El Arbol Photo Tour

El Arbol
3411 Glenview Avenue
Austin, TX 78703-1448
(512) 323-5177

http://www.elarbolrestaurant.com/

Picada - Cured meat, assorted cheeses and house olive mix

Provoleta - Oak wood grilled provolone with oregano and smoked paprika. Served with crostini

Empanada Espinaca - Spinach, onion, mozzarella and parmesan

Pastel de Choclo - Traditional spicy Chilean dish of sirloin, hard-cooked egg and raisins, topped with a corn purée and baked

Cafe Blue

8714 Lime Creek Road
Volente, Texas
(512) 996 - 8188

http://www.cafebluetx.com/

I feel like I've always had a restaurant conundrum here in Austin. We live next to one of the most beautiful lakes in Texas, Lake Travis. But for years, if I wanted to treat out-of-town visitors to a meal overlooking the lake, I had subject them to a crappy menu. I would feel ashamed of my city, wherever we ate on the lake, while constantly apologizing for the objectionable quality of the food.

When my Dad told me he had found a great, new place to eat on the lake, I cringed in disbelief. I thought, 'Austin is just can’t support a place that has great food and a great view. It has to go messing up one or the other.' But, I love my Dad, so I decided to humor him one Saturday and meet my parents for (a very early) dinner. Apparently when your parents turn 65, five o'clock stops being happy hour and starts being dinner. Besides, it was a beautiful day, like every day has been since it stopped raining. A drive by the lake would be love. Plus, I had a secret, crafty, ulterior motive. I wanted my parents to spend some one-on-one time with my new boyfriend away from the hoards of family we always have around at holidays.

I turned on some indie rock, set the car to paddle-shift manual mode, and programmed in the location on my GPS. When I looked at the map, it seemed like this place was just past 620 on 2222. It would take us a half hour max to get there. After we crossed over 620, I told the boy, "pull up the map on the GPS so we don't pass it." He laughed at me and said "I think we have a ways to go." To which I replied, "Poppycock! It can't be far." But we continued to drive. And drive. And drive. And drive some more. Finally, after a solid 45 minutes of driving, we reached the ends of the Earth, I mean Volente, where Cafe Blue is located.

When we approached Café Blue, we were instantly confused about where we were supposed to park. There were two driveways, one pointing down towards the lake with the official Café Blue sign, and one pointing up a very steep hill that said Café Blue parking. Being lazy, and knowing the Café was on the water, we opted to try the low road. There was a parking lot at that lower level, but there a big sign that said it was reserved for the Marina next door to Café Blue. Um, how would they know? We opted to be.. safer.. and parked (where everyone else had parked including my very rule abiding father) on the steep sloping drive down to the parking lot. You’ll thank me for that tip. Trust me. Well, we were parked, but we didn’t see a restaurant. We did see a large statue at the start of a rock stair path leading down and decided to give it a try. Down we climbed on steep rocky stairs, over tree limbs, under branches. The boy commented, “this place is well hidden” to which I replied “yeah, don’t bring Grandma here, geeze!”. The bottom of the path finally opened onto a wooden deck with a tin roof where a hostess greeted us. It was a harrowing experience, but we had made it.

Café Blue is nicely situated on the waters of Lake Travis, backed by a giant rocky hill (which we had just climbed down). There isn’t any indoor seating, it is basically a giant covered deck. But do you really need anything else when you’re eating by the lake?

I was hot after that climb and ordered a frozen Margarita (or two) and settled in with my family and my menu. It was (around) Mother’s Day so I gifted my mom with 2 new vegetarian cookbooks. She’s recently gotten on the farm CSA bandwagon but calls me about once a week “Mariah, I got XXX veggie in my basket, what do I do with it”. I think it was really more a gift for me, this gift of her silence, but whatever. We can both win from a present can’t we?

Café Blue has a large selection of delectable sounding appetizers, so the boy and I decided to order 3 or 4 and share them so we could try more. The Coconut Shrimp was really delicious. But then, can you tell me if you’ve ever had bad coconut shrimp? Its deep fried shrimp in coconut. The only thing that would make it fattier would be to coconut batter bacon wrapped filet mignon.

The ahi tuna left a lot to be desired. The tuna just wasn’t all that fresh and it ended up being rather stringy. I had one piece then let the hoover, I mean the boy, finish that one.

My favorite item were the Aloha sliders. I love me some pineapple, and adding it to a burger (or pizza) makes me even happier. These soft little sliders were sweet and savory all at the same time. The boy didn’t care for them, but I say too bad to that. It left two for me!

My mom ordered Antonio’s Stuffed Shrimp, crab stuffed shrimp topped in a garlic cream sauce. Those were pretty tasty. I would totally go back and order them. My dad ordered Shrimp Brochette, jalapeno stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon. Those were delicious too. But while both were good, they were nothing outside the ordinary, which is kind of how I felt about all of Café Blue’s food. Good but nothing spectacular. That being said, it is leaps and bounds better than most of the other restaurants around the Lake. I will definitely be returning now that the weather is nice.

As we finished up our meal, I was secretly dreading the climb back up to the parking lot. When we left the restaurant, that’s when we discovered the secret to Café Blue. You don’t have to climb up and down a trail to get to it, it has a funicular! I’m sorry I didn’t think to take a picture of it, but it’s really spectacular. You stand on the platform and are carried up the side of the hill to the parking lot. It is seriously, seriously awesome. Totally worth the trip (and that, my friends in tip #2 – you’ll thank me later for that one too).

Bottom Line: Decent food by the lake, and a funicular!!

Mariah ~ 7

Jack Allen's Kitchen Wine Dinner

I recently had a delicious dinner at Jack Allen's kitchen. Now, I know it's down in the great unknown territory of south-west Austin (be careful, there be dragons there), but if you haven't made it down there yet, you really should.

I've eaten there as a regular, run-of-the-mill diner several times now, but those reviews are for another day. This post is about the wonderful wine dinner dinner they invited me to. And I will disclose that I was invited to this fine dinner and hence didn't pay for it (thanks FTC and your new fabulous rules).

First of all, Jack Allen's Kitchen is way way out in southwest Austin. Basically, you go to the Y at Oakhill, take the 71 branch and go a mile. My parents live in that neck of the woods, so its not too far out of the way for me. I can imagine, though, how it might be on the other side of the planet for someone from Pflugerville, but it's well worth the trip. Jack Allen's is the brain child of ex Z-Tejas chef Jack Allen (surprise surprise). He took over the old space where the Y Bar and Grill (then Nunzia's) used to be, and you long time readers will remember how Nunzia's felt about us. So I'm really glad to see something reputable and delicious in it's place.



Like so many of the new mid-dollar restaurants popping up over Austin now, Jack Allen's really focuses on using local ingredients. Their menu is a laundry list of local farms and food producers that brought a little tear to this foodie's eye when she first read. The food is mostly southern and southwestern inspired. It's kind of like everything Z Tejas wishes it normally were but can't be because it's a chain now (and I'll caveat that by saying Z Tejas wine dinners and special menus are delicious, it's just their normal menu that suffers a little).



But enough about other restaurants, it's Jack Allen's you really want to know about. The wine dinner they invited me to a few (cough) months ago was really delicious and interesting. First of all it was multi course, which I am always a sucker for and second, they didn't offer just one wine pairing with each course, they offered two. Now before you accuse me of being a lush, let me describe how awesome this wine pairing was.

The wine portion of the dinner was hosted by local Texas wine producers. For each course, there was one varietal and two wines, one Texas wine, and one other wine that is thought to be a good representation of the varietal. But did you know which was which? No! It was a blind tasting. You would get two small pours of each wine and you had to figure out which was the Texas wine. Sounds like a pretty awesome party doesn't it? It was.

Our welcome wine was a Vermentino. A Vermentino is not a wine you come across a lot, but it's a lovely Italian white wine. It's bright and acidic and is usually made in Corsica. The two Vermentino's they brought were Mandola's and then Gagliardo Favorita.

Mandola's: Fun, popped in my mouth, crisp and acidic, with a nice mineral content, and notes of grapefruit and golden raisin
Gagliardo Favorita: A Sardinian wine. Fruit forward wine with strong flavors of apple, apricot and honey but it had a soapy undertone

Now, I love Texas wines. I am a huge advocate of them. I know a lot of people poo poo them, but I think Texas wines are really unique and interesting. Most of them have such strong and powerful characters, just like everything else in Texas. But sometimes when you compare it to an old world wine, like a Vermentino, with a Texas wine of the same style, the Texas wine just doesn't hold up. So I was really surprised that I enjoyed the Mandola's Vermentino so much. It's bright acidity and mineral notes really made it stand out over the soapy Sardinian wine.

The first course was a Cold smoked and grilled jump shrimp with blackberry and lemon thyme aioli. This shrimp was delicious. It all of the rest of the meal had been horrible (which it wasn't), it would have been worth going to for this shrimp alone. What surprised me the most was how well the thyme, shrimp, and blackberry were together. It's a really different but spectacular combination.


The wine pairing they chose for the shrimp was a Chenin Blanc. They compared a Beringer Chenin Blanc to the local Fall Creek version.

Beringer: Sugary with a mineral overtone and a taste of apricot, melon, and pear
Fall Creek: Golden and red tinged wine with a strong flavor of lemon, golden raisin, dates and candied fruits and a light pear aftertaste with a distinct chemical overtone

Ok, I have to admit, I usually turn my nose up grocery store table wines. But the Beringer Chenin Blanc totally blew me away. It was sweet without being cloying and had nice fruit tones. It paired very well with the shrimp. I gotta tell you folks, for $6.99, thats a great bottle of wine for a light summer dinner (of shrimp of course).

The second course, however, wasn't as strong as the first course of shrimp. It was a Seared Texas Redfish with Texas Citrus Mojo and Wilted Arugula. It just didn't work very well. The taste was rather bland and the textures ended up being homogeneous.

The wine offerings for this course is one of my favorite types of white wine, a Viognier. For having such a fancy, French name, I would argue that most of the great bottles of Viognier out there today are American. California has a few good Viogniers, but the real US Viognier winner are the wineries in Washington. Trust me. The Viogners they chose for this tasting, though, were the Zaca Mesa from Santa Barbara and the local Becker.

Zaca Mesa: A wine from Santa Barbara with flavors of apricot, violet and lavender. High in alcohol content.
Becker: A local Texas wine that's grassy, with a lilac overtone and tastes of green pepper and dill.

In this case, the Texas wine was the winner. The lilac and dill tones of the wine made for a deliciously complex flavor. Plus, I didn't care for this fish course as much, BUT it did pair nicely with the Becker Viognier.

The third course was a Moroccan spiced Texas quail with toasted almond couscous and caramelized peach-honey glaze. The quail was cumin heavy, the couscous was hot and spicy and the glaze was sickly sweet. Individually, each one was too heavily spiced or flavored, but together the heavy spices combined well together. The was the favorite course of my dinner guest and boyfriend. He would NOT stop talking about how awesome this dish was. I thought it was pretty good, but I thought I'd comment that he thought it was amazing.


They paired this spicy, and flavorful course with two wonderful roses, a great selection for this kind of food. This course paired nicely with the Texas rose, the ever present Texas winery, McPherson. It was sweet, with a pop of cherry summer berries and watermelon. The non-Texas comparative Rose, was just not worth mentioning.

The fourth course was a Pecan wood-fired beef tenderloin with shaved yellow grilled corn and cotija. The beef had a salty, smoky crust and a tender texture. The shaved corn with cotija had a casserole-like texture. I felt like I was eating elote casserole and it was delicious! This was a spectacular dish. I've come to find out, they sometimes serve the awesome corn as their veggie side. Make sure you ask for it if you ever go.



They paired this beef course with two Sangioveses. Both were lovely, and to be honest, I couldn't decide which one I liked better. But since I was (cough) getting a little drunk off all he wine, I didn't catch the name of the Chianti Classico vineyard, so we'll have to say the Flat Creek wins, simply because I remembered it.

Flat Creek: Floral with butterscotch and leather undertones
Chianti classico (vineyard unknown): Herby and astringent with heavy tannins. Tasted like a bouquet of flowers with pepper.

After so much decadence, we had to be let down a little by the dessert course. It was a simple but delicious Chocolate truffle. Buttery, smooth, and melt in your mouth delicious. I guess I was looking for something I could really sink my teeth into, but hey, I'm never going to turn down chocolate!

They paired the chocolate with two Bordeaux Blends. The one that stood out the most was the Inwood Estates Magellan. It was herb-y, leathery, smelled of tobacco and had strong, tongue sucking tannins. A very nice Texas wine.

Jack Allen's Kitchen - 8

Shuck Shack

I've been eating at Shuck Shack, on occasion, since it opened, and I'm really surprised I haven't gotten around to writing about it yet, so here goes.

The Shuck Shack isn't really a restaurant, it's a plot of land over in East Austin. On it is an adorable old-style southern building, an outside patio surrounded by dense foliage and large yard filled with typical southern lawn games.



Generally all they serve is seafood. And not just southern deep fried seafood as the name would imply. There are typical seafood selections from all coasts. East coast crab cakes and calamari live hand and hand next to ceviche and mahi with a soy glaze.

When I went a few weeks ago, I was in the mood for one thing, deep fried seafood. My friend Connie and I had both had bad days at work and wanted to indulge ourselves in some deep fried goodness. But being foodies, we didn't want to stoop so low as to eat at Red Lobster or Long John Silver's (and don't get me wrong, there's a time and a place for both of those, but it's generally when you're on the road). So we decided to head to Shuck Shack.

We started out with a plate of calamari with lemon. The calamari where tender (for calamari) and perfectly deep fried. I think we ate the whole basket.



And being a good southern girl, I had to get hush puppies. Hush puppies are how I judge a good southern restaurant. If they take the time to make good hush puppies, then the rest of their food will probably be decent. Shuck Shack's hush puppies, while not the best I've ever had, made a strong showing.



Probably the best savory dish we had all night were the Shrimp Diablo. Now, how can anything associated with bacon, shrimp, and jalapeno be bad? It really can't, but Shuck Shack's Shrimp Diablo were a tasty treat.



My absolute favorite thing I tried at Shuck Shack that evening was the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie. It was delicious! It's worth going to shuck shack for the pie alone! In fact, when I was done with one slice, I ALMOST ordered a second. It took a monumental act of willpower to keep myself from getting another.



While we ate, we had a nice show watching the other restaurant patrons play lawn games. They have large, well groomed playing fields set up for horseshoes, washers and bocce ball. When the weather gets a little cooler, I fully intend on going back for a game of bocce and another Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie.

~Mariah: 9

Note: The Shuck Shack is now closed. Too bad, it was a really decent place to eat. One more casualty of the Great Recession.

Fino Happy Hour

I recently had a delightful Happy Hour at Fino. Their patio is one of the nicest in Austin, in my opinion and their food is generally pretty good. However, Fino and I have a rather love - hate relationship. I love some of their dishes, but hate others. Sometimes their food is so fresh, innovative and delicious. But other times, I feel like they "over innovate" and their dishes come off as pretentious and not that tasty. But now that I've been to Happy Hour at Fino a few times, I know how to tiptoe through flavor minefields in their perilous menu.

Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Gulf Crab - Quite tasty. Get a few.

Fried Anchovy Olives - Hands down the best (and smallest) thing on the Happy Hour Menu

The Ginger Apricot Daiquiri - A tasty cocktail for a summer afternoon

The Badass Manhatten - Is certainly badass. It had a rich, complex flavor that made me feel I was in an episode of Mad Men

Mussels Escabeche - Only ok. Stick with the peppers. But they do look pretty.

Things to avoid:
The spreads - They always sound delicious, but they've always underwhelmed me
Fried Goat Cheese - Sounds wonderful right? Its not
Fried Calamari - The calamari itself is pretty average, but the mojo sauce served with it is simply disgusting.
Tortilla Espanola - Its like a frittata. I know its a dinner dish in Spain, but I just can get excited about a happy Hour frittata.

I still assert that the most delicious thing on the Fino menu is their Seafood Paella. It's wonderfully addictive. Trust me. So if you go, order some peppers and olives and a drink for Happy Hour and then stay for the paella. You'll thank me.

P.S. Since I see Bill, the Bar Manager at Fino, reads these posts, I will also say that Fino has some of the most innovative drinks in Austin. Every time I go, I get excited when I see what delicious treats are offered up on the drink menu. Keep up the good work Bill!

La Hacienda de los Barrios

18747 Redland Road
San Antonio, TX 78259-3569
(210) 497-8000

http://www.lhdlb.com/

My friend Connie and I recently took a trip down to San Antonio for a lady's shopping Saturday. We decided to stop for some tasty Mexican food while we were down there. While I usually visit Mi Tierra while I'm in SA (mm, pan dulce), this time I was persuaded by Lee to try La Hacienda de los Barrios on the north side of town. Its in an unassuming suburban neighborhood, so we were a little thrown off driving up, but when we got there, we were immediately excited by the patio alone. It was huge, shaded, and quite lovely.

Isn't this patio lovely? The inside was nice, but not as breathtaking as the patio. Sorry!


The inside of the restaurant.. in case you're totally stupid and want to sit inside..

Connie got an order of the deep fried quesadillas. Corn turn-overs filled with white Mexican Cheese and Poblano pepper slices, fried to a golden crisp. These little corn pockets were amazing. I've never had deep fried quesadillas, but Connie assured me her Mexican momma used to make them this way.


I got an a la carte plate with a Famous “S.A.” Puffy Tacos and a Quezataco. The Quezataco is a handmade Corn Tortilla filled with beef fajita, bacon, and white cheese, garnished with guacamole. The "famous" puffy taco was totally gross. It was greasy and tasteless. It was so unappetizing that I only took two bites before putting it down. The Quezataco on the other hand was sheer taco perfection. I've never had bacon on a beef fajita taco, but is was a great combination And the homemade corn tortilla was wonderful. The perfect bite and so flavorful. I still have slightly inappropriate dreams about this taco.

As we sat and enjoyed the lovely afternoon, we noticed a waiter with several water glasses perched at precarious angles. Thats when we had an a-ha moment. You know the the little notches on the bottom of some plastic water glasses? They actually serve a purpose. You can stack them! We saw one waiter with a stack of glasses that were 3 high. Woh.

For dessert, we tried the Empanada de Guayaba - a deep fried turnovers filled with guava and cream cheese. It was only ok. The guave was served in chunks and was too subtle a fruit to stand up to the creamed cheese. The chunks also added an unappealing texture next to the soft creamed cheese and the soft crepe-y empanada wrapper.


This place is also family friendly. Check out this awesome playground. How'd you like to have played in that as a kid?


Bottom Line: Some great home cooked Mexican food, some not so great, but its all served on a lovely patio.

~ Mariah: 8

Red's Porch

3508 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704-7934
(512) 440-7337

www.redsporch.com

I recently had dinner with my family at Red's Porch. The food is only OK, but, I have to say, the view is spectacular. It's on South Lamar down by Ben White behind a bank. But it backs up to one of the best view's in town, the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Why no one has taken advantage of this great location before is beyond me, but I'm glad there's finally a bar there.

They have a lower level patio (that's dog friendly) and an upper patio. The upper patio, obviously, has the best view. I went back in February when it snowed, thinking this would be a great place to watch the snow fall on the greenbelt. It was, only it was pretty frosty. Despite the fact that the upper patio is enclosed, and there are heat lamps everywhere, the the wind and cold come in through the cracks in the deck. This is definitely a warm weather hang out.

Check out the lower patio. The trailer is a fun touch, but it just serves as a very large tv stand. Really. Thats a tv on it. They could have turned the trailer into an awesome food cart to give it a little less corporate feel and more "indie food" panache.

They've really put some thought into how to bring the outside in. Check out these garage doors.



So onto the food. It only Ok. It has a sort of upscale Chili's feel to it. As far as appetizers go, the queso is decent and the biscuits and gravy are pretty good. The fried olives were ok, but they just don't compare to Fino's (I will forever compare all fried olive's to the Fino gold standard of fried olive awesomeness). There are vegetarian options, but they skew heavily to side salads and deep fried appetizers. And fear not, parents, there is a kid's menu (including a 2 veggie plate, that SHOULD be on the adult menu too!).

The Smoked Chicken Corn Chowder (pictured below) is pretty good. It had a nice smokeyness that wasn't overpowering. It wasn't unique, but it was nice and homey. I'd definately order another bowl if I went there. The Spinach Salad with feta dressing was good but rather basic. The pickled onions added a nice touch but didn't make the salad pop as much as they should have.

My dad's enchiladas were, I have to say, your rather basic gooey enchilada. Nothing special about it.

My sister-in-law's burger. It was piled high with stuff, including a fat avocado. The meat had a nice flavoring. I'd recommend it if you're in the area, craving a burger and can't stomach going to Fudruckers.

My brother's tacos. I don't remember which tacos they were though. Sorry!

All in all, decent food, a great view, and a lovely patio (and porch) make Red's Porch an enjoyable al fresco destination in South Austin.

~Mariah: 7

La Condesa

400-A W 2nd Street
Austin, TX 78701
512.499.0300
http://www.lacondesaaustin.com/

Laura: The first time I visited La Condesa I was a bit put off. Sure it was for their grand opening and everything was comped, but they had invited so many people that it made it difficult to taste anything, I was shouted at by another party goer for indulging in some barside guacamole and the whole thing came off as pretentious and very Dallas-like. It's not a mistake that I picked up on a Dallas vibe. The first La Condesa was located in Victory Park in Dallas and closed in May 2009, just a little bit of a year after it opened.

Mariah: I never made it to that opening, but I'd gone to La Condesa shortly after it opened and was put off by the see-and-be-seen vibe I felt.But the food was decent enough and the it was close to my apartment, so I found myself there on an occasion or two.

Laura: Now that the buzz around La Condesa has settled and the crowds have calmed down, it is an incredibly enjoyable happy hour spot. Leslie, Jenn and I settled in to the sleek and stylish bar yesterday to do a little tasting of half priced drinks and discounted appetizers.

Torilla Soup - Spicy tomato broth, chicken, avocado, queso fresco, crispy tortilla strips, toasted ancho chile. Happy Hour $3

Cangrejo Tostada- Texas lump crab meat, green mango, grapefruit, tomato, chipotle mayo, chives. Happy Hour $2 each

Ejotes- grilled Texas green beans with garlic and epazote. Happy Hour $2

Ceviche. Happy Hour $6

Hanger steak with yucca fries $8

Close up of the hanger steak. Happy Hour $8

Laura: No, I did not try the steak but I did try the yucca fries with a side of chipotle mayo. They were crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and just delicious. Jenn really enjoyed the steak as well.

Mariah: On the several occasions I've been, I've had the Chile Relleno. It's a fat poblano stuffed with quinoa, manchego, and butternut squash served in a light tomato sauce with pepitas on top. It's really quite good in a non-traditional sort of way. But whenever I go, I always make sure to have a side of platanos and the elote. The platanos are wonderfully sweet and caramelized plantains with a sprinkling of queso fresco. Yum! And the elote. Oh, I could write an ode to the elote. Its a wood fired ear of corn covered in a thick cream and rolled in cheese. It. Is. Heavenly. Period. If you go there and eat nothing else, get the elote.

Laura: I had a chat with the bartender (not mixologist) about La Condesa's commitment to buy locally. They buy as many ingredients as possible from farms within a 60 mile radius of the Austin. I'm not sure how much ends up being local, but its a start and the intent is there.

Alma Blanca - Habanero-infused simebra azul blanco domaine de canton ginger liquer, agave nectar, pineapple juice, fresh corn, hoja de hierba santa, hibiscus-rose-infused salt rim.

The ginger flavor in the Alma Blanca is just enough to not be overpowering and compliments the habanero kick.

Watermelon Elderflower Martini (minus a big sip!) Tito's vodka, st germain elderflower liqueur, agave nectar, citrus and watermelon juice.

Laura: The Watermelon Elderflower Martini is the drink that brings me back to La Condesa. It is sweet without being cloying and although it is technically more suited toward summer, I am happy to drink it anytime. Not pictured is the El Cubico - a tobacco infused tequila, vanilla liqueur, lemon, grilled pineapple juice, mezcal essence concoction with a saffron infused salt rim. This was by far Leslie's favorite drink. I couldn't get past my dislike for the tobacco flavor, although oddly enough it doesn't bother me in red wine.

Mariah: The drinks at La Condesa are generally very good and very interesting. I usually never make it past the Alma Blanca (I'm always a sucker for a drink with spicy tequilla). I like it so much I don't think I've ever gotten anything else! But the rest of the drinks *sound* like they'd be good, but you'll have to trust Laura's opinion of them.

Laura: Sitting at the bar and watching the bartender at work is a highlight of the visit. The bartender crafted Jenn an off-menu Cablecar that simply was out of this world. Another highlight of visiting La Condesa is playing the "How much do you think it would cost to build that light fixture" game with Leslie. These are the kind of activities that occur when a professional film prop designer and a former mechanical engineer meet over cocktails. The conclusion is that at $4 a connector, the light fixture would quickly become very expensive.

Laura: Another thing than can get pricey is the dinner menu. It is worth a try, although other bloggers have given it mixed reviews and Taco Journalism definitely does not recommend the tacos. My suggestion is to stick to the less traditional and more inventive items on the menu. That is where you will find the stars of the show.

Mariah: On a 1-10 scale, I give it a 9.

Zoe's Kitchen (Giveaway!)

10000 Research Blvd

Austin, TX 78759

512-372-9080
http://www.zoeskitchen.com/

I was lucky enough yesterday to roll out of bed around 11 am, completely exhausted from ACL and think to myself "What is it I've planned to do today?" Oh yeah! Meet Maggie at Zoe's Kitchen for a preview!

Zoe's Kitchen is a new order at the counter casual Mediterranean restaurant in the Arboretum. Remember the days before the Domain when people regularly shopped at the Arboretum? Well, the place has had a lot of changes in the past few years, but one change I really appreciate is the restaurant additions (such as Kenobi opened in January 2008). Back in 2002 I lived nearby and the neighborhood was basically relegated to TGI Friday's and Z Tejas.

The restaurant is a chain that started in Birmingham, Alabama by a lady actually named Zoe. The cuisine reflects that as a southern take on broad generalized Mediterranean food.

A trip to Zoe's will get you vegetables, chicken, feta cheese, and olive oil served as a salad, skewers, pasta, pita or sandwich. It was good- but it was variations on a theme. If you aren't into those major ingredients, Zoe's isn't the place for you. I must admit, they have the vegetarian base covered, but they don't clearly mark the sneaky items. Beware of chicken broth in the rice pilaf, braised white beans and tomato soup.

Zoe's is optimal lunchtime material if you work in North Austin or if you are just too tired to cook and live in the area. You can order individual items or pick up meals for four or how ever many you want to feed. I could also see ordering this into the office meeting when you need to bribe your coworkers for their attendance. Here's some of the dishes we tasted on Monday.

Left: Steak rollups, rice pilaf. Center: Hummus salad plate. Right: Chicken skewers, salad.

Grilled chicken plate

Pita sandwich with pasta salad

Left: Reuben sandwich. Right: Grilled chicken Salad

I also ordered a Grilled Veggie stack (not pictured). The veggie stack is grilled portobello and zucchini, mozarella, caramelized onions, tomato, feta-parsley spread on focaccia. I give the feta-parsley spread two thumbs up. The focaccia bread was really thick, so be prepared for a carbfest.

Left: Order of hummus. Right: Veggie pita pizza.

The hummus was good, but the pita had much to be desired. Thank goodness it wasn't the normal pita bread they use. They told us their shipment hadn't arrived yet and that the bread they will be using is of much better quality. The pizza had a thin crispy crust just the way I like it. I think this would be my item of choice.

Spinach rollups served with salsa and side.

I wanted to like these spinach rollups, and I did... except for those damn canned mushrooms. HUGE pet peeve.

Chicken salad sandwich with side of braised white beans

Chocolate cake for dessert.

My vote on the cake? Fits the bill on chocolate-y and moist, but overall not really worth the calories.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention they have a small patio.

Proof that a small patio does exist.

Want to check out Zoe's for yourself? I'll give away coupons for two free entrees to one random commentor. You have until Friday to comment. I'll pick the winner by closing my eyes and then pointing to a random name on the screen. Don't forget to enter your email address. Posting as anonymous won't allow me to contact you. Good luck! And tell me something interesting!

Bottom Line: Generic Mediterranean food, perfect for quick lunch up north, easy take home or ordering mass quantities into the office.

Laura ~ 6