I am going to be honest here….I DO NOT like nor do I trust Asian cuisine, I just don’t.  I can’t be diggin’ on a place that hangs naked ducks in the windows (Enticement?  I don’t think so.) or on a cuisine that insists on showering everything on the menu in fish sauce!

I’ve had my eye on Pho Dan since moving to our new neighborhood about 6 months ago.  Occassionally perusing the Yelp reviews, keeping my ears open for any mention of the name, and most importantly keeping my eyes peeled when I drive by (because sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover!).

Flanked by a wall of windows and a bright, cheery modern, hotel-esque interior, Pho Dan looks clean, it smells clean, and most importantly, the food on the tables is all recognizable (for the most part).  In my book, that’s a good start for an Asian establishment, and trust me, I’ve walked out at this point. 

We ended up ordering our food to go, which proved ok because it was delicious by the time we got it home.  I had the tofu spring rolls (2.5) which were fresh and crisp and came with a homemade peanut and a homemade red pepper sauce.  The rice paper was delicate and firm and fresh and all of the interior ingredients were equally satisfying.  Amigo had the veggie egg rolls (2.7) which were fried to a perfect, crispy light brown and served with a light, homemade carrot/sweet and sour sauce.  For dinner we each had the vegan, tofu noodle soup (small – 5.2, large – 6.2).  The noodles were perfectly steamed, not clumpy, and the vegetable broth was clear, fresh, and smelled fresh rather than canned.  The tofu was seared golden brown and came with a side of mixed white onion and cilantro, bean sprouts, and thai basil.  One serving is enough for three meals for me, and probably two for the average male. 

Other positives;

Delicious Jasmine Iced Tea

Clean & Well Equipped Restrooms

Easy parking

I have been waiting to review Ross’s and it’s not an ideal time now because I am starving…but, I will go ahead and get it done!

I had gone to Ross’s once back in early 2001 or so, and since moving to a more centrally located spot in town, I simply (and oh so sadly) totally forgot about this gem!  From the moment you pull into the parking lot, it’s assured that this is going to be a pleasant experince.  There is a large stage outside (dog friendly) circled with worn picnic tables and a covered front porch for when the weather doesn’t exactly comply.

Walking in it’s evident that this is a family run joint…clean, friendly staff, and the smell of homecooked goodness spilling through the door.  The salad bar is fresh and clean, the pie cooler the same.  PIE COOLER!  Delicious burgers, amazing grilled cheese sammies, amigo really enjoyed his steak, the BEST baked potatoes and positively the coldest beers (and mugs) in town! 

Dear Ross, I am so sorry that it took me so long to return.  I promise to never leave you again… 

And for all of you Austinites that need a reference point – Ross’s is a billion times better than Threadgill’s.  Yep, a billions!

Nom Nom Nom!

A friend (and talented family member of the GBJ family) has started a blog of her own about the city that SHE loves….HOTlanta!  <3 Atlanta is a delicious collection of her favorite spots in her favorite town.

It’s true, our clan is passionate about many subjects, but the city in which we live seems to play favorites; the food, the music, the people, the sights….did I mention the food???

While GBJ has gone from celebrity gossip to travel to food, and basically all over the interwebs map, it has come full circle and is now mostly about the city I love most…Austin, Texas!  However, I definitely encourage you to stop by the <3 Atlanta website and give Lauren and her crew a big warm hug and a friendly wave from whatever town you live in and hopefully it’s the town you love the most.

Enjoy!

My #1 amigo and I decided to treat ourselves to dinner this past weekend.  One of our favorite past times, besides the actual action of stuffing our faces, is to try new restaurants!  Considering that we moved merely a month ago, we have been encountering mucho food in suburbialand….

Friday, we decided to try Zed’s.  The outside is beautiful and surrounded by water – reminding me of a Wright building, and it’s a peaceful place to walk into.  The interior is a nice combination of Houston’s and The Macaroni Grill.  There is a fabulous (full) bar excluded from the restaurant with giant televisions for the sports fans.  There is a heated patio and small (lap) dogs are welcome! 

We started out with the Baby Bellas (8.5), baby portabella mushrooms stuffed with herbs and goat cheese served over baby spinach with a warm tomato vinaigrette.  In my opinion, there was too much spinach.  I would have been much happier with a light bed of arugula!  Other than that one complaint, the mushrooms were properly cleaned and grit-free and the goat cheese was perfectly tangy and creamy.  For dinner I had the vegetarian pasta (12), a gemelli pasta with diced winter vegetables in a light lemon butter sauce.  IT WAS DELICIOUS!  Amigo had the Big Pig Pork Sandwich (14) - smoked and pulled pork drenched in Shiner bbq sauce, topped with a vinegar slaw, and served on a hoagie bun with a choice of two sides.  My pal ordered french fries (perfect) and……..I forget what else.  The portions were large enough to create two meals from the one I ordered – munchies!

There is a lunch and dinner menu, and soon they will add a brunch menu.  They just hired a pastry chef, so watch for them to revamp their current seriously lackluster dessert menu.  They have live music on the weekends and may eventually expand the stage hours. 

It’s a privately owned restaurant with the well-oiled staff of a large corporation – GOOD JOB, Zed’s!!

…..now, if I could only do soemthing about the name…..

Let’s begin with a trip to tacoland.  Pablito’s Bakery @ Bluff Bend and Braker is par none.  Everything I have had there is divine.  (They could use some help with their coffee-making skills, but….)  Gorditas, quesadillas, tacos, tortas, everything!  Very fresh and flavorful and most importantly, affordable.  Pablito’s is better than La Mexicana (my former fave Mexican bakery) and the service is delightful.  A friend of mine from S. Austin ordered tamales over the holidays and the owner drove them to her…it had to have taken him at least an hour!  Now that is good service!  Amigo and I got our wedding cake there as well.  A traditional Tres Leches and it was simply perfect.  No Joke!  Be forewarned, though – the aqua fresca is too sweet! 

There are a few small tables outside on the front porch, so bring your pooch!

 

Zandunga is the second child for the east Austin staple, Mi Madre’s.  It has been several months since our trip here, so it’s a bit hard for me to recall many specifics.  I will say this though, I realllly wanted to like it, beacuse I love Mi Madre’s and I think that the family has done great things for the breakfast tacos…

We started our dinner with the Agave Margaritas.  They were good, but I am not really all that in to fancy drinks.  Gimme a fuckin shot of Jameson and a Lone Star, por favor…Appetizer was the Yucca Frita, perfectly fried and lightly salted yucca chips with an assortment of chutnied accoutrements, tasty!  To be totally honest with you, it several bong hits ago and I cannot for the life of me recall what either Amigo or I ate.  But….I do know that the portions were large, the salsa is HOT, and the potato stack was perfection!  Zandunga is a bit pricey if you are trying to be wallet friendly, but, it’s good.  (Sorry!)

Phew, sorry about that ya’ll! I done went and got hitched to amigo, bought a house (HEADACHE, but worth it), got a dog (Frankie!!!!), and had family in for the holidays – life has been insane…

Something swell did indeed rise through the smoke – we are amidst a plethora of new restaurants and bars to try!!!

So…..here we go; new location is 78753, Austin, Tejas!

…and btw – we have also learned that Yelp is an ok resource if you are looking for a place to eat…but not if you are necessarily researching the quality of the eats.  As it turns out, most of you people out there are nasty fuckers and will eat any piece of shit someone sets in front of your big fat faces. GROSS!

The food trailer has become somewhat of a local revolution, they are everywhere.  Some are good, some not-so-much and it’s a high stakes game when I compromise my food.  To the west of the new East Side Drive In (whack) is a commune of food trailers, and one of those is the #19 Bus.  An old London style, double-decker bus that is easy to spot from the street.  The menu is short and sweet and to the point.  This is ok if the food is good, and I have never had a better cheesesteak in my entire life.  My entire life.  The meat was perfectly shaved and the meat/cheese/mushroom-pepper ratio was perfection.  The bread was also perfect as there could have been no better vehicle to get the meat in to my mouth.  Perfectly hard (blushing), perfectly soft in the middle, and not soggy at all! 

Sadly, Lucky J’s is no longer in rotation…RIP.

 

Let me start by saying that today, Amigo and I got to eat lunch together, so my that made my day – he even brought the Frankie with him! We decided to try Your Mom’s Burger Bar because some friends of ours in the ‘hood said they were pretty darn good.  Holy schmolly they could not have been more right!  To begin, amigo loves and adores the Casino el Camino burger above none other..today, he proclaimed that Your Mom’s was the best burger in town!  I was SHOCKED! 

I did not get a ready-made burger, I decided on the Build Your Own and had American cheese and mayo.  Yep, that’s it, that’s the real way to eat a burger and be able to taste the meat.  

The unique thing about these burgers is that the cheese is literally in the middle of the patties and when you bite in to it, a warm pocket of cheese oozes from the meat…there is so much cheese between the meat morsels that its possible to get some with each bite.  It’s orgasmic.  

(side note:  weird too, cuz last night I was watching the food channel and there was a segment all about the Jucy Lucy burgers in Minneapolis and that is exactly what I wanted…and exactly what I got!) 

They have $6 hamburgers on Monday and specials each day of the week, they have a homemade veggie burger, there is a patio, and picnic tables outside…DOG FRIENDLY! 

I can’t wait to return!

As many of you know by now, I loooove to cook, I love to eat, I love to bake, and most of all I love to try out new recipes…

Sick of the same old same old in the poultry world, I recalled a chicken recipe I had several years ago – some (Italians) call it a Rollatini, and some (everyone else, ha) call it stuffed chicken.

I had originally set out to make brocolli and cheddar stuffed chicken, but after reading so many variations of this one recipe, I settled for goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. 

I have two new favorite food blogs (aside from Ruth Bourdain) that have been my go-tos lately.  A dear family friend surprised me with her blog, A Muse In An Apron…(How can you be brilliant, beautiful, successful AND witty – she’s amazing) and a blog that I most recently came upon, Bakin’ and Eggs. 

For this evening, I chose a recipe from the latter, and changed very few steps of the process – and had I had the time, rather than using sundried tomaotes, I would have used Shirelle’s roasted cherry tomatoes.  Next time, for sure!

I served my stuffed chicken with cous cous and a cold cucumber salad – ENJOY…and please please please, share ANY food blogs that you love! 

Full Recipe Here

Edits to the recipe by GBJ…

1.  I did not use basil – I had none on hand (my sad garden will be another post)

2.  I omitted the broth for double the wine.  I chose a Portuguese Vinho Verde for the job and it was perfect.

3.   I did not reconstitute the dried tomatoes as I rather enjoy the naturally tangy flavor and dry texture.    (…but like I said, next time I will use the roasted tomatoes)

4.  To ensure a moist final product, after I seared the breasts in the pan, I set them into a baking dish with a couple of lemon slices, ~1.5 cups of white wine, a tsp of capers, a tsp of whole black pepper corns and a pinch of savory.  (your favorite seasonings will work just fine)