rollingplate's Profile
Vino Vino
Absolutely correct Winehole. If there's no socarrat (the carmelized rice on the bottom) it's not well-made paella no matter what the taste.
Where / What is the name of this mexican breakfast dish?
Good link. I used to live on them in Merida years ago except they were about twice as high as those in the picture--sometimes even with three tostadas. God, for another breakfast back in the Yucatan and a nice big matrimonio hammock to swing in while digesting the eggs and a 6-pack of Montejo beer.
Where / What is the name of this mexican breakfast dish?
Just don't ask expect to find rancheros like that in New Mexico. I lived there for 25 years and Huevos Rancheros are never done with crispy tortillas unless the cook left them on the grill too long after they were heated through--and not, traditionally, with black beans. Also the eggs are always served on top of a tortilla never between two of them. Although I love black beans, in NM you will usually receive creamy refrieds with that kiss of lard that keeps you burping until it's close to lunch time. Occassionally you might get pintos that aren't refried--more like Texas-style borracho beans. I've had black beans there also, but you'll seldom find them in the famous local cafes.
Also stacked enchiladas are normally not served with tostadas but with tortillas heated with oil on the grill. Sorry to be so picky--or defensive?-- but NM food is too good to be misrepresented.
I'd tend to agree with chuckles about the motulenos. Those include fresh crispy tostadas and black beans and also--in Yucatan at least--include ham and sometimes even peas along with the eggs.
El Meson Closed for Dinner
Sadly El Meson is no longer serving dinners. Lunch only now. Don't yet know why, but I think it's a shame.Their food is excellent and the owner has specifically kept the prices affordable so that lower income patrons are able to eat there with their families. I'll check into this further.
Galloways Soul Food:Feeding The Neighborhood
You nailed Galloway's essence, sc. I enjoy sitting down next to someone you'd probably never meet, or consider meeting, otherwise and having a great conversation with your lunch.
The most amazing thing about the food is that I've always found it to be perfectly seasoned. Just enough salt to bring out the flavor but never under-salted to cater to misinformed gourmals. Also I've never found the owner not smiling or entirely gracious. Not too many restaurants like Galloways in Paris I'd imagine.
Blue Star Cafeteria
I've had several salads there which were excellent. The downside is it has some of the noisiest acoustics in Austin.
Please don't hate me... any place to get veal bones?
I've tried Longhorn and it's about the only thing they don't sell.
Horrible Experience at Austin Java
Rene, I don't really agree with Tres Leche's style of criticism, but the point is valid. If casey has been there before, nothing that happened, or that was observed, should be surprising. Sometimes you get what you order. I will, however, defend anyone's right to comment about their feelings. If I think their comments are ridiculous, I ignore them and sleep just as well. Who among us has never put their shoe (with or without aioli) in their mouth?
By the way, I've never been all that impressed with their portions or quality either and the atmosphere isn't very conducive either to eating there or even drinking coffee and working on my computer.
Asia Cafe better than ever!
I just tried the shrimp a few days ago but didn't see any type of batter plus I didn't realize that the shrimp were peeled for this dish. Also the vegies were extremely skimpy and not very flavorful. The crushed pepper and seasonings were excellent on the shrimp, however. I've had slight variations before on Sundays. Chef's day off?
Also had my heart broken when I asked about the Sichuan sausage dish and was told that it was a winter seasonal dish. Well, at least that's one nice reason to look forward to winter.
Best Thai in Austin
Great pics ebloom! Those bowls of what i assume were curry pastes made me drool.
sticky black rice available in austin?
I have a bag that I must have purchased at Central Market. I say "must" because it has an "HEB" brand, but I don't think it came from one of those, unless it was the one at Hancock center where I often shop.
Thanh Nhi: What a find!
I finally made it to Thanh Nhi. When I tried to order the grilled pork spring roll the owner's wife, who was hovering at my table, insisted that I should try the pork paste roll, which I did. The experience was like when your grandmother would insist you have another bowl of chicken noodle soup. What are you gonna do? It was the best and most interesting spring roll I've found in town. Fresh lettuce, pickled vegies, the pork, plus the unexpected, crunchy addition of what I think she explained to me was fried egg roll skin rolled into a small tube. Great contrast of textures. I often prefer eating classic ethnic food done traditionally, but I always give extra points for signature preparations like this one. As others have stated, the peanut sauce was excellent, however (another surprise) the sauce was presented warm which made it that much better.
The large grilled pork bahn mi was good but not outstanding. From reading other reviews I expected a little more filling, but it was still worth the cost. Unfortunately, I just didn't the noticeable "char" flavor I always look forward to. Also, that light bodied Mexican-style roll is not my favorite. I'm more of a genuine Baguette-like style bread fan like I've found in other parts of the country.
Overall, I was very satisfied with the food and the friendliness and competence of service-a rarity in much of the Austin restaurant scene. The soups I spied on at other tables look well filled with ingredients and I intend to return soon and try some of those as wekk as the bun.
Salt and Pepper Squid
That item is found pretty much all over. T&S has a variety of salt and pepper dishes and they do it well: crispy, light batter, well-seasoned. Din Ho has a version with fresh and dried squid which I thought was interesting because of the different textures. Their batter, however, is a bit thicker than that found at T&S.
Source for fresh red currants in Austin?
Central Market often has currants, gooseberries, golden raspeberries, etc. I"ve also seen some at Whole Foods, but not as often.
Wine Tasting in the Hill Country
You are in for a great time Vetter! Try this link for an overview: http://www.texaswinetrail.com/wineries.html.
My recommendations would be Alamosa Vineyards (some of the best quality wines, IMHO) and Fall Creek Vineyards (excellent wines in many styles and beautiful scenery at the winery and in the lake area), both NW of Austin. There are maybe about a dozen wines within 30 minutes of Fredericksberg. My favorite is Becker vineyards. Wonderful selection of many varietals. SW of Austin you can try Dry Comal Creek and Sister Creek wineries. Both do well-crafted wines in pretty locations. I think both charge a small amount for some of the better quality tastes, but it's definitely worth it.
Don't forget to allow some time to sample BBQ at places like RO's Outpost, Opie's, Cooper's and the Salt Lick, depending on which direction you're going.
Be aware that the prices the wineries charge for the bottles are often a bit more than some of the prices Austin wine stores sell them for. However, the wineries often have selections that they don't give to their distributors, especially with respect to reserve wines. Salud!
Arpeggio Much Nicer
Went to Arpeggio last night with a jones for pizza. What a surprise! The interior finally made you feel like you were walking into a real restaurant rather than into an old train station waiting room. Nice looking walls and dividers with artwork created a somewhat Mediterranean ambiance. Saw a fireplace in a back corner. Tables were a bit like 4 person picnic tables, but decent enough--especially if you've ever been there before the remodel. There was still a bit of equipment stored in the back of the room, but included was a brand new doner grill for making shwarma and gyro meat. The owner said the vertical grill was being installed soon in the kitchen which had been expanded and updated. Glad they seem to be doing well, because it's an easily accessible location for me.
I wasn't quite as happy about the pizza. The crust was chewy rather than crispy, which I don't mind, but overall the pizza lacked flavor. The sauce was very bland. Aside from the taste of the free, fresh garlic I requested, I couldn't get much taste at all from the sausge and gyros meat toppings. I improved it somewhat with crushed peppers and some dry oregano at home, but...
I will say that the non-pizza items I had about a year ago were good. We had the chicken shwarma and hummus and a gyro sandwich. All well flavored with good tzatziki sauce, tasty gyros meat and fresh, warmed pita. I'll go back, but more for their regular menu.
Crawfish season
Hong Kong Market usually has good supplies of crawfish and blue crabs.
Coffeehouse for Writer?
Try the Thunderbird on Koenig between Burnett and Lamar. Usually not too noisy. Two pluses are the nice patio and very good sandwiches and coffee. Good lighting. Also, Hot Mama's on East 11th is nice and is relatively quiet. Also has good, inexpensive food.
Hopefully, I am missing something (Southwest)
I've had good experiences both at lunch and breakfast at the Satellite Cafe. It's in the far NW corner of the shopping center (sorry, don't know the name) at the Y. That would be the shopping center on the west side of HWY 71. The menu items always tste fresh and the menu's relatively eclectic.
Chinese Dumplings
Had some amazing dumplings at TC Noodle House. The owner has been cooking there and the quality is considerably better than at Tien Hong. Stick with their Chinese offerings.
ChowHound Assignment:Go A Place Never Reviewed On This Board.
I made it into Dora's with minutes to spare. I had an unstoppable wing jones and was in the neighborhood--around Berkman and Briarcliffe.
I thought the wings were as good as any in town that I've tried. Freshly deep-fried and standard sized. What I really liked, even though the "hot" could have been hotter for me, was the depth of flavor of the hot sauce. I saw her shaking it out of a very large (magnum?) unlabeled bottle. At first I expected plain Frank's, but after driving about 10 minutes to get home, I sneaked a look because of the drool-inspiring smell and saw sauce that was a bit thicker than the consistency of Frank's, slightly brown, and there was what I first thought to be a small pool of grease on the bottom of the container. It seemed like I had let the container get too cool and the sauce had separated, but the oil seemed to be melted butter, which, after stirring everything around when I got home gave a satisfying richness to the heat. I'll try the wings again to verify all this.
Also, the menu listed 99 cent (!) tacos of barbacoa, chicharrones, guisada and I think steak. Definitely worth a repeat visit to check those out. More when I get back.
Do Sopaipillas Exist in Austin?
Lixer, those almost sound more like fry-bread. Anyway, I've never found any sopapillas in Austin other than dessert style as you describe, or stuffed with ice cream. Usually the genuine versions are square, or occasionally triangular, puffy with air space inside, not really crispy. When you find them you'll love them just with honey.
Southside Flying Pizza - AUS - review
I'm also from NM and would agree with amysuehere about Jorge's. And their red and green chile (not chili) is the closest to that found at home--Barelas Coffeeshop, Duran's Pharmacy, etc. in Albuquerque
Posole or Pozole?
I guess this reply is a bit late, but in time for posole for Christmas. I believe the Jalisco types I've had are green--with green chiles, usually jalapenos, and tomatillos cooked with the corn. The red type has red chiles, often anchos, cooked with the corn.
Personally, I like my posole cooked like back home in New Mexico using NM green chiles. We then add several tablespoons (at least) of NM-style Red Chile sauce to the posole before digging in. Great with fresh, hot sopaipillas drizzled with honey.
Mutton--where to buy it fresh?
Oops. meant to say, "Since they supply some of the BBQ joints".
Mutton--where to buy it fresh?
Longhorn Meats on MLK usually has some (frozen) supply some of the BBQ joints. Anyway, I think most of the so-called "lamb" around here is closer to yearling mutton than to spring lamb.
Highly Rated Central Texas Wine/Beverage
Maybe you're thinking of the El Guapo or one of their Sangioveses which are always good. That grape has some great potential for the Hill Country. Also just noticed they now have an El Guapo Grande reserve wine. That's got to be worth trying--as soon as I can find some in tow
Highly Rated Central Texas Wine/Beverage
I think Alamosa wines are some of the best in Texas. Also look for Caprock wines and Kim Mcpherson's selections. And Becker Vineyards too has many fine wines, especially their Viognier.
