We sat down with Blank one morning at Hudson’s last week - sunlight filtering in through the wine glasses which stood at silent attention during these rare peaceful moments before the deliveries and phone calls begin, and long before the first customer touches lip to fork. Despite his multiple accolades, you will find no pretention here: Blank emerges from the kitchen, suntanned and smiling, to sit down and chat with Austinist in the midst of the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. ...

Every now and then Austinist likes to go a little high-brow. Hence, we spent this past weekend indulging ourselves in the decadence that was the The Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival . Produced by Capital Sports Entertainment , and in conjunction with Saveur Magazine, the festival offered a variety of events, from demonstrations and samples by world-renowned chefs such as Wolfgang Puck and Todd English, to boat cruises which offered tapas and sangria......

Always looking to indulge our epicurean obsessions, Austinist has been eagerly anticipating next week's 20th annual Texas Hill Country Food & Wine Festival, hosted by the culinary experts at Saveur magazine. Wolfgang Puck (NYC's Postrio), Todd English (Olives), and Roy Yamaguchi (Roy's) are among the culinary artistes scheduled to present cooking demonstrations before hundreds of salivating Austinites. Similarly impressive are the wineries scheduled to attend, from Napa Valley's Ravenswood to Australia's king of shiraz, Penfold's.......