Blue Moon

In my opinion, the best burgers I've had so far have come from Moonie's Burger House in Pflugerville.  We dined at Moonie's this past Sunday after church.  I ordered the California Burger, which had guacamole and pepperjack cheese.  My husband got the bacon cheeseburger.  On the side was crispy fries.  These were probably the second best fries we've had, only after garlic fries at North by Northwest.  The burgers were big, juicy and delicious.  The fries were awesome and I had so many I couldn't finish them.  In addition, we seemed to have sat in the kids area and were provided with much entertainment.  My personal favorite was the little girl who got her arm stuck in the chair and then started screaming at other kids to stop staring at her.  This was followed by a boy loudly detailing what had just happened.  Meanwhile, I had to look down at my plate to keep from laughing hysterically.  Moonies offered a great location-its close and near a sno cone place, a great price and fabulous burgers!

I Scream for Fro Yo

Ice cream is amazing.  I consider it a staple of my daily diet.  In the past few years, thanks to my sister, I have also discovered a love for fro yo.  We've recently discovered Fresh Cup, a fro yo store within minutes from our apartment.  I love the variety of flavors, the bright colors, and the close distance to home.  Its also nice that while tasting great, many of the flavors are low fat or fat free.  There is a large selection of flavors and toppings available to make even the pickiest customer satisfied.  This Saturday's treat included red velvet, s'mores and heath.  I love that the s'mores and heath have all the flavors of the real thing without any chunks, a fact which is perplexing to my husband.  I like the fro yo there so much that I don't use any toppings on mine.  Fro yo can get expensive though, its 39 cents an ounce and its way too tempting to fill the whole cup.  

Real Italian Pizza

After a big lunch on Saturday, we weren't necessarily hungry for dinner.  My husband was finished with work stuff by 8pm so then we had to come up with a dinner plan.  We remembered there was a Niki's Pizza by Freebirds so we decided to give it a try.  Niki's sells pizza by the slice, the whole pie, or a variety of pastas.  The slices were huge, New York style pieces.  I got a slice and a side salad.  My husband got two slices.  The pizza was pretty good and they heated it up nice and hot for us.  My side salad was more like salad from a bag with really good dressing.  Overall, the pizza was great and perfect for a small meal.  I am sure we will be back for a quick pizza fix in the future.

If the Brew Fits

This past weekend we didn't have as much time to explore due to my husband's work requirements, but we always make time to eat!  On a previous adventure, we had driven by North by Northwest, a brew house and restaurant, and were interested.  We decided to try it out for lunch.  It was near the Arboretum and Gateway Market, but we didn't have time for shopping this time.  The building is really cool and was had a nice outdoor area for big events.  I was expecting something like Schlafly but this place was different.  It was obviously dedicated to beer, but it was very bright and sleek.  We sat down and were given menus with beer, brunch, and lunch items.  While brunch was tempting, I never feel like brunch and beer go well together, so we went with lunch.  They had an interesting menu with a wide array of delicious choices.  I ordered the pulled chicken panini and my husband got Spicy Mike's Chicken sandwich.  Both came with a side of garlic fries.  For beers, I chose a bavarian hefe and he ordered the Okanagan Black Ale.  We were very impressed with the food and beer.  My sandwich was moist and included melty cheese and peppers.  His sandwich was good too and we loved the garlic fries!  I really liked my beer too-it had a definite citrus taste, which was good.  The dessert menu looked impressive too, but we were definitely too full for any more food.  It was cool to go to a local brew house and I am excited about the various festivals and events they host.  The atmosphere and food were great and the price wasn't too bad, so I know we will be back again.

Free As a Bird

This Friday was kind of a lazy day.  My husband had to work from 1 am to 5 am, so then he had the rest of the day off to spend with Cecil and me.  By the end of the day, I was ready to leave the house, so we opted for dinner and a movie.  While normally, I try to avoid chains and too many repeats, I have a favorite here in Austin.  Its called Freebird and it is near Target.  Freebird is a customized burrito place.  This week, I was really wanting some nachos so I tried them and was totally satisfied.  My nachos included chicken, black beans, queso, grilled veggies, pico, salsa, sour cream and guacamole.  My husband had one of the delicious steak burritos.  I love that they have 4 different burrito sizes and 4 different flavor tortillas.  In addition to nachos and burritos, they have quesadillas, tacos, salads, and burrito bowls.  Everything here is so good, that I can't wait to try all the different menu items.  The food here is fresh and customized, which I find to be way better than typical burrito chains.  This will definitely be on my tours to my guests in Austin.

Making Whoopie

In addition to eating out all over Austin, I have decided that I want to get back to exploring in the kitchen.  During our trip to Crate and Barrel, I purchased a whoopie pie cookbook and pan, as I like them and wanted to be able to make them for myself.  This Sunday, I finally gave it a try.  My husband and I decided on the traditional chocolate cake and a salty peanut butter filling.  I had to make sure I got all the ingredients when I shopped, as my pantry here is a little more bare than the one in St. Louis was.  I read ahead in the cookbook and knew it would take some time so after we got back from lunch and church, I started getting all my supplies ready so I could have some whoopie pies for dessert.  This recipe actually required me to use my sifter, which I think in the past had only been used for powered sugar.  I liked having the whoopie pie pan because it helped the cakes to be a lot more uniform in size than if I guessed like the recipe instructed.  As the cakes were cooking, I had a chance to clean up my first mess and get started on the second part.  While they were cooling, I mixed up the frosting.  After the cakes were completely cool, I began filling them.  I wish I had a pastry bag for this part, but I didn't, so I used a ziplock baggie with the corner cut off.  It worked pretty well, but got a little sticky with the peanut butter frosting.  I will definitely be sure to have a pastry bag for next time.  Finally, it was time to try them.  They were so good, but definitely required milk.  The cake was rich and chocolately, yet soft and fluffy.  The filling was the perfect combo of sweet and salty deliciousness.  My recipe said it would make about 2 dozen, but mine cakes were a little bigger so I only made about 20.  We ate several ourselves and also shared some with my husband's coworkers later in the week.  The cookbook also said I could freeze them and serve later, which seems like a great option as well.  I am glad this recipe worked out and can't wait to try a variety of the other cake and filling combinations.  

It's All Greek to Me

After living in Austin for nearly two months and hearing about my husband's coworkers, I finally got to meet some of them this Wednesday.  They decided we should all go out to lunch on Wednesday.  Originally, we were going to go to the office cafeteria, which I must admit, I wasn't super excited about, but I wanted to get out so I agreed.  As it turns out, plans changed and we ended going to Arpeggio Mediterranean Grill.  This seemed like a great choice as one of the people going was a vegetarian and she was confident she could find food to eat there.  It was a small place, but nicely decorated on the inside.  I haven't eaten much Mediterranean food in the past, so I went with the daily lunch special.  It included your choice of meat (chicken for me, of course!), Greek lettuce salad, Tzatziki sauce, and 3 sides (hummus, rice, and a red sauce for the rice).  The chicken had a great flavor and was really good when combined with the sauce or hummus.  The salad was okay, but I really like the dressing.  The red sauce was strange and not really to my taste- it had several squashes in it and a unique flavor.  I also tried my husband's tabouli and I really liked that.  It was an interesting flavor, but I really wished I had ordered it instead of that sauce and rice.  For dessert, we had whoopie pies (I love bringing my own dessert!).  It was cool to try a new type of food and meet some new people.  I had a great time and look forward to trying more new types of food through my adventures.

Pfun times in Pflugerville

This Sunday we visited St. Elizabeth's Church in Pflugerville.  I thought it was cool that it was so diverse-both the congregants and the officiants.  We decided to stop somewhere in Pflugerville to eat on our way home.  We tried one place, but sadly it was closed.  Then, we remembered Pecan St. Deli, which I had seen on our way to church.  Pecan St. Deli was busy, so that's always a good sign.  They had a variety of foods including burgers, sandwiches, and salads.  I went with the cheeseburger and tots.  My husband ordered the philly cheese steak and tots.  The burger was great-not too greasy and the perfect size.  It definitely reminded me of a 5 Guys burger.  My husband liked the cheese steak, but still feels like Texas is lacking a little bit in this area. Overall, the food was good and the location was convenient.  Its always good to have a few good places to eat nearby.  

Pappasito's...still yummy!

When we came to Austin the first time in February, it was a busy, fun filled trip.  Upon arrival, we had some direction mishaps, some hotel mishaps, and oh yeah, I was hungry and crabby.  On that first day, we visited a place near our hotel called Pappasito's and have been raving about it ever since.  But, I couldn't help wondering, "Was it really good?" or "Was I really hungry?"  This Saturday, we decided to return to Pappasito's.  I knew I could be a better judge as I wasn't even really hungry  this time.  The food was amazing again.  We started off with chips, salsa and the special dip.  The chips were thin and salty- a great combo.  The salsa was not my favorite-almost a little sweet.  The special dip was great-nobody really seems to know what it is, but I love it.  Its almost like a creamy spicy ranch, but with avocado.  I ordered a chicken quesadilla as I wasn't super hungry and my husband ordered the Tacos Al Carbon.  We remembered that he had gotten a really delicious steak taco there before.  Once again, the food was not disappointing.  The quesadilla was nice and cheesy and the tacos had great flavor. Another cool thing about Pappasito's is that you can order homemade guacamole and they make it table side.  We didn't order it this time, but I did get a picture of our waiter making it for a nearby table.  We can't wait to try it once we have someone to share it with.  Overall, we were again impressed by the food, the atmosphere and definitely the steak taco!

Man vs. Food Pick of the Week

I love watching Adam's adventures on Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel.  One episode focused on Austin and we have been trying out some of the places that he visited.  This past weekend we decided to try out Round Rock Donuts.  My husband was looking forward to seeing the giant donuts (the size of a person's head) in person.  I must admit, I can take or leave donuts.  I actually think Krispy Kremes are kinda gross.  I really only like Old Town Donuts in Florissant and I only buy them for Thanksgiving morning.  We opted for a half dozen because I was skeptical and he didn't need a whole dozen.  I ordered the applesauce cake donut and the creme filled chocolate iced donut.  He got chocolate cake donuts and glazed donuts.  We waited to eat them until we got home.  I was a little full after Jason's Deli and wine.  I had a bite of a glazed donut and was hooked.  My applesauce cake donut was amazing.  It was cinnamon, apple deliciousness.  I know my dad would have loved it too!  I didn't have my other one until the next morning, but it was great too!  The creme was light and fluffy, the donut was soft, and it had a thick layer of chocolate frosting.  I know that I will be eating Old Town Donuts this year for Thanksgiving, but if I ever have to be here for Thanksgiving, I have found a reasonable substitute.

I Heard it Through the Grapevine

The other day I got an invite to a bachelorette party at my favorite winery in Augusta.  Unfortunately, I am not able to attend that bachelorette party (I hope you have a great time Katie!), nor have I been to my favorite Fenton "wine patio" (miss you Sobos)  this summer.  Drinking wine at home is fine, but wine is so social so its nice to try it out in public.  My husband remembered passing a place called Vino 100 in Round Rock, so we decided to give it a try.  The premise behind it was pretty cool-100 wines all under $25.  We looked at the different varieties and nothing seemed to jump out to us as familiar and we didn't know what to try.  The waitress there was friendly and helpful so we decided to to wine flights.  Each flight included 3 different 2 oz. samples of wine.  I love white wine so I stuck with whites, starting with a great moscato.  My husband was feeling adventurous so he decided he would try out some reds as well.  After our first flight each, we decided to go for a second as well.  I think my wines included moscato, chardonnay, pino noir, sauvignon blanc, riesling, and pino grigio.  The atmosphere was dark and cool.  We found out that they would be doing brunch and wine Sundays once football starts up.  In addition, on Friday nights, there are musical guests and there is a wine club to join too.  I definitely liked the decor-all wine themed-even the bathroom was cute.  I especially loved the wreath made of corks and may used my saved corks to make one too.  While it was no Sugar Creek with the teachers or afternoon-evening game and wine fest, I think that Vino 100 could be a fun place to unwind after a long week.  

Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches... oh my!

I love sandwiches.  In fact, they are one of my two favorite foods (the other being ice cream).  On Saturday, we decided to go North to Round Rock to see some sights and sample some food.  My husband, knowing I love sandwiches, suggested we try Jason's Deli.  There was a huge menu, most of which was not posted on the wall.  We had many choices of soups, sandwiches, or salad and there was a huge salad bar too.  It reminded me of a bigger version of McAllisters, with a salad bar included.  I opted for the light club, which was really good.  It had a lot of turkey, which made it perfect for me.  My husband had the Italian Cruz Poboy.  His sandwich was also quite tasty.  He got blue tortilla chips and salsa along with it, and they were not very good.  With such a huge menu and many lighter options, I am sure that we will be back soon.

Fajita Fridays?

It was Friday night and time for dinner, so we ventured out to Rio Grande.  It was close to us in Pflugerville and my husband had already accidentally stumbled upon it on an earlier quest for sandwiches.  The atmosphere was great-very friendly and upbeat.  We were seated in the bar area and met our very enthusiastic, very young waitress.  We ordered margaritas- frozen lime for him and frozen lime/sangria for me.  The waitress earned her tip when she commented on how cute my driver's license photo is and I admitted that was why I wasn't looking forward to getting a Texas one.  The margaritas were delicious-again tasted like Mom's so we were happy.  The menu was huge-we had so much to choose from.  I went with the guacamole enchiladas-which were chicken and covered in a cheese and guacamole sauce served with rice and beans.  He ordered the El Cowboy Plate with a steak fajita taco, chicken and cheese enchiladas and rice.  His also came with a tortilla puff covered in queso and guacamole before the food arrived.  It was great queso, which tasted like rotel dip.  My food was yummy- I love enchiladas and I liked the addition of guacamole.  I got full quick though and only ate about half my food.  His food was great and the best part was definitely the steak fajita taco.  We also loved the price-it was very reasonable and with happy hour priced margaritas until 7:00, this is likely to become a go to spot for us.  We may be officially declaring it our "Texas Las Fuentes."  Only the margaritas didn't give us heartburn.  :)

Rudy's-The Worst BBQ in Texas

No, not really, but that was their slogan.  We had been craving some BBQ and we heard about this place from our sister in law and her family so we decided to give it a shot.  I was so hungry after a long day of shopping, but more than that, I really needed a Diet Coke, as I was starting to get mega crabby.  When we pulled up, I wasn't sure if we were in the right place-it looked like a gas station, which was an accurate thought because it was.  We walked in and it had typical convenience store items along with a counter for BBQ and a nice shaded eating area.  After some crabbing on my part, we got in line and made our way to the guy at the counter.  We admitted we had never been there before or any place quite like it.  We got a Welcome from the staff and an explanation of the meats and sides.  We also got to sample any meat we wanted, provided it was not on the bone.  We tried two kinds of brisket and turkey.  I liked that there was a choice between lean brisket and the fatty stuff.  I am not really a fan of the fatty brisket so I was happy that the lean tasted so flavorful and was not dry.  We also tried the creamed corn side- I love corn and this was amazing.  We ended up ordering brisket and sausage for me, turkey and sausage for him, and creamed corn and potato salad to share.  When we got to the table, there was a huge bottle of sauce waiting for us.  It seems that everywhere we go, the sauce is a little bit different, but this one tasted familiar.  This sauce tasted very similar to Maull's BBQ sauce making us think of home.  We were very happy with our brisket, turkey, creamed corn, and potato salad choices.  The sausage was just okay, which was disappointing to us, as we usually love it.  In addition, they gave us about half a loaf of white bread for sandwiches or just to eat.  We really liked Rudy's and left happy, full, and much less crabby (thank you Diet Coke)!

Shopping Texas Style

Just like everything else in Texas, shopping is done big here.  So far, we haven't found typical indoor malls, but have done some shopping.  Fortunately, we haven't done much buying.  However, this weekend, we were on a mission- I needed some nice brown shoes for a job interview and hadn't had much luck.  So, we decided to venture out to the Arboretum.  It was a nice area not too far from where my husband works-they often eat lunch in this area.  The stores were set up in clusters with nice walking paths in between.  We started at Gap-it was a really nice Gap, but it seemed ridiculous to be looking at fall fashions in the heat.  We moved on to Pottery Barn, which was nice and huge.  We also stopped by Restoration Hardware, which was a nice store, but not really my taste.  Finally, we made it to Nine West.  I found that many of the shoes were on sale for 60-75% off.  Bingo!  I ended up with a nice pair of dark brown croc kitten heels with a pointy toe.  I think they were about $30, which was perfect.  After some shopping, we needed a snack.  Just my luck, there was an Amy's Ice Cream situated right there.  I'd heard about Amy's on The View and couldn't wait to try the various flavors.  Amy's had a variety of flavors-some average and some wild.  I tried the Mexican Vanilla and he tried a beer flavor.  We settled on the smallest size and I ordered the Mexican Vanilla with Butterfinger and he got the Dark Chocolate with Reeses.  Both were delicious-the ice cream was creamy with great flavor.  We were satisfied with our snack.  The only downfall of Amy's was that they only took cash- good thing they had an ATM in the store!  We walked through more of the outdoors, where I found the cow statues, and finished up at a huge Barnes and Noble.  We still had a little bit of time to kill before dinner so we decided to check out the nearby Gateway Market shopping area.  There we found Nordstrom Rack, Crate and Barrel, Old Navy, and several more stores.  Each of the stores we went in was huge, new, and a bit overwhelming.  At Crate and Barrel, I purchased a whoopie pie pan and cookbook and after reading it, I can't wait to start baking again!  We left the shopping areas very tired and surprisingly, without breaking the bank.  I will definitely go back to the Gateway Market and maybe to the Arboretum-after all, I can't stay away from great ice cream!

Do you want a free sopaipilla with that?

We love Mexican food.  I could probably eat it most days, so when my husband suggested Posado's Cafe, I was excited.  First of all, I was still full from the pancakes earlier in the day, but I can't turn down the chance for Mexican food and knowing that I didn't have to cook that night.  I also liked the fact that all the places we tried this weekend are really close to our apartment.  Its good to establish some close favorites.  Upon entering, I could tell it was a neat place.  There were lamps that looked like chandeliers, but instead of glass pieces, had Corona bottles.  When we sat, we were served with chips and salsa.  The salsa was great, sweet and smoky, with a little kick at the end. Next we ordered margaritas.  I got the swirl, which was a combination of frozen lime margarita with sangria-it was so good.  The sangria gave it great color and added a little tartness to a sweet margarita.  He got the lime frozen, which was also great.  They tasted just like mom's!  The menu was huge and everything looked good, so we each got a plate with a variety of things.  Between the two of us, we got a good representation of the menu.  Mine was the Monterey Plate, which was several chicken and cheese choices.  It had a cheese enchilada, a chicken chimichanga, and a small chicken burrito.  It was covered with a sour cream sauce and queso and also included rice and refried black beans.  It was delicious, but so much food that there was no way I could eat it all.  His plate was called the Pablo and included several beef options, including a steak taco, burrito, and flautitas.  His also included refried black beans and rice and got presentation points for the queso in a small tortilla bowl.  After eating, our waiter came by and said, "Do you want a free sopaipilla?"  I declined as I was stuffed.  My husband loves getting free stuff (something that some of his family members are known for!)  and couldn't turn in down.  Was it really free?  It was delicious and sure enough, when we got the bill-it was free.  We also noticed on the way out there was an ice cream machine with cones that was complimentary.  It was one of the rare occasions in my life that I turned down ice cream.  The food was awesome, the location was nearby, and it had a cool atmosphere.  I am positive that this will become one of our standbys.

You ain't got no pancake mix

Today's title comes from a quote by my cousin Brendan from last year's
lake weekend.  Ah memories!  This weekend I was really craving brunch.
 If we were in St. Louis, it would have been no question as to where
to go- First Watch. But here that wasn't an option.  The hubby loves
pancakes so we opted for The Original Pancake Company.  Good news for
those of you in St. Louis, there is a location in the Chesterfield
Valley.  The menu was huge- so many breakfast options and many exotic
pancake choices. There were also some specific Texas specials on our
menu.  We decided to go for pancakes.  I ordered the apple pancakes
and he got the chocolate chip.  We each got a side of bacon, too.  My
pancakes weren't exactly what I had expected- they were better.  I was
thinking pancakes with apples in them with some cinnamon goo on top.
What I got was more like an apple pie with slices of tart granny smith
apples in between a pancake crust topped with sugar and cinnamon.  It
was huge and definitely could have been split by the two of us.  His
pancakes  were brown because there were so many chocolate chips in
them.  We were excited to taste that they were dark chocolate chips.
Both pancakes were excellent and would have been meals on their own,
but we love bacon.  This bacon was thick, big pieces and a side was
4-5 pieces, so again we could have split it.  Overall, this was a
great choice and I didn't eat anything else until dinner because I was
so full. This place is not unique to Texas, so if you have one near
you, make sure you try it, you won't be disappointed!

I'm a Little Embarised

My husband loves pizza and Italian food.  It seemed so far like this was something that Austin was lacking.  I felt bad for him, so I researched for a pizza/pasta place that was close to us.  I found Baris Pasta and Pizza.  It was located in Pflugerville, only about 5-6 minutes from our apartment.  Upon walking in, you could tell it was a nice family restaurant, but fairly casual.  We got to choose our own seat and began to check out the menu.  We've been craving good pizza (Thank goodness for our Pirrone's treat last time we were in St. Louis!) so we quickly decided on pizza and salad.  We order the Baris salad, upon which I learned that I had been pronouncing the name wrong- I thought it was Baris rhyming with Paris, but apparently its Bar-ees.  So, I was embarised-get it?  :)  The salad was simple lettuce with mushrooms, black olives, and mozzarella cheese.  We ordered the house dressing, which was a great tomato vinagrette.  The salad was okay-we liked the dressing the best and wished that instead of mozzarella, there was provel cheese.  Along with the salad, we got some of the homemade rolls.  They were amazing and huge.  Appearance wise, they reminded me of the homemade cinnamon rolls my students always made.  They had a little bit of garlic and parmesan cheese on them and tasted delicious dipped in the extra salad dressing.  We ordered the sausage pizza.  It was a good New York style pizza-hot, greasy, and cheesy.  Overall, we were satisfied with our choice- we are looking forward to trying some of their pastas and sandwiches as well.  In addition, we liked that they had a nice atmosphere and cheap beer prices, too. Its been the best pizza we've had so far and I can't wait to go back for more.

Master of The Domain-Maybe Not Yet

My last post was about SoCo, but I forgot to talk about another cool area we visited last week called The Domain.  We visited that area to go see the newest Harry Potter movie.  We knew that it was supposed to be a really nice posh area with some shops, restaurants, and movie theater, but we were amazed by what we found.  It reminded me of an outdoor Frontenac combined with the Boulevard in Brentwood.  There were tons of high shops, department stores, restaurants, a hotel, and the movie theater.  We parked at one end and surprise, the movie theater was at the exact opposite end.  We thought it might be a good idea to get some exercise so we decided to make the hike to the theater.  To be fair, I needed to stop by Dillard's to return some swimsuits too, so I thought this would be a great idea.  After walking for what seemed like FOR-EVER in the Texas heat, we got to Macy's and Dillard's and the theater were nowhere near insight- so I went in and asked.  "Oh, that's in Phase 2."  How much more of this could there be?  We got to Dillard's, made the returns, and then finally we were to the movie theater.

My wonderful husband waited patiently for me to return from St. Louis before seeing the new Harry Potter movie.  He told me he made reservations at a fancy theater.  That was no exaggeration.  The IPic Theater definitely catered for the ultimate movie going experience.  When he made the reservations, he was given 2 assigned seats ahead of time.  We had some wait time so we spent some time in the bar cooling off and getting some drinks. As we walked in the theater, I knew it would be awesome.  The whole theater was full of recliners in pairs.  Our assigned seats were next to each other but did not share a table.  Strange planning, but it worked fine.  The recliners were a comfy suede material and came with blankets.  Our waitress came by to explain more of the added perks to the theater.  We got complimentary popcorn as the previews started.  The theater also served a full array of drinks, typical movie snacks, and a full menu of foods.  I went with the chicken fajita quesadillas and lots of Diet Coke.  He got the buffalo chicken eggrolls and a beer.  We split some Skittles, which arrive to us in a pretty glass.  The food, popcorn and drinks were great and tasted super after the trek across Texas.  :)  However, the Skittles were a bit stale.  As the trailers went on, the waitresses closed up the tabs and made sure that drinks were full.  The recliner seating was great, I was able to get comfy fast.  With the air blasting, I was able to use my soft blanket and the waitress showed me the cool compartment to hide my purse and shoes.  It was a great movie-no spoilers here.  The whole movie going experience was great and definitely worth the price we paid.  

The walk back to the car was long, but it was cooler so we survived.  I definitely can't wait to go back and actually shop sometime.  

Unrelated to the Domain, we tried a new restaurant tonight.  We went to Baby A's, which looked like a Mexican restaurant coated in Pepto.  It was pink.  The atmosphere reminded me a lot of Casa Gallardo.  We were seated and ordered water while we looked at our many margarita choices.  We tried the chips and salsa and it was great.  The chips were salty (perfect for any member of my family)  and the salsa was spicy with a hint of smokiness-good thing the water was on its way.  After discussing with our waitress, we opted for a strawberry margarita (me) and a lime margarita for my husband.  We opted not on the famous purple margarita, which included tequila, Everclear, triple sec, and blue curacao.  However, our margs were strong-we could barely taste the flavors of lime and strawberry.  We stuck with just one as we had to go home and pack still.  :) We ordered the Baby Changa for him and the Enchiladas Suizas for me.  His food was delicious and came with rice and refried beans.  Inside his changa was carne guisada (beef) and rice and it was covered with a guacamole/queso/green sauce.  Mine was okay.  I liked the rice and beans, but the enchilada was just ok.  It was chicken and chilies on the inside covered with green sauce, monterrey jack cheese, and sour cream.  

Well, this weekend we have to take a break from tasting.  We are headed back to St. Louis for wedding #2 of the summer/fall.  It should be a great time and we can escape a weekend of Texas heat for the cool weather in Missouri.  

SoCo Adventures

So for those of you in St. Louis, you are probably thinking, why is she writing about SoCo Adventures-she lived in South County for 6 years and never did much adventuring there.  However, I am actually talking about the South Congress area of Austin.  We took a weekend off from exploring while I was in St. Louis for a bachelorette party (yay Ashley!) and a concert involving a little band from Ireland (U2!).  I had a great time, but I definitely missed my boys!  This past weekend, I decided I wanted to visit SoCo- famous for a bridge under which a ton of bats live and being the food truck capital of the city.

For those of you who know my husband, you know that he does not like to get up early.  I, of course, vary depending on the situation, but seldom sleep much past 900.  I wanted to get up early and get a start on our day before it got too hot.  Well, that didn't happen.  We left our place close to 100 pm on our way to South Congress.  It was a 30 minute drive and I smartly armed myself with some Diet Coke.  Sometimes, when I'm hungry or without caffeine too long, I get a little crabby, so I like to be prepared.  We were heading to Gueros, as he had gotten many recommendations from coworkers to try it.  Traffic made our trip a little bit longer than we had expected, but we finally got there.  We drove over the "bat bridge" quickly, as he is not a fan of "flappy things."  We were getting close according to our trusty GPS so it was time to experience the special parking on SoCo.  They recently changed to angled back in parking- I don't think I have to tell you, that I was not the driver for this occasion.  :)  He did a great job and there were several cars that we so poorly parked, that I probably could have done a better job.  We walked down SoCo, nearly missing our destination, which was packed.  There was no place to stand inside and they were guessing on 1.5 plus waiting time.  So we opted for another time for Gueros.  We walked into several other restaurants with similar situations.  I was getting hot, hungry, and crabby fast.  

After walking for a bit, we came across South Congress Cafe, which had been featured by the chef Giada DeLaurentiis on one of her shows.  I am all for trying anything recommended by a chef.  We walked in and they told us it would be a long wait, but it was cooler inside and they had standing room in the bar area.  So, we waited.  The wait wasn't as bad as promised and it felt good to be in the AC.  SoCo Cafe was really cute and eclectic all at the same time.  Most of the wait staff had interesting piercings, tattoos, and trendy clothes, but the setting was a cute cafe, where you may want to brunch.  Giada tried the carrot cake french toast, which sounded great to me, but it was 300 and I didn't really think it was brunch time.  The waitress also mentioned a chocolate chip pancake special, which sounded phenomenal.  It took us a while to decide, meanwhile we sipped on some mojitos, which were very refreshing.  Eventually, I chose the migas ( a great recommendation from my sister and law) and he ordered the pork asada.  Instead of bread on the table, there were mini cornbread muffins, which were the perfect sweetish, carb treat.  My meal came with refried black beans, homemade salsa, a smoked gouda potato pancake, flour tortillas and scrambled eggs with onions and peppers.  The idea was to put everything into the tortillas.  I was very pleased with my meal.  The eggs had a great kick to them, which was even better when combined with salsa.  I like refried beans, but refried black beans are even better.  The smoked gouda potato pancake was delicious too.  I finished my food very full and very content.   The pork asada was very spicy.  We tend to forget that Texas isn't joking when they say something is spicy.  We definitely earned the second round of mojitos and the numerous water refills. Good choice Giada!

After lunch, we decided to walk the shops and look for a birthday gift for a friend.  There were lots of unique stores ranging from gag gifts to antiques.  We found lots of amusing items that would have been perfect for baby sister or another friend, but nothing right for the friend I was thinking about.  As we walked in the hot sun, I could feel myself melting.  I was full, hot, and just not feeling well.  It was probably the only time, I was ready to be done shopping before my husband!  I even turned down ice cream, cupcakes, and sno-cones from the various food trucks.  I WAS DONE!

As we left, I felt like I couldn't get home quick enough.  I was actually sweating, which I never do.  I came home and immediately got a glass of cold water and lost a layer of clothes.  I guess I'm just not used to this Texas heat.  For the record, it was 103 here on Saturday.  Austin is currently in the midst of a major heat wave combined with a long lasting drought.  What a perfect time to move here!  To think, I am actually excited to visit St. Louis this weekend for a little cool off...