austincuisine magazine

Photo courtesy of flickr.

Feature

Trailor madness broken top chef cake it up a notch

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Dear readers, We spent so much time creating austincuisine, so thank you for taking the time to read this. austincuisine is about all the delicious and hip restaurants in Austin, Texas! It contains interviews with Austin cooks and restaurant owners. Hope you enjoy!

Sincerely,

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Ceci G. seems like the average freshman girl at LASA High school. What people do not know is she is secretly a huge food snob, which she gets from her parents and sister. The first and last time she went to McDonalds with her family was probably 10 years ago. When her parents ask her and her sister where they want to go for dinner on a casual Wednesday night, they say the most expensive restaurant they can think of. Her favorite food is, hands down, chocolate. All day during school, she fantasizes about what she is eating for lunch. The only reason she gets up in the morning is because she knows there will be food on the table.

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Samantha L. is a freshman at LASA. She is Asian and always eats rice for dinner, but ironically cannot use chopsticks. She swims all the time so has the worst swim suit tan ever. She enjoys traveling, especially to a resort called Club Med. When she travels to places outside of Texas, she hates it when people think she lives on a farm and does other Texas stereotypical things. She just goes along with what they think and starts talking the worst Texas accent ever. She is obsessed with the show Modern Family. She smiles and laughs all the time. She loves to eat all different types of food. She really loves meat but hates vegetables. She tries to cook bacon for herself but always burns it.

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Madeline G. likes food. She really, really likes food.

She likes food so much that she made a magazine all about food. One might expect Madeline to be the size of a mammoth, because of her love for food, and in reality, she is. Not. She is the size of an Italian model.

She went as Barbie for Halloween and if that doesn’t describe her personality, nothing will. She is also very attracted to spicy foods. Often times, she is unable to find foods spicy enough to satisfy her craving. What you should take away from this amazing biography is that Madeline likes spicy food and is not the size of a mammoth, but instead the size of an Italian model.

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They call him god, he tells them to call him Rowan.

He’s the owner of multiple 5-star restaurants, food entrepreneur extraordinaire. Never payed for a meal he didn’t like; He’s been arrested multiple times because of it. But when you are him why would pay for the manure they called food. His phone never stops ringing from the prime ministers, presidents and public officials asking him for restaurant recommendations. But he only answers to one, the one they call Frito Bandito. And his mommy. He eats only the best, which is unfortunate because he gets tired of cooking for himself. By the age of 14 he had written his first food magazine, by 15 he had written thirty.

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Photo Taken by Will Fuller

A crop duster sprays tons of pesticides onto the fields.

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he Center for Disease Control found that children, ages 6-11, carry four times the acceptable level of pesticides. These pesticides, called organophosphates, cause permanent damage to nerves.

Scientists also researched the effects of pesticides, they found that exposure to small doses of these toxins during pregnancy, and childhood can cause long-term damage. These pesticides come from farms that does not grow their food organically, but with the help of chemical pesticides. That is not the only thing you are getting, if you eat conventional food you are eating pesticides, antibiotics, geneti-

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cally modified food and the long-term effects of some of those chemicals and additives remain unknown. Organic food has numerous beneficial factors, especially compared to conventional food, which is why it should be the food of choice for everyday life.

Conventional farming techniques rely on harmful pesticides and fertilizers to grow their crops. Although these pesticides may be helping farmers, they are not doing any favors for your body. A pesticide is any substance used to kill pests, such as insects, weeds, birds, small mammals, worms, and microbes. Because of the widespread use of chemical pes-

ticides, many people contain small amounts of those chemicals in their blood streams due to their diets.

These pesticides cause neurological problems in fetuses, babies and children. In fact, in 1996, twelve widely used pesticides were banned or restricted by federal law because they failed to meet child safety standards.

Under that law, popular pesticides are banned from use, because they do not meet safety regulations. Fetuses are also at risk, “A lot of these pesticides are toxic to the brain...� said Phillip Landrigan of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, “We have very good evidence that exposure of the fetus to organophospho-

“A lot of these pesticides are toxic to the brain...”

“Organic food or conventional food?”

This question haunts many modern day families. What they should know is that organic food is worth every penny and should be the only thing you or your family eats. In organic food, there are no harmful chemical pesticides, no antibiotics, and no chemical fertilizers. In the end, the benefits of organic food will always far outweigh the small benefits of conventional food.

By Rowan G.

Opinion

ing system uses practices, which are safe for the environment. The USDA also states that organic farming reduces pollution and conserves water and soil. Organic farms do not release chemical pesticides, which would kill local wildlife. Instead of pesticides, they use insects, birds and/or traps.

Instead of the chemical fertilizers used by conventional farms, organic farms use manure and compost to increase plant growth. Conventional farmers feed antibiotics to their animals, but this is an immense problem. When we eat animals, which eat antibiotics regularly, we are effectively ingesting those antibiotics.

By continuously feeding animals antibiotics, we are giving bacteria a test ground for becoming antibiotic resistant. Conventional farmers feed their animals antibiotics because the poor living conditions the animals have makes the animals prone to disease. Instead of feeding their animals antibiotics, organic farmers allow their animals to graze in open spaces, and they give them clean living conditions. As a result organic farmers have the same healthy animals as conventional farmers, but they own happier animals, which means we

Photo by “the Justified Sinner”

rus pesticides produces babies with small head circumference, which is a risk factor for reduced intelligence and behavior disturbances.”

However, there are those who believe that there is not a great enough quantity of pesticides in conventional food to cause these damages.

What they do not realize is that even tiny amounts of chemicals can cause permanent harm to a fetus. In addition, children continuously eat conventional food for years in which time they would ingest many of these harmful pesticides.

Some opponents to organic food may argue that organic and conventional foods have the same nutritional value, but in reality organic food actually does contain more nutrients. In the past, there have been some studies, which showed inconclusive evidence of organic food having higher amounts of nutrients. Forty studies conducted since 2002 have shown that on average, organic foods contain 25% more nutrients than conventional food. These studies have shown higher levels of beta carotene, vitamin C, D, and E, antioxidants, essential fatty acids, essential minerals polyphenols (reduce cardiovascular disease) and flavonoids (helps to prevent heart disease). John Reganold of Washington State University conducted a 2-year study on strawberry farms and he found that the organic farm produced strawberries that are more nutritious. Reganold’s study, published September 1, 2010, showed that organic strawberries contained significantly higher amounts of antioxidants. Organic food is proven to be more nutrient dense than conventional food. This nutrient density results in long-term health benefits.

Organic food is not only good for you, but it is also good for the environment and the ecosystems surrounding organic farms. According to the USDA guidelines, the organic farm-

A Farms Warning to stay away

Dirty Dozen of Pesticide Residue 1.Apples 2.Celery 3.Strawberries 4.Peaches 5. Spinach 6.Imported Nectarines 7.Imported Grapes 8.Sweet Bell Peppers 9.Potatoes 10. Bluberries 11.Lettuce 12. Kale/Collard Greens

The Clean 14

1.Onions 2.Sweet Corn 3.Pineapples 4.Avocado 5.Asparagus 6.Sweet peas 7.Mangoes 8.Eggplant 9.Kiwi 10.Cabbage 11.Watermelon 12.Sweet potatoes 13.Grapefruit 14.Mushrooms

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BEFORE

YOU The Benefits of Eating Healthy 6 austincuisine

of frozen tilapia fillets ($3.98), one pound of 93% lean ground turkey ($1.98), a 16-ounce jar of Smucker’s natural peanut butter ($2.38), one box (40 bags) of green tea ($2.58), one pound bag of lentils ($0.94), and one box of Kashi Heart to Heart crackers (2.98). The amount of healthy food you can buy for even cheaper is unbelievable. This goes to show that as long as you are a smart shopper, eating healthy can be feasible. According to The New York Times article, “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?”

by Mark Bittman, “a typical order for a family of four — two Big Macs, a cheeseburger, six chicken McNuggets, two medium and two small fries, and two medium and two small sodas — costs, at the McDonald’s a hundred steps from where I write, about $28.” furthermore, “you can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14,

be a nutritious string cheese stick, at eighty calories and twenty percent of your daily intake of calcium, found in any deli section of your local grocery store, or a simple apple that costs about $0.66 per pound. According to “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?”, “The real challenge is not ‘I’m too busy to cook.’ In 2010, the average American, regardless of weekly earnings, watched no less than an hour and a half of television per day. The time is there.” This proves that the real problem lies in the motivation to cook an actual meal.

Opinion

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ou have just gotten off work; your hungry children are waiting at home for dinner.

You do a quick mental inventory of what is left over in the refrigerator.

With doubt of a fixable meal in mind, you pull in to your local grocer. As you walk in, you become enticed by the flashy advertisements of brands such as Campbell’s Soup, Red Bull, Frito-Lay’s, Coca Cola, Kraft EasyMac, Hostess Twinkies, and Kellogg’s Froot Loops. You glance at your watch with only a few minutes to spare, for your children are at home, unattended. You race to the frozen section, with the idea of TV dinners in mind. Quickly, you grab four boxes of Stouffer’s individual lasagna TV dinners. You may think that you are getting a well-rounded, nutritional meal for a cheap price. Think again.

In the future, you will end up paying far more in return for the convenient choice you made today.

This is why you need to think about the long term effects the foods you are eating today will have on you.

More problems that are oftentimes overlooked are the long-term effects of consuming junk food. According to WebMD, “Someone who is 40% overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as is a normal-weight person.”

Obesity is linked to eating foods high in calories, fat, and cholesterol, and obesity is linked to many diseases.

According to WebMD, diseases linked to obesity are “heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease and gallstones, osteoarthritis, gout, and breathing problems, such as sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing for a short time during sleep) and asthma.” With such risks of becoming diagnosed with any one or combination of these diseases, the question of why people still choose to eat these foods is raised.

“Someone who is 40% overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as is a normalweight person.”

Many people argue that they are not motivated to cook a nutritious meal after a nine to five workday.

It is not the healthy aspect that is unappealing, but instead the aspects of inconvenience and cost. The common person thinks it is much easier to pick up four meals at McDonald’s than to bake a chicken and steam some green beans. However, the aspects of cost and inconvenience are only a problem if you do not know what you are looking for. In fact, if you are looking for the right types of foods, they can be healthy and just as convenient.

Believe it or not, junk food can be more expensive than healthy food.

According to Daily Spark, for $19.98, you can buy one Domino’s Pepperoni Feast pizza (15.99) and one order of breadsticks ($3.99). For $18.66, you can buy 1.25 pounds of sweet Italian turkey sausage ($3.82), one pound

and feed four or even six people. If that’s too much money, substitute a meal of rice and canned beans with bacon, green peppers and onions; it’s easily enough for four people and costs about $9.” This proves that the problem of consuming junk food does not lie in the price, but instead lies in the fact that people do not know what to look for or have no motivation to eat healthy.

If the argument is that argue that junk food is more convenient to the common lifestyle, the only reason for that is because people do not know where to begin shopping for healthy foods.

At any local grocer, one will be able to find an abundance of the combination of junk food and healthy food; it just depends on what people decide to purchase. Perfect, healthy alternatives to a bag of potato chips would

So next time you find yourself at the grocery store, think twice about what you buy. Even though the food you are buying today may only seem to affect you now, it could be the difference between life and death. Healthy foods can be just as cheap and convenient as junk food and they are far more beneficial to your body. Before you go shopping for groceries, be sure you know what you are looking for, and you will find yourself saving money and your life.

By Madeline G.

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id you know that 43% of public elementary school children are overweight?

One in five children between the ages 6 to 17 is overweight, and the percentage of overweight children has tripled from 1970. Americans are eating fast food over the healthy alternative because it is cheaper and still tasty. One of the main fast food businesses is McDonald’s, which sells 75 burgers every second. The problem is that McDonald’s is unhealthy and abusive towards animals. An example of this is that on the bottom of a McDonald’s pamphlet, it says, “Chemicals are known to cause cancer, or birth defects, or other reproductive harm may be present in foods or beverages sold or served here.” McDonald’s is at the top of the fast food industry and its gross rate grows 5% each year. Since fast food is the favorite for a lot of the population, McDonald’s needs to change in order to be a healthier alternative than it is now.

All Americans eat fast food one time or another. Some eat it every month, every week, or even every day. Looking at the poll from 2003-2006 and 2007-2008, over two thirds of adults 20 and over are overweight, and over one third of them are obese.

The differences between overweight and obese is overweight people have a body mass of around 25-30 body mass while obese people have

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a body mass of over 30. From the early 1960’s to 2005, the statistics of overweight people in America has steadily increased in both genders and all ethnicities. “Supersize Me” is a documentary by Morgan Spurlock, in which he went on a McDonald’s only diet for one month, and every time the employees asked him if he wanted to super size his meal, he had to say yes.

He gained around 17 pounds and suffered liver problems. Children are also suffering; every,

announced the American Heart Association on March 29, 2011.

Eating at McDonald’s causes weight gain, which then leads to many health risks. The Weight-control Information Network (WIN) listed most of these health risks: type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease,

high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, stroke, hypertension, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis (degeneration of cartilage and bone of joints), breathing problems like sleep apnea, some forms of cancer (breast, colorectal, endometrial, and kidney), pregnancy complications, and menstrual irregularities.

Many people who have worked at McDonald’s, like the article “Unclean Conditions… McDonald’s Crew” on aboutmyjob.com demonstrates, talks about the unsanitary conditions in each restaurant. In some McDonald’s, it is so bad that there are cockroaches in the soda machine and dirty stoves that never get clean.

When McDonald’s is not cracking down on these issues, the workers are not keeping the restaurants healthy; therefore, McDonald’s is not meeting health regulations, as it should.

McDonald’s is also known for animal abuse, especially with its chickens.

First, the chickens beaks and claws are cut off. Then, they are injected with steroids, which makes it difficult for them to walk.

They are then all put together is a dark, crowded room, where they live in their feces and will probably never see sunlight again. Finally, the “Chickens killed for McDonald’s are slaughtered using an outdated method,” states the McCruelty organization against McDonald’s animal

The opposing party eats at McDonald’s is that they think the food is fast, cheap, and tasty. These people need to think less about what is easy and cheap at that moment and more of what is the healthier alternative in the long run.

The food is

drenched in fat and grease, which makes the food tasty, but if you think about what you are really eating, the food is not so appealing. McDonald’s food can be so cheap because their food is cheap due to using cheap methods to slaughter their chickens.

Another big reason why people eat at McDonald’s is because the food is served fast, but that is because the food has been premade and just sitting around; no freshness whatsoever!

opinion

abuse, “that results in extreme suffering.” In addition, on youtube. com there are a couple of vid-eos like “McDonald’s Cruelty” which shows the abuse of poor chickens in the hands of McDonald’s farmers.

To help fix or stop McDonald’s, you can stop eating their food because McDonald’s is not changing as long as you keep buying their product.

You can also join a number of organizations, like McCruelty, Where there are so many ways you can help without paying a cent. Another big factor is you should not take your children to McDonald’s, and instead feed them the healthier, home cooked meal. There are a number of restaurants that are still cheap and a l ot healthier like Panera Bread or Jason’s Deli.

Photo and Story By Ceci G.

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b r o k e n

by Samantha Lee

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am so not a morning person. When I wake up, I act cranky and aggravated at every little thing. Like when my cats purr next to my feet, or when my mom sings, “Good morning Sammy,” I respond with the classic rolling of the eyes and a moan. Sometimes I even mockingly reply, “Good morning, Mommy!” I feel completely exhausted and I am pretty much asleep when I eat breakfast. Nevertheless, once I drink some soda or coffee, I feel so much better and alive! However, this feeling will not continue because when drunk at an excessive amount, caffeine can affect your health.

Many Americans these days drink caffeine, mostly in the form of coffee, soda, and energy drinks. They drink caffeine to help wake them up in the morning or to stay up late at night.

Stefan Aschan, the author of the article “Caffeine…Exposed!” disagrees. Aschan shows that caffeine wears off after a couple hours. If you need to stay awake, you must drink more caffeine.

This will lead to dependence on caffeine, which can lead to health problems such as insomnia, feelings of anxiety, blurred visions, migraines, headaches, nervousness, jitters, and rapid heartbeat. In addition, within half an hour of drinking one or two cups of caffeine, the flow of the blood to the brain reduces by 10% to 20%. Caffeine also has a diuretic effect. Just one cup of caffeine before working out will trigger unwanted fluid loss.

Drinking several cups of coffee a

day increase one’s vulnerability to rheumatoid arthritis (disease characterized by inflammation of the joints). Aschan also says “to receive the same jolt when you first start taking it [caffeine], you need to gradually increase your dose,” which will also resolve to addiction of caffeine. If you become addicted, there will come some days where you do not feel tired. However, you will still drink the coffee because you need that extra boost.

Caffeine can influence your health. In the article, “The hidden dangers of caffeine: How Coffee Causes Exhaustion, Fatigue and Addiction,” by Dani Veracity, he explains how “caffeine causes fluctuations in energy and alertness”. In other words, an unexpected crash, at any time of the day is the result of caffeine. This can happen to people who drink coffee all the time, but also to the people who drink coffee rarely.

Caffeine is like a “rollercoaster ride”.

It makes your body go through highs and lows in terms of energy and alertness. This may lead to “eventual chronic adrenal exhaustion”. Sometimes, the more caffeine you drink, the longer it takes to fall asleep. This can lead to sleep deprivation which can end in depression and thoughts of suicide.

Finally, caffeine may interfere with your life, and your work and sleep habits, two things that can cause you the most stress. Drexel University recently studied the connection between young

adults’ caffeine use (and technology use) and their sleeping patterns. (Most of the teens got their caffeine from sports drinks.) The study showed that drinking more caffeine leads to a higher risk for daytime sleeping and connected problems in school. Some teens in the study slept in the middle of class on a regular basis, while others fought at school and did very poorly in school. Caffeine levels relate to teen sleepiness.

This was proven by the teens that slept at school; their caffeine levels were 76 percent higher than the other teens (that did not fall asleep during school) in the study. Most of the teens in the study consumed levels of caffeine equal to four shots of espresso.

Caffeine endangers you and can negatively change your health. Some countries even consider caffeine as a drug. As a solution, at LASA, I believe teachers should give less homework (or at least schedule with other teachers so homework is not pilled all on one night) so students do not get sleep deprived.

This would be very nice, but it is out of our reach to control. You can prioritize your time better and get more sleep which will avoid the need of a lot of caffeine.

Also you can reduce the intake of caffeine. If you do this, make sure you reduce the intake of caffeine gradually because immediate withdrawal symptoms may include headaches, drowsiness, depression, vomiting, and other symptoms. Many people just switch to decaffeinated products helps them to break the addiction.

opinion

why caffeine is so dangerous for your body

by Samantha L.

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Cake It Up a

Notch

Interview with Chef Ray, Head Chef at St. David’s Episcopal Church.

The old gray stove flares around the aged rusty pot. “Butter, milk and eggs,” the three most important ingredients says Chef Ray, are added to the pot and stirred to a creamy sauce. It’s eight in the morning and everyone is working in perfect harmony stirring, pouring, frying, etc. They put the final touches on each delicately made dish and walk out of the white kitchen to the wide reception area of St. David’s Episcopal Church. The customers’ smiles and joyous laughs let Chef Ray know he’s done a job well done, but there’s no time to celebrate. All the chefs walk back to kitchen to start the next project. This is the typical workday for Ray Trono, head chef at St. David’s Episcopal Church, but he wasn’t given this job, he worked hard for it.

When Ray was growing up, food was all around him. He was a part of the long strand of fathers who cooked in his family. His grandfather was a great cook, who taught Ray to not only to be a chef, but an artist as well. Ray worked as a dishwasher at a summer camp in Vermont, which was his first job ever in the food industry.

“I got the job because I had friends who worked at that summer camp and it was at the end of the summer when the main dishwasher left so they asked me if I would like to take that position and I did,” stated Ray. He also worked at Bakery lane making soup at the Ice House restaurant. Even though he knew he wanted to be a chef when he grew up, he studied business and computers in college in case he started his own business. During college he had about three other jobs that were all working in restaurants, but Ray “continued to work in restaurants because it was good money.”

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After Ray graduated college, he moved to Austin and went to culinary school. He decided he didn’t want to deal with trying to start his own business in case it didn’t work out. At his next job, he worked at US food Service, which he hated more than washing dishes. He had to become a businessman by counting the groceries, buying the groceries, selling the groceries, and basically anything that had to do with getting the groceries for the real chefs. “ I didn’t like working at the US postal service because I was a bad salesman, and I didn’t enjoy counting groceries all day.” Ray said.

Being behind the smoker, placing a juicy pink salmon inside, and smelling the smoky, salty aroma as if he was on the beach, that’s what he wanted to be doing, not counting groceries and trying to make deals to save money. He wasn’t a good salesperson either, which made the job that much harder. Most of Ray’s life, he worked in the kitchens, behind the scenes, but he never got to be the true man on display.

He wanted to create and use his passion for cooking and he dreamed of making customers smile, and that is why he joined the kitchen at the St. David’s Episcopal Church.

Getting a flexible schedule, being his own boss, making a decent salary with really good benefits, and working with great people are all reasons why Ray loves his job so much.

“I get to experiment and make my own menus!”

Ray said. The artistic side of cooking is easily shown behind those double swinging doors that enter into the back kitchen.

As fun as Ray’s jobs may seem, he does often wonder how different his life would be if he hadn’t become a chef. There are plenty of other jobs that he could have done that would have better salaries. He also hates having to be on his feet so much. Being a chef is a lot of work, but it pays off because it is fun. Ray has no regrets on the path he took to become a chef because he feels like he worked hard to get where he has and he never cheated himself or others.

“I have no regrets of being in the food industry. I get so much freedom and I like doing what I do,” said Ray.

-By Ceci G. -Photos by Ray Trono

Chef Ray’s Creations

A cake with cake balls stacked on top.

Smoked brisket

Deviled eggs

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Trailer Madness

Photo credits starting top-left going clockwise: Alpha, Swanksalot, Austin Foodie, Enoch Lai

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I thought instead of opening sushi restaurant like other sushi restaurants in Austin I wanted to have something different”

With a cramped, hot interior and limited production capability it is a wonder that anyone would open a food trailer. Yet there are over 1600 food trailers in the city of Austin, and each is pumping out food like a machine. The food that these trailers produce is amazing to think about, there are barbecue trailers, sno-cone trailers, frozen banana trailers, Vietnamese trailers, dessert trailers, cupcake trailers, crepe trailers and sushi trailers. But are there too many?

Safety Regulations surrounding Austin’s food trailers are much more relaxed than other cities. In Austin food trailers must have a commissary kitchen, which acts like a protector for the trailer. At the commissary kitchen the preparatory work is done, such as cutting onions and tomatoes or cooking something that needs to be done before the trailer opens. Food trailers in Austin cannot be permanent fixtures, they have to be able to move. But in cities like Houston a trailer must start out at their commissary kitchen then drive to their business location, then they have to drive back to their commissary kitchen at the end of the day. This takes lots of effort from the trailer and lots of time out of the trailer’s possible business time.

Kayo Asazu co-owns Sushi-A-GoGo with her husband Take Asazu, Kayo says that although she does like the food trailers in Austin, “it has gotten a bit much”. However the food trailer presence in Austin continues to grow, and the people of Austin continue to feed it, as the food trailers feed them.

Many people dream of having their own restaurant or bakery but don’t have the finances to do so. Trailers offer a cheaper solution to owning your own restaurant. Or they can serve as a stepping stone, the little appetizer to owning your own restaurant.

“I didn’t have enough capital to open a restaurant...” says Kayo.

She also said that when she opened Sushi-A-Go-Go she intended to later open a restaurant.

Another motivating factor that has driven many people to opening a food trailer is the novelty of the food trailer itself. The past few years and even still food trailers have been very popular, as they provide a different experience than a restaurant. “...like 3 years ago even still food trailers was like big phenomenon so

Tom Ramsey the owner of Snappy snacks told City Council that tougher safety regulations are needed on food trailers, but not all restaurant owners feel that way. Kayo said that after opening a restaurant the safety regulations surrounding trailers are different but not easier.

For trailers and restaurants alike creating the menu can be the funnest and hardest thing to do. A problem that trailers have to deal with that not all restaurants have is the issue of space. In a cramped trailer some things are to difficult to make. But for trailers and restaurants alike previous experience can be very helpful when creating a menu.

was like why don’t I put the mango in the sushi and that’s how the sunshine roll came.”

Many trailer owners do not have culinary training, but that does not affect the quality of their food. Although they may not have a formal culinary education they often have family recipes and a background in the culture of the food that they are making.

Feature

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he food trailer scene in Austin was once a gentle tide but it has now turned into a raging tidal wave.

Kayo was born in Japan and she said that she did not go to culinary school but learned how to make sushi from her mother and grandmother.

Andrea Day-Boykin the co-owner of Fliphappy Crêpes said, “Neither of us[Day-Boykin and Nessa Higgins the co-owner] went to cooking school but my husband did go to culinary school.”

Although you may think that the consumers get the most benefits, these food trailer owners think differently. They enjoy making people happy with their food and so these trailers offer them a medium to do that. Food trailers provide you with delicious food, and the owners with a happy feeling inside.

“It was a great experience,” says Kayo, “when working in a restaurant you’re not able to see your customer eating your food, but in a trailer... you see customer every day and when they eat you see their smiles and you see their happy.”

by Rowan G.

“I used to work in Japanese restaurants so I looked to the previous restaurants that I worked at before...” said Kayo, “then one day I bought a mango for my kids and I was supposed to bring it back and I

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Photo courtesy of Vanessa Escobedo

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Chef Andrew Curren, or Chef Drew for short is a partner and the head chef at 24 Diner. He grew up the youngest of four boys with dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Curren received his Bachelors degree from Texas A&M in Animal Science Pre-Veterinary Medicine, but it wasn’t until he traveled to Italy that he fell in love with food.

“I always felt I had to follow the path of my dad and brothers; college, corporate America, get married, buy a house, have a family,” said Curren.

When he returned from Italy, he asked his family how they felt about him going to culinary school. With full approval, he became the great chef he is today!

A typical day for Curren begins with a cup of coffee and a warm welcome to his employees. Working at 24 Diner “is a labor of love.” 24 Diner is a finer diner. With a fun atmosphere, friendly service, and delicious, local, and organic comfort food. He is constantly working on new and different recipes for the restaurant, while keeping up with being a partner.

“Being a partner in the restaurant business adds more stress and responsibility, but it allows me to be proud of what we have accomplished,” said Curren.

Curren has also worked in a variety of other restaurants, including an Indian restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a French restaurant, and currently at 24 Diner, a modern diner. He is also opening two more restaurants in the near future, one being French, and the other an authentic German beer garden with an artisanal bakery attached. But if Curren could open

a restaurant of his choice, it would be “a casual rustic Italian place with 40 or 50 seats and an ever changing menu.”

“I have never worked in a restaurant that I didn’t believe in or love the food,” said Curren.

Feature

, Andrew Curren battled his h Chef, Andrew Curren battled his heart out in this most recent season of Top Chef: Texas. With seemingly impossible tasks to complete in impractical time limits, it is fair to say that he gave it his all. But what got him there was really what matters the most.

Upon creating a new recipe, Curren like to approach it in a simple and direct manner.

“I think of the flavor profile I am trying to accomplish and make sure that the dish is complete and balanced. The dish must contain certain elements; sweet, salty, bitter, piquant, and texture,” he said.

These rich flavors must be balanced with fresh flavors in order to produce a delicious dish.

According to Curren, the most necessary ingredient in the kitchen are salt, fat, and freshness.

“Without fresh ingredients, you can never make anything taste good,” said Curren.

Customer satisfaction is always his key priority.

“The best part about cooking is hearing someone ask for seconds,” he said Curren loves cooking because it is part of hospitality and taking care of people and making them smile.

Even though Curren did not come home with the Top Chef coat, it is safe to say that his customers love what he is doing, while he is participating in doing what he loves most.

“When you do what you love it doesn’t feel like work!”

By Madeline G.

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Mole picture from forkfingerschopsticks.com

photo by Samantha Lee

Tostada picture from simplyrecipes.com

photo by Samantha Lee

Tacos al Pastor picture from fromaway.com

Gorditas picture from tidbitsofhappy.com

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The kids run into the house after school.

Tired from their sports they flop onto the couch. Their mom comes into the house slowly, taking her time, keys clattering in the hands. They are finally home after a long day and they try to relax. There is the comforting smell of delicious dinner ready to be devoured. Every day, a different meal is served, filling their home with different aromas. Dinner brings the whole family together, sharing their stories and laughs. For one family, this happiness was brought up by one person, Martha Martinez.

Martha Martinez, a 29 year old, has been working for the Lee’s for 10 years. Her warm smile makes everyone feel welcome. She is quite shy, but once you get her talking, she never stops. “She has never shown her anger to me, she’s just too nice to,” says Madeline Lee, “She became a huge part of our life. She’s like a sister. Someone I can ask for help.

I could talk to her for hours about anything! She’s always there for me,” says Madeline. Give her any recipe and she will make it perfectly, as if she has been making it her whole life.

Martha stays with the Lee’s Mondays to Thursdays and goes back to her family for Friday and the weekend. She was hired for taking care of the Lee girls, who were two and three then. One day Mrs. Lee needed help with cooking and Martha

was the only one there. Her amazing talent was revealed and soon began to cook for the Lees. She makes food for both her families, but totally different meals. For her family she makes only Mexican foods. Foods like enchiladas, tacos al pastor, and mole. She also makes gorditas and tostadas, foods that have been in her family ever since she can remember. Sometimes she brings her Mexican recipes to the Lees house, like tacos, enchiladas, and tasty bean soup. But usually she cooks American food for the Lees.

“all of Martha’s

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behind the kitchen

“All of Martha’s food is amazing!” says the youngest Lee girl, Madeline, “My favorite foods she makes are her homemade bean soup and crepes.

I am always excited when I knew Martha was going to make crepes for breakfast. It was the best food ever!

Usually in the morning, I would be cranky, but when we have crepes for breakfast, I would so happy,” says Madeline.

Some meals are greasy so they tend to splash a lot. Sometimes small splashes of grease fly onto her. They don’t hurt that bad but one time, she was cooking a pasta dish in the oven. When she was taking it out, she burnt her arm on the oven side. That really hurt! The scar is still on her arm.

“I love cooking because there are all the different steps, when I am preparing the food, little by little it becomes something amazing,” she says, “It pieces itself back together.”

She also loves the smells and the colors are just so interesting. “I love how much I have learned, and I can still learn so much more. The possibilities are endless. One day I wish to know how to make more foods, not just Mexican food, like Chinese or Indian,” she says. For her, cooking never gets old. “I feel good when I cook because when people eat my food and say it is good, it makes me feel so great, like I did a great job. I love to see them smile when they eat my food.

I hope everyone loves to cook.”

”

food is amazing!

She has never had any professional training, her mother taught her. It came quite naturally because she always watched her mother cook. “I always liked to around her when she cooked. I smelled so good.” When she was younger, she would help her mother. She started cooking by herself when she was fifteen. Her mother trusted her more. The first meal she made by herself was eggs for her family. It was a disaster! The eggs were too salty, but she learned and got so much better.

When she babysits other kids, she doesn’t make a fancy meal, since they are usually toddlers. But when they are older, she wants to cook new fancy meals for them that she had never cooked before, to test out how good the food is. “They will be like my guinea pigs.”

by Samantha L.

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CHEF DREW’S MEATLOAF 1 tablespoon of canola oil

2 carrots (finely chopped)

1 yellow onion (finely chopped) 1 celery rib (finely chopped)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

3 pounds of ground beef

1 pound of ground pork

1/2 pound of Monterey jack (medium diced)

1 1/2 cups of panko

2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons of ketchup

1 teaspoon of Tabasco

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire 4 eggs

1 tablespoon of black pepper and Kosher salt Makes 4 meat loaves.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a very large bowl and let cool. Add the panko, eggs, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper and stir to form a paste.

Using your hands, work in the ground meats and cheese until combined.

2. Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper. Firmly pat the meat mixture into 2 loaves, about 10 inches long. Arrange the loaves 3 inches apart on the parchment and roast in the lower third of the oven for about 1 hour, until lightly browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the loaves registers 150°. Let the meat loaves rest for 15 minutes, then cut into thick slices and serve with the Creamy Onion Gravy.

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An Interview with Robin Daemmrich

try a new restuarant every day!

An oreo cookie inside a chocolate chip cookie.

1. What inspired you to make such a bizarre cookie?

I think I made the cookies I did for two reasons. First, people’s response to hearing what kind of cookies they were really helped me sell more.

Second, I choose inception cookies because I know my customers carry single dollar bills, and I needed cookies that were worth that.

2. Do you have a schedule for when you sell your cookies?

I make cookies whenever I have time, which isn’t very often now. I’m not going to lose sleep over making cookies, because I don’t really need the money.

3. How much money do you make in a month?

How much money I make depends on a handful of factors. How many times I make cookies, the price of the ingredients and whether or not my brother helps. Most importantly it depends on how hungry the customers are.

4. Do you have any other cool ideas that you might start making?

People have given me a lot of suggestions. Basically any candy bar would be good. I’ve done some really stupid stuff before as well, such as coconut shortbread cookies, and girl scout cookie rip-offs (which took 5 hours to make).

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1. Madam Mams: 4514 West Gate Boulevard, Austin 2. Counter Café: 626 North Lamar, Austin 3. Teo’s Ice Cream: 1206 West 38th #1204-B, Austin 4. Asti: 408 C East 43rd Street, Austin 5. Mandolas: 4700 West Guadalupe St # 12, Austin 6. Pho Van: 8557 Research Blvd # 120, Austin 7. Cipollina: 1213 West Lynn Street, Austin 8. East Side Pies: 1401 B Rosewood Ave, Austin 9. Andiamos: 2521 Rutland Dr # 325, Austin 10. Torchy’s tacos: 1311 South 1st Street, Austin 11. Flip Happy Crepes: 400 Jessie Street, Austin 12. Juan in Million: 2300 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin 13. Upper Crust: 4508 Burnet Road, Austin 14. Hey Cupcake: 1600 South Congress Avenue, Austin 15. Chuys: 8716 Research Blvd Ste 290, Austin 16. Wich Wich: 259 West 3rd Street, Austin 17. Portabla: 1200 West 6th Street, Austin 18. Justine’s: 4710 East 5th Street, Austin 19. Berry Austin: 3301 Northland Drive, Suite 407, Austin 20. Uchi & Uchiko: Ste. 140 4200 N. Lamar, Austin 21. Chez Nous: 510 Neches Street, Austin 22. Chen’s Noodles: 8650 Spicewood Springs Rd #127, Austin 23. Shady Grove: 1624 Barton Springs Road, Austin 24. Mooshoshino: 3407 Greystone Drive, Austin 25. Shangahai: 6718 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin 26. Coco’s Café: 8557 Research Blvd, Austin 27. Chinatown: 3407 Greystone Drive, Austin 28. Clay Pit: 1601 Guadalupe Street, Austin 29. Lulu B’s: 2113 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin 30. Tarka: 5207 Brodie Lane #120, Austin 31. Taco deli: 1500 Spyglass Drive, Austin Samantha L.

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all photos from flickr

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Calphalon

It’s Pan-tastic.

Found only at your local Sears retailer or online at www.calphalon.com. Shipping and handling charges apply, not available to ship in MS, Al, Tn, Ha, Lo

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