Here's where I write stuff about lunch
24 Diner April 6, 2012
Brian and I went to 24 Diner. They bill themselves as serving "classic American cuisine, good service, fun atmosphere -- and turned up about 10 notches." We're not sure about the notches, but they do have some classic dishes with good service.
Here's Brian out front by some palm trees under construction:
Maybe the 10 notches they're talking about are the prices, because they did seem to be turned up. Corn fritters for $8? Pork Belly sandwich for $16?
We got there about 11:20 a.m., and it was crowded. We were seated at a two-top with a booth on one side and chair on the other. Brian sat on the booth side. Brian said he felt crowded by Mr. Half Shirt sitting next to us with his feet up on the booth. Mr. Half Shirt left not too long after we got there, though.
I'm working the Paleo diet, and I felt like having breakfast for lunch like any breakfast craving caveman would. Typical American breakfast usually comes with some carbs, so I had to order a la carte to avoid the breads and potatoes. I got two eggs, bacon, sausage and bacon-braised greens.
Brian is working the "I'll eat whatever I damn well please" diet, so he ordered the large chicken and waffles. Sunny, the waitress who didn't look anything like Jack Bauer, tried to talk him into downsizing, but was unsuccessful. Brian likes his leftovers.
In the meantime, Simon and Garfunkel were singing "At The Zoo."
We dug these trumpet shaped light fixtures.
Sometimes the overhead music was muffled, but sometimes the music was clear. During a moment of music clarity, The Decemberists were singing "Calamity Song." I love the Decemberists. I used to hate the Decemberists, but just as my taste buds change over time, so do my ear buds.
Then California Dreamin' came on and Brain gave us a grammar lesson. He said that two songs come to mind when he thinks about subjunctive tense. "If I Were A Rich Man" is an example of the correct subjective tense. California Dreamin's "I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A." is incorrect. No charge for that.
The food arrived. Mine looked like this:
The greens were great and two out of the three bacon slices were crunchy and greasy at the same time (which I like). The third slice of bacon was tough. The semi-circle of eggs was adequate and the sausage was a little rubbery. Including iced tea, they notched this meal up to $16 (after taxes) due to it being a la carte. This is out of my price range to ever get again.
Brian's food looked like this:
Brian said the chicken was good, but you can get better at Max's Wine Dive. He said the waffle had a different flavor than expected. I tasted it, too. He guessed it was sourdough and I guessed it had booze in it. He said the syrup was warm. The chicken and waffles cost $14 (after taxes).
While we were eating, Brian noted that the woman who took Mr. Half Shirt's seat was very excited about everything she said.
Our final verdict is that the food is good, the prices are higher than we'd like and we'll probably never have an urge to go there again. But you never know... we've been there before.
Visit 24 Diner on the interwebs
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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.
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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.
Visit Zandunga on the interwebs
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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."
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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!
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