Austin: Home Stretch

We did a lot of good eating in Austin and this wraps up the rest of it. On the way to downtown from the Austin airport, we spotted Casa Colombia. We headed there for dinner and I ordered the Bandeja Paisa.

Highlights of the dish were the rice, the plantains, and the fried yuca (which was a substitution for beans... delicious). The egg tasted bizarrely like dish detergent. The arepa, a cornmeal patty, was so hard that it was inedible, as was the chicharron (top of plate). The steak paillard was tasty, but tough due to overcooking. We also had to wait an hour for our food and the mediocrity of my entree was somewhat infuriating. On top of that, our server was unbelievably pushy with the upselling. While very nice, she just would. not. back. off. Gah... talk about ruining the mojo of a meal.

There were some saving graces in the food: D.'s bistec criollo was delicious, as the criollo (spicy garlic sauce) was really flavorful on top of a similarly dried-out steak paillard. The plato vegetariano was also very tasty with the criollo. Arepas were much better with filling (cheese, potato, etc.). Winner of the night was the aborrajado, plantains stuffed with mozzarella.

Wandering downtown on a Sunday morning looking for breakfast, we happened upon Cafe Crepe.

I was a fan of the flavors... great eggy flavor from the crepe itself, the smoked salmon, and the garlic/dill/cheese of the Boursin. We saw the crepes being made en masse and being stacked in preparation for filling, which was disheartening and led to a too-chewy crepe. Also, $8 for this? Yikes. Service was excellent and the outdoor tables were perfect for great company on a sunny morning in Austin.

After breakfast, I needed to visit a drugstore, but the closest one was closed, so the Garmin pointed us to Nau's Enfield Drug. It's an old school drugstore with a soda fountain. Yay! Naturally, we had to stop for shakes, malts, and sundaes.

The shake was ridiculously cheap at roughly $2. It was also very good, made with Texas' Blue Bell ice cream.

The pulled pork tacos at Chupacabra would have been the perfect meal to have with the extensive beer selection, with the cool jicama slaw and the tasty pulled pork. However, stale tortillas and a gut-searingly hot habanero sour cream upset the balance of flavors. I don't mind spicy, but this was just hot and needed to be used sparingly or served on the side.

Airport food tends to be very meh, but Austin's airport had lots of choices and many turned out to be decent. Quite pricey, of course, but quite tasty. J.L. and D. liked the Waterloo Ice House, while C.B., M.T. and I enjoyed sandwiches from The Salt Lick. It was great how the airport's food courts had mainly local establishments. Even the coffee was Austin Java vs. the ubiquitous Starbucks.

My pulled-pork sandwich was quite lovely. The pork itself wasn't anything to write home about, but the sauce was really tasty and the bread was a super-fresh egg bread. I picked a vinegar slaw as my side, which was very fresh and nicely balanced. Tart enough to be a good slaw without being completely overwhelming. Afterwards, I had to have the Oreo Speedwagon (coffee ice cream mashed with Oreos and chocolate chunks, topped with hot fudge) from Amy's Ice Cream.

Our Austin trip was delightful and I hope we return soon. Goals for the next trip: sampling Austin's myriad of food carts and exploring SoCo (South Congress).

Casa Colombia 

1614 East 7th Street

Austin, TX 78702

Cafe Crepe

200 San Jacinto Boulevard

Austin, TX 78701

Nau's Enfield Drug

1115 West Lynn Street

Austin, TX 78703

Chupacabra Restaurant & Cantina

400 E 6th Street

Austin, TX 78701

Lockhart, Texas: BBQ and Hats

I'm really excited about Caprica. After Battlestar ended, there was a void left in my life.

What? You don't want to read about my neverending love for Battlestar? You'd rather read about lots of grilled meat? And hats?

Alrighty... back to Texas we go.

I'm a Southern California girl, so I have no idea what makes proper BBQ. Dry rub, wet rub, smoke rings, blah blah blah. It's quite foreign to me. The only type of BBQ I've experienced is Santa Maria style BBQ, but that's hard to find south of California's central coast. There are BBQ joints around here, but I'm told that building codes prohibit proper smoking and grilling, ergo they are not authentic BBQ joints.

Needless to say, I wanted to try some Texan BBQ. The denizens of Chowhound's Austin thread were divided over which joint was best, but they were unanimous in one thing: the best BBQ in Austin was not in Austin.

We decided to travel to Lockhart, which was about a half-hour drive from Austin. Smitty's Market was like a cathedral of meat.

Walking into the market, there was a cavernous brick hall lined with benches. Little did we know that those benches will fill with people, clutching butcher-paper bundles filled with deliciousness.

 

We found the back of the line and I looked down to find a literal fire at my feet. This was going to be good. Inside those brick tanks is meat. Lots of it.

The menu was a little hard to figure out, at first. The rings were sausages, and hot meant cooked. Cold meant uncooked, I think. A box was 25 sausages. Fat was brisket, Lean was shoulder, and the rib, chop, and prime rib were pretty self-explanatory. D. and I bought a hot ring and a pound of Fat (brisket).

When they were piling our order on the butcher paper, the cashier asked, "Bread and crackers?" Sure, why not? Saltines and plain white sandwich bread were unexpected, but they went really well with the meat. After the meat is purchased, we moved from the bricked smoking area to a cafeteria, where we could order drinks, sides, and dessert.

Our friend J.L. wanted to visit Texas Hatters and it was a really fun stop. The owners and staff were really accommodating to our roaming around their store and explained a lot about how their hats were made and the materials used.

The hats, ranging from classic cowboy hats to awesome bowlers and fedoras, were gorgeous.

I would have loved to buy one, but I apparently don't look very good in a cowboy hat. Oh, well.

Smitty's Market

208 South Commerce Street
Lockhart, TX 78644

Texas Hatters

911 South Commerce Street

Lockhart, TX 78644

Austin: Annie's, Koriente

Day two brought two interesting eateries, plus visits to the state capital and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library. Both are fantastic stops in Austin and easily reached on foot since we were staying downtown.

Annie's Cafe and Bar was the only re-visit during the entire trip and that's because it seems to be one of the few places downtown that serves a sit-down breakfast.

During our first visit, I had oatmeal, topped with bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, walnuts, berries and raisins. Perfectly cooked, although it was served a bit cold. I liked the interior decor, starkly black, white, and silver with clean lines.

Breakfast tacos are apparently an Austin and Texas thing and, while I haven't sampled a wide range of them, I love them more than the California classic breakfast burrito. Annie's version has chorizo, cheese and egg with a simple salsa and a side of fried potatoes. The salsa's nothing to write home about, but the tortilla was perfect, as was the chorizo with egg.

We headed to the Texas state capitol, where the Senate and House chambers have amazing chandeliers that spell TEXAS in bright lights, and the LBJ library, where we learned a lot more about him beyond his presidency during the Vietnam War. It was pouring, so we needed to dry off and find some inexpensive eats, because we were going to end the evening with beer. Lots of it.

Koriente fit the bill perfectly. Korean-influenced dishes that were well-prepared and inexpensive. The menu is vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free friendly.

The Koriente pickles fell flat, as they had lots of heat but no flavor. My japchae, however, was lovely. The noodles were tender and toothsome with the veggies cooked to perfection. Unlike many other versions of japchae, this wasn't greasy at all.

I'm a sucker for green tea ice cream and they make a simple scoop of green tea ice cream fabulous with chopped pistachios and a drizzle of honey.

Afterwards, we fulfilled our mission with lots of beer at The Side Bar and Casino El Camino, the latter having great food to satisfy late-night drunken munchies.

Annie's Cafe and Bar

319 Congress Avenue

Austin, TX 78701

Koriente

621 E. 7th Street

Austin, TX 78701

The Side Bar

602 E. 7th Street

Austin, TX 78701

Casino El Camino

517 E. 6th Street

Austin, TX 78701

Austin: Frank and Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill

D. and I arrived in Austin a little after lunchtime, so we were quite hungry. After reading about Frank on Chowhound, I thought it would be a perfect place to eat right after we checked into our hotel.

Their menu had many types of typical and artisan sausages. I settled on the Jackalope, an antelope and rabbit sausage, served on a fresh bun with huckleberry compote, sriracha aioli, and applewood smoked cheddar.

The tart huckleberries were perfect with the gamey and rich sausage. I didn't taste much of the cheddar and the aioli gave everything a nice kick.

D. loves waffle fries, so we ordered fries with two dipping sauces: Texas BBQ and Buffalo Bleu.

Frank also has a wide beer and cocktail menu... we weren't ready for drinks, even though it was 5 o'clock somewhere. Indeed, a cold beer is man's (and woman's) best friend. I'm a sucker for dachshunds. Although they didn't offer Frankenmuth, they did advertise bacon-infused Maker's Mark. Really? I was rather intrigued.

They seemed to have an obsession with putting bacon in everything, so I indulged in an ice cream sandwich. Mexican vanilla ice cream from Amy's Ice Cream, diced bacon, and bacon/chocolate chip/walnut/cranberry/pecan cookies.

That evening, we headed to Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill. Great-looking building, although we didn't see a lot of it in the rain. Really cozy inside and they had a heated patio, which wasn't a bad place to dine during a rainy evening. Service was excellent, as our server indulged our indecision over the wine with tastings. They were attentive and were very kind when we stayed long past closing, catching up with an old friend.

I love the Ball mason jars as drinking glasses, which Frank used, too. Moonshine provides a cute bucket of popcorn instead of bread, which is a great touch. Fabulous service continued when they comped an extra side because D.'s side dish wasn't prepared at the same time as the entree. They brought the original side dish 20 minutes later and he wouldn't have minded the wait, but the comped dish was a really nice touch.

My own entree, the pecan-crusted catfish with crawfish tails, homemade hot sauce, and brown-butter sauce, was awesome. The vegetables on the side were cooked to perfection, especially the succotash. I wasn't a huge fan of my red beans and rice, which was really bland and far too much bean vs. rice.

I've had quite the love affair with red velvet cake and this version didn't disappoint. While versions in California typically lean towards a light chocolate flavor, Moonshine's had subtle hints of coconut, with the richness of the buttermilk coming through in the cake. The frosting was a basic buttercream and not heavily used. There was even a mild berry drizzle, which was interesting. It was a fantastic dessert.


Frank
407 Colorado Street
Austin, TX 78701

Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill

303 Red River Street

Austin, TX 78701