Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Austin Texas Fun with Family and Friends (or how we ate our way through Austin) – Part Two



Joe's Crab Shack Austin, Texas
Joe’s Crab Shack***
600 East Riverside Dr.
Austin, TX 78704
512.441.1010
http://www.joescrabshack.com/locations/store/default.aspx?store=52


We always visit this place when we are in Austin, love the location…

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms - Joe's Crab Shack Austin, Texas
Crab Stuffed Mushrooms**+ Tender mushrooms loaded with our own seafood stuffing and topped with monterey Jack

Fish and Chips Joe's -  Crab Shack Austin, Texas
Fish and Chips*** flaky white fish in a classic Samuel Adams beer batter. Served with fries and coleslaw
Crab Cake sandwich - Joe's Crab Shack Austin, Texas
Crab Cake sandwich**+ a made-from-scratch lump meat crab cake with lettuce and tomatoes, on a soft buttered English muffin. Served with spicy sriracha remoulade sauce.

Its also great fun to eat at home…

Eating at Home "Yum"- Austin, Texas 
Doc's Motor Works Bar and Grill Austin, Texas 

Doc's Motor Works Bar and Grill***
1123 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
512.448.9181
http://www.eatdrinkdocs.com/#home

Always a good place to stop by…
Chicken Fried Avocado - Doc's Motor Works Bar and Grill Austin, Texas
Chicken Fried Avocado**+ fried avocado stuffed with our chicken mix and cheese topped with a tomatillo cream sauce. Served with rice and refried or black beans. Wow fried avocado, who would have thought?
Bacon Cheeseburger - Doc's Motor Works Bar and Grill Austin, Texas
Bacon Cheeseburger*** lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles.

Chicken Fajita Tacos - Doc's Motor Works Bar and Grill Austin, Texas
Chicken Fajita Tacos*** fajita chicken, served with rice and black beans

Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar
Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar
Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar*** 1400 S. Congress Ave. Austin, Texas 78704
512.291.7300
http://perlasaustin.com/

Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar

Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar
Dozen Half Shell with Crackers and Good Condiments, Fresh Horseradish, Mignonette, and Cocktail Sauce***+ cold, fresh

Guero's Taco Bar Austin, Texas
Guero's Taco Bar***
1412 S. Congress, Austin 78704-2435
512.447.7688
http://www.guerostacobar.com/

Guero's Taco Bar Austin, Texas
Guero's Taco Bar Austin, Texas
Guero's a good place for Hot Tamales and a cold beer…

Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Cover 3****
2700 W. Anderson #202, Austin 78757-1110
512.374.1121
http://www.cover-3.com/

Cover 3 offered outstanding food, exceptional service and offers elegant and style...
Beef Tenderloin Sliders - Cover 3 Austin, Texas 

Beef Tenderloin Sliders**+ French dip style with roasted onion jus, creamy horseradish and parmesan fries
Greek Island Calamari - Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Greek Island Calamari**+ crispy artichokes, arugula, feta, plum tomatoes and Greek vinaigrette with spicy remoulade

Beef Tenderloin Salad - Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Beef Tenderloin Salad*** beef tenderloin grilled with Asian style BBQ sauce, blue cheese, walnuts, wild mushrooms, grilled leeks, red onion with buttermilk ranch

Jumbo North Atlantic Scallops - Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Jumbo North Atlantic Scallops*** white wine and goat cheese sauce, applewood smoked bacon and toasted almonds
Mashed Potatoes - Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Mac and Cheese - Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Filet Mignon - Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Filet Mignon**** with gorgonzola butter, delish
Freemark Abbey 2007 Merlot - Cover 3 Austin, Texas
Freemark Abbey 2007 Merlot*** juicy, blackberries, cherries, tannins are very fine

Hard at work Blogging…
Blogging in Austin, Texas
Back to Austin...
Garrido's Austin, Texas
Garrido's***
360 Nueces #10, Austin 78737-8615
512.320.TACO
http://www.garridosaustin.com/
Garrido's Austin, Texas
Garrido's Austin, Texas
Oyster Tacos - Garrido's Austin, Texas
Oyster Tacos*** oysters, lightly fried, habanero aioli and pico de gallo

La Condesa***
400-A W. Second, Austin 78701-3898
512.499.0300
http://www.lacondesaaustin.com/
La Condesa Austin, Texas
The Vault - La Condesa Austin, Texas
The coolest part of La Condesa, is the restored, historically protected underground vault, which belonged to the original J.P. Schneider general store, built in the 1860s. Be sure to ask for a tour. 
The Vault - La Condesa Austin, Texas 

The Vault - La Condesa Austin, Texas
Trace Restaurant - W Hotel  Austin, Texas
Trace Restaurant***
200 Lavaca Street
Austin, Texas, 78701
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels/property/dining/attraction_detail.html?propertyID=3224&attractionId=1005807979
Trace Restaurant  Lounge - W Hotel  Austin, Texas
Trace Restaurant  Lounge - W Hotel  Austin, Texas
We checked out the new Trace Restaurant lounge located in the just as new W Hotel Austin. Very elegant, very nice…
The Tavern Austin, Texas 

The Tavern Austin, Texas 

The Tavern**+
922 W. 12th, Austin 78703-4118
512.320.8377
http://www.austintavern.com/

White Wings - The Tavern Austin, Texas
Tavern’s “Amazing White Wings”**+ chicken wrapped with bacon, jalapenos and tossed in wing sauce

Caprese - The Tavern Austin, Texas
Caprese**+ mozzarella, tomatoes, basil pesto and balsamic reduction

Southern Chicken Salad - The Tavern Austin, Texas
Southern Chicken Salad**+ fried chicken, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, onions, candied pecans, pickles, cheddar and tortilla strips

Time for Family…

Birthday in Austin
Last Day...
Habana Restaurant and Bar Austin, Texas 

Habana Restaurant and Bar South Congress Ave**+
512.443.4253
http://www.habanaaustin.com/

Habana Restaurant and Bar Austin, Texas
Black Beans - Habana Restaurant and Bar Austin, Texas
Sandwich Cubano - Habana Restaurant and Bar Austin, Texas
Sandwich Cubano**+ roast pork, ham, swiss cheese with pickles, mustard and something new avocado, on pressed Cuban bread. I think I like it better with out the avocado.

Papa Rellena - Habana Restaurant and Bar Austin, Texas
Papa Rellena**+ pureed potatoes rolled into a ball, filled with seasoned ground beef and lightly fried until golden
Tostones - Habana Restaurant and Bar Austin, Texas
Tostones**+ plantain banana cut into disks, lightly fried and served with mojo
Tres Leches Cake - Habana Restaurant and Bar Austin, Texas
Tres Leches Cake***+ yummy

Home again, home again…

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Austin Texas Fun with Family and Friends – Part One


Maudie's Cafe Lake Austin
Maudie's Cafe Lake Austin****
2608 W. Seventh, Austin 78703-4317
512.473.3740
http://www.maudies.com/
Guacamole Maudie's Cafe Lake Austin, Austin Texas
Beef Chile Relleno Maudie's Cafe Lake Austin, Austin Texas
Beef Chile Relleno*** taco beef, blended cheeses, ranchero sauce, pickled pink onions

Chicken Tacos Maudie's Cafe Lake Austin Austin Texas 
Taco Dinner*** two soft or crispy tacos chicken, rice and beans

Waterloo Ice House***
6203 Capital of TX Hwy. N., Austin 78731-1704
512.418.9700
http://www.waterlooicehouse.com/

Waterloo Ice House Austin Texas
Beef Nacho Grande*** grilled beef, refried beans, tomatoes, jalapenos, cheddar and jack cheese with salsa and sour cream. This was not on their menu, they had no problem replacing chicken with beef.

Pizza Mellow Mushroom Austin Texas
Mellow Mushroom***
2426 Guadalupe St
Austin, Tx 78705
512.472.6356
http://www.mellowmushroom.com/austin#/store/index/austin

Pizza Mellow Mushroom Austin Texas
Pizza Mellow Mushroom Austin Texas
Peperone Salami Mushroom and Cheese*** great place to watch the world go by

Texas Capital self-guided tour…
Texas Capital Austin Texas
Texas Capital Austin Texas
Off to Gruene Texas...
Gruene Hall Austin Texas
Gruene Hall***
1281 Gruene Rd.
Gruene Historic District
New Braunfels, TX 78130
http://www.gruenehall.com/
Gruene Hall Austin Texas
Gruene Hall, built in 1878, is Texas’ oldest continually operating and most famous dance hall. By design, not much has physically changed since the Hall was first built. The 6,000 square foot dance hall with a high pitched tin roof still has the original layout with side flaps for open air dancing, a bar in the front, a small lighted stage in the back and a huge outdoor garden. Advertisement signs from the 1930's and 40’s still hang in the old hall and around the stage
Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar
Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar
Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar***
1287 Gruene Rd.
New Braunfels, TX 78130
830.625.0684
http://www.gristmillrestaurant.com/

Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar
Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar
Situated on the banks of the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels between Austin and San Antonio, the Gruene cotton gin processed crops raised by area farmers until the wooden structure burned to the ground in 1922. All that remains of the water-powered mill today is the three story brick boiler room – now the Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar.
Chicken Fried Streak - Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar
Chicken Fried Steak**+ Hand breaded and deep fried, top with cream gravy. Great flavor, but served lukewarm with the gravy starting to jell.

The location is wonderful and the employee’s and servers were great. I believe distance between the kitchen and were we were siting may have been the problem for them.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Wicked Cellar’s Wine Tasting Weekend and a stop at Sojen Cellars



Fridays Tasting with Daniel Gatti, of Grape Expectations, took us through some Oregon and European wines.



Domaine de la Croix Bouquie 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, France**+ crisp, big sweet grapefruit, minerals

Panther Creek 2009 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley**+ lime, floral

Dow's Vale do Bofim Reserva 2007, Portugal**+ black cherry, chocolate, toasty oak

Ken Wright Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Cuvee 2009*** spice, cherry, mineral flavors

Pico Maccario Barbera d'Asti "Lavignone" 2009, Italy***:-) grilled fruit, barbecue, raspberry

2005 Lan Limitada Rioja, Spain***+ good nose, wild berries, dark chocolate, licorice, spicy

Saturday brought us Oregon Pinot Envy Day. We were taken through Oregon from the Umpqua Valley on up to the Willamette Valley where we had a face-off between three fabulous Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs.

Abacela 2009 Albarino, Umpqua Valley**+ crisp apples, citrus

Adelsheim Vineyards 2009 Chardonnay, Willamette Valley**+ pairs, white peaches

Abacela 2008 Tempranillo, Umpqua Valley**+ red fruit

Amity 2008 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley*** dark fruits, cherries, raspberries

Roco Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley*** creamy smooth, black raspberries, minerals

Penner Ash Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley**** cherries, violets, spices, vanilla

I think Pinot Noirs maybe the only grape varietal that price does make a difference.
Sojen Cellars Everett Washington

Sojen Cellars Everett Washington


 After wine tasting we stopped by Sojen Cellars and had a wonderful visit with owners and winemakers Jen and Max. As always on a Friday or Saturday night Sojen Cellars offers live music. Today was no exception. Diana and Alfredo of Electric DnA were in the house. Remember every weekend as Sojen Cellars great music, great talent, great time.
Electric DnA at Sojen Cellars Photo by: Jennifer French Jensen
Electric DnA at Sojen Cellars Photo by: Jennifer French Jensen