Here's where I write stuff about lunch
Meltzer Uptown Pub August 12, 2011
I had a Groupon for Meltzer's Uptown Pub, so Brian and I traveled north to try it. We found the parking lot mostly empty at noon, so I thought maybe they were closed. They weren't closed, just unpopular for this Friday lunch.
The first thing Brian pointed out on the menu was Lasagna Egg Rolls. What?
I ordered iced tea and the waiter gave me four choices: sweet, unsweet, raspberry or green. Wow... I like a lot of choices (as long as they have one that I like). I chose unsweet, and it was good.
The second thing Brian pointed out on the menu was a $50 steak. What?
When the waiter brought our beverages, he asked if we were ready to order. "Not yet," we replied. He said that in a few minutes, when we were ready to order, he would tell us what they were out of. What?
He said they were closing in a couple of days and that he had just been told. Ouch. Given this news, we didn't know how the food would turn out because, as Brian said, "The chef is probably back there angry and drunk."
We ordered the Lasagna Egg Rolls because how can you not? They were pretty good. The outside was crispy like a good egg roll should be and the inside was mostly ground beef with a little bit of white cheese. They came with a marinara sauce that I mistook for salsa. I guess I wanted one more level of fusion. Reflecting back, I think salsa would have been good.
Brian and I both ordered the fish and chips. Brian said it was a good thing we ordered the same thing because then one of us wouldn't be jealous when the other's meal was better with no chance of coming back to order it another time.
There's something naughty about that picture.
I didn't like the fries (battered curly fries, yuck), but I loved the fish. Unfortunately, it was the best fried fish I've ever had in Austin. Goodbye best fried fish in Austin. Brian likes the fish at Dog and Duck Pub better.
The waiter brought us a bottle of malt vinegar, and Brian said I should make that Peachy Chicken recipe on the back of the bottle. He said it's got to be good because it's been on that bottle ever since he was a kid.
We got a slice of Tiramisu and it was pretty good with a rich espresso bottom. Just like I like my bottoms.
We asked the waiter to bring us the check, and he said, "Oh no... take your time." We didn't want to take our time. He brought it and we were pleased to see that instead of charging us for 2 fish and chips, he charged us for 1 fish and chip and 1 Red's pastrami sandwich ($3 cheaper than the fish and chips).
We wish the staff at Meltzer's good luck with whatever the future brings.
Zandunga Mexican Bistro May 3, 2011
Brian and I went to Zandunga Mexican Bistro for Torta Tuesday. On Tuesdays, they have tortas for half price. Tortas are sandwiches. They usually cost $12, so it's good to go on Torta Tuesday.
Upon arrival, we noticed a Frida Kahlo portrait. She has black animals on her shoulders. At first we thought they were cats, but then they started to look like monkeys and bears.
We ordered the guacamole because Brian had seen it before and remembered it looked good. The menu said it had micro cilantro in it, and we both agreed that big cilantro is just fine, but we would try it anyway. It came with yucca chips and plantain chips. We already had some tortilla chips, so there was a variety of chippage. We thought this guacamole was better than the guacamole they serve at Cantina Laredo even though they don't make it table side.
Brian ordered the Torta Ahogada. It has carnitas and beans (usually black beans, but today it had refried). It also usually comes smothered in ranchero and verde sauces, but Brian asked for the sauces on the side to make it easier to eat. Here's a picture I took the last time we went with the sauces all over it. It makes for a beautiful sandwich if it weren't so messy to eat.
I ordered the Carnitas Tacos with crispy carnitas, Oaxaca cheese (for those Oaxacan Daredevils out there) and avocado. Fantastic! Both times I've had these marvels, there has been a bonus piece of plastic (like from a wrapper) in one of the tacos. But they're so good it hasn't put me off. I wonder if the plastic gets grated with the cheese.
Early in the visit to Zandunga, a song came on overhead that made me smile. Even when I didn't want to, I smiled. And Brian smiled. Not knowing what it was, I launched the Shazam app on my iPhone. Shazam told me it was Manu Chao's "Homens." Shazam is amazing and "Homens" is a silly, fun song about men.
Speaking of men, every other time we went to Zandunga, there was a waiter there named Conrad. The first time we went, Brian said Conrad was richly scented (in a good way). I kept forgetting to smell him, though.
Zandunga Mexican Bistro gets the Lunch with Brian seal of approval.
Cafe Express December 13, 2010
We went to Cafe Express near Seton Hospital where La Madeleine used to be. They have a relish bar with things like carrots, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. We used these items to depict what we thought of our meal:
It's not that it was horrible. Just that there are so many better places to eat lunch. Cafe Express might be good if you're at Seton for the day visiting a sick relative, and you want to take a walk at lunch and not eat hospital food. But that's assuming Seton's food is bad, and I (thankfully) haven't been there in years, so I can't say.
Brian and I both got dishes with chicken and fettucine alfredo, but Brian's had peas and mushrooms and mine had walnuts. I also got garlic bread. None of the food held heat, though. Tepid meal not mmmmm.
As we were getting up to leave, I saw two guys in Cafe Express attire coming toward our table, presumably to clear it. I reached down to turn the frowny relish face into a smiley relish face, but I dropped the sun-dried tomato before I could turn it upside down. They saw it, and one of the guys looked at me and said "Really" in the way that the last syllable goes down instead of up. I replied, "Yes, really."
Gourdoughs and Brevita August 4, 2010
Brian and I braved the 90 degree heat to meet our friend Sarah at a food trailer court on South Lamar. The trailers there are Odd Duck, Gourdoughs and Brevita. Odd Duck is a farm-to-trailer trailer that's only open for dinner. That left us with Gourdoughs (big fat donuts) and Brevita (coffee drinks and smoothies). Brian and I got there a little early, so we went to the Brevita window while we waited for Sarah.
Brian ordered an iced americano. It was topped with a white chocolate covered espresso bean. I ordered an iced mocha. Mine was topped with a dark chocolate covered espresso bean.
Brevita had a trivia question posted on the window: What Beatles song did not hit #1? A) I am the Walrus. B) Lady Madonna. C) Yesterday. D) Ticket to Ride. I won't tell you the answer in case it's posted another day. Brian guessed and was wrong. Sarah arrived and made her guess, but was wrong. I overheard the guy in the window tell her the answer, which made it a slam dunk for me. I got 25 cents off my drink.
Gourdoughs is in a classic silver airstream trailer.
They have over 20 items on their menu, but you can mix and match ingredients to make your own. Sarah and Brian had already ordered while I was still looking at the menu. I wanted something with meat on it, but I also wanted another that was pure dessert. Not wanting to appear gluttonous unless someone else was gluttonous, I asked Sarah what she ordered. Funky Monkey. Just one donut... hmmmmm. I asked Brian what he ordered. Mother Clucker and Blue Balls. Two items... yes!! So I ordered the Mother Clucker and the Dirty Berry.
Funky Monkey - Grilled Bananas & Cream Cheese Icing with Brown Sugar
Mother Clucker - Fried Chicken Strip with Honey Butter
Blue Balls - Blueberry Filling and Blue Icing
Mother Clucker
Dirty Berry - Fudge Icing with Grilled Strawberries
Jamie Oliver would be appalled.
When you order, Gourdoughs doesn't just pull a donut from a stack of premade donuts and top it with decadent ingredients. They make each donut fresh. The inside texture is light and looks flaky like fish. The outside texture is crisp until whatever goo on top softens it. Brian suggested they make a fish and chips donut with malt vinegar butter.
There is a gated area between Gourdoughs and Odd Duck. Brian speculated that it is a Foie Gras pen where Odd Duck buries ducks up to their necks to prepare them for foie grasing. Sarah said, "Underground, no one can hear you quack."
When Brian slipped off to do some Brian business, Sarah told me about Quinceaneras, traditional coming of age ceremonies for fifteen year old girls. The subject came up because of a billboard above the trailer court showing a girl with a shoulder pom adorned with giant, clear push pins.
We enjoyed spending lunch with Sarah and hope to do it again soon. Until then, see what Sarah's Totes McGoat is up to. She's got new art supplies!
Frank July 27, 2010
Brian and I went to Frank for a decadent lunch. A lady was blocking the front door, talking to a guy about his two Basenji dogs. She looked right at us trying to get in, but continued to block the door. Then one of the dogs tried to eat her child, and she cleared a path. Good dog.
We were seated at one of the small tables which is a challenge because the food we like is usually served in several containers. The sun was shining directly on our table through the skylight making it the brightest table in the room. Brian said it was the brightest table in the room both in intelligence and light. Not long after, Carly Simon sang "You're so Vain" from the the overhead speakers.
Speaking of "You're so Vain," I think "I bet you think this song is about you" is high on the cleverest lyrics list. Brian thinks "So your horse naturally won" from the same song is also clever since Warren Beatty's horse was named "Naturally." Oh, that Carly Simon.
There was a guy with a Beer Police t-shirt. It said "You have the right to remain silent while I drink your beer." Another guy had an Oklahoma t-shirt on. He had a high pitched laugh that sounded like a girl.
We ordered cheese fries (waffle fries with cheese, bacon, chives and sour cream) as an appetizer. Brian ordered a chicken fried dog (deep fried, battered hot dog with sausage gravy). I ordered a chili cheese dog (pretty self-explanatory) and chocolate covered bacon. The waitress asked if I wanted all the food to come out together, and I requested that the cheese fries come first and the rest come out together. As lunch played out, though, the cheese fries arrived last. We decided it's probably a good idea to order in waves there to ensure food comes out in the correct order.
Brian asked for extra sour cream for the cheese fries because they were a little stingy with that. They were also stingy with the bacon and chives, but we let that go.
Overall, lunch was good, and the tea refill service was perfect. From our table, I had a view of the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi and Brian had a view of two waiters in jorts. Brian said one of the waiters' jorts were more tasteful than those on the jorts web site.
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