One of our favorite things about our Flavor Forays is meeting the amazing people who are driving culinary innovation forward throughout the country. In Austin, we had the privilege of meeting miller James Brown who is leading a grain Renaissance in Texas. We first visited with him at his 5,000 square foot Barton Springs Mill and then tasted some of the pizza made with his flour at Apis as well as some of the pasta made with his flour at Emmer & Rye. When we visited Austin again this June, Brown was in the final stages of constructing a 17,509 square foot mill on the grounds of Treat Oak Distillery which also uses his grains in several of their spirits. Phenomenal growth! At the same time, we visited with neuroscientist turned baker and mesquite missionary Sandeep Gyawali who was recently tapped to oversee the bread program for Whole Foods. Nutritious mesquite pods can be ground into flour and used for baking. It also turns out they can play a role in craft cocktails which brings us to another favorite spot, Desert Door, where Sotol or Desert Spoon cactus is distilled into a delicious spirit along the lines of mescal or tequila. Two recent articles explain the work of these innovators in depth. Please read and enjoy.

Barton Springs Mill Is Leading a Texas Grain Renaissance
The smell of fresh stone-ground whole-grain flour is unmistakable. Like bread but raw. It's a scent that carries the promise of pizza, pasta, cakes, dumplings, tortillas. It's immediately recognizable, despite the fact that you've likely never smelled it before, unless you've visited a place like Barton Springs Mill.

In Texas, Even Drinks Love Mesquite | PUNCH
"Mesquite commands respect," says Sandeep Gyawali, neuroscientist, baker, cocktail enthusiast and forager. "It fights back and thrives under harsh conditions. The thorns make harvesting difficult, but there's also heat, scorpions, snakes and cacti." A spiky, prolific, leguminous tree native to the American Southwest and parts of Mexico, mesquite is perhaps best known in the United States for its relationship to Texas barbecue.