ATX FOOD NEWS | Eating our way through Austin, one delicious bite at a time.

Fit Foodie 5K + Giveaway

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Kay Marley-Dilworth

Photo courtesy of The Fit Foodie Race Series

You know what will motivate me to run? The promise of tasty food & beverages! The upcoming Cooking Light & Health’s The Fit Foodie 5K Weekend brings together folks with a love for great foods, and a eye toward living fit. This three day event is rolling into Austin June 12 – 14, and is a fantastic way to kick off a summer of being health conscious while still indulging in satisfying sips and nibbles.

Friday night revs up the action with a VIP Cocktail party. Foodies, get ready to mingle with the likes of Anna Bullett, Cooking Light‘s Executive Chef, Thomas Leverett of Del Sol Martial Arts & Fitness, and Chef Harold Marmulstein of Salty Sow. In addition to mouthwatering food and bevies, there will be giveaways galore.

Waiting at the start line sometimes increases nervous energy, but a group stretch and dance party will channel your excitement and loosen up your legs. Crossing the finish line doesn’t mean the event is over for Fit Foodies. The Finisher’s Village is your gateway to not only post-race refueling, but sampling offerings from restaurants, culinary demos, wine and beer tastings, fitness demos, giveaways and more. Truly one of a kind event, this is not your ordinary 5K! To ease tired muscles, Sunday morning is Yoga & Pure Barre, in the park, followed by Cooking Light & Health inspired brunch. Really, a race can’t get much better than this.

Whether you decide to make a weekend of it, and go for the gold with all three events, or choose to race the 5K only, you’ll enjoy every bit of being part of the Fit Foodie 5K. The race series has graced me with an entry, so I’ll be running, ahem, walking swiftly alongside you. And I’m giving away a pair of tickets to the Fit Foodie 5K Race Weekend, so be sure to enter below. If you’d rather not leave it up to chance, use code ATXFOODNEWS for 50% off race registration. Have a blast and remember that a calorie burned is a calorie earned.

Take part in the fun by using the hashtag #TweetYourFeet and pics of your shoes while you’re out running this week. On race day, the social media frenzy can be found under #FitFoodieRun and #RunEatDrink. Tweet your selfies at the Finisher’s Village and you’re guaranteed to make a few couch potato friends wish they’d raced with you.

On Twitter, follow @FitFoodieRun, @Cooking_Light, and @GoodHealth, and find them on Instagram as @FitFoodieRun, @CookingLight and @HealthMagazine. The Fit Foodie Facebook page has photos of past races, and tips to help you get ready to cross the most delicious finish line, ever.

Enter for your chance to win tickets, and get those running shoes ready! Two lucky readers will win a complimentary ticket to the Austin Fit Foodie 5K Race Weekend.

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Chef Robert Irvine Live – Win Tickets!

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Kay Marley-Dilworth

Coming to the Long Center, Robert Irvine LIVE is a combination of unscripted cooking challenges (chosen by the audience), and glimpses into the chef’s work for the British royal family as well as his 11 seasons hosting Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible, as the chef engages with the audience, chatting and laughing his way through the night. It’s interactive, with audience members recruited to be sous chefs and assistants. Guaranteeing high energy antics, Chef Irvine will meet each challenge with wit, and sterling cooking skills.

This is one performance where attendees aren’t expected to sit quietly and listen. Not only will the audience control a “digital challenge wheel,” cherry picking ingredients to use, but also can tweak the time allotted to Chef Irvine for the challenge, and even the cooking method and/or style. The chef will banter with the audience, share some of his story, and talk about his charity work, which includes the nonprofit he founded to support and service our nation’s military and first responders. Expect a rockin’ foodie variety show, with music, video and dancing in the aisles.

Social media comes into play during the show, as tweets and Facebook posts are collected prior to the show, and at intermission. Questions to the chef, suggestions on the challenges and observations are incorporated into the performance. All in all, it will be a highly entertaining evening. The Long Center has been kind enough to provide me with media seats for the June 17th event, and also a set of tickets for a blog reader. Who wouldn’t want to win tickets to a fun night with a talented cheflebrity? The winner will be announced on June 2nd.
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Tasting your way through Cinco de Mayo

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Kay Marley-Dilworth

As a Mexican-American, I’m proud to celebrate my culture in many different ways. Cinco de Mayo, however, leaves me a bit unsatisfied. Too often it is confused with Mexico’s Independence Day (Diez y Seis de Septiembre), and many here in the U.S. don’t know that it isn’t a national holiday in Mexico. It’s regionally celebrated in Mexico, but in the U.S. it’s more of an industry-created holiday, like Administrative Professionals day or Mother’s Day. It’s the Hallmark holiday of mi gente in America, more used as an excuse to drink a lot than noting the historical significance of a fierce battle. I’ll tell you what doesn’t leave me unsatisfied, though, and that is the abundance of great food in Austin, for #CincoDeMayo:

La Condesa pulls out all the stops tonight with their annual Cinco De Mayo Block Party. Street food from the restaurant will be stellar, and among the entertainment is rising star Gina Chavez, and my new hot favorite, Bidi Bidi Banda. Actually, I love all the entertainment, which includes Mariachi Relampago, Cilantro Boombox and Celsius. Cazadores Tequila, Dos Equis and Tecate are bringing the libations. The event is on W. 2nd Street, between Guadalupe and San Antonio, from 5pm – 9pm, with free entry.

El Chilito is bringing the fiesta to E. 7th Street (at Chalmers) with a free pig roast tonight from 6pm – 8pm. Chef Anselmo Sanchez is roasting a whole pig, and will serve up crispy pork tacos until it’s gone. With free beer, aguas frescas and ice cold watermelon, expect this event to be packed. Tunes provided by DJ Boyfriends, and there will be El Chilito gift cards given away during the party. Family friendly, dog friendly patio. While you’re there, try the frozen sangria. It will become your Austin summer soother.

La Mancha (2203 Hancock Dr.) has its normal bargain of a Taco Tuesday special: $2 tacos at lunch, and happy hour from 3pm – 6pm. That translates to $3 house margaritas, $4 sangria ritas, well drinks are $3.50, and beer will run you $3 or less. Casamigos Tequila will be conducting a sampling, and there will be giveaways. La Mancha is super family-friendly, and one thing I love on their kids’ menu is the Veg & Queso entree. Steamed veggies are served with a side of queso for dipping, rice and beans. Queso is now a gateway drug to good nutrition. Eat your veggies, child!

Uber has teamed up with Vivo, Fork & Taco, Taco Flats and Curra’s Grill to promote responsible Cinco de Mayo partying. Ride Uber to any of the four restaurants and show your receipt for $1 margaritas. Vivo‘s Cinco menu includes 2 for $4 tacos (choose from shrimp, spinach, carnitas, mushroom, and more), $2 beers, and $5 brisket tortas.

At mi casa, we’ll celebrate Mexico’s defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla with enchiladas, rice and beans. Perhaps I’ll mix up a batch of margaritas, and toast General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, and his famous quote, “Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria.”