Lee and I got out for a bit and explored the Austin Food and Wine Festival. We’d never been, so right off the bat, we were surprised by just how big of an event it was. In addition to the 40+ cooking demos there were around 90 food, wine and liquor purveyors all offering hearty samples.
The festival was on Auditorium shores with an awesome view of the Austin skyline. Kicking back and enjoying food and wine served by their own creators with a view of downtown? It’s too bad they only do this once a year.
We started the day off with some drinks. Lee opted for wine – of course – and I tried a cold-brew coffee cocktail. I haven’t ever had anything quite like it, so I got the recipe:
- 1.5 oz Black Rum
- 1 oz Cold Brew Coffee
- .5 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
- .5 oz Simple Syrup
- 2-3 dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
Keep in mind this entire festival took place in a field, which made it even more impressive to see what lengths some vendors went to to make it interesting. A gin company had live actors working their interactive “house” afternoon and another whiskey company showed up with a concrete mixer truck that traded out a massive cocktail shaker for the mixer on the back. Bank of America was showing some love for Austin as well with an oversized phone you could use to make donations to some of Austin’s favorite charities.
Bank of America let you pick a charity and donated $10 for every person who stopped by
It was great to get away and enjoy the afternoon just hanging with Lee like we used to before kids. We caught some food demos, stuffed ourselves on samples, and finished it off watching an interview with Lee Abbamonte, the youngest person to have traveled to every country in the world. We were planning a big travel year before we got bogged down in home renovations, but after hearing his stories from some of the countries he visited, we’re already planning our next trip.
That’s all for now. Check back later this week to hear about my experience with the Tesla X.
A big thanks to Bank of America for inviting us out to the festival & for sponsoring this post. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
