaterandmix.

4.Letitsetfor15minutes.

5.Fillcupcakeliners3/4andbake15-18minutesat350ofuntil toothpickcomesoutdry.

6.Decoratebyfillingthecupcakewiththewhitebuttercream andtopwiththedarkbuttercream.

GraphicsBy JaidenChoksi

PHOTO COLLAGE

Photos and Graphics by Aurelia Byman