Recent Eats, part one

I got to celebrate my birthday at the end of March with my parents in town, which lead to many (ok, all!) meals out. So here's a recap of the highlights, as well as a couple of events I attended, and some other meals -- the good, the great, and luckily only one bad. I feel fortunate to live in such a great food city!

Birthday celebrations started at The Flying Carpet and Regal Ravioli trailers! Special thanks to Maria, Abdu, and Zach  -- these guys all do such great work (and both do catering!) -- go check them out and tell them I sent you!

Lunch at Sway, their tom kha soup had such a flavorful broth! It's also a clear broth, not a coconut milk-based one, and while it was still rich in flavor, it was relatively light. I could eat this everyday.

Brunch at Barlata; they have some traditional dishes like their take on French toast called Torrijas, with a wonderful array of fresh fruit, and this house-cured salmon was simple and tasty.

Dinner at Uchi, the one place my father HAD to visit while they were here, and I was more than happy to oblige. This was one of the nightly specials, perfectly cooked wagyu beef with sweet potatoes done three ways: pureed, roasted, and somehow made into light as air crisps.

An invite to Paggi House, to try their new spring menu. We were treated to a multitude of dishes, from delicious herbed butter with the bread to this tuna with coconut panna cotta (that's my interpretation of it at least) to braised veal cheeks over polenta (one of my favorites of the evening) to a marvelous grasshopper brownie concoction with "dirt" that was delicious. Plus during April, they are donating money from sales of their signature cocktails to the Glimmer of Hope Foundation for their summer camp programs. (I was invited to try their food, but was not paid for my opinion.)

Lunch with a friend at the new East Side King on South Lamar. I have really loved the trailers, but haven't been in a while. We opted for the old standbys from the trailers, and am sorry to say we were left disappointed. From top left, the Brussels sprouts hardly had any Brussels, it was mostly cabbage; the chicken kara-age was soft, no crispness to the pieces; the fried beets were soggy; and the pork belly bun was just alright. I Instagramed this same photo and expressed my sentiments; happy to say someone from ESK responded with apologizes and said they would notify the kitchen of the issues. Now whether things improve, that remains to be seen, and from comments left on the photo, others have noticed a decline in quality at the trailers as well.

A dinner meeting at Stiles Switch BBQ. I have heard very mixed things about this place from day one, and from various people who's food opinions I trust. They made Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ places in Texas,  and clearly Texas Monthly was there on a good day. I'd say this meal was ok, but nothing spectacular. I got the three meat sampler plate: pork ribs not bad, sausage had a really really fine grind, I like mine a bit chunkier, and the brisket on the right.... it was cut really thick, had no smoke ring, and was quite dry. Great BBQ is all about consistency, and based on this one meal, I don't see how they get the high marks. The service though was uber-friendly, and they do get kudos for that! 

Ramen Tatsu-ya

If you've been paying attention to the food buzz in Austin lately, you know that ramen noodles are one of the hottest things out there. The Japanese restaurant Kome serves ramen at lunch time (see my post from January here; I did rather like their ramen!). There was a ramen trailer called Michi Ramen that opened in late spring/early summer, and ultimately closed to search for a brick and mortar home. (Their website announces they have secured a spot at 6519 N. Lamar Blvd., in the old Korea Garden spot, and that they were aiming for a November opening...so SOON, hopefully) Then Ramen Tatsu-ya opened in a strip mall in North Austin. And Paul Qui's new East Side King at Hole in the Wall on The Drag just opened, and is also serving ramen. (Hey! We could use some ramen in South Austin!)

Very quickly, that's become a lot of noodles!

Ramen Tatsu-ya did succeed in opening in September, on Research Blvd., at Peyton Gin, in the strip mall that houses Target, Sunflower Vietnamese, and Din Ho Chinese BBQ. They are only open for dinner, and immediately, they gained a following, with people were lining up outside, waiting for the doors to open at 5 pm. The owners are two Japanese guys who have both been in the restaurant business for a while. The stylized design on the wall in the picture below is the mon, or family crest of one of the owners.

The interior is small, only about 40 seats, with a modern feel. The light fixtures have ropes dangling from them -- to resemble noodles? We arrived about 4:45 pm, prepared to do our duty and stand in line. There were seven people in front of us, but the line quickly grew behind us. Just before 5 pm, they opened the doors for business. As we entered, one of the waitstaff asked how many were in our party, handed us an order number placard, and directed us to where we should sit after ordering at the counter.

There were four in our group, and four different types of noodle bowls, we we agreed to each get a different one (more on this coming up). I also wanted to try some of the other menu items, like the Katsu slider, which is lightly breaded and fried, and served on a Hawaiian roll with a little potato salad. After successfully cutting the slider in half with chopsticks (!), I thought it to be quite delicious! Relatively tender and flavorful. The potato salad wasn't particularly memorable.

The sweet and sour yodas, or Brussels sprouts, we all agreed were amazing! Roasted, and seasoned with apricot vinegar and some curry seasonings. I have become a fan of Brussels all around!

Ramen #1 -- Tonkotsu original, a creamy pork broth with pork belly, marinated egg, mushrooms, and green onions. I tasted it, and it was a fairly rich-tasting broth.

Ramen #2 -- Tonkotsu Sho-yu, like #1, but with the addition of soy sauce, bamboo, and roast seaweed.

Ramen #3 -- Mi-So Hot, a miso-based tonkotsu broth with ground pork belly, cabbage, corn, bean sprouts, and marinated egg; this also has the addition of chile, but can also be ordered without the extra spice. This was my bowl, and I did like it. It was not overly spicy for those of you concerned with spice levels. (A solid medium spicy? But every person is different!) The broth was creamy and velvety, with a certain sweetness to it, but upon further contemplation over the broth later that night (I took my leftovers home), the broth does not have a depth to it, and certainly lacking in a umami-character that I would really expect from a miso-based broth. Miso is something that is known to provide that umami quality, that savoriness, that extra layer of hard-to-describe-flavor that really can give a dish it's depth. This didn't have it. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, and a nice large bowl of soup for $10, but it did not change my life.

Ramen #4 -- Tsukeman, or dipping ramen. A bowl of noodles, with pork belly, nori (roasted seaweed), and a nice side bowl of broth to dip into. I had a taste, and it seemed good; the person who ordered was quite happy. This is probably what I would order on a return trip, as it's a bit different.

Bathroom decor is quite colorful!

If you go to Ramen Tatsu-ya, be prepared to wait in line for a bit. I have talked to one friend who has been a few times, and has never had to wait more than 30 minutes, having gone at different times in the evening. It appears the staff runs a pretty tight ship, and are fairly quick to bus plates from the tables. Apparently they do not have to go containers (nor do they prepare to-go orders), but customers are welcome to bring their own, which is what I did. I don't think they have forks either, so if you are not comfortable using chopsticks, BYOF. The one thing I am confused about, if you look at Ramen #3, you'll see thin, red strands of something topping the bowl. I got no discernible flavor out of them (though they looked pretty on top); I asked one of the wait staff what they were, and was told saffron. There's no way this is saffron! One, I've never seen saffron threads that long (these were probably 3" long), and again, no real flavor, and saffron has a very distinct one. Must get to the bottom of this mystery!

So it will be interesting to see what kind of Ramen Battles will ensue once Michi Ramen opens. I've already seen various debates and opinions formed various food bloggers and foodies as to who has the preferred ramen between Tatsu-ya, Kome, and East Side King. Food and flavor is such a personal preference, I don't think there could ever be a clear cut winner. Go to Austin's first official ramen noodle house, and judge for yourself.

Odds & Ends

One of the great things about turning older is celebrating with friends over food. And of course, I love food! Happen to love my friends too, and another thanks to all of those who have celebrated with me over the past few days! :)

Here's a brief recap over the past few days' meals:

Monday night, went to Your Mom's Burger, which as of Monday, had been open 16 days! Whoo hoo! They have relocated from above a bar on Red River to their own stand-alone place on East Ceasar Chavez. We walked in and were immediately greeted by Ryan, who I am fairly certain is one of the owners. Throughout our time there, Ryan and the guy on the grill (unfortunately, I didn't catch his name) were super-nice, kept checking on us, made sure we were enjoying the burgers, etc -- GREAT hospitality! I had the Willie Nelson burger & my friend the Frida Kahlo. The Willie has bacon, American cheese, BBQ sauce & an onion ring on it. It was a gooey mess to eat, but totally worth it! The cheese kinda all oozed out the back, but you can make your own cheese fries with it! The Frida is with pepper jack, chorizo & a fried egg on top! My friend said she hadn't eaten a (beef) burger in almost 9 months, but she ate just about every bite. Rumor has it their fried pickles are delicious. Must go back and find out!
After stuffing ourselves with burgers, and a trip to SuperTarget (say it with me, tar-ghay), we found ourselves for dessert at Likkity's, a frozen custard trailer on far south Manchaca Road. It's actually a trailer with some built-in carport/canopys with ceiling fans & picnic tables. They always have vanilla & chocolate custard, and then a flavor of the day; Monday's was chocolate mint. So I had a small sundae with van/choc swirl and peanut butter cups, and my friend the chocolate mint with Oreos. Yum! The guy in the trailer was super nice, they use environmentally friendly plastic cups & spoons, and provide a recycling can for them as well. Oh, and they made their own real whipped cream as well as their chocolate sauce. After that burger, I couldn't finish the whole thing, but I sure tried!
Tuesday night, I got treated to Uchi. My companion this evening has been there a good number of times, and I pretty much let her order. She picked the Domaine Schlumberger Gewurtztraminer as our wine of the evening, and I think it went extremely well with everything we had. There were the tako pops (baby octopus), one of the tuna rolls, hama chili, scallop hot rock, pitchfork & spider rolls, kona kanpachi, brie ringo, & peanut butter semi-freddo. Our waiter, Chris, was great, bringing items out in random order, but saving the brie ringo for last, as it being fried brie with apple chutney, the sweetness of it lends itself well to a dessert lead-in. So as we are sitting there, I see a patron who looks an awful lot like Anthony Bourdain. I know from the Twittering that he's coming to town on Thursday for a gig at the Paramount, but is also supposed to be checking out some of the local food trailers. I was fairly convinced it was him at Uchi, and Tweeted my finding. I mentioned it to our waiter, who after a few minutes came back and said, no, it's not him (I still wasn't convinced), but his show No Reservations is supposed to film at East Side King tonight at 10pm. Why does the waiter at Uchi know this? Because ESK is run by Paul Qui, one of the Uchi sous chefs (remember that last name). Hmmmm....


So I get home from Uchi, and my friend from Monday night has seen my Tweet regarding Bourdain. We start texting: do you wanna go? kinda, do YOU wanna go? YES! I am on vacation this week and she doesn't have to be at work real early! YES! It's Bourdain for christ's sake! He's a ROCK STAR! Hells yeah!

ESK is a trailer in the back part of Liberty bar's outdoor seating area. You have to go through Liberty (okay, cranberry & vodka!) to get out there. Well, the bar was relatively empty, but the outdoor area was pretty much standing room only. At 10 pm. So we toddle over to the trailer and order a couple items (it's Asian-fusion inspired)... we can tell there are some light poles set up and a couple camera guys, and the staff seems to be rushing around a bit in wide-eyed anticipation. We order the Poor Qui's Buns (pork belly in a bun, which in this case, is like a soft, spongy taco.... and get it? Poor Qui's/Porky's) and the Beet Home Fries. They took about 30 minutes to arrive, but fortunately, in the meanwhile, we found some picnic benches to cozy up to. The buns are amazing -- roasted pork belly, kimchi cucumbers,w/ hoisin sauce. The beets are like nothing I've ever had before! Chunks of beets, roasted then fried, and served with a spicy Kewpie mayo. Heaven! So we ate and drank, and hung out, might have been filmed in some background scenes, and waited.... then the rumors started circulating from people in "the know" that Bourdain's NOT here. Not coming. Just the camera guys. Grrrrr. It got to be midnight, and we called it a night, our brush with fame, sniff, sadly at an end. But damn that food was FINE! TONY, you missed it!

And then I heard this morning No Reservations was going to film at Gourdough's at noon. I already had a lunch date to go to Red's Porch, but another friend went, and texted a bit after 1 pm that there was no Tony. And they're supposed to be filming at Odd Duck right about now, as I type this. Then, I saw a retweet posted from Tony's wife, essentially saying "haha, all you people who thought you saw my husband, he's right here next to me". So the bastard was still in NYC after all. I'd still do it again.