After a week or so of coordination, I finally met up with Leslie for dinner.  Leslie and I met as nerd and baker, respectively, at a party the weekend before Halloween.  We hit it off immediately, perhaps because we were of the few ladies in Austin that used Halloween as an opportunity to get dressed up, not dressed down.

Leslie suggested we meet at Zed’s, which was much further North than I would ever venture on my own.  And not that I have anything against North, I just need an invite.  With that said, I enjoyed the rarity of the 40-minute driving occasion by spending some quality time with my iPod.  Fiona Apple, Conor Oberst, and Emily Haines…  Much thanks for continuing to play as I butchered your goodness at the top of my lungs!

We started off with some Malbec to warm up, literally.  It got awfully chilly, awfully fast, here in Austin.  Then our soup and salad quickly arrived.  The tortilla soup had a thick, well-spiced broth, loads of chicken, and enough avocado to have a piece with each bite.  And just as we were finishing up, two mountainous meat plates arrived.

I’m not certain these photos captured the scale of these dishes, but seriously, moun-tain-ous!  Leslie ordered her fav, the roasted duck, and I went with the BBQ ribs.  This on-again-off-again vegetarian can’t seem to get enough pork in her life these days.  If I remembered my dreams, they’d surely be of pork.  But anyway, we swapped a slab for a wing and continued our feasting mission.

The ribs were fall-off-the-bone good and had a sauce more similar to what I’m used to getting in Florida, the kind of sauce I crave.  I was unbelievably full by the time I got to the duck, but the bite I was able to make room for was super moist and delicious.  Overall, dinner was lovely and I’m so looking forward to eating these leftovers for lunch tomorrow and the day after tomorrow!