I'll post more on this later, but I just wanted to remind y'all that we have two Restaurant Weeks coming up in the next few months!
September 19 - September 22 & September 26 - October 1 Restaurant Week Austin
September 27 - October 1 Go Texan Restaurant Round-up
Start your dieting now so you can indulge for 2 whole weeks!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Cousin Leroy's BBQ Sauce
Folks, this is Cousin Leroy:
He is a local BBQ sauce purvey. I first met him at The Gibson Bar a few months ago. He was a kind-looking man sitting at the bar holding a few jars of BBQ sauce. Now, I'm not going to lie, when I saw a strong, black man sitting at a bar, holding BBQ sauce, I'm going to go up and talk to him. He proceeded to tell me all about his BBQ sauce business.
Cousin Leroy is the proud owner of a Cousin Leroy's BBQ Sauce, a saucery that makes 5 different kinds of BBQ sauce: A mild, a sweet, a spicy, a hot-spicy, and a mustard sauce. He's been making the sauces for over 30 years, and recently decided to bottle it and try selling it to local restaurants.
Turns out his mustard mop is what The Gibson Bar is using for they honey mustard dipping sauce. It was incredibly strong. If you like mustard, you're going to LOVE Cousin Leroy's Mustard Mop.
Cousin Leroy was so kind to give me a sample of the Mild BBQ Sauce. I used it a few weeks ago to make pulled pork. I threw a 1/2 a jar of it into a crock pot with a pork shoulder (a boston butt works too), a sliced onion, and some beef broth (or root beer if you've got it) to cover the roast. I cooked it for 8 hours,shredded the pork, and covered it with the remaining 1/2 jar of sauce. Bam, you have amazing pulled pork.
I made it for my friend Jen's birthday float down the Comal. You've gotta have sammiches while you float, and what better sammich to each while your floating than a delicious pulled pork sammich. Everyone raved about them and none were left at the end of the float.
Great sauce Cousin Leroy!
He is a local BBQ sauce purvey. I first met him at The Gibson Bar a few months ago. He was a kind-looking man sitting at the bar holding a few jars of BBQ sauce. Now, I'm not going to lie, when I saw a strong, black man sitting at a bar, holding BBQ sauce, I'm going to go up and talk to him. He proceeded to tell me all about his BBQ sauce business.
Cousin Leroy is the proud owner of a Cousin Leroy's BBQ Sauce, a saucery that makes 5 different kinds of BBQ sauce: A mild, a sweet, a spicy, a hot-spicy, and a mustard sauce. He's been making the sauces for over 30 years, and recently decided to bottle it and try selling it to local restaurants.
Turns out his mustard mop is what The Gibson Bar is using for they honey mustard dipping sauce. It was incredibly strong. If you like mustard, you're going to LOVE Cousin Leroy's Mustard Mop.
Cousin Leroy was so kind to give me a sample of the Mild BBQ Sauce. I used it a few weeks ago to make pulled pork. I threw a 1/2 a jar of it into a crock pot with a pork shoulder (a boston butt works too), a sliced onion, and some beef broth (or root beer if you've got it) to cover the roast. I cooked it for 8 hours,shredded the pork, and covered it with the remaining 1/2 jar of sauce. Bam, you have amazing pulled pork.
I made it for my friend Jen's birthday float down the Comal. You've gotta have sammiches while you float, and what better sammich to each while your floating than a delicious pulled pork sammich. Everyone raved about them and none were left at the end of the float.
Great sauce Cousin Leroy!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Gibson Bar and Trailer
I was recently invited to the opening of the Gibson Bar and Trailer on South Lamar (not to be confused with the Gibson Room which is above Maggie Mae's). The bar is the square charcoal colored building across from Alamo South. When I drove up, I was kind of.. underwhelmed. The outside of the building is quite stout and not very attractive. And there's not alot of parking. You end up having to park on a side street between the bar and the railroad tracks next to some questionable looking abandoned lots. My advice to you is not to inspect the abandoned lots too closely. When I was walking from my car, I noticed a man passed out in a passenger van parked a few hundred feet into one of the lots. There was even a little clothes line strung up.
The inside of the bar is much nicer than the outside would lend you to believe. Its dark, modern and rather generic, but looks clean. There are several nice, large booths that can fit moderately large drinking parties. But, to warn you, there's no sound dampening in the place, so it can get rather noisy. All in all, though, a pleasant place to spend a few hours drinking.
Bar, itself, doesn't serve food. They've actually figured a rather fun and ingenious way to incorporate food, with an permanently attached airstream trailer, called interestingly enough, The Trailer. The Trailer is actually where the food is ordered and made. Its even one of those fun silver bullet airstream trailers. The Trailer, however, takes up most of the outdoor space at The Gibson Bar. Which is unfortunate, since the view out the large picture windows is nice, and a large deck would have been a great addition to the place.
When I went, they had a sample of some of the treats from their menu. The first thing I tried were the chicken fingers and buttermilk battered french fries. I normally don't care for thick cut french fries, but these big hunks of potato were pretty tasty. The honey mustard was crazy strong and apparently made by a local merchant by the name of "Cousin Leroy" (more to come on that). The batter on the chicken fingers was nice, but the batter to chick ratio was close to one. I would have preferred a little meatier chicken tender.
The second thing I tried was the chicken sandwich. It was really just your basic chicken sandwich. Only ok. And unfortunately, with the thick slices of Texas Toast, I felt like I was eating a chicken sandwich at the local DQ. Skip the chicken sandwich.
The famous donut burger. I've been hearing about this donut burger for months. You heard that right folks, a burger on a donut. On a delicious, toasted Round Rock donut no less (with cheese abd bacon to top it off). Now, the top and bottom of the donut are sliced off, so the "donut bun" is more reminiscent of Hawaiian Bread. There really isn't the sugary glaze on top that you'd expect of a "donut bun". All in all it's actually a really tasty, if decadent treat. The clear winner on the menu.
I'm not going to lie. By the time I had the hot dogs, I was starting to get a little "greased out". The donut burger kind of did me in and I didn't know how much more grease and fat I could take. So when I tasted the bacon wrapped hot dogs below, I really wasn't that impressed. Now that could be a function of me being fed up with all the deep fry or it could be because they were just legitimately gross. A hot dog, wrapped in bacon, topped with french fries and covered in queso, sour cream and chives. I thought it was a gross overkill.
But nothing compared to the disgusting overkill of a beef hot dog wrapped in bacon and covered in cheese and a fried egg. A heart attack on a bun and really not all that tasty. I could feel my heart seizing while I ate it, and for once, my mouth wasn't all that impressed with the decadence. I mean, if I'm going to eat something that monumentally bad for me, I want it to taste like an orgasm in my mouth. This did not.
So I've been hearing a mixed bag of reviews of The Gibson Bar off the grapevines. Some people love it, and some people hate it. Apparently they don't offer draft beer, but they do sell wine by the half bottle. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. It wasn't that great, but it really wasn't that bad either. When I'm looking for a good heart attack inducing fried treat, I'll really consider going back for the Donut Burger and some of their tasty steak fries.
~Mariah: 6
The inside of the bar is much nicer than the outside would lend you to believe. Its dark, modern and rather generic, but looks clean. There are several nice, large booths that can fit moderately large drinking parties. But, to warn you, there's no sound dampening in the place, so it can get rather noisy. All in all, though, a pleasant place to spend a few hours drinking.
Bar, itself, doesn't serve food. They've actually figured a rather fun and ingenious way to incorporate food, with an permanently attached airstream trailer, called interestingly enough, The Trailer. The Trailer is actually where the food is ordered and made. Its even one of those fun silver bullet airstream trailers. The Trailer, however, takes up most of the outdoor space at The Gibson Bar. Which is unfortunate, since the view out the large picture windows is nice, and a large deck would have been a great addition to the place.
When I went, they had a sample of some of the treats from their menu. The first thing I tried were the chicken fingers and buttermilk battered french fries. I normally don't care for thick cut french fries, but these big hunks of potato were pretty tasty. The honey mustard was crazy strong and apparently made by a local merchant by the name of "Cousin Leroy" (more to come on that). The batter on the chicken fingers was nice, but the batter to chick ratio was close to one. I would have preferred a little meatier chicken tender.
The second thing I tried was the chicken sandwich. It was really just your basic chicken sandwich. Only ok. And unfortunately, with the thick slices of Texas Toast, I felt like I was eating a chicken sandwich at the local DQ. Skip the chicken sandwich.
The famous donut burger. I've been hearing about this donut burger for months. You heard that right folks, a burger on a donut. On a delicious, toasted Round Rock donut no less (with cheese abd bacon to top it off). Now, the top and bottom of the donut are sliced off, so the "donut bun" is more reminiscent of Hawaiian Bread. There really isn't the sugary glaze on top that you'd expect of a "donut bun". All in all it's actually a really tasty, if decadent treat. The clear winner on the menu.
I'm not going to lie. By the time I had the hot dogs, I was starting to get a little "greased out". The donut burger kind of did me in and I didn't know how much more grease and fat I could take. So when I tasted the bacon wrapped hot dogs below, I really wasn't that impressed. Now that could be a function of me being fed up with all the deep fry or it could be because they were just legitimately gross. A hot dog, wrapped in bacon, topped with french fries and covered in queso, sour cream and chives. I thought it was a gross overkill.
But nothing compared to the disgusting overkill of a beef hot dog wrapped in bacon and covered in cheese and a fried egg. A heart attack on a bun and really not all that tasty. I could feel my heart seizing while I ate it, and for once, my mouth wasn't all that impressed with the decadence. I mean, if I'm going to eat something that monumentally bad for me, I want it to taste like an orgasm in my mouth. This did not.
So I've been hearing a mixed bag of reviews of The Gibson Bar off the grapevines. Some people love it, and some people hate it. Apparently they don't offer draft beer, but they do sell wine by the half bottle. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. It wasn't that great, but it really wasn't that bad either. When I'm looking for a good heart attack inducing fried treat, I'll really consider going back for the Donut Burger and some of their tasty steak fries.
~Mariah: 6
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Trattoria Lisina Revisited
13308 Farm to Market Road 150 West
Driftwood, TX 78619-9274
(512) 894-3111
http://www.trattorialisina.com/
A few weeks ago my friend Kasie flew all the way down from Seattle to visit me. We decided the perfect way to spend Sunday afternoon would be to drive out to the Hill Country with my family and have a wonderful meal at Trattoria Lisina the restaurant at the Mandola Estates winery. I'll spare you a full review, since I've already reviewed it, here. I gave it an 8, and after this meal, I still stand by my assessment.
We first enjoyed a fine bottle (or two) or Riparosse a Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo. It was full bodied with fruity hints of blackberry and cherry. It is a great wine for a table of low level wine connoisseurs (not that we are, but I'm noting for any of you who happen to bring your wine ignorant family for a nice day in the Hill Country).
The ciabatta and dipping oil was so tasty. I had to keep myself from eating too many!
The bruschetta trio. There was one with dried cherry and; pear mostarda and prosciutto, one with wilted arugula and Gorgonzola, and one with cannellini bean puree with pancetta and pickled shallots sauteed mushrooms with taleggio. All were tasty, but the cherry and pear was the best.
The Antipasto Misto. Always a good start to a family meal. Who can turn down meat!?
The Fettuccine con Prosciutto e Funghi. This was probably the best dish of the evening. You should definitely try it if you're out there - even if it doesn't look like much.
The best side dish of the night, the Aspargi Gratinati. This asparagus was incredible; perfectly charred and cheesy.
My ravioli di giorno. I forget what exactly was in it, but I know it had lingua!
The Capesante al Giovanni. Pan seared scallops in a cheesy polenta.
The risotto special of the day:
The Melanzane pizza with fontina, mozzarella, feta and Romano cheeses, topped with roasted eggplant, tomato, black olives and onion.
Driftwood, TX 78619-9274
(512) 894-3111
http://www.trattorialisina.com/
A few weeks ago my friend Kasie flew all the way down from Seattle to visit me. We decided the perfect way to spend Sunday afternoon would be to drive out to the Hill Country with my family and have a wonderful meal at Trattoria Lisina the restaurant at the Mandola Estates winery. I'll spare you a full review, since I've already reviewed it, here. I gave it an 8, and after this meal, I still stand by my assessment.
We first enjoyed a fine bottle (or two) or Riparosse a Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo. It was full bodied with fruity hints of blackberry and cherry. It is a great wine for a table of low level wine connoisseurs (not that we are, but I'm noting for any of you who happen to bring your wine ignorant family for a nice day in the Hill Country).
The ciabatta and dipping oil was so tasty. I had to keep myself from eating too many!The bruschetta trio. There was one with dried cherry and; pear mostarda and prosciutto, one with wilted arugula and Gorgonzola, and one with cannellini bean puree with pancetta and pickled shallots sauteed mushrooms with taleggio. All were tasty, but the cherry and pear was the best.The Antipasto Misto. Always a good start to a family meal. Who can turn down meat!? The Fettuccine con Prosciutto e Funghi. This was probably the best dish of the evening. You should definitely try it if you're out there - even if it doesn't look like much.The best side dish of the night, the Aspargi Gratinati. This asparagus was incredible; perfectly charred and cheesy.My ravioli di giorno. I forget what exactly was in it, but I know it had lingua!The Capesante al Giovanni. Pan seared scallops in a cheesy polenta.The risotto special of the day:
The Melanzane pizza with fontina, mozzarella, feta and Romano cheeses, topped with roasted eggplant, tomato, black olives and onion.~ Mariah
Friday, July 23, 2010
Foodie Photo of the Day
Chinese food at Fortune Restaurant
Fortune
10901 North Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78753-3696
(512) 490-1426
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Aviary
2110 S. Lamar
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 916-4445
http://www.aviarydecor.com/
So I have recently discovered what has quickly become my favorite wine bar in town. It's in a rather unassuming strip mall on South Lamar, but when you go inside, you quickly realize its more than just a strip mall wine bar, it's a furniture store too!
Is it a bar? Is it a furniture store? It's both! The home decor is so fresh and modern, it really adds to the atmosphere of the wine bar. And really, what a great way to add a revenue stream to a business that would normally close its doors at 7pm. More stores and restaurants should pair up like this!
There is all sorts of fun, interesting art. And wine. Did I mention the wine?
They also offer a Charcuterie and Cheese Menu from A Noble Beast which is some of the best charcuterie in town. I'm sure most of you have heard the word charcuterie (shar-COO-ta-ree) by now, but if you haven't, its just a fancy French word for prepared meat. Things like sausages, salamis, prosciuttos, pates, bacons, terrines and roulades fall under the umbrella of charcuterie. But I swear, if there was one food trend of 2009 that wasn't cupcakes or bacon, it was charcuterie. It's everywhere now!
The Aviary generally have 6-8 meats or cheese to choose from. We let the server pick 5 of his favorites for us. We ended up with 2 meats and 3 cheese, all delicious.
The meats and cheeses are always served on a fun and interesting plate. Because they only do wine and charcuterie, they really pay attention to the details. Our bill was delivered to us in the library card pocket of an old book. How cute is that?
The wine selection is also delicious. Their selection isn't the longest list in town, but what they do have is quality and reasonably priced. You can buy a glass, a bottle, or do a wine flight. What's nice about their wine flights, are that you create them. $10s buys you 3 samples of any 3 wines on their menu. Your choice. Really!
We chose a bottle of 1150 Malbec. I first had it at a wine dinner at the Apothecary and really enjoyed it. Its a nice mellow Malbec from a newer vineyard in Argentina. Yum!
Just a hint, go there on Wednesday for 1/2 priced bottle of wine and a DJ.
~Mariah: 9
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 916-4445
http://www.aviarydecor.com/
So I have recently discovered what has quickly become my favorite wine bar in town. It's in a rather unassuming strip mall on South Lamar, but when you go inside, you quickly realize its more than just a strip mall wine bar, it's a furniture store too!
Is it a bar? Is it a furniture store? It's both! The home decor is so fresh and modern, it really adds to the atmosphere of the wine bar. And really, what a great way to add a revenue stream to a business that would normally close its doors at 7pm. More stores and restaurants should pair up like this!There is all sorts of fun, interesting art. And wine. Did I mention the wine?
They also offer a Charcuterie and Cheese Menu from A Noble Beast which is some of the best charcuterie in town. I'm sure most of you have heard the word charcuterie (shar-COO-ta-ree) by now, but if you haven't, its just a fancy French word for prepared meat. Things like sausages, salamis, prosciuttos, pates, bacons, terrines and roulades fall under the umbrella of charcuterie. But I swear, if there was one food trend of 2009 that wasn't cupcakes or bacon, it was charcuterie. It's everywhere now!The Aviary generally have 6-8 meats or cheese to choose from. We let the server pick 5 of his favorites for us. We ended up with 2 meats and 3 cheese, all delicious.
The meats and cheeses are always served on a fun and interesting plate. Because they only do wine and charcuterie, they really pay attention to the details. Our bill was delivered to us in the library card pocket of an old book. How cute is that?
The wine selection is also delicious. Their selection isn't the longest list in town, but what they do have is quality and reasonably priced. You can buy a glass, a bottle, or do a wine flight. What's nice about their wine flights, are that you create them. $10s buys you 3 samples of any 3 wines on their menu. Your choice. Really!
We chose a bottle of 1150 Malbec. I first had it at a wine dinner at the Apothecary and really enjoyed it. Its a nice mellow Malbec from a newer vineyard in Argentina. Yum!
Just a hint, go there on Wednesday for 1/2 priced bottle of wine and a DJ.
~Mariah: 9
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