Keep Austin Tasty

Zoot Tasting Menu: Our 1 year anniversary!

2010-08-09T15:26:00.008-05:00

Hey Readers! Hope this posting finds you well. I have some happy news to report, Han and I recently celebrated our 1 year anniversary, and as a present to ourselves, we purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T1i. It takes beautiful food photography shots (a.k.a. food porn) and best of all, we get to feel like real food bloggers, not just the only ones walking around events with our dinky point-and-shoot.

Anyways, we decided to break out the new camera with a trip out to Zoot at their new(-

ish) location way out west on Bee Caves near the lake. We caught a Living Social deal a few months back. $27 gets you your choice of the Chef's Tasting Menu or the Farmer's (vegetarian) Tasting Menu. We opted to go for one of each so that we could try a little bit of everything. Let me tell you guys, as good as the Chef's Tasting Menu was, I think any ferocious meat eater would also be hard pressed to say that the Farmer's Menu didn't also stand up pound-for-pound.

The first course was a Boudin sausage salad for the Chef's and Melon Salad with goat cheese for the Farmer's. The sausage salad was pretty good as you'd imagine, but the melon salad was definitely the more interesting dish. The cantaloupe was sliced thin like fat linguine noodles, and topped with cubes of watermelon, almonds, goat cheese, cayenne pepper, and a soy ginger dressing.

The next appetizer was a ham and fig salad for the chef's menu, and butternut squash soup for the farmer's menu. One of my favorite parts about going to nice r

estaurants is discovering really great food pairings that I never would have guessed. In this case, in the salad, it was figs and goat cheese. You've probably heard me say before that Han hates anything coming from an animal that goes "baa" but even she liked this one.

The next course was a soy/miso salmon and a mushroom risotto (left). Both dishes were

excellent. Consequently, these two dishes were not only our two favorites, but also the two that turned out the best in pictures, so they are the ones shown.

The final courses (before dessert) was a grilled NY strip steak for the chef's and these curried lentils and fried potato things for the farmer's. Now I meant what I said earlier about the veggie tasting menu being a close call even for meat eaters, and this was no different. For many meat eaters, steak is like the holy grail. I haven't been eating a ton of meat as of late, but I really thought this battle would be no contest. In the end, it really was tough to decided. I really think one of the best parts of being in a relationship (especially with someone else who loves food as much as I do) is that you don't HAVE to decide between two dishes.

The final course was the flourless chocolate cake. I'm not a big wine guy myself. I enjoy drinking it, but it's hard for me in most cases to say that a specific pairing really made that much of a difference in a dish. In this case however, the dessert wine that was paired with the cake made a huge difference. The tartness and bubbliness of the sparkling dessert wine made the cake taste like an entirely different dessert.

Well I don't think anyone really needed me to say something like "Zoot is indeed a great restaurant and you should definitely check it out." I'm just really glad we got the opportunity to celebrate in style. Til next time folks!

Uchiko

2010-07-03T17:22:00.013-05:00

Well we are back ladies and gentlemen, and just in time for one of the most anticipated Austin restaurant openings in recent history. Uchi chef Tyson Cole has opened up a second location, called Uchiko, at 42nd and Lamar (right next to the new TacoDeli location... could this be the most delicious corner in all of Austin??)

We had the chance to attend the pre-opening and sample some of the goods at half off. The overall concept of Uchiko is almost exactly the same as the original, just a completely different menu. So needless to say, as big fans of the original Uchi, we were very excited. When it came time to finally order, we really had no idea which way to go, so we decided to push all our chips to the center and order omakase. (Omakase is a Japanese sushi tradition, that translates to "It's up to you," and basically you are challenging the chef to give you his or her best stuff.)

I can definitely say that the two best decisions I have ever made in my life are: #1 Marrying Han, and #2 Ordering Omakase at Uchiko. All in all, we ate fourteen dishes, including two desserts. We will highlight each of our three favorite dishes.

Justin's Favorites

#1. Eggplant Nigiri

So not that everything we had wasn't fantastic, but about 8 dishes in, I thought to myself, "I've really enjoyed everything so far, but I'm still waiting to be blown away. Ev

erything we've had has been an 8 or a 9. I know a 10 is coming, but I don't know when." Well the eggplant nigiri was my 10.

Both incredibly innovative and delicious, this dish is served just like regular fish nigiri, but with a sauteed slice of eggplant served on top of rice. The BBQ sauce is sweet and tasty and the eggplant is grilled slightly crispy, and tastes remarkably somewhat like fis

h only better. This is especially a boon to vegetarians or anyone else who doesn't like raw fish.

#2. Bacon Sen (Pork Belly)

So truth be told, I probably would have considered this my favorite dish, but saying pork belly is your favorite is like saying your favorite band is the Beatles. The pork belly itself was as good as you probably imagine it; crispy on the outside, tender and fatty in the middle. But the real kicker was the garnishes: apple puree and kimchi apples. Eating all three in one bite was a perfect trifecta.

#3. Kai Jiru (Mussel soup)

I put this one because it was the one I was most surprised by. At first glance it looks like a weird amalgamation of vegetables and seafood in a shot glass. Also the description of the ingredients was a little odd as well. "Tomato water?" But don't be fooled, this was as tasty of a soup as I've ever had. The mussels were juicy and tender and the tomato water broth ended up being an amazing compliment.

Han's Favorites

#1. Usagi Yaki (Rabbit Terrine)

(Yeah so that's my impatient fork in that picture above...) One thing you have to know about Han is that she absolutely hates gamey meat, but she not only loved the Usagi Yaki, she thinks she wants to start raising rabbits for meat now. Much like the Bacon Sen, the Usagi Yaki is delectable enough on its own, but the additions to the dish, quail egg and pureed peas, take it to an entirely different level completely.

#2. Lobster Gazpacho

Han was already won over with the huge hearty chunks of lobster, but the gazpacho broth was just as incredible; watermelon-y but savory with the added bite of cilantro.

#3. Jiiro (Locke Du Arte Salmon)

This was probably our favorite true sushi roll of the evening, simple but innovative. Salmon and avocado inside of a soy wrap, but topped with preserved lemon. Dip it inside the swipe of skyr yogurt on the side for maximum experience.

And of course a special shoutout goes to the desserts. Both of which were incredible and unlike anything we had ever had before.

The Sweet Corn Custard

Understand I mean this in the best way possible: this dessert tasted like they had an Iron Chef contest where the ingredient was Captain Crunch. Corn bread crumbles with polenta over vanilla ice cream. Pure amazing.

Fried Milk

If the description of the Sweet Corn Custard sounded odd, I don't even really know where to begin with the Fried Milk. This was by far the most confusing but delicious dessert I have ever had. It was like eating a Picasso painting. Condensed milk deep fried, topped with ice cream and chocolate wafers. A MUST HAVE.

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 5: Peanut Sauce Noodles and How You Can Help

2010-05-01T09:16:00.005-05:00

Well here we are. We've come to the final day of the project. The final dish we wanted to prepare is a little more off-the-wall and fun. It may sound like something an intoxicated college student would dream up, but Han and I both remember eating something similar when we were young, making it somewhat authentic I guess.

And besides, all joking aside, price sensitivity is of course something that is common to both college students and people trying to make ends meet, making this an excellent dish to prepare.

Ingredients

2 ramen packages
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
Garlic powder or salt to taste
Dried chives

First boil the ramen noodles for 3 minutes. Throw the flavor packages away. Drain the noodles and add back in the pot. Add in the peanut butter and soy sauce while stirring over heat. Add a

few dashes of garlic powder or garlic salt and sprinkle with the chives and you're done. This dish also goes really well with chicken or shrimp.

I liked this dish a lot because it was incredibly tasty. Plus, even though ramen gets kind of a bad rap in the food world, this is a big improvement because you're getting rid of a lot of the sodium by throwing out the rice packets and adding protein through the peanut butter.

So now that the project is over, where do we go from here? Maybe you've been reading our posts this week and want to know how you can help. Lisa Goddard of the Capital Area Food Bank says the biggest help can come in three ways:

Donate. Healthy, non-perishable food can be dropped off directly at the Food Bank or any Austin-area Randalls or RunTex. And as wonderful as food donations are, Lisa says that donating money really helps the Food Bank go a long way in terms of managing the types of food that are available to ensure that people are getting food that is fresh, healthy, and balanced.
Volunteer. There are a wide range of opportunities to donate your time, everything from sorting donations, to distributing food, even educating people on gardening or nutrition.
Contact Elected Officials. Right now there are several pieces of legislation that need support that would help feed families in the area, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the the Women Infants and Children Program (WIC). If hunger issues are important to you, your elected officials need you to let them know to make it a priority.

Information on all of these and more are available in the Capital Area Food Bank website. And don't forget that the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is coming May 8th. Look for your bag in your mailbox, fill it with healthy, non-perishable food and set it by your mailbox on May 8th to be picked up.

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 4: "Sort Of" Pad Thai

2010-04-29T20:39:00.005-05:00

So a few days ago, Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon from the Austin American Statesman paid us a visit to talk to us about the food blogger project, just in time to sample one of our more, um, daring recipes we made this week.

Jorge interviewed us on camera and took some shots of us cooking our dish for the night, which was probably your average run of the mill day for him, but for us it was pretty exciting and somewhat nerve-

wracking. The final cut of the video should be out early next week and we will definitely be posting in on the site. (Everyone should check out my mad knife skills, courtesy of the knife skills class Han got me for my birthday...)

Well so far all of our recipes have stayed pretty true to the original dishes, mainly because we were able to get key ingredients that we needed from our stash, such as rice and flour. Today, we posed a question of what happens when you don't get everything you need and you need to make some rather drastic substitutions?

Case in point: families who receive supplements from the Capital Area Food Bank gene

rally don't get any rice noodles (although understandably so...). So what's a recently-immigrated Asian family to do if they want some pad thai?

We looked at the ingredient list and thought that, while some suspension of disbelief might be necessary, we just might be able to make a half-decent pad thai dish out of everything.

Ingredients

1/2 package of Spaghetti (cooked)
1 can of mixed vegetables
1 can of mushrooms
2 eggs
Oyster sauce
Fish sauce
Sugar
2 cloves garlic (minced)
10 leaves basil (from our garden)
1 tbsp Canola oil
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, crushed

At this point, I'd like to make a quick note that oyster sauce and fish sauce are both very common Thai ingredients and we are working under the assumption that these are ingredients a recently-immigrated family would keep stocked.

Anyways, the first step we did was to heat the canola oil in a wok for a minute or so. Break the eggs into the wok and scramble lightly until mostly cooked. Add the minced garlic and mix. Mix in the spaghetti and stir fry until the egg is mixed in well. Add in the mushrooms and

vegetables and keep mixing!

Next comes the actual seasoning. Many Thai dishes have three common ingredients, each with its own distinct flavor - sugar (sweet), oyster sauce (savory), and fish sauce (umami??)

Together they combine to make the distinctly "Thai" flavor that you may recognize, and the ratio of the three can really make a big difference in the way the dish tastes. Try and experiment til you find a combination you like!

As for us, we generally like it heavy on the fish sauce, with about 3 or 4 "globs" of oyster sauce, and about a tablespoon of sugar. Just dump the ingredients right on the dish and keep stir-frying until it's dissolved.

Lastly, tear up the basil leaves and mix in to the pad thai. If you happen to have some bean sprouts lying around, you can add them here too. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts on the dish and you're ready to serve.

The result? Something that looks absolutely nothing like pad thai! But in total honesty it tasted pretty good. For sure the spaghetti in place of rice noodles was pretty weird, and of course our distaste for canned vegetables has already been well documented, but the mushrooms were actually pretty good, and if we had added some chicken or shrimp, I think this definitely could have been something.

Check back soon for our final post for the project!

#CAFB Hunger Project: Lessons Learned

2010-04-27T21:37:00.002-05:00

We are a little over half way through our week of meager eating. Even though we are not sticklers to the food pantry menu, it is incredible what we have already learned thus far. There is so much we take for granted everyday. I've also learned a lot about myself and what I am willing to sacrifice in the name of taste. Food is a delightful pleasure, and when I am not able to enjoy it, I would just rather not eat. It has been difficult to change my mentality from "live to eat" to "eat to live." Here are a few other take-home-messages:

This may be obvious, but food = brain power. When whatever available is unappetizing, or if I make a conscious effort to not spend money on lunch, I make the incredibly poor choice of not eating at all. I don't notice an energy crash or stabbing hunger pains. Instead, the world feels like it is in slow motion and my reaction time is greatly reduced. My concentration sucks, and I become moody and mean. Not a great combination. I have to make a conscious effort to eat, for health and mood sake. Definitely a newly adopted "eat to live" mentality.
Frozen veggies are SO much better than canned veggies. The difference is surprisingly noticeable. Of course fresh produce trumps them all, but I will take microwaved frozen green giant over mushy canned peas any day!
That being said, canned mushrooms are delicious! They retain their firmness and flavor quite well. I guess some veggies just can better than others.
Beggars CAN be choosers. I will always take advantage of free food. But since this year, we have made a resolution to eat sustainably, cutting out factory farmed meat all together. We were at a baseball game with a free buffet, but without any veggie options. Ordinarily, I would've bought something else (nachos and cheese pizza anyone??). But in the spirit of this project, I tried to make do with what was available. I made a delicious potato-chip burger, complete with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, cheese, ketchup and mustard. It was yummy, I didn't even miss the protein. The chips added a nice crunch and texture.
It is very difficult, if not impossible to eat organic sustainable meat on a limited budget. It's as simple as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Until your basic nutrition and hunger needs are met, who cares about the welfare of animals? You are going to make your dollar stretch as far as possible, regardless of the hidden costs. Unfortunately, the $8 terraburger is no match for Mickey D's dollar value menu.
Eating nutritious, well-balanced, and healthy meals takes practice with this diet. As you may have noticed, most of our recipes have been loaded with carbs. I'm sure it becomes easier to expand your repertoire. It is even harder with our "no-factory-farmed-meat" rule. Seafood is expensive. So is any organic meat. With a vegetarian diet, it is hard to get your protein. It's too bad the food pantry doesn't give out tofu! We have been relying on eggs, beans, and mushrooms for protein.
Variety is a luxury. We ate congee every morning for 4 days, and got quite sick of it. That was only 4 days!! As foodies, we really appreciate variation in our diet. I know some people like eating cereal every morning, but we are not those people. I try not to eat the same thing more than two days in a row.
We've had to get creative with our leftovers. I made mashed potatoes for dinner one night. The next day Justin made potato, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos, with some barbecue sauce. I added some wasabi and green onions to it for lunch as a side to my (non-food pantry) salmon. We finished off the potatoes, but had we had anymore, I was considering making it into a a chilled potato soup. Ah the possibilities!
There needs to be policy changes around food and nutrition in our country. Who can blame anyone for choosing a super-sized value meal (subsidized by government money for corn and ranching) over a spring salad that costs exactly the same?? What are our children eating for school lunches? A few things I remember from my teaching days are: frito pie, pizza, corndogs, nachos, and processed/packaged PB&J on white crustless bread. Keep in mind that for many kids, this is their only solid meal of the day. Full of fat, carbs, sodium, and sugar. As a testament to this, I gained 15lbs while teaching, from eating those lunches (oreos and chips for snacktime didn't help either... but that's what the parents brought!) and I lost that weight after moving to Austin and changing my diet. No wonder we have such round kiddos these days.
Major kudos to CAFB for providing nutrition education to families. Kids are picky eaters, and when you are trying to make ends meet, you don't exactly have the time or resources to get creative with making kid-approved healthy meals. I had one student who ONLY ate McDonald's, no joke. He refused all other food, threw his lunch away every day. Granted he had autism, and his parents just didn't know what to do. To make sure he ate, they gave in to his demands everyday. This was a huge financial drain on the family, not to mention nutritionally unacceptable. What else can you do? Thank you CAFB for your cooking classes and outreach to teach these families healthy alternatives.

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 3: Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancake)

2010-04-26T21:16:00.004-05:00

So a quick announcement: we just got word that the Austin American Statesman is coming over to our house tomorrow to film a piece on the food blogger project. I think they're going to interview us and maybe film some shots of us cooking. Ack! Gotta clean...

Anyways, today's dish is somewhat of a dim sum classic, known in Chinese as cong you bing, and known in English by many names -- green onion pie, scallion pancake, etc. -- mainly because it's hard to really describe what's going on here that actually sounds appealing.

In essence, it's fried dough, with onions and salt, and when made correctly, is darn delicious. The recipe below, though, is a somewhat modified version, slightly different than what you will get at Chinese restaurants. This is actually something College Justin used to make all the time, particularly because it was tasty and inexpensive. The ingredients are simple:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 egg (beaten)
water
salt
oil

You will also need some kind of flat surface, like a cutting board or a clean countertop. Also this is incredibly messy so be sure to wash your hands often and remove any jewelry.

Start out by pouring the flour into a big bowl. Pour about 1/4 cup of water in the bowl and start mixing. A flour dough will start to form. Form as much clay into a ball as you can, about the size of a ping pong ball.

Flatten the dough on the surface and mix in a little bit of the egg. This is when it starts to get really messy. Once the egg is mixed in, add flour to the dough until it is dry. Add water and flour to the ball until it is about the size of a squash ball (that may or may not help - roughly 1.5" in diameter).

Flatten the dough again and mix in about a tablespoon of the green onion until it is completely meshed into the dough. Dust with some flour on both sides and repeat the entire process creating pancakes until the flour and green onions run out.

Next heat up some oil in a frying pan, and fry the pancakes for about 1-2 minutes on each side until fully cooked. Once each pancake is finished place on a paper towel to dry. Sprinkle some salt to taste and enjoy.

Now as I said this is something I used to make all the time. In fact this is probably the first time since college that I've made it, in a time when both money and nutrition value had little meaning to me. This time around I made about 10 pancakes, and Han and I literally just ate that for lunch and nothing else.

The other day I talked about how hard it is to eat healthily on a budget because the cost of fresh produce is so cost ineffective. Along the same line, it's very cheap to make food that still tastes pretty good, despite having little to no nutritional value.

Back in humanity's hunter/gatherer days, salt and fat were pretty rare and our bodies needed to get them whenever it was possible. As such, to this day, our bodies are pre-programmed to crave these things, even though they are both widely available and very inexpensive.

As delicious as it is, cong you bing is pretty much nothing but salt and fat (and carbs). It's generally served as a side dish, but after today, I can definitely see how someone might choose to eat this and nothing else for an entire meal or maybe even an entire day.

I think this might be part of the reason why it seems almost all cultures have some sort of fried dough dish -- doughnuts, churros, Indian fry bread, etc. People in every country have hunger issues, and it makes sense that they may try to feed themselves in the most inexpensive yet satisfying ways possible for them.

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 2: Garlic Fried Rice

2010-04-25T14:15:00.007-05:00

At the Hunger Awareness Project kickoff meeting last week, Lisa Goddard, the Online Marketing Director at CAFB, said that she had no real ideas on what to expect out of the food bloggers this week, and she liked that. She said that each face who comes into the Capital Area Food Bank has a completely different story, from the homeless man living on the street, to the mother of three who, although still fully employed, still just needs a little something extra to fill her pantry because she's unable to do so on her own means.

We're a few days into the project and I continue to be amazed as to the different stories that are emerging out of everyone else's experiences who are also on the project (Check out the other blogs as well, if you haven't gotten a chance already). Many of the bloggers, such as Something to Chew On and Austin Farm to Table, are diving full on into the hunger experience, eating nothing but stuff from the sample list for an entire week. As for us, we kind of made the executive decision to work with the list kind of like a Top Chef challenge. We want to produce some reasonably tasty Asian-inspired dishes made largely from the sample list with a few low-cost additions. The reason for this is, first, because we're much more familiar with Asian cooking than any other kind. But also our hope is that maybe (just maybe) a family who takes from the CAFB regularly who might be a little weary of Hamburger Helper and spaghetti marinara might somehow stumble upon these recipes and eat some dishes they might not normally get to eat.

Today's recipe is probably not one that's unfamiliar to any of you: garlic fried rice. Once again, the ingredients are mostly taken from the sample list of items visitors to the Capital Area Food Bank may receive:

4 cups of white rice
1 can of mixed vegetables (any mix will do, but we used peas and carrots)
Any protein that is available (chicken, pork, beef)

In addition, we are adding the following, which might already be available in many kitchens or at most would cost a few dollars at the grocery store:

2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped green onions
Soy sauce
Salt and pepper
Oil

The first step is the heat up a big wok or any large frying pan (with high sides, if possible) with a tablespoon of oil. Break the eggs open and scramble. Once the egg is mostly solidified, mix in the garlic, followed by the rice. As an aside, Mama Ren insists that the rice you add should be as old as possible to fully maximize the flavor of the rice. I will add that freshly cooked rice seems to work just fine and rice that is over 3 days old should probably be thrown out for safety's sake.

Stir-fry the rice and eggs until everything is hot (should be about 5 minutes depending on how cold the rice was initially). Next add in bite-size pieces any pre-cooked protein and stir fry for 2 minutes.

(Just like the congee, this dish goes great with whatever you have, leftover rotisserie chicken, pork chops, whatever.)

Drain the mixed vegetables and add them in as well, mixing while you add. Add in some soy sauce (to taste, although adding too much may make the rice soupy) and add salt and pepper (also to taste). Lastly add in the green onions and stir fry for another minute. Let sit for 5 minutes while the sauces absorb into the rice and it's ready to serve.

We make this dish a lot because it is fun to make and there is a lot of room for creativity. Sometimes we like using some green curry, other times we'll mix in some oyster sauce, fish sauce, and fresh basil for more of a Thai twist. But in almost all instances we like to use fresh vegetables, whatever we have lying around. Sometimes in a pinch I've used frozen vegetables, but this was the first time we've used canned vegetables and it was a pretty noticeable difference. Even as someone who is pretty adamant about the importance of eating vegetables with every meal, for a split-second I wondered if I should leave the canned vegetables out of the recipe.

This brings to light something which, in my mind, is a key issue in hunger awareness. Even if you are provide enough food for you family in terms of sustenance, it is simply not cost-effective to make the choice to eat healthy.

If we were making this dish like we normally do, I would have added in some bell peppers, celery, some broccoli, and maybe some carrots, but that would have increased the cost of the dish by about five times. Even just adding one fresh vegetable ingredient might double it.

A few weeks ago in the Austin Chronicle, Belinda Acosta wrote an article about the ABC show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" that pointed out the fact that it's somewhat unfair to lambast middle Americans for making poor food choices when in reality it's not that feasible economically:

"[W]hen it comes right down to it, it's more profitable to create processed, unhealthy food than food that is good for the American people. When a person of limited means is trying to decide between a bundle of fresh broccoli and a bag of processed food that only requires the addition of a cheap cut of meat or pasta to feed a whole family, what do you think the logical choice is?"

With this in mind, it makes it all the more impressive that the Capital Area Food Bank boasts one of the largest fresh produce distributions in the country. The Fresh Food for Families program distributes an average of 30 pounds of food to more than 3,600 families each month.

When it comes right down to it, my distaste for canned vegetables might be seen as just me being overly picky. But it is quite the blessing that so many families, thanks to the CAFB, actually get to make that choice.

Day 1: Skipping lunch

2010-04-23T17:32:00.003-05:00

Hi there, Han here. I am not a big lunch-eater. I tend to have whatever Justin makes for breakfast, and bring a few snacks with me to nosh on during the day in lieu of an actual lunch. As a graduate student, my time is limited, and whatever break I take for lunch, comes out of my own time. I would much rather eat at my desk at my research job and get paid for that hour, then go somewhere to eat. Even microwaving something quick is too much effort in my book. My nutrition probably suffers because of this, but I do try to bring healthy, easy snacks.

On most days, I have gotten into a habit of bringing these snacks with me to class/work: Lara bar (or Luna bar), trail mix, piece of fruit, diet coke, and chocolate (what can i say... I'm a stressed out woman!) On Thursdays, I go up to a high school to do individual therapy with students as part of my practicum. This involves the rare day of the week where I must dress like I'm older than 15, and carry a bag that isn't a backpack. Yesterday morning, I forgot to transfer my prepackaged snacks from my backpack to my grown-up-bag. Alas, I found myself at lunchtime, without any food, and not even my diet coke. What to do? On a usual day, I'd probably head to Subway and spend the $5 on something quick. But in the spirit of this project, I opted to truck along on an empty stomach. The afternoon passed by quickly, and I made it back home around 4 p.m. It had been 8 hours since I last ate, and my body had made it past grumbling hunger to the "I'm so hungry that I don't even feel hungry anymore" stage. I ate something, but don't even remember what I ate because I was so fuzzy headed. What I do remember is the absolutely foul mood I was in. I was so cranky and emotional, for no particular reason at all. It took me a few hours and snacks to get back into a decent state of mind. The whole afternoon/evening was disorienting and not enjoyable.

This was just one day of skipping lunch. Now imagine the countless number of people who do this every day. There are so many children whose only solid meal each day is lunch at school. They are expected to make it through the afternoon, using their brains, and then go home and do homework, without the chance to eat a filling dinner. How can they realistically function without the necessary brain food? When I was teaching, the mother of one of my students told me that her secret to staying thin was that her only meal of the day was dinner. The rest of the day, she would cook for her children, but not eat any herself. It amazed me then, and it astonishes me now. Not merely the fact that she had to live like this, but also her ability to joke about her circumstances as a weight loss plan. She has to take care of 3 young kids, go to work, and maintain her sense of humor, all on one meal a day... WOW. I couldn't even smile after skipping 1 meal! For me, hunger is temporary-- the few minutes before dinner, the week of doing a blogging project, the hours between breakfast and dinner. For so many others, hunger is perpetual. Let's not forget that when we eat our next meal.

#CAFB Food Blogger Project Day 1: Congee

2010-04-23T15:06:00.007-05:00

So as Han wrote about earlier, we are participating in a food blogger project with the Capital Area Food Bank. The idea is to spread awareness of hunger issues by experiencing some of the same issues first hand.

At the kickoff meeting we talked about some of the options that are available for those who are in need of food assistance. Families can receive one bag per month, filled largely with unperishable or canned foods, such as canned vegetables, dry carbs, cereals, etc. And families can also receive food stamps that can help supplement their pantries as well.

This week we will be eating meals prepared largely with ingredients that families would receive in a monthly bag, with a few additions that could be purchased rather inexpensively with food stamps.

When we first decided to sign up for this project, we pretty knew one of the first dishes we would prepare is congee. Congee is known by a lot of different names, depending the ethnicity of restaurant or household, jook or xi fan just to name a few, but the dish is almost always the same: rice porridge.

Now, if you've never had it before, it probably sounds strange or maybe a little disgusting. But if you grew up in an Asian household it probably evokes warm feelings of breakfast nostalgia.

There are a number of reasons why I thought this would make a perfect dish to start off the project:

It's a very authentic dish. Some of the other stuff we will try to make later on this week will no doubt need some artistic licensing due to the available ingredients, but this is a long-standing tried and true recipe.
It's very inexpensive. Just one cup of dry white rice can make as many as 8 servings. And it's very filling to boot.
It's easy! Seriously, no Chinese cooking experience is needed. I guarantee.

As I stated, the main ingredient in this dish is rice, which is a common item that families can receive as part of their monthly bag. In addition, we also add some fresh ginger and green onions, both of which total to about a dollar.

The first step to preparing congee is to soak the rice. In a big pot (bigger than you think you might need) put 1 cup of white rice and 10 cups of cold water. Let that soak for about 30 minutes with no heat.

Next turn on the heat and bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling turn the heat down to low, slice the ginger (about a thumb) with a vegetable peeler and add it to the water. You can also just leave the ginger in bigger chunks if you don't want to actually eat the ginger and just want some for flavor.

Now another reason why this ended up being a pretty good dish for this project: At the food bank we also learned that families will sometimes also receive portions of meat. This can vary from month to month from whole chickens to ham hocks. Part of the beauty of congee is that it goes well with almost any type of ingredient. If you would like to add in some fresh uncooked chicken, beef, or pork, go ahead and add it in now so that the meat will cook and the flavors will soak into the rice.

Once the water is at a low simmer, let it cook for 90 minutes, stirring regularly. Be sure to monitor the consistency after about 60 minutes: if it seems too thick, go ahead and add more water.

With about 10 minutes to go, if you have either already cooked meats, like leftover chicken, or maybe some fish, go ahead and add it now. When the meat is hot and cooked, the dish is ready to be served. Top with some chopped green onions for added flavor.

We ended up making a big pot of this a few days ago and have been eating it for breakfast every day. As I said earlier, this is a great dish for families because just one cup of rice makes several servings. Han and I are just two people, and so while it certainly has been cost effective to eat like this, I'm a man who really likes to have a lot of variety, especially for breakfast.

I think in the short time that we've participated in this project so far, this is the first lesson I've learned: variety is a luxury that I have taken for granted. I love congee, but it's been harder getting up in the morning knowing that I'm going to be eating the same old stuff I ate yesterday.

Seems like a silly thing to whine about, right? People who are truly hungry are probably just happy to get anything at all. As much as I grumbled about having to eat congee again for breakfast, I got to go to Wahoo's for lunch today, but at least this time I got to appreciate being able to make that choice.

P. S. Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating in this project: http://austinfoodbank.wordpress.com/austin-food-bloggers/

Hunger is UNacceptable

2010-04-21T21:10:00.006-05:00

The food blogging community in Austin is incredibly welcoming and collaborative. This week's blogging project is another reason why I am so grateful to be part of this community. We are working with Capital Area Food Bank to cook, eat, and blog for a week from a bag of food that is typical of what the food bank distributes to a family in need. The goal of this project is to create our own "hunger stories," to experience first hand some of the struggles so many families face in trying to feed their families healthy, nutritious, and delicious foods with limited means. As compassionate Chinese-American foodies, we jumped at the opportunity to put our own spin on this challenge. Hopefully while learning a bit more about ourselves and hunger in the process. Our goal is to make deliciously affordable Asian-fusion cuisine from our bag of groceries, with minimal addition expenditure.

This evening, we had the opportunity to tour the warehouse and learn a bit more about the organization and structure behind feeding 300,000 people each year. This food bank is really quite amazing: floor to ceiling boxes of donated food, loading docks that accommodate vehicles of all sizes, 6000 volunteers annually, the second largest food bank distributor of fresh produce in the country, and 23 MILLION pounds of food distributed in the last year alone. The landscape of hunger is changing, with unprecedented numbers of families reaching out for help, many of them middle class. Hunger is a growing reality.

Justin and I have different visions for this project, he will focus on the logistics, recipes, and economics, whereas I will focus on the process, reflections, and ego aspects of this experience. Together, we will try to duplicate what this experience might be like for a young Chinese couple, possibly recent immigrants to this country, trying to reproduce the familiar flavors of home with our available ingredients. This is not too far from my childhood reality. I was born in China, and joined my parents in the U.S. when I was 5. My parents struggled financially, as my dad was a graduate student, my mom worked a labor job, and both sets of grandparents lived with us. We were a family of 7, sharing a 2 bedroom graduate housing apartment, on 1 income. Needless to say, it was a difficult time for us. However, we were able to scrape by on careful budgeting, a small community garden plot, and yes, donated food. I don't remember ever going hungry, and I thank the generosity of our community for it. My childhood gives depth and meaning to this project. I have no idea how my parents were able to do it so deliciously. But I am so thankful that they did.

After our visit to the food bank, we went to the grocery store to pick up our necessary essentials, to duplicate what we might find in a typical bag. Here is what we came home with, at around $13. A few of these products would have been included in our bag, such as the rice, spaghetti, and canned vegetables. The rest are assumed to come out of a food stamp (or "snap" as I learned it is officially called) budget. Our goal is to keep our total additional expenses under $20, and cook our dinners for a week from that budget plus the food bag. We will also be making a trip to the Asian supermarket for affordable accompaniments to our staple meal items, because as I told Justin, no self-respecting Chinese person will substitute dill pickle for traditional pickled cabbage in our congee. Stay tuned for day 1, officially beginning tomorrow!

How Do You Roll?: The Chipotle of sushi restaurants

2010-03-20T17:15:00.006-05:00

If you're like me, and your wife goes on prolonged craft/crocheting binge, you might find yourself up at JoAnn's Fabric up at the Arbor Walk at 183 and MoPac pretty frequently. There, you may have noticed a funky little sushi joint called How Do You Roll? that looks absolutely nothing like a sushi restaurant typically looks like.

And if you're like me, you're probably pretty skeptical of strip mall sushi (as you probably should be), but if you like your sushi (and if you like it good and fresh and without a whole lot of pretense and/or techno music) then you're not going to want to shy away from this place.

For starters, despite its mod fast-food-like appearance, the folks at HDYR know what they're doing. In fact, one of the owners was the long time sushi chef at Azuma in Houston before deciding to get out of the fine dining industry and start a more approachable way to bring sushi to the masses.

Some of the changes from traditional sushi places that you will see are pretty creative and complex. For instance, they've managed to automate the rice spreading as well as the slicing of the maki into individual sushi pieces.

But other changes really seem like no-brainers. Instead of picking from a set selection of sushi rolls, you create your maki just like at Chipotle. First, you pick your wrap (seaweed or soy paper). Then a machine spreads the sushi rice onto your roll. Then you pick your fillings.

Fish selections include traditional favorites, such as tuna, salmon, and eel. For the more adventurous, I definitely recommend the crawfish tails. (BTW, what is up with Northwest Austin and their Asian/crawfish fusion?? All I gotta say is keep it coming!!) Seasonal specials are also available as well.

For the "veggies," once again, traditional favorites such as cucumber, tamago (aka egg, yeah i guess egg is a vegetable), and cream cheese. But also available are asparagus, jalapeno, and sprouts.

Finally, you can opt to add some masago or tempura crumbles. Then, they put it through the automated maki slicer (I deliberated asking them not to cut mine so I could eat it as a sushi-rito), add a side of miso soup or seaweed salad, and you're good to go.

The end result? A pretty good set of sushi, with taste and presentation that do not suffer because of the new format one bit.

Oh did I mention, its about 10 pieces of sushi for under $10? Well enough for most sushi eaters looking to eat well for not a lot of money.

Even better, their happy hour specials make eating here an even bigger steal. Beer and cold sake are available, but I would have to say that I definitely miss having hot sake with my sushi. Hopefully, they'll make it available in the future.

So in closing, strict purists may still scoff, but if you're still saving up for that Uchi dinner, and Sushi Sake's happy hour already ended, you might want to give this place a try. Once you go low-cost, low-hassle sushi, you may never want to go back.

Guatemalan Topado Soup: Don't Try This At Home

2010-02-27T17:39:00.008-06:00

So about a month ago, Han and I took a post-holidays "vacation from your vacation" cruise through the Western Caribbean. One of our favorite stops was at Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala. There we took a boat trip down the Rio Dulce and stopped at the small town of Livingston.

Unknown to us at the time, Livingston is famous for two things: catering to tourists from cruise ships from all over the world, and a special seafood soup called topado.

Our tour guide took us through the town and stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants off the main road in town. Being a river town, there were all sorts of seafood dishes available plus some of the more common dishes you'd come to expect. We knew we at least wanted the conch ceviche, but when we asked our server to recommend their best dish she said we had to try the topado, as it was the local specialty of Livingston.

The soup features this red creamy base with giant pieces of crab and fried fish and pieces of plantain. It was very flavorful and the meats were delectable. I seriously couldn't get enough of it. Once we left the restaurant and continued to walk around the town, we noticed that a lot of the restaurants also had signs that said "Try our Topado!"

Anyways, when we got home, being the daring amateur cooks that we are, tried to find a recipe on the internet to replicate the topado soup. The closest thing we could find was on Recipezaar so we gave it a shot. Unfortunately, as you'll see later, we didn't have a whole lot of success.

Ingredients:
-2 cups coconut milk
-1 onion
-1 red bell pepper
-2 lbs red snapper (we used tilapia)
-1 lb shrimp
-1 Tbsp corn oil
-1 Tsp oregano

-1/2 Tsp salt

-1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

-1 plantain

-1 medium tomato

-3 tsp freshly chopped cilantro

-2 cups water

Now, the directions get a little hazy here. I'll post what we did:

-Slice the onion and saute in the corn oil.

-Add the coconut milk and spices and simmer for about 5 minutes

-Add the fish and shrimp in whole and simmer for another 10 minutes or until cooked

-Slice the plantain and dice the tomato and add to the soup and simmer for another 5 minutes

Here was the resulting dish:

Now, it doesn't look TOO bad, but it did not look anything like the soup we had in Guatemala, and it sure as heck didn't taste anything like it either.

I can tell you first and foremost that adding the fish in whole was a mistake. The soup we had in Guatemala was fried first, which in hindsight was key. The recipe we used said to dice the fish into 2" cubes, which probably would have turned out better as well.

Also the soup we had in Guatemala, not only more flavorful, was also much more, um, redder. Not really sure what happened there but I'm guessing it had something to do with stewing the red peppers or tomatoes?

So now we are reaching out to all of you, our loyal readers. Where did we go wrong? What could we have done instead? Does anyone actually have a real topado recipe they can share with us?

We welcome all suggestions!

Hot Boiled: The Ultimate Mardi Gras/Lunar New Year Spot

2010-02-15T20:01:00.005-06:00

Welcome everyone to the Year of the Tiger! What a holiday week it's been. Valentine's day, Chinese/Lunar New Year, my birthday (ahem), and to top it all off Mardi Gras is this Tuesday!

If you happen to be looking for a place to celebrate both Mardi Gras and LNY, a restaurant that serves both Vietnamese food and cajun/gulf coast food, look no further than Hot Boiled.

Located on the corner of Mopac and Parmer Ln, the sign at Hot Boiled says it all: "crawfish and pho." The owners of Hot Boiled are Vietnam natives but come to us by way of New Orleans.

A quick look up and down the menu and you will find many favorites from both cajun and Vietnamese culinary cultures, everything from pho and bun to etouffee and poboys. We opted to go with the crawfish pho and crawfish fried rice. Both were very tasty. The fried rice was moist and light and had plenty of big and juicy crawfish tails. The pho had a very flavorful not-too-salty broth, even for pho. My only real complaint about it is that they were exactly just that: fried rice with crawfish and pho with crawfish. There wasn't a whole lot of cajun flavor in either dish, or any further "fusing" of the cultures.

And I understand that maybe that isn't fair. After all, they advertise "crawfish and pho" and that is exactly what we got. But I really would have like to see more dishes that took it a step further. (Later that night I had a dream I ate a BBQ alligator banh mi... I wonder if it's a sign?)

But in the end, it's hard to have complaints about a place where you can get a bowl of crawfish pho with a side of gumbo and spring roll. Combine that with courteous service and a great happy hour ($2 domestics, $2.50 imports) and it's kung hei fat choy every day of the year.

Carillon Restaurant's New Menu

2010-01-28T20:04:00.008-06:00

The Carillon Grill, located at the AT&T Executive Center on UT campus (just a stone's throw from Han's building!) is debuting a new menu, and we were invited to give it a try.

We had gotten a chance to taste some of Executive Chef Josh Watkins's dishes at the Chefs Under Fire competition. Some of the flavors were familiar, some we eagerly got to try for the first time.

We started off with the white bean soup which was creamy and subtle. Funny story: the first time we got to try it, Han wasn't really a fan. She said, "There's some kind of animal fat in it." I looked at the menu and said, "No, it's not animal fat. It's actually a smoked scallop." Han said, "Oh really? Oh then it's pretty delicious actually."

The other appetizers we got to try were the beef tartare and the eggplant caprese. We definitely favored the caprese, which was equal parts crunchy fried eggplant and soft mozzarella.

The real stars of the show, though, were the braised short ribs and the crispy pork belly. Usually "braised anything" is enough to get me out of my seat, and this was no different, although I admittedly did start to wonder if there was such a thing as "too tender." As for the pork belly, Han and I didn't really mean to be rude, but we probably ate like 5 or 6 of these dishes. So much for our "selective omnivore" New Year's resolution!

The restaurant itself was very swanky and it was the first time for both of us to visit. While we were visiting, we heard a lot of good things from other bloggers about the weekend brunches and dinner tasting menu for $38. We are looking forward to our next opportunity to eat here, but that brings up another question for us. Who is the primary clientele here? It's located in the middle of campus and it's apparently not open to the public for lunch. It seems a little nice for the average undergrad or grad student, so who does that leave? The faculty? Guests of the hotel? If you have an answer or a story or an explanation, we hope you'll share it with us below!

The Good Knight

2010-01-09T16:13:00.005-06:00

This restaurant I believe has been around for a couple of years but it sits in the heart of the much-advertised East Austin revival. This place was recommended to us by our friend James who knows East Austin well, so we decided to give it a shot.

It wasn't the easiest place to find, especially in the dark, but oh my, what a pleasant surprise it was when we did. It's hard to really say what's better about the Good Knight, the food or the drinks. Luckily they don't make you choose just one.

The food is not only delicious but very reasonably priced. You will eat well here. The chicken pot pie was so light and puffy, it looked more like a savory cupcake and tasted just as rich. The flatbread was probably our favorite and is definitely worth a try. The Good Knight also features many vegetarian options, and even meat eaters will enjoy the cheese and nut loaf. We've heard the veggie side of the day is usually a home run, and this was definitely the case when we went: the creme-drizzled portobello mushroom cap was fresh and delectable.

Not to be outdone, however, were the drinks. The mixologists at the Good Knight have some of the best hand-made libations that I've had in recent memory. It's a little TOO easy to get caught up in the drink menu. The self-titled Good Knight features whiskey, lemon liqueur, and bitters, and will definitely put some hair on your chest. Also tasty were the Bee's Knees (gin, honey, lemon) and the June Rose (grapes, gin, basil). Be warned, however! We got a little too enthusiastic trying to try all the drinks, and ended up racking up quite a drink bill.

If there were any downsides to the Good Knight, the service could have been way more attentive, and it was almost impossible to see anything inside!

But whether for a date-night or a place to kick-start a group night in East Austin (or heck, even as a place to end the night; it's open til 2am 7 days a week!) you can't go wrong with the Good Knight.

The Good Knight

1300 East 6th Street

The World's Easiest Chicken Pot Pie

2010-01-04T17:50:00.005-06:00

Here at Keep Austin Tasty, we love eating and we love cooking, but the truth of the matter is that we are much better at the former than we are at the latter. As such, our favorite recipes are not only easy and delicious but ones that someone who isn't a great cook would actually be confident to serve to guests.

We initially found this one after Thanksgiving as a means of finishing up leftover turkey, but we loved it so much we've actually had rotisserie chicken for dinner a few times specifically so we can use the leftovers.

The instructions are foolproof:

Step 1: Buy a rotisserie chicken and eat half of it. We recommend HEB's Honey Jalapeno for taste or Costco if you want more chicken for your buck

Step 2: Shred the rest of the chicken with two forks

Step 3: Prepare a package of frozen vegetables according to directions. Broccoli, peas, and carrots are a good mix for a traditional pie. The HEB Asian stir-fry adds a tasty twist with snap peas, red peppers, and water chestnuts.

Step 4: Combine chicken, veggies, and 1 can of condensed Cream of Chicken soup. Add a pinch of kosher salt and plenty of ground pepper.

Step 5: Pour ingredients into a frozen pie crust. Place second thawed pie crust on top and bake according to directions.

Delicious!

Beer Cheese

2009-11-16T19:52:00.002-06:00

We brought this to the Beer-themed Food Bloggers' Potluck and served it again at Han's birthday party last week and both times it seemed to go over really well. At Han's birthday specifically, the whole bowl was gone before all the guests had arrived, and at both events, I had people asking me for the recipe.

Here's a secret though: I'm not really a good cook, and so to have anyone compliment me on something I made... I didn't really know how to handle it so I'm pretty sure I just muttered something.

So with football season in full swing and Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought it's be good to just post the recipe here, in plain-text un-muttered print.

Ingredients:

2 16-oz packages of cream cheese

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1/3 cup of dark or flavorful beer (I use Saint Arnold Lawnmower)

1 cup shredded cheese

Mix the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and beer together in a bowl. Once the cheese has softened and has mixed completely with the beer and cheese mix, mix in half of the shredded cheese,

(Optional: add some fresh rosemary or oregano for extra flavor, or add some crushed red pepper to make it a little spicier.)

Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheese on top and serve!

This dip goes really well with mini pretzels, but we also discovered and recommend spreading it on a water cracker and top with a pepperoni.

Fortune Chinese Seafood

2009-11-06T14:30:00.003-06:00

Located up in the North Lamar "Chinatown," Fortune Chinese Seafood has opened up to one of the bigger buzzes for an Austin-area Asian restaurant in recent memory.

We've gotten a couple of opportunities to check this place out, once for dinner and the other for dim sum. We liked what we had so far and will definitely be returning for further investigation.

Our first dinner trip followed a grocery trip to MT Supermarket. The Singapore Fried Vermicelli (yellow stir-fry rice noodles with onions and chicken) were pretty good, about as good as you'd expect from a decent Chinese restaurant. But the real rock star was the frog legs: a holy marriage between lemongrass and straight butter. Healthy eaters beware! You'll eat and eat these tender tasty morsels until all of a sudden you feel like you're sweating butter. And yes, they do taste like chicken.

We ended up also going back for a happy hour there where we got to try some of their dim sum dishes, which was also not a disappointment. I believe the dim sum restaurants should be rated like figure skating scores: you get a score for your fundamentals (dishes that all good dim sum restaurants should do and do well) and a score for your "style points" (more adventurous dishes that you would only find at a truly good dim sum restaurant).

The happy hour dim sum they served was an excellent showing of the restaurant's fundamentals: "shao mai" (pork and shrimp dumplings), "xia gou" or "ha gow" (shrimp wrapped in rice paper), and "cha shao bao" (BBQ pork buns). If you are a dim sum newbie, these are three popular dishes to order to get a good taste of what the concept is about.

And, perhaps the owners had a 6th sense for this, but they also served out egg custards, my favorite dim sum dessert from when I was a child. Also thumbs up.

We didn't get a chance to try any of their "style" dishes, but from the looks of their menu, there will be plenty to choose from the next time we go in. Among the ones I'm most looking forward to are the "xiao long bao" (soup-filled shrimp dumplings), chicken feet, and Han's favorite, the taro shrimp balls.

Not to be understated of all this, though, is that Fortune is a really nice restaurant inside with a full bar, and most of their dishes are $12.95 or under (unless you are ordering the shark fin soup), making them an excellent choice, especially if you are dining on a budget.

Fortune Chinese Seafood Restaurant

10901 N. Lamar Blvd, Suite A-1-501

fortuneaustin.com

Zoës Kitchen

2009-10-05T19:59:00.011-05:00

Fresh off yet another exhausting ACL (the mud was only half of the issue for us...), we were happy that the folks from Zoë's Kitchen invited us for a preview of their food before the official grand opening.

This is the second member of the ever-expanding Washington corridor in Houston to make its way over to Austin (see Max's Wine Dive), but unlike Max's, Zoës Kitchen also has franchises all over the deep south.

The premise is pretty simple: inexpensive, "light" Mediterranean-style cooking in a casual setting. Will the Austin market ever be saturated with healthy restaurants with eco-friendly packaging? You guys tell us. But located up in the Arboretum, where the closest restaurant neighbors are T.G.I. Friday's and Macaroni Grill, I would say there's probably room for at least one more.

Out of what we had, we particularly enjoyed the Steak Roll-ups ($7.65, pictured left) which, by itself, was a bit like a quesadilla with steak and mushrooms, but is really put over the top with the dipping sauce that comes with it. Also delicious were the sides we had, especially the roasted vegetables and the pasta salad. In fact, if you truly wanted to eat inexpensively and healthy, ordering 3 side dishes ($1.99 per side) wouldn't be a bad way to go. The hummus was also incredibly fresh and tasty and heavily recommended ($4.45, pictured right, with the Greek salad). I only wish that the pita it came with tasted as fresh as the hummus.

We also had the Grilled Chicken Dinner ($8.95) which was also quite good, but wasn't necessarily unlike anything you would eat at home either. The Chicken and Orzo soup ($2.95 per bowl) was a savory, dressed-up version of a Campbell's chicken broth.

The only real downside to what we tried was the tomato bisque, which was far too salty for someone with high blood pressure like myself. Han ended up enjoying it more as condiment with the steak roll-ups.

The vibe is a little chain-y, but perfect for a healthy and inexpensive break from shopping, if you're in the area. It's also kid friendly, and in my opinion would be a great place to take a lunch date.

Zoës Kitchen
10000 Research Boulevard
www.zoeskitchen.com

Everything We Ate in Thailand

2009-08-28T17:49:00.026-05:00

Has it seriously been over 2 months since our last update? Well I can safely say that for the first time since we moved here that the whirlwind of our lives is finally starting to die down, so hopefully we can finally start to be more consistent in our posting.

The wedding went fantastically and, almost immediately afterward, we left for Thailand for our 10-day honeymoon. I think we did about as much as humanly possible over that time, including riding an elephant through the jungle, snorkeling, getting massages, shopping, and of course eating!

Our trip went through three pretty diverse areas in Thailand-- Bangkok (the capital), Chiang Mai (the northern hill country), and Phuket (the southern beaches)-- which allowed us to get a taste of many of the different types of cuisines that Thailand has to offer. Like many of you, we were pretty familiar with what Thai food is like in America (pad thai, curry, maybe a little chuchee if feeling adventurous) so we were eager to see how it compares to what food is really like in Thailand. Here are some of the things we found:

Bangkok
We ate a lot of street food while in Bangkok. It was quick and easy (and cheap!) to get while we were out either shopping and looking at sights. Unsurprisingly, the most prominent street food concession was pad thai, and it was literally everywhere. This was no doubt to feed the hungry hordes of farang (foreigners) that were also everywhere. For 20 baht (about 60 cents) you got a cooked-to-order plate of noodles and egg and a pair of bamboo skewers to use as chopsticks. But in addition to the usual favorites (we also had plenty of satay sticks and banana pancakes - yum!), the street vendors also offered some other exotic fare as well, such as dried squid (pictured left). The street carts would have racks of whole squid for you to choose, and the cart owner would run the squid through a wringer to flatten it before grilling it over a charcoal grill.

Not to be outdone were all the fruit carts that also lined the streets of Bangkok. Our guide book warned us not to eat fruit that had already been cut, but we did have plenty of longans and ranbutans on our trip. The bananas in Thailand are smaller but sweeter than they are in America.

In Chinatown we had a meal of grilled river prawns (pictured right) which we thought were pretty impressive (until we got to Phuket anyways) but it was pretty delicious nonetheless.

Chiang Mai
Northern Thai food, as we understand is more influenced by the neighboring Laotian and Burmese cultures. Food here has less coconut milk and more spices, and everything is generally more sour, fermented, and dried.

We got a pretty good taste of it when we saw a kantoke show, which is a little bit like a Thai luau -- traditional northern Thai dinner with traditional northern Thai dancing. The dinner consisted of some curries, pickled vegetables, fried chicken (?), and something that tasted like pork rinds but looked like curly fries. Han asked if they were the pigs' tails. I told her no, but I'm not actually sure.

Chiang Mai was also where we got our first taste of som tam (pictured right). This is a dish that is very common in Thailand but seems to be less common in American Thai restaurants. It is a salad made with unripened papayas, carrots, and tomatoes. At first glance, it seems to be a cool refreshing pre-meal appetizer. In reality, it is hot as all hell, and one of the spiciest dishes you can order. We also tried a dish called larb, or lahb, which was ground pork that was also incredibly spicy. In the southern province, this dish is sometimes served in a hollowed out head of lettuce. At the place we ate it in Chiang Mai though, it just came accompanied by a side of sticky rice in a bamboo basket.

But the best part of Chiang Mai, and my favorite part about Thailand as a whole, was that we took a cooking class and learned how to cook some Thai dishes. It was a great experience and a lot of fun. We learned about all the different types of ingredients and how to pick them out. The dishes we learned to cook were: spring rolls, som tam, pad thai, tom yum soup, and green curry chicken. We were definitely surprised by how well they turned out and how good our dishes looked. Pictured to the left is Han displaying our spring rolls. Look how good they look! We'll hopefully have some posts up soon about the recipes we learned. They're not very difficult at all.

Phuket
Phuket was probably our least favorite place to visit (too commercialized and expensive!) but it was beautiful and was our favorite food location. Every dish we ordered had giant pieces of seafood pulled fresh from the ocean. And though it was expensive we saw some of the most exotic (and delicious) shellfish we had ever seen. Here were some of our favorite:

Mantis Shrimp

Tiger Prawn

Thai Lobster - we calculated the guy on the left to cost over $120, and someone actually ordered him (or her)!

But wait there's more!
Before we end this post, I did want to share pictures of our most... peculiar... eating experience in Thailand. At the Sunday Walking Street market in Chiang Mai, there was a stand selling stir-fried insects, including grasshoppers, cicadas, silk worms, and somethin called a mackerel. Han decided to buy a bag, and for as much as she complained about how gross it was, she ate the entire bag!

Keep Houston Tasty: A Guide for Travelling Austinites

2009-06-16T13:57:00.006-05:00

Well summer is in full swing, and I wanted to do a post like this for any of our readers who might be planning a road trip through Houston some time. And also on a more personal note, we're coming up on Han and my one year anniversary on moving to Austin. I know I speak for Han when I say that we couldn't have been more welcomed by the Austin community, especially the food bloggers, and maybe this is our chance to share something back with all of you.

I think the biggest difference between the food scenes in Houston and Austin is really representative of the two cities themselves. Houston is really into the places with big name recognition and posh interiors. Austin meanwhile prides itself on the mom-and-pop operations with cult followings. But Houston, too, is full of hidden gems, they just aren't as well publicized as the big guys. Sure if you're in town, you want to see and be seen, and you've got a ton of money to blow, you can always go to Hugo's, Da Marco, Pesce, or Cafe Annie. But Austinites looking for good deals with great food and a fun atmosphere will want to check out a few of these places.

Laredo Taqueria (915 Snover, in the Heights)
Honestly, I haven't gotten a chance to explore East Austin much outside of Juan in a Million and El Chilito (Taco Journalism would be the real expert on the subject), but when I think of breakfast tacos, this is how I picture them. Toss the egg and bacon, give me some chorizo and straight barbacoa (but pack some extra napkins). And if you're really adventurous, try the nopales or the picadillo. And don't forget to ask for extra sauce. The real kicker though is watching the morning breakfast crowd. Pull up to this hole-in-the-wall any time during rush hour and you will find a line wrapped around the building of full of day workers, college kids, and men in business suits. They're all waiting in line because the tacos are that good, and it's quite a sight to see. I also want to mention El Rey Taqueria (910 Shepherd) because it is Han's absolute favorite place for tortilla soup. When I make business trips into Houston, I will usually make a point to stop by and pick some up to take back with me. Their rotisserie chicken is also incredible.

Hobbit Cafe (2243 Richmond)
If you're a vegetarian (or just a huge nerd -- Austin is full of both), I would give the Hobbit Cafe a try. I know what you might be thinking, and no, it's not just a name. This cafe is completely modeled after the characters in 'Lord of the Rings,' complete with decorations and memorabilia that date back as far as the original release of the novels, not just the Peter Jackson movies. I recommend this place for lunch, with a seat on the patio if the Houston humidty hasn't gotten to you yet. The sandwiches (which are named "the Gandalf" and "the Fatty Lumpkin" among others) are delicious, mostly vegetarian (with vegan options), and are HEFTY. I would definitely get the slim version of any sandwich, unless you literally have a hobbit-sized appetite. Veggies may also want to try out Baba Yega (2607 Grant St) for their amazing brunch. LOTR nerds may also want to check out Treebeards (315 Travis) although they have less to do with the series other than the name. Their southern food is still quite excellent though!

Lankford Grocery (88 Denis St)
It's not quite the trailer park that Austinites may be used to, but they're still high on tastiness and charm. Lankford Grocery used to be an actual grocery store way back in the day before the massive HEBs existed and when you would stop in to pick up some milk, bread, and eggs and stay for a bite to eat and a milkshake. Now the place is a full time restaurant but the name has been retained. The burgers here are what make the place famous. Some say they are overrated, but I really think it just depends on how greasy you like your burgers. The service doesn't seem to have changed from the original either: usually warm and friendly, but I can't say you won't get yelled at if you step out of line.

Just Dinner (915 Dunlavy)
For those looking for a classy dinner with a personal touch, look no further than Just Dinner. Owner Andrew Rebori operates the restaurant out of his house and greets each guest personally as they come through the door. The food is Italian/New American and made mainly with local ingredients, some of which come from Andrew's garden in the back yard (which he would be happy to show you after dinner). Pretty much all of the food is good, but for the hungry I definitely recommend the Pot Roast. Did I mention it's also BYOB? The place is small, so reservations are recommended. And if you're lucky enough to get seated in Lila's section, tell her we sent you and she will be sure to take excellent care of you.

Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar

2009-06-03T22:04:00.007-05:00

Taking over the Mars location on S. Congress, this new seafood bar has prime real estate. We went for brunch on a Saturday during their opening week. Our friend, Lindsay, was visiting from Houston, so we took her with us, despite her clear dislike for most fare from the sea. Fortunately, Perla's had limited, but delicious non-seafood offerings on their menu, that suited even Lindsay's picky tastes.

We started off with delicious morning cocktails. They had a wide variety to choose from, including one called "The Minderaser" which has Bacardi 151 in it. What a way to start your morning! We weren't quite so brave. Justin had a bloody mary, I had their frozen concoction of the day, called "Peach Passion" and Lindsay went with a mimosa. The bloody mary was delicious, as was the mimosa. My Peach Passion was incredibly strong, even for my lush tastes. It was more suited for a starter drink before a night out on 6th street than a recovery drink on a Saturday morning. If that's their run-of-the-mill frozen drink, I can't even imagine what the minderaser must be like! I'm never one to complain about strong drinks though, I sure got my money's worth, and it made our post-brunch SoCo shopping a lot more fun!

Justin and I started with a sampler of 6 oysters on the halfshell. We each tried 3 oysters from different Northeast regions. Although the price was steep, ($3 each) they are pretty typical for non-gulf oysters around here. I love eating large plump gulf oysters when I am in the mood for beer, crawfish, and quantity. But when it comes to quality, there's something to be said for the small, zinc-y, briney goodness that only New England oysters can provide. They have a rotating menu with different fresh catch options each day. In addition to oysters, they always have a clam option as well, usually littleneck or cherrystone.

For our main course, I went with the breakfast bouillabaise (I just looked at the menu again, and I guess they changed the name to breakfast cioppino, I never could tell the difference between those two anyway. I know bouillabaise is french and cioppino is italian, but they're both tomato based seafood stews. But I digress...) It is basically a half portion of the dinner option, with two soft poached eggs nestled on top, complete with a crisp toasted piece of baguette. I am such a sucker for soft egg yolks, and these were perfect. Not too runny, but soft enough to mix with the saffron tomato broth for a delicious combination. I love eating my eggs with ketchup, and this was basically a gourmet version. The stew was full of a variety of seafood, including chunks of whitefish, clams, mussels, and calamari. A hearty breakfast for seafood lovers. Justin went with the lobster coddled farm eggs. Lobster chunks mixed in with soft baked eggs. Another highly recommended and delicious option. There was a considerable amount of lobster meat in such a small dish. The egg yolks were also the perfect soft consistency as my poached eggs. It was topped with fresh herbs (tarragon?) that gave a crisp bite to the dish. Lindsay decided to go with the basic wheat toast with eggs over-medium, with a side of fruit. No complaints here. She was also eyeing the buttermilk pancakes, which sounded really yummy, topped with fresh blueberries, whipped cream, and vermont syrup. It was nice to see typical brunch options on the menu, which appease to those who want a more traditional breakfast.

Overall, Perla's is a suitable replacement for Mars. I will miss the cocktails at Mars, but I think Perla's strong drinks will do just fine. I loved the overall environment of the resaturant. The decor was nautical and beachy, with a breezy atmosphere. The waiters looked like they stepped out of a J.Crew catalog (pink or light blue button down, khaki pants). Am I in Nantucket?? My one complaint is that Perla's is going through the new restaurant growing pains. Even on Saturday brunch, the restaurant was far from capacity. The waiter was not very knowledgeable about the menu, and appeared obviously green to the industry. However, everyone was very friendly and eager to please, which will carry them far. I can't wait to revisit Perla's again in a few months, perhaps for dinner this time.

Perla's Seafood & Oyster Bar
1400 S. Congress Ave. Austin, TX 78704
512 291 7300

Max's Wine Dive

2009-05-14T20:55:00.007-05:00

Max's Wine Dive was actually one of our favorite places to eat when we were living in Houston. I used to live about 5 minutes north of the Washington corridor where the original Max's still sits today. Needless to say I was delighted to find out that they were opening an Austin location. The tongue-in-cheek kitch of having an upscale "dive" bar will suit the Austin crowd just perfectly.

Named after the owner's six-year-old nephew, Max's Wine Dive prides itself on its unique pairing of fine wines and New American comfort food. (One of its many mottos is "Fried Chicken and Champagne?... why the hell not?") Most of the dishes are new takes of classic favorites such as pot roast (made with Kobe beef and braised in a red wine jus), a fried egg sandwich (tossed with truffle oil and served with organic gruyere), and ribs (with a glaze made from hoisin sauce).

I've had a good portion of the menu in my time. The hands-down favorite is the Kobe beef burger (you can add a side of kimchee or foie gras if you'd like) and the "haute" dog. I also really like their take on grilled cheese and tomato soup (served in a shot glass).

Of course the prices for this "dive" food are maybe the other half of the joke, but more on that later.

I was definitely pleased that the space in the Austin location is much more opened up. Whether you have single stamina and like working the room or you have couple's coma and are just looking to settle in with your ribs and shiraz, everyone here feels included. Max's Wine Dive also likes to push the party atmosphere -- at the Houston location there were often House DJ's spinning, even during dinner hours -- so don't go expecting a quiet dinner experience. The jukebox, I've heard, is pretty darn amazing.

And of course the other side of the coin is the bar's extensive wine selection. If you're like us and enjoy a good glass but have no idea how to pick one out, the bartenders are all very knowledgable and courteous.

Now if there's one thing to be aware of at Max's, it's that prices do add up. At most other bars, you'll order a few appetizers and a couple of drinks for you and your date and be just fine. At Max's if you aren't paying attention you could be walking out with a three digit bill easily. (And to be clear, their wine prices are actually quite reasonable, they just serve REALLY nice wine there.)

The good news is Max's features not only a happy hour from 4 to 7pm, but also the DOUBLY COOL "Reverse" happy hour from 12am to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, with discounts on both food and wine.

All in all, I think the happy hours are going to be the time to go. Not just for the prices but for the atmosphere that really takes advantage of what Max's does best. Call it just a hunch, but I think Austin is going to have many a good time to come at Max's Wine Dive.

Max's Wine Dive
207 San Jacinto Blvd
http://www.maxswinedive.com/austin/index.php

The Austin Crawfish Retrospective

2009-05-07T20:06:00.004-05:00

It all started when I was a kid growing up in Michigan. My mother would buy frozen crawfish from the seafood counter every once in a while. When I moved down to Houston, a.k.a. the Dirty South, I learned so much more about crawfish (not "crayfish").

The crawfish boil is a big excuse to hang out outdoors, get messy, eat delicious seafood, and drink a lot of beer. Gotta love the 3rd coast. Crawfish in its real form is a hot, juicy, steamy fresh miniature lobster tail. In fact, the chinese word for lobster is actually "crawfish."

Although Austin is a mere 2.5 hours from Houston, the available of good quality crawfish is like night and day. So I set upon a mission for the best crawfish in town, and this is what I found.

Quality Seafood
Already famous for their, well, quality seafood, we were delighted to find the freshest and the cheapest crawfish in town. Service is fast, you can see them weighing out the crawfish behind the counter so you know you're getting your money's worth. Seasoning is spicy but not too salty. And at $5.99 per pound, it sure beats $6.99, the rest Austin has to offer.

5621 Airport Blvd
www.qualityseafoodmarket.com

Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar
One of my favorite things about crawfish is that they're high in protein and low in fat. The perfect weight-loss food. Although Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar, some of this was lost in the greasy boil they used. Butter was unnecessary with their recipe. However, they also had BBQ blue crabs. As you from my "Mama Ren's Blue Crab" post, they are my favorite. Nowhere else have I found such a fare.

2013 Wells Branch Pkwy # 106
www.crawfishshack.net

Fish City Grill
This is the only place in town found that serves crawfish every night of the week. Delicious and convenient, I just wish "spicer" didn't just mean "saltier." At $6.99 per pound you pay for the convenience.

4616 Triangle Ave # 200
4200 S Lamar Blvd
www.fishcitygrill.com

Cypress Grill
Good if you are south of the river, however they only offer on Tuesdays. The crawfish was delicious, although on the light side of weight. Not sure if we got all 3 lbs that we ordered. At $15.99 per 3 lbs., even with the thumb on the scale this was a great deal.

4404 W William Cannon Dr # L
www.cypressgrill.net

Shoal Creek Saloon
It's claim to fame was its cajun food, but the quality of their crawfish says otherwise. Seasoning was on the light side but the biggest disappointment was how many dead crawfish there were in the mix. Approximately half were dead or had crushed head. Not so appetizing. Maybe it was a bad day, but at $6.99 per pound it's not worth it even if it wasn't.

909 N Lamar Blvd
www.shoalcreeksaloon.com

HEB Seafood Counter
It's hard to heat this up to the proper temperature but in a nostalgic way, this reminds me of my mother's crawfish. For the price of $2.49 per pound, this is certainly a good choice when you crave crawfish right now. After freezing the "wang" (crawfish innards) the mustard in the head comes out easier, yet freezing does something to change the quality. Not a bad choice for the price in a pinch.

Various Locations
www.heb.com

Summary: Quality Seafood FTW, as it tends to be. Nothing yet compares to my favorite Houston crawfish joint. Mardi Gras Grill remains #1 in my heart forever.

Kentucky Grilled Chicken

2009-04-30T16:08:00.004-05:00

Since moving to Austin, we've been trying to eat healthier and we've largely given up fast foods. But, old habits die hard, and ever the consummate consumer, I was pretty intrigued by KFC's new approach into the trend of healthy eating.

The commercials certainly looked promising. The colonel's 11 tasty herbs and spices combined with the healthiness of grilled chicken instead of fried? Today I decided to give it a shot finally.

The results were a bit of a mixed bag as you can probably imagine. First of all, the pieces are not nearly as big or delicious-looking as the ads (I should have known better). Second of all, "Kentucky Grilled Chicken" is a pretty egregious misnomer-- the pieces are still fried in oil, just not with all the batter. I have no idea where the "grill marks" are coming from.

Still, no one can say it doesn't make a difference. A "grilled" drumstick is only 80 calories, as compared to the original recipe (110 calories) or the Extra Crispy (150 calories), and a grilled breast (180 calories) is a HUGE improvement over the original recipe (370 calories) and Extra Crispy (490 calories).

As for the flavor, it wasn't bad. Certainly not as tasty as the KFC you're used to, but the fact that it's actually friend instead of grilled was probably redeeming in this regard.

What got me, though, in the end was the sides. I haven't had KFC in forever, so I couldn't pass up the usual favorites: cole slaw and mashed potatoes. Like any dining out experience for the health conscious, the sides can be just as dangerous as the main course, if not more. Luckily, there are better options on the menu, including green beans, mean greens (whatever that is), and good old-fashioned corn on the cob.

In the end, this new KGC will not and should not be considered healthy eating by anyone (no surprise there). But for people with kids who are coerced into eating more fast food than they'd like, or recovering junk foodies like myself, it provides options, and for that KFC should be applauded.

Now if you'll excuse me, Han and I are getting ready to go get chicken fried steak at Hoover's. (Which way is the gym?)

The Mighty Cone

2009-04-15T18:17:00.004-05:00

Q: What are two things that don't go together at all?

A: Moving and running a food blog.

I know the updates have been few and far between these days. Stress like this generally leads to stress eating, and I was pretty sure there wouldn't be any interest in reading an entry on the Mueller Center Papa John's.

Anyways, I did get a chance the other day to try out the new Mighty Cone trailer in the rapidly-developing nouveau-South Austin Trailer Park on S. Congress. (What is it with Austinites and trailers anyways?)

For those of you who don't know, Hudson's On the Bend has a booth every year at the Austin City Limits food court, and their cones are so popular, the line for the Hudson's booth is usually the longest in the food court by far. So then some higher up, somewhere, said to herself, "Why not offer these cones up year round?" And hence, the Mighty Cone was born.

The Mighty Cone trailer offers the same delicious cones that they sell at ACL: chicken, shrimp, or avocado fried in a mixture of corn flakes, nuts, and spices, wrapped in kind of a tortilla ($4.95, $5.45 for shrimp). You can also get deluxe cones that combine chicken and avocado ($5.95) or shrimp and avocado ($6.45).

In addition, the Mighty Cone also has new sliders, both beef ($5.75) and veggie ($5.25) that come with a side of chili-dusted fries.

There's limited seating available but if you're lucky to get a spot the tables come equipped with "cone holders," which I really appreciated.

All in all, I think there's two ways to look at the Mighty Cone. One one hand, the food is, of course, delicious. And eating at the Mighty Cone is certainly friendlier on the wallet than dropping three digits at the real Hudson's.

On the other hand though, the cones do run on the small side. I may just be a fat Houstonian transplant but I'm pretty sure most people who want to eat "lunch" will have to order at least two cones. The sliders, while delicious, only come one per order. I've never known any place where you can order a single slider. So while the Mighty Cone might be "The Only Place You Can Eat Hudson's for under $10," you could also say it's the only place in town where you can pay $10 to eat out of a trailer.

I also think that there's something else missing about not eating the cones at ACL that loses its appeal. It's kind of like eating a hot dog at the ballpark, but if you were to eat that same hot dog in your own kitchen, it's a completely different experience.

I think in the end I would have to say that the Mighty Cone is a delicious treat, but kind of a one-trick pony. It's a good place to take an out-of-towner, or to get a periodic fix in between ACL festivals, but I'd have to say my preferred trailer-dining experience would definitely be Torchy's just one street over, where I can spend less and get a little bit more variety.

The Mighty Cone

S. Congress and Monroe (across from South Congress Cafe)

http://www.mightycone.com

JP's Java: The Best Cup of Coffee in Austin

2009-03-24T10:13:00.003-05:00

About a month ago, I sent out a twitter/facebook request for coffee shop recommendations in town. (Big thanks to Laura Oleson and Kiara Alvarez for providing the bulk of the recommendations!) The idea was that Austin has coffee shops everywhere you look. Some have great live music, some are great places to read or study, and some have the best double-chocolate upside-down lattes you've ever tasted. But who has just the best straight up cup of coffee?

Well I'm ready to call off the search, and let me just say it wasn't even close.

But before I get to it, let me preface this by giving a little of my coffee background. I believe that coffee is like pretty much anything else in the world, and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I think it's important to know where I'm coming from. I don't consider myself a coffee snob at all, but I do have distinct likes and dislikes. My preferred cup is brewed at home in a French press, and my favorite brand is HEB Taste of Texas: Houston blend. I do not like flavored creamers, but I do like flavored blends. I prefer a very full body but a taste that is smooth and not acidic. And the best cup of coffee I've ever had was on a sidewalk cafe in Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

With all that being said, the Ethiopia Siddammo at JP's Java is pretty much as good as that Guatemalan cup, and possibly better. Their secret, of course, no secret at all. It's an $11,000 coffee machine called the Clover. I won't go into the science of how it works (you can read about it here) but from my perspective, it's worth every penny.

The resulting cup (though pricey) is the smoothest, most flavorful brew you can get from an instant machine. I rarely drink my coffee black, but you can easily get away with that here. I can't really describe it any better, you have to just try it for yourself.

After the Clover-brewed coffee, it's really hard for regular drip brews to compete, but the two I liked best as runners-up were of course the famous Jo's on South Congress and a place by my work on Bee Caves called Trianon. Jo's was a great light taste with almost no bitterness, and the Coconut Cream brew at Trianon was definitely the best flavored brew that I had. Definite coconut flavor but not sweet like candy like you might expect.

Upon further research, I found one blogger's take on how to replicate the Clover using your own French press at home. I'm a little skeptical but I may give it a shot. If anyone else out there gives it a try, be sure to let me know how it goes!

Well Austin? What do you think? Am I crazy? Is JP's the best out there or is there something you think I may have missed? Post below!

JP's Java
San Jacinto and Duval
www.jpsjava.com

Austin360 Food and Wine Bloggers Bash

2009-03-17T14:29:00.006-05:00

Well first off I wanted to once again thank Addie Broyles of Relish Austin for putting this whole event together and inviting us along for the ride!

Last night, Han and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Austin360 Food and Wine Bloggers Bash. It was an amazing time with great food and wine and we really enjoyed meeting our fellow food bloggers in the area.

The event was hosted in the culinary center of the Whole Foods flagship store, and the gorgeous weather made it difficult to decide between patio lounging and going inside where the actual event was taking place. Gourmet tastings were featured throughout the space, with the favorite dish being the carne asada skewers with chimichurri sauce, and the most divisive dish being the mushroom with goat cheese. From what I could tell people either fell in love with it or wanted nothing to do with it (I was part of the former group).

The event also featured the "Texas Two-Sip Tasting" which faced local Texas wines off against counterparts from Europe, California, and South America. I'm not a wine expert, but I definitely felt that the Texas wines held their own, with my favorite being the Llano Signature Melange ($9.99!).

And of course the main event of the night were demonstrations by Jesse Griffiths of the Dai Due Supper Club and Tyson Cole of Uchi. Chef Cole was kind enough to talk with us (see picture at right) before his demonstration. I was told I swooned a little bit.

Chef Griffiths prepared an herb-stuffed flounder that, to be honest, was a little bit much in terms of flavor. Chef Cole on the other hand prepared a fish-stuffed rice ball that I easily would have had seconds, thirds, or fourths had it not been the first time I'd be meeting many of my favorite Austin food bloggers.

All in all it was a fantastic time, and I can't wait until the next event!

Austin Restaurant Week: Driskill Grill

2009-03-09T14:34:00.002-05:00

I know that I said I was going to make it a point to try to cover restaurants a little more off the Austin-beaten path, but in celebration of Austin Restaurant Week and the fact that we were so incredibly stoked to be eating a place like this, may I present to you our review of the Driskill Grill.

As you probably already know, the Driskill Grill sits in the lobby of the historic Driskill Hotel in downtown, and is known for its world-class cuisine, posh interior, and prices that match both. Now, admittedly, we were a bit ambivalent about going in. Obviously we were excited to eat at the Driskill, especially at a fraction of the normal cost, but our last foray into uber-fine dining like this left us with a sour taste. Specifically, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary at Da Marco in Houston, only to receive the worst service I've ever experienced. We were left unwaited for 20 minute stretches at a time, and the waiter even abandoned us in the middle of taking my order to go serve a different table. (Psst - the food isn't even that great!)

We were very happy to see that this was not the case at the Driskill Grill. The food was excellent and both our server and our sommelier could not have been more attentive.

Just to clarify, Han and I are by no means the type of people to normally give two hoots about the level of service of the sommelier. We just think that for that kind of money you should be getting the best dining experience imaginable!

In fact, another difference between the Driskill and Da Marco that we really appreciated was the atmosphere. The Driskill still had everything you'd come to expect -- white table cloths, men dressed in jackets, candlelight -- but the people there were actually lively and having an enjoyable time.

The tasting menu for Restaurant Week included three courses plus a dessert, all for $35. It did not disappoint. In situations like this, we tend to try to "split up" the menu and order as many different things as possible, so we can get a taste of everything, but on that night, our individual greed won out.

For the first course, we both opted for the lobster bisque over the salad (because seriously? a salad? not tonight), although it may have been the evening's only off-note. The presentation was impressive: the waiter brought out big bowls of crab salad, then poured the bisque in to the bowls from sort of a teapot right at the table. But the bisque itself was bit underwhelmed and underseasoned.

For the second course, we diverged. I ordered the beef carpaccio (raw beef, very thinly sliced) which I was very interested to try. I can't even begin to describe the taste. It was very flavorful but the paper-thin slices seemed to disappear immediately in my mouth. It was definitely good, but I will feely admit I was out-Whataburger'd by the Roasted Bandera Quail that Han ordered. The meat was smoky and tender and was served on some of the most delicious mashed potatoes I've ever had.

The third course ended up being the filet mignon for both of us. This was based on the heavy recommendation by our waiter, followed by a subsequent quarrell over who would get to order the filet and who would order something else. Upon first bite, it was pretty clear we made the right decision. I'm sure the other entrees on the menu were more than delicious, but the sight, smell, and taste of the filet surely would have sparked an uncontrollable rage and jealousy in the losing party.

The meal ended with a Chocolate Rasberry Gateau, which I'm pretty sure is French for "Pure Sin sent straight from the Devil himself."

All in all, I think it's safe to say we are big fans of both the Driskill Grill and Austin Restaurant Week. Although even at a fraction of the normal cost, they are still friendly to neither the wallet nor the wedding diet, we cannot wait until next year.

KG Sushi Train

2009-02-23T15:38:00.005-06:00

Hello KAT fans! Sorry it's been so long. Han and I have both been preparing special investigative pieces (mine looking into the best cup of coffee in Austin, Han desperately trying to find good crawfish in this city), but above all that, we just bought a house! Hopefully as things settle down, and once we're able to complete our "research" (HA!) we'll have more posts up shortly.

Anyways, let's get back to the food. The KG Sushi Train is actually the latest in-house addition to one of our favorite restaurants, Korea Garden. It's based on a restaurant idea that is very popular over in Asia and parts of California.

The concept is pretty simple. Have you ever been at an airport carousel waiting for your luggage and thought to yourself, "Man, I'd like to take that home too?" Then the Sushi Train is just for you. They seat you at a high bar with a moving conveyor belt that brings by dishes of sushi. Whenever you see something you like, just pull it off the belt and enjoy!

The prices of the dish vary, but are easily decodeable with the color of the dish and the handy-dandy chart on the wall behind you. When you are finished you server will tally up your dishes. Pretty simple, and it's a fun and unique dining experience, although admittedly the gimmick is largely the main appeal.

Now a few things to keep in mind. And maybe this won't apply to you, if you eat with your stomach instead of your eyes, like Han and I do. First off, I would definitely recommend going in with a budget, as it is very easy to rack up a huge bill. Second of all, if you're going on, say, a first date, it is important to pace yourself in order to last for an entire meal. When Han and I went, we went through 13 dishes totalling over $50 in just under 15 minutes (pictured). Our drink orders weren't even back in time before we were finished!

The sushi itself is no different than how we previously reviewed it, and it can be hit or miss. I thought the escolar was excellent, and we went through about 3 dishes of the fried scallops, as they were not only one of the best dishes but one of the cheapest. Also, normally I'm somewhat snobby about California rolls, but the ones they have at KG Sushi Train have made me a believer. For everything else, just use your eyeballs. Everything we tried that looked good, was good.

KG Sushi Train
6519 N. Lamar
http://www.kgsushitrain.com/

The Master Cleanser

2009-01-22T16:23:00.003-06:00

Although this is a food blog, the holidays often leave us with such a food hangover that we resolve to lose weight and detox in the new year. With food comes diet and health, and here's one for the books! I decided to try an extreme version of a detox diet called "The Master Cleanser" by Stanley Burroughs. It's also known as "The Maple Syrup Diet" or "The Lemonade Diet." It's been around for over 60 years, and many people swear by it. In fact, Beyonce followed this for 14 days and lost 20 pounds for her role in Dreamgirls. Although weight loss is a nice perk, my primary goal was to clean out my body and give my digestive system a little rest. There's a ton of literature online about this cleanse, although my go-to resource was simply themastercleanse.org. The prescribed amount of time for a beginner to follow is 10 days. I decided to be less ambitious and start at 5 days. I did this while I was still on winter break, and quite frankly, I'm not sure how people manage to have a normal life at all while doing this detox. There are claims that it boosts your energy levels and you can go about your life per usual, but that was not my personal experience.

To make this concoction, you combine purified water with 12 tablespoons fresh-queezed organic lemon juice (I cheated and used regular lemons... organic ones were $3 more per 2lbs!), 12 tablespoons organic grade B maple syrup (this comprises most of your day's caloric intake and nutrients), and as much cayenne pepper as you can bear (but at least half a teaspoon). That's about a bag of lemons and more than half a bottle of maple syrup per day. The mixture doesn't taste great, but it's not too bad, like spicy lemonade. I made two nalgene bottles full and carried them around with me everywhere, taking swigs whenever I felt hungry. The liquid diet part isn't all that bad, I felt hungry but it was bearable. It's the other part of this cleanse that makes it so miserable. Each night, you are supposed to do a "saltwater flush" which entails mixing a tablespoon of sea salt (not table salt) with a liter of water and chugging it. The first day, I did it with cold water, and I suffered indescribable chills after wards. I was so cold that my fingers were all numb, and even two coats and a down comforter couldn't warm me up. By the time my body finally felt warm again, the saltwater was starting its job. The purpose is to flush out your intestines and colon, and since you're not eating anything solid, this is essential for your digestive system to keep moving. The flush is unpleasant to say the least. After about an hour of drinking it, I was in the bathroom for the next hour. Each time I thought I was finished, my tummy would gurgle and it would start again. It wasn't painful, just the novel discomfort of essentially peeing from somewhere else. It's actually quite exhausting.

Day 1 went by without any major complications. I cheated and ate a few crackers late night (when I am most prone to snacking) but more for the flavor and texture of food, than because I felt so hungry as to need to eat. Day 2 was a different story. I had gotten tired of the spicy lemonade taste, and the act of squeezing 2lbs of lemons each morning and mixing your concoction takes about 30 minutes. I went through the day ok, but by the time I came home from work, I was exhausted. I had a pounding headache, felt extremely fatigued, and was just plain cranky. I yelled at Justin for having the audacity to eat anything within sight or smell range of me. I yelled at the dogs for smelling like dog food. I even wanted to yell at my fishtank. The combination of crankiness and fatigue made me dread the flush even more. But it had to be done. After it was over, I felt woozy and light-headed. I thought I might pass out. I finally caved and had a bowl of butternut squash soup. It made a world of difference, I felt SO much better. I awoke the next day with memories of my crankiness, fatigue and close knowledge of our bathroom, and decided that it just wasn't worth it! I quit after 2 days.

I think this detox cleanse would be easier for someone who doesn't love food as much as I do. Not eating takes such a joy away from your daily life. But that alone is bearable if it wasn't for the daily flush, that takes at least 2 hours each day where you cannot be far from the toilet (and I doubt you'd want to be near a public toilet). The upside is that I lost 4 pounds in those two days, and have managed to keep it off since with exercise and healthy eating. I wonder if a lot of the benefits people report are from placebo effect. Of course there aren't any empirical evidence to support this cleanse, and plenty of nutritionists recommend against it. From my own experience, I will second Beyonce when she says: "Unless you have to lose weight quickly for a movie, I wouldn't recommend this. There are other ways to lose weight."

Somnio's Cafe

2009-01-22T09:27:00.006-06:00

Ok Austin. Up to this point it's been a cute little journey for us as newcomers to the city, recapping restaurants popular Austin restaurants from the eyes of an Austin newbie. Here's our attempt to cover a restaurant that (hopefully) isn't completely obvious, in the hopes that it will give something new to try for long-time Austinites.

Somnio's Cafe was recommended to us by my co-worker Susan. It follows one of the bigger trends in dining these days -- everything local, organic, and vegetarian-friendly -- and it follows it very well.

The restaurant is fairly easy to miss, located on South First, and I'll admit the atmosphere inside could use a little more work. It's not an expensive restaurant but the food is good enough to warrant dressing the place up a bit, or at least just adding a bit of personality. The decor is very friendly but a little on the bland side (although I did dig the chandeliers, pictured above). To me it just seems like they didn't put a lot of thought or effort into it, and when I see places like that I get worried they don't put a lot of thought into their food either.

Luckily this was not the case at all. All the ingredients, as I stated, are local and organic. The menu is somewhat Asian-influenced and the value is incredible. We started out with the Pan-Fried Shitake Dumplings ($7), and, trust me, coming from someone who is fairly picky about dumplings (especially if the restaurant is not actually Asian), these were pretty darn good.

As my entree side salad, I got the Sissy's salad, which contains apples, jalapenos, goat cheese (or avocados in the summer), cilantro, pecans, and a garlic vinaigrette. Very unique and very delicious. For my main course, I had the Crazy Crispy (Pork) Medallions ($11), which were breaded tastily with panko and served with buckwheat noodles.

Han got one of their main specialties, the "Make Your Own Rice Bowl" ($7). Yeah, it's pretty much your typical build-your-own deal: you choose a protein, some veggies, and a sauce/seasoning. Han built a chicken curry plate that was both delicious and huge (see her hand for scale), and after the above comment about "worrying about the effort" you have to smile a bit at the detail in the presentation.

For drinks, Somnio's is currently BYO with no corkage fee (ch-ching!) and we did have a carafe of their organic coffee made in a french press that was quite excellent and sent us off happy.

[On a side note: we usually opt not to have dessert as we did at Somnio's that night, but we've been pondering whether it's fair to review a restaurant without tasting such an important feature as the dessert. What are your thoughts everyone? At the very least, we've decided we will re-visit the idea after the wedding. :-)]

Somnio's Cafe
1807 South First Street
www.somnioscafe.com

KAT Announcements: First off, we're hoping to add another contributor in the near future. Keep on the lookout for her first post.

Second of all, I'm preparing to "research" the best cup of coffee in Austin. If you've got any suggestions, please post them below.

Til next time folks!

Mama Ren's famous blue crabs

2009-01-13T15:45:00.009-06:00

As a child, this was one of my favorite dishes. I am a huge fan of all things aquatic, I enjoy keeping them, eating them, and collecting replicas of them. I especially love crustaceans, but more to eat than to keep as pets. My mom makes me this simple dish when I go home in the winter, during the prime blue crab season. Chinese people eat blue crab in the winter because that's when the female crabs have the most uh... reproductive goodies. We call it "wang." It's the yellow and orange rich and flavorful pieces found inside the shell, and nestled between the two body sections. Delicious!

Justin and I returned from a visit to Michigan, where sadly we did not eat blue crab. My mother had a hard time finding a fresh catch during our brief visit. Luckily for us, our trip to the Chinese Supermarket (on N. Lamar) yielded some live blue crabs! We have also found them live at Fiesta. There are several tricks to finding good crabs. First, make sure you pick the female ones, the male ones don't have the same "wang," and personally, I don't find their "wang" as good. Crabs are sexed by their flap on the bottom of their body. This is what a female crab looks like.

You also want to make sure that your crab is alive and kicking. Dead crabs lose the springy texture in their meat, and taste pasty and can also smell bad. Make sure that all your crabs are alive when they hit the pot. My mom also says to look for the crabs that are the dirtiest, I guess that means they have been around long enough to reach maturity, and are more likely to have "wang." In addition, make sure that each crab feels nice and heavy, which suggests dense succulent meat. Pick up a few crabs for comparison purposes.

After you bring your crabs home (I suggest 3 crabs per person), keep them in the refrigerator until about an hour before cooking, at which point, you can transfer them to the sink with a few inches of cold water. Soak them for about half an hour. Next, use a small brush and brush them under running water, make sure you get their undersides, that's where they are usually most dirty. Watch out for those pinchers!

While you are cleaning your crabs, boil an inch of water in a large but shallow pot with a few slices of fresh ginger. Once your water boils, you can transfer your crabs into the pot. Cover and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for 10-15 minutes. They should be nice and red when they are fully cooked.

Eating them is the tricky part! First you rip off the flap that covers their belly (the one that tells you they're female), then you carefully separate the shell from the rest of the body. If you are lucky, your crab will be bursting with delicious "wang" and should look like mine. But don't worry if your crab doesn't have "wang," it will still be delicious!

My family's traditional accompaniment is to dip the crab in a ginger vinegar sauce. You simmer about 1/3 cup balsamic (or chinese) vinegar with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sugar and diced ginger (about the size of a quarter). Be careful to not let your mixture boil, you just want to melt the sugar. I like to pour the sauce into the shell of my crab and use that as a built-in dipping bowl. Just snap the body of your crab in half, remove the legs, and use a toothpick to extract the meat. Enjoy!

Five EASY New Years Eating Resolutions

2009-01-05T11:53:00.003-06:00

Now, never in a million years did I ever intend for this to become a diet blog, but good eating is always key. So in the spirit of New Year's, instead of the usual crash diet and "I swear I will go to the gym 4 times a week" resolutions, here are some very easy changes you can make that can actually make a big difference, whether you're trying to lose weight, live healthier, or even save some money.

1. Share the wealth
Do you have a spouse/SO/friend/dog? Take them with you to lunch. Whatever diet is hip at the time will tell you "Oh carbs are bad" or "No fats are bad" but really the fact of the matter is that what you eat is not nearly as important as how much you eat. Anywhere you go out to eat, the portion size will likely be bigger than you need it to be, so go ahead and split it. Whether it's a burrito or a steak dinner, sharing your meal with a friend (or at least just taking half home) can make any meal more reasonable.

2. Ditch the fries
You might think of fries as just a side dish, but in most cases a side of fries can have as many calories as the main dish, sometimes even more. Luckily, most places today, even fast food restaurants, are letting you switch out your fries for healthier options. At McDonalds, a Big Mac (no cheese) with a side salad and unsweetened iced tea or diet Coke is less than 600 calories.

3. Use smaller plates
Han read an article about the 9-inch diet in People (couldn't find the direct link, sorry), and although the exact details of the diet are a bit controversial, the idea behind it is pretty solid. The author of the diet, Alex Bogusky, got the idea when he moved into his new house, which was built in the 1940s. He found that none of his plates fit in the cabinets. After doing some research, he found that the plates that everyday Americans use have actually grown from 8.5 inches in diameter to 12. Needless to say, this corresponds almost identically to the rise in obesity rates. As a child we are always taught that we should finish everything on our plates because there are starving children in [insert Third World Country of your mother's choosing]. And I don't know about you guys, but a lot of times I end up eating things even if I'm full "just because it's there." The 9-inch diet basically states that you can eat whatever you want, but just make sure that it all fits on a 9-inch plate. I think even if you don't follow that exactly, even just getting in the mindset of preparing/ordering slightly less than what you think you want to eat can go a very long way. (See #1)

4. Eat at least one vegetable or fruit at each meal
Most of us do not eat three servings of fruit or vegetables a day, let alone the five that the USDA recommends. Remembering specifically to eat a banana or a side salad with every meal serves two purposes. One is that it will get you more of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Two, it will take up space in your stomach and take the place of other higher calorie side dishes.

5. Treat red meat like a luxury, not a necessity
I went over this briefly in my Austin Land and Cattle review. Back in the day, meat was usually only eaten during a celebration, usually by the wealthy. You always hear bible-era stories about "slaughtering a cow" whenever something awesome happened and they had to throw a party. Over time, modern farming techniques (which I won't even get started on) has made beef and other red meats much more affordable, and nowadays people are used to eating beef two or three times a day. But the fact of the matter is beef and pork have almost twice as many calories and saturated fat as chicken or fish for the same serving size. Not to mention the environmental impact each industry has. When it comes down to it, just because we can afford to eat something every day doesn't mean we should. We could all afford to eat a hot fudge sundae three times a day but we know not to do that. Of course, vegetarianism isn't for everybody (there's no way I could do it for very long), but if you want to save your gut and the planet some grief, do it like they did in the Bible days: wait until a special occasion to slaughter that cow.

Happy eating in 2009 everybody!

Time Magazine's Top 10 Food Trends of 2008

2008-12-16T15:35:00.003-06:00

If there's one thing I love about this time of year, (and I say this without sarcasm) it's every magazine putting out their "Best of 2008" issues. As the writers of cracked.com would tell you, everything is better in list format.

Time Magazine is among my favorite year-end issues, mainly because they put out a top 10 list of just about everything. This year, coincidentally, they added (at least, I believe it's new) the "Top 10 Food Trends of 2008."

It's a pretty interesting read, and so I thought I'd share it with you all, adding my own two cents where I can.

1. Recession dining

I think it goes without saying that every retrospective of 2008, regardless of topic, is going to incorporate the economy in some fashion. I've stated time and again how thankful I am how plentiful Austin is with restaurants that serve food that is healthy, natural, and inexpensive.

2. Nanny-state food regulations

I am 100% whole-heartedly behind this movement that forces restaurants to post the nutritional content of their menu items. Even for those who are not specifically counting calories, the caloric content of some of our favorite foods can be downright shocking. Personally, I think it's a bit embarrassing for big-name chains like Chili's to continually refuse to release their nutritional content. To me, this is like an electronics store refusing to list the prices of their items.

3. Salmonella Saintpaul

As an avid Mexican food lover, nothing was more disruptive this year than the salmonella outbreak. Just when they declared tomatoes safe again and we thought we could all go back to the salsa, they tell us the source of the outbreak was tainted jalapenos. D'oh!

4. The war on bottled water

Agreed. Everyone needs to cut this bottled water nonsense, buy a reusable bottle, and drink from the tap. If you don't like the taste, buy a Brita filter, but I'd be willing to bet if we gave you the Pepsi challenge, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

5. The Clover coffee maker

Sadly, I have not gotten a chance to try one of these out. For those of you who don't know, this $11,000 coffee maker supposedly brews the holy grail of coffee cups. You can be sure that my next trip back to the Bay Area will include a search for one of the Starbucks's carrying this bad boy.

6. Caffeinated foods

Not really sure how I feel about this one. I feel like as a nation, we're already consuming enough caffeine that we don't even feel it any more. I'm not sure if the next thing we need is to be putting it into our water and candy.

7. Goat

I love goat. Han can't stand it. What I didn't realize, though, is that it's both healthier and environmentally-friendly that many of the other meats we regularly consume. Cabrito for everyone!

8. The backlash against local food

Man, oh man. I've definitely felt this year that every new book or article I read tells me to completely change the way I eat. "Eat organic, it's better for you and the environment." "No, organic is a corporate conspiracy, eat local." "No, local is worse for the environment than big farm." I'm not sure we're ever going to get to the bottom of this, but in the meantime, I think an indisputable good rule-of-thumb (aside from generally avoiding red meat) is to not eat things that are out of season. That way you know it probably wasn't shipped in from halfway across the world and it hopefully isn't loaded with preservatives. I usually check eattheseasons.com as a guide. If nothing else, it makes decision-making at the grocery a bit easier.

9. The year's most celebrated chef

The chef they are referring to is Grant Achatz, the Chicago chef who came back from tongue cancer, of all things, and is now one of the leading experts in molecular gastronomy (the science of cooking). A very inspiring story indeed. I definitely think I'm going to try adding molecular gastronomy to my list of hobbies for 2009.

10. Mex-Italian

Yeah, that picture in the article looks delicious, and after a quick google search, I don't believe Austin has yet to offer any Mex-Italian restaurants. Anyone out there in blogville know of any? Be sure to send any recommendations my way!

Din Ho Chinese BBQ

2008-12-11T14:27:00.003-06:00

Though Austin sorely lacks a centralized "Chinatown" area, there are still excellent Chinese restaurants to be found. It just takes a little more effort to find them. (Yes, we're aware of that new shopping center up on Lamar, but the jury is still out.)

Din Ho Chinese BBQ, as far as we're concerned, is the creme de la creme of authentic Chinese food in Austin. It has everything you should look for in a good Chinese restaurant: great food, cheap prices, bad service, and orange slices with your check. You would think most restaurants would hide their meats in the kitchen until it's time to be served, right? Just like it is in China, Din Ho proudly displays its Peking ducks front and center right when you come in, like a Communist army of deliciousness. And of course, Din Ho passes the Mama Ong test of authenticity by providing a special section of the menu that you can only order from if you can speak and read Chinese.

Because it is a Chinese BBQ, Din Ho's menu is championed by the big three: roast duck, BBQ pork, and roast chicken. You can get any of these dishes solo or any combination of three, but I would recommend skipping the roast chicken and focusing on just the duck and pork. Both are quite tasty and delicious, particularly the BBQ pork, which is just about as good as I've ever had it.

The rest of the menu is very extensive, and one reason that I particularly like Din Ho is that it has several dishes that really set it apart from your average generic Chinese restaurant. Sure anyone can make chow mein and General Tso's chicken, but you won't find Din Ho's salted fish fried rice at many other places, and believe me, once you try it, you wish it were.

If I had one nit to pick with this place, it would just be that traditional Peking duck is served as a three-course meal: a duck soup, a lettuce wrap-style dish, and finally the duck itself, served with steamed buns. For some reason, Din Ho opts only to serve the last dish, which was disappointing.

For those of you asking what the difference is between roast duck and Peking duck, roast duck is merely duck tossed into a broiler. Peking duck is similar but has a much more extensive preparation process that includes salting and inflating the duck (don't ask) prior to roasting, and this process makes the skin extra delicious and crispy, almost like cracklings. Also Peking duck is about three times more expensive than the roast duck, which may be the most important difference of all for the undistinguishing palate.

In short, if your concept of Chinese food is like Pei Wei or PF Changs, greaseless and served over brown rice, you're going to need to look elsewhere. Din Ho BBQ is the real deal, trust us.

Din Ho Chinese BBQ
8557 Research Blvd Ste 116

The Clay Pit

2008-12-08T08:20:00.000-06:00

Hey folks. Before we get started, just wanted to give a quick shoutout to Addie at Relish Austin!

Ah the Clay Pit. This was actually our second visit to the place, and we had high hopes it would go better than the first. I'll spare you all the details but I learned an important life lesson that night: never ever eat a bunch of Indian food and then go watch 'Cloverfield' from the front row at the Alamo Draft House.

That said, the food was so delicious the first time (going down, anyways) that we were happy to make a return trip, this time with friends.

First off, the Clay Pit follows a very delightful trend we've discovered in Austin: top-of-the-line food in a really nice atmosphere at prices that are actually affordable. (The more time I spend in Austin, the more I realize that there is a large population in Houston that enjoys spending money just to spend it.)

I would definitely recommend reservations though. Weekends especially can get pretty harried, and had we not made them ahead of time, it looked like our party of 5 would have been in for an extensive wait.

We started off our dinner with a few appetizers. The curried mussels are a must-have. And our weakness for fried calamari pretty much mandated us to order the coriander calimari, which wasn't anything particularly special (some Chinese-style spiciness) but the portion was pretty hefty and good for even a larger party.

The curry dishes, not surprisingly, are the house specialty, but you won't find your standard stoplight fare here (green, yellow, or red, har har). The Tikka Masala is always a favorite, but the Mirch Masala adds a spicy jalapeno kick to the classic dish. But if you feel like indulging yourself, definitely go for the self-described "sinfully rich" Korma curry, which mixes cashew, almond, pistachio, and coconut into a sweet creamy curry sauce.

For my dish, I solicited the help of our waitress who immediately suggested the Lamb Roganjosh without hesitation, and after tasting the dish I could definitely see why. The lamb was the most tender I had ever tasted and the curry sauce was tasty and rich.

One thing to definitely be aware of: I've referenced earlier my love of spicy food and my propensity for biting off more than I can chew, so to speak. Be aware that when you order any of your dishes "hot" instead of "mild," THEY DO NOT MESS AROUND AT THE CLAY PIT. If you can handle the Blazin' wings at Buffalo Wild Wings, you should have no problem with the hot dishes at the Clay Pit. Otherwise be prepared to take a little bit more time to finish. The Clay Pit boasts an additional level of hot, called Desi Hot (which roughly translates to "hot even for a real Indian person"), and I can only begin to imagine what that would do to non-Desi tastebuds.

The bartenders at the Clay Pit are a talented creative bunch. Their bloody marys are definitely recommended. But their mixed drinks do run on the small size, so you may rack up quite the bill, especially if you're downing them one after the other trying to put out the fire in your mouth. If staying power is your goal, order the Taj Mahal beer, which gives you a Maharaj-sized glass of beer for less than most of the mixed drinks.

The Clay Pit
1601 Guadalupe
www.claypit.com

Austin Land and Cattle

2008-11-17T15:45:00.000-06:00

I've read enough Michael Pollan to understand the benefits of vegetarianism. And if you ask me now, my belief is that red meat should be treated as an indulgence and not an every-meal staple, kind of like a hot fudge sundae. But at the end of the day, I just appreciate a good steak far too much to ever quit cold turkey.

For Han's birthday, we went to Austin Land & Cattle, located on Lamar. I think what I like best about this restaurant is what I like best about Texas: it's unabashed and upfront. Don't get me wrong, the interior is very nice, decorated with white tablecloths and antique ranch-style decor, but when you walk in, it's not like you'll ever confuse this place with Fleming's.

The service was had the same charm. Sure our waiter was dressed in slacks and a tie, but he also talked like he worked at Chili's. I loved it.

And when I say that the restaurant is upfront, it's never more apparent that in the food. You definitely get the steaks that you pay for. Nothing fancy, no crazy Asian-fusion marinades or New American-style side dishes. Just delicious high-quality beef cooked to perfection.

Now, I don't consider myself to be a steakhouse snob or anything, but I do believe that when eating steak, the only two cuts worth your time are the ribeye and the filet (that is, unless, you're going the porterhouse or chateau briand route). So Han and I got exactly that.

The bone-in ribeye (also known as The Cowboy) looked more to me like The Tennis Raquet (pictured above). Perfectly marblized, each bite begins to melt like butter the second you put it in your mouth.

Han's filet mignon was also pretty sizeable and was also perfectly tender and chewy.

What was most interesting about Austin Land & Cattle was the selection of sauces you could get with your steak. Upon recommendation we decided on getting the Roasted Garlic Sauce and the Gorgonzola Butter, which tasted a lot like blue cheese. I usually prefer not to put anything on my steaks, but the sauces were pretty good and probably worth the extra $3 per sauce.

The side dishes were pretty much as you would expect. I definitely reccommend the garlic mashed potatoes. We also had the Oysters Tex-afeller for appetizer. They were just like Oysters Rockafeller but with a pretty big jalapeno kick.

The only downside to the meal was the creme brulee we had for dessert. Of course any creme brulee is good creme brulee, but this particular one sort of tasted like it came from a buffet line. It did come free, though, with our meal. Our waiter said his present to Han was both the dessert and saving our ears by NOT singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

Austin Land & Cattle Company
1205 N. Lamar
www.austinlandandcattlecompany.com

Quality Seafood

2008-11-05T10:41:00.000-06:00

A long-standing Austin tradition, Quality Seafood Market (motto: "Selling Our Sole Seven Days a Week") has been serving Austin's freshest seafood in a laid-back atmosphere since the 1930's.

Because of its location and value, it is rapidly becoming an every-week spot for us. They'll probably know us by name by the end of the year.

Like many Austin favorites, you wouldn't know it by looking at it, and you'd probably drive by it 100 times and not give it a second thought, if it weren't for the hoards of people packed in every night.

The premise is simple, if not unique. Go up to the counter and order any number of fresh seafood dishes, then either take it to go or sit down at a table and chow away. Or instead, get your fish directly from the adjacent fish market and go home and cook it yourself. Han and I have gone both routes, and can vouch for great experiences either way.

When dining in, Quality Seafood's biggest asset is just that: the quality of their seafood. The dishes they serve are exactly the same dishes you've had a hundred times over: fried clams, blackened salmon, peel-n-eat shrimp. There is nothing necessarily remarkable about these dishes except the shrimp are exceptionally savory, the salmon especially delectable, and the fried seafood is the best fried anything you've ever had.

In fact, though it goes against our recent goal of trying to eat healthy, the fried shrimp and the fried clams are what has kept us coming back week after week. Lightly battered and equally lemony and buttery, Quality Seafood's frying process definitely enhances the taste and flavor of their seafood instead of masking it. Something you definitely won't get at Long John Silver.

Also right now is a great time to visit Quality Seafood if you are a fan of oysters on the half shell. Imported straight from the gulf, you can get some of the biggest oysters in town for a very reasonable price. See above.

Quality Seafood also has great specials Monday through Thursday with huge discounts on certain dishes and beers, but even if you can't make it then, their non-happy hour beer is still so cheap ($2.50 domestics) that you can't lose either way.

But the best part about Quality Seafood is the staff. Everyone there from the bartenders to the busboys are incredibly chummy and very friendly and helpful to everyone from regulars to first-timers.

Quality Fun Fact: The most famous employee ever to work at Quality Seafood is none other than Joe Lewis, as in Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears fame. Word on the street is he used to alternate working the counter and driving the fish truck in the morning. I'm not sure if he still works there now that his band has kind of taken off, but you will still see an homage to him at the restaurant, in the form of a Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears t-shirt hanging behind the bar.

When you visit the fish market, the experience is more of the same. Sure the prices are going to be a bit higher than HEB, but everything there was caught that morning, never frozen. And with raw seafood you definitely get what you pay for. The fishmongers there are more than willing to give you their recommendations for the day, and if you have any questions about how to prepare the fish there, they are happy to help. The first time Han and I went to Quality Seafood we ordered two pounds of mussels. The fishmonger helping us personally picked through each mussel to make sure that it was still alive and that we would get no duds when we cooked them. Yeah we paid a little extra instead of going to HEB but we definitely got more of our money's worth by going to the Quality fish market.

Anyways, in conclusion, it may not be in the most convenient location in town for you (or the nicest) but definitely make it a point to come on by. Han and I will probably be there too.

Quality Seafood Market
5621 Airport Blvd
www.qualityseafoodmarket.com

Casa Colombia

2008-10-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

Hey folks. Been a while, but we're back with a pretty good one. In addition to good cheap sushi, another thing that Han and I have really been missing here is really good authentic Latin American food like they have in Houston.

Casa Columbiana came on recommendation from Kiara, one of Han's classmates. According to her, it's basically a throwback to the original Dona Emilia's, a local favorite. Legend has it that Dona Emilia's rose to popularity in its original East Austin location before corporate sponsors partnered with Emilia to move the restaurant to the upscale location downtown. As time went by, Emilia either tired of the upscale restaurant lifestyle or clashed with the new owners, and broke off their business relationship. The new owners kept the name and Emilia re-opened Casa Columbiana in the original location.

The food itself is as good as you would imagine it. For appetizers we ordered the aborrejado (fried plantain with mozzarella) and the fried yucca. The fried yucca is an absolute must-have. In fact, it's pretty much worth making the trip just for that. The lunch specials are moderately priced, and are smaller-sized portions of their top-selling dishes. The Pabellon (or has Han calls, "Pantalones") is a delicious Venezuelan combo of shredded pork, black beans, white rice, and plantains [pictured left]. Han ordered the equally delicious daily special, the Pollo Guisado: a chicken quarter stewed and covered in yellow sauce [pictured right].

Also worth trying are the selection of fresh squeezed tropical juices that the restaurant offers. The lulo and the guanabana were both pretty good.

All-in-all this restaurant is a pretty complete package. Award-winning food, quaint but clean atmosphere, kind service, and great prices. A definite high recommendation.

Casa Colombia
1614 E 7th St
www.casa-colombia.com

Korea Garden: The Eternal Quest for Good Austin Sushi

2008-10-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

Before I go any further...

ACL Music Winners: Beck, Manu Chao, CSS, Gogol Bordello, Vampire Weekend
ACL Food Winners: Hudson's cones (of course), anything from Salt Lick (of course), nICE CONEz ice cream-stuffed sno cones, P. Terry's veggie burger (courtesy of Erika, our resident veggie burger connoisseur)

Great time as always. Looking forward to next year. Now onto business.

One of our biggest complaints since moving to Austin is that we really miss Houston's abundance of cheap quality sushi. You know, places like Oishii and Hokkaido. We just haven't been able to find any place like that here in Austin.

Our most notable sushi experience came during 4th of July weekend, when we met up with Pam and CJ and went to Kenichi on 5th St. We ended up dropping over $100 there and we still had to go to Best Wurst afterward because we were still hungry. Han ordered a sashimi plate and it was literally six slivers of fish drizzled with lemon saffron. Don't get me wrong, the piece I tried was delicious, but most of the money we paid definitely went toward the pretense.

We had been to Korea Garden before for their Korean food, but post-ACL we were looking something relatively healthy like sushi to aid in our detox process. We got a salmon roll and a spicy scallop roll, and we ended up getting a few Korean dishes as well, because I couldn't resist.

Probably the best part about this restaurant is the service. The food comes out quick and the waitstaff is very courteous and responsive and also hilariously FOB-by. If you ask for a refill of your water, you may be greeted with a huge smile and a "Sure!! Why not?"

The sushi itself was passable but did the job. Basically neither roll was as fresh as I would have liked, but it was still very good sushi. If only the price of the sushi was reasonable, it would have been a home run. But $6-7 per roll and $3-4 per nigiri (!!!) makes this sushi a little less easy to swallow.

The Korean food on the other hand is very delicious and worth the money. The bibimbop is pretty amazing, although the jury is still out on whether it's worth it to pay the extra money to have it served in a stone pot. The japchae is probably among the best I've ever had, mixing in both bugolgi beef and soy medallions into the sticky noodles. Han got the the sashimi bibimbop (which, to me, was more chirashi than bibimbop) which was really good as well.

Overall the restaurant is definitely worth it. We're still looking for that little niche sushi hole-in-the-wall to call our own, but for now we will take the occasional salmon roll from here alongside our bugolgi and galbi bbq plates.

Korea Garden
6519 N. Lamar

P.S. If anyone wants to know our best bet for sushi so far, it's to make it yourself using fish from D.K.'s Sushi Mart at the corner of Koenig and Lamar.

ACL Festival Preview: The Food Booths

2008-09-22T11:42:00.000-05:00

Headed to ACL this weekend? I personally cannot wait. Sure the lineup is going to be awesome, and I of course can't wait to see all our Houston friends coming in town, but my personal favorite is the ACL food court. The Austin Eats food courst at ACL features many of the local Austin favorites and is a great chance to try out several at the same time. Han and I went to both ACL and Lollapalooza last year, and believe me, Chicago ain't got nutthin on us.

I've taken the liberty of re-posting the entire menu of the Austin Eats Food Court, with our own commentary of our past experiences, to help you all make decisions once you're at the festival.

Salt Lick Bar-B-Que: Sausage Wrap, Sloppy Nachos, Chopped Brisket Sandwich

You must believe me when I say this will be the very first thing I eat at ACL. In fact... Salt Lick... Vampire Weekend... eh... we'll have to see. In all seriousness, the Salt Lick is widely known as being one of the best, if not THE best, BBQ spots in Texas. Their meats are incredibly tender and covered in their famous BBQ sauce (which, recently, we learned contains unholy amounts of calories and saturated fat, but is delicious nonetheless). I'm probably going with the Chopped Brisket Sandwich.

Hudson's on the Bend: Hot & Crunchy Fish Cone, Hot & Crunchy Chicken Cone, Hot & Crunchy Avocado Cone, Death by Chocolate

These cones are amazing and ACL is a great chance to try of one of Austin's best (and most expensive) restaurants for an affordable price. We had a fish cone and a chicken cone (think pita wraps, not ice cream), and even though they are still a bit pricey for ACL standards, they're pretty much a must-have.

Boomerang's Pies: Guinness Steak & Potato, Southwest Chicken, Spinach & Mushroom

Han and I became fans when we first moved to Austin, so much so that at our first visit we bought an additional 5 frozen pies to take home. Essentially these Australian-influenced meat pies are similar to the chicken pot pies that mom used to make (ok maybe not my mom), with buttery and flaky crusts but filled with flavors of various cultures. I'd definitely give them a try, but it's too bad they're not offering the Curry pies at the festival, because those were definitely my favorite. You can pick some up at their restaurant on Guadalupe and 30th.

Austin's Pizza: Pepperoni Pizza, Cheese Pizza

I've heard it said that pizza is like sex. There's good pizza and there's bad pizza but even bad pizza is still pretty good. Austin's Pizza is definitely the former. Originally located on the drag, there's no surprises with this pizza but it's definitely a good thing.

Doc Green's Gourmet Salads: Chicken Caesar Salad, Dr. Fruity Salad, Grilled Veggie Wrap

There's one of these kind of near where we live. Han liked it a lot but I wasn't blown away. But if you're anything like me, you're probably going to want to take a break from fried foods at some point during the 3 day festival, and this is a pretty good bet.

The Original Hoffbrau Steaks: Steak Sandwich, Cheeseburger, Jumbo Hot Dog

I'd avoid this. Even though Hoffbrau is a local legend, the charm of the place doesn't carry over to a festival setting. I had the steak sandwich last year, and it was literally a steak between two pieces of bread. And not a particularly good steak either. I just think there's too many options here to settle for something you could easily make at home.

The Best Wurst: Grilled Sausage Sandwich with Bratwurst, Smoked Pork Italian, or All Beef Country, New York Buttered Salt-Potatoes

A Sixth street favorite, the Best Wurst definitely lives up to its name. I'd go with the smoked pork italian.

Amy's Ice Cream: Ice Cream with assorted toppings

Chances are, if you are reading this, you already know about Amy's, but they will be at ACL too, and deservedly so. I'm hoping they're bringing the Shiner flavor.

Vespaio Ristorante & Enoteca Vespaio: Housemade Mozzarella, Tomatoes & Basil Pesto, Crispy Calamari with Lemon Aioli, Pork Meatball-Parmesan Hoagie with Melted Mozzarella

We haven't been here yet but we've heard a lot of good things. I'm a big fan of things with mozzarella and/or calamari in general so you can probably bet we'll have something to report after the festival.

Here are the rest of the offerings:
Entrees:
Aquarelle Restaurant: Steak N Frit Sandwich, Crawfish Poor boy, Blackpepper French Fries
El Chilito Tacos: Chochinita Pibil Taco, Tinga de Pollo Taco, Bean and Cheese Taco
Austin's Best Burgers: Cheeseburger, Veggie Burger, Cheese Fries, Sliced Watermelon
P. Terry's Burger Stand: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Chicken Burger, Veggie Burger
Pureheart: Beef and Lamb Gyros, Mediterranean Veggie Gordita, Greek Salad, Turkey Panini
Restaurant Jezebel: Falafel Pita Sandwich, Cold Pasta with black olive pesto, Big'ol Curried potato, Cabbage and Pea Burrito
Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Restaurant: Hawaiian Style Smoked Turkey Leg, Pulled Kahlua Pork Nachos, Grilled Sausage on a Stick
Saba Blue Water Café: Mahi Mahi Fish Taco (chipotle aoli slaw), Pulled Pork Taco, Chicken & Cheese Flautas, Coconut Plantain Shrimp
Solar Natural Wraps: Falafel Wrap, Hummus Wrap, Chicken Wrap
Stubb's BBQ: Chopped Beef Sandwich with Fritos, Pulled Pork Sandwich with Fritos, Sliced Brisket Sandwich with Fritos
Thistle Café: Chicken Chipotle Wrap, Smoked Turkey Wrap, Veggie Wrap
Wahoo's Fish Taco: Blackened Fish or Grilled Chicken Tacos, Fish or Chicken Burrito, Vegetarian Burrito.

Beverages:

Best Lemonade: Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Fresh Squeezed Strawberry Lemonade, Fresh Squeezed Blueberry Lemonade
Flipnotics Chilled Beverages: Strawberry Smoothie, Mocha Frappe, Iced Coffee
Maine Root Hand Crafted Beverages: Root Beer, Ginger Brew, Prickly Pear Agave Lemonade
Sambazon Acai-Organic Smoothies: Organic Acai Smoothie, Organic Acai Juice, Rio Bowl, Rasta Bowl

Desserts/Snacks:

Ben & Jerry's/Lifeworks: Cherry Garcia ice cream bar, Half Baked ice cream bar, Vanilla ice cream bar
Children of the Kettle Corn: Organic Kettle Corn
nICE CONEz: Shaved Block ice Snow Cones, Snow Cones stuffed with ice cream
Snowie: Regular and All Natural Snow Cones

Also don't forget that there are plenty of great restaurants outside the festival near by too, including Shady Grove, Baby A's, Chuy's, Flipnotics, and Austin Java. If you've got an hour or two between shows, why not take a break from the crowds and enjoy some air conditioning?

Zoot

2008-09-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. We're back. The hurricane madness seems to have passed. Luckily all friends and family are safe and unharmed, and no one we know even had any major property damage. In the meantime, we're having a blast hanging out with our refugee friends.

Anyways, this is a bit of old news, but I definitely wanted to write about our dinner at Zoot, before I forget. So, from what we understand, there is kind of a "big three" of Austin fine dining, and they are Uchi, Fonda San Miguel, and Zoot. We are planning on visiting all three in the upcoming months.

Overall, let me just say that Han and I have been to a modestly decent number of fine dining restaurants in Houston, and wow, Zoot pretty much blows all of them away.

Actually, let me clarify that a little first. I consider myself to be a "foodie" but by no means a food connoisseur. I love trying new and interesting dishes, and I always appreciate innovation over the same things over again, but I'm also not one to require the latest culture fusion dishes with trendy designer ingredients. Atmosphere is very important to me, and I like dining at upscale places, but I also feel really uncomfortable if the restaurant is stuffy or elitist.

Zoot is pretty much the perfect balance of everything. The restaurant itself is cozy and set inside of a house, kind of like Just Dinner in Houston. The interior was white table cloth and very classy, but comfortable enough that you'd still be ok wearing jeans.

But the reason this place was such a home run was the food. Some times when I've gone to expensive restaurants for dinner, I feel like I'm paying the extra money because whoever created the dish was more creative than someone else. The food at Zoot was like the work of a master artist, where the technique and craftsmanship were every bit as good as the creativity of the recipe. Every single bite we had was perfectly seasoned, perfectly textured, and perfectly prepared.

Zoot is famous for its Chef's Tasting Menu and its Farmer's Tasting Menu, but we kind of opted to build our own. We started out with a take on tomato basil soup with grilled cheese. The soup was savory, creamy, and flavorful, and the (minature) grilled cheese sandwich was perfectly buttered and lightly textured.

And then it was off to the second appetizer, foie gras, which I had for the very first time. Now, those of you who know me know that I try to be a good person. I recycle, I drive a hybrid, I donate to charity, and I love animals. But God help me, I feel awful saying this, but foie gras is DELICIOUS. (Veal is too, btw.) The foie gras is one of the specialties of Zoot, and it's not cheap, but I can definitely say it's worth the money. Unbelievably tender and fatty, it's hard not to just wolf it down in one bite.

Next came the entrees. I had the seared duck breast and Han had the roasted escolar. Like I said earlier, every single bite we had was both perfect and uniform. All we had to do was sit back and enjoy it. I apologize because the pictures of our dishes didn't turn out but they wouldn't have done justice anyways.

Lastly we finished it off with a french press of coffee and a salt toffee ice cream sandwich. Absolutely amazing. The mixture of sweet and salty made you pause when you tasted it because it was such an odd combination, but once you were done processing it, all you wanted to do was eat more.

Zoot
509 Hearn St
www.zootrestaurant.com

Recipe: Mango Salsa

2008-09-04T16:25:00.000-05:00

Someone once asked if we were going to put recipes on here. Han and I are by no means superstars in the kitchen, and I can only shudder to imagine what you all might think if I ever posted about some of Han's "grab 4 random things from the fridge and throw them in a pot" dinners, but every now and then we find a recipe (or make something up) that might actually fool people into thinking we know what we're doing.

Here's a pretty good recipe we found a few days ago that's not only delicious but unbelievably easy.

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 medium sized mangoes (largely diced)

1 cucumber (diced)

1/2 medium sized onion (you guessed it, diced)

1 tablespoon minced jalapenos (this is for a very mild salsa, add more if you want it spicier)

A few sprigs of cilantro, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

Throw them all together in a big bowl and mix together.

And voila! You're gourmet. Eat it with chips or throw it on a tortilla with grilled mahi-mahi and chopped red cabbage and have one of the best fish tacos you've ever had (that you made, anyways).

Post-Tubing Grub: The Gristmill

2008-09-03T11:18:00.001-05:00

[Editor's note: This post coming to you live from Chrome!]

So Berman and Lindsay came up to visit this weekend and we all had an awesome time. On Sunday we all went up to the Guadalupe which was a blast as always. Of course we ended up staying on the river much longer than planned, so we were definitely starving by the time we left. Berman had a fantastic suggestion for some post-tubing grub.

Right by the river is the historic district of Greune. I'd heard a lot about this area as a great day trip from Austin, and believe me it was pretty much exactly as described. It was a very quaint old town with a lot of wooden-sided buildings and a great place to just stroll around and look at shops and eat food. At the heart of the Greune district is the Gristmill, a very popular restaurant right by the river.

The look-and-feel is very reminicent of the legendary Salt Lick BBQ. The "inside" looks like the inside of an old watermill, and the outside seating was on a spacious patio under the trees with a great view of the river. It's perfect for post-river floating because you're out of the hot sun but still get to enjoy the outdoors.

The food itself was satisfying. No one at our table seemed to have a "can't-miss" dish, but everyone seemed pleased. If you go, go ahead and pass on the queso, but the Gruene Wings and the Texas Torpedos (stuffed jalapenos) were as good as I've had in a while. Here, Yesenia chomps down on her Chicken Salad Sandwich.

The Guadalupe Chopped Beef was an interesting entree. At first glance it looked like just a plain regular hamburger patty, but inside it was stuffed with queso, jalapenos, and onions. A diet killer for sure.

I do wish though that there were more barbeque options. Maybe it was because the place looked a little like the Salt Lick, maybe because we were in the Hill Country, home of legendary barbeque, or maybe it's because Gristmill sounds like "Greasemill" or "Gristlemill," but I was really jonesing for some post-river barbeque. The only option it looked like they had was the Best Wurst, which I opted not to get, but I guess you should always leave something for next time.

The Gristmill

1287 Gruene Rd

New Braunfels, TX

www.gristmillrestaurant.com

Austin Hot Sauce Festival

2008-08-26T15:40:00.001-05:00

So if you know Han and me well, you know that we love to eat spicy foods. And if you know me even better, you know that I am completely overconfident in the amount of spicy food I can handle, and often bite off more than I can chew, so to speak. My best story was when Han and I went to BW3 and I had to quit midway through a dozen Blazin' wings. My mouth was so red that Han said I looked like a little child who had been drinking Kool-Aid all day.

On Sunday, Han's new classmate Alyssa got to see this first hand when we all went to the Austin Hot Sauce Festival in Waterloo Park. We were actually a little surprised to see how big of a festival this was and how large the crowd was. Tents were sprawled out all over the place, with everyone from large restaurant chains to small independent bottlers letting everyone try free samples of their hot sauces and salsas.

It was a really hot day which made waiting in line pretty awful (and that comprises about 90% of your time at the festival) but what was great though is that a lot of places had a wide variety of sauces. So once you got to the front you could take your time and try as many as you like. We later figured out that some of the longest lines weren't necessarily for the best salsas, but just that they were in the shade. We didn't end up getting to try even a significant fraction of the sauces available, but here were some of the highlights:

TacoDeli - I actually ate here on Friday at lunch, but I didn't even bother to get any hot sauce. My mistake. Their green sauce was creamy and very tasty with a spice that sneaks up on you. I'll definitely know better next time.

Aztexas Habanero Supreme - One of our favorites and winners of their division several years in a row, including this one. We actually took a bottle of this home, and it's already going pretty quickly. It's very flavorful, VERY spicy, and goes with absolutely everything. Our favorite so far has actually been peaches.

Big Daddy's Ass Burn - Their motto is "Hell going in. Hell going out." These guys were actually Houston-based. We took home a bottle of their "Flaming Lips" sauce, which is made with pineapples and St. Arnold's Lawnmower.

Austin Slow Burn - This group had one of the bigger selections that we saw. They had a green sauce, a red sauce, and a queso --all delicious-- but they also had a selection of spicy jams and jellies and a "Fire Dusted" peanut butter. I made myself a hot little PB&J with them.

Honorable Mention: HEB - Above average for a supermarket brand, they still had a tough time competing with all the other guys at the festival. But what was really impressive was that, while most supermarkets probably only have three types of salsas (mild, medium, and hot, if that many), HEB had no less than a dozen gourmet-style salsas ranging from roasted garlic to peach pepper.

We actually didn't get a chance to try all the individual contenders, which I regret, but the line was incredibly long and we had already eaten more than our fair share of tortilla chips, but I'll definitely be looking forward to it next year.

Here are the list of winners, some of whom may be available in your area, even if you don't live in Austin:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Market/HotSauce

Chicken fried steak at Shady Grove

2008-08-24T00:10:00.000-05:00

Since moving to the dirty south, I had yet to experience the magic of chicken fried steak. Justin had been egging me to try it for quite some time. I finally had the chance at Shady Grove this week. I went there with my new school psych classmates twice, once for drinks and again for a social mixer with the 3rd year students.

This Austin staple has an energetic atmosphere, outdoor seating, and live music every Thursday. The staff are nice, even letting me bring Malcolm (my toy poodle) in despite the "dog-free dining" sign. The lead singer of the folksy band that was playing when we arrived was passionate and reminded me of Alanis Morrisette. They also have a separate outdoor bathroom located in a cute metal twinkie-shaped trailer with flower curtains. Very charming. My only gripe is that they split up our party of 12 into 3 separate booths, which defeated the "mingling" intention of the mixer.

The inside of the restaurant is cozy but dark. Justin and I decided to split the chicken friend steak after being told the caloric content is in the ballpark of 1800. This was definitely a cheat meal for me! Well worth it though, it was crispy and spicy and covered with cheese, gravy and green salsa. I forgot to take a picture before I scarfed it down, but judging by this "after" shot, it was super yummy! I don't think I'll be eating another one of these for quite awhile, especially after tonight's fried avocado meal. But I'm certainly glad to have experienced this southern delight.

Shady Grove
1624 Barton Springs Rd.
www.theshadygrove.com

Trudy's

2008-08-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

So Trudy's is one of those places that if you haven't heard of it by now, you're either brand new to Austin or you live in some kind of cave. It's one of those Austin legends: always packed, always worth the wait. The atmosphere lively but unremarkable. The food is really what people come for.

Tonight we started out with the queso especial, which was pretty standard for a restaurant queso, and definitely sub-standard compared to the Kerbey Queso at Kerbey Lane. Things soon got much more delicious with the sushi-meets-chimichanga called the Poquito Chicken Flautitas. It's fried and you can eat it with your hands. Enough said. They also have a veggie version as well.

Then came the star of the evening, the Stuffed Avocado. Two people at our table got this dish tonight so everyone got a chance to try it, and it was pretty much consensus that if we were ever put on death row, this is what we would order for our last meal. Pictured, here, is our friend Kim's stuffed avocado, as by the time I remembered to take a picture, we had already gone to town on ours.

Now keep in mind, this isn't for the faint of heart. It's basically an avocado half, stuffed with chicken and cheese, and then deep-fried. And then covered with more cheese. I like to justify eating it by telling myself that avocados are in fact vegetables. The waiter warned us that ordering it with the caliente sauce (three peppers!) could be dangerous, but I hardly noticed it. Psh! Oh well, we'll definitely be tested more at the hot sauce festival tomorrow.

Also not to be forgotten were the fish tacos which were delectably crunchy and delicious. You can ask Han, I'm pretty picky about my tortillas and these ones were pretty good, even for whole wheat. They are pictured here, only half-eaten.

Lastly, if I had one beef with tonight's meal, it's that I had heard many stories about the famed Texas Martinis at Trudy's. That they can't serve you more than two and they knock you on your ass and lead to all sorts of blackout antics. Well I must say I had one and I'm still standing tall. Maybe two is the catalyst, who knows. Any of you out there who've personally experienced one of these Texas Martini nights, I'm eager to hear first-hand of your accounts.

In short, Trudy's. It's worth the hype and worth the wait. Check back soon for the Hot Sauce Festival update!

Trudy's
409 W. 30th St
www.trudys.com

Flightpath Coffee House

2008-08-21T14:10:00.001-05:00

Ok so our first review isn't exactly a restaurant. Bear with us.

First, let me give a little bit of backstory. I've been working from home for the past few weeks, and I'm sure that sounds

pretty great to all of you unless you have actually done it. Anyways, I started looking around for places with free wi-fi where I could work and just get myself out of the house.

I first tried Flipnotics, a local favorite that recently opened a branch up in Hyde Park. Seemed like a cool place with great music, but the lighting was pretty poor and the seats were really uncomfortable. Worst of all, the shopping center has an apartment complex sitting on top, and the window where I was sitting opened up to their pool. I definitely exchanged a few awkward glances with some of the residents.

Not too far away though was a great little place called Flightpath Coffee House and I have to say, in terms of coffeehouses, this is one of the best working environments I've ever been to. It may not have a trendy motif or the coolest indie music playing at all times. But what it does have are a lot of big tables and working spaces, comfortable chairs, and lots of electrical outlets. The place is pretty much packed during the day, and almost everyone has a laptop or at least a book.

The feel of the place is very comfortable, kind of modern and retro at the same time. The staff is very friendly and the coffee is pretty good too. They feature 4 or 5 different brews at one time, including one decaf. And then of course your usual array of barista-created drinks. Haven't gotten a chance to taste any specialty drinks, but I assume I'll be here a lot, so if I try anything noteworthy, I'll let you all know.

Anyways, if you ever need to get some work done, or just want a great place to read, or a comfortable atmosphere to just relax and play some games, give this place a try.

Flightpath Coffee House
5011 Duval (at 51st)
http://www.flightpathcoffeehouse.com/

Welcome to Keep Austin Tasty!

2008-08-19T21:09:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome to our blog! We are two brand new Austinites who can't wait to explore our new city. We are foodies at heart who are always on the look out for good restaurants that are exciting, delicious, and healthy (or at least delicious enough to be worthy of a cheat meal). Check back often as we discover all that Austin has to offer!