Play Me, I'm Yours

Feeling like tickling the ivories and making some music? Well until the end of May you can head out to a hike and bike trail or on the Plfuger Bridge and play one of the 14 pianos that have been set up around downtown. The pianos are a part of an exhibit, called Play Me, I'm Yours, put on by the Art Alliance Austin. It took a little digging but I found out the intent with this exhibit... according to an article by The Austin American Statesman (Pierre Bertrand) the pianos are meant to "disrupt that familiarity with both music and the curious presence of an instrument typically seen in peoples homes."

One of my employees was telling me about watching various people play one of the pianos near Auditorium Shores, and he said it was a fun experience. He was really impressed with the quality of music he was listening to. I went out today to hopefully find people playing the pianos.

I took Abbey with me in search of the pianos. I figured I would get a little exercise, she would get some exercise, I'd get a little sun and we would stalk some pianos. I opted to stop at the Pfluger Bridge first (easiest parking). As we were walking along the bridge I saw a couple of kids playing the piano. I heard a very nice rendition of chopsticks :)

We stayed for a few minutes listening but the parents were ready to go, so they pulled the kids off of the piano and went about their day. Nobody else jumped on, so we moved on. At the end of the bridge I came across another piano and another little Maestro playing the piano.

Even though I didn't recognize the song, he played well! I sat down and listened for a bit. But then I kept getting the tug on the leash from Abbey to let me know that she would like to continue to walk along the trail. Sure, I should be the one to make that decision but have you seen how cute she is? We walked down the trail for a bit then hung out by the water for 10 minutes or so. She was enjoying people watching as much as I was. But she keep eyeballing the water so I kept her on a short leash so she didn't take a swim. I didn't bring towels for this trip and didn't really want wet dog in the car.

We walked back up to the piano on the bridge to find another person playing. She played very well and a crowd started to form.

Abbey sunning herself while listening to the music. Poor girl was hot so I decided to cut our adventure short and head home. I'm sure wearing a black fur coat in upper 80 degree weather is not fun. So much for spring... hello summer. Blah.

I hope to be able to visit a couple more pianos around town to see if I can catch more people playing them. I wish I had the talent to sit down and play these pianos. Having the view of Lady Bird Lake and downtown while playing the piano sounds pretty damn awesome to me.

I was going through some old pictures on my phone when I came across Abbeys puppy photos. She was so skinny and all legs... Her legs haven't grown but her body has :) My little girl is all grown up.

Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival

Sunday Fair- An Eclectic Urban Celebration of Food and Wine

I bought tickets for the Sunday Fair almost as soon as they were released. This event looked like so much fun and a perfect place to try bites from restaurants and chefs as well as wine and spirits from many wineries. I thought it would be a perfect afternoon for Jim and I but I didn't realize that Jim was going to be out of town that same weekend :( After some failed plans with friends to meet up at the festival, I ended up going alone. Before you feel all sad for me, don't... I had a wonderful time. I met people, talked to vendors and strangers, took photos and ate and drank more calories more than I should have. A delightful afternoon!

Samples from Izzoz's tacos. Normally I love Izzoz's tacos, but the sample I had was pretty bland. It had all the right components to have a party in my mouth, but it just fizzled :( Zagunda's tacos had more flavor but the flavor of the meat was slightly overpowered by the slaw on top. I thought Takoba had the best flavored taco. A really great combination of pork, corn tortilla, and salsa.

I had a chance to eat something outside of my comfort zone and I chickened out. I was in line at Trace when I heard they are serving rabbit pate. some people were excited, others were not. I was in the not excited line but then I saw that they also had a dessert. I wish I was excited about the pate, but I just don't think it's for me. Maybe one day, but for now I'll eat my calories in other ways :)

This chocolate cup was from Trace and it was DELICIOUS.

So smooth and wasn't over powering

I have been wanting to try Chameleon for a few weeks now. I saw their booth a few times at SXSW but each time I was on my way into a venue that wouldn't let me take in outside drinks. The sample I had was a perfect little pick me up. I bought a bottle to take home with me :)

The lone picture of me...... Hi

I totally forgot about the Cooking demo's going on inside. I headed in and caught the end of the demo with Chef Matt Lightner. He was cooking a duck breast. I only stayed a few minutes then went back to the booths.

I took many wine pictures and tried many samples yesterday and this might be my favorite wine that I tried. There were many Pinot Noirs to sample (actually many flavors of wines) and they were good but this Brouilly had a delightful flavor.

The venue was at the Mexican American Cultural Center. This was my first time visiting, and it a simply beautiful venue. In the description they mentioned that they are off of the banks of Lady Bird Lake, but I missed due to being wrapped up in all of the fabulous booths :)

The shrimp and grits was the first thing that I tried. HOLY YUM! The shrimp were cooked perfectly and the grits tasted great. I need to find out what they seasoned them with (or what they added to them) Not only were there food, wine and trinket booths, there was also an area for liquor and beer. I didn't partake because I wanted to stick with wine. But there were some tasty looking beverages out there!

Whole Foods was serving a Short Rib Slider and a Vegetable ceveche. The slider was excellent, but didn't photograph well... perhaps that is because it took me .21 seconds to finish it :) The veggie cevechie was okay, not my favorite but it was very pretty

Chef De La Vega of the El Naranjo trailer fame showed us how to make refried beans long with (I believe) pork tacos. She was not afraid to let us know that using lard while making the beans will make them a lot better than just oil. :)

I failed to get the bands name and I can't find them on the website, but these guys were high energy and pretty good!

Strawberry Balsamic Black Pepper preserve... They gave samples of this over goat cheese and it was delicious. There was a nice sweet strawberry flavor with a black pepper bite.

This festival provided me with a fantastic afternoon of food, drinks and fun. I was slightly worried about the amount of people there, but the lines moved quickly. It didn't really feel like it was to crowded since I wasn't bumping into people or getting stuck in a crowd , which was nice.

I can't wait for next year!!!

Texas Rollergirls

I have been wanting to go to a Rollergirls match for YEARS and we finally went last Sunday. There are two leagues in Austin, one with a banked rink and one with a flat rink. The match we went to was the flat rink. We got pretty close for half of one of the matches and it was pretty darn cool. The match we went to was at the Convention Center. These girls were not afraid to throw an elbow or take a bitch down. We had zero idea on how they were scoring or what the fouls were but towards the end of the 2nd match we finally sort of figured it out. The leader was called a Jammer, and they got the team the points and could call the match when they wanted. Still not 100% why/when they called the match. Typically these were the leanest team members because they were the fastest. Before the whistle blew, the ladies lined up. Not sure who got to sit up front and who was in the back. But these were the ladies that tried to stop the jammers from getting up front

We saw two matches on this night. The second match was a little more physical and fast paced!

We had an excellent time watching the girls kick ass. Sure, I want to go try out for the league next year, but I realize that I'll probably have my ass handed to me, but I think it sounds like fun. The next time we'll be going to the banked league to check it out... just need to figure out where the matches are :)

Daily Funny

Lovely Dinner

We had the best dinner on Saturday night at the The Carillon (http://www.thecarillonrestaurant.com/). I had purchased a Groupon for a buy one get one free for their tasting menu so we received a very nice deal. Normally the tasting menu is $60 per person, which is a bit steep but after enjoying our meal I see the value. The restaurant is in the AT&T Executive Conference Center on the UT campus. They had tables that allowed the patrons to see in side of the kitchen, and I would have LOVED to sit there. I enjoy watching the hustle and bustle in the kitchen. I used my new phone to take the pictures (has an 8 mega pixel camera) and my current point and shoot has been crapping out during night pictures. I'm not super happy about the quality of pictures but they turned out okay.

We started off with some bread and butter. I remember Rosemary being in part of the description, but can't remember if it was in the butter or the bread (I hardly tasted it). The softened butter had 2 types of salt on it, one being Hawaiian salt. LOVED the extra salty taste on the bread.

We started off our meal with an Amuse Bouche. The first spoon had a basil panna cotta with some type of citrus, it was a lovely smooth texture and a delicate basil flavor. The second spoon was a tuna ceviche, which was equally as good. I wanted a few more spoons of each :)

Nairagi Napoleon

Smoked Chevre - Texas Grapefruit - Cucumber - Lemon Zest

Our appetizer was fresh Nairagi chopped up and layered between sliced cucumbers. Next to the cucumber stack was a slice of grapefruit and a few crumbles of the chevre. My first bite was of the cucumber and the fish, and it was so delicate. The lemon zest was a nice zing to the delicate fish and cucumber. Next I added a little grapefruit bite along with the cheese. It was all quite good, light, and a perfect way to start the dish.

Sea Scallop

Sumac - Cauliflower - Asparagus - Vanilla Citrus

I had to look up what Sumac is... "A sprinkling of this pretty purple spice adds a tangy lemony flavour to meat and salads". Can I just say that sumac and scallops go hand in hand, and I loved every single bite. the cauliflower puree was so creamy and was perfect because it was only a light flavor. The grilled asparagus was also a nice flavor to the dish. the vanilla citrus sauce was not a big player on the dish but I did get a hint of the sauce with every other bite. Might be the best damn scallop I have had.

Escolar

Chanterelle Mushroom - Blueberry - Pistachios

This dish was supposed to be white tuna but they said they ran out so they substituted the escolar. We have only had escolar raw (sushi) so it was nice to try it cooked. This fish is very hearty and was delicious. When I read the description and saw blueberry on there I was very curious. The blueberry sauce was just enough flavor but definitely not overpowering. The pistachios crumbled on top were so delicious, loved the crunch it added to the fish. There was not one thing wrong with this dish... I totally wanted more.

Olive Oil Poached Prime Beef Tenderloin

Potato Puree - Frito Misto- Peppercorn Sauce

I have not had an olive oil poached meat before. The meat was so tender with a wonderful pepper flavor. The Frito Misto consisted of fried artichokes, onions, garlic and fennel. This part of the dish was my least favorite... tasted to much like oil and not the vegetables.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Vanilla Sweet Potato - Caramelized onions - Chanterelle Mushrooms

When we eat out at restaurants I tend to order the short ribs because it is a dish that I have not conquered yet. I have come close, but not quite. Out of all of the dishes, this was not my favorite. The meat was tasty but just didn't have the wow factor that the other dishes had. The vanilla sweet potato puree was tasty but pretty sweet.

Guanaja Chocolate Terrine

Coriander Ice Cream - Crystallized Cilantro

Our dessert was slightly different than the menu. We had a fried mint leaf on top as well as a sour orange reduction. If you even remotely like chocolate, you will LOVE this 100000% chocolate terrine. to me, it was similar to fudge, but not quite as thick. The ice cream was a nice way to cut through the sweetness, but it was the sour orange reduction that struck a cord with me. Such a delicious combination of flavors.

After our lovely meal, we were both stuffed. I looked over at Jim to find him taking a cat nap ;)

I couldn't let Jim be in the post without me.... self portrait in the ladies room