Chuco's

900 W. 10th St.

Austin, Tx
(512) 476-TACO

http://www.chucostacos.com/

I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but I haven't always been the gallivanting single woman I first appear to be. Before there was Bachelor #s 1, 2, or 30 there was my ex. We met on E-Harmony of all places. We were both single and hating life in DFW. He was tall, smart and goofy. On the first date I knew we'd date seriously, by the third date he had met my parents, and after a month we had moved in together. But alas the "honeymoon" did not last. I moved to Austin to be closer to my family and he moved to Phoenix to be closer to his. We tried maintaining our long distance relationship for a while, despite the 2,000 mile separation, we managed to see each other twice a month. During the course of our relationship, I managed to make a dozen or so trips out to Phoenix. I went there enough to realize that 1) it is waaaay to fricken hot there and 2) no-one does anything fun there.

One other thing I discovered about Phoenix is that their Mexican food isn't Tex-Mex, or Monterrey, or even Baja style Mexican food, it's Sonoran style. Apparently in Sonoran style Mexican food they don't cover their food in salsas and greasy Tex-Mex style sauces. They focus on fresh ingredients available in the Yuma breadbasket to create simple Mexican yumminess. There was this little Mexican taquerilla in Tempe that we would frequent that had the best taquitos. Quality marinated pulled chicken wrapped in fresh corn tortillas, deep fried to a light golden color, then covered in the freshest, greenest guacamole you've ever seen. We'd order a huge place of those tasty taquitos and chow down.

I've tried a couple of the taquerias around Texas hoping to find taquitos of the same quality, but so far I've been disappointed. Tex-mex taquitos tend to be filled with stringy uninspiring chicken, wrapped in spongy tortillas, and deep fried until they're overcooked. The whole package tends to be rather unappealing.

Bachelor #4 and I were trolling around downtown one night and decided we wanted cheap Mexican food. We thought we'd try a little joint off Lamar that Laura had mentioned had good breakfast tacos. I thought why not. Chuco's is in a converted house that I believe used to be a really nice neo-european gourmet restaurant a few years ago. Its in the high rent district around Lamar and 6th which is why its surprising a low price taqueria has managed to survive where so many expensive restaurants have failed. The parking lot is tiny, but there were surprisingly few cars in the lot behind the restaurant. There were a surprisingly large number of people inside the restaurant indicating most of the folks who frequent this place are locals that walk or bike.

The counter to order is right by the front door and the volume of people coming and going make for a rather convoluted order process and an inevitable traffic jam. You order at the counter, get a number, then find a seat. The place is cute and has a clean feel; an old house with hardwood floors and white trim. After we ordered and sat down we waited what seemed like forever, but was probably close to 20 minutes. I was starting to get really antsy for my food. Who waits that long at a taqueria? Seriously!

Our order trickled out slowly starting with the house special, beef chucos. I ordered them as they're served, smothered in cheese and covered in some sort of watery tomato sauce. I wasn't all that impressed with the cheese and sauce, but the taquitos were top quality. They were the lightly golden fried delicious Sonoran style taquitos I'd get in Phoenix. The sauce, while it was tasty, was really watery and dripped everywhere making for a really messy eating experience. I'd avoid it next time. After we'd each had a few chucos our tacos came out. I ordered a chicken adobado which was spicy but rather uninspired. Bachelor #4's carne asada taco was really great though. Simple, but flavorful, the chicken had a nice texture and the taste of quality meat. They don't use Grade D chicken parts here.

After sucking down our chucos (sounds kind of dirty doesn't it), Bachelor #4 and I headed down the street to pick up a thank you present for my co-workers. I'd had a big deadline at work and wanted a special way to thank my co-workers who had helped, and what better way to say thank you that a big sugary, buttery Cinnabon. I haven't found a better purveyor of fat cinnamon roles here so if anyone can recommend one I'd appreciate it.

Bottom Line: Cute, convenient, quality Mexican taqueria, avoid the sauces

Mariah - 8

Curra's

614 E. Oltorf St.
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 444-0012

http://www.currasgrill.com/

Mariah: Hello fellow foodies. Sorry its been so long since our last post. I feel like we've let you down, like when we don't post, you wallow in bad food at bad chain restaurants, that we're you're only lifeline to a decent tasting meal. But I know its not true, you're all smart people with good taste. and you'll survive if we don't post. So, I take a chill pill and don't worry about posting. It so happens the last few weeks have been a little crazy. Laura's been dealing with personal issues of her own. And in addition to a midterm, and a crazy work schedule, my grandmother's been in the hospital requiring me to make a trip through the Bible Belt Buckle to Nebraska.

Laura: Way to make me sound like a whack job, Mariah. I've just been busy and well getting a little burned out. A much needed break on all non essential things in life was in order. Which meant a break on blogging about good food, but definately not a break in eating good food.

Mariah: Let me vent about that trip for a few minutes (but purely from a food perspective). You would not believe the crap people in the Midwest shovel into their mouths. Everything is deep fried, covered in butter, smothered in gravy, or burned to a crisp. This horrible treatment of poor defenseless food is mostly required to mask the bad quality of the ingredients. For being America's breadbasket, the Midwest sure has a crappy selection of quality food stuffs.

Laura: Yeah I have some relatives in Missouri and I can attest to the blandness of the food. How do the people there cope? I don't know, but I am entertained by watching them recoil in pain at the mere sight of mild salsa.

Mariah: The drive to Nebraska started well, with a quick trip to the Czech Stop for creamed cheese kolaches, but, it quickly deteriorated. There was a failed stop at a Luby's somewhere in North Texas where the fish almondine, normally a safe bet at Luby's, tasted and smelled like canned cat food. I even had a trippy experience in the bathroom where I was accosted by fanny pack bedecked Senior Citizens on a bus trip to God knows where.

Laura: I can't believe you drove to Nebraska. Oh yeah, and I get that a road side gas station that serves baked semi-ethnic goods (Well, you know Texas meets a distant European relative) is all novel and stuff, but as far as the actual kolaches go- I just don't get it. I'm sorry, but in my experience they are not that great. On the other hand, the Jerky Capitol of the World on 45 (halfway between Houston and Dallas) is awesome.

Mariah: Anyway, there was the vomit inducing excursion to an Applebee's in Witchita. I ordered half a BLT and an Asian chicken salad only to discover the BLT had no T's, was soaked in grease and the salad had visibly brown (rotting) lettuce. My mom, the usual Applebee's advocate, had the harrowing experience of having to send her undercooked chicken breast back, not once, but twice, and it still back pink in the middle (though charred to a crisp on the edges). Looking around that middle America Applebee's, I discovered exactly where the obesity epidemic is centered, the Midwest. The restaurant was overflowing with quadruple chins and people so large I doubt if they could move on their own. Between the smoke filled non-smoking section, the grease sodden sandwich, and the gelatinous Midwesterners happily slurping down their ill-tasting swill, I had a moment of sheer claustrophobia and had to retreat to the dirty bathroom.

Mariah: However, my dining experiences went from bad to worse. In Freemont, Nebraska, where my grandmother lives, my mom and I, sick from the crappy food we'd been subjected to, decided to treat ourselves to the best steak house in town. I mean, come on, its close to Omaha, the cattle capital of the Midwest, surely they'd have decent steak. Boy was I mistaken. My Jim Beam steak came out looking suspiciously similar to a smokers lung, the veggies on the veggie kabob were covered in a sickly sweet garlic butter sauce and were burned to an absolutely crisp, and my twice baked potato was covered in a hard crust of what I think was supposed to be cheese. To be honest, the best meal I had all weekend was at Starbucks.

Laura: Meanwhile, I had been hanging out next to the pool being fed amazing grilled Father's Day food by my good friend Jen of Austin Event Co and enjoying lazy brunches at Galaxy Cafe and planning get together dinners at Curra's. Yeah, life this past weekend was pretty good for me. Like I said, I needed the break.

Mariah: After my horrible experiences, you can hardly blame me for being thoroughly disgusted with the Midwest in general. As soon as I stepped off the plane in Austin, I called Laura and said "I need good food." So when she told me that she and her friends were going to Curra's, Bachelor #4 and I made a beeline from the airport straight to Oltorf.

Mariah: We surprisingly found a parking space right in front; usually parking is at a premium. My food luck was starting to improve. When we walked into the funky Austin interior, I felt immediate relief and knew I was home. The first bite I had of queso with veggie chorizo tasted like the best food I'd ever had in my entire life. The hibiscus margarita was heavenly. As I happily munched on chips and queso, my scarred taste buds started to recover and the food started tasting more normal. I realized the previously heavenly queso was of good quality, but was rather bland. The hibiscus margarita was slightly too sweet and light on alcohol.

Laura: Lach ordered the Santa Fe margarita, which was discouraging to him because it was pink and a tad bit emasculating, but he's secure enough in his manhood and the drink turned out delicious. Much better than the hibiscus margarita. The queso was typical Tex Mex, and of decent quality. Very reminiscent of the Trudy's variety. We got an appetizer of the Escabeche - pickled carrots, cauliflower, onions & jalapenos. It looked very appealing, but when I went in for a bite I was surprised. On top of being very vinegar-y, it was cold. I know this was on purpose, and not some sort of weird mistake from the kitchen, but it was still unappetizing. I coldn't bring myself to eat more than just the cauliflower bits. The rest of the concoction sat on the table untouched.

Mariah: By the time my meal arrived, migas smothered in queso, I felt like I had regained my food composure. Which was why i was so surprised that the taste, but more importantly the texture of their migas absolutely blew me away. The eggs were perfectly cooked, neither too wet nor too dry. They were perfectly laced with a spicey and flavorful pepper and onion (and whatever else Curra's uses to make the migas taste so yummy). The fried tortilla strips, usually soggy in most migas, were the perfect texture with a slightly yielding crispness. The previously bland queso made a perfect creamy complement to the spicy egg mixture. I believe Curra's is now the new par of migas perfection in Austin.

Mariah: Bachelor #4 ordered the dinner dish I normally get at Curra's, the Cochinita Pibil, a smokey anise flavored shredded pork dish wrapped in a banana leaf served with sweetened plantains. The Cochinita is served miga style, you wrap the various ingredients into a tortilla to eat. The quality and taste are amazing though. The shredded pork is cooked in thin somewhat sweet sauce that binds the pork shreds into an beautiful dark brown mass of goodness. The large green banana leaf (probably not the one it was cooked in) the pork is served on ads a nice color contrast that adds to the ultimate appeal of the dish. I haven't tried some of the more pedestrian Mexican dishes at Curra's, but if it sounds good on the menu, it will more than likely taste good too.

Laura: I originally wanted the veggie tacos as they came with nopalitos, avocado, mushrooms and veggie chorizo, but when Lach started pointing at the award winning veggie enchiladas containing grilled zuchinni, mushrooms, onion, squash & spinach and suggested to split it, I was easily pursuaded. I pick my battles in life and this was a battle where I figured I would be the winner either way. The dish arrived and we dug in. The zuchinni chunks were a little overcooked, but the rest of the enchiladas worked well (but I wouldn't say award winningly) together. Unfortunately, I was a little bit cheesed-out at this point by the queso dip so I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. Next time I'll fight for the tacos.

Bottom Line: Funky Austin atmosphere, quality Interior Mexican, great migas

Mariah - 9

Laura - 8

Melting Pot

305 E. 3rd Street

Austin, Tx

(512) 401-2424

13343 N Highway 183

Austin, TX

(512) 401-2424

http://www.meltingpot.com/

Being the good daughter that I am, when Mother’s Day rolled around, I tried to plan a special day to celebrate how awesome my mom is (and I’m not partial, she really is). My mom has done everything in her power to help me succeed in life. Everything from putting me through college (thanks again mom and dad), to driving me half way across America (while I had pneumonia no less) so that I could go on my grade school field from Chicago to Virginia. She always cooks me yummy dinners and had the forethought enough to make me do my own laundry when I was a teenager so I wouldn’t screw it up once I got to college. I could go on and on extolling the virtues of my mom, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear those; you want to hear about where we went for Mother’s Day. We went to, what in my opinion is now, the greatest place to celebrate Mother’s Day – The Melting Pot.

Now when I lived in Fort Worth, high end chain restaurants like The Melting Pot, Simply Fondue, Fogo de Chao (as mentioned in the previous review), etc were de rigueur. Places like that aren’t too bad, in fact they’re usually pretty tasty, but I much prefer my experiences at unique (and non-chain) Austin restaurants. But (and here comes the but), I LOVE fondue. Its one of those foods that’s fun to eat, tasty, and is a great way to spend a long meal with someone (and trust me, when you eat fondue it’s a loooong meal – but more on that in a minute). But more importantly, my mom loved fondue. When she would come to visit me in Fort Worth, we spent many an evening at one of DFW’s many fondue places enjoying a hot of melty cheese or chocolate. So when I heard Austin finally had a fondue restaurant, I immediately knew I had to take my mom there for Mother’s Day. I called up to make reservations the Tuesday before Mother’s Day thinking there wouldn’t be any reservations left. Surely everyone else, unlike my procrastinating self, would have the foresight enough to call ahead weeks in advance to make reservations. Apparently not. I had no trouble getting us a table, I was even able to get us a special table (more on that in a minute too), AND they even offered to put a vase of fresh roses on the table that Mom could take with her. And here’s the best part, because we wanted to have a late lunch, they were offering all this at a special Mother’s Day discounted rate. How cool is that!

The Melting Pot is rather conveniently (or inconveniently) located in the new Convention Center Food District. It’s on the same block as the other quality national chains that broker for Convention traffic: Roy’s, PF Changs, Fogo de Chao, and to a lesser extent Dona Emilia’s. So with all those other options, why would you choose the Melting Pot? Three words: Chocolate Cookie Fondue. But I'll get to that in a minute.

Let me describe how the Melting Pot is layed out. The inside is dark and cavern-like, but tastefully decorated as all high end small chain restaurants are these days. Lots of dark wood and silver. That makes the Melting Pot really special, however, are the individual rooms. Yes, that's right, call ahead for reservations and you too can reserve one of a dozen or so totally private tables. Each room has its own table, complete with fondue burner, and a frosted glass pocket door to separate you from other other low-brow restaurant go-ers (I mean seriously, who wants to associate with those schlubs??). I highly recommend that if you eat here, you reserve one of these rooms just for the novelty of it.

Normally, the fondue operates on a per person prix fix pricing scale. The table chooses one type of cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, and in the middle, the type of entree cooking style. The cooking style is normally oil or a flavored broth. The oil is fun because they bring out a host of batters to cover your meat in, but the broth is healthier and just as tasty (and won't leave you smelling like you just deep fried your clothes). I think they normally have some sort of beer broth, and a more flavorful broth - when we went, it was coq au vin. Mom (who got to choose) went with the coq au vin. Once the table chooses a cooking style, everyone chooses their meat plate. They offer a mixed plate of tenderloin, chicken breast, sausage, shrimp, scallops and veggies that I normally recommend to fondue beginners. But, they also offer more steak, lobster, and veggie options.

Once you have the general outline of the meal figured out, you pick fondue flavors. For the cheese fondue, we chose the "Wisconsin Trio." Having grown up an almost cheesehead, I was most delighted with that choice. The trio was a rich blend of fontina, butterkase, and surprisingly blue cheese with some garlic, wine, scallions and sherry thrown in for good measure. The coolest part about the cheese course is they make it right in front of you. Your server brings out a large tray covered in cheese, and other delectable ingredients, starts the fondue burner and mixes up the cheese while you drool at the smell. Once its warmed up and melted, they bring you bowls filled with a variety of breads, fruits and veggies to dip in the cheese. It was incredible. There's nothing better than cheese, especially if its hot and melty and on top of a crisp green apple. The dippers as we'll call them were all fresh and tasty. No dry, stale bread and drippy cheese like at Cru. This fondue's the real deal.

Once you've gorged yourself on cheese, the server brings out a scalding hot pot of your chosen broth style. When it first comes out, its covered with a clamped on lid and looks something like a medieval torture device. Stay clear of this until your server tells you its safe. You wouldn't want to be a "hot coffee" lap casualty. But once it's safe, you grab your handy color coded skewer - each person gets their own color so you know who's is who's - spear a piece of meat, and start cooking. It generally takes about 2-3 minutes for each piece to cook, so you get a rhythm going, and rotating out through your 3 skewers so you always have tasty food on your plate. Oh, they also bring 4 or 5 different sauces to dip your meat into. The yogurt Curry is the best but stay away from the sweet and sour. Its pretty gross. This was probably the weakest part of the meal. After cooking quality meat in great smelling broth, you want something interesting and savory to dip your meat into. Not just a crappy teriyaki or horseradish sauce.

Added Note: After seeing Lee's comment, it reminded me of the funniest part of the fondue experience. When you lose a bit of food in the fondue broth, you use this big slotted spoon to fish it out. Now this slotted spoon isn't called just anything, it's called the "David Hasselhoff." So we all got a good giggle when we'd lose a piece of chicken in the broth and would have to ask someone to "Pass the Hoff."

Just when you think you're so full you could hardly eat anything else, they bring out.. The chocolate. You're table has to agree upon one type of chocolate fondue, but when you have such choices as Bailey's Milk Chocolate Fondue or Smores Fondue, is anyone really a loser? My mother, in her infinite wisdom chose Chocolate Cookie Fondue. It was a rich dark chocolate swirled with marshmallow fluff with bits of Oreo cookies mixed in. It was incredible. You get a plate of the most decedent desserts to dip in said fondue. Anything from angel food cake to marshmallows to brownies to a slice of cheesecake. Yes you read that right, a slice of cheesecake. I can't think of a more perfect dessert.

The plus about a fondue meal is also the minus. All this extravagance takes about 2-3 hours to complete and really do it justice. Cooking meat in broth in is a time consuming endeavour. But if you've got the time, I suggest you try it at least once. Its fun and tasty and a great way to connect with your family.

Bottom Line: Fun to eat food that tastes great

Mariah - 9.5

Estancia Churrascaria

4954 Us-290 W

Sunset Valley, TX

(512) 892-1226

http://www.estanciachurrascaria.com/

Phew! I never knew one little post on an East Austin Mexican Restaurant could be so controversial. I want to thank all the people that posted comments on the review, yes even the not so nice ones. Laura and I really appreciate the feedback. We read all the comments and discuss them ad nausium like giddy schoolgirls talking about boys at a slumber party. This set was particularly interesting and eye opening for us. I sure made a mistake with my wording, and I appreciate you gentle readers for pointing it out. That being said, I think some of you were a little harsh and misconstrued the intent of the review. I want to personally thank commenter Murphy for sticking up for us. Murphy – In honor of your awesome comment, I’m raising the rating of Juan in a Million to a 10 (as you suggested) and calling it the Murphy Memorial Rating. Right on!

Now on to the real review..

When I lived in Fort Worth we had a biennial tradition of going to a Brazilian Steakhouse and gorging ourselves on meat - lots and lots of meat. We would usually rotate through the different Churrascarias available in DFW at the time, Fogo to Chao, Texas de Brazil, and Boi na Braza. We even developed a meat lingo to describe our meals. A trip to a Brazilian Steakhouse was called a meat orgy. After partaking of meat orgy, you’ll get meat bloat, that full feeling when you’ve had too much turkey at Thanksgiving. And the truly dedicated, the ones who’d eat through the meat bloat will experience meat sweats, a clammy feeling accompanied with the meat bloat. And there was even one time when Zach, an Atkins devotee at the time, ate through the meat sweats and experienced meat euphoria. After finishing 3 plates of meat he had this stupid grin on his face like the hottest girl in the room had walked up and flashed him.

But since moving back to Austin, I’ve found my friends here are a lot more health conscious and generally frown upon the meat orgy. That is everyone but my brother, the recently converted vegetarian. That boy can never get enough meat now that he eats it again. So when he suggested Estancia for a family dinner I readily agreed. He was going to be traveling to The Netherlands on business for a couple of weeks so my whole family collected together for a nice dinner to see him off. I even called my BFF Becky to join us. I’d been busy going out with random strange men (remember the week of dating?) and hadn’t seen either my family or Becky in over a week. I’m a bad, bad daughter and friend sometimes, disappearing into my single life for days on end, popping my head up from time to time to check in. But sometimes the call of male pheromones will lure me away from familial responsibilities into a deep, dark land of fun, flirting, and general debauchery.

So first of all let me tell you a little about Estancia and the whole Brazilian Steakhouse experience. Most Brazilian Steakhouses come in the small chain variety, Fogo de Chao and Texas de Brazil both have about a dozen locations (mostly in the south, fancy that), Estancia, however, is a homegrown non-chain Brazilian Steakhouse. Plus one point. It is rather unfortunately situated on the frontage road of Ben White (near Brodie) in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express – yes, you read that right – in a Holiday Inn Express. Despite its unfortunate location, it’s been wildly popular since opening its doors. I’ve been there a couple of times and it’s always been full, which isn’t surprising since it’s not all that big. There are a couple of dozen tables situated in close quarter around a huge salad bad. The inside is cleanly decorated and understated. White linens, dark wood chairs, no garish artwork, romantic low lighting, etc.

When you’re first seated, a hunky Latin waiter takes your drink order, and you hit the salad bar. All Brazilian Steakhouses have a huge, well stocked salad bar. Some are better than others. I find Texas de Brazil generally has the best salad bar, but Fogo de Chao and Estancia are close behind. . They all generally offer 3 or 4 different kinds of salad, heart of palms, artichokes, fresh mozzarella, marinated peppers and mushrooms, shaved parmesan, and all sorts of other delectable treats. Estancia’s salad bar is similarly furnished, perhaps slightly smaller than Fogo de Chao’s or Texas de Brazil, but all ingredients are extremely fresh and delectable. It’s really only the small details that distinguish one salad bar from the next. Texas de Brazil has FABULOUS Lobster bisque and I don’t think the others have soup. Fogo has smoked salmon, but Texas de Brazil has awesome salamis and even sushi. To be honest, sometimes when my friends go to Brazilian Steakhouses, I don’t feel like I can handle all that meat, so I’ll order just the salad bar (which at Fogo is $20, not sure about Estancia). But that’s only sometimes, most of the time I focus on the real star of the Brazilian Steakhouse, those delicious, soft, hot, cheese filled rolls. Say what you want about the meat, I go to meat orgies fully intending to eat my weight in cheese rolls. I probably have at least a dozen while I eat, seriously.

But that’s probably not why most of you will go to Estancia. You’ll go there to eat meat, and Estancia has plenty of that. 10 different kinds to be precise. The hunky, Latin waiter brings you a huge plate and a little card that’s red on one side and green on the other. In theory, when you want more meat, you flip the card to green and MORE hunky Latin men descend upon you bearing large skewers of meat. They come in a steady stream until you flip your card over to the red side, and then the hunky men stop coming. I always keep my card on green, I still want to see the hunky guy even if I turn down his offering of meat.

Most Brazilian Steakhouses offer a variety of meat options. Fogo de Chao and Texas de Brazil each have 15 different kinds of meat which Estancia only offers 10. I made sure to try all 10 of them.. strictly for the review.. of course.. I even stole the “meat brochure” so I could remember all 10 kinds. I’ll go in order, even. Picanha, the crowning jewel of most Brazilian Steakhouses, is probably my favorite at most Churrascarias, sirloin flavored with garlic and sea salt. I’ve never had bad Picanha at any of the Brazilian Steakhouses I’ve been to, I highly recommend it. Alcata – top sirloin – not memorable to Estancia, skip it. Fraldinha – a “juicy cut of bottom sirloin” as the brochure so nicely tells us and boy are they right. This is probably my second favorite cut at Estancia, and they do it better than all the other Steakhouses. Eat some. Costela – beef ribs – eh, these were ok, I eat a lot of BBQ ribs and these were ok, but not the best I’ve had. Filet Mignon – bacon wrapped no less – yum, try it if you still have room, but its not as good as Estancia’s Picanha or the Fraldinha. Cordiero – leg of lamb – ok so Estancia’s lamb isn’t as good as some of the other Brazilian Steakhouses. The lamb at Texas de Brazil is NOT to be missed, but here, I’d skip it. Lobo de Porco – parmesan pork. Again, the Lombo de Porco at Texas de Brazil is probably my personal favorite, here it’s good and worth eating, but not as nice as Texas de Brazil’s. Frango – bacon wrapped chicken legs – tasty but filler. Fogo de Chao’s chicken is better, but it’s a good palate cleanser between cuts of beef and who can turn down anything wrapped in bacon? Linguica – pork sausage – can’t match Fogo de Chao’s. Costela de Porco, ok so I was getting kind of full at this point and didn’t try these. I had another helping of Picanha and Fraldinha. Sue me.

The meat is generally accompanied by a 4 or 5 side items. Sweet marinated plantains, polenta squares, mashed potatoes, some other filler and more rolls. Most seasoned Churrascaristas (I just made that up BTW) will bypass the side items in favor of more meat, but I love plantains and eat as many as I can. Estancia’s side items are probably the weakest part of the meal. They’re an afterthought here. Texas de Brazil’s plantains are world class and Fogo’s mashed potatoes are drool worthy on their own. This is the one place Estancia could use some work. Onto dessert, if you still have room. I like the papaya cream, a light fruit pudding, usually offered at all the steakhouses. I mean it’s light and creamy, and you’ve already consumed about 10,000 calories on the meat, why not go all out and get dessert. They also have a fine selection of flan, cakes, cheesecakes, etc. Blah blah, I know you’re still drooling over the meat.

And here’s the best part about Estancia, it’s only $30 per person while Fogo de Chao and Texas de Brazil are each $50 per person. Sure you have slightly less selection, but do you really need those extra 5 meats when you already have 10 to choose from?

Bottom Line: Tasty meat, great salad bar, cheaper than Fogo

Estancia - 8.5

Juan in a Million

2300 E Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 472-3872

http://www.juaninamillion.com/

Being a single woman, I find myself out late some weekends consuming a little too much and having a little too much fun. When you wake up the next morning, slightly hung over, in last night’s eyeliner, smelling of stale alcohol and cigarettes, with a furry feeling in your mouth, all you can do is take a hot shower and have a big hearty breakfast. When I lived in Illinois, after a late night, we’d go for corned beef hash with a side of bacon and sausage. You can never have too much meat and salt on Sunday morning. But when I moved to Texas, I discovered a wonderful, and previously undiscovered gem that most of the rest of the country has never experienced, Mexican Breakfast (cue the angelic music). I’m not talking breakfast tacos, or crappy juevos rancheros, I’m talking migas, eggs smothered in queso, chiles, refried beans, pan fried potatoes.. Sorry.. I’m drooling just thinking about it.

I’ve popped around town eating Mexican Breakfast at various taquerrias or other Latin eating establishments, but since I’ve moved back, I’ve discovered and become a regular Sunday morning patron of Juan in a Million. Now, Juan’s is way out on the east side of town. So if you’re scared by the colorful neighborhoods, you might want to stick with other places closer to downtown, but for the adventurous, Juan is a diamond in the rough. There’s a small parking lot, but I usually park in the street. Don’t worry, its broad daylight, you’re precious Death Cab for Cutie CDs will be fine. The outside of the building isn’t much to speak of, in fact, the inside of the building isn’t much to speak of either. There’s an indoor dining area, a side dining area, a huge covered patio, and a third indoor dining area attached to the other side of the patio. In other words, there is a ton of seating, and every time I’ve been there, I’ve had to wait. This place is always packed. I usually opt for the patio if it looks like I can edge someone out of a table, but the inside’s not bad either.

Now onto the food. The migas are good. Typical fluffy eggs, tomatoes, onions and tortilla strips with some cheese. It comes with a side of decent beans and potatoes. Not the best I’ve ever had, but when you’re hung over, they taste FABULOUS. I’ve also had the "DON JUAN" - El Taco Grande. It’s a huuuuge breakfast taco with eggs, potatoes, cheese, and bacon wrapped in a perfectly toasted tortilla. When covered in sour cream and guacamole the Don Juan becomes a filling and tasty way to start off the day. One will do you, unless you’ve got a huge appetite, then I’d suggest 2. But what keeps me coming back to Juan, is the Con Queso Breakfast. To me, this is the quintessential Mexican breakfast. Two scrambled eggs covered in queso with a side of carne guisada (don’t tell me what’s in it, I don’t want to know), and the same decent beans and potatoes. I don’t know what it is about the Con Queso breakfast that continues to lure me in. The queso, carne guisada, beans, and potatoes all taken separately are all decent but nothing special. Combined together, their harmonic frequencies of goodness combine together to make one super powered, hang-over curing breakfast that is hard to pass up.

Laura's note: I agree, a great Mexican Breakfast. Definitely a hangover cure for someone who doesn't have much planned for the rest of the day - you will be so full and heavy you won't feel like moving very much after the experience. The margaritas are ok, not spectacular. The location is not nearly as bad as Mariah made it out to be. Oh yeah, and they've expanded in the past couple of years and have a patio. But still, on Saturday and Sunday early afternoons you might be waiting quite a while with a load of UT students and Austinites who also participated in general weekend debauchery and are in "the know." If you aren't into waiting in lines or debauchery, try them out on a weeknight. They do casual lunch/dinner as well as breakfast. Laura - 8.5

Bottom Line: Awesome Mexican Breakfast

Mariah - 10 (In honor of Murphy - You rock!)

Musashino Sushi Dokoro

3407 Greystone Dr

Austin, TX 78731

(512) 795-8593

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted a new review. It’s been a crazy week. Between recovering from Finals and this week at work (and of course my full social schedule), blogging has found its way to the bottom of my list. That being said, I have a long, long list of places I’ve eaten at recently and have every intention of blogging about. The first of which has been a personal favorite restaurant of mine for over 10 years. Now that I’m back in the dating world and am a tick older, I’ve been noticing dating patterns that I was clueless about when I was a young woman freshly out on my own. 1) Men really do mature slower than women. I’m finally getting to the point where I can date men my own age. The 23 year old boys interested in chasing innocent, leggy, bottle blonds and doing beer bongs off the roof of their parents garage have finally turned into 30 year old men focused on their careers, saving money, and savoring life. 2) That when men (and maybe people in general) lack sufficient personal information about you, they’ll fall back on a standard set of questions. And the questions from man to man are surprisingly similar. My favorite right now, because it seems like every guy I’ve talked to has asked it recently is “What’s your favorite sushi restaurant.” I don’t know if they pulled this out of their ass or if there is some “Dating for Dummies” book out there that has put out a pre-approved set of questions a man should ask every woman (and I just haven’t happened to hear about it yet). I mean these random men probably think they’re really clever. They’re hoping to discern from me a couple of things a) whether I’m a foodie – which seems to have become an important quality among the single 30-something b) whether I’m adventurous enough to eat sushi regularly – because apparently there are STILL some people in this world who don’t eat sushi regularly and c) if my taste in restaurants is appropriate (and sorry for the list format again, I’ve spent too much time at work this week). So what sushi restaurant is my favorite, you ask? You might expect me to say Uchi. And while their Japanese fusion cuisine is rather spectacular (I mean maguro sashimi and goat cheese with cracked pepper, fuji apple and pumpkin seed oil, what’s there not to like??) but to be honest, their regular sushi/sashimi is rather unspectacular. Sure the quality is grade A-, but the price is waaay too much for just grade A- sushi. I can get the same fish at Korea Garden for half the price, now granted, I can’t feel like a glorified hipster at Korea Garden, but at my core I am a cheap bastard. So what sushi restaurant do I keep coming back to time and again over the years? Musashino.

Since I first discovered GOOD sushi in college here in Austin (Illinois isn’t exactly known for their great fresh fish), I’ve migrated back to Musashino regularly to partake of their tasty fish treats. When I first moved to Fort Worth, I had to drive all the way to Dallas to get good sushi. So, when I’d come to Austin to visit the folks, I’d usually always make a stop at Mushashino to get my sushi on. So I was incredibly delighted when my awesome Italian friend Elena decided to have her Birthday dinner there (with our other friend David who happens to have the same Birthday as Elena). I also happened to go a few days later on a date with a cool guy who, though he lives in Austin, is working on a contract in the Virgin Islands, and only comes into town rarely (see you were starting to wonder why I spent so much time talking about dating at the top, he was one of the favorite sushi culprits). He specifically requested we go for sushi because surprisingly the VI isn’t known for their sushi. You’d think on an island with an abundance of fresh fish, they’d be able to figure out sushi, but apparently that hasn’t happened yet. When I go to Mushashino, I generally get the same things, but those things span most of the menu so you’ll get a good flavor of what they have to offer.

So the first think you have to get if you go to Musashino is the Gyu Tataki. Thinly sliced rare (or even raw) fillet mignon in a roasted garlic and soy sauce. It’s served in a martini glass and looks horrible - brown good and raw beef all mixed in with flecks of fried garlic. But the taste is incredible. I love my steak on the rare side, the rarer the better and this appetizer really appeals to me. It’s the perfect starter to a meal that will finish with raw fish (I know it doesn’t sound like it, but the umami factor of the raw beef and soy really makes your mouth happy). After satiating myself on raw beef, I generally move onto sushi and the rolls. I find the sashimi at Musashino is rather pricy, so unless I’m with someone that insists, for my pocketbook’s sake, I choose rolls (remember how I said I was cheap). For the rolls, I find I like the following the Marilyn Mon-Roll, the Evil Knevil Rolls and the Ozzy II. They’re all American rolls with some sort of fish and veggies on the outside and then wrapped and rolled in fish roe. They’re all excellent, tasty, fresh, and extremely eatable. The only other tip I can give you about Musashino is to ALWAYS order the special of the day. Whether it’s the Kona Kampachi (Hawaiian yellowtail), or the salmon trout, always get a few pieces of it. You’ll thank me.. Really.

Musashino is known, for among other things, being traditional. Now the size of their sushi is slightly larger than the truly traditional 100 grain rice ball, but their Maki or skinny rolls are very traditional. There’s some weird stuff on that half of the menu and I have to admit, I haven’t been that adventurous to stray in to that part of the menu. But hey, if pickled burdock with daikon radish or a fermented soybean roll is your thing, go for it. I might even have a bite.

When I went with Laura, Elena and David, we got the Age Dofu appetizer, an asparagus roll, and I tried her seaweed salad. I have to say, those veggie items weren’t that great. Laura and I have had this back and forth conversation about Musashino. She didn’t think it was that good. And from her perspective, I’d have to agree. The veggie items are standard and nothing out of the ordinary. What makes Musashino really spectacular is their fish. It’s quality. Even better quality than Uchi I’d wager. The only time I’ve had better quality sushi was when I was in San Diego. Not even Sam’s Sushi in Seattle, which is known for their fresh, quality sushi, can match Musashino (but it’s damn close, not like I’d turn it down). I don’t know how they do it or who their supplier is, but its quality.

Laura's note: My food was really sub-par. The tofu was uninspiring, the seaweed salad was unmemorable. The asparagus roll was decent, but not great. It would've been fine at half the price but I expected more from a restaurant with this reputation and such an extensive wine list. It just seems like they forgot to pay attention to the details. At least the company was fantastic!

Bottom Line: World class quality fish, traditional style, go there tonight (unless you’re a vegetarian, then save your money)!

Mariah - 10

Laura - 4.5

The Oasis

6550 Comanche Trl

Austin, TX

(512) 266-2442

http://www.oasis-austin.com/

So my crazy week of dating continued on Sunday with Bachelor #4. After the late night with Bachelor #3 the previous evening and the late night with Bachelors #1 and #2 before, I was psyched to sleep in on Sunday and recover. I was glad when Bachelor #4 suggested a quiet afternoon.. at a kids birthday party! Apparently his co-worker's kid was turning 3 and they were having a BBQ. And being the food whore that I am, I will always readily agree to eat someone else's tasty homemade BBQ. We made our way up to the ends of the Earth or Cedar Park, who's mayor I happen to work with (remind me never to move to Cedar Park). You know when the tollway ends, you've reached parts unknown. I swear I saw a dragon somewhere around Avery Ranch Rd.

All through college and even into my mid-twenties I was very ambivalent to children. I liked them alright, but I wasn't sure if having offspring was the right path for me. I figured I would get to it later. Well now later has arrived, and surprising, when I turned 28, something crazy in my brain (or my ovaries) switched on. My biological clock started not just ticking, but screaming at me. So the party was nice but there were noisy kids everywhere. It reminded me again why I don't have any little rugrats yet. I am at least temporary inoculated from the crazy hormones my womanly parts and spewing into my body.

We made our excuses after eating the yummy BBQ chicken and headed back to our original destination the Oasis. Since I live at the south end of 620 and the party was at the north end of 620, we figured we'd take the opportunity to see the sunset at The Oasis. Now I don't know if you've ever been to the Oasis or if you've been in the past 2 years, but its TOTALLY different. They've expanded about 2,000% into a totally new building. The new Oasis is like a catacomb of staircases, landings, patios, and crazy bronze statues. And it is Spectacular. Perched atop Lake Travis, The Oasis probably has the best view in the State of Texas. Seriously. The network of patios allow you the perfect vantage point to watch the shimmering water and the sunset over the Hill Country. I can't express to you in words how amazing the location of the restaurant is.

The food, however, is another issue. The food is awful. Practically inedible. I've had overcooked, undercooked, and just plain tasteless food there. The menu consists mainly of staple Tex-Mex bar food. Nachos, burgers, enchiladas, fajitas, that sort of thing. I chose to have my birthday dinner there, mostly to enjoy the view and I was thoroughly unimpressed. But, man, that view was spectacular. It makes you forget how awful the food is. What the Oasis does do well, however, are margaritas. They make a pretty tasty Cazadores margarita. Totally drinkable while you sit on the patio and watch the sunset.

Bachelor #4 and I happened to go on Sunday. We opted not to eat as we'd both had the food and decided we weren't THAT hungry. So we went up to the bar on the top floor. The bar isn't just any old bar, its an entire dance floor, seating, a huge stage, and a large patio section. The band was playing great salsa music and people were dancing away. Made me wish I had remembered my salsa lessons from when I was bored in Fort Worth. We sat by the huge glass windows overlooking the lake and watched the sunset while drinking margaritas, and listening to the peppy salsa music. That's the way the Oasis should be enjoyed.

Bottom Line: Crappy food, INCREDIBLE atmosphere, and the margaritas rock

Mariah: 8.5 (A 5 for food and a 12 for atmosphere so lets split the difference)

Eastside Cafe

2113 Manor Rd
Austin, TX
(512) 476-5858

So my week of dating continued the next night after the debacle at Marakesh. This time it was with a gentleman we’ll call Bachelor #3. I was actually really excited to go out with Bachelor #3. We’d had a great first date at Habana (oops, forgot to write that review) and had spend hours talking on the phone all week. So when Saturday rolled around, I put on a sexy black dress, cleaned up my place, and sanitized the cat. I was also really excited that my date had suggested going to Eastside Café. I had eaten there several times as a teenager when visiting my grandparents (who had lived in Austin since the 1950’s) and had fond memories of the fresh food and eclectic vibe the place had. Despite being a co-blogger with a vegetarian, I hadn’t managed to make it back to Eastside Café since I’d moved back. So after our obligatory hey-how-YOU-doin make-out session, my date and I made our way to Eastside Café in his ginourmous pick-up truck (before you pass judgment, I’ll tell you he’s an antiques dealer and apparently a big truck is required).

Now I’ll tell you the parking lot to Eastside Café isn’t very large and we had a hard time finding parking. There’s a small lot in front that never has open spaces and a larger (but still small) lot in back. We drove his monstrous truck around the block a few times trying to find any spot we could wedge that crazy beast. Finally someone pulled out of the parking lot and we were able to maneuver the truck in (while cutting off an old lady who tried to steal the spot from us while we were maneuvering). I had called in reservations, but remembered as we walked up to the hostess that they had forgotten to ask my name. But despite the lost reservation, we were able to be seated immediately. Apparently Eastside Café is an old house that’s been converted into a restaurant. The place is like a catacomb of dining rooms. We were seated in the farthest back rooms, but it was cozy and quiet, unlike most restaurants in Austin which always seem a little too loud for my tastes (particularly when on a date).

Before I went, I had been instructed to order the baked brie appetizer, so when it came time to order appetizers, we readily ordered it. I also decided to order the ruby trout entrée and my date ordered the nights special a pork chop. The brie arrived quickly and we dug in with zeal. The cheese appeared to be a quarter of a brie wheel that had been cut and baked. Nothing special there. The cheese did, however, come with a spiced apple topping and the most amazingly wonderful crackers. It appeared that the crackers were actually biscuits that had been thinly sliced and baked. They are light, crusty, and were the perfect foil to the cheese. The spiced apple topping though good wasn’t anything amazing. It tasted like a fresher version of the Stouffers spiced apples you can get in your local freezer section (if you want to try this at home). The trout wasn’t too bad. It was fresh and covered in a béarnaise-like tarragon sauce. But they had grilled the trout and it definite char marks on it. Now I’m one of those people that doesn’t like char on my food. I don’t eat marshmallows that turn black, I don’t eat the black bits at the edges of brisket and fajitas, so the charred trout was kind of unappealing to me. The trout came with a baked sweet potato with brown sugar which I normally love, but again my food preferences got in the way of enjoying the meal. I usually prefer my baked potatoes, sweet or otherwise, to be cooked until soft but there is still some firmness to the flesh. The baked sweet potato at Eastside Café was sooo thoroughly cooked through that the inside was over-pulpy and had the consistency of mashed carrot baby-food. Now some people might like that texture, but I found it unappealing.

My date’s meal was equally unappealing. His pork chop, through skewered with a rosemary stem - one of my favorite grilling/presentation methods, I found the flavor of his chop rather unsavory (no comments from the peanut gallery). The pork chop was covered in a cloyingly sweet glaze that left the lingering flavor in my mouth of over-ripe tropical fruit. The texture of the chop wasn’t too bad. It was cooked well and through and wasn’t tough, but I just couldn’t get past the flavor.

We were going to try dessert there, but decided to get gelato instead. After just a lackluster meal, we felt we needed a light and yummy known quantity. We went to Puciugo, my favorite gelateria from Dallas that just opened at the new Hill Country Galleria (conveniently only 5 minutes from my apartment). We went back to my place, ate gelato and snuggled on the couch. A really great second date.

Which is why I was so amazed when Bachelor #3 never called back. A sent a text message saying how much I enjoyed the date and made the obligatory Wednesday post-date “Hey how are you” call, but never got a response in return. What’s up with that? I do know one of the cardinal rules of dating is if you’ve gone out less them a month (or a half dozen dates, whichever is less) you don’t owe them a call, a “break-up” talk or anything really. It’s a rule. However, when I break things off with a guy, I usually always let them know that a connection just isn’t there, or some other acceptable excuse. Becky said this was karma coming back to bite me in the ass for the gentleman a few months ago who seemed quite devastated when I broke it off with him (and I have to say I’m very nice, but firm, when I break things off with guys). And while I was very nice when I broke it off, I may have been rather callous by asking myself (and possible others) how could this guy have responded so poorly? We’d only been out a few times, we obviously didn’t connect (or at least I didn’t think so). but now, here I am in the same situation, mildly pissed, and wondering why this guy never called. Oh well, onto Bachelor #4.

Bottom Line: Fresh food though the execution could use some work

Mariah: 7

Marakesh

906 Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 476-7735

Wednesday started my week of serial dating – lunch date Wednesday, 2 dates Friday, a date Saturday, a date Sunday, a date Tuesday, and then one more on Wednesday. If it weren’t for my crackberry, I’d have problems keeping up with all of them. Needless to say, I’ve been eating out a lot lately. My Tuesday lunch date was at Cosi, which I’ve already reviewed, my Thursday date was just drinks at Trudy’s (and the date went pretty horribly anyway, but that’s what I get for going on a blind date with someone who hangs out with 65 year old women). Which brings us to Friday. The first date was marathon wine drinking at my favorite wine bar, Cork & Co, with a funny and dynamic (though slightly workaholic) software engineer. The second date, however, is the focus of this review.

I met up with Bachelor #2 Friday evening at Marakesh, a little middle eastern restaurant on Congress. We were seated promptly at one of the few empty tables. The place was packed with people from all walks of life, singles, people on dates (like us), and even a few families. The place isn’t large, maybe 15-20 tables and the décor is typical Congress ave restaurant. Brick walls, worn hard wood floors and the slightly musty scent of a well aged building. The smell of the building mixed wonderfully with the smell of the middle eastern food to produce a great homey feel that made me immediately at ease. The smell made my mouth instantly water, and after 2 bottles of wine, I was starving!

I perused the menu and noticed the typical middle eastern fare: shwarma, gyros, falafel, etc. More Greek or Turkish than Moroccan, but eh, this is Texas, you can’t expect to go to a traditional Moroccan restaurant in central Texas. We ordered an appetizer and two entrees, and to be honest, I don’t remember what any of them were. Between the alcohol and the TOTALLY unremarkable middle eastern food, I seriously don’t remember what we ate. I totally don't remember the appetizer. I remember it was meaty and tasteless. I really don't remember what Bachelor #2 ordered. I think it involved chicken, but I am at a loss as to what it was. I THINK I ordered kibbeh, mostly because its usually what I like to order at new middle eastern restaurants. Its considered sort of the meatloaf of middle eastern food and you can generally gage how good a restaurant is by their kibbeh. Its kind of like in the US, if you can't cook meatloaf right, you can't cook anything right. However, Marakesh's fried bulgar/lamb was so unremarkable I don’t remember if that’s truly what I ate. It wasn’t badly prepared, rancid, or anything too offensive, but it was just boring boring food. I do remember my entree came with hummus and pilaf, and I remember enjoying both. The hummus was pretty tasty, having a sharp dill tang and the pilaf was plain but turned into a nice hummus delivery system.

The only think remarkable was the halva, the dessert we ordered, and that’s because it was remarkably bad. I’ve come to find out that the halva I had eaten before is semolina halva and more resembles a thick polenta textured pudding. But after doing some research, I’ve discovered halva can resemble anything depending on what country you’re in. In fact, it means dessert (or more specifically “sweets”) in several different languages. This halva was more (as I’ve come to find out) Egyptian style halva, which resembles a big square hunk of candy. It had a nice melt-in-your-mouth texture, but it was soooo over-sweet and the bitter taste of cardamon overpowered all the other flavors that I couldn’t take more than a couple of bites. The waitress who was a little off to begin with noticed we hadn’t eaten it and chose to tell me while I was standing in line at the bathroom that she’d taken it off the bill. You know there are times when you talk to strangers, and times you don’t, and standing in line for the bathroom is one of those times you don’t. :P

Bachelor #2 and I continued on to The Hideout for a Ladies of Comedy improve show. The Hideout is a cute little coffee shop/improve theater. A fun date for all you single people if you’re looking for interesting things to do (like you have to look that far in Austin, but hey, I thought I’d point it out). The comedy show was.. interesting.. to say the least. There were moments of sheer brilliance and moments that were less than brilliant (including the sketch where a woman gives birth to her food baby - a baby tied to a pizza - and procedes to eat it.. a little disturbing).

Bottom Line: Bland, uninteresting, just plain forgettable middle eastern food

Mariah: 5

Baby Greens

2316 S 1st St

Austin, TX 78704

512-462-1697

http://www.ilovesalads.com/

Some of you may not know this about me, but I’m a belly dancer (and no I WON’T do a private show for you, so don’t bother asking). I’ve been dancing for about 6 years now and was even in a troupe in Fort Worth. We did Gypsy style belly dancing, complete with crazy costumes, skirts, coins, bells, scarves; the whole 9 yards. We performed at local festivals, other dance shows, and even at the State Fair every year. It was awesome and is probably the ONE thing I miss about Fort Worth. But when I moved to Austin I couldn’t find anyone teaching Gypsy style belly dancing, so I decided to try the next best thing, Tribal Fusion style belly dancing. Tribal Fusion dancing involves lots of crazy costumes but the dancing has a more intensity than the vibrant energy of Gypsy.

Anyway, my new teacher is on south Lamar and when I’m done with class at 8:30, I am usually starving. Usually I head home and forage through my fridge for a snack, but this week I was heading out to Christine and Tess’s to do some eyebrow grooming (Tess is a fabulous aesthetician, I’ll gladly recommend her to anyone). So I drove down Oltorf intending to get one of those Fresco tacos at Taco Smell (I know it sacrilege, but I think they’re kind of tasty) when a fabulous idea popped into my head, why not try Baby Greens! The notion of healthy fast food fascinates me and I’ve been meaning to try this place for ages, but they never seem open. Every time I drive by they always look dark and uninviting, so I keep on driving. But this time my stomach was grumbling and I was feeling rather proud of myself for the good work-out I’d just gotten, and wanted to continue the healthy streak I had going that day.

I drove by slowly to ascertain whether they were open. Again, I felt daunted, the place was dark and there weren’t any cars in the lot. BUT there was large neon sign in the window that said Open. So I cautiously crept into the drive thru thinking maybe those crazy hippies had forgotten to turn the sign off. When a pulled up to the intercom a friendly voice spoke up “Can I help you?” Apparently they WERE open! The menu wasn’t very large, there are really only 6 major salad options to choose from: cobb, greek, caesar, southwest, spinach, and something called Sharon’s. You can choose any of these salads with meat or without AND you can choose to have them as a salad or a wrap. Whatever salad/wrap you choose, you get a further choice of 10 or so dressings to go with it. I went with a chicken cobb wrap with blue cheese vinaigrette dressing. I was already salivating as I drove up to the pick up window. The friendly hippie greeted me again and took my $6 (seriously, it was only $6). I sat at the window for slightly longer than I would at Taco Smell before my wrap was handed to me.

The wrap was tightly packed in white paper and the dressing was in a separate plastic container. Since I was driving, I figured I’d dig into the sandwich as-is to avoid a dressing mess. From the first bite, I was in love. All of the veggies were fresh and crisp. The romaine and cucumbers had a substantial crunch, the carrots slivers were still firm and shapely, and the avocado was creamy and still tasted green! The chicken and bacon was not at all overwhelming and the whole wrap was flecked with the pungent hit of blue cheese. These meaty “extras” in no way detracted from the real star of the sandwich, those fresh veggies. The whole sandwich together was so creamy, fresh and perfect that I didn’t even feel the need to add the fattening dressing. I did decide, for the sake of you readers, to try the dressing, just so I could review it (of course). It had a slightly over-mayonnaisey taste, but was overall very pleasant. It wasn’t very greasy and had a subtle blue cheese flavor. It didn’t particularly add or detract from the wrap, so I decided to finish it without; who needs those extra calories??

Overall: Awesome wraps and salads with fresh greens

Mariah: 9

Laura's note: After Mariah's glowing recommendation, I decided to try the place myself. I love the idea of actually having a healthy option when it comes to getting something on the go.

When I first arrived, the hipster working the drive through acted really annoyed with me. I couldn't figure out quite how the whole thing worked fast enough for him. After he snottily explained that the left top portion of the menu listed choices for tortilla types, I debated in my head just driving off. But cooler heads prevailed and I explained to him that it was my first time at Baby Greens, and he seemed to soften considerably. I hurried up with my choices and ordered Sharon's veggie in a tomato basil tortilla with green goddess dressing. Sharon's veggie contains romaine lettuce, baby spinach, pecans, avocado, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions. I received my order quickly (and for about $5) and drove home.

In the safety of my own house I decided to dig in to the wrap. My first thoughts were awful as all I got was a large mouthful of tortilla, as you do in the first bite of most wraps. However, as I peeled some of the tortilla away, I was left with a very delicious vegetable treat. The pecans were a bit difficult as they seemed to shake loose and fall out every time I picked up my dinner, but such is the nature of the wrap, and I do not fault Baby Greens for this. The avocado was evident but not plentiful, and served as a suitable creamy fusion device for the rest of the vegetables. The green goddess dressing was creamy as well and complimented the ensemble. I finished every bite and then went back and sopped up the remaining dressing with the tortilla.

Overall: A very tasty healthy meal for a great price, but don't be fooled, you will be treated as a fast food customer.

Laura ~ 8

Fino

2905 San Gabriel Street

Austin, TX 78705

(512) 474-2905

http://www.finoaustin.com/

Oh, my fellow foodies, how busy life gets sometimes. I feel bad for abandoning you these past 2 weeks to take care of the banalities of life (like school projects and work), but sometimes you have to put down the things you love in order to finish the things you don’t. But rest assured, I didn’t deny myself the only pleasure I seem to be getting these days, food (aside from the dates I had this weekend, but I don’t kiss and tell)! I happened to go to two restaurants in the last few weeks that need reviewing. I’ll start with the latest, the one new restaurant I went to last week, Fino.

Fino is actually located in an area I know really really well, at 29th and San Gabriel. When I was in college, I spent a year living in a houseful of men, at my engineering fraternity’s house, which as it happened, was nicknamed “The House” (sounds ominous, right?, well if you spent any time in that bathroom, you’d think so too). The House was an old 1930’s west campus house with bad plumbing, bad walls, bad smells, but oh was it fun place to live. The yard was surrounded in thick, tall bamboo and we used to have these incredible keggers there. Think make out rooms, 2-story beer bongs, and a huge yard to throw up in when you’d had enough. That place was made to be a party house! It was located right at the intersection of 29th and San Gabriel. We used to get all liquored up and walk across Granite Café, the local high end restaurant and pretend to spend money we didn’t have on food we never bought. But they did have a nice patio and for a college student Granite Café was about as swanky as it got.

Flash forward 8 year (yikes!!) to groovy 2008. Lee invited me out for dinner and since I knew I’d need a break from all the school work I’ve been doing I said sure. Let me tell you, if I wanted to relive my college years of pretending to eat at Granite Café I still could, because the place hasn’t changed one bit. Now don’t get me wrong, its really a nice location. Its on the second floor of a nice brick shopping center and basically takes up the whole top of the shopping center. A generous wrap around veranda with tons of outdoor seating, lovely bamboo blinds to keep the sun out, large wicker furniture, and a nice breeze wafting in from Shoal Creek, gives the restaurant has a nice tropical atmosphere. The inside (where I have to admit I’ve never spent much time), seems nice and upscale. Large picture windows bring the tropical atmosphere into the interior of the restaurant while a large bar creates an open space that is segmented by small screens for more privacy.

I sat down and immediately ordered a sangria, the house specialty. It came in a smaller glass than I was hoping, but was a really amazing drink. Little pieces of apples and oranges danced with ice cubes in the ruby liquid. The red wine was neither too sweet nor too bitter. Very tasty. At that point Lee came walking up looking like a Vietnamese Mexican (sorry bud, you’ve been spending waay too much time in San Antonio lately). But we settle and I ordered tapas, calamari and crab bourekia, and decided to get the paella (which requires 30 minutes to cook, btw). Well, technically we only ordered a crab bourekia but a few minutes later what should happen to show up but calamari. We waited a few minutes for the waitress to come back but when she didn’t we decided to dig in. I was hungry and I’ll never turn down good calamari!

The calamari was fresh and the breading was decent. Nothing too spectacular. It was fried to a perfect golden color though. There’s nothing I hate more than overfried calamari. But the sauce. Well, the “smoked paprika mojo picon” sauce was AWFUL. Bleh. I think they mixed tomato sauce with liquid smoke and served it up for us. Avoid if at all possible. By then the waitress had come back and when we pointed out that we had actually ordered the bourekia she said “My bad!” and the bourekia appeared soon after. The crab bourekia wasn’t all that great either. The phyllo was initially crisp and flaky and the lump Crab, mascarpone & roasted peppers filling tasted good but the whole package together turned out being kind of oily and lackluster.

The paella came out soon after which surprised me, I was expecting it take a lot longer to cook. But then, I was on my 3rd glass of sangria and was enjoying the company. Now, after having the less than stellar tapas, I wasn’t expecting much from the paella. Maybe it was because my guard was down, or maybe it really was that good, but the paella knocked my socks off. The octopus, calamari, and mussels (and maybe sausage but I don’t remember) were cooked perfectly in the moist saffron-tomato infused rice. It had a slightly smoky flavor and the texture of the rice was incredible. Not at all gummy like some paella’s I’ve had, and definitely not dry. Each grain of rice was plumped to Portuguese perfection. I totally glutted myself on it. And to be honest the portion was huge. It is meant for 2 people, but 3 people could easily not finish it and with appetizers it would be the perfect amount for 4 people (if you’re cheap like me).

After the incredible paella, we decided to chance dessert and o