FOOD!
I separated most of the food pictures from Lee and Tracy's visit so I could have them on this post. I really tried to stay with local places, and with exception of a Starbucks stop (which now that I think about it I might have gone right before they came) we kept it local! I don't think we really had a disappointing meal, but we did forget to get Lee to The Best Wurst. Last time he was here (one weekend) he ate their twice, and I think he would have eaten there more if he could :)
TORCHY'S
Our first stop was at Torchy's for tacos and queso. I love their tacos and thought it was a good start to their visit in Austin. We visited the location on South First, which is an old house converted into a restaurant. The weather was nice so we sat outside on the patio. I ordered my favorite Ranch Hand taco which is fajita meat and scrambled egg (YUM!), Lee and Tracy both ordered the pulled pork tacos (another of my favorite tacos). I also ordered the queso for us to share.
HOPDODDY
For dinner on Friday night we went to Hopdoddy which is a newish Hamburger joint on South Congress. We haven't been there before so I was hoping that the reviews were right and I wasn't taking them to a "eh" type of a place. It is a little confusing when you walk in... somebody guides you to the line of people to place your order and then they find you a seat and then give you a number. Once you order, you find your table and then your food is brought to you. Both Jim and I ordered the Llano Poblano which was a burger with Pepper Jack Cheese, Roasted Poblano Chilies, and Apple Smoked Bacon. I'm going to start off talking about the delicious buns that are homemade at the restaurant, they were fantastic! The burger was cooked perfectly (medium) and had great flavor.
EAST SIDE KING
On Saturday we decided to do a pub/trailer crawl around the Rainey Street area. Our first stop was at Bar 96, which has East Side King in the back. Once we ordered our beers and headed out back to order some food. I will be the first to say that this menu was a little more adventurous that we typically eat. We stayed on the safe side and ordered the Momo which was grilled chicken thigh, green onion, tare (Japanese BBQ sauce), and kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise), the Butabara which is grilled twice cooked pork belly, appl, tare (Japanese BBQ sauce) Karashi mustard and kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise). Both were excellent! I could have eaten a few more skewers but I didn't because we also ordered the Tamago Gohan which is a grilled soft-boiled egg, sweet chili sauce, rice, furikake, bonito flakes and green onions. I was a little disappointed with this dish because I wanted my egg a little less cooked so it would run over the rice. The rice was good, but honestly it was just fancy rice and I thought was like a filler. Had the egg been less done I think it would have been a totally different dish.
Perhaps one day I'll just order something off the wall like chicken gizzard or beef tongue, but for now I'll be playing it safe as I fear what my gag reflex might do.
EL NARANJO
After Bar 96 we headed over to Luster Pearl for a couple of drinks. They normally have a taco trailer over there but I guess it wasn't late enough for them to be open. After we were done at Luster Pearl, Jim and I headed to El Naranjo while Lee and Tracy headed to another food trailer called Cazamance. If I remember correctly Tracy got some type of Lamb wrap and Lee got lamb sausage? They seemed to really like their food, but they were bummed that the trailer was out of hummus.
Jim and I ordered 3 items to share. We ordered the Molotes Oaxaquenos which is fried cornmeal stuffed with chorizo-and-potato, the Tinga Verde tacos (shredded chicken in green sauce) and some other type of chicken dish that was on special that night. The chicken tacos were small but they packed a delish punch, especially when you added the green avocado sauce. This was my first time having Molotes and they were pretty good, but I would have liked more filling.
CISCO'S
On Sunday morning we ate at Ciscos. We love this little place and try to get over there as much as we can. Their food is simple but it is always good and we know we can count on them. I typically get the Migas and Jim gets the Migas with fajita beef. Getting the dish with the beef is certainly makes it better. I try not to get to to cut down on calories (which is funny because this place is dripping in calories). Their tortillas are amazing and they also serve biscuits with your meal. This time around they weren't' as good as I remember, but still tasty.
Flying Falafel and Po’Boys
Tracy wanted to eat Greek food while she was here, and I had hopes of taking her to Kebabalicious (Sure I know it is "Turkish" food, but pretty close) but they were closed on Monday. I used Yelp.com and found Flying Falafel and Po'Boys on Guadalupe. It is a tiny little place on the drag. I ordered the Chicken Shawarma Sandwich which has thinly sliced grilled chicken with onions, served in a pita with hummus, tahini salad and lettuce. I really enjoyed the wrap and thought the flavors were delicious. The wrap was crispy in some parts and I'm not really sure if it was supposed to be or not (first time having a Shawrma Sandwich) either way I thought $4.99 for the sandwich was a great deal. I paid a little extra for the meal deal and ordered a side of the falafel (which is garbanzo beans, onions, parsley and garlic seasoning fried to perfection). I thought the falafel was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It reminded me of a hushpuppy.
