FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

So. Much. Food.

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This past weekend, a few of us gathered at Green Pastures here in Austin for Lauren‘s babyshower.  I had never heard of Green Pastures and, in a very un-me fashion, I didn’t even look the place up before heading that way.  But as I pulled through the gravel parking lot and saw a beautiful early 1900s home with a lush lawn and wraparound porch, I knew that this brunch was going to be something special.

We gathered in a semi-private dining room and caught up on Lauren’s latest pregnancy news.  Some of us heard the baby’s name for the first time.  Some of us learned a thing or two about birthing centers.  But mostly, we sat around the table in our Sunday finest anticipating the all-you-can-eat buffet.  Oh and milk punch.  We slurped up milk punch, a divine mixture of ice cream, bourbon, brandy, and rum, before heading into the main dining hall.

When we set eyes on how extensive the buffet actually was, we were overwhelmed.  Big time.  They had everything from quiche to gaspacho to ahi tuna to kale salad to chocolate covered bacon to eggs benedict.  I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say there must have been 200-ish dishes to choose from.  And then the sneaky servers that filled up your milk punch while you weren’t looking.  It was glutton to the max, but it was wonderful glutton.  This was the kind of brunch you left feeling happy full, spoiled full, not why-did-I-eat-that full.

And then we sat our full-bellied selves around the table and watched miss Lauren open up presents that she and Matt will soon share with their precious little boy.  A little boy who is already so loved and who all of us are so excited to finally meet!

Dinner at Lenoir

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Lenoir Austin

The inspiration behind my restaurant to-do post, Lenoir, has been on my mind every time I craved restaurant for quite some time.  There were problems though.  It’s a pretty small, reservation-only space that has a fairly pricey pre fixe menu.  That rules out friends that are picky, on a budget, and are opposed to planning ahead.  I guarantee that most of anyone’s friends fit in one, if not all three, of those categories.

Lenoir Field

Luckily I have three very lovely friends that were ready to give it a go.  We coordinated our schedules and made reservations a couple weeks in advance.  We tried so very hard to vary our selections, but were all drawn to similar dishes in each category.

Lenoir Sea

My selections from each of the categories:

Field – aleppo spaghetti / smoked ricotta salata / broccoli rabe / crisp garlic

Sea – drum crudo / avocado / loquat vinaigrette / honeysuckle gelee

Dream – bleu d’auvergne / walnut & pistachio ‘baklava’ / roasted sweet potato / smoked honey

Lenoir Dream

I was so thankful when the house-made spaghetti was set in front of me.  My appetite, besides a brief desire to cleanse, has been insatiable as of late.  But this blip of flavorful and delicate noodle was instantly satisfying and prepped my very hungry belly to appreciate the dishes to come.

The crudo was delicious, as expected.  All of the accompaniments added texture and flavor without compromising the freshness and lightness of the fish.  If I hadn’t just eaten noodles, I could have eaten this for miles.

The dessert, in the most butchering of simple descriptions, was essentially baklava with blue cheese, sweet potatoes, and honey.  I liked this dish because I dig salty/crunchy/sweet.  I didn’t like this dish because it didn’t feel like dessert (it would have been just as fitting had it been categorized as an appetizer).  But I also did like this dish because it didn’t feel like dessert.  Desserts, in my mind, are partly desserts because of the sickeningly sweet taste that leaves you feeling ehhh afterward.  The lack of ehhh smooshed any dessert envy before it formed.  Overall, I was pleased with my selection.

Lenoir is such an adorably tasty spot and I look forward returning for another lovely evening!

The First Recruit

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2006

I knew that this would happen, convincing friends to move to Austin – I just didn’t know who or when.  Then Hansell called last month letting me know he was scheduling an April apartment hunting trip for an early May move.  I. Was. Stoked.  You see, Hansell and I lived together from 2006 to 2007 in Tampa (see the picture above from our college-style digs).  We loved our friends, we loved laughing, and among a gazillion other things we had in common, we loved food – a perfect recipe for a fast friendship.

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2007

And for every single thing we had in common, there were at least three things we didn’t have in common.  We’ve always joked about how living together forced us into a solid friendship, one that went right from non-existant to a best-ship.  And one that neither of us could have seen coming had we just met under normal circumstances.

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2008

We met through my college friend and his childhood friend, our roommate Lex (pictured above).  And I met him the day he moved in – no “interview”.  I think I was crying about a boy when he arrived.  I wouldn’t have blamed him if, at that moment, he felt instant regret about moving in with two 23 year old girls.  Today, it makes for a good story.

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2009

And then we had our share of hellos and goodbyes.  I moved to Dallas from 2008 to 2009.  And almost the moment after I returned to Tampa, I was throwing his farewell party because he accepted a temporary work position in London (picture above from said party).  We lived together briefly between my return and his departure.  I affectionately refer to that time as the “loveless marriage”, when we were both so busy that all we had time to talk about was whether or not he’d be home for dinner.

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2010

By the time he settled back in Tampa, a lot of our core group of friends had either moved or gotten married (or moved and gotten married).  There were occasions that brought everyone out from the woodwork (like the Shea’s FL/GA extravaganza pictured above).  But a lot of the time we steered clear of our old scene and ended up parking ourselves upstairs at Fly.  We spent countless weekend nights at that bar, getting nerdy about cocktails and dreaming up plans for the future.  At some point along the way, and probably while perched at that very bar, we planned our escapes from Tampa, again.

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2011

In the middle of 2011, Hansell resigned from his job and headed to Miami to develop something of his own.  And not so far behind him, I moved to Texas for the second time.  We kept in touch as often as two easily distracted friends could.  And every time we talked, I threw out a little plug for Austin.  He knew I wasn’t exaggerating, though.  I was happier here, lighter here, and anyone that knew me could tell.

I convinced him to visit last July, just as he was dreaming up plans to start a food-related app.  He loved it, and we not-so-jokingly joked about him moving here.  And after seven months of development, the app is no longer a dream – he’s here, in Austin, and on the verge of signing a lease.

So yes, I’m beyond excited to have a friend as close as family moving to my hood (so excited that I wrote a novel about it).  But!  What excites me even more is that his app goes live TOMORROW!!  So if you’re a restaurant lover and interested in finding and sharing fantastic dishes in your area, head on over to YumCrumb and see what it’s all about!