CHEESE the way to my heart!

Photo: Michael Kraus

Texas is known for many things and cheese is not one of them. BUT there are a couple that are worth trying. Today, I read a good article about Texas Cheese! ....all of which I have enjoyed during my time in Austin. Read article

I highly suggest you do yourself a favor and have yourself a taste. If you are interested in food at all you should join the Tasting Table daily email list.

~Laura

Mighty Cone

This weekly trailer post is Mighty Cone 1603 S. Congress Ave. in the thick of all the South Congress goodness.

Atmosphere

5-kind of in a weird spot with a bus stop very close.
7-right of S. Congress, easy to find and lots of umbrellas for shade in the August heat.

Price

8-a good price for a full meal.
8-good deal for quality of food sold out of a trailer

Quality of food
6-good products used, just something about it a little off.
8-thought it was very good, just kinda hard to eat? Awkward w/ the cone, etc...


Accessibility
7-a little hard to get to just because of the limited parking on S. Congress....oops I missed that big free parking lot.
10-there was a parking lot behind the food trailer(s) that was FREE!


Cleanliness
8-very clean and lots of recycling options.
8-super clean, what Laura said.


Local
8-in the middle of the craziness that is S.Congress.
8-good local location and Hudson on the Bend is an Austin staple


Service
9-good service
9-good service, just dont go when there is a bus full of 16 yr. old girls.


Item menu & rating

- Hot & Spicy Chicken and Avocado & Fries - there was some flavor on the chicken that did not agree with me. The avacado was a little too large and didn't taste right fries - 6 The fries were good and well seasoned - 8

- Hot & Spicy Chicken, thought it was really good, liked the crust that was on the chicken - 8

Would you eat there again?

- probably not, it wasn't bad but it also isn't something I am going to crave.

-definitely

Laura & Rachel

A little taste of home

Order and they shall come

Last weekend a group of my friends gathered at Canyon Lake (the only lake around the Austin area with any water in it worth boating on) for a well known summer Maryland tradition, eating Maryland Blue Crabs. My friends Dave and Ryan grew up in Southern Maryland(wherever that is...sorry guys I had to) and me being from right outside of D.C. we thought, what is a summer without a little Blue Crab?

Dave the Master Crab Cooker!

Since flying to Maryland for the weekend was out of the question we decided to have Maryland brought to us, all the way in the middle of Texas. We ordered 3 bushels (about 7 1/2 dozen) and had them shipped overnight and they arrived Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. You can't have crabs without some Old Bay and Malt Vinagar so both were present as well.

Setting up the feast

The aftermath of Crab Fest '09

Now I grew up eating Blue Crabs and taking them apart and getting out every last bit of meat out of them was ritualistic for me. Our significant others on the other hand thought this ritual to be a little strange, but they indulged us in our nostalgia for a weekend. It was a lot of fun, a learning experience for some but fun was had by all. I hope it becomes a tradition no matter where I live.

Mookie (Ryan's dog) is over Crab Fest '09

~ Laura

Buy Local!

This weekend I was introduced to the South Austin farmers marketing. It was an awesome experience. The farmers market opens at 9am which is nice because I am not an early bird by any means. We got there by 10am and there was still a large variety of good meats and produce available. There are about 30-35 tents set up everything from produce, meats to handmade glass vases. It was great to see so many people out supporting local. The highlight of my trip was Aunt Nita's Hummus, if you are a hummus fan this stuff is the BEST! She makes all different kinds but I ended up settling on the black olive hummus. I figured I would share this little piece of heaven with all of you.

Check it out on Saturday!

~ Laura

Perla's, a new gem in town!

www.perlasaustin.com

I know a pearl is not really a gem, but its 2:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and that's about all the creative energy I could muster up. I digress...

I tried this new "gem" (okay, I'll stop) out last night and all I have to say is it was delish! It was great service, great food, and great atmosphere. It definitely has an "east coast" vibe to it, with the servers dressed in their pastel shirts, ribbon belts, and khakis. I ended up ordering the Grilled Striped Bass with Figs, Carmelized Endive, Arugula. It was a very unexpected, pleasant surprise. The figs gave the bass a sweetness that I definitely was not expecting.

I would recommend any seafood lover or geologist (just one more) in the Austin area to try it!

Have a great weekend!
~Rachel

Max's Wine Dive

Max's Wine Dive

My friend, Garcia, and I went to Max's Wine Dive last week, so I decided to write a little review about this new Austin establishment.

First, we both started off with a glass of wine and the pan borracho (drunken bread.) It was delicious and just keep getting better with every bite, seriously, more amazing the more we ate!

Pan Borracho

For the main course we both couldn't resist the fried chicken. It was just taunting us from the minute we saw it on the menu... When the fried chicken arrived they attempted to take the pan borracho away, which was greeted with "touch it and die" stares from both of us. The fried chicken was amazing. It had a bit of a bite with the jalapeño & buttermilk marinade, but dipping it in the chipotle honey changed the taste of the chicken completely. My plan was to only eat half and take the rest home. Well that didn't exactly happen since there was nothing left for leftovers.

Max's Fried Chicken

All and all it was a great experience. The staff was very attentive and the food was great. The only "complaint" (for lack of a better word) was the atmosphere, I felt like Dallas/Houston was transported to Austin... Also, the acoustics of the place was terrible. We had to scream at each other the whole time to hear anything. Those being minor inconveniences in what was a great time!

~Rachel

Stay Tuned...

photo courtesy of www.maxswinedive.com

I'll be doing a review for Max's Wine Dive very

soon (this week.)

This review will be based on us being "regular"

patrons, rather than the Austin bloggers

opening/party they had last week...

Stay tuned.

~Rachel