Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 5:29PM Some foodie friends and I recently shared a meal at Taste of Ethiopia in Pflugerville. We shared huge platters of Ethiopian food, ate with our hands, and participated in a traditional coffee ceremony with freshly roasted coffee and frankincense.
This was my first experience at an Ethiopian restaurant. I'm eager to have many more.
Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 9:25AM The first day of GABF started at Great Divide's famous industry party. For many brewers, this is the last stop for relaxation before the busy work of GABF begins. When the doors open at the conference center, it's time for pouring beers, talking to fans, trying new beers, and in my case, enjoying cooking demonstrations and beer pairings at the Beer and Food Pavilion.
Many thanks to Independence Brewing for making it possible to attend GABF this year!
Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 9:19AM 
Do your taste buds ever get tired? Has your favorite drink stopped registering with your brain? A/B tests are one way to get your brain cranking and your taste buds excited again. Comparing two similar wines really exposes the subtle flavors in each in a way that drinking either wine alone can't.
Aviary Lounge and Home Decor was nice enough to have me over for a blind A/B test pitting American against French wines. In this case, the extra challenge was that the wine was paired with fresh oysters. Delicious!
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 8:58AM 
Even though they cry for food pairings, most Austin restaurants don't have taps like Chimay or Maredsous. Dry your tears, St. Bernardus: Hank's Garage is ready and aiming to pair.
Beer, meet food. Food, meet beer. Oh yeah, that's how I like to eat.
Thanks to Hank's Garage for inviting me to their media event. More photos to come.
Monday, April 18, 2011 at 11:30AM 
For my first birthday dinner, Jennie took me to Trio at the Austin Four Seasons.
You may remember that Jennie and I were on Sommelier Mark Sayre's team for the Wine Ride. During that event, we observed and documented Mark pairing wine with some of the best food in Austin -- but we didn't get to try any of Mark's pairings.
This was our chance. Instead of a normal meal, Jennie and I had a extravagant tasting menu complete with wine pairings. It was a flavor symphony orchestrated by Mark and Chef Todd Duplechan.
Trio put together an amazing experience for my birthday, and to top it off, I'm pretty sure they generously sent us quite a few complimentary dishes.
It is sadly difficult to do justice documenting an experience like this in photos. Even more so when I'm enjoying an amazing selection of food and wine. Even so, take a peek at the rest of my dinner photos here.