Austin Texas - a Week of Celebration, Family and Friends

What a week! We were in Austin to celebrating our daughters wedding, enjoying our new family and meeting up with old friends.

Our family started arriving in Austin on Wednesday, we arrived in town mid-afternoon Friday October 15th. We had a joyful reunion with our family and our old friends in the lobby of our hotel, not a dry eye in the place.

Photograph from web site

We stayed in Austin at the Casulo Hotel***+ This was a great hotel, great location and wonderful staff. Thank you Amber and Ashley…
http://casulohotel.com/
512.610.1116

Just in time to join every on at a wonderful party hosted by old friends of the grooms family.

After the party a gang of meet up at Mean Eye Cat*** what a place…
http://themeaneyedcat.com/


Saturday October 16th

Photograph By Ashly

Joe’s Crab Shack*** We always visit this place when we are in Austin, love the location…
http://www.joescrabshack.com/locations/store/default.aspx?store=52

Crab nachos**+ Tortilla chips topped with loads of crab dip, pico de gallo, cheese and black bean corn relish.

Dungeness crab*** Cooked in fresh garlic, herbs and spices

Garlicky Mussels***+ mussels served with garlic sauce and garlic bread. So much flavor, ask for a spoon…

After the rehearsal we were off to dinner

Z’Tejas 6th Street****
http://www.ztejas.com/
512.478.5355

All wines served were Washington in honor of our future daughters-in-Laws home state.

Photograph By Ashly

Gorgonzola New York Steak**** with caramelized onion sauce, mashed potato cake and seasonal vegetables. This was the stare of all the steaks I had while in Austin.

Photograph By Ashly

Wild mushroom enchiladas*** crimini, portabello and shiitake mushrooms with avocado and tomato relish rolled into corn tortillas, toped with an ancho-mole cream sauce, jack cheese and sour cream, served with green chili rice and black beans.

Sunday October 17th

Doc’s Motor Works Bar and Grill*** this is a fun hangout
http://eatdrinkdocs.com/menus.php#home
512.448.9181

Fajita Tacos**+ Fajita chicken or beef, served with rice and black beans.

Buffalo Chicken Salad**+ fried chicken tossed in our homemade wing sauce on a bed of house greens with tomatoes and bleu cheese crumbles, served with chunky bleu cheese dressing.

Doc’s Taco Salad**+ beef picadillo on a bed of house greens, cheese, green chili ranch, tostada shells and topped with pico de gallo.

~~~

What a wonderful wedding…

The reception was hosted by Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill****
http://www.moonshinegrill.com/


Monday October 18th

Magnolias Café Congress Ave**+
http://themagnoliacafe.com/

Jalapeno Cheese Burger***

Bacon Swiss Burger***

Vegetarian Omelet’s*** avocado with steamed mushroom, red onion, green bell pepper, tomato and cheddar and jack cheese

Sonora Taco**+ spicy beef, black beans, sour cream, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato

~~~

Maudies Café off Lake Austin Blvd
http://www.maudies.com/
512.473.3740
We visit Maudies several times when ever we are in Austin…

Tamales El Jefe*** three pork tamales covered with our chile con carne sauce and topped with cheese. Served with rice and beans.

Mexican plate*** two cheese enchiladas covered with chile con carne sauce, topped with onions and cheese. Served with a crispy beef taco, a small fresh guacamole salad, rice and beans.

Chicken Fajita Nachos*** nachos topped with chicken fajitas and grilled onions. Served with lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, escabeche and sour cream.

Tuesday October 19th

Habana Restaurant and Bar South Congress Ave
http://www.habana.com/
512.443.4253

Mariquitas**+ thinly sliced fried plantain chips served with mojo for dipping. First time for plantain, not bad...

Sandwich Cubano*** roast pork, ham, swiss cheese with pickles and mustard on pressed Cuban bread. I loved this sandwich...

Ensalada Especial*** lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado, onion, green and red peppers

Tres leches cake***+ yummy

~~~

Austin Land and Cattle Steak House****
http://www.austinlandandcattlecompany.com/

Nice to meet you Scott.
I need to apologies about the poor quality of the pictures…

Air dried beef Prosciutto**+ capers, onion, shaved parmesan and extra virgin olive oil.

Oyster ‘Tex’efeller**** Rockefeller with a kick

Top Sirloin Steak***

Ribeye Steak***

Filet Mignon**** with béarnaise sauce

Wednesday October 20th

Tiniest Bar in Texas
http://www.tiniestbarintexas.com/
Fun place for a drink

~~~

Guero’s Taco Bar***+
http://www.guerostacobar.com/
Really enjoyed the food

Hot Tamales***+ black bean. Best darn tamales I ever had…

Taco*** beef

Chiles Rellenos*** roasted poblano chiles stuffed with sauteed fresh corn kernels, diced zucchini, onion, garlic and spices, deglazed with lime juice and white wine and topped with a dollop of sour cream and jack cheese. Served on a bed of spanish rice

Thursday October 21st

Hills Cafe**+
http://www.hillscafe.com/
Great time with friends...

Filet*** blue cheese butter and fried onions

Top Sirloin*** center cut with blue cheese onions. The bake potato was cold but warmed up sizzling platter

~~~

Enoteca Vespato
http://www.austinvespaio.com/enoteca/enoteca.html
Lunch with family before taking off…

Calamari Fritti*** crispy calamari with lemon aioli. This is the best calamari we have had.

B.A.T.*** Nueske’s bacon, avocado, tomato, Pure Luck feta cheese & arugula open-faced on toasted walnut bread

Margherita Pizze*** fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes & basil

Going Home

10/10/10 Sojen Cellars Everett the Crush is on…

Sunday afternoon we joined Max and Jen Jensen’s and a group of friends at Sojen Cellars winery located in Everett, Washington. Max just made the trip from Eastern Washington wine country with a truck full of syrah and Viognier grapes. Our job was to clean the equipment, keep the winery clean, crush the grapes, and press the Viognier.

The non glamorous part of wine making is the cleaning. Cleaning and sweeping, over and over again…

Pressing the Viognier was a blast, work but fun. Watching the must (juice) flow into the bucket was interesting. Some folks were taking the grape press cake ( skins after pressing) home to compost.

Most of the evening we spent crushing the syrah, by the way the grapes were delicious. Can’t wait to taste Sojen Cellars 2010…

Value Weekend Wine Tasting at Wicked Cellars, Everett Washington



This Friday at Wicked Cellars, Everett we tasted a nice selection of wines from Dusty Cellars Winery, Camano Island. Dusty Cellars Winery was founded in September, 2006. They are a family owned and operated winery. Dusty Cellars Winery is a boutique winery that produces on average of 700 cases per year.
The tasting room is open the first weekend of each month.

Friday October 8, 2010
Dusty Cellars Winery
360.387.2171
http://www.dustycellars.net/

2008 Dusty Cellars Semi-Dry Riesling** citrus, minerals

2009 Dusty Cellars Rose’**+ stone fruit, spice, mouth feel

2008 Dusty Cellars Spartan***:-) leather, cherries, tobacco, plums

2007 Dusty Cellars Cabernet Franc***:-) milk chocolate, vanilla

2007 Dusty Cellars Syrah***:-) tobacco, spice, light mouthfeel

2008 Dusty Cellars Leonidas Syrah****:-) dark fruit, jam, spice, tannins

Saturday October 9, 2010

Wicked Cellars hosted Darrin Burgess from the Unique Wine Company. Darrin dug deep through Unique’s extensive cellars of Spanish wines and found an array of vale packed wines.

Naveran 2007 Cava Brut Reserva** dry, fruity, clean

2007 Hermanos del Villar Oro de Castilla Verdejo** great fruit, mango, tart

2007 Bodegas Beronia Crianza** red fruit, spice, cherry

2001 Rioja Bordon Gran Reserva 2001*** spice, polished, will age well

2009 Bodega la Cartuja “La Cartuja” Priorat***+:-) minerals, lavender, blueberry, spice

Gonzalez Byass NV Amontillado “Vina AB”**+ nice nose, almonds, hazelnuts

A Monday night at Cristiano’s Pizza etc. Maysville, Washington

Cristiano’s Pizza etc.***
Marysville, Washington

360.653.8356

The best thing about Cristiano’s is the value (*** for value). For instance a personal size pizza and their salad combo will run you under $9. You get your choice of toppings for the pizza, and you can choose any salad off their menu.

Talking about their salads the Mediterranean salad is a mound of romaine, topped with black olives, tomatoes, and herb vinaigrette. The spinach salad is a spinach leaves, chopped bacon, and sliced mushrooms served with a small silver dish of warm vinaigrette. These salads are huge, enough for two people to split...

Pizza Works*** sausage, salami, canadian bacon, pepperoni, black olives, green peppers, onion

Lasagna** meat sauce, ricotta, mozzarella

Backed Spaghetti and Meatballs** Spaghetti, Meatballs, mozzarella

Pesto Chicken**** red and green peppers, red onion, grilled chicken, pesto

Mediterranean salad*** romaine, black olives, tomatoes, vinaigrette

Spinach salad*** spinach, bacon, mushrooms, vinaigrette

Food always tastes best with friends and wine

Great Weekend of Wine Tasting and Dining Out

Friday Wine Tasting at Wicked Cellars Everett was with Lars Sorensen of Cascade Trade. Saturday Tim's Staff Wine Picks Tasting to Stretch Your Dollar and Please Your Palate. Later Saturday we tasted Max and Jen’s of Sojen Cellars Everett new Family Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Andrew Joel. Sunday we were off to Woodinville Washington tasting wine and trying a new restaurant.

Wicked Cellars, Everett Washington 

It is always a treat when wine tasting with wines from Lars of Cascade Trade. He always shares the very best value wines and the best deals.

This Friday they are tasting wines for club members only in the "back room" also with wines from Lars Sorensen and Cascade Trade.

Domaine Rosier Blanquette de Limoux 2007, France** grapefruit finish

Aveleda Alvarhino 2009, Portugal** fruit, light sour candy

Vega Murillo Tinta de Toro 2008 Toro, Spain** slate

Chateau de Montfaucon "Baron Louis" Cotes du Rhone 2006, France*** :-) coco, currents

Sigla 4 Quatrovinos Maipo Valley 2008, Chile*** fruity, earth

Starry Night "Tom Feeney Ranch" Russian River Zinfandel Sonoma 2006, California*** cedar box, white pepper

Saturday was Tim's Staff Wine Picks Tasting to Stretch Your Dollar and Please Your Palate. Tim and the staff did a fine job picking wines for us to taste.

2008 Ogier Heritages Cotes du Rhone Blanc** light fruit

Villa Castello Terre di Chieti IGT Chardonnay 2008*** tropical fruit

Ogier 2007 Heritages Cotes du Rhone Rouge*** coffee, black cherry

Haystack Needle Sangiovese, Columbia Valley*** :-) raspberry, plum, dried fruit

Cayalla 2004 RTW, Columbia Valley*** :-) red fruit, soft tannins

2008 Predator Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi** bacon, juicy, BBQ sauce

Sojen Cellars Everett Washington 

Next we made it over to Sojen Cellars to taste Max and Jen Jensen’s new Family Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Andrew Joel. Max was in Eastern Washington picking up grapes, Jen was holding down the fort.

Sojen Cellars "The Movie" 

2007 Andrew Joel Cabernet Sauvignon**** slate, chocolate, balance, young needs air

Sunday was a fun day of tasting wine in Woodinville, Washington. Our plan was to visit tasting rooms and wineries we been to before. We tasted some great Washington State wines from Zerda Cellars, Otis Kenyon, Covey Run, Amavi, Pepper Bridge Winery, Mark Ryan and club wine from Alexandria Nicole Cellars. We finished off the day Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant.

10/03/2010 Woodinville Wine Tasting Movie 

Zerba Cellars
http://www.zerbacellars.com/

2007 Walla Walla Valley ‘Wild Z’ Red Table** earth, olive

2006 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon*** dried currents, mint, dark cherries

2006 Walla Walla Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon*** white pepper, sweet tobacco, tannins

2007 Walla Walla Valley Malbec*** granite, spices, huckleberry

2007 Columbia Valley Barbera*** pepper, jam

2006 Walla Walla Valley Syrah Port*** vanilla

Otis Kenyon
http://www.otiskenyonwine.com/
When you visit ask about how they got their name…

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon*** cherry, cinnamon

2006 Merlot** tart cranberries, smoke

2007 Matchless Red*** light fruit, pepper, bright

2007 Syrah**** balance, slate

Covey Run
Nice new bright tasting room

2006 Quail Merlot** berry

2005 Reserve Merlot** raspberry, hard finish

2006 Quail Cabernet Sauvignon** ripe fruit, currant

2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon** dried cherries

2007 Quail Syrah** light berries

2006 Reserve Syrah*** fruit candy, light

Amavi
http://www.amavicellars.com/

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley**** dark fruit, wild berries, herbs, spice

2007 Syrah Walla Walla Valley**** fruit, blueberries, minerals

Pepper Bridge Winery
http://www.pepperbridge.com/

2007 Merlot Walla Walla Valley**** flowers, chocolate

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley**** blackberries, black cherry, tannins

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley**** minerals, earth, elegant, tannins

Mark Ryan Winery
http://www.markryanwinery.com/

2008 Viognier Columbia Valley**** tropical fruit, stone fruit, minerals, balance

2008 Chardonnay Columbia**** mouth feel, acidity, mandarin, peaches

2008 The Dissident Red*** laid back, black cherry, leather

2008 Wild Eyed Syrah Red Mountain**** leather, wet tobacco, spice, pepper

2008 Crazy Marry Mourvedre Red Mountain*** red meat, tar

2007 Lonely Heart Cabernet Sauvignon **** dark plum, pepper, black olive, tannins

Alexandria Nicole Cellars
http://www.alexandrianicolecellars.com/
Club wine tasting.

2009 Shepherds Mark*** white peaches, crisp, mouth feel

2007 Duck Press Red**** black cherries, minerals

2008 Malbec*** cassis, tangy, light chalk

2008 Members Only**** cherry, fruit, chewy

Mazatlan Restaurant
http://www.mazatlanwa.com/
A great place to finish a wine tasting adventure…

Fajita Salad*** steak, avocado, tomatoes, cheddar

Chicken Burrito***

What a weekend. Some very good wine tasted. I think my personal favorite was the Pepper Bridge Winery 2007 Merlot Walla Walla Valley. Mazatlan Restaurant was a nice surprise. Mexican food after tasting wine? I don’t know but it worked…