Bacon: A Destination

We went to Bacon today, the new restaurant in the old Screaming Goat Location at 10th and Lamar. Personally, I think bacon has jumped the shark a bit -- or maybe it's just that I will 9 times out of 10 choose sausage over bacon -- but I was willing to give this place a go with Cole and a group of friends during lunch today. I have to say: It wasn't bad at all.

They have lots of cute bacon stickers and t-shirts to go along with the theme.

Two diners at my table had today's bacon waffle: Blueberry waffle with hickory bacon. Apparently there was perfect bacon distribution and every bite included bacon.

I opted for the (healthier?) Clarksville Cobb, no red onions, leek vinaigrette on the side. It was delicious. Very fresh. The chicken was cooked to moist perfection.

One friend went for it and had the Double Grind Burger. He gave a very satisfied "two thumbs up" while his mouth was too full to utter words.

 

It was good though a bit pricey for a quick weekday lunch (my salad was 12 bucks). I can tell you to resist the urge to buy the "thick slices" of bacon on the special board. When I think of thick-sliced bacon, I think of Peter Luger's Steakhouse in Brooklyn -- bacon so thick you have to use a knife and fork to cut it. It is delicious! The "thick slices" at Bacon weren't thick by any definition of the word. They were actually underwhelming.

So, in a few words, Bacon is good, but there is still room for improvement. 

Beer and Cheese

I'm not a beer drinker. Never have liked the stuff. But Saturday Cole and I had the opportunity to support a local brewing company and Austin's soon-to-open only cheese shop when our friend Jodi over at Tasty Touring brought the two together for a beer and cheese pairing.

Amy and Rob over at Independence Brewing Co. paired four of their bubbly beverages with four offerings from Kendell and John of Antonelli's Cheese Shop. I would have never thought about it, but a swig of beer on top of a bite of cheese can completely change the way the tastes dance across your palate. Throw a grape or an almond on top of it all, and the flavors -- and even the aromas -- can change again. All resulting in some delicious surprises.

I can't wait for Antonelli's to open so that I can play with more flavors. I'll leave the beer-drinkin' to Cole...

Big. Fat. Donuts.

I should know better. No girl who struggles with her weight should even think about going to a place called "Gourdough's." Add a tagline like "Big. Fat. Donuts." and it shouldn't even be on my radar. But I went anyway this weekend. Twice.

As is very popular in Austin, Gourdough's is housed in a cute little airstream trailer. Its South Lamar location makes it the perfect place for an after-movie or late-night snack. And what a fun night the creators must have had when they got together to decide on the menu! "Naughty & Nice," "Blue Balls" (seen here) and "Margaritaville" all grace the menu.

I must say, the donuts are really good! They come out to the table at just the perfect temperature, absolutely piled high with great toppings. They do not skimp.

And they do not care about the size of my butt.

Food City

Austin is an awesome city. You don't need to look very far to find the great live music, outdoor fun and weirdness to prove it. Oh, and did I mention the food?

Saturday's Cupcake Smackdown 1.0 was a perfect meshing together of all of the above.

Organized by fellow Austin food-lover Jennie Chen, there was no other place I wanted to be, and I think about 1,000 other Austinites felt the same way. There were cupcakes, cupcake-eating contests (for dogs and humans), live music, silent auction (which I somehow missed) and cupcakes. By the time Cole and I were heading out the doors, the crowd was spilling out onto the sidewalks. I think the Convention Center might be a great venue to consider for the next one.

And if you can believe it, I showed some restraint and only had one cupcake. And a small one at that!

Bloody Good Time

If you're in Austin Thursday, July 3, and you'd like to share your health with those in need, join us for the first-ever Austin Tweetup Blood Drive. Michelle Greer, David Neff and some other fine folks are reaching out to fellow Twitterers to have a meetup with a bigger purpose. Of course this one will allow us to meet new folks, share great food and talk shop, but it will also give us the opportunity to help those in our community with life-saving blood.

I've signed up for 1:30 p.m. Join us!!!

1. Register or log into the Blood Center of Central Texas’s website.
2. Choose the location at 4300 North Lamar.
3. Be sure to pick a time slot from 10 am-4 pm on Thursday, July 3.
4. Show up at the appropriate time.
5. Give blood. Eat a piece of the sammichometer. Give thanks that you are healthy and can offer health to someone else who needs it.
6. Make new friends through Twitter!
   

Be sure to RSVP on Facebook as well.

SXSW 2008

I'll be fairly quiet on this front for the next several days. But if you're so inclined, you can follow me and the rest of the Hammock gang as we geek our way through SXSW by visiting hammock.com. We'll be blogging, tweeting and photographing every minute of every day. Or at least giving it a good shot. And there is sure to be a trip to the Salt Lick in there too.

If you happen to be there too, say hi. I'll be the redhead toting around the Darth Vader computer bag (thanks, honey!).

Quick Update and a Plea for Coffee

Well, down 0.2 pounds this morning. A loss is a loss, right???

One of my treats for myself is a stop at Scooter's Coffeehouse on my way to weigh each Saturday morning. I'm greeted almost every Saturday morning by a bubbly and cute girl with strawberry blond hair who was born a little too late to be a true flower child. She's a gentle and sweet soul, and she always provides a great interaction (and vanilla latte) to start the day.

This morning as I ordered at the speaker, I noticed one of their large windows was busted out. From the location, I thought it was a car gone out of control from the parking lot. But when I got to the window and asked how her morning was going, she tearfully explained to me that they had been burglarized overnight. People suck. So, if you happen to be in the vicinity of Mopac and William Cannon in the next couple of weeks, go throw four bucks their way and enjoy some coffee. Locally owned and free wifi to boot!!! Plus, their drinks beat the little green logo off of the other guys.

Wednesday: A Day off

I took today off of work. It was very nice, but it went very fast. I got up at my normal time -- like the dogs would ever let me sleep in. After walking them and seeing Cole off for work, I jumped in the shower, ate some breakfast and headed to Zilker Botanical Garden with the camera.

I spent about an hour wandering around the grounds and working up quite a sweat. I could hear kids running around, and I saw a couple at one point, but for the most part I felt like I had the place to myself. I even had a groundskeeper give me a lesson on beetles when I stopped to take pictures of a butterfly that was chowing down on a banana. There were beetles, wasps and gnats feasting on the banana, too. I can't remember what he called it, but he grabbed this silvery-green beetle in his bare hands and said that it was one of the prettiest they see in the garden. It had kind of a mother-of-pearl looking sheen and was about two inches long. Very pretty, for a bug. It flew out of his hands before I could snap a picture.

See all my pictures from the day if you're so inclined.

After leaving the garden and cranking the A/C in the car, I made quick stops at Target and PetsMart and then headed home. I ate lunch, watched a little TV, hit the grocery store, did some laundry and scrubbed the bathroom. All in all, my random day off was very relaxing and industrious at the same time.

I even kept my food on track... for the most part.

Breakfast: cereal: 3 points
soy milk: 1 point

Mid-morning snack: Dark chocolate mint Three Musketeers: 3 points
(super yummy, by the way)

Lunch: English muffin pizzas: 4 points
chips: 1 point
snack cakes: 1 point

Afternoon snack: pretzels: 2 points

Dinner: Hatch chile and chicken sausage: 5 points
Hatch chile scone: 4 points
green beans: 0 points

TOTAL: 24 points. Two too many. But the scone was totally worth it!!! Plus, I walked a good deal today.

Steps: 9,268. That will definitely go above 10,000 once we walk the dogs later. (Updated total: 11,026 by bedtime.)

Meat Overload

I normally don't have 12 different cuts of meat at dinner, but we were celebrating a special occasion: Dannie's birthday (with Mom in photo).

So this evening we tried the new Estancia Churrascaria in South Austin. We had originally talked about making the trip to Houston to eat at the real meat-o-rama, Fogo de Chao, but we decided that sticking close to home would be best. (They'll be opening a Fogo here in Austin by the end of the year, by the way.)

Here's my quick review of Estancia Churrascaria if you're considering going. I can't help but compare it to Fogo: The salad bar was small, but everything was very fresh and colorful. The rolls were amazing. They were these soft little puffs of cheesy bread that didn't even need to be chewed. Their warmth melted in my mouth, and I could have eaten about 20 of them. The sides were fine, nothing too exciting, but the garlic mashed potatoes, plantains and fried yucca were all decent. It was my first time ever eating yucca. I'd describe it as a chewier, dense French fry.

Now the meat. I didn't really eat all 12 cuts of meat that the place has to offer, but I would definitely call two my faves: the bacon-wrapped chicken breast and the pork ribs. Both, delicious. The chicken was tender and cooked to perfection. The taste was flavorful but mild. The rib meat fell from the bone with ease and there was a perfect amount of salt and spice.

The major drawback of the restaurant: It was entirely too crowded. They could take out about half of the tables and patrons would be much more comfortable. The back of Cole's chair was getting hit every time a waiter went to serve the table behind us.

Overall, it was a good dinner. Followed by cake at our house with Mom, Dannie, Randy, Dee Dee, Cole and me. We're truly blessed that our families get along so well. It sure makes for a nice Saturday evening...

A Scary Word for a Dieter: Buffet

It's Monday. It rained today. I have to head out first thing in the morning for a funeral. Needless to say, I didn't feel like cooking. So when Cole suggested eating out, I was allll for it.

We tried the new Cannoli Joe's near the south Central Market. They call it an Italian feast, and that it was. There was a ton a food. The whole drive over there I was setting up rules in my mind about how to make it through dinner without gaining three pounds: Find the salad. Only one pasta dish. Don't let foods run into each other on my plate. Only one trip to the dessert bar. Etc.

If you're considering going, I'll say this: It was okay. Just okay. The place is nice. Our waitress hovered like a helicopter trying to rescue a wriggling deer from a frozen lake: entirely too long!!! There are separate dining rooms and plenty of space. And I liked the way they have the food divided. There was a bar for salad and fresh fruit. Separate bars for baked pastas, fish dishes, pork dishes and a one for potato dishes. Oh yes, and there was a bar for dessert. Lots of beautiful desserts.

I started with the house and tomato/mozzarella salads. Not bad. I then had tastes of the chicken marsala, some green beans and fried zucchini. The fried zucchini was probably my second favorite thing in the restaurant. The eggplant parmesan was cold. The bread stick I tried was rock-hard. The best dish: The apple crisp from the dessert bar. Is that technically an Italian dish???

I've Always Heard Mayonnaise Is Good for Your Hair

I don't eat mayonnaise. I fear it. It's gross.

I didn't always feel this way, but one Friday during high school (Fridays were always hamburger days at my high school), I saw mayonnaise take a form that I could have lived my whole life without seeing. I believe it was Jeffrey who opened the little white plastic packet. He ripped the corner off and tilted it toward the open-face burger. When he squeezed out the contents, all of us at the table gasped in horror. It was a lumpy glob of yellow mess that should not exist on this planet. It was half-curdled, half-liquid slime. It was mayo gone incredibly, very, wrongly bad.

Not where I meant to go. Sorry.

Anyway... Cole, Mom, Gran and I had Easter lunch yesterday at the Hyde Park Bar and Grill in South Austin. I love their peach pudding, but after a yummy lunch of southern-friend chicken breast, sesame green beans and their famous fries, I simply didn't have room for dessert. None of us did.

I guess many people, like us, opted not to mess the kitchen to prepare an Easter lunch, and instead went out to dine. The restaurant was very busy, and after about a 30-minute wait, we were seated at the door of the kitchen. The open door of the kitchen, back in the corner by the bar. Fine. I usually don't like to watch what happens in there and would have normally asked for another table, but they were packed and I didn't want to be that customer at such a busy time.

The thing about sitting at the kitchen door is that you do (get to?) see what goes on in there and what comes out of there. Waiters and waitresses with empty glasses stacked 20 high; managers bustling around with brooms; beautiful plates of buttermilk pie.

There were three waitresses on duty along with several waiters. Two of the girls had shoulder-length hair about like mine -- one was curly and dark brown, the other was flipped a little in the back with some blonde streaks -- and the third had long, dark hair up in a pony tail. I'm sure your mind has created a mental picture of one of those girls just by the description of her hair. Now picture this: carrying a large tray of food on her right hand, balanced on her right shoulder. Then she turns her head to the left.

That's all I have to say about that...

SXSW Was Yummy

SXSW (at least the Interactive portion) ended today. (Rex and Laura have both posted some great wrap-ups of many of the panels that we attended.) Rex flew out first thing this morning, I dropped Laura at the airport in the pouring rain late this afternoon, and Patrick catches a plane at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

After all the dipped-in-sauce, covered-in-gravy, candy-coated-then-fried food that we consumed, this evening we actually ate in a more healthful way than we had in days. We stole Patrick away from work for a couple of hours to wander around Whole Foods and grab a quick bite. I had a chicken teriyaki bowl, and I think my system went into a little bit of shock when I introduced steamed vegetables into my body for the first time in what seems like ages.

I should have purchased some of these beautiful artichokes from Whole Foods. Cole loves artichokes...

Tomorrow, after a trip to my favorite HEB, the diet begins.

"I Will Probably Salivate"

Once again, my experience at SXSW is being documented in bites and nibbles and crumbs of food. I love being able to take visitors (Rex, his son, Laura and Patrick this time) to Austin-area restaraunts with great atmospheres, interesting histories, oh, and good food. Today for lunch, it was Las Manitas on South Congress. This evening for dinner, it was the Salt Lick out in Driftwood.

But I will offer these few randoms bits from SXSW over the last two days so far. These are only my opinions and observations, and there will be more to come.

• People should bathe, daily. Your pheromones are not going to make your soulmate magically appear at your feet while at SXSW. Practice good hygiene so that the rest of us can comfortably be in your presence.
  
• Women should wear bras.
  
• How hard is it to be on time??? I love the fact that panels at SXSW don't start until 10 a.m., and there is a 30-minute break between them. Seriously, how hard is it to be courteous to your fellow participants and to the panelists themselves by simply being on time?!?!
• I heard someone today refer to the distance from their home to a beach in terms of "how the crow flies." That made me smile.
  

Saturday at SXSW

I'm too tired to say too much. I want to give a quick recap of the panels I attend today at SXSW, but that will just have to wait until tomorrow sometime.

I will just leave you with this picture from Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress though. Great conversation and good food is always the best way to end a busy day. Anything that comes with a side of melted butter has got to be good...

How Many Calories in a SXSW Interactive Panel?

Well, Rex, Laura and Patrick are all coming into town this weekend for the Interactive portion of SXSW. I'm so excited that they are. Cole and I love getting to show a little bit of Austin off to them. (Though this will be Patrick's first visit here if I remember correctly.)

This weekend is in a way like Christmas to me. Doesn't the average American gain about five pounds during Christmas??? Well, I do the same during SXSW... HA!!! We always visit a couple (or four) Austin restaurants while they're here, and this visit will be no different.

I'll share a complete food recap, and hopefully pictures, soon.

Our Saturday

We spent more time running around yesterday that we had originally planned. Cole's folks came into town, so we grabbed some lunch at the Galaxy Cafe, visited at the house for a bit, then decided to head up north to More Space Place. (I've decided we should add a Murphy bed and built-in desk/crafting area to our space bedroom. I'm still trying to talk Cole into it.) We ended the day with a fabulous dinner at Fleming's Steakhouse. Our waiter, Trent, was the same we had last year for our anniversary dinner there, and he is wonderful all the way around. But, back to the shopping part...

After we left More Space Place up on Anderson at the intersection of Burnet, we decided to run into this cute little hardware/housewares/gift store in the same shopping center. Zinger's. They have nails and pet supplies and dishes and wine racks -- one of those kind of places. Please. Don't shop there. Don't give them your money. Go to one of the two Breed and Co. locations in town instead.

I've never been so uncomfortable in a store in my whole life. They followed us around. Two of the folks who work there followed our every move. And they weren't sly about it at all. The one tall guy with the beard and mustache stayed within about 10 feet of us from the time he spotted us. We were talking about how cute some of the things for the dogs were; noticed a brand of cleaning supplies we've been wanting to try. But this guy could probably tell the time on MY watch he was so on top of us.

Cole and I finally got tired of it and headed to the front of the store, just to have an older lady do the same thing in the front half of the store. We waited for Dee Dee to catch up with us and headed out to wait for Randy. As we were getting in the truck, one of the employees came out the door to look at us. I couldn't believe it...

I love supporting small local businesses. I work for a small business, and I'd rather do all of my business with little shops like this one when I can. But Zinger's is off of my list. I have no idea what we did. Or maybe, this is just they way they like to make their customers feel all fuzzy inside.

I'm So Proud

I made my first-ever reduction at dinner tonight!!! It's probably not a big deal to those of you who really cook on a regular basis, but I feel like I've graduated to the next level of culinary greatness. Let me remind four hours...

I went to the 101 session at the new Super Suppers in southwest Austin this afternoon. The 101 session includes a good look at the facility, snacks cooked there in the Super Suppers kitchen, a demonstration of how the process works by the owner/chef (Amy was great), a free make-it-yourself dinner, and a discount on any other menu items from the month. Amy made it look so easy as she whipped up half a dozen Crispy Asian Rolls. Everything she needed was prepped and ready, right on the table in front of her. No chopping, no washing. She just mixed up the filling, wrapped them up and was good to go. At this point, the 12 or so of us that were there were all handed two sheets of paper: one explaining the discounts we could get if we decided to make any meals beyond our free meal for the day, and one was a check-off list of the February menu items that we could choose from.

We each handed our menu check-off list to the folks working there, and within minutes all of the prep stations and kitchen areas were stocked with chopped onions, alfredo sauce, chicken breasts, Dr Pepper, cumin, sugar, cheese etc.

I don't think a single person there made just the free meal and then bolted.

I chose to try the King Ranch Chicken first. For some reason I was a nervous wreck putting together a meal in a kitchen that wasn't mine. I didn't know where the mixing bowls were, or the foil, or the nonstick spray. But it only took me a minute to realize that that didn't matter. Everything was there, right in front of me, ready to be mixed together. I think my King Ranch Chicken was ready to go into the freezer within about 10 minutes.

Next, Dr Pepper Flank Steak. The steak started marinating in Dr Pepper while I created a dry rub with sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin (I've never used cumin in my life) and a few other ingredients. A sauce was then created from part of the dry rub and more Dr Pepper.

Finally, I rounded out my afternoon there with a Cheesy Alfredo Poppy Seed Chicken dish. It's a very pretty dish just sitting in the freezer, topped with crushed crackers and poppy seeds.

So, I left there with two dinners of each of those meals, and I purchased a "grab 'n go" Pecan Praline Chicken from their freezer: seven meals, six handmade, ready to walk out the door in an hour. An hour.

Back to my reduction... tonight we decided to try the Dr Pepper flank steak. Simple enough. The steak which had been marinating in the nectar of the gods went into a skillet on the stove top. I tossed some rosemary and garlic new potatoes in the oven to bake up, and the Dr Pepper with a little bit of the rub sprinkled in went into a small saute' pan to boil and reduce.

And now I have six more meals in the freezer, ready to be partnered up with a side salad or some steamed veggies, or maybe even some fresh garlic bread. Tomorrow night's menu is the poppy seed chicken and some fresh green beans. So far, I'm very pleased and will probably spend the next three weeks trying to figure out what to make from the March menu.

My First Restaurant Review

Well, I don't guess it's an official review, but while it's fresh on my mind (and belly), I thought I'd jot a few words down...

We met Mom and Dannie this evening for dinner at the new Nuevo Leon restaurant in Escarpment Village. It's just a hop and a skip from our house, add a jump and it's close for Mom and Dannie too. This was actually the second time we had dined there in as many weeks. Just some quick thoughts...

The decor: Very cute. Minimal and modern. Lots of wood with splashes of pretty turquoise and black. I love the peacock feathers in the bathroom.

The seating: A little cramped for my taste, but adequate. Imagine one single bench that would hold about 20 people, sit about 10 tables there for those 20 people, then put chairs on the other sides of the tables for their dining companions. Last week when we were there, I was sitting seriously just inches to the left of a man I had never seen before. There are also your standard four-top, square tables scattered throughout the place; that's what we were seated at tonight.

The service: Our waitress last week was good. Friendly and attentive without our wanting to shoo her away when she talked too much and lingered too long (you know the type I'm talking about). Tonight our waitress was very young and had too many tables for a Friday night. We ran out of chips for our hot queso dip at one point, a long point, and a manager immediately spotted the problem while making the rounds. I sat with an empty glass that at one time was filled with iced tea for about five minutes.

The food: Good. Not the best Mexican or TexMex I've ever had in town, but it was nice and fresh. They even got it right when I requested the sour cream be removed from my Nuevo Leon Burrito. Some places throw your food on a plate and heat it all up at once. You've seen it: The edges of the rice and beans and entree are all kinda cooked together. Not here. I feel like my plate was put together one piece at a time. Mom had the chili relleno. Dannie and Cole both had the Nuevo Leon plate -- some sorta carne guisada that they both enjoyed.

One note on dessert: Don't get it there. We had dessert there last week just to give it a try. Our waitress made the tres leches cake and Oreo-type cheesecake sound very good. Dannie and Mom ruled the tres leches as boring and didn't finish it between the two of them. The cheesecake was fairly bland and not cold enough. The consistency just wasn't quite right. Cole and I didn't finish that one between the two of us either. Burn a few calories by walking over to Austin Scoops instead.

Mac 'n Cheese

Family dinners when I was growing up were a huge production. Gran-gran is one of eight brothers and sisters, so it was always a packed house, no matters whose house we were dining at. With so many people to feed, we always filled the table potluck style. And the feast was never complete until my Great Aunt Dot placed her homemade macaroni and cheese in amongst the other great dishes.

It was a simple dish, but incredibly delicious. Nothing from a box could ever come close. She didn't have a written recipe for it, it was just something she threw together. It was unspoken, but I believe she understood that she would not be allowed to dine with us without bringing it.

Cole and I have recently discovered the mac 'n cheese at the Galaxy Cafe. It reminds me just a little of Dot's homemade version: fresh gooey cheese; big, perfectly cooked noodles; warm, not too hot to eat. Comforting somehow.

Dot passed away in a house fire a couple of years ago. But before she did, Mom took the time to go to her house and talk mac 'n cheese with her. We have her recipe written down now, and out of the ashes of her house, we were able to salvage the oversized floral pot with the brown lid that she always had in hand when she walked in the front door for a family meal.

I've yet to try her recipe. But until I perfect it the way she did, I'm glad Galaxy Cafe is just down the street.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Cole and I spent the evening celebrating Mom's birthday over dinner with her and Dannie. You never really have to twist our arms too hard before we agree to a meal at Threadgill's.

Our table was full of homecookin' favorites such as San Antonio squash, cornbread, chicken fried steak, fried okra, beer, iced tea, buttermilk pie... shall I go on??? Note: Not all of those things were in front of just one person.

We also spotted our first of Austin's 10-foot Guitar Town sculptures this evening, just outside of Threadgill's. This one was signed by Dwight Yoakum, one of Mom's favorites. I'm sure we'll find more as the next several weeks go by.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!! We hope it was a good one!!!