50 grills, 100 food lovers, and 1 unforgettable experience at the 2012 Austin FOOD & WINE Festival.

* They’ll be breaking out the grills (and more) for this year’s Austin FOOD & WINE Festival.

During the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival, chefs pull out all of the stops – like this goat roasting over Chef Tim Love’s Love Box.

* What would you like to see roasting over The Love Box at this year’s Austin FOOD & WINE Festival?

Up close with San Antonio Chef Jason Dady at the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival . Seeing chefs at work is a great part of the festivities.

* Which chefs are you most excited to see hard at work at the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival?

Beef tacos at the 2012 Live Fire celebration of beef supremacy.

With the weather turning (in theory) warm and sunny, the food events are multiplying like the proverbial bunnies. From the crown jewel Austin FOOD & WINE Festival to Austin Restaurant Week and Central Market’s Passport to Brazil, April offers us one food event after the other. And while I think you should consider all events equally, these five stand out this as as particularly worthy of having a spotlight shined on them.

• Live Fire – Beef Supremacy and Beef Mastery: The Austin Food and Wine Alliance is hosting their annual celebration of beef on April 25 as the kick-off event for the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival. Head on out to the Salt Lick Pavilion to find out how local and visiting chefs like Rene Ortiz from Sway, Tatsu Aikawa from Ramen Tatsu-ya, Jason Dady from Jason Dady Restaurants in San Antonio, and Randy Rucker from Briar and Bramble in Houston will make beef dance on your taste buds. All proceeds will benefit the Austin Food and Wine Alliance culinary grants program.
• The Wine Down at ACL Live: Thursdays this spring enjoy the lovely weather, wines from Rex-Goliath, live music, and nibbles from area restaurants. I recommend you get a group of friends together for the music and wine then head out to a nice dinner in the 2nd Street District. Friday may come a little earlier than expected but it’s a price worth paying.
• Children’s Picnic and Real Food Fair: On Sunday April 7 help your family build strong connections to local food and food producers at this afternoon celebration of all things real food. Bring a picnic or buy one from the farmers and producers at the event, then settle in for fun and games. What a great way to spend the afternoon.
• Gazelle Foundation Fundraiser Dinner: As a runner with Gilbert’s Gazelles, this April 11 event is near and dear to my heart and I hope it can be the same for you. The Gazelle Foundation raises money to bring fresh water to families in Burundi, one of the poorest countries in Africa. The price of a ticket to this dinner will bring fresh waters to families for life and you’ll enjoy an evening of good food and conversation with like-minded Austinites.
• Foodways Texas, Our Barbecue, Ourselves: This year’s Foodways Texas Symposium takes a long, hard, tasty look at barbecue’s connection to Texas culture and history. Pitmasters including Aaron Franklin and Wayne Miller will join look food experts to discuss, for three fulls days on April 4 – 6, exactly what barbecue means to Texas. And yes, there will be tastings, many of them.

Which April events are you most excited about? How will you pace yourself?

The Chefs at the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival have genuine fun with festival-goers and one another.

* Learn more about the fun to be had at this year’s Austin FOOD & WINE Festival.

Sometimes you want to have a civilized, sit-down lunch with white napkins, crystal glassware, and great service. Sometimes you want said civilized lunch because you’re entertaining business associates and grabbing sandwiches just won’t do.  Other times it’s just because you want a little pampering or me time to save your sanity or break up a stressful day. No matter what your motivation, TRACE at the W Hotel is up to the task of making lunch just right.

Restaurant style: Refined yet casual, just what you would expect from a W Hotel

Location: 2nd Street District at the corner of 2nd and Lavaca

Good for: Important business lunches, treating yourself, girls’ lunch

Parking: Valet at the W, metered street parking, or covered parking at the City Hall garage across the street

Special diets: There’s something for everyone on this menu and in classic W style they’ll be sure everyone’s needs are met

Price: Expect to spend $20-$25; Lunch on the Fly is $16

Menus and details

If you’re a bit pressed for time Lunch on the Fly is right up your alley. This mini menu is designed to come out quickly but still treat you to quality cuisine. You won’t walk away hungry; choose a veggie burger, red fish sandwich, or smoke beef brisket sandwich and then add a soup and salad. For just $16 it’s a good value too, particularly given the high quality ingredients TRACE’s forager Valerie Broussard works daily to source for the restaurant.

All of the Lunch on the Fly courses come out at once so be sure to do your chatting while you wait as you can expect a silence to descend on the table once lunch is served.

Oh, and be sure to get the doughnuts to go. You’ll thank me. I promise.

If you have a little more time for lunch or want to explore the rest of the menu, you’ll find a something for every tast. All of TRACE’s salads are substantial and lush with local in-season ingredients. I’m particularly fond of the Roasted Beet Salad. It’s filling, a bit rich thanks to goat cheese mousse, and you’ll feel so wholesome for making your lunch of beets.

For a great taste of Texas try the Dirty Rice Stuffed Quail and if you’re craving a burger during your upscale lunch go for it – their Butcher Burger features quality toppings like Tillamook cheddar, Dai Due mustard, and house-made pickles. If you get the burger (or any sandwich really) the garlic fries are a must. The first time friends and I tried them we dubbed them “crack fries” because they are so addictive. Twice fried and tossed in garlic butter they are sheer decadence.

And speaking of decadence, the homemade pasta with bacon lardons, toasted pecans, and caveman blue cheese is richness in a bowl. Smooth, creamy, and just a little salty thanks to the lardons and blue cheese, you’ll need to schedule a post-lunch nap if you make this your menu selection.

If you’d like a few more vegetables with your lunch than cheese and pasta and burgers might provide, try the brussels sprouts.

These roasted green globes are tossed in white balsamic dressing and topped with crisp prosciutto for a nicely balanced flavor profile that may even make brussels haters rethink their position.

Thanks to local forager Valerie’s efforts the chefs at TRACE always have new and interesting ingredients to work with, so their menu changes fairly regularly. This is of course a great reason to return regularly. I also like that TRACE does a lovely job of balancing the interesting and unexpected with accessible menu items so you can take a group with diverse tastes there and know everyone will find something they’ll truly enjoy. The service is, as you would expect, impeccable and they take reservations which is just the icing on the cake – or the warm doughnuts after lunch.

These pork pies were so rich we could only eat a small sliver. But they were oh so good.

I’ve lived in Austin for, well, let’s just say a very long time. In all of those years 6th Street has been known for many things but great food wasn’t one of them. When Parkside moved in five years ago there was some hope that 6th Street might become more than just a corridor of late night bars offering cheap shots and hidden corners for canoodling (something I know nothing about, really, I swear). And while the evolution of the street hasn’t come as quickly as we’d all like, the addition of Easy Tiger Bake Shop and Beer Garden Gives me hope. Open from 11:00 am to 2:00 am to feed the 6th Street crowds, Easy Tiger is a great downtown lunch spot because they are an easy walk from  the 6th and Congress hub as well as the Convention Center. And the food – well it’s downright good. Most of the menu is house-made, from the breads to the meats and even the mustard, so it has the satisfying taste of artisan cooking, created with care and attention to detail.

Restaurant style: Get lunch to go upstairs or head down to the ample space for table service

Location: 6th Street, just before the freeway 

Good for: Casual lunch for groups of any size; good option for out of town guests interested in Austin’s artisan food scene

Parking: Metered street parking available in the vicinity as well paid parking a couple of blocks away in the convention center parking lot

Special diets: Limited vegetarian options; gluten free companions can easily find a full meal that doesn’t involve gluten even though Easy Tiger is a bake shop

Price: Expect to spend $10 – $15 although the Easy Lunch special is $8

Menus and details

The Easy Tiger menu starts with pretzels so you know they take their baking seriously. Having tasted the pretzels, I can understand why they are worthy of their own section on the menu. Chewy yet soft, with just the right amount of salt – they are what big soft pretzels should be.

Mustard is a traditional partner for pretzels but any of their accompaniments would be good.

When you’re done oogling the pretzels and their various companions (cheddar, smoked gouda, salted whipped butter) you can move on to the Snacks section of the menu. While any cheese plate from Antonelli’s Cheese is tops on my list, I have to say I’m enamored with the house-made Chex Mix. It’s all of the fun of Chex Mix but without artificial flavors or questionable ingredients. As a note, I’ll be adding oyster crackers to my next batch of homemade party mix.

This snack is full of flavor. You can see the herbs clinging to the various crunchy bits.

Once you’re past pretzels and snacks you can get on with the business of eating lunch. Their artisan and baguette sandwiches feature house-cured (there’s that word again) meats on house-made bread. While it sounds almost too simple, the ham and butter on baguette is sublime. You’ll experience just about every flavor and texture, from the crusty outside of the baguette encasing the soft crumb to the salty ham that blends with the sweet cream butter.

Who knew the simple combination of ham and butter on baguette could be so, well, wonderful?

If you feel compelled to have  a more complex sandwich try the Smoked Turkey Breast on Pan au Levain with Avocado.

Moving on from sandwiches you’ll find Easy Boards, themed combinations of meats, bread and condiments. The Hill Country board includes game sausage, venison pate, pickled vegetables, and house-made mustard. It’s rich and great for sharing.

The goodies on this Easy Board go down easy.

 You can also get any of the house-made sausages on their own or on a pretzel bun – blending the start of the menu with the end. You should also have a look at the Add-Ons (aka side dishes) to mix a few veggies into your lunch time fray. I love good collard greens and the ones at Easy Tiger are made just awesome with bacon, beer, and onions.

Beer and bacon with my collard greens? Yes please!

On your way out of Easy Tiger be sure to stop for a fresh loaf of bread to have with dinner and for breakfast the next day. You’ll be sharing your Easy Tiger experience with your loved ones who will both appreciate you and be a bit cranky that you didn’t ask them to join you for lunch.

The bread at Easy Tiger is made fresh daily.