NYC has Murray’s, Berkeley has the Cheese Board Collective, Ann Arbor has  Zingerman’s Creamery, and Austin has Antonelli’s.

John and Kendall are all about educating themselves and their customers. They regularly teach cheese pairing classes — like the one they did for a Tasty Touring group back in December at Independence Brewery — and blackboards with cheesy facts line the walls at the shop.

Customers are encouraged to try almost any cheese in the case, and keep tasting for as long as they like. Once you purchase your cheeses, they get saved in the system to make it easy to reorder the next time you visit.

Adam loves to surprise me with appetizers at home featuring Antonelli’s cheese, olives, a crusty loaf of bread, and red wine. You can’t go wrong with that combination!

John Antonelli focuses on educating customers through sampling

Antonelli’s offers everything you might need for a romantic picnic for two. Below, Kendall works the meat counter while John focuses on the cheese. They also carry wine, beer, crackers, bread, squares of chocolate, olives, and more.

One of my favorite cheeses these days is Burrata, which Antonelli’s receives in small batches and sells out quickly. The Antonelli’s are unable to provide samples of Burrata due to it’s consistency and packaging but I did try this amazing, creamy cheese at our friend Mike K. (of Austin Food Carts) house and am in love. Call Antonelli’s and ask them to save you some next time it comes in. You can thank me later.

Kendall and John workin' it

The photos for this post was actually taken around the time the shop opened, in early 2010. Next door, the Hyde Park Grill was celebrating Valentine’s Day with a chocolate dipped heart sculpture on top of the fork that is outside the restaurant, and decorated for holidays, year-round.

Since Antonelli’s is all about the love —  for each other, their staff, the community, and of course, cheese, it seemed like an appropriate image to end this post.

Antonelli’s is located at 42nd and Duval and is open every day but Monday. Hours Tuesday through Saturday are 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Best Local Food Blog: Tasty Touring

photo by Todd V. Wolfson

We love to dial up this popular food blog on Tasty Tuesdays, a weekly feature showcasing local favorites which lately has kept us in the burgeoning loop of food-trailer mania. You’ll also find Jodi Bart’s charming anecdotal “Tasty Bits” posts, recipes, and restaurant reviews, so you won’t have to dread the dinnertime question, “What do you want?”www.tastytouring.com

I started Tasty Touring (at the time it was called Food Touring) a little over two years ago with the encouragement of my friend and colleague Lindsay, who began writing  the adorable and mouth-watering Apron Adventures just a day before. When Emily started Cooking Inside the Lines, sharing recipes from her favorite magazines, websites, and TV shows, our office food blogger trinity was complete.

I started to blog as a non-professional outlet for writing and photography. I never would have guessed that this blog would enhance my life in so many surprising and positive ways. Most importantly, by introducing me to other local food blogging colleagues, many of whom have become friends and mentors. There is an active community in Austin of food bloggers that uniquely support each other in a way that I don’t believe exists anywhere else. For an idea of the sheer number, check out the sidebar of Addie Broyles’ Relish Austin.

Austin Chronicle Best of Austin 2010

If you’re new to Austin and/or to the blog-reading scene, here are some more of my favorites (in alpha order):

• Appetite: Penny de los Santos is a photographer for Saveur and other national publications. She specializes in travel, food and people.
• Austin Farm to Table: Kristi celebrates local farms and food artisans, mostly in Central Texas, but also in the places she travels.
• Austin Urban Gardens: Carla chronicles her year of no grocery stores, her adventures in home gardening, and her favorite local farmers and artisan products.
• Austin Food Journal: Christian’s quirky and beautifully photographed blog is filled with home cooking, local restaurant news, pizza workshops, and a great happy hour calendar.
• Boots in the Oven: Gorgeous photos and engagingly written posts by Mr. and Mrs. Boots (aka Logan and Rachel) about their adventures in food and travel.
• The Cosmic Cowgirl: Stephanie shares her favorite recipes — many of which are jams and preserves from her recently launched business, Confituras.
• Dining in Austin: Check out Mariah and Laura’s top recommendations on the sidebar. They post regular updates on the Austin dining scene as well as the foodie photo of the day regular feature.
• Eat My Words: Texas Monthly’s Pat Sharpe and team cover the state of Texas in this great food blog that also includes a series on the burgeoning Texas wine industry.
• The Feminist Kitchen: The Statesman’s Addie Broyles personal blog about women and food from the perspective of a feminist who embraces both the term and the domestic tasks that for many years were considered anti-feminist.
• Fete & Feast: Natanya is a busy executive, dedicated wife and mother, and active participant in the local food blogger community who shares her best recipes, tips and tricks, links to great resources, and weekly foodie bits listing of events in an attractive and informative format.
• Foodie is the New Forty: Michelle’s tagline is “seeking out the delicious side of life” and that is exactly what she does — sharing reviews of local restaurants, recipes, and her optimistic personality with readers.
• Forklore: Statesman restaurant reviewer Mike Sutter on some of Austin’s best eats.
• The Hungry Engineer: April writes, Sean takes the pictures, and the result is a well-written and engaging blog about April’s adventures in the kitchen, local food events and restaurants, and food-related book reviews.
• Stetted: Megan is a young mother who focuses on cooking good food that is healthy, unprocessed, and doesn’t take a lot of time.
• The Tasting Buds: Join Peter (the photographer, and most regular poster of the group) and the buds as they explore the food scene in Austin and beyond. Amazing photography, great interviews.
• Year of the Pizza: Seth chronicles his (now second) free year of Home Slice pizza, and the friends, acquaintances, and strangers he enjoys those pizzas with.

Other recommended reading includes Austinist, Austin Eavesdropper, Rebeccamendations, Republic of Austin, and StephanieKlein.com.

I’d like to congratulate some my friends (and friend crushes) for winning Best of Austin awards as well. This includes Chris Apollo Lynn (best blogger AND best blog) and team at Republic of Austin; Allen Chen and team from Austinist; the staff of the Four Seasons Hotel; Magda Sayeg of Knitta Please; Ellen Jefferson and her team of volunteers (especially spokeswoman extraordinaire Laura Stromberg) of Austin Pets Alive; Matt Curtis and Amy Everhart in Mayor Lee Leffingwell’s office; Blair Smith and team at Dirty Dog, Pam and The Tigress; David Alan and the Tipsy Tech 12-week course on the history and practice of cocktail mixology; Marla, Jenna, Lindsay, and all the talented contributors to Edible Austin magazine, and more.

Finally, I’d like to thank Todd V. Wolfson for making me feel beautiful during our photo session at the Tigress. Also, thank you Pam for letting me stand in the walk-in to cool down from the 100 degree heat that day.

I first met Ben when he attended a panel I moderated for Austin food-related small business owners in fall 2009 at Whole Foods Corporate Headquarters. I was immediately taken by his open spirit and passion for making his business succeed. Rio’s products — cheese breads (pao de queijo) and malagueta sauces — are now available at retailers including Whole Foods, Spec’s, Greenling, Royal Blue Grocery, Thom’s Market, Ana Brasil, and at the Saturday downtown farmer’s market and Sunday Hope farmer’s market.

As you can see on the sign, Rios, located in E. Austin on Pleasant Valley Road a few blocks south of E. 7 Street and a few blocks north of Cesar Chavez, boasts a drive-through window to grab a quick cup of coffee on-the-go. They offer Casa Brasil coffee, made with Brazilian beans but roasted in Austin. Breakfast specials include Brazilian breakfast pockets and a coffee from just $4.

Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Sunday brunch is 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.). They are closed on Monday.

With seating inside and out, happy hour at Rios is Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. and features $1 off drinks and/or the cheese bread trio. Rios offers wine, beer, sake, and fresh fruit drinks so while there is no hard alcohol, they do make creative use of wine and sake to make refreshing mixed drinks. I was surprised to see sake on the menu at first until Jennifer, our waitress, explained that the second largest Japanese population in the world is in Brazil and sake is common on menus there.

Feijoada Plate at Rios

I was invited to Rios to sample their Feijoada but can’t wait to go back to check out breakfast. brunch, lunch and dinner someday soon. Their Copacabana salad ($4.50) with beets, candied walnuts, apples, raisins, spinach, tomato, green pepper, and peach white wine vinaigrette was named one of Austin’s 10 best salads in Austin Monthly just this month.

The Apple Buzios salad ($8) was recently recommended by Statesman dining critic Mike Sutter, who calls it “a summer picnic on a plate” with it’s red wine roasted green apple, goat cheese, raisins, candied walnut, spinach, romaine and a white balsamic dressing.

Adam and I were invited by Jennifer S., an enthusiastic staff member and/or manager of Rios Brazilian, to taste their Feijoada – a Portuguese/Brazilian stew made with various meats and black beans, and served with farofa, collard greens, rice, and oranges. Served at Rio’s every last Saturday of the month, you’ll be able to taste it today from 1 p.m. – 9 p.m. for $18 a plate. Farofa is sauteed yucca flour with bananas, garlic and onions. Rich and delicious, I highly recommend checking it out if you haven’t had Feijoada before, and bring a friend so you can sample other dishes on the menu as well and share the love.

Xingu Black Beer

Jennifer recommended that we try Xingu, an Amazonian black beer (pronounced shin-goo), and it was delicious. Xingu is a recreation of the black beer produced in the Amazon rain forest since the mid-1500s. Sold widely in the U.S. and Brazil, Xingu is also starting to be sold in Australia and England.

Looking at this dark beer, I was expecting a Guinness-like flavor and was pleasantly surprised by this smooth, sweet, and refreshing brew. The sweetness comes from the cassava used to brew the beer. This stuff is so good that I could easily see myself buying it at the grocery store to keep at home.

Patio at Rios

Jennifer was telling us that Rios will be hosting regular Sunday events with live music. I didn’t see anything listed on their website but will update that information here if I hear about anything coming up. With the weather cooling down (yay mid-90s!), I look forward to spending more time at Rios and soaking in the laid back East Austin vibe.

Photo from YO! Sushi Website - a chain not yet in the U.S.

To answer my own question, my favorites include Sushi A-Go-Go (two trailer locations now — Medical Arts and Barton Springs Road), Whole Foods, and Central Market. Adam mentioned that Mikado on Research Blvd. used to be really good but we haven’t been lately. Do I remember that Korea House does a nice job on sushi and is inexpensive? What other spots to you hit up when you want good, inexpensive sushi?

These tarts would be perfect for a Halloween dessert or dinner with an ex-husband or wife.

Bloody Valentine Tart

Bloody Valentine Plum Tarts
Based on Melissa’s Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce Warm Plum Bleeding Heart Pies.

Serves 8. Allow time to cool crust for an hour in refrigerator either the day before or baking day.

Crust
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting work surface
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup ice water

Filling
3/4 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon, divided use
2 tablespoons instant tapioca (I found a cheap bag of tapioca at MT Supermarket on N. Lamar)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 pounds plums, pitted, cut in 3/8-inch wedges

Egg wash
1 tablespoon cream or 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

For serving
cold sweetened whipped cream or ice cream

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Prepare crust: In food processor fitted with metal blade, pulse flour, salt, and sugar 2 or 3 times. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With motor running, add ice water through feed tube, processing until mixture just barely comes together. Pat into disk shape; place in plastic bag and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Prepare filling: Whisk to combine ¾ cup sugar, tapioca, cornstarch, cinnamon, and ginger in large bowl. Add plums; toss. Arrange 8 (6- or 8-ounce) soufflé cups or ramekins on rimmed baking sheet. Divide plum mixture between cups, filling each even with top (wipe rims clean).

4. Lightly flour clean, dry work surface, as well as a rolling pin. Place dough in center and roll to ¼-inch thickness. Use small sharp knife to cut out 8 hearts large enough to sit atop filling without touching sides of soufflé cup or ramekin (I also cut out shapes for drops and puddles of blood). Place hearts (and blood drops/puddles) in single layer on parchment paper-lined baking sheet; dip pastry brush in wash (either cream or egg mixture) and brush lightly on tops of hearts. Bake until cooked through and nicely browned, about 15 minutes (this was too long for the smaller pieces — I should have separated them to another tray and removed earlier). Remove from oven and add red sprinkles to signify blood — sprinkle rest with 1 tablespoon sugar; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 450°F.

5. Place plum-filled cups on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes in 450°F oven, or until plums are soft. Remove from oven. If tops look dry, carefully stir hot mixture to bring some juicy portion to top. Place a baked crust heart on top of each; press down gently to surround edges of heart with juice. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes.

I got a little excited with the signage