Letter from the Editors:
D
ear Readers,
When it comes to Austin, we have three points of pride. One is being the only city in Texas anyone wants to visit, one is our live music, and the last is our food. Say what you will about it, Austinites have always been passionate about their food. This edition of Passionfruit will take you through the world of food, from formal restaurants to food you can make in your microwave. Each story explores a different way food can influence someone’s life, from the way coffee shops can influence a community, to people on social media who have dedicated time and effort into making good food accessible to everyone. Through the effort of the Passionfruit team, we bring you this edition, and hope you enjoy the stories that we have to offer. And while you’re at it, try some of our recipes while you read! Thank you for reading, The editors of Passionfruit, Hattie Lindell Sora Sunby Claire Carlander Anisah Aguilar
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Photo Credit: Riccardo Cuppini, via Flickr
Contributors Anisah Aguilar
Hattie Lindell
Anisah likes Netflix, Hozier, and her friends would say she likes to dance. She suffers from extreme obsession with specific people (it’s not stalking, y’all), but she has a good heart.
Hattie is usually angry about politics or sick. Usually this happens at the same time. She likes horribly obscure bands, and frequently forgets to drink water or sleep.
Claire Carlander
Sora Sunby
Claire would describe herself as beautiful, amazing, and fabulous. Helena would describe Claire as a “Spunky, punky redhead.” We’ll never know which one is the truth.
Sora is not a spunky redhead, but she aspires to be. She spent far too long making pancakes, and is really into books with pretty covers. Aren’t we all Sora, aren’t we all.
Photo Credits: Top Left: Mia Crockett, Top Right: Ellie Nichols Middle Left: Srikari Punyamurtula Middle Right: Vada Andrews, Bottom: AJ Marks
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How coffee shops can change and influence Austin’s culture
photo credit: Nick Papakyriazis via Flickr
Evolution of Restaurants How the Restaurant Industry Has Changed Over the Years. written by: Anisah Aguilar
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photo credit: Allison Brooks
Socorro Rosiles opened La Fiesta Restaurant in 1962, she quickly discovered owning a restaurant required hard work and determination. She found it was a 24-hour job, much like raising a newborn, but she loved it. She loved seeing the customers, she loved watching people enjoy her food, and she loved raising her kids along with the restaurant. She retired in 2006, and from the time she opened to now, advances in technology and in civil rights have changed the experience of owning a restaurant. hen
Maria Quintero opened Angie’s Mexican Restaurant in 1992. She worked as a waitress for about eight years prior and decided it was something she wanted to do. She hired mostly family members as soon as she opened, but did hire nonfamily members as well. She quickly discovered owning the restaurant was different than working in one. Her daughter, Yessenia, says she now relies heavily on social media for publicity and has more responsibilities as the owner. Daniel Brooks owns Licha’s on East 6th Street. The restaurant has been open for almost one year. He says it was experiences from growing up with restaurant owners in his family that got him into the restaurant industry. Growing up, Brooks says he was in the typical situation where while he went to school he washed dishes, busted tables, then once he got comfortable began waiting tables and then worked in the kitchen. Owning a restaurant in general has changed in itself over the years. People can get information out easier now than in the past, making publicity for restaurants almost effortless. Additionally, modern restaurant owners hire fewer family and friends to work in the restaurant, making the owner-employee relationship harder to establish. Also, in the 60’s, the civil rights movement took a large toll on restaurant owners in relation to the segregation laws. Similarly, the gay
Licha’s on East 6th Street in Austin, Texas has been open for almost two years. Daniel Brooks, the current owner says that he tried to honor his mother with the restaurant by naming it after her and serve food that he grew up with. rights movement has impacts on the restaurant industry. Rosiles says the end of the civil rights movement was the best for her business.
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and we had a customer that was being really rude… you don’t wanna tell your customer [to leave] but at the same time you can’t say [homophobic comments] to somebody nowadays. We accept everybody as they are,”
You don’t want to tell your customer [to leave] but at the same time you can’t say [homophobic slurs] to someone.
“When [President] Kennedy An important said we could factor when it let people comes to opening of color eat there, a restaurant can well, a lot of people be the time period didn’t agree; but we in which it opens. did,” Rosiles said. Brooks says that “We let people of restaurants now, color eat at our -Yessenia Quintero restaurants are restaurant. They opening for the began to come into wrong reasons. our restaurant and we began to generate a lot of customers of their race.” “Before, when you open up a restaurant, it was because somebody Restaurants in the 1960’s experienced had a talent to cook and the restaurant sit-ins and peaceful protests to abolish opened up because of the talent of the the segregation laws. After they were chef, or the maitre d, or the owner eradicated, restaurants in highly itself,” Brooks said. “And now people conservative areas still expressed just open up restaurants because they their racism. While Rosiles didn’t go about it backwards: instead of have much conflict in her restaurant, finding the soul which is gonna be the Quintero did. person in the kitchen, they just put their money in everything else and then “We actually had a waiter who was worry about the food and the service.” gay,” Y. Quintero said. “We had an incident one day that a family came in Restaurants need customers to keep passionfruit spring | 7
their businesses going, but to these restaurant owners, they are more than just customers. Y. Quintero says her mother has a very close relationship with her customers. She says some of her customers will go into the restaurant and come back at a later time if she’s not there. “You feel like she’s your family, like she’s your mom or your sister, like shes somebody really close to you,” Y.Quintero said. Rosiles says she was very close to her customers as well. “All of my customers were regulars, I remember all of their names. They were our friends. I [even] have a lot of notes from the retirement that they gave us,” Rosiles said. She also says it didn’t take much time for her to generate customers. After a while, her restaurant was so successful she was able to add an additional dining room and reception room for people looking to host celebrations there. Rosiles says she took such good care of her customers, she always had
an abundance of business. Angie’s Mexican Restaurant began to generate significant amounts of customers about 5 years after they opened. “She was really funny, really nice. She gravitated to people, she treats them like family,” Y. Quintero said. Conversely, Licha’s began generating customers within the first three weeks of opening. Brooks says he has South By South West to thank. “...we didn’t even have a chance to breathe as soon as we opened up,” Brooks said. “We opened up, South By came in town, created great exposure for us, and then right after that, we’ve just been doing well.”
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“This is my home, you come in and I’m gonna take care of you as if you were in my home,” Brooks said. “...Even though I’m meeting [the customer] for the first time, I’m gonna be appreciative that they’re giving me a chance to come into my house and let me serve them.” Many restaurants open in honor of someone else. Brooks says he wants his restaurant to have the essence of his mother, since he named it after her. “I told my staff... we gotta represent her, we gotta honor her” Brooks said. As Rosiles, Y. Quintero, and Brooks will agree, taking care of a business requires massive amounts of work. According to the National -Daniel Brooks Restaurant Association, 1 million restaurant locations in Texas served millions of Americans per day. “It’s just coming in, getting your day organized, seeing what you need to
We didn’t get a chance to breathe before we opened up.
Brooks says he takes a more personal approach when it comes to serving his customers.
photo credit: Allison Brooks
Licha’s Cantina during a night of fun under the sunset and florescent lights. Daniel Brooks, the current owner, says that it was during SXSW that his restaurant really took off. 8 | passionfruit spring
photo credit: JoAnn Aguilar
Rafael (left) and Socorro (right) Rosiles, former owners of La Fiesta Restaurant in Lubbock, Texas, share a stride in Zilker Park with three of their granddaughters. accomplish; It’s just making sure that everything is in its place to make sure that a customer has a great experience without being affected by our forgetfulness or lack of preparation,” Brooks said.
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“They basically call her Mom,” Y. Quintero said.
Brooks has roughly 25 people working in his restaurant, and he has less of a personal relationship with them. He often finds it hard to be firm with them without feeling like -Daniel Brooks he’s attacking them.
They’re giving me a chance to come into my house and let me serve them.
Employees are also a vital part of running a restaurant. Rosiles says her employees were part of the reason she retired and closed the restaurant.
“They weren’t very punctual, just didn’t want to come,” Rosiles said. Quintero’s restaurant has nine employees, all very close to her.
“When I know something’s not right, even though [I] work with these people… it’s hard to call them out, tell them what they’re doing wrong. But you still have to do it because if you just keep it within you then, that’s when you start missing out on the details,” Brooks said. “You’re only as
good as the people that represent you, and even though you could be very good doing something, you can’t do it by yourself. It’s hard to find the people that represent you and create that teamwork, like that fluidity and the service in the operation.” Each of these restaurant owners has had a different experience with their restaurant and have similarities to each other as well. “It’s definitely crazy owning a restaurant,” Y. Quintero said. •
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photo credit: Tim Sackton
ValuedVeggies The reason behind the vegetarian praise. written by: Claire Carlander
W
alking in the streets of
Austin, Texas three years ago, Lily Gannon was bound to the few restaurants offering vegan and vegetarian options. She believed by going vegetarian, she had given away many of the foods she had loved. Today she can find a delicious meatfree alternative, lacking neither in taste nor flavor. Over these years she has seen Austin become a nest for healthy eating and, with the wide variety of foods, a place perfect for starting along the path of becoming vegetarian.
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of the Austin Vegan & Vegetarian Association, has a strong passion for the vegetarian and vegan diet.
enjoy. Going vegan or vegetarian does not mean salads and sprouts!” Bothma said.
“We’re seeing a big influx in new people moving here who are already vegan or vegetarian. At the same time, new people moving here are finding out just how vegan-friendly Austin is,” Good said.
Throughout Bothma’s journey towards opening her all vegan bakery, she experimented with vegan substitutes to create delicious pastries and baked goods. It is often assumed going vegan will takes away food options, but Bothma, and other restaurant owners like her, have disproved this misconception. Good has also worked to debunk misunderstandings of the vegan and vegetarian diet, such as the false belief that non-meat eaters often face a protein deficiency .
Austin’s population has rapidly grown, with an average of 110 people moving here every day. Within this mass of people there are numerous vegans Inge Bothma and vegetarians. Austin, voted number eight of the top 10 cities with the most vegetarian restaurants in the US, has vastly expanded its vegan and vegetarian choices.
You do not have to compromise on flavor by going plant based.
“You do not have to compromise on flavor by going plant based. There are yummy burgers, pizzas and even bbq right here in Austin that you can still
“It’s actually only common for vegetarians and vegans to be protein deficient if they, like many Americans, eat a lot of processed or fast foods, and simply stop eating meat but still eat the other stuff that was never very good for them… ‘Nutritionally-speaking we don’t need nearly as much protein as the meat industry would like you to believe,” Good said. photo credit: Masahiro Ihara
In fact, vegetarianism has had a huge growth not just in Austin, but also nationally. According to a Harris Interactive study commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group, the number of vegans and vegetarians in the U.S. has doubled since 2009 from 2.5 percent to 5 percent of the population. There are numerous reasons for this growth. Many join this diet for the assumed health benefits, however, as with any diet, there is a right and wrong way to do it.
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Austin is known for its healthy diets and varieties of food, and because of this, in the past years it has had a huge growth in vegan and vegetarian diets. Inge Bothma, the owner of Happy Vegan Bakery, dedicated her career to creating another vegan option for the people of Austin. Bothma was classically French trained in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu Paris, but after gaining 50 pounds from culinary school, she made the decision to go vegan. “We were voted the most vegan friendly city in the country, and you can walk into any self-respecting restaurant from steakhouse to sushi place and find vegan options on the menu,” Bothma said. Before 2007, when Bothma opened Happy Vegan Bakery, there were no vegan bakeries in Austin. Inge says she opened this restaurant to show people vegan eating has no limitations. Like Bothma, Brendan Good, the chairman
Whole Foods Market offeres organic vegetables in the produce produce section. passionfruit spring | 13
Like any diet, being vegan or vegetarian can be done healthy and unhealthy. While people are often persuaded to join this diet because of the presumed weight loss, Linda Farr, a registered dietitian, has observed patients who are adversely affected by this change in diet, due to their bad eating habits. Farr and Good both noted that in order to see the benefits of the vegan and vegetarian diet, a person must have a balanced eating habits. “Protein is important for developing muscle mass, and for the regeneration of our skin and body organs,” Farr said. Protein is a crucial building block for bones, muscles, skin and blood. Protein can come from different sources, the most common being animals. Good noted tofu and tempeh, a fermented soybean product, as sufficient substitutes for meat. But protein does not need to be consumed solely through animal products. High protein foods include beans, lentils, yogurt, nuts and seeds. “Eat a variety of foods, and you’ll get a broad swath of nutrition over the whole balance,” Good said. Good explained one of the most important thing to note when eating a vegan or vegetarian diet is to eat a diverse amount of foods. According to Farr, about 15 to 20 percent of a person’s calories should come from protein, and this can easily be achieved by non-meat eaters. “For just the sake of their own health, a person starting down the vegan/ vegetarian path doesn’t even need to cut meat out entirely to get major health benefits,” Good said. Good started his quest to become vegan in 2003, when he decided to eat less meat, but it wasn’t until 2010 when he made the commitment to convert completely. Good explained how becoming vegetarian should be a process, and not immediate. Kelsey Shaltry, a registered dietitian local to Austin, has worked to show the health 14 | passionfruit spring
Avocado, broccoli, lettuce, peas, and many other delicious vegetables are vital for the vegan diet. Avocado is a great source of natural fat, and is often used for a replacement for butter. benefits of the diet. “I see the benefits of healthy eating every day. It is an amazing feeling to see people recover or control the symptoms of their disease through nutrition,” Shaltry said. “The number one killer in America is cardiovascular disease and research has shown that a vegetarian diet will help prevent this disease.”
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estimated 70 percent of all diseases, including one-third of all cancers, are related to diet, including diabetes and heart disease. “The vegan and vegetarian diet increases fiber, increases antioxidants, decreases your exposure to fat, and can keep you at a health weight, and for all those reasons, can help reverse disease,” Farr said.
I see the benefits of healthy eating every day.
- Kelsey Shaltry Shaltry, the owner of the local In the US, about 68 nutrition company, Texas Total Health, percent of adults and about 30 percent of Inc, has used dieting in numerous children and adolescents are overweight. ways to improve diseases or weaken the Farr explained that, if done correctly, symptoms of many major diseases. An the vegan and vegetarian diet can make
photo credit: Jenna Felicity With the release of the Paul McCartney video “Glass Walls,’ the dreadful lives of farm animals were revealed. The gruesome and ruthless food industry was also exposed in the oscar nominated documentary “Food, Inc.” “Very few [people] understand that animal agriculture is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, bigger than the transportation and energy sectors combine,” Good said. In order to keep production lines running, humane killing methods are often ignored, and animals are improperly sedated or stunned before being put in boiling water, according to a study done by Mercy For Animals. This study showed the meat industry is based on efficiency, resulting in barbaric and cruel treatment of animals. “I grew up with all kinds of animals around me and from an early age made the association between my feathered, fluffy friends and the meat that was served on the table,” Bothma said.
a large improvement in overall health. “I saw it for what it can also be: preventative medicine to an increasingly ailing America that was digging their own graves with their teeth: making poor dietary choices and not having the resources and skills to know better,” Bothma said. Each person is affected differently by the absence of meat and other animal products, but there are some very common affects. After switching to the vegan diet, Inga Bothma saw a few of these changes. “My overall health improved: No more migraines, acne or hormone issues,” Bothma said. “Also on an ethical level I have the satisfaction that I am no longer contributing to the suffering of
millions of animals each year that only exists to feed the human population.” Every day 137 million farm animals, not including seafood, are slaughtered worldwide . In the meat industry chickens live in sheds without access to sunlight, or fresh air.
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Unlike Bothma, people often make a mental separation between the food they eat and how it was produced. Good explained that millions of people around the world make the choice to ignore the benefits of diet, and others live their life unaware of these benefits. He stated that although the vegan and vegetarian diet has grown, the education of the advantages of a healthy diet need to expand further. Good explained people need to be aware of what they are eating, and to be open to new diets.
I am no longer contributing to the suffering of millions of animals each year that only exists to feed the human population.
“I don’t think there’s a person I wouldn’t recommend for a vegan or vegetarian “The realities of the - Inge Bothma diet. The most difficult lives that important thing...is farm animals live on factory farms is that they be open-minded,” Good said. getting so much exposure these days that “You have to take your health into your many states are passing, or are trying to own hands.” • pass, ‘ag-gag’ laws that make it a crime to record or report on what goes on inside them,” Good said. passionfruit spring | 15
by: Anisah Aguilar
In
Mood
the
for
Food
If you are new to food truck culture and have only tried the most popular of popular food trucks, here are four not-well-known food trucks in Austin you may need to visit according to RoamingHunger.com.
Gourdough’s Housed in an airstream trailer, this donut shop is very popular because of their giant doughnuts in a variety of flavors. This food truck is sure to fill you up.
Load
a
Bowl
The Load a Bowl crew are former Food Network employees who are world cuisine enthusiasts. They aim to serve fast, casual, and delicious bowls of their finest food.
Source: http://roaminghunger.com/aus
Mighty Cone This popular food truck is famous for selling every dish they have in a cone. Since 2002, when they appeared at ACL, Mighty Cone has been gaining exponential popularity.
Snolabs Snolabs sells all-natural dairy products such as ice cream and frozen yogurt called SNĂ–, which they shave themselves to make it look like snow, but taste like ice cream.
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photo credit (below): Basheer Tome, via Flickr photo credit (left): openclipart.com
Coffee Culture How Coffee Shops Influence Austin Culture written by: Hattie Lindell
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OMINICAN JOE coffee shop quickly fills with people on a recent morning. The tables are full, people and papers are scattered every which way, and a muted but comfortable chatter permeates the store. Students sit with their laptops and notes taking up more space than reasonably necessary, friends cluster at tables with paper cups in their hands and smiles on their faces, and other people sit, plugged into their phones or holding a novel, just enjoying the space. From the students and workers in need of a temporary office, to the friends who need a meeting place, Dominican Joe coffee shop is a comfortable for its visitors.
“[The community] is better in Austin. It’s a great vibe just in general,” Jenee Ovitt, owner of Once Over Coffee Bar, said. “There’s a lot of other places do have that sense of community, but I think Austin has it even more.”
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Mehul Patel, owner of Dominican Joe coffee shop, has a similar sentiment. He too has a deep appreciation for the opportunities Austin can offer.
Austin Weird” and “I Buy Texas,” there are multiple efforts in Austin support small businesses owners. “People really, truly support local business here. There’s that ethos of ‘we want to buy local,’ and that helps businesses like ours enormously, and I’m very grateful for it,” Thunderbird Coffee owner Ryan Mcelroy said.
I wanted to create a place where people could come and feel genuinely appreciated.
The same Austin ethos that supports -Mallory Alison local businesses has another big focus in the coffee world: the treatment of foreign coffee bean growers. Farmers face “We’ve talked about expanding to different unsafe working conditions and low wages, places, Houston and Dallas, and that’s earning as little as $3 a day. not even on our radar, because so much of what we do is just very much this culture “Coffee tends to be one of the commodities of Austin,” Patel said. that will have workers not getting paid fairly, that are not being found Coffee shop owners are thankful for the properly, or taken care of well,” Vintage Austin community because many citizens Heart owner Mallory Alison explained. support local businesses. Between “Keep “Farmers can often get left in the dust.”
photo credit: Hattie Lindell
This home-away-from-home feeling inside Dominican Joe is not uncommon. Coffee shops have created spaces where people feel at home, and have become the office spaces and meeting grounds of Austin because of it. Because coffee shops are able to reach people in this way, these establishments can have resounding
impacts in a community, from fair trade to creating a safe space for their visitors.
Thunderbird Café and Tap Room is owned by Ryan Mcelroy, and is located on Koenig Lane. The shop was remodeled nearly a year ago, adding 35 beer taps. Many coffee shops in Austin now offer beer or other spirits, because “People don’t buy coffee after 2 p.m.” passionfruit spring | 19
photo credit: Hattie Lindell
Direct trade has become a way for Thunderbird coffee, Vintage Heart, and other coffee shops to buy their beans in both an ethical and meaningful way. By buying directly from the growers, instead of through several middlemen, coffee shops can improve the treatment of coffee bean workers.
photo credit: Hattie Lindell
“We buy so that we have a direct relationship with the farms that our coffee really comes from,” Mcelroy said. “So we shortened the supply chain, allow them to Vintage Heart Coffee is owned by Mallory Alison. She says owning a coffee shop really gives you a be paid more, and have “full sense of good ease.” Vintage Heart is located on East 7th Street. higher quality of work positive force, instead of tapping into some has a unique influence within the global done on the farm.” industry that’s going to corrupt and not community. The shop works directly with treat people appropriately for the work Makarios, a faith-based non-profit in the Alison also values fair and direct trade, that they’re doing.” Dominican Republic, and Dominican Joe saying, “I wanted to make sure that if buys coffee beans through them. [Vintage Heart] was going to add to the Fair trade is just one way coffee shops coffee scene, that we were going to be a can have an impact, and Dominican Joe “There’s a lot of coffee in [the Dominican Republic] that wasn’t being exported, there was just no infrastructure down there, so [my partner] would bring it back with her in suitcases. She and I started talking about opening up a shop where we would buy coffee in bulk from the nonprofit,” Patel said.
Once Over Coffee Bar is owned by Jenee Ovitt. The shop has the “smallest dog park in Texas,” which Ovitt says was created to “lessen the blow that you can’t take your dog inside the place to the back deck.” Once Over is located on 1st Street. 20 | passionfruit spring
Dominican Joe sends the money made from selling coffee back to the Dominican Republic. Makarios has built schools in the area, and the money goes there to help the students and the farmers.
“We’re having an impact with the schools that Makarios is building, and we have an impact with the farmers that we work directly with. They get fair wages, their kids get scholarships to another school, and all along the chain we’re able to have a positive impact,” Patel said.
photo credit: Hattie Lindell
Other Austin coffee shops create changes within their communities on a smaller scale. Shops put up local art, play live music, or host open mic nights.
“We showcase local artists on our walls, Dominican Joe is located on South Congress Avenue is owned by Mehul Patel. He says the idea and the amount of behind the business is “you do what you’re already doing, except it has an impact.” people that we’ve put on our walls in the last second home,” he said. relationship with the shop’s customers six years that we don’t Owners can put their all into a coffee is more than just a transaction. Ovitt know is really low, because so many of shop’s atmosphere, says customers are the people that work for us or that come but according to friends too. in are artists.” Ovitt said. “We’ve gotten Mcelroy, it’s the mentioned in acknowledgments in books customers and the “We’ve had because people have written their books at workers who really customers to our Once Over.” affect the mood of house, we’ve been to the shop. He believes their houses. We’re Creating a place where people feel having motivated and happy employees pretty close to a lot of them,” Ovitt said. comfortable writing or having their work can make a big difference. “All our friends are at the coffee shop!” shown is only one aspect of creating a welcoming environment in a coffee “You hire the right people, they’re already Between the customers and the employees, shop. Alison describes her atmosphere generally happy people, they’re already coffee shops are influenced by human at Vintage Heart as “come one, come all, motivated people coming in. You don’t contact. enjoy a cup of coffee, you be you.” have to change anybody, you just assemble a team,” “Coffee shops bring people together,” Ovitt “I wanted to create Mcelroy said. said. a place where “People who people could come are already Coffee shops can become much more than and feel genuinely awesome, just an establishment, doing anything appreciated and and when from creating a community where people really comfortable, you get all feel at home to supporting foreign and have a really -Ryan Mcelroy those people workers. Because of this, coffee shops great cup of together, it’s have an impact across different levels of coffee,” Alison just a really wonderful peaceful world the Austin community. As the Dominican said. “I like to believe that people come that you live in.” Joe motto says, “Drink coffee, change the because they can sit and eat with their world.” • friends, and have great conversation.” Interacting with customers is an important part of working at a coffee Patel feels similarly about Dominican shop, but many owners believe their Joe’s customers. “People view us as a
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Coffee shops bring people together.
-Jenee Ovitt
People get jobs, people meet significant others, it’s like a real still life.
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by: Claire Carlander
START
quick
photo by: Jennifer
photo by: Pink Sherbet Photography
photo by: Garrett Zeigler
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ach of these restaurants are local to Austin, Texas, and are some of the city’s best bites. Stubb’s BBQ, named after the founder Christopher Stubblefield, has been serving Texas BBQ since 1968. Olive and June, owned by Shawn Cirkiel, offers classic Italian dishes inspired by Crikiel’s own family recipes. Mother’s Cafe, serving all vegetarian and vegan food, offers anything from a salad to a delicious enchilada. P.Terry’s Burger Stand is known throughout Austin for it’s classic burgers and fries. Thundercloud Subs has been serving healthy, fast, and fresh sandwiches since 1975. Take this flowchart quiz to find which of these restaurants suits you!
photo by: sabotrax
photo by: Christopher Craig
YUM! sources:
http://oliveandjune-austin.com/about-us/ http://motherscafeaustin.com/menu http://www.stubbsaustin.com/menu http://thundercloud.com/about/
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Photo Credit: Kris Kr端g via flickr
Behind The Screen Three Bloggers Share Their Stories written by: Sora Sunby
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T’S A BASK-IN-THE-SUN KIND of summer afternoon when Emily Dwyer decides to relax on her porch and search for recipes for gluten-free cupcakes online. She scrolls through pinterest, wondering how people can make frozen juice look so appetizing. The kitchen, the ingredients, even the people are the most aesthetically pleasing things that had waltzed before her eyes in a long time. As she sifted through the recipes, she vowed to sift through the lives of their chefs. Across the internet there are hundreds of recipes for any given dish. People work hard to put out their ideas every day and share their unique creations. These bloggers look for inspiration in everyday life and work hard to bring a fresh new recipe to the table. From childhood to adulthood, these people have an everlasting love for food, and it mirrors their blogs. “I’m both a recovering vegetarian and a recovering hippie,” Lily Diamond said.
enthusiasm for food with her 11 year old daughter, a similar ardor to what an across-the-world Anthony Christakakis grew up today with. Christakakis was brought up with similar food love and now has an instagram account reviewing restaurants. “I am a major food lover, [I’ve] been around restaurants and home cooking for as long as I remember,” Christakakis said. Christakakis lives in Melbourne, Australia, and has been around food all his life. He and his friend Tom have posted on opposites.attract since May of 2014. They created the account to give viewers an experience they might not otherwise have, while Ramirez brought hers to life to keep tabs on herself and to plan her meals out ahead of time. “At first I thought of it as a diary, a food diary,” Ramirez said.
are prunes, strawberries, and melons. Diamond also has an appreciation for farmers markets. “Every neighborhood in LA has its own farmers market: I love that I walk five minutes to mine every week,” Diamond said. There are 128 farmers markets in Los Angeles county, and according to Diamond, going to the farmers market is the next best thing to growing her own food. She finds peace in saying hello to the people who grow her herbs and harvest her honey. From local food to local food friends, these people have found their niche in the blogging community. Ramirez finds creativity from her comrades. “I find different inspiration from different food blogs and friends,” Ramirez said. “I have lots of friends that cook and also cook seasonally and enjoy food so there’s a lot of food bloggers in Austin so there’s a big community of us that we pull our inspiration from.” These companions are helpful when it comes to pooling ideas for new recipes, but there are other ways to get inspiration.
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I’m a major food lover.
Photo Credit: Nelly Paulina Ramirez
Whether reviewing others’ food or cooking their own, the ingredients for Diamond lives in Los Angeles, dishes have to come from somewhere. California When the weather is and is apt nice, Ramirez likes to eat from going to the Triangle farmers Market with her -Anthony Christakakis markets, daughter in northor off the central Austin. You “… I have a small stash of cookbooks land, if can see her rant and at the library which is actually one of she gets the chance. She grew up in obsess about strawberries when they’re my favorite places to go to when I’m I Maui, Hawaii and her mom worked available, but she also finds prune feel like I’m drying up and I don’t know as an aromatherapist, which meant season fun. what to do next,” Ramirez said. eating off-beat ingredients such as blue-green algae and flowers was “It’s the fruit normal to her. Diamond enjoys sharing that gets these new flavors with her viewers on me excited,” kaleandcaramel.tumblr.com. Just a Ramirez said. couple states away is Nelly Ramirez, who also gets her food passion from her Ramirez will family. buy 60 to 100 pounds of “I grew up in Dallas, I moved to Austin tomatoes over about 8, 8 and a half years ago, and I’ve the course of a always cooked,” Ramirez said. day, can them, Ramirez grew up in Dallas and moved and use them to Austin eight years ago. Her family is throughout from the Yucatan, and she uses many of an entire year. Two artichokes, impulse buys by Nelly Ramirez while on a the flavors she was brought up with in Among her Community Supported Agriculture pick-up. her food today on her website, aneelee. other favorite com. Ramirez wants to share her things to buy
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the Austin Public Library downtown, Christakakis doesn’t have to worry which Ramirez checks out often. She about running out of ideas, he only has stopped by the library to find needs to go out on the streets and hop recipes for eight years, and still finds into a restaurant. He has seen many a new book each time she drops in. food fads come to life and die out Ramirez is veering off from the norm during his life in Melbourne, such as these days with smashed avocado, cookbooks, as a new double patty study shows people burgers, and get 90 percent of flavoured donuts, their recipes from the and knows what internet. Diamond has he wants to see in taken a different route the future. when she feels she’s losing focus, choosing “I would love to to relax instead. see different types -Lily Diamond of sausages served “Relaxing my mind and in different breads taking in beauty does become the next wonders for exhaustion and burnout,” big thing in Melbourne,” Christakakis Diamond said, “Inspiration rarely said. comes when my mind is like a vice, grasping for a new recipe.” With over 2 million food blogs on the
While Diamond has ambitions for her viewers, Ramirez has a goal for herself. She made it her mission to stick to meal plans, but has recently taken more of a sentimental turn, writing what she thinks along with recipes. “For a while I was really gung-ho about my meal plans and my seasonal ingredients and posting recipes that
Photo Credit: Robert Young via flickr
“
Relaxing my mind and taking in beauty does wonders for exhaustion and burnout.
Internet, Christakakis isn’t the only one with hopes for food variety in his community. Diamond knows what she wants viewers to get out of her blog and wishes for them to have a nice experience overall on her page. “I hope K&C readers develop an understanding of being in the kitchen and preparing fresh, healthy food as something intuitive, easy, fun, and sexy,” Diamond said.
Robert Young is letting his macarons sit in his home before putting them into the oven. 26 | passion fruit spring
Photo Credit: Natalie Paulina Ramirez
A soba and sweet potato lunch bowl using vegetables from Natalie Ramirez’s Community Supported Griculture basket and dressed with toasted sesame oil. were seasonal and making sure to keep lots of content,” Ramirez said, “and I think here in the past few months it’s gone back to more of a diary.”
“
scattered or when I’m stressed, or when there’s a lot going on it’s really grounding,” Ramirez said. “I’m really trying to focus a little bit more on the feelings in the kitchen now, of the kitchen and just the mood that I’m in.”
I’m really trying to focus a little bit more on the feelings in the kitchen now, of the kitchen and just the mood I’m in.
As her website has -Nelly changed into more of a personal experience, it has grounded her. According to Ramirez, cooking is calming and meditation-like. “It’s peaceful, it’s a process from beginning to end … So when I’m
around them. “...it’s been amazing so far.,” Christakakis said, “met many great new people, eaten at some amazing restaurants, street food and food vans, learned more about cooking, helped friends and family try new experiences that they had no idea about and it has made me appreciate food so much more.” •
Ramirez
Blogging also helped Christakakis expand his horizons and relax, meeting new people and trying new food along with family he wouldn’t think of before. A common denominator among bloggers is how they are passionate about sharing their love of food with everyone passion fruit spring | 27
by: Anisah Aguilar
Ice Cream, You Scream Hungry to find out which ice cream flavors are the bee’s knees? Well, thanks to the Bassets Ice Cream Company, you can! Here’s a list of their top seven ice cream flavors in America, in order of popularity.
2 1 5 3 6 4 7 Mint Chocolate Chip Made from dark chocolate chunks and spearmint, this flavor’s green color comes from food coloring.
Chocolate
Though many people dislike chocolate, the flavor is the third most popular due to its rich taste.
Cookies and Cream Made with Oreos, this flavor is popular with many people due to the crunchy texture.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/owzqvdu
Cookie Dough
Vanilla
This classic ice cream flavor that’s been around for centuries is the most popular flavor in America.
As one of the most popular guilty pleasures, its no surprise cookie dough is one of the top flavors.
Guatemalan Ripple A coffee based flavor, Guatemalan ripple is a brand flavor that is popular in the Americas.
Peanut Butter Swirl Made with chocolate and peanut butter, this ice cream flavor is a favorite with many people.
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