Recently I took a trip to Austin, Texas and experienced some great food in a fun city!Austin is the state capital of Texas and Austin prides its self on being far from ordinary. Austin celebrates being "Weird". It is a community of musicians, artists, and progressive thinkers.
But let me talk about the taste of Austin. You can find some of the county's best Tex-Mex, barbecure and a wide selection of local and organic restaurants are to be found here. And the food trucks.... so many to choose from and so little time.
First stop - Hula Hut (http://www.hulahut.com)
It is Tex-Mex with a twist..... a Polynesian twist this is. They call it Tiki-Mex. Hula Hut overlooks Lake Austin and the place is decked out with Tiki torches, hundreds of lights and a great bar that overlooks the the lake! You can enjoy the surf'n, light rock or Polynesian music while sipping on a Mango Margarita while overlooking the lake. Almost heaven.
Their menu has snacks, PuPu platters, salads, burgers, fajitas, enchiladas and Luau dinners. Each has a Polynesian twist. Prices are very resonable starting at $6.99 up to $26.99.
We started off with the Kawaikini Stuffed Avocado. This was amazing.... Let me say that again... this was AMAZING!! I am going to attempt to make this at home.
They take a Hass avocado fill it with roasted chicken, green onions, cilantro, monterey jack cheese and green chili's, rolled in panko and green chili spices then lightly fry it. It is served on a bed of hatch green Chili's and queso blanco sauces. I could have eaten three of these!
The smooth velvety texture of the avocado, the kick of the chili and spices and the crunch of the panko all work so well together. Next was the Polynesian Pescado platter. It was two coconut shrimp, two mexonesian shrimp flautas, two grilled fresh fish tacos, and grilled fresh salmon. Also on this platter was the Hula Hut chopped salad and apas asadas.
The best thing on this dish was the salmon and the papas asadas. The salmon was cooked to perfection and served with a spicy sweet salsa. The papas asadas, (potatoes) are made with several ingredients such as garlic, olive oil and parsley. But the other ingredients are in the chimichurri sauce - lime juice, vinegar and cilantro.
The sever was excellent! He knew each item on the menu and could tell us what was in each and described the flavors. When he wasn't working at the Hula Hut, he taught K-4th graders. Gotta love the teachers!
Next day was breakfast- Kerbey lane Cafe - (http://www.kerbeylanecafe.com)
They are a Austin favorite since 1980 and have five locations. Kerbey's menu is as diverse as Austin. You will not only find normal breakfast fare such as eggs, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, but many vegan dishes along with their own creations such as eggs Francisco. This is an English muffin topped with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato and avocado then ladled with great amounts of queso. I must try that the next time I am in Austin.
This morning I decided to try their seasonal pancakes, Pumpkin! They are the bomb! They are so famous for these that they sell the pancak mix, but they were out of it! They also make their own sausage. So flavorful with just the right amount of seasonings. The patties were very generous in size as well. My egg was cooked perfectly and the gravy was pretty tasty as well. However, their gravy was not as good as mine. I am the gravy queen and will put my gravy in competition next to anyone!
The Kerbey is part of the Austin community and they take their citizenshp seriously. They buy from local vendors, and their walls are given over to local artist. They support several local charities each month and in October each year the sell their pink pancakes to support breast cancer.
The service was great! The young man who waited on us was wonderful. Since it was my first time there, he explained the philosphy of the restaurant and guided me through the menu. Prices are reasonable from $1.99 to $12.99.
Dinner!
Enoteca/Vespaio (http://www.austinvespaio.com/enoteca)
I am normally not a big fan of Italian food because I have yet to taste a nice red sauce that doesn't taste like it came from a tin can, but this place changed my mind.
First off was the Calamari Friti with a lemon aioli dipping sauce. Outside of San Francisco, this was the best calamari I've have had in a very long time. You could actually taste the sweet fresh calamari. The breading was light with a nice soft crunch, while the lemon aioli was fresh with just the right amount of lemon.
Next on the meu was Suppli, crispy risotto balls filled with fontina cheese. Wow! Warm, crunchy and cheesey. What more does a girl want. These were wonderful; however fontina cheese is really mild so I would have preferred a bit stronger cheese. Yes the risotto is mild but I feel a bit of Maytag blue would have added more flavor. It was served with a great Arrabbiata sauce! This sauce consisted of tomatoes, chili, garlic all cooked in olive oil. Best sauce I've had in years.
Next was the pizza - Pancetta Affumicata. Must have a pizza at an Italian resturant right? This pizza had smoked applewood bacon, caramelized onions, cambozola cheese and spinach. This was not the best pizza I have ever tasted. The edge of the crust was nice and brown and crunchy, however, the middle was soggy and had a lot of oil.. The bacon was not crisp at all and I had a lot of real fatty pieces that were not cooked well.
The server was OK, but when I asked him about the Arrabbiata sauce, he couldn't tell me anything about it. I will be back to try their Bistecca Con Patate Fritte; Hanger steak in Chianti Ridurre served with french fries. Prices range from $9.00 to $19.00
Austin is a great place to visit. Lots of great restaurants, food carts, LBJ library and a must see are the thousands of bats at dusk leaving from underneath the Congress street bridge. This is a sight to behold! Oh I almost forgot, 6th street! Shops, bars and fun and funky places to eat. Also be sure to catch the Esther's Follies. You will laugh until you cry!
So when you're in Texas be sure to visit Austin and sample all the good eats around town.
Until next time, try a new recipe a keep cooking.
