Welcome to the Culinary Insider for October 15th 2018. I am Ryan Parker. 

Good news for the restaurant industry. Third quarter sales growth is the best since 2015.  

Nation’s Restaurant news is reporting same store sales were up 1.2 percent in September. Marking the first time since 2015 all three months in a quarter had positive sales growth.  

The bad news is traffic declined in the third quarter by 1.2 percent compared to the same time last year. Rising menu prices and soft numbers from last year's hurricane season attribute to the increase in overall sales. 

Saturday Ocotber 27th marks Austin’s 9th annual tequila festival. The festival is held at Casa Chapala Mexican Cuisine and tequila bar in Austin. Tickets are on sale now ranging from 35 dollars to 65 dollars. 

All guests receive a souvenir tequila snifter, Agave trail guide book, ten tasting tickets, a swag bag and a trip to the famous Casa Chapala’s taquiza taco bar.  

Dominique Crenn is hosting the world's best chefs at her restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. Crenn a mainstay in the San Francisco food world is partnering with American Express to put on a dinner series with chefs from around the world 

Starting November 19th,  the dinner series will seat 40 people between two seatings at 450 dollars a person.  

Tickets go on sale for the first night today. 

The James Beard Foundation names an award after legendary food writer Jonathan Gold. The Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award honors new writers who are telling stories of their cities and regions.  

Jonathan passed away this year in July. He was an acclaimed writer for the los angeles times, LA Weekly, and Gourmet magazine. His writing about the Los Angeles food scene was rewarded in 2007 when he won the Pulitzer Prize.