Do It Yourself Edition
This week's notable food events
As 21st-century humans, we’ve become increasingly disconnected with the land, reliant on machines to do our sowing and convoys of 18-wheelers to do our harvesting. It would probably leave our ancestors gobsmacked that the intensive labors that used to be their day-to-day—like actually getting down in the dirt to plant and pick their own foods—are now considered to be weekend leisure activities like Saturday’s 20th Annual Fall Creek Vineyards Grape Stomp And Harvest Festival. In addition to live music, ice carving, hayrides, and a playground for the kids, the main attraction at this Hill Country retreat in tiny Tow, Texas is a row of wine barrels where you can stomp your very own grapes—something that slaves used to do until they collapsed from exhaustion. But now it’s just a fun way to spend a Saturday, and afterward you can relax in a cooling mist tent and feast on crab cakes, beef tenderloin, and shrimp tostadas from visiting luminary chefs like Great Day SA’s Michael Flores. Isn’t the future awesome?
If you’re all for the idea of getting your hands dirty but would prefer watching someone else do it first, Edible Austin, The Front Porch Project, and the Alamo Drafthouse have a great way for you to get involved in local farming without, you know, actually farming: the Fresh Feast at Boggy Creek Farm. Following a cocktail reception where you can mingle with members of Austin’s many sustainable food groups, Alamo chefs John Bullington and Trish Eichelberger will serve a locally sourced picnic dinner to accompany a screening of the documentary Fresh. The film profiles the many innovators fighting growing crises like pollution and morbid obesity, and dreaming up alternatives to stave off the inevitable robot farmer revolution. The best thing is, all you’re asked to do is eat, look, and listen, and even that goes to benefit the Sustainable Food Center. You’re helping!
Fatsometer: 3. Even though there’s plenty of feasting to be had this week, nothing burns calories like a little bit of philanthropy—except for stomping around in a wine barrel, that is.
