Kenneth E. Harker
2005 Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

Jen and I went to the 2005 Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival April 9-10, 2005. This year, the festival was held in Austin, at Auditorium Shores, just across Town Lake from the downtown business district. It was a two-day event this year, and we went for most of both days. We had excellent weather. These photos were taken on Sunday.

These photos are copyright © 2005 Kenneth E. Harker. All rights reserved.

	Downtown Austin, across Town Lake. The new building with the distinctive glass feature on top is the Frost Bank Tower, completed in January, 2004. It is now the tallest building in town. Closer to the lake, and between the two CSC office buildings is the new Austin City Hall, opened in November, 2004.
	This was the Texas Beef Council Gathering of Wagons section of the festival. There were five different chuck wagon teams offering tastings of chili, fajitas, barbecue, stewed beef tips, and some exceptionally tasty beef ribs slow stewed in a Dutch oven until the meat is almsot falling off the bone.
	The statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan at Auditorium Shores.
	Another view of downtown Austin, looking northeast over the lake. The bridge is South First Street.
	The modern cowboy uses a cell phone.
	More festival goers enjoying the shade near some of the food tents.
	This was the line for beef tips on rice. In addition to yummy warm food, the Texas Beef Council gave out lots of free stuff, like seasoning rubs, recipes, and even drink koozies that say "Beef, it's what's for dinner!" on them.
	Even though it was a breezy day, there was a lot of recreational boat traffic on the lake. Actually, the lake is a reservoir of the Colorado River, formed by a dam just east of downtown. Town Lake is the first in a series of reservoirs on the Colorado as you go upstream into the Hill Country.
	Jen, sitting in the shade after lunch. We had to wear wristbands to be served alcohol.
	The very large white tent was only a small part of The Big Taste, where 72 wineries were pouring samples, and something like 50 or 60 restaurants and food businesses were offering hors d'ouevres.
	The entrance to The Big Taste. During the first session on Saturday, it was really crowded, but Sunday's sessions were a lot more manageable.
	Over two days, I was able to taste almost all of the wines being poured. Unlike last year, the tasting event was held in two sessions each day, with several hours between them to see cooking demonstrations, panel discussions on wine, or just relax in the shade and rest up for the second tasting session of the day. I think that was a really good idea.
	There were several large tents like this that featured differently themed presentations. The Flavors of Texas tent featured Texas chefs who each shared one recipe while cooking on stage, which was paired with two Texas wines instroduced by the winemakers. After the show, the food and wines were served to the audience.
	Way off in the distance was a stage where local bands took turns playing Austin-style music during the festival.
	This was the largest demonstration tent, the Saveur Kitchen, where the celebrity chefs performed. Somewhere on that stage is Tyler Florence, who has a TV show on the Food Network.
	It was standing-room-only, and the crowd was very into it. Women were yelling out "I love you, Tyler!" I'm not making that up.
	This is the old Palmer Auditorium. A private foundation is raising funds to replace this structure with an all new performing arts building, the Long Center. It is planned for completion in 2007. The parking garage, which curls around a third of the old building, was the first part of the redevelopment.
	This was another stage where chefs prepared a favorite recipe for the crowds. This was between shows.
	Inside the Flavors of Texas tent, chef Monica Pope of t'afia came from Houston to demonstrate a beef and beets recipe from her restaurant. It was paired with Alamosa Wine Cellars Sangiovese and Texas Hills Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.