Geoff Peveto owns Frank, a restaurant serving hot dogs and gourmet sausages with craft beer and cocktails in Austin, TX, and The Decoder Ring, a full service design firm with a focus working in the music industry.
What was the food highlight of your year?
Osteria alle Testiere in Venice, Italy was one. It has ten tables and the food is amazing. They are part of Ristoranti della Buona Accoglienza which sat out to counter the reputation of expensive tourist traps with lousy food that Venice was often associated with. We had ricotta and basil ravioli with red tuna ragout, grilled cuttlefish with squid ink and white polenta and gazpacho with baby octopus. Everything was as fresh as any dish I've ever had.
My other highlight was being able to go congratulate Doug Sohn of Hot Doug's in Chicago the week before he closed his doors.
What was the music highlight of your year?
So many... The Hold Steady played our 5th anniversary at Frank. We only hold around 200 people and we gave away all the tickets to fans. Seeing them in that small of a room was simply amazing. Off! and Diarrhea Planet also played at Frank and destroyed the crowd.
Others would be the Slowdive reunion in Barcelona, Sturgill Simpson in a small club in San Antonio, finally seeing Pinebender and they played for me, my wife and my friend Jay Ryan in their practice space that Jay had arranged, and getting to see Whores three times in one year. They put out two of the best EPs anyone has and deliver them live better than any new band going. That Knapsack reunion was something special too.
Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?
The above mentioned Hold Steady show at Frank. Having my friends play in our little hot dog shop and seeing the smiles on everyone's face was a show I won't ever forget.