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Cheap, fast and delicious

A few members of the Food Network team hightailed it to Austin, Texas this week for the South by Southwest media conference. I’m happy to report Austin is an excellent food town, so while we’re learning ways to make your experiences on our site even cooler, we’re also going to be reporting on what we eat.

It's screaming "eat me" isn't it?

Austin is a food truck and trailer town, and Downtown Burger was (wisely) dishing out burgers, french fries and beer across the street from the convention center. A line of hungry hipsters extended to the sidewalk.

What's better than wine and cheese? Nothing.

After attending a few panels, I headed over to Whole Foods corporate headquarters for a wine and cheese tasting with the Techmunch team. The tasting featured wines from the Bordeaux region, and all of the featured bottles were under $20 and selected by Doug Bell and Jeff Ryan, Whole Foods global wine buyers. If you are near a Whole Foods, I’d recommend the Chateau La Fleur Dallon Cotes de Bordeaux Rouge, a well-balanced medium-bodied red.

Still hungry, a few of us walked over to Sandra Bullock’s well-known restaurant, Bess Bistro. I’m a huge fan of her acting, but none of us where sure what to expect. It was a delight. We shared a dished of perfectly fried artichokes along with fried green tomatoes over fresh crab meat. My meal was two lamb sausage patties that had that perfect lamb richness. The restaurant is in the lower floor of an old house, and was cozy with brick-lined walls and charming waitstaff. We polished off our meal with beignets dipped in hot fudge, which is how I would like to finish all meals really.