FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

A Thai Breaker

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Can you believe I haven’t had Thai food since moving to Austin??  Five months of no Thai.  Five months of waiting to use Emily’s best, most cheese pun ever: the Thai breaker!  But you can’t have a Thai breaker without multiple Thais to break, so I turned to Twitter for help.

Kara and I headed to Titaya first as it was the closest and we were both craving Thai in a big, bad, now sort of way.  We both agreed that it looked so sketchy that it must be good.  Then we realized that it looked so sketchy because there were zero cars in the parking lot which meant that… it must be closed.  Oops!

Feeling famished and defeated, we continued another nine miles north to Thai Cuisine.  Nine miles…  is a lot for two downtown dwellers.  But we did it.  And we ordered dumplings and waters the second our bottoms hit the seat.

We inhaled the dumplings before placing the rest of our order.  Chicken panang for Kara, Tofu pad thai for me.  Both of our dishes definitely hit the spot, but I don’t see either of us driving 15 miles again for this dinner.  Hopefully our next Thai craving falls on a non-Monday so we can see what Titaya is all about!

Lockhart BBQ Tour

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Welcome to the BBQ Capital of Texas!!  Hansell, Dickie and I went on a mini-roadtrip to Lockhart, Texas on Friday for a little best of the best research.  We decided to hit up three of the most talked about BBQ places in town and document our favorites at each place.  After 45 minutes of driving and discussing strategy, we arrived at our first stop.

We walked into Smitty’s completely starving, but agreed to stick to the plan of not over-eating at our first stop and ordered 1/2 lb of brisket, 1/2 lb of pork ribs, 1 sausage link, and a few sides.  After we finished eating, I fired up the Notes app and the discussion began.

We finished off every bit of styrofoam and brown paper and, still feeling hungry as planned, headed to our next stop: Black’s.  We ditched every ounce of plan we had when we stepped into Black’s and Dickie saw a two pound cow rib (single, one rib) and I saw mac and cheese and nanner pudding.  The boys got primal and ate some meat straight from the bone.  We jotted down a few more notes and left feeling full.

Our last stop was Kreuz, where I had visited during SXSW.  I didn’t feel like I could possibly eat one more bite, but we ordered very similarly to our first stop: 1 jalapeño sausage link, 1/2 lb of brisket, and 1/2 lb of pork ribs.  We didn’t do nearly as much damage as we did at the other places, but ate enough to document our final decisions.

Smitty’s

– Best pork ribs

– Best sausage texture

– Best tasting sides

– Best Dickie quote “atmosphere is banging!”

Black’s

– Best beef ribs

– Best selection of sides

– Best BBQ sauce

– Best Dickie quote “best beef rib in the entire history of the world (even better than caveman days)!”

Kreuz

– Best brisket

– Best sausage flavor

– Best Dickie quote “no sauce given, no sauce needed!”

I couldn’t believe how easily we came into agreement on everything.  But I think it’s safe to say that what we agreed on most was the experience.  If you’re an Austinite, I highly suggest taking your next visitor on an unofficial BBQ tour!

The Hanz Is Here!

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“Could this place be any more you?”, Hansell said as we sat down at Elizabeth Street Cafe to order his first meal in Austin, ever.  “Even the waitress’ outfits are you”.  Flattered, I encouraged my old Tampa roommate to look at the menu, assuring him that the food was every bit as good as the atmosphere.

I didn’t give him much of an option as far as apps were concerned, we were going to order escargot.  Not only is their broiled escargot flawless, but the first time I ever tasted escargot was with Hansell and Lex at a crazy little place in Tampa called Front Porch Grill.  It was a sentimental order backed up by extreme goodness.  Hello, Thai basil curry butter, how does it feel to be perfect?

Hansell ordered the waitress’s suggestion of Singapore noodles.  There was a solid flow of yummy noises coming from his direction, so I made the safe assumption that he was happy with his selection.  I reached over with my chopsticks for one of my infamous bites and decided to see for myself what it was all about.  Elizabeth Street is spot on in every flavor department – wonderful balances of strong flavors with subtle flavor highlights.  Everything is bold without being the slightest bit heavy.

I ordered the poached shrimp and hard boiled egg banh mi and coated every inch of freshness with sriracha and the occasional dollop of hoisin.  This sandwich was so fresh and totally up my alley.  You could think of it as the Vietnamese version of a chicken salad sam – cool, filling and fulfilling.

Lastly, we ordered one of each of the daily macaron flavors, chocolate curry and peach cinnamon.  I’m not the hugest macaron fan, but there just so darn cute I can never resist.  Both of us agreed that the peach cinnamon was where it was at, which made think a homemade peach pie is in The Hanz’s Austin future.

We’re off to adventure!  Have a happy (early) weekend!!

Uchi

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Nathan and I headed to Uchi last night in a celebratory mood with high expectations.  Our evening began as soon as he rolled in from Dallas with two bottles of champagne.  We toasted the new position he was offered in New York City, changed into fabulousness, and headed across the bridge to what would be one of our most memorable meals together.

As soon as we arrived, the bartender poured a couple sparkling samples, suggesting the brut rosé.  We accepted his suggestion, found a seat in the bar, and gabbed endlessly about how excited we were for our upcoming culinary adventure.  In what seemed like no time at all, our table was ready, and so were we!  We immediately ordered the brussels sprouts and crudo (both suggestions from friends) and got to work reading the rest of the menu.

Wagyu hot rock, spicy tuna, maguro sashimi and goat cheese, bacon steakie, spider roll, and an unpictured jizake crème caramel.  There was no holding back!  We obsessed over the brussels sprouts and crudo as we waited for the remaining amazingness to arrive.

Each dish arrived flawlessly, tasting and timing alike.  Nathan and I ate carefully, recognizing how difficult chopsticks become after popping bottles, commenting on what we found so special about every little thing that touched our taste buds.

The crispiness and subtle sweetness of the brussels sprouts.  The freshness and tantalizing tang of the sea bass (crudo).  The sheer entertainment factor of barely searing your own beef on a hot rock because, after all, beef this good should be eaten rawer than raw.

A spicy tuna roll with spicy sauce on the side so the freshness of the fish was not jeopardized.  A spider roll with delicate soy paper in lieu of seaweed that could very well have dominated the flavor of the roll.  And an adventurous pairing of raw tuna with crisp apples and creamy goat cheese.

And lastly, the bacon steakie.  The best pork belly that either of us had ever eaten.  So crispy, so tender, so melt in your mouth – we considered ordering another.

I couldn’t have chosen a better place to take Nathan before he leaves for The City!  Between the pork belly dreams that I know he’ll have and the direct flight from JFK to AUS, I know he’ll be back, and often!