Tag Food Carts

Parties That Cook Goes to Austin for the IACP Conference

Yee-haw!

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is a worldwide forum for the development and exchange of information, knowledge, and inspiration within the professional food and beverage community. We were lucky enough to send our very own Director of Marketing, Crissy Gershey, to the heart of the Lone Star State — Austin, Texas.  She braved the 110-degree heat and took on the city known for its musical and culinary history. Let’s take this opportunity for a virtual vacation in Texas…

The Live Music Capital of the World!

But first… It wouldn’t be Texas without the customary longhorn photo:

Did you know that their horns can extend up to 7 feet from tip to tip?

While in Austin, Crissy made sure to hit up all the hot spots. One such locale is the vibrant, creative and hip neighborhood known as SoCo. There, she checked out the famous Tesoros Trading Co., a store featuring a wide selection of Mexican and Latin American folk art, Moroccan mirrors, jewelry from all over the world, and more! There were SO many cool nick nacks! Crissy considered buying a pair of stylish boots from the well-known Allen’s Boots, but instead, opted for ice cream at Amy’s, which has been serving scoops of deliciousness for over 25 years. (A much better way to cool off in the sweltering heat!) Crissy then snapped a photo of The Driskill Hotel, where she sipped a Sazerac and enjoyed some local live music.

The Driskill Hotel — built in 1886 as the showplace of cattle baron Jesse Driskill.

The Texas Capitol Building.

Speaking of Capitols: In celebration of the 1st anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Chef’s Move to Schools Initiative, the IACP invited White House Senior Food Policy Advisor Sam Kass as a guess speaker. Nice!

The Congress Avenue Bridge: famous for its resident bats!

Let’s talk food for a bit — well, mobile food. Trailer, cart, truck, silver bullet, wagon, Austin has ’em all! Crissy found food carts set up in parking lots, on sidewalks, in groups or standing by themselves, “They were everywhere!” Some of the freshest and most crave-worthy food in Austin is served from these carts. You can get delicious hot dogs, tacos, pho, crepes and a multitude of other ethnic foods.  It’s no wonder why Austin loves its food carts!

So you wanna start a food cart?

As far as restaurants go, Austin brings home the gold in culinary expertise — and there’s no shortage of options! Crissy ate one of the top 10 meals of her life at Uchiko, a restaurant featuring contemporary Japanese food and sushi. She and our friends from Simple Gourmet in Los Angeles also hit up El Arbol, where they got a taste of South American cuisine.

Taji, Crissy, and Melanie

What’s a trip to Texas without a stop at The Salt Lick BBQ? It doesn’t get any more authentic than this…

Crissy opted for a BBQ brisket sandwich. Yum!

But wait! We can’t forget about the IACP Conference! After attending a session on community gardens and urban farms, Crissy was inspired to check out Boggy Creek Farm. She couldn’t believe its location— right smack in the middle of East Austin! Chicken coop and all…

Sad to say, it doesn’t look like these chickens have a cool enough coop for The Funky Chicken Coop Tour.

We love urban farming!

Texas: Go Big or Go Home!

Last up was a trip to the Central Market, one of the freshest market chains in the country! The great thing about these markets is that they’re not only a place to exchange goods and services, but also ideas. Central Markets offer community gathering spaces, cooking classes, and live music at every location.

Crissy snapped this photo of fresh and dried chilies — Keepin’ it hot in Texas!

With new found knowledge about video blogging, plenty of DIY marketing tips, and lots of fun memories, Crissy boarded the plane back to San Francisco. What do you think, is Austin Parties That Cook’s next stop for corporate team building?

Parties That Cook Set to Heat Up Portland Team Building Events

As Parties That Cook ramps up to launch our hands-on cooking parties and corporate team building events in Portland, Oregon this summer, learning about the city’s culture is an important step. What better way to do so than by eating our way through the city?!

On two recent trips to research this progressive, food-loving city, Bibby and Carolyn quickly learned first-hand that Portland is leading the country in food carts (it boasts one of the largest populations of food carts per capita in the U.S.), farm-to-table dining, and innovative chefs satisfying Portland’s hunger for delicious food made with local ingredients!

While Bibby and Carolyn spent most of their time meeting with clients, visiting venues, and picking the brains (and bellies!) of Portland foodies, they were still able to see what the all the buzz is about. Everyone they met with had a tip for them, and the list grew like yeast in a microbrewery!  Some wonderful restaurants they would gladly return to include:

Clyde Common (at The Ace Hotel) for fresh Arugula Pappardelle and the most “alive” salad they had ever seen
Gruner for contemporary Austrian fare
Little Bird Bistro for bar bites and cocktails
Tasty n Sons for their Chocolate Potato Doughnuts with Crème Anglaise
Beaker and Flask for spit-roasted whole goat. Every Tuesday night they spit-roast a different animal!

Lunch was more spontaneous – easy to do with food carts sprinkled on every corner and parking lot! The Grilled Cheese Grill was one of their favorites. You can choose to eat on an outdoor patio or inside the old-school school bus with bench seating and tables shellacked with 70’s yearbook pictures. Carolyn had the Meatball Grilled Cheese with Marina Sauce and Pesto – delicious! Bibby went for the Beef and Gruyere on Rye, which was equally amazing.

The rental car reminded them of their eating experiences when they returned to PDX: empty coffee cups from Stumptown Coffee, balled up Porchetta and Arugula sandwich wrappers from The People’s Pig food cart, and pastry aromas from treats at Ken’s Artisan Bakery wafted out as they sadly retrieved their belongings.

The next trip will definitely include a Farm to Table experience, a trip to the Portland Farmer’s Market, lunch at Pok Pok for Vietnamese, and dinner at Castagna… Parties That Cook’s official Portland launch is in September, but the first Portland event is on June 27, 2011 – 3 months ahead of schedule! City of Roses, here comes Parties That Cook!