Sundry Tomatoes- Austin Edition
Hi y'all!
What a blunder I have committed. I went to Austin, TX in July and started writing a blog about all the wonderful food I ate there. But apparently I never published and have since lost all the photos I took and also don't remember where else I ate except Torchy's Tacos. I discovered this because I just got back from my second trip to Austin and was going to write a follow up review about a few new places I hit up and then couldn't find the first post. I am the worst. I'm still going to share with you the original post and then I'll add my new more recent eateries.
Once upon a time, way back in July...
"Last week I took a good ol' fashion vacay to the live music capital of the world. So, naturally I spent most of time eating things. I knew before coming here that I wanted to eat ONLY barbecue and Mexican/Tex Mex cuisine. I succeeded. Alrighty, I'll start at the beginning and stop at the end.
First Stop Torchy's Tacos. I went here for breakfast. I ordered two Migas tacos because I thought tacos are small right? No. Well yes, the corn tortilla was small, but the amount of delicious yummies piled on top of it was large. So after eating the first one, I looked at the second one thinking HOW am I going to eat you?! But you know me, ever the trooper I managed to shovel it down my cake-hole because IT. WAS. AMAZING. There was some fresh scrambly eggs, tortilla strips (that weren't really as crispy as promised but I didn't really care) avocado, chiles, pico de gallo and cheese! Served up with fresh, not from a stinkin' jar, tomatillo salsa. Everything tasted fresh and the flavors were just perfect and not overdone or overwhelming one another. I could eat one of these like every. damn. day."
Now, back to present day. Like I said I just got back from my second trip to Austin and am still reminiscing about some of the deliciousness I found there.
First stop: Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
A very hip burger place. You get in line, which wraps around a bar so you can order drinks while you wait to place your order. Then you place your order and sit down with your table number and they will bring you your yum yum. I ordered the Llano Poblano: Angus Beef, Pepper Jack, Roasted Poblano Chiles, Apple-Smoked Bacon, Chipotle Mayo. I also ordered Kennebec Fries and a Soco Sweet tea (House Infused Lemoncello, Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Raspberry Purée, & Fresh-Squeezed Lemon).
The Burger was delicious, not the best seasoned I've ever had but over all a pretty decent burger. The poblano chile they placed on top of my burger was huge and all the other toppings were a bit smaller so as to not overwhelm the burger. The french fries were skinny and crispy, pretty good, not spectacular. I really liked my grown-up iced tea, mostly because it was pink, but also because it tasted like delicious lemonade and I almost didn't believe there was any vodka at all. Delicious, and probably dangerous.
Stop no. 2: Pinthouse Pizza
A brave trip to a pizza place somewhere outside of NY. But as my boy and I are planning on spending a whole lot more time in Austin soon, we figured we'd better figure out the pizza situation. For my first time trying pizza here, I wanted to start off simple and went with the classic Margherita: Sauce, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and basil. The pizza itself was fine, it wasn't big slice NY style, but it was a cute little personal pan pie on a thin gourmet-y crust. The toppings were lovely, the crust maybe a bit bland. What makes this place pretty worthwhile though is the lunch special. For under $10 you get the personal pie, a side salad which was very good and a pint of beer. Boom! Savings and a drink (beer or soda) in hand makes up for the bland crust. I was driving though, so I only had a Maine Root soda. The location is pretty cool as well, you go up to the counter, place your order then sit at one of their huge indoor picnic tables and wait for your order to be called up, much like a beer garden.
Last Stop: South Congress Cafe
Right off the bat, we got 20% off for eating at the bar. At first I thought it looked somewhat like a diner and I went in right after a run and in my gross gym clothes. Wrong. The place is a little more upscale looking, although all the diners looked like they were in casual attire or work clothes. It was a Wednesday and we saw people who looked like they were on lunch break.
You can't ever come to Austin and not have migas, so even though i'd already had migas twice at Torchy's Tacos on this trip, I ordered it again here. Migas = farm fresh eggs, corn tortillas, tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, three cheese blend, refried black beans, salsa, house made tortillas. Maybe I just really fell in love with migas. Maybe I've only had migas at two or three different places and don't know what bad migas are yet. They were delicious. The one thumbs-down though was that the food was kind of lukewarm, almost cold. But whatevs, I don't love hot food anyway, mostly because I can't shovel it quickly. This particular place serves their migas with a delightful potato pancake that was also lukewarm but very flavorful with its Gouda cheese and little scallion bits. There was a little bowl of red salsa for my migas. It was crazy spicy and I couldn't eat it. For some of my fire-loving friends though, I think they'd love it. I think I recognized some smokey flavors, but can't be too sure because I was choking for a few seconds. I accompanied my mid-week brunch with, you guessed it: A South Congress red sangria: brandy, Hiram walker, green apples, cinnamon. It was really delightful, the brandy introduced itself right away, but wasn't overbearing. The wine was not by any means overshadowed by too much sugar or fruit so it tasted quite good. The best part? It didn't come out of a pre-made pitcher. The bartender makes it one glass at a time. I felt special and the drink felt fresh.
Conclusion:
I liked Hopdoddy's atmosphere and would definitely revisit even though the burger is not my favorite yet. Finding a Pizza that two New Yorkers will love will be a situation that requires further investigation but for a lunch special that's quite near our future home, I think it's a great place to start. And South Congress Cafe, feels like a place I'd come back to for a special occasion.
Cheerio!
What a blunder I have committed. I went to Austin, TX in July and started writing a blog about all the wonderful food I ate there. But apparently I never published and have since lost all the photos I took and also don't remember where else I ate except Torchy's Tacos. I discovered this because I just got back from my second trip to Austin and was going to write a follow up review about a few new places I hit up and then couldn't find the first post. I am the worst. I'm still going to share with you the original post and then I'll add my new more recent eateries.
Once upon a time, way back in July...
"Last week I took a good ol' fashion vacay to the live music capital of the world. So, naturally I spent most of time eating things. I knew before coming here that I wanted to eat ONLY barbecue and Mexican/Tex Mex cuisine. I succeeded. Alrighty, I'll start at the beginning and stop at the end.
First Stop Torchy's Tacos. I went here for breakfast. I ordered two Migas tacos because I thought tacos are small right? No. Well yes, the corn tortilla was small, but the amount of delicious yummies piled on top of it was large. So after eating the first one, I looked at the second one thinking HOW am I going to eat you?! But you know me, ever the trooper I managed to shovel it down my cake-hole because IT. WAS. AMAZING. There was some fresh scrambly eggs, tortilla strips (that weren't really as crispy as promised but I didn't really care) avocado, chiles, pico de gallo and cheese! Served up with fresh, not from a stinkin' jar, tomatillo salsa. Everything tasted fresh and the flavors were just perfect and not overdone or overwhelming one another. I could eat one of these like every. damn. day."
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| Photo Credit: Daniel Y, Yelp User |
Now, back to present day. Like I said I just got back from my second trip to Austin and am still reminiscing about some of the deliciousness I found there.
First stop: Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
A very hip burger place. You get in line, which wraps around a bar so you can order drinks while you wait to place your order. Then you place your order and sit down with your table number and they will bring you your yum yum. I ordered the Llano Poblano: Angus Beef, Pepper Jack, Roasted Poblano Chiles, Apple-Smoked Bacon, Chipotle Mayo. I also ordered Kennebec Fries and a Soco Sweet tea (House Infused Lemoncello, Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Raspberry Purée, & Fresh-Squeezed Lemon).
The Burger was delicious, not the best seasoned I've ever had but over all a pretty decent burger. The poblano chile they placed on top of my burger was huge and all the other toppings were a bit smaller so as to not overwhelm the burger. The french fries were skinny and crispy, pretty good, not spectacular. I really liked my grown-up iced tea, mostly because it was pink, but also because it tasted like delicious lemonade and I almost didn't believe there was any vodka at all. Delicious, and probably dangerous.
Stop no. 2: Pinthouse Pizza
A brave trip to a pizza place somewhere outside of NY. But as my boy and I are planning on spending a whole lot more time in Austin soon, we figured we'd better figure out the pizza situation. For my first time trying pizza here, I wanted to start off simple and went with the classic Margherita: Sauce, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and basil. The pizza itself was fine, it wasn't big slice NY style, but it was a cute little personal pan pie on a thin gourmet-y crust. The toppings were lovely, the crust maybe a bit bland. What makes this place pretty worthwhile though is the lunch special. For under $10 you get the personal pie, a side salad which was very good and a pint of beer. Boom! Savings and a drink (beer or soda) in hand makes up for the bland crust. I was driving though, so I only had a Maine Root soda. The location is pretty cool as well, you go up to the counter, place your order then sit at one of their huge indoor picnic tables and wait for your order to be called up, much like a beer garden.
Last Stop: South Congress Cafe
Right off the bat, we got 20% off for eating at the bar. At first I thought it looked somewhat like a diner and I went in right after a run and in my gross gym clothes. Wrong. The place is a little more upscale looking, although all the diners looked like they were in casual attire or work clothes. It was a Wednesday and we saw people who looked like they were on lunch break.
You can't ever come to Austin and not have migas, so even though i'd already had migas twice at Torchy's Tacos on this trip, I ordered it again here. Migas = farm fresh eggs, corn tortillas, tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, three cheese blend, refried black beans, salsa, house made tortillas. Maybe I just really fell in love with migas. Maybe I've only had migas at two or three different places and don't know what bad migas are yet. They were delicious. The one thumbs-down though was that the food was kind of lukewarm, almost cold. But whatevs, I don't love hot food anyway, mostly because I can't shovel it quickly. This particular place serves their migas with a delightful potato pancake that was also lukewarm but very flavorful with its Gouda cheese and little scallion bits. There was a little bowl of red salsa for my migas. It was crazy spicy and I couldn't eat it. For some of my fire-loving friends though, I think they'd love it. I think I recognized some smokey flavors, but can't be too sure because I was choking for a few seconds. I accompanied my mid-week brunch with, you guessed it: A South Congress red sangria: brandy, Hiram walker, green apples, cinnamon. It was really delightful, the brandy introduced itself right away, but wasn't overbearing. The wine was not by any means overshadowed by too much sugar or fruit so it tasted quite good. The best part? It didn't come out of a pre-made pitcher. The bartender makes it one glass at a time. I felt special and the drink felt fresh.
Conclusion:
I liked Hopdoddy's atmosphere and would definitely revisit even though the burger is not my favorite yet. Finding a Pizza that two New Yorkers will love will be a situation that requires further investigation but for a lunch special that's quite near our future home, I think it's a great place to start. And South Congress Cafe, feels like a place I'd come back to for a special occasion.
Cheerio!
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