African or Middle Eastern Food in Austin?

+1 on Taste of Ethiopia in Pflugerville. Good stuff.

- Mark

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Taste of Ethiopia
1466 Grand Avenue Pkwy, Pflugerville, TX 78660

markewallace in Austin

Aeropress in a coffeeshop

I'm with sisundar WRT opinion on the Aeropress. I loved mine for a while, but it has been replaced with a Clever Coffee Dripper from Sweet Maria's.

markewallace in Austin

Cajun Pizza Place

>> i wanna know what makes the pizza "cajun"-- so intrigued. <<

The deaux, of course.

- Mark

markewallace in Austin

Scotch and cigars at Cool River

As long as people are wiling to buy at those prices, CR will keep selling at those prices. Easy as that.

markewallace in Austin

Must Eats in Cedar Park...

I wouldn't necessarily call this "great food," but our family enjoys Hunan Chef near the intersection of Park St & Bell. Pretty standard Americanized Chinese food, but it is consistent, reasonably cheap, and quick. I pretty much always get the Mu Shu Pork.

- Mark

markewallace in Austin

Where Can I Find A Moka Pot (Stovetop Espresso Maker)?

Check these out if you don't mind ordering online. I don't personally have one of these, but I have seen good reviews on them.

http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.brewers.mokapot.php

- Mark

markewallace in Austin

The state of coffee in Austin

>> Another good place for fresh roasted coffee is Cainfrani on the square in Georgetown, Texas, just a little north of Austin and well worth the drive. <<

A good suggestion. One of the few places around that 1) roasts their own beans on the premises, and 2) will brew you a single cup on the spot using your choice of beans. Maybe I'm just picky, but I think that the quality at even the best of these places (Medici, Mozart's, Anderson's, etc...) suffers a bit when the coffee is brewed in large batches. I much prefer a single, fresh-brewed cup. Scooter's will do it for you too if you catch them at the right time of day.

markewallace in Austin

Seeking sesos (brains)

Well, thank you! I'm not quite sure where she gets that. Some of it comes from me and my wife for sure, but there has just always been a side of her that is just more culturally aware (in more ways than food) than many other kids. By age five she was already quite fond of squid (not just fried), eel, and snails. She also liked the tripe tacos that I had the other day.

- Mark

markewallace in Austin

Seeking sesos (brains)

>> I'll keep an eye out, har-dee-har-har. <<

That was a pretty cornya joke. (misspell intentional) :-)

Thanks for the suggestion and link!

- Mark

markewallace in Austin

Seeking sesos (brains)

Interesting. Thanks.

- Mark

markewallace in Austin

Seeking sesos (brains)

Well, she squealed with delight at Nab's suggestion of ojo tacos. I question whether or not she'd actually eat them, but interest is a good start.

Other things: pig cheek, caviar (I know, not bizarre, but it is for her at only age 9), bull's balls, llama jerky (again, not that bizarre), armadillo stew, and I'm sure many others.

- Mark

markewallace in Austin

Seeking sesos (brains)

My 9-year old daughter has fallen in love with Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods show, and she is gradually checking some of her "bizarre foods to try" off of her list. Last week she had and LOVED the lengua tacos (though not really that "bizarre) at the FM 620 Taqueria Guadalajara. She was disappointed that they didn't actually have the sesos tacos, even though they were on the menu. Now she has set daddy off in search of some good sesos.

We're in Cedar Park, so I'm expecting to have to travel a bit to find sesos on the menu. Can anyone here point me towards a good place? Even a cart would be fine, but since this will be a first for both of us, we want it to be good. Doesn't have to be fancy (in fact, I'd prefer that it wasn't); just good.

Thanks,

Mark

markewallace in Austin

Where to watch March Madness?

I ended up at Bone Daddy's for Thursday's March Madness. I wasn't really there for the hoops at the time, but it ended up not really being that bad a place to catch the games. Multiple decent TVs, the patron sound level wasn't too bad, and the (er...) scenery was nice as usual. I'm not the biggest fan of BD's food, but their burger was alright, and the beer was cold. Today it's off to Bagpipes (on a friend's recommendation), so we'll see how that turns out. Haven't had a decent pint of Guinness for ages, so maybe these guys can pull one for me.

markewallace in Austin

Salt Lick BBQ

>> Have you been to Opie's since they moved into the new building? <<

Nope, not yet. Any change in terms of quality?

Mark

markewallace in Austin

Salt Lick BBQ

I agree with all of the disagrees. SL was great back in the 80's, but it has declined, and there are so many other places that are better.

Amysuehere read my mind with the mentioning of Coopers, Mueller's, and (wow) Opie's. I love a visit to Opie's after a hard bike ride at Muleshoe.

Mark

markewallace in Austin

Where to watch March Madness?

This is kinda a foodie question, I s'pose.

I'm interested in finding a good hangout for watching the men's NCAA March Madness. What is a good place - preferably on the north side of town (I'm in Cedar Park) - to catch the games (good TVs, good seating, etc...) while grabbing a nice bit of game-time munchies? Fare could be just about anything as long as it's good (and I guess reasonably cheap); perhaps fish-n-chips, wings, burgers, BBQ, whatever.

I've done Hooters for this sort of thing, but I'd like something a slight bit more upscale. Not drastically so, but more comfortable, and with a more legit menu.

Thanks,

Mark

markewallace in Austin

Thanh Nhi: What a find!

Anybody know what the hours are for Thanh Nhi? I can't seem to find them on the web, and I know that several Vietnamese places are closed on either Mondays or Tuesdays. Wanna give this place a shot today if they're open.

Thanks,

Mark

markewallace in Austin

Best Oyster Po' Boy in Austin?

I've always liked the one at Sambet's, but I have no idea whether or not it aligns with any particular "right way" of making one.

- Mark

markewallace in Austin