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Rudy’s “Country Store” and Bar-B-Q is getting the vote out for Taryn Davis, founder of the American Widow Project, and nominee in the CNN Hero of the Year contest. According to its website, The American Widow Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to the new generation of those who have lost the heroes of yesterday, today and tomorrow, with an emphasis on healing through sharing stories, tears and laughter:

LAKEWAY, TX, November 28, 2011 – Rudy’s “Country Store” and Bar-B-Q® declares Wednesday, December 7th, as a day to honor young military widows by donating a dollar for every pound of meat sold that day at participating locations to the American Widow Project. It is a nonprofit organization founded by CNN Hero of the Year nominee Taryn Davis that helps a new generation of young military widows heal and embrace life again.

Additionally, Rudy’s Bar-B-Q’s Follow2Support, its cause-related social media initiative that supports various charities, will add another dollar for every verifiable new “like” (http://facebook.com/rudysbbq) and Twitter follower (http://twitter.com/rudysbbq) through December 7th. Rudy’s Bar-B-Q will also drive online votes for Davis to help her win CNN Hero of the Year through its social media channels, online promotions and in-store marketing. More information can be found at http://rudys.com/vote.

Davis, 25, whose husband, Cpl. Michael Davis, was killed in action in Iraq in 2007, recalls many fun visits at the Rudy’s Bar-B-Q in New Braunfels, TX.

“I have nothing but great memories with Michael and our friends and family at every visit to Rudy’s before he shipped out for Iraq,” said Davis. “I am grateful for the commitment Rudy’s is making to help raise awareness and funds for the needs of a new generation of young military widows especially this holiday season. I am also appreciative for its assistance to drive votes for me for CNN Hero of the Year.”

“Rudy’s Bar-B-Q has a longstanding and proud history of supporting nonprofit organizations that help active duty service men and women of the U.S. military, veterans and their families,” said Pete Bassett, VP of Operations at Rudy’s Bar-B-Q. “We are extremely impressed at what Taryn has done and continue to do for the widows of U.S. soldiers killed in action. We are honored to help the American Widow Project succeed in its mission.”

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Bet you didn’t know it was National Taco Day this Tuesday? It also happens to be my wedding and blog anniversary strange enough too. So to celebrate, the taco thing, not my stuff, Taco Cabana is giving away FREE chicken fajita tacos Tuesday, October 4th, 5-8pm.

The chain is trying to break its record of 118,101 tacos given away during its last chicken fajita taco giveaway.

Anyone can visit their favorite Taco Cabana from 5-8pm to enjoy one free chicken fajita taco (*One free Chicken Fajita Taco per person. Not valid with any other offer. Valid at participating locations only. ).

TC says the taco is made with 100% white meat chicken wrapped in a freshly made flour tortilla. There will be other specials because the giveaway overlaps with Taco Cabana’s Happy Hour (4-7pm).

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I told you in June that Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America was casting in Houston. Well now the rolling pins have been lifted even higher as Bobby Flay is joning the show’s third season.

Worst Cooks in America pits two teams of the country’s most hopeless cooks, one led by Flay and the other by two-time series champion Anne Burrell, against each other to transform from kitchen zeros to kitchen heroes – with the contestant with the best performance and progress awarded a $25,000 prize.

HOUSTON OPEN CASTING CALL

Saturday September 10th
11:00 AM-4:00 PM
Culinary Institute LeNôtre
7070 Allensby Houston, TX 77022

**MUST show up with a replication of your worst dish!**

FOR MORE INFO:
www.theconlincompany.com
or email us: worstcooks@theconlincompany.com

Casting for season three contestants will begin later this month, with open calls slated for cities including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Minneapolis.

Slated to premiere February 2012, Worst Cooks in America will begin production in November.

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I went into the Firehouse Subs at Houston’s Meyerland Plaza a few weeks ago and saw the staff offering customers guidance on its new drink machine. I worried about society for a minute until I saw how advanced the machine was! The employee says this futuristic machine is one of six currently in the Houston-area.

Now being called The Ferrari of Coke machines, (because as the Firehouse Subs employee told me, the casing is actually made by Ferrari), the Coca-Cola Freestyle soda machine is catching on across the world supposedly.

The machine that lets you create more than a 100 different flavors is made to feel like you are getting your drink from an Apple product with its simple touch screen and dizzying area of features.  (the employee told me Apple was involved in the software running it but I have not confirmed that anywhere). It also promises a cleaner taste (read less plasticy).

Here is a description from a report in the Seattle’s The Stranger:

The machine has a field of circular app-like buttons with Coca-Cola brand names on them: Diet Coke, Fanta, Vault, Dasani, Sprite. When you touch a logo, it brings you to a submenu with flavor options. Press “Coke,” say, and you’re delivered to a screen with a choice of regular, lime, orange, vanilla, and raspberry (I am assured by a PR person that raspberry Coke is very popular in Europe). Then you depress the huge “Pour” button to fill the cup as much as you like. You are encouraged to mix flavors, freestyle.

That’s not all. You can also create your own flavor, use an app to store ‘the recipe’ in your iPhone, then use your phone to scan it back to the machine. That means you get the exact same mixture of drink and flavoring every time with the swipe of your phone. No more fumbling on the touch screen to get that perfect lime Diet Coke flavor as a sweaty guy behind you in line stares you down as he is jonsing for a caffeine fix (that guy could be me by the way).

As a Dr Pepper fan, I learned that I could not mix in any flavors.  That’s because Dr Pepper is not an official Coke product and could not be altered like the other featured Coca Cola drinks.

This video gives you an idea of what you can do.

So will this catch on? Or is it too complicated for both the restaurant and the consumer? Only time and lots of carbonation will tell.

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Attention terrible Texan cooks, Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America will be casting in Houston (and other cities around the US, see below) for some kitchen zeroes this July:

Are you a really bad cook? Do you need major help in the kitchen? Do friends avoid your dinner parties like the plague? Does your husband or wife serve you dinnertime disasters? Is your friend or family member a catastrophe in the kitchen?

About Worst Cooks in America:
Sixteen of the country’s most hopeless cooks attempt to transform from kitchen zeros into kitchen heroes as they compete in a grueling culinary boot camp on season three of Food Network’s primetime reality series, Worst Cooks in America. The “recruits” — nominated by family and friends for their abysmal cooking skills — are split into two teams, led by acclaimed chefs and Food Network stars.

HERE’S HOW TO APPLY:
• Email us at worstcooks@theconlincompany.com
• Tell us why you (or the person you are nominating) is the most disastrous cook in the country * Include name, age, hometown, occupation, contact phone number, and a recent photo of the hopeless cook Additional information & application available at www.theconlincompany.com

NOW CASTING IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:
LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, HOUSTON, MIAMI, MINNEAPOLIS

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Houston Dining on the Cheap author, Zagat contributor and past mikemcguff.com blog contributor, Mike Riccetti, has a new book out that should make Houstonians hungry for more.

It’s called Houston Dining 2011 - A Guide for Visitors (and Most Locals, Too) and I think it caters to both groups well. I was born in Houston and learned stuff from reading it.

Riccetti breaks it down by location, type of food and then he goes and gets creative on us:

- Local restaurants profiled on Guy Fieri’s show and The Next Iron Chef
- Places that serve a nice variety of scotches to celebrate the close of that big deal, or just get a customer drunk on expensive stuff
- Restaurant rows - areas like the Rice Village and lower Westheimer where there is a concentration of restaurants

This is an e-book and is a Kindle release but Riccetti says it can also be read on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Android-based devices.

Houston Dining 2011 - A Guide for Visitors (and Most Locals, Too) ($9.99)

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Only problem, I was in downtown Los Angeles in a hotel lobby.

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Becks Prime burgers is opening in Hermann Park. It’s taking over the spot where the less than spectacular (in my opinion) Little Bigs used to be near the train depot.

I snapped this photo on Wednesday after riding the train with my son (highly recommend activity.

Here is more from the Hermann Park Conservancy page:

Great news! Becks Prime will be operating the cafe at Hermann Park during weekends in March and the week of Spring Break (March 5, 6, 12-20, 26, and 27). They will open for lunch each day at 11:00am. The cafe is located in Lake Plaza (adjacent to the main Houston Zoo entrance) between Kinder Station and the pedal boat lagoon.

So it sounds like it is a limited time only. If you have kids, don’t worry, the site says there is a child’s menu available.

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Chick-fil-A, which my young son calls Chicks-Fay, is giving out free food February 2 (this Wednesday for those who don’t believe in calendars) according to the Houston Business Journal:

All guests that morning get a free Spicy Chicken Biscuit, which was added to the menu on Jan. 10.
There’s no purchase necessary to receive the biscuit, which is usually priced at $2.25, and there’s a limit of one free item per customer. READ MORE FOR TIME OFFER

The article says this is to celebrate Groundhog Day. I could care less. It’s freakin’ free food, that’s all I care about. The chain could say Wednesday was Cow Day for all I care…just give us the free food!

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Sure Black Friday is this week, but 7-Eleven is changing that to Purple Friday with a free Slurpee offer. Not any 7-Elevens that I know of in the Houston city limits, but there are plenty everywhere else around Texas:

7-Eleven, Inc. is celebrating people coming together by offering a free, small Slurpee® drink on “Purple Friday” — Nov. 26. 7-Eleven wants to extend the fun of its Slurpee Unity Tour that visited 14 cities before arriving to Washington, D.C. for a Slurpee Summit. On Nov. 26, or “Purple Friday” as 7-Eleven has dubbed the day, a free, small Slurpee drink will be available at participating 7-Eleven stores upon presentation of an online coupon.

On Friday, Nov. 26, the coupon is redeemable from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time and will be available during that time on the Slurpee Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Slurpee) for fans to print. Simply, “like” the fan page, print the coupon and bring it to a participating store to get a free, small Slurpee. The free, small Slurpee drinks will only be available on “Purple Friday” at participating stores while supplies last.

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