Dallas Treats: Scardello and Rise No. 1

Since the Chihuly exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum (see previous post) took only one morning, we spent a pleasant day sampling some fabulous Dallas food.

Scardello Artisan Cheese @scardellocheese has won the “best cheese shop” award for the past two years from Dallas Magazine, a well-deserved honor. 

Their cheese case includes around 150 varieties from Texas, US, and around the world. The friendly staff will offer you samples of anything, and he’ll put the label next to it so you can read about what you’re trying. (If you really want to annoy him, and I did, keep taking the small piece of waxed paper and wadding it up between tastings.) They’ll cut any size you want, even off the wheel.

Labels include the cheese’s name, type of milk, its maker, and a brief description. Just tell them what you like (“funky,” “your best blue”), and they’ll make a recommendation (along with a wine pairing to complement your selection).

They host wine tastings, beer and cheese pairings, and other events throughout the month. In fact, this weekend, our local friends from Ranger Creek @rangercreek will pair their La Bestia with a Gruyere.

Grab a loaf of crusty bread, some choices from their charcuterie, and a few brownies from Oh Brownie @ohbrownie (try the gourmet sea salt and caramel) to complete your meal.

We would have eaten lunch there, but we had reservations at Rise @risesouffle, a floating-away-good soufflé restaurant on Lovers Lane.

 

Styled after a French bistro, the menu includes traditional French appetizers, salads, and cheese, in addition to their ethereal soufflés. Play some Scrabble on the table while you await your appetizers.

Bruce’s artichoke Andrée (served steamed with “Hedda’s family sauce”) was earthy, and the creamy sauce nicely offset the leaves. He ate all the tender inner leaves, which got tougher as he moved outward.

Soupe a l’oignon grantinée? Yes please! This onion soup had a marvelous depth of flavor from the caramelized onions and would hold up just fine in France.

Their entrée soufflés run the gamut from traditional (like my jambon and Gruyere) to the more adventurous. Bruce’s salty and garlicky esgargot soufflé arrived on a traditional escargot dish. All of them were lick-your-bowl delicious. My sister worried that my ten-year-old nephew would wolf down their shared soufflé while she took the five-year-old for a potty break.

Your server will recommend that you order your dessert in advance, since soufflés do take time (and they’re all cooked to order). Our table communally devoured (hey, we’re family) soufflés of chocolate, raspberry, and a seasonal pumpkin selection.

Remember that soufflés take time to prepare. Summon your inner Frenchman and relax and enjoy the wait.

Texas Renaissance Festival: Lift Up Your Cares

Thirty-eight years ago, the Texas Renaissance Festival  @texrenfest opened with three stages and 15 acres near Magnolia (north of Houston). Today, the festival has exploded to 60 acres, seven themed villages, 400 shops, tasty food, live entertainment for all ages, evening fireworks, and just a jolly good time.

As you arrive at the site, you’ll notice many attendees in full costume. If your ten-year-old (or husband) just can’t bear the visit in her Hello, Kitty shirt, stop by the costume rental near the entrance. Dress code is, uh, flexible. You’ll see some folks (who should know better) in skimpy chain mail, as well as Star Wars stormtroopers and World War I uniforms. Go figure.

Bacon on a stick? Why, yes please!

While wandering through the grounds, you hear music from familiar sources (like brass ensembles) and period instruments (such as dulcimers). The aromas of roasting meat and grilled corn whet your appetite. Hawkers in nearby booths call loudly for your patronage. Costumed cast members enact vignettes tied to the weekend’s theme.

Our favorite shows (see my YouTube video for highlights):

 

• Cast in Bronze: Most carillons reside in stationary perfection atop bell towers. This 4-ton behemoth is mounted on a heavily modified gooseneck trailer. You won’t hear music like this in many places.

 

 

• The Ded Bob Sho: A snarky skeleton “dummy” and his masked companion Smuj. We missed his usual left-leaning political zingers. (Maybe he didn’t want to risk his substantial tip income in this heated election year.) Nevertheless, we always enjoy getting “Bobmotized.”

 

• Arsene: This French mime makes his show out of being a poor magician and good-naturedly harassing audience members. Warning: do not show up late or fail to applaud. You might lose your shoe!

 

• Royal Falconer: These beautiful birds demonstrate hunting skills (“meeses-pieces” serving as bait) and chase presenters around the stage.

 

 

 

Food choices include everything from turkey legs (of course) to pierogies to fried crawfish. Even at this meat-fest, vegetarians won’t starve, with choices like hummus, Greek salad, and falafel (hang out near the Greek Agora for the most options). The Brigadoon Brewery brews their Whiskey Barrel Ale right there on site. This dark and tasty brew is full of caramel flavor and very little hoppiness.

 

 

 

Between shows and food, browse the nearly 400 shops. Whether you fancy ethereal wind chimes, delicate jewelry, or soft leather moccasins, you’ll find something to suit your taste.

 

Logistics:

• Unless you enjoy excessive heat and humidity, choose a weekend in late October through mid-November (Thanksgiving weekend attracts half the city of Houston).
• You can purchase a two-day pass, but one day works just fine. To make a weekend of it (and you should), visit the wineries in nearby Montgomery, Southern Star Brewing in Conroe, and The Woodlands for more great shopping.
• You’ll find plenty of hotels in the Magnolia and north Woodlands area; plan on a half-hour drive to the site. You can camp onsite, but expect rowdy crowds and a general lack of facilities (other than Porta Potties). Warning from personal experience: carefully minding the speed limit in Magnolia is an excellent idea.

 

 

 

• Print a schedule online (or purchase a program onsite), and spend a few minutes planning your day so you don’t miss a favorite performance.
• Purchase your tickets online so you don’t waste your time at the ticket booth queues.
• Parking is free. “King’s Preferred” close parking costs $10 and is a wise investment in post-event walking avoidance if you arrive around lunchtime or after.
• Make wise clothing choices based on the weekend’s weather. Only a couple of pubs feature “ice dragons” (air conditioning), and the site provides little cover (and swamp-like conditions) during rain. And did I mention that Houston mosquitoes can carry off small animals?
• The festival runs every weekend in October and November (plus the aforementioned to-be-avoided Thanksgiving Friday).

 

Tips for a Successful Wine Tour

The wines of 4.0 Winery

Looking for a fun day trip, regardless of the weather? Try the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail!  @texaswinetrail 

 

Some lessons we’ve learned while leading tours for our friends: 

• Save your nose: Don’t wear perfumes or other strong scents. “If you do not smell a wine…very little information goes to the brain, and not surprisingly, you have trouble deciding what the wine tastes like,” writes Karen MacNeil in The Wine Bible. I want to smell my wine, not the trendy fragrance your cousin Martha just brought back from France. Strong colognes impede that sense and annoy others. 
• Breakfast and hydration: Eat a filling breakfast, and bring water to stay hydrated between tastings. 

Our group at 4.0 Winery

• Always bring a cooler: Heat and wine do not play well in the same sandbox. Why spend all that money on a nice bottle of wine, only to allow a hot car interior to destroy it? 
• Plan your route to minimize driving: While you can enjoy the beautiful rolling scenery of the Hill Country, the goal is to taste and compare wines. Use online resources (like the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail map, see link above, or CatchWine) to plan an efficient route. We target four to six wineries but stay flexible to meet the needs of the group.

 

Monarch migration season at Messina Hof

• What’s for lunch: Our group packs a cold lunch and stops at a winery for a picnic. Ask the staff if you can use their seating area; some wineries are more hospitable than others. TABC rules require that you consume only that winery’s products on their premises, so no opening bottles from down the road. If you stop at a Texas state park, they mean it when they say “no public consumption of alcohol.” Small town restaurants offer another dining option.
• Dealing with crowds: Buses and limos lurk in winery parking lots, which means a big group (or two) has beaten you to the tasting bar. The Texas Hill Country Wine Trail attracts over 5 million visitors annually, and sometimes, you’ll swear all of them are there on your afternoon. Many wineries increase their staff on weekends to accommodate these large groups. However, on our recent tour, Mendelbaum Winery had only two staff scrambling to serve over 40 people. We waited nearly an hour, and half our group never tasted. If you notice an overtaxed staff or too-crowded tasting bar, move on to your next location before the rest of the crowd does.

Pouring a sample at Hilmy Cellars

• It’s OK if you don’t like one: All wineries provide dump buckets, and no one takes offense if you jettison a sample. Life is too short to drink a wine you don’t enjoy.
• Buy local: Ask which wines you can get only at the winery…and buy them! You can always get that Becker Viognier at H-E-B. Support local business!
• Designate a driver: All those little tastes add up (not to mention the glass of wine with lunch). Designate a driver who’s responsible enough to know when it’s time to stop tasting.

Many thanks to Four Point Winery @fourpointwine , Messina Hof Hill Country , Hilmy Cellars  and others for a fun Saturday. I hope you’ll visit one of the Texas Wine Trails very soon!

My Unexpected Summer Trip to France: Part 1

I posted earlier this summer about my surprise trip to France with my sister’s church choir. We had lots of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, great food, and a semaine merveilleuse.

My first post….well, the Tour de France of course. This super-fan (with the "slight Tour de France obsession;" see my logo) could not miss the chance to see a stage in person. (And my non-cycling-fan sister was happy to come along. I mean, it’s the Tour de France.) On July 5, the choir moved from Normandy to Paris, stopping at several sights that both Mary and I visited in the past. We left our luggage with a choir member and boarded a train from Normandy to Rouen, where stage 5 started later in the day. (We both brushed up on our French and can read French train schedules, so we were quite comfortable heading out on our own.)

Our early start paid off. Despite ominous clouds and air heavy with the scent of rain, we lucked out—no precipitation today. We secured a prime spot in front of the stage where all riders sign in before the stage begins. We could have chosen a spot along the route through Rouen, but then, you see the cyclists zip by quickly in a blur of color and you’re done. Other than the rude woman who kept pushing Mary from behind, we had one of the best seats in the house. (Hello, madame: if you want a prime spot, get here four hours early like we did.) If you plan a similar visit, wear comfortable shoes, don’t drink a lot of liquids prior/during (if you leave your spot, you’ve lost it), and be prepared to stand for several hours. My feet throbbed in protest by the end.

Sadly, the aromas of grilled sausage or fried funnel cake (or even crepes for that matter) didn’t fill the air like they would in the US. The French must have different rules about mobile food. The first sponsors to appear handed out caps and samples of sausage. Others soon tossed out other Tour "swag:" Vittel postcards, Festina wristbands, Skoda candy. We grabbed a bagful of stuff and passed some back to those behind.

The individual sponsors moved out, and the multi-hued caravan began. This lengthy train of vehicles of all shapes and sizes took 35 minutes to move past. We saw cars decorated with baguettes, huge gummy bear figures, and cartoon crackers; Mickey Mouse even made an appearance. Pounding music accompanied the voluble announcer.

Soon, the riders began to appear, and I started filming while Mary snapped photos. (My YouTube channel has the video.) I recognized nearly all of the major players and identified them for Mary. They were quite close, and a couple rode by and signed the Texas flags we brought just for that purpose. (No one famous, but still cool.) Bradley Wiggins, the eventual winner (but not in yellow this day) stopped not ten feet in front of us. I can scratch "seeing all of my favorite riders in person" off my bucket list.

George Hincapie: one of my favorites

Once the stage began, the riders moved out slowly. (The "neutral start" means they don’t start racing until a few minutes later, when the referee determines it’s safe.) The team cars and race support cars (including a few ambulances and a wrecker to deal with any car breakdowns) followed close after.

After all had passed, everything broke up fairly quickly. We headed into Rouen to sit (for the first time in four hours) and grab a bite to eat at a bistro on the main square. We visited a few shops, then walked back to the train station for our ride into Paris.

I may never get another chance to see the Tour in person, so I’m very grateful to my sister for the opportunity. If you’re a cycling fan, you definitely need to figure out how to make it happen!

　

Update on Wurzbach Parkway

We anxiously await the opening of the various new sections of Wurzbach Parkway. Living at the corner of Wurzbach and NW Military (more or less), these extensions will make getting around the northside a heck of a lot easier.

I see the progress of the Blanco-to-West section nearly daily. The good news: this section will be finished by the end of the year! They’re installing visual barriers right now (see photo at left), so headlights will be restricted to the roadway, and drivers won’t be able to peep into the windows of neighboring apartments. As it is, some residents of the Las Brisas and Cape Cod apartments could stand on their balconies and throw rocks at the construction workers. The noise must be maddening. Can you imagine having to listen daily (hourly) to the beep-beep-beep of heavy vehicles in reverse?

West Avenue (between Nakoma and Bitters) should reopen by Halloween. Surprisingly, the closure didn’t result from installation of the overpass. Instead, they’re installing a raised section over Panther Creek (which overruns the road in even a small rainstorm); the overpass comes later and will not require such a drastic closure.

Wurzbach at the West closure

And a big road-closure heads-up: the northbound feeder of US 281 will close the weekend of August 24. In combination with the West closure, I would just plain avoid this section of town. It promises to be a complete mess.

If you want to stay up-to-date on progress, Josh Donat (joshDOTdonatATtxdot.gov) of the local TxDOT office publishes a weekly newsletter. Just send him at email, and let him know you’d like to subscribe. You can also follow them on Twitter @TxDOTSanAntonio. (Sorry about the funny formatting of the email; spam prevention.)

Drag racing worries us the most. Even now, with just the section of NW Military to Blanco complete, we can sit out on our back porch and hear the roar of engines zooming down the street. In the eight years (or so) that the section has been open, the slight left-hand bend down toward Blanco has already claimed three lives (in three separate instances, they all missed the curve and hit a tree at high speed). When extensive sections open, the problem will only worsen. A parkway provides limited places for police cars to lay in wait. I hope they can find a solution.

Wurzbach from Vista del Norte

For those of you interested in details and plans, you can find them on the Texas Department of Safety website.

Compared to my hometown of Houston, getting around San Antonio is a relative breeze. But Wurzbach will make things even easier.

The New Buc-ee’s: All 68,000 Square Feet of It

Your favorite beaver has a new lodge. Buc-ee’s (@bucees) opened its newest (and largest) location on IH-35 in New Braunfels (at FM 306, exit 191) this week.

I always stop at their Luling location on road trips to Houston. Knowing that Mom makes the rest stop decisions, Buc-ee’s pride itself on immaculate restrooms. (That sign below is just outside of Houston.) The stores, too, are spotless. They don’t allow 18-wheelers, instead asking them to use nearby truck stops.

The new store sports 60 (!!) gas pumps, an enormous parking lot, banks of ice machines, and, of course, Beaver Nuggets (think Sugar Pops from your childhood).

When I visited, regular gas was $3.45/gallon, almost certainly a promotional price. The traffic along IH-35 roared along behind me as I filled my tank.

Buc-ee’s is always full of people, and this week’s buzzing crowd was no exception. Think of a gas station convenience store on steroids. Drinks, snack foods (including many Buc-ee’s branded items), Texas-themed items, fountain drinks, and coffee abound. They also serve fresh sandwiches, jerky, fudge, and kolaches. This location also features a barbeque counter, fresh fruit and vegetables, and, as a nod to its location, plenty of toobing supplies, towels, and coolers.

According to an economic development friend of mine, New Braunfels and San Marcos fought tooth and nail for the privilege (and sales tax revenue) of hosting the new store. WOAI says that Buc-ee’s and Comal County split the sales tax revenue (Buc-ee’s using their portion to fund infrastructure improvements).

My only complaint: They need more vegetarian options at their sandwich counter and prepared sandwich sections. I found only a grilled cheese sandwich (which I didn’t get since it was on white bread), eight-layer dip, and pimento cheese for my vegetarian lunch.

Make sure to stop by on your next trip to Austin, DFW, or points north. As the new manager said to first-time visitors (props to WOAI), “It’s never too late to correct the errors of your ways.”

Surprise! Going to France!

My sister Mary and her husband Jeff booked a tour to France this summer with their church choir. They’ve travelled to France before, but they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sing in Notre Dame or Sacre Coeur.

Then Jeff found out he couldn’t go due to work issues. “Heartbroken” is not too strong a word.

But then….a surprise. Mary called and asked if I wanted to go.

Surprisingly, I demurred at first. It’s not inexpensive, I’m not working at the moment, and we want to go see our son on the other side of the world in the next year or so. So I didn’t feel I could justify a trip to a place I’ve been before (even though Bruce said it was OK).

But then I started thinking:

• I’ve never been to Normandy/Mont St-Michel before and really want to see it.
• I might have the chance to play my flute with the choir in Notre Dame or Sacre Coeur.
• And this one only works for me and about three other people I know.) The choir tour will be near The Tour de France in Rouen at the start of Stage 5, and Mary said we can play hooky from the choir tour that day (they’re seeing stuff we’ve already seen anyway) and go be cycling fans. I know from previous experience that some on the choir tour will be horrified that we’re heading off on our own. But we’ve travelled here before, the trains are great (and we’ll get tickets ahead of time), and we both speak a little French, so we’ll be fine.

Um. How could I pass that up?

I’m doing a lot of online research to find some good cheese shops, bakeries, charcuteries, and other such places (although I promised Mary that’s not all I want to do). I’ll be ordering a DVD course from The Teaching Company on “Master Works of the Louvre.” (Both Mary and I have been, several times, but you can never see all of it.)

We’ve already seen “the big stuff” (Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Arc de Triomphe, etc), so we’re looking for other things to do/places to go. Suggestions are always welcome. We’ll have time in Rouen, Arromanches, Caen, and Paris.

I’m doubtful that I’ll be able to post (even to FB/Twitter) from there, but I’ll make several posts when I get home. And I’ll take lots of video of The Tour for my friends Shauna and Mike.

Many thanks to Mary and Jeff for the opportunity, and to my wonderful hubby for holding down the fort (and dealing with a demanding beagle) while I’m gone.

Wildflowers, Wildfires and Wineries

On a sunny Saturday, we set out to visit some wineries further afield, in and around Brenham. Along the way, we explored the devastation at Bastrop State Park and this year’s amazing wildflowers in Central Texas. I posted a short video on my YouTube channel.

Last year’s drought produced some horrific wildfires, one of the most destructive burning in and around Bastrop. Much of Bastrop State Park remains closed, but we were surprised to find open camping areas and a nearly unscathed golf course. Make no mistake….the park is devastated and will take years to recover. But we saw many groups of campers, and several other areas reopen on April 13. The smell of smoke, even months afterwards, wafts through the air; the blackened trees stand starkly against the bright blue sky.

Next, we made our way toward Brenham, awed by the many gorgeous fields of wildflowers along the way. (Can anyone tell me what that orange-pinkish one is?) No, we didn’t stop at Blue Bell, since we had visited previously, but I highly recommend it.

Our first stop was Saddlehorn Winery (@saddlehornwnry) just outside Burton. The owners renovated a horse barn into a spacious and pleasant tasting room. Their winery is well situated to view the rolling hills of central Texas and many nearby fields of wildflowers. We enjoyed their wines the best of all our visits. The Blanc du Bois, our favorite, is a crisp, dry white that we enjoyed with our picnic lunch.

Next stop: Windy Winery, near the Brenham Airport. Their wines were too sweet and simplistic for our tastes, and the older couple who own the winery really needed some extra help in their smallish tasting room.

Pleasant Hill Winery was hosting a craft fair and dog adoption event, in addition to their tours/tastings, making for a crowded and noisy space. Unfortunately, we couldn’t taste their wares. They pair a tour with tasting; if you don’t want the tour (and we didn’t), you must wait for the half-hour for a tasting only. Since we arrived at ten after and the room was shoulder-to-shoulder, we demurred and moved on.

Our final stop on the way home was Rohan Meadery, just outside La Grange. Having already mentioned that another vineyard’s wines were too sweet, we nevertheless wanted to give this out-of-the-ordinary spot a try. And we’re glad we did! Yes, they were sweet, but not overpoweringly so, and they were all very well crafted, with both subtle and overt flavors such as pear and lavender. Bruce is looking forward to creating a martini with the bottle of Cranberry Honeywine.

Important travel warning: we drove south on SR 237 to get from Brenham to La Grange. This normally placid back road bisects the wee town of Round Top….which, unfortunately for us, was hosting its twice-annual Antiques Fair. (The meadery owner said it was the biggest in the world, and I do not doubt that one bit.) A normal twenty minute traverse turned into an hour-long, put-it-in-park ordeal. If you plan such a trip, I would recommend visiting their website to determine dates. And understand that while the fair “officially” starts and ends on the stated dates, the vendors (and customers) show up at least a week before; I wouldn’t want to chance it the week after either.

Laura’s Lists: My Top Five Texas Bakery Bites

I adore finding great bakeries. The best ones have bakers who work long, hard hours to produce delights that melt in your mouth, have a marvelous crustiness, or satisfy your sweet tooth. The aromas of baking bread remind many of home. The only time my mom baked bread was when a tropical storm approached and all the Mrs. Baird’s disappeared from Houston grocery store shelves. To this day, the smells of baking remind me of hurricane prep….and I still love that first warm, chewy bite.

These are my five (OK, well, six) favorite Texas bakery bites (in no particular order). It’s certainly not an exhaustive list (Rebecca Rather’s cakes in Fredericksburg spring to mind, but I haven’t tried them yet). Where are your favorite bakeries?



1) Petits Fours from Moeller’s Bakery in Houston

This 80-year-old storefront produces amazing sweet and savory items. (I first wrote about them in my “Glutton’s Tour of Houston” entry.) Easter at my Frannie’s house was not complete without a plateful of vanilla and chocolate petits fours. The icing melts as soon as it hits your tongue, revealing a fluffy, light cake underneath. And they’re pretty, too. I always bring home a box when I visit Houston.

Also try: Cheese straws. Buy four or five trays. Really. Who cares about tummy aches?




2a) Tie: Sausage Kolaches from The Czech Stop in West, along IH-35

Somehow, I didn’t discover this place until a few years ago (despite the fact that I regularly drive from San Antonio to DFW). It’s easy to whizz right by it, since it’s inside a non-descript Shell gas station. But hit the brakes, find a place to park (sometimes tough), and pop inside. (I wrote about them in my “Finishing Off the Hill Country Wine Trail” entry.) The airy dough surrounds a well-seasoned sausage bite bathed in cheese. They also churn out a wide variety of sweet kolaches. No matter what time of day you visit, the bakers are hauling out tray after tray from the ovens.

Also try: Jalapeno Cheese Summer Sausage. Buy several; they freeze well.



2b) Tie: Sausage Kolaches from Naegelin’s Bakery in New Braunfels

I can’t decide which I like better. They’re both kolaches, but in this version, the Pillsbury-croissant-like dough (but way better) hugs the filling. Look for ones where the cheese has melted out the end to get a bonus cheese crunchie, which offsets the pleasantly chewy dough. During summer family vacations growing up, Dad woke at 5:30 am and brought us back a boxful right out of the ovens. Food hugs.

Also try: Gingerbread men. They remind me of the ones my Grandmama bought me at the (old) Rice supermarket on Post Oak in Houston.



3)Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcake from SaWeet Cupcakes @saweetcupcakes in San Antonio

The pink SaWeet van entered the San Antonio food truck market early, in 2009. Right now, they mostly hang out at the Boardwalk on Bulverde, but I’ve also found them at the Pearl Brewery, the Legacy Outdoor Market, and other locations. Find out where they are by following them on Twitter. (Logistical note: they bake in a commercial kitchen, then load up for their destination.) They create a wide variety of flavors, but I’ll buy the Salted Caramel Chocolate cupcake every time I see it on their menu. They lightly salt the fluffy buttercream on top, and the moist, tender chocolate cupcake bursts with a gooey caramel center.

Also try: Well, just about any of their cupcakes. Coconut is a crowd-pleaser and disappears quickly from the menu.



4) Chocolate Cream Pie from Koffee Kup in Hico

One of life’s dilemmas: on a drive to DFW, cross over to IH-35 (from 281) at Evant to visit Czech Stop, or continue on 281 to pick up a pie at Koffee Kup Restaurant in Hico (HIGH-co, not HEE-co). This family-owned restaurant opened in 1970, and in addition to a full-service restaurant, prepares hundreds of pies a day for take-out. Their meringue pies sport toppers that remind me of Anne Richards’ bouffant hairdo (but taste way better). They carefully pack the pies so they arrive undamaged to your final destination. Bright fruit, creamy fillings, and even an egg custard pie!

Also try: Sitting down for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.



5) Mango Cake from the CIA Bakery and Café @ciabakerycafe

When the Culinary Institute of America (the other CIA) announced the opening of a third campus in San Antonio a few years ago, the foodie world here just about collectively fainted. Really? The CIA? Here? Then we fainted again when they opened their CIA Bakery Café this past spring. It may be a tired phrase, but the desserts are (almost) too pretty to eat. Their mango cake is light and fluffy, with delicate tropical flavors and not overpoweringly sweet. The San Antonio Express-News dining critics chose them as the best San Antonio bakery in the recent Reader’s Choice poll. Well deserved.

Also try: Enrolling in one of the CIA’s new “cooking enthusiast” classes.

Finishing Off the Hill Country Wine Trail (Part 2)

Our next stops on Saturday: Pillar Bluff and Texas Legato. They share the land, but not the vines. The winemakers are twin brothers, but the wines were vastly different. The staffs at both tasting rooms were very friendly, even more so than most tasting room staff. We enjoyed the chenin blanc and Founders red at Pillar, and the Family Reunion at Legato. We also had a delicious wine slushy at Pillar Bluff and brought back the mix for our next party. Texas Legato served some Ghiardelli brownies made with their port (instead of water); a definite "must-try" for our next gathering. Yum!

On the way to our next stop, we discovered an unlisted vineyard, Fiesta Winery (on FM 580 outside of Lampasas; tasting room is pictured). Only open 9 months, they serve several varieties flavored with different syrups. "It's differ'nt than ev'body else," said winemaker Stephen Baxter, sounding (and looking) just like my dad. "It's our niche." I am not normally a sweet wine fan, but these were not overpowering and very tasty. I'm sure they'll appear on the wine map soon.

Last stop of the day was Alamosa Wine Cellars, just outside San Saba; we brought home some El Guapo (a red) and Scissortail (a white).

We enjoyed a terrific Texas diner dinner at Blue Bonnet Cafe in Marble Falls. I even got a piece of pie (chocolate meringue); desserts are unusual for me. If you haven't made a stop there, you need to rectify this error post-haste.



On Sunday, we booked passage on the Vanishing River Cruise on Lake Buchanan. I worried a bit about the lake level. Turns out that they can't do their signature cruise (Canyon of the Eagles and waterfalls), but we got a cool tour of a normally submerged old town. We packed our own lunch (no wine allowed, unfortunately), and set off.

When the dam was built in 1937, the old town of Bluffton was relocated. From 1937-2007, the old town only reappeared four times. From 2007 until now, it has appeared three times. Any doubt we're in a prolonged drought?

Even all these years later, a casual walk on the sandbar reveals many "found" items (pictured). 75 years underwater washed all the color out of the stone foundations and any metal, so any flash of color—blue glass, green pottery, shoe parts—stands out immediately. Bruce and I found an old pulley and an iron bolt of some kind. It's nearly impossible to imagine such a move in this day and age; can you imagine the lawsuits? Another advantage of a river cruise: no dust. Any time a breeze blew up on land, a teaspoon of grit landed in my contacts-laden eyes. Not fun.




Our last stop before heading home was Perissos Winery, near Inks Lake State Park. The owner is an architect, and the grounds and working tasting room show it....everything neatly in its place. He even labels his vines (pictured).

I said at the beginning that this "finishes" the Texas hill country wine trail, but that's probably untrue, as Fiesta Winery showed. My guess is that one or two new ones open each year.

I highly recommend a visit to this northern region. You can do the trip in one day from San Antonio, but it made for a much more relaxing, restful, and enjoyable weekend staying in the area.

Finishing Off the Hill Country Wine Trail (Part 1)

Over the past several years, we've visited nearly all of the wineries on the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail. But we never could quite make the ones on the northern-most edge of the tour; just too far for a day trip. So we took a long weekend to complete the circuit.

Bruce found us a lovely old B&B in Burnet (the Airy Mount Inn), where we stayed in a coverted farmhouse. Unfortunately, the nappy carpet in our second floor room harbored flocks of sticker-burrs, like little pebbles with thumbtacks pointed straight up. After one punctured my heel, I deployed shoes. We figure a small, annoying, long-haired dog (say, a shih-tzu) paid a previous visit, rolled around in the dessicated grass outside, then came in and shed stickers like comet dust. Other than that, we found the inn quiet, comfortable, and private.

On the way up, we stopped by our favorite Hill Country winery, Flat Creek Estate. It's about half an hour outside of Marble Falls (a two-hour drive from our house). So we don't get here on most of our day trips with friends. We arrived at 11:00 so we could try their new bistro (Friday-Sunday 11:00 am-4:00 pm).

Chef Sean Fulford's full menu includes both lunch and brunch items. We ate our meal in a very pastoral setting, overlooking the well-stocked kitchen garden and watching a couple of hummingbirds having a snack just outside the window. My grilled cheese was rich, buttery, and tasty, and I am certain that the lettuce was in the ground not a half hour before. Bruce's quail (pictured above) featured mustard seed flowers and a balsamic reduction.

After lunch, we meandered down to the tasting room. We love all their wines, particularly the Super Texan and their almond sparkling wine. I am not a "super-taster" and usually can't accurately describe flavors like "black cherry" or "tobacco." I just know what I like. I recommend visiting their websites and letting their experts describe the wine.

Two other wine tour recommendations:

• Take a cooler, especially in the summer. Despite growing well in it, wine does not like Texas heat. You do not want to spend your hard-earned dollars purchasing several bottles, then pouring them down the drain at home because they were overheated in the car.


• More and more stores (especially Central Market and Gabriel's Liquors) are carrying Texas wines....a good thing. So find out from the tasting room staff which wines they only sell at the winery. Concentrate your purchases on these varieties.

All the vineyards featured a welcome splash of green in the midst of a drought-weary region. Only the prickly pears seem to thrive right now, absent irrigation.

Next we headed to the other side of Lake Buchanan to visit Fall Creek. Lake Buchanan looks positively piteous. It's down 21 feet. We quit counting the number of high-and-dry docks, with water nowhere around. (There's not a lot more useless-looking things, let me tell you.) It is going to take a powerful lot of rain to fill it back up again.

The entry into Fall Creek featured a long, cooling drive through the vineyard (pictured). Our favorites included their riesling and Ed's Sweet Red. You can enjoy a glass of wine and a cheese plate on their lovely patio (complete with fans and misters), but at 100 degrees, we decided it was way too hot.

Suppertime! Burnet is surprisingly bereft of (non-chain) places to eat. We finally found the Burnet Feed Store BBQ; nothing spectacular to report.

Our Saturday started out with lots of Tour de France text updates from my friend Shauna. (I am a Tour fanatic; when I am away, I deputize someone to keep me updated, since my smart phone took a swim in the toilet.) We took an unplanned side trip to The Czech Stop, on IH-35 in West (just north of Waco).

The Czech Stop occupies a non-descript storefront behind a gas station. You might easily drive past it...until you notice the hordes of cars and streams of people going in and out. The aromas of freshly baked bread wafts out the front door. They have some of the best kolaches in Texas, in huge variety. Their sausages and sandwiches are equally fabulous. We bought too much, then headed back into wine country.

Another post tomorrow with the rest of the trip!

Pin Collecting at Disney

OK, so this is not the "Disney post" you expected. But good info nonetheless, I hope.

As an inveterate traveler, I have collected pins for some time. They provide a good record of my travels without taking up a lot of shelf space. So when I arrived at Walt Disney World earlier this week, I naturally picked up one or two.

It wasn't long before I noticed many people (probably about 15%, not counting cast members; men, women, boys, girls, didn't matter) walking around with pin lanyards. Lanyards? In this heat? Really? And most of them had 10-12 pins. What is going on here?

Turns out that about ten years ago, Disney initiated pin trading. This is an Olympic-proportion endeavour. (I do not mean this figuratively. Olympic Pin trading is big business.) All the parks have muliple "pin stations," with usually one monster pin shop in the middle of the park. You can pick pins for parks, characters, rides, themes, whatever suits your fancy. It wasn't long before a lanyard graced my neck.

I finished the week with 12 pins, plus a Fantasia pendant. My nephew Thor also collects pins, and he ended up with an impressive and thoughful collection. (His favorites are pictured.)

I asked him to write up his "pin collecting" hints. His advice:

• Get several pins that you really like and some others. Some are for trade; keep your favorites. If you follow this, you will have a great pin collection.
  
• If you decide to get a lanyard, never get one that has a bunch of cartoons or stuff on it. Get a very calm one with not much going on, so people can actually see your pins.
  
• Bigger is not always better. You can also find really cool small pins.
  
• Buy only at stores that have a good selection.
  
• Always, always, always trade. If you do this, you will have cool pins. (Note from Auntie: if someone is displaying a lanyard or belt flap, it means "I am willing to trade.")
  
• Cast members will trade nearly every time.
  

Good hints indeed. Good luck! (And more later on the trip, including some sage advice on trip timing if your schools release late-May/early-June.)

T-Minus Two Days and Counting!

As I write this, I'm less than 48 hours away from leaving for Disneyworld. My travelling companions (sister and two young nephews) drive in tomorrow. (Due to the ridiculous Wright Amendment, it was cheaper to fly Southwest from here, and we can get a direct flight.) Bruce will take us to the airport around lunchtime on Sunday.

When I was growing up, I would often get sick right before an exciting event or trip. It used to drive Bruce nuts (this persisted into my college years). With much patience and time, he taught me how to get over it and just get on with the trip.

I am sorry to report that "trip flutters" are back. And this is not a good thing, since I have several work-related items I need to finish before leaving. Hopefully things will settle down soon.

We found out that Star Tours (a favorite ride of our group) just recently re-opened after a long refurbishment. And in June, Hollywood Studios has "Star Wars Weekends." So we'll plan to spend at least part of next Friday there.

My sister managed to find an online grocery store that will deliver to our Disney hotel. So we'll get some breakfast and snack items at much better prices than at the park. We have a meal plan for other meals.

We've been watching the weather carefully, and so far (knock wood), all looks good. I don't mind it raining while we're there; I just don't want the hassle of weather-related flight delays.

What I'm looking forward to the most: spending time with my precious nephews, of course. As far as rides/attractions go, I want to ride Everest (not there the last time I was there), Star Tours, Haunted Mansion and my all-time favorite, Space Mountain. 9-year-old nephew Thor has almost snookered me into Tower of Terror, which I swore I would never ride again.

All that's left is the packing!