New Career

Guitar building chick could have a new career as a party plate designer. See the lusciousness she created for the X-Rae's 35th B-day!!!

Sinda and Jesse's house

This is a couple that proves you do NOT have to go out to have amazing food. Jesse's birthday was on June 19th (HAPPY BIRTHDAY) and they had a party this Saturday. Food included an amazing pork tenderloin (marinated by Kris and perfectly grilled by Jesse), grilled vegetable sandwiches and one of my favs - figs with goat cheese wrapped in proscuitto by Lisa.

I had a great time, ate way too much and learned a new card game - which I lost against more experienced players, but c'est la vie.

Lambert's

Lambert's on 2nd street in Downtown Austin on Friday night...what else can I say but YUM!!! Lisa, Sinda and I had girls night out and ate exclusively from the Bar Menu (not so coincidentally at the bar). We had oysters, shrimp, an endive and apple salad with gorgonzola and my favorite the (I will probably kill the spelling of this) charcuterie plate that included fois gras (glad it's not banned in Austin), brie, Pure Luck goat cheese, rabbit and quail egg pate, bread, and fresh honey (among other things). My second favorite was the oysters which were broiled with some apple smoked bacon, tomato and pesto butter. NOTHING was anything short of amazing though.

Bill Miller BBQ, Slaughter near IH35

Had the rancher plate with sausage and brisket. They drowned it in a tangy BBQ sauce. The roll was even gross.

Mother's Day and Garden Food

On Saturday, we celebrated Mother's Day with our Mother's and my mother's bf, Mike. We made Green Chili and Chicken Enchiladas, Mexican Spiced Steak, rice, black beans and roasted onions and peppers. Dinner was good...though the steak would have been better had we grilled it instead of searing/roasting on the stove. Too much marinade made it steam, rather than sear. The enchiladas were good and everyone seemed to enjoy the food.

Our mothers picked some of our basil and pulled the grape vine away from our Gardenias which they seemed pleased we had. Here is the pesto pasta I made on Sunday from our garden Basil. Yum!

Nuevo Leon, Slaughter and Escarpment

Paula told me to check this place out because they used to cater breakfast tacos to Brackenridge. I had a tough time finding it - kind of buried past Escarpement on Slaughter by the Wachovia branch. The place itself was very nice. They had a fabulous patio that I could imagine some fun happy hours at - ANYONE WANT TO HAPPY HOUR IN SOUTH AUSTIN?

When I walked in, the host/manager? had answered the phone at the bar, viewable from the host stand and acknowledged me with a smile and friendly wave that said - "hey I see you and I will be with you in just a sec." It was a friendly gesture from afar...the Waterloo BC staff could take some pointers.

I was seated quickly, they gave me complimentary chips and hot sauce and my order was taken. I got my food in about 10 minutes and the waiter was attentive to my drink refills, etc. The food was pretty good, I ate the whole plate! Nothing I would dream about like Chuy's, but definitely something I would try again. I had the Chicken Supreme Enchiladas. I am actually spoiled by Chuy's because I don't really like shredded meat. I like it more cut up like they do it (and before I get comments from my 2 readers, I know Chuy's is not real Mexican).

All in all, a good place. Next time I will try the Fajitas, Fish Tacos or Cheese Enchiladas - oh did I say that they had a pretty inexpensive lunch menu? They do!

Dinner at Mom's

My mother does not really like to cook...but she has a handful of specialties, beef stroghanoff, tuna casserole, rosemary chicken and spaghetti. We went to see her on Saturday and enjoyed another very successful round of spaghetti. Good wine and food was had by all. After we got home, many people in the neighborhood came and sat their chairs around in a circle in our lawn for some more wine. Much fun!

Muffins...yummy

Paula made these beautiful strawberry and blueberry muffins for us to have for breakfast this week. YUM!

P&K Grocery, West Mary

This is a cute little neighborhood grocery store that appeals to the foodie Austinite type. They make simple little breakfast sandwiches (egg, bacon, cheese and english muffin) that I just love! A former Starbucks employee works at P&K and she made me my first one a few months ago. It is a little pricey - around $3 plus tax, but it is really good, especially if they put a little hot sauce on the sandwich.

P&K also does gourmet sandwiches, which look delish. If you are ever in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood, check out P&K.

Maria's Taco Express, S. Lamar

I haven't been to Maria's in a long time and I forgot just how awesome the breakfast taco's are. I went on Tuesday before a training class and had a couple of tacos - bacon, potato, egg and cheese. Warning - you really only need one taco. They are good sized. Not that I didn't eat both...Great Stuff!!!

I went back on Thursday. They really are a great breakfast place and you get a good deal moneywise as well. My two tacos came out to $4.33. Cheaper than most places for breakfast and a load of food. You can even call them in ahead of time so they are ready when you get there.

Waterloo Ice House, Slaughter and Escarpment

I know, I know...I have been to quite a few Waterloo Ice House locations and the food is never that great. But, really, it has never been this bad either. This is a newer location in Circle C, which is going to serve the solidly middle class white folks in the neighborhood.

So, I go to the restaurant at 11:05 am. I like to eat lunch early to get in/get out and beat the crowds. A girl is folding t-shirts and a sign says to seat yourself. So I pick a table against the wall. The girl comes and take my drink order. Ice tea with very little ice arrived. It was too strong and not cold enough to drink. Guess why they call it ice tea guys! I look over the menu and decide on a Texas mainstay, chicken fried steak. I get my side salad first, so far so good, no brown lettuce like my visit to the Evangeline Cafe last week.

Got the rest of my food which consisted of a huge fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, toast and broccoli with carrots. Tried to eat the broccoli first and it was terrible bland. I am not sure how it was so bad because I often steam broccoli at home with little seasoning, etc. So then I tried to take a bite of the steak. The breading tasted fine, but the steak had a very nasty off taste. I tried another bite and it was completely inedible.

I gave up, ate my toast and potatoes put my napkin on my plate and pulled out my check card. The waiter passed me 3 times before taking the hint (card out) that I wanted to pay. He finally got the hint. I paid $13 for that mess.

I left the restaurant and another self indulgent blog is born!!!