This year's South By Southwest Interactive featured a hugely expanded track of food programming, drawing in major chef, tech, and media names to talk all things food. Of course, parties both official and non proliferated. From big-name chef dinners to gnawing on Franklin Barbecue beef ribs, here's the lowdown on South by South Gout.
—While not strictly associated with SouthBites, the New York Times Magazine party Friday night at the Mohawk was food-centric, catered by the yet-to-open Shake Shack Austin
—Shake Shack brought along enough food to make 1,300 burgers for the night, which they were told was the capacity of the venue.
—The White Horse was the unofficial hang of SouthBites Saturday night, and the Lynchian honky tonk's vibe impressed out-of-towners
—The Haus of Bacon had a bacon-themed gallery with Jason Mecier’s artwork depicting famous Internet cats with bacon, including a 3D meaty sculpture of Grumpy Cat.
—Andrew Zimmern hosted some of Austin's best chefs (David Bull, Tyson Cole, Ned Elliott, Jesse Griffths, Aaron Franklin) at a private home in Westlake for a casual and boozy event
—Aaron Franklin served beef ribs and corn cooked in beef tallow, and attendees started stealing the discarded rib bones to pick off the extra meat
—David Bull served an Italian-inspired take on sweetbreads, and says an Italian restaurant could be in his future once he gets his other massive projects off the ground.
—Also at the Zimmern gathering: Rob Rheinhart, the inventor of Soylent.
—At the collaborative dinner between Paul Qui, Sean Brock, and Nathan Myrhvold, Myrhvold excitedly explained the details of sea urchin gonads when serving Paul Qui's iconic diniguan with uni
—Modernist Cuisine's Myrhvold generally was out and about at SXSW, often with a camera in hand.
— Squishees vs. Slurpees: Fox has their Kwik-E-Mart truck set up near the SouthBites trailer park, handing out free Squishees to anyone who wanted one. Nearby, down on Rainey Street, 7/11 had their own Slurpee truck set up at the Buzzfeed’s BFF Clubhouse, giving out Slurpees Lites.
—GE’s BBQ Research Center let people make their own barbecue sauce to take with them, though the unmarked vial looked a little questionable.
—Attendees could find out how much they really love brisket by wearing a headband that read their brain waves while eating the smoked meat, cole slaw, and banana pudding. The results are projected alongside other participants on a screen.
—Netflix hosted a party and served Orange is the New Black-themed drinks at Lanai. Try ordering the Pink Poussey without feeling a tad weird.
— The Dave Arnold pop-up at Odd Duck was packed by 10:40 p.m. All the bartenders, Dave Arnold included, were making two high-tech-y drinks using liquid nitrogen: a tea-infused vodka cocktail and a Thai basil daiquiri.
— There was one guy at the bar in front of Arnold who asked him about every single step.