Launching in February, Yumé Burger, from the creative genius behind The Peached Tortilla, Eric Silverstein, has partnered with Mark Tamiso to bring Austin “the burger, redefined” = Japanese style hamburgers . . .And oh let’s not forget the Yumé Hotdog!

With Yumé Burger, Eric Silverstein and his partner Mark Tamiso, have blended the childhood flavors Eric experienced whilst living in Japan and have brought Mark’s talents and cultural experiences as a Chef to Yumé Burger.

With burgers ranging from the JapaJam which have such fixin’s as an all beef hamburger, Japanese tomato jam, jalapeno jack cheese, fried egg, Japanese BBQ sauce, crispy onion strings to the PO-KU that includes an all beef hamburger, seared pork belly strip, creamy wasabi slaw, Japanese pickles – And Oh Yes . . a friend egg and pork belly on burgers = heaven!

Check out the menu:

For those of you who don’t know, I work at Alliance Abroad Group in addition to being a gluten-free consultant and social media/public relations & marketing consultant.  I tell myself everyday I am a very lucky gal to have landed a job that allows me to travel internationally, tasting my way through various cultures and helping students to write their own stories.  It’s a dream job in so many ways.

So I am ready to kick my feet up and get settled into my hotel.  Lucky for me I was lodging at the Hilton Istanbul, located atop a hill in the Taksim neighborhood of Istanbul.  My driver gave me a little history lesson on the way to the hotel, sharing that Istanbul is the City of Seven Hills and that Istanbul sits both in Europe and Asia.

A 10-minute walk from downtown, the Hilton Hotel has an amazing view overlooking the Bosphorus and Blue Mosque, two of the most amazing features of the city, as well as the Grand Bazaar and other attractions the old city has to offer.  Clearly the view at night from my balcony is enough to make you want to come back to Istanbul time and time again.  Standing there taking in the depth of the history of this country, to understand that Constantine traversed these lands, such beauty to behold as the gentle breeze caressed my face, I knew it would be a good trip and that I needed to put food in my belly and get a good nights rest!

Dinner was at Leb-i derya (They are part of the Slow Food movement in Turkey which is displayed on their menu).  We were treated to a traditional appetizer and cheese plates, all gluten-free, which included:

• Walnut eggplant mousse-roasted bell pepper cream
• Fava bean puree-citrus onion chutney
• Goat cheese brûlée
• Dardanelles tomato confit with rosemary reduction
• Tulum cheese-crystallized pumpkin
• Aged kassari-green olive tapenade
• Smoked circassian-walnut pesto
• Goat cheese grilled pear

The wine was flowing as I enjoyed my main course – roasted chicken with zahter flavored mushroom sauce and fresh thyme scented potato puree. The conversation was enchanting and the view over the City of Istanbul was spelling binding.

The perfect way to end my evening!

Related articles

• Gluten-Free: Turkish Delight Day 1 – Traveling Gluten-Free in Istanbul, Turkey (blindedbythebite.wordpress.com)
• Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar and Floating Restaurants! – Istanbul, Turkey (travelpod.com)

I had traveled to Istanbul previously, but it has been 10 to 12+ years since I’d been there, so it really for me was like going there for the first time.  Plus, I had since been diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease and I was looking forward to my gluten-free travels – full well knowing it would be relatively easy to eat gluten-free in Turkey.

Reservations made (with gluten-free meals requested) and my bags packaged, I was off on my journey departing Austin via British Airways with a connection in  London, and then onto to Istanbul.  I always love stopping over in London, as it’s one of my favorite cities, however, it wasn’t much of a layover as I didn’t get to leave the airport – I would have loved to retrace Anthony Bourdain’s route on The Layover! What was shocking to me however was the lack of Christmas decorations.  Alone stood one singular Christmas Tree just outside Harrods (I am a huge fan of their food hall  in their flagship store in Knightsbridge). With London being steeped in such history & celebration of the holiday’s typically, I was truly disappointed.

The other thing that was a bit frustrating was that I didn’t find a lot of options in pre-package gluten-free foods that I could just grab-and-go from one of the many food kiosks, as I didn’t have time for an actual sit down meal between my connecting flights.  Thank goodness just shortly after boarding I was served my dinner on British Airways which was chicken breast with vegetables (sorry I forgot to take a picture) which would hold me over for the remainder of my 18 hour flight.

Well . . That was Day 1 of my gluten-free travels to Istanbul, Turkey.  More to come with Day 2-5!

What first struck me about Easy Tiger is the amazing job the team did on reconfiguring the existing space they moved into on East 6th street (previously occupied by Habana Cuban Restaurant).  Situated on Waller Creek, Easy Tiger has struck gold with such a location for easy casual dining and a beer garden – It will certainly draw a crowd, as it did for the preview!  With decor that hearkens back to the mid 1930′s, you are immediately drawn in by the fresh-baked artisan breads and coffee bar, along with an open view of the kitchen through the glass window menu wall.  Heading down stairs the space immediately opens up to a plethora of seating (inside & out) and a bar that is serving up 22+ craft beers on tap. They’ve even retained the stage out back, so I’d anticipate some great local music throughout the summer and fall.

The bake shop/cafe upstairs will be open from 7 am to 2 am, and the beer garden downstairs will be open from 11 am to 2 am.  Easy Tiger will feature artisan breads including baguettes, croissants, pretzels and locally roasted coffee.  Adding housemade meats to the menu which include sausages, corned beef, pastrami and more than 22+ local/boutique draft beers, they’ve got a little something to appease everyone’s appetite.

While I was unable to taste any of the bites served the night of the preview due to it not being gluten-free, I did get to sample some wine and the excellent customer service which started from when I walked in the door until I left – including an offer to walk me out to my car to ensure my safety (impressive).   The Easy Tiger group is working on some vegetarian and gluten-free options.  I will be excited to try these options out in the near future, as I am a regular at 24Diner and Andrew Curren has his eye on what it means to be gluten-free and is always ever-expanding the gluten-free menu at 24Diner, so I am hoping to say the same about East Tiger in the future.

Wishing this fun & fantastic group huge success with their new venture – Slow down and stay awhile enjoying everything Easy Tiger has to offer!

Founding partners Charlie Jones (C3 Present), Chef Tyson Cole (Uchi & Uchiko), Chef Tim Love (Lonesome Dove Bistro and coming in 2012 The Woodshed Smokehouse) and restaurateur Jesse Herman (La Condesa), kicked off the event with a preview of the talent that will abound at the festival, as well as some of the musical acts, including Grammy award-winning artist Lucinda Williams, who will be headlining Friday’s VIP event at Republic Square Park.

With more than 40+ events offered over three days and an impressive roster of talent, including some of Austin’s finest, Austin and it’s residents are in for a treat that include such tasty bits as grand tastings, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, seminars, chef demonstrations and live music, as Austin is the live music capital after all – Check out the complete schedule here!

The Austin FOOD & WINE Festival will benefit the newly formed 501c3 “Austin Food & Wine Alliance,” which will give back to the Central Texas culinary community through a vibrant grant program to fund projects focused on culinary innovation.  For more information about the Austin Food & Wine Alliance, visit austinfoodwinealliance.org

Tickets go on-sale January 24th and can be purchased directly on the Austin Food & Wine website.  For more information about the event and/or to volunteer click here, as well as a list of sponsors.

So this year, I am asking friends and family to donate to Austin’s Sustainable Food Center in lieu of giving me a gift.  The Sustainable Food Center here in Austin “creates opportunities for individuals to make healthy food choices and to participate in a vibrant local food system. Through organic food gardening, relationships with area farmers, interactive cooking classes and nutrition education, children and adults have increased access to locally grown food and are empowered to improve the long-term health of Central Texans and our environment.”

I would be honored by any donations for my birthday in supporting such a great organization in Austin!

Here is the Sustainable Food Center’s giving page:

http://www.sustainablefoodcenter.org/donate/donation_options

Thank you in advance for your gifts and for helping to support Austin’s Sustainable Food Center!

Where am I going with this post you ask?  Well I am incredibly lucky to have just the most amazing mom and girl friends!  I was talking to my mom about my recent struggles, and how I feel as though I’ve lost my way, lost the balance in my life and ultimately disappointed myself.  My mom said “Rachelle, you cannot be all things to everyone.  At 40 years old you need to get back to basics, strip everything down and focus only on the important things.  And you need a day at Disneyland!”  Thank goodness for moms!  She really is right.  Letting those words of wisdom soak in, I also recalled a recent conversation I’d had over dinner a few weeks back with my lovely friend Karen Morgan (@BlackbirdBakes), we were talking about keeping it simple, getting back to the basics and focusing on what’s important.  That night Karen also lent me the new cook book from Ferran Adria “The Family Meal,” in which he talks about it being about family and keeping it simple.  It blew my mind and I knew that I wanted to tie it in with a blog post somehow.

Well, last week I found out my mom and my 94-year-old grandmother are moving here to Austin. Perfect timing I thought!  I talked to my mom about getting her and my grandmother settled in and that on Sunday nights, I wanted her and I to cook the family dinner together, working through Ferran Adria’s “The Family Meal” once recipe a week (Thank you Karen for this amazing idea)!

So each Sunday my mom and I will be preparing meals, gluten-free of course, as laid out by Ferran for his family at El Bulli, because Family is so important!  And mom I’m gonna hold you to the trip to Disneyland! And a big shout-out to my amazing girlfriends for your love & support!

Take your pick of culinary luminaries, they were here in Austin and we got to see them do what they do best, as well as share their journey, knowledge and encouragement to those attending the conference.  It was a pleasure and delight to be amongst such culinary giants, I’m still pinching myself!  What I was so touched by at this conference and found so incredibly encouraging is how engaging and helpful these food giants were.  From simple encouragement to stay the course, to exchanging contact information (really? I have that persons email address and when I’m in town let them know or come play in our test kitchen), could it get any better? The IACP members were also so gracious and I love that many fell in love with Austin the same way I did  when I first came here!  And to top the cake off of what was IACP, I got to reconnect with old friends from San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as make new ones . . . .I giggle in pure delight at the stack of business cards I collected at IACP!  It was also an honor to serve as a volunteer with other members of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance (and Megan you should have said hello to Martin Yan he was so sweet)! 

Additionally, as part of IACP, Edible Austin held the inaugural Edible Texas Wine Food Match last Friday at the AT&T Conference Center/Carillon Restaurant, which I had the distinct pleasure of working on the social media campaign with Marla and Jenna of Edible Austin.  The inaugural event raised $10,000 for the newly incorporated non-profit Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts, which is to be built in Fredericksburg, TX, making Central Texas a place where “localvore” meets “locapour.”   All five chefs created 3 pairings for the guests to taste & then it was up to the celebrity judges panel! The event MC’s Jack Gilmore (of Jack Allen’s Kitchen) and Tanji Patton (of Good Taste with Tanji) were the perfect pairing!  Pinch me am I dreaming?  I won’t event get into the guest list just know it was amazing and it was a delight to meet them all and watch them in their element.  The celebrity judges were:

• Jacques Pépin, world-renowned chef, television celebrity, cookbook author and culinary educator
• Francois Dionot, founder and director of L’Academie de Cuisine
• John Besh, chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and television personality
• Michael Bauer, executive food and wine editor for the San Francisco Chronicle
• Paula Lambert, cookbook author and founder of the Mozzarella Company.

Congratulations to all the chefs who participated in this 1st ever event, to the Texas Wineries (click here to see a complete list) that were selected by the chefs in pairings and to all of the amazing sponsors.  Who took home the gold you ask?  Chef P.J. Edwards of Bin 555 Restaurant was selected as runner-up and Chef David Garrido of Garrido’s Restaurant took home the grand prize, as well as the People’s Choice award.

Saturday to cap off what was IACP, I attended the “Up in Smoke” event at Boggy Creek Farms.  What makes this so special – I love Boggy Creek Farms and Larry and Carol Ann! They are always just lovely when I’ve come out to the farm and I was delighted they were recognized at IACP for what they do on their farm. Then it was off to Cupcake Smackdown 3.0!  This is my second year attending and this year I was also a sponsor.  It was so great to see the drawn Jennie Chen was able to bring in with this event!  It is a favorite among the community and it is always fun to see the families come and enjoy the event!

And just when I thought my week couldn’t get any better I was invited to attend another Edible Austin event on Sunday evening, a Honey Dinner by Chef Will Packwood at Springdale Farm.  This was my first experience tasting what is the genius of Chef Will Packwood . . . I hope to get to experience more of his culinary talents (special thank you Will for changing my mind about beets and for making one of my favorite dishes fried chicken gluten-free!  I did skip the biscuit with the honey butter though).  It was such a treat to be seated with Glenn and Paula, the owners of Springdale Farms, whom sent me home with a wonderful bounty of fresh picked tomatoes!

Add then there is the evolution & growth of Blinded by the Bite!  What started out as a challenging situation one year ago has turned into a really beautiful creation.  I am grateful for so many individuals that have come into my life as a result of this food blog! I cannot even begin to list all of you! A special thank you to Babette of Bakespace.com & what is TechMunch, as I was about to give it all up and then I got to volunteer (thank you Megan) and hear the amazing speakers you brought in for the Austin session (the inspirational words of Penny De Los Santos still ring in my head – “created your dream project“).

What I do know is that Austin has one of the most amazing food communities and I am honored to be a part of it!  So thank you to those whom have helped me along the way, extended an invite to a tasting, proof read a blog post I was scared to publish, offered advice, subscribed to my blog, re-tweeted one of my tweets, Chefs who fixed me a special gluten-free dish just because, and plain simply have just been supportive!  To my clients -  I love you & love what you are doing with your brands!  Thank you for welcoming me in and trusting me with your brand, as it really is the ultimate honor!  I also want to thank those outside of Austin who have helped me along in my journey! And last but certainly not least, the gluten-free community!  What can I say other than you have embraced me in ways I can never repay you! Thank you for helping to fight the good fight, educate and support our community!

I’m so excited as there is some big news coming to Blinded by the Bite! in the next few months and so excited to share it with all of you!  You’ve all allowed me to live this beautiful life that I’m so incredibly grateful for ~ It really is a beautiful life and it is my dream project!

Related articles:

• Lisa Dupar wins top cookbook honor (bizjournals.com)
• Edible Texas – Wine and Food Match: Let the Competition Begin! (vintagetexas.com)

Photo credits:

• IdeaChampions.com
• Jenna Noel – Edible Austin
• Jennie Chen – MisoHungry
• Rachelle King – Blinded by the Bite!

Photo: Getty Images

Image via Wikipedia

Why you ask am I angry at a potential resolution for many who suffer from Celiac’s Disease and/or gluten or wheat intolerance?  Let me put it simply – We should not be genetically modifying our food!  I believe that is largely in part why we are now seeing higher incident rates of Celiac’s Disease and intolerance to wheat/gluten, as well as other diseases.  I am not a medical doctor or a scientist, but clearly as stated in this article “In general, the toxicity of modern wheat varieties has increased, and is cause for concern.”

I think the focus should be on creating health alternatives since the available wheat varieties are so toxic.  If scientists or researches go about mucking around with the genetic makeup of our foods, what will be the next disease that goes undiagnosed and sprouts up 5-10-15 years later with no cure?  I think it is so incredibly important to know where our food comes from, what goes into our food and to eat healthy whole foods.  I have learned some great tips and tricks from other gluten-free bakers/bloggers and chef’s that have improved my gluten-free experience by leaps & bounds! My good friend Karen Morgan of Blackbird Bakery always talks about the trifecta of gluten-free cooking/baking: Taste, Texture & Appearance.  I know we don’t have to genetically modify our foods to meet these three criteria! Keep it simple and keep it healthy!

Related Articles:

GM Wheat Trail Begins Amid Secrecy

Gluten Immunology Chemistry

Article References:

Fugate, Linda PhD, “Celiac-Safe Wheat Coming Soon–Maybe”, EmpowHer May 24, 2011

van den Broeck HC et al, “Presence of celiac disease epitopes in modern
and old hexaploid wheat varieties: wheat breeding may have contributed
to increased presence of celiac disease”, Theor Appl Genet. 2010; 121:
1527-39. Pubmed 20664999
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20664999

Tjon JML et al, “Celiac disease: how complicated can it get?”
Immunogenetics 2010; 62: 641-51. Pubmed 2066173http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20661732

Reviewed May 24, 2011
Edited by Alison Stanton

Linda Fugate is a scientist and writer in Austin, Texas. She has a Ph.D.
in Physics and an M.S. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering. Her
background includes academic and industrial research in materials
science. She currently writes song lyrics and health articles.

A few months back I went through a very traumatic breakup, leaving me feeling totally shattered.  Just a few weeks after the breakup, I was let go from my job for reasons that were inexcusable.  I’d never been let go from a job like this, once again leaving me feeling such a level of betrayal from those around me – Life was not giving me a break!  Not how you want to kick off your 40^th birthday or start the New Year, it was the perfect storm! I felt like I didn’t need any more character building exercises, I had enough personality and character having been through eight car accidents, a breast cancer scare, and a diagnosis with Celiac’s Disease in the last few years.  But what I didn’t want to admit to myself, is that I was feeling as though my body has failed me and I was angry at my body!

Who talks about being angry at their body or feeling like their body is failing them? I’d been over and over this in therapy after my car accidents.  Why was I back at this place again? Yes my body has changed.  So I can’t eat everything I once used to.  It’s not like I lost a limb or lost my sight.  Poor me I have to really watch what I eat when I go out to dinner or attend food events around town.  I have been heard telling people and this is the premise for my blog is that you can “eat gluten-free almost anywhere.”  Not such a big deal right – So why then was I mad at my body?  Well, I think it’s pretty easy – It’s Change!  I had gone from being a very health, physically fit woman to now having had back surgeries, spinal epidural’s every 8 weeks and being overweight.

I went into see my doctor recently and told her I was having a very difficult time with living a gluten-free lifestyle.  I explained that I just got so stressed out that I didn’t care what eating gluten was doing to my body, was it really that big of a deal?  So I get an upset stomach from eating food that contained gluten or that my body may ache for a few weeks or months due to the gluten exposure.  I wanted what I wanted, when I wanted it, and the consequences didn’t matter, I would pay the bill later.  Sound familiar?  Well the problem with that thinking is that it does matter.  Repeated exposure to gluten can cause some serious long-term effects.  I was aware of this and knew it was going to take at least three to six months for my body to recover if not longer, as I had been exposing myself to gluten for more than two months off and on.  Was I really willing to pay the price?  I’d been through a breast cancer scare, had a lumpectomy and remember how terrifying that was.  Did I really want to be treating my body so disrespectfully that I would once again have to come up against another serious diagnosis?  The answer is clearly no!  I also learned that I was punishing myself because I had no other outlet for my unresolved feelings about my car accidents, the breakup and the job situation.  My doctor explained to me “your attempting to exert some level of control in your life,” being that I was experiencing major levels of stress in every area of my life.

Why am sharing all of this you may find yourself asking?  Well it’s about being honest and about how hard it can be to stay the course when life throws repeated curve balls your way.  We all deal with those curve balls differently, be it stress, a death in the family, a loss of a job, signing that big deal and/or an engagement.  Some of us eat or drink excessively, while others throw themselves into work or exercise.  Many of us struggle with eating right, regardless if we have a food allergy or specific dietary restrictions.  What is important and what I have walked away with is that we have to honor our bodies; it’s really all we have!  It’s not like a car you lease for a period of time and then trade it in on a new model.  We get this one body and we have to take care of it so it will take care of us!

The other lesson I have walked away with and really value the importance of this wisdom, is giving one’s self enough time and being prepared.  What do I mean by this?  I know I have dietary restrictions I have to live by diligently.  I need to allow myself enough time to prepare my food for meals.  I need to leave myself enough time to shop appropriately for groceries (Big Tip: Create a weekly meal plan).  I need to be prepared and ensure I have gluten-free items in my house at all times so if I am in a hurry, I can grab a quick gluten-free snack or whip up a meal quickly with gluten-free ingredients, not order out or pop through the drive-thru for some fast food.  It’s frustrating to me and a bit embarrassing, as I talk about this in my blog quite a bit and it is one of the first recommendations I make to individuals who are going gluten-free. It’s a common misstep, however, a costly one for me as of late.

I hope you find this helpful and know that you’re not alone.  Sure it’s tempting to eat all of those foods you used to love and remember tasting before going gluten-free! But the beauty of a gluten-free lifestyle is your taking better care of your body, and gluten-free eating and dining out can be just as delicious.  Take the time to learn just how to make your favorites! Not sure where to start? There are some great resources like the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness,  Whole Foods Market which teaches several gluten-free classes, as well as several gluten-free cookbooks, gluten-free food bloggers and gluten-free consultants.  There are also support groups! Gluten-Free Faces is a great place to talk to your gluten-free peers!

Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you! Remember it is a journey and if you fall of the wagon, you can always get back on to continue your journey!

Here are some of my favorites & “must-haves” to help me stay on track:

Breakfast/Snacks:

-Almonds (good sources of protein and a quick snack – Other nuts can be used)

-GF Granola (Breakfast)

-Fresh Fruit

-Hail Merry Snacks (Macaroon’s, Nut Mixes)

-GF Yogurt

GF Flours I have on hand at all times:

-Almond Flour

-Brown Rice Flour

-Corn Flour

-Garbanzo Bean Flour

-Glutinous Rice Flour

-Sorghum Flour

Quick Prepare items:

-Have meat of your liking cooked and in the refrigerator. You can create a quick salad, or just eat the meat which is a good source of protein

-GF Pasta (My favorite is Schar pastas).  I can add pre-cooked meat to the pasta and add a sauce for a complete meal

-GF Quiche (I make one of these up each week & it’s  great for a quick meal be it breakfast·lunch·dinner)

Restaurants/Trailers in Austin I frequent for gluten-free meals:

24 Diner (just launched a gluten-free menu items)

Beets Cafe

Chez Zee

Hopdoddy Burger Bar (ask to not have the bun heated to avoid cross contamination)

Lift Cafe

Parkside Restaurant

Second Bar + Kitchen / Congress

Snack Bar

The Evil Wiener (Food Truck) (I order the Dog Quito on a corn tortilla)

The Peached Tortilla (Food Truck) (I order the catfish on a corn tortilla – breading is corn-based)

Trio at the Four Seasons

Wildwood Art Cafe

Cookbooks:

American Masala (Suvir Suran)

Blackbird Bakery Gluten Free (Karen Morgan)

Elana’s Pantry (Elana Amsterdam)

Simply Sugar & Gluten Free (Amy Green)

Spain – A Culinary Road Trip (Mario Batali)

Thai Street Food (David Thompson)

The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Food (Bette Hagman)

Related articles

• Bad-Mouthing Gluten (time.com)
• New Glutenpro Website has Products that Test for Celiac Disease and Help People Live Gluten Free (prweb.com)