by Phil Houseal | Feb 10, 2021 | All Articles, Food, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Feb 10, 2021–A cousin compiling a family cookbook has been soliciting recipes. It got me thinking about the ways as kids we hacked food. The mother of most of our food inventions was literally our mother. Parents were forever trying to get us to eat nasty green...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 25, 2019 | All Articles, Food, People of the Hill Country
July 24, 2019–Never thought I’d write about vinegar. Over the years I’ve covered the rise of various beverages in the Hill Country. It started with the wineries and breweries. Next, distilleries began turning out whiskey, vodka, and rum. The most recent...
by Phil Houseal | May 2, 2019 | All Articles, Education, Events, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
May 1, 2019–Years ago I had the idea to create an athletic competition that required no athleticism whatsoever: Der Sitzenfest. Competitors would vie for prizes by sitting comfortably in their favorite chair, rocker, or recliner. It was all an idle (very idle)...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 5, 2018 | All Articles, Food, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
April 3, 2018–Whenever family from north of Willow Creek came to town looking for an authentic Fredericksburg Main Street experience, I took them to the Altdorf Restaurant. Nothing said “gemutlichkeit” like the outdoor biergarten, shaded barrel tables, smiling...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 27, 2017 | All Articles, Food, People of the Hill Country, Venue
July 26, 2017–I was just trying to get my manos on a bottle of Inca Kola. Inca Kola is a soda that is popular in Peru. I don’t remember liking it–it’s a sugary sweet concoction whose color can only be described as anti-freeze yellow, with a name appropriated from an...