Odd Duck Farm to Trailer

Finally made it tonight to the new Odd Duck Farm to Trailer! Not even that it's been open all that long (six weeks?), but it's not far from me, and I love the concept -- locally sourced ingredients and a seasonal daily-changing menu. It was a beautiful evening out, and arriving close to 7:30pm found a crowd in the Duck parking lot. While Gourdough's was also open (Austin Brevita coffee had gone to bed for the night), most of the business seemed to be for the Duck.

Two of us split four items: the grits (the full crossed out line reads "cheesy grits with broccoli and farm egg"), grilled toast, ham & cheese, and pork belly. After at least a 20 minute wait, I went up to ask about our order after seeing food go to two parties who ordered after us. Not entirely sure what the mix up was, but in about 5 minutes we had everything but the slider. Good thing my friend from Boston and I had plenty to catch up on! Sorry the pics of the food are so bad, but there was no light under the umbrella-d table!
Without going in to major detail at the moment, everything was good, and I will happily return. The grits were perhaps a bit under seasoned (but I do admit to liking my salt), and soft boiled/poached eggs aren't my thing. Grilled ham & cheese (Montasio, an Italian mountain cheese) also had some grilled mushrooms in it, a nice touch. Pork belly was very fatty (duh), but really nice smokiness to it. Very fresh butter lettuce & sliced radishes on it. The fresh ricotta on the toast was nice, maybe it too could have used a smidge of salt. Not sure I could describe the turnip flavor, and I've never eaten that many to be able to pinpoint it.

Too full after the pork belly for a Gourdough's donut, I am sad to say!

New India

I love Indian food, and while not an expert, I'd certainly like to think that after eating my fair share of it, I can recognize good food from mediocre. (Well, and I guess I'd say that about most types of food, not just Indian.) Many people are intimidated by Indian cuisine...I am not sure if it's because of it's seemingly exotic array of spices, the combinations thereof which make up a curry sauce, the length of time it takes to prepare even a fairly basic Indian dish, or..... what? To me, Indian food is at its best when you get full range of flavors in each and every bite. When there's tastes you can't readily identify. When there's a balance of sweetness, often from coconut milk or jaggery with a blend of spiciness (as in flavor, not Scoville units) as well as heat. I don't even know that I have adequately conveyed my message on how the flavors all work together for me in a good Indian dish, but I am hoping you get the idea if you are not fully acquainted with the cuisine. (And if not, that's okay, but go and TRY some really good Indian...see some of my previous posts on Tarka & Clay Pit; also Madras Pavillion & Sarovar, though I haven't been to either in quite awhile. Want to go?)

So imagine my excitement when I found out that a new Indian place had opened at Congress & Oltorf, just past the trendiness of SoCo! Close to my stomping grounds! This could be magical! I could have a new fantastic, aromatic, mouth-watering spot that was mere minutes away. Another foodie friend also heard about it, as New India (yes, that's the name) has just opened within the past month. We arranged for a Thursday lunch, and each managed to invite other friends to come along, a total of four serious food people all together for a meal. We ordered a lot of different stuff, and unfortunately, none of it was really spectacular.

We began with chicken lollipops (apparently a signature dish) and vegetarian samosas. The lollipops are drumsticks that have been battered and deep fried (though not greasy); a little bit of spice combo in them, but not much. The dough on the samosas is a bland crust, no flakiness to it; filling is a very dense mashed potato & pea mix. The sauces were the saving grace: a nice tamarind and a very fresh tasting mint/cilantro (?) green sauce with vibrant notes.
For the main dishes, we had: (clockwise, from the 6 o'clock position) malvani chicken curry, kheema masala, saag paneer & eggplant shrimp. The malvani is a dish typical of the Goan coast, along southwestern India using lots of coconut; rare to find it outside that region apparently. So rare that New India believes they are the only restaurant in the US to be serving malvani. Unfortunately, four out of four eaters detected no coconut flavor whatsoever, and the cashier/server came around to check on us, he couldn't say what was in it. A very bland mix of shredded chicken and some nondescript sauce. The kheema was ground goat, in a bit of a spicy brown sauce with peas. It was the one decent entree because the sauce had some seasoning to it (couldn't tell you exactly what). The shrimp dish was okay, in a bit of a tomato-based sauce, but not exciting, and the saag (spinach) was over-pureed with very little paneer (fresh cheese like tofu) in it. There was nothing very interesting about any of the dishes.Other considerations:
Pros: they use eco-friendly utensils, plates & bowls (as in, everything was disposable except the water glasses); great sauces with the samosas
Cons: fairly bland food, lack of descriptions on printed menu or menu board, menu board very hard to read & follow (hand written chalkboard with hard to read print); cashier/server very friendly, but didn't know a ton about the ingredients in the dishes; very random decor from B & W photo posters to painted butterflies on the wall

Just calling it like I see them, but don't go if you're a big Indian food fan.

Perla's

My experience tonight at Perla's was the complete opposite of what I had experienced when it's former occupant Mars was in that spot. And all I can say is thank god for that! Arriving at 5:30 pm for an early dinner in conjunction with Austin Restaurant Week, the light hits the interior of Perla's beautifully -- it's literally refreshing and airy (especially with few patrons in it at that hour). The bank of booth seats is done in bright yellow, and white and blue accents round out the color scheme; nautical, but not garishly so. Waiting by the oyster bar for a few minutes while the hostess changes out the menus, I can see a meeting of the waitstaff in the back of the restaurant. The bar has a few patrons, and a young woman shucks an oyster or two. What interested me though, is the man who came along with a spray bottle, labeled "vinegar & water", and he proceeded to spray the inside of the glass barrier, around the oysters. A non-chemical window cleaner in a food prep area! Brilliant! And he was wiping it up with over-sized coffee filters, which he said didn't leave lint like paper or bar towels (I asked). A nice touch.

Austin Restaurant Week allows patrons to dine at certain places for fixed prices; 5 % of the week's proceeds will go to the Sustainable Food Center. I was there to specifically support ARW, and I could tell other patrons were too. I wanted to go someplace I had never been before, and while my fellow foodie has been to Perla's she was eager to return, raving about the grilled octopus she had eaten previously. We started with cocktails, for me, something I now believe was called the Meridian, a honey & thyme infused vodka with ice tea (currently not on their online menu, which appears not to have been updated since Feb. 20) and I think my companion had the Rye Maple Sour. Both tasty, indeed.

Working off the abbreviated (but not limiting) ARW menu, I took the shrimp & roasted tomato bisque as my first course, and my companion the 4 freshwater oysters, shucker's choice. The bisque was nice, very smooth, maybe a hint of saffron and some nice fish stock gave it some richness; it was topped with a swirl of creme fraiche, and a dainty 2 bite grilled cheese (a little greasy) along with it. The oysters were inhaled in about 2 seconds! The very affable waiter recited the names of the 4 when he brought them to the table, but all I remember was Pickle Point from Prince Edward's Island was one of them; they do come with a trio of sauces: horseradish, cocktail, & mignonette (shallots & vinegar).
For the main course, I chose the Crispy Gulf Snapper with Lemon Spinach & Spicy Sofrito. And all I can say is fresh, fresh, fresh. The lemon really gave everything a nice brightness, from the fish, which was perfectly seared, to the slices of garlic in the sofrito. Don't think I'd call the sofrito spicy, but I think it was made from cherry tomatoes, because it had a nice sweetness to it. It was really delicious. My companion picked the grilled mullet from the Fresh & Simple Market Seafood; the waiter said it was delicious, and they had just gotten mullet in for like the very first time ever. It was a beautiful presentation, two whole smaller fish, bones and all! It was probably more work than I would have been up to in a restaurant to pick over it, but my companion did well. I still get a kick of seeing the whole skeletal system being lifted off one's dinner plate.
The dessert course had multiple options, and we settled on the profiteroles with coffee ice cream & chocolate sauce, and a blueberry crostata tart with toasted almonds & vanilla ice cream. Do they make their own ice cream? The coffee one was particularly good, and you could really, really taste the butter in the tart dough. And I am guessing these were fresh blueberries, not frozen. Not that I am complaining about butter (who ME?), but I couldn't finish it!
I had heard a few things about Perla's, most of it good, but now I can firmly say it was a great all-around experience. The service, food, & atmosphere was great, and I now look forward to (slightly) warmer weather and to be able to sit on their large SoCo patio with a cocktail. Also highly amusing was the choice of viewing on the TV at the bar. Finding Nemo. And as my friend said with a laugh "Now that's just tacky!" Nemo's cousins are quite tasty, I can attest.

Austin Restaurant Week

Well duh. I posted it on Twitter, but neglected to do so here.

Austin Restaurant Week starts on Sunday!

This taken straight from their website:
The Spring 2010 installment of Austin Restaurant Week will run from February 28th - March 3rd and March 7th - 10th, and is hosted by Rare Media. The event will allow participants to dine at the finest establishments throughout the city for fixed prices, ranging from $10 - $15 for lunch and $25 - $35 for dinner. Peruse this site to find the stellar list of restaurants, and start making your plans for Austin Restaurant Week today!

Eat local!

Tasty Up Trailer Tour

Food trailer tour that is.

The first ever (formal) Tasty Up Trailer Tour was organized by the Statesman's food writer Addie Broyles and local Tasty Touring blogger Jodi Bart. They assembled a collection of local food trailers, most of them new to the food scene, and spread the good word via Facebook about the tour; many trailers offered specials or reduced prices on their food stuffs.

In preparation, my friend and I stocked up on $1 bills, bottles of water, some Pepto (just in case!), fresh camera batteries, and a healthy appetite for what presumably would be a day of tasty, but not necessarily healthy food. There were two official "starting points," where we could get nametags identifying us as members of the tour. We picked La Boite, on South Lamar, a coffee & pastry shop to begin our day of eating. This little European gem is fashioned out of an old shipping container, and prides themselves on featuring local ingredients in an environmentally friendly setting. After several days of rain here, we fortunately had a completely cloudless day for our day of outdoor eating. The only downside to that was it occasionally interfered with picture taking; so for better pics of their converted container, see their website. They graciously offered complimentary cups of coffee to tour participants, and very smartly made smaller sized versions of their pastries, as they realized people would be eating throughout the day. I got an almond croissant, chocolate croissant, and salted caramel macaroon. All I can say is YUM! This was a great start to the day. The macaroons were an airy sandwich cookie with a fantastic salty caramel in between, and the croissants nice and flaky. It occurs to me now.... I assume they bake their own pastries, but I am not 100% certain, and their website doesn't say specifically either. Regardless, they are delicious!


So on the same large patch of (muddy) grass as La Boite, is Texas Cuban; I have been intensely curious about this spot, as I have always enjoyed the food at Havana. As we ate our pastries, we could see a long line forming at Texas Cuban, and finally walked 50 feet downhill to join it. Things were a bit slow...once we ordered, it took a good 30 - 40 minutes for our order, and during that time, it became evident they were woefully under-prepared for the crowds. They ran out of propane (really, on a weekend? especially a special event weekend?), so half their menu became obsolete, and they had to refund people. For the tour, they offered a small Cuban sandwich, papa rellenos & croquettas; other menu items available, but these were their featured items. We ended up with the sandwich (grilled pork tenderloin, ham, swiss & provolone in a pressed sandwich) which was good, but I don't know that it was anything to write home about. I will go back another time, and attempt to have a "real" meal there. My friend had gone to check on the status of our order, and while they were friendly and explaining the situation, she overheard them say they only expected about 20 people. Well, there were easily 50 milling around while we were there...


The upside to not eating as much at Texas Cuban, was it left room for other foods! We decided to bypass Gourdough's Big Fat Donuts (we've both been before), Brevita Coffee, & Odd Duck Trailer (have heard great things about this place, but I want to go on a night when I can really enjoy the full experience), and as we drove past on Lamar, there was a large crowd there. We decided to go to the northernmost option, Sushi A-Go-Go, at 40th & Medical Parkway. It's really cute (though in a gas station parking lot)! And it wasn't crowded! We ordered one of the day's specials, a Texas Surf & Turf roll, with ribeye, shrimp tempura, candied jalapenos, avocado, and a green sauce on top, along with shrimp shu mai dumplings. We sat & chatted with the one other tour participant who was there (see her blog, Epicuriosities), as we messily ate our roll! It was very good, but it was large pieces that sort of fell apart because you couldn't eat them in one bite. Very fresh, nice texture contrasts with the tempura. The shu mai didn't terribly excite me, but they weren't bad either. As my friend commented later, it seemed sort of odd to be eating sushi outdoors; it wasn't the most refined of settings. Although one of the points their website makes is sushi is considered a "fancy" food, and with their trailer, they hope more people will try different types of sushi rolls. The people running it were extremely nice!


Next up, BBQ. Barely a hair east of IH-35 at Concordia (just south of 38th St) is Franklin BBQ, just behind Owl Tree Coffee Roasters. They've got a couple little trailers, several tables, and some nice kitchsy yard art in the way of flamingos and gnomes. And an extensive BBQ menu. Fortunately, they were offering sample plates. And even more fortunately for us, as we got in line, we were greeted by tour organizer Addie Broyles, who asked if we wanted to split a sampler plate. As she chatted with owner Aaron, he pulled what he said was their last brisket of the day out; they smoke them for about 18 hours. He gave us little bites of the nice charred exterior to whet our palates as he assembled the carnage. Mmmmm.

On the tray, we had a sausage link pulled pork, brisket, and little bites of their cole slaw & tater salad. They also make 4 different sauces -- hot, sweet, pork & espresso -- for your dining pleasure. The pulled pork (with the pork sauce of course) was my favorite. Moist, tender, and in general, just porkalicious. The brisket was a bit fatty, but very flavorful, and the espresso sauce, with it's deep, slightly bitter coffee tones went beautifully with it. The sausage and the sides didn't impress, I am sorry to say. Addie was the hostess with the mostest, making sure all participants had nametags, and in general, making us all feel welcome.


Continuing on the BBQ trail, we then hit Old School BBQ, housed in an old bus, which moves around town. They've only been open about 7 weeks, said the affable Danny, son of the pit master; they have a spot they like along MLK, but today we found them at Cesar Chavez & Pleasant Valley. I think the bus is a fantastic idea; they've got their smoker in back, and it will be great when UT football starts again for tailgating parties. He told us they've got plans for future expansion, with pizza & burgers on the horizon. We had heard their fries were good, and they were offering specials on a brisket sandwich & the fries, and we also went for the mac & cheese wedge. The brisket was nice, not as fatty as the previous, and apparently they smoke them for a minimum of 22 hours. Apparently dad gets up every 2 hours to check the meats. They had one sauce, which was sweet at first, and then had a touch of tartness & spice. I liked the sauces at Franklin better, but it's a toss up on the brisket! The Belgian-style fries were much to my liking too; russets with the skin-on. Some of the longer pieces could have been fried a little longer, but there was sufficient salt on them. Unfortunately, neither my friend nor I cared for the the mac & cheese (sorry!). Danny said they use fontina, asiago, white cheddar, and he thought there was something else. Maybe it was the fontina (I wonder if there was Swiss in it), but there was a rather astringent taste to it. Can you see the license plate of the bus? "BBQ BUS"


Reaching our limits, we decided on G'Raj Mahal (not much in the way of a website or Facebook page as of now), as our final stop in the newly trendy Rainey Street area. It's Indian food, and of the places we went, certainly the most restaurant-like, as they have a large covered carport with tables and ceiling fans. They invite you sit, and the host brings a menu, takes your order, and brings your food. It's a large lot, with the trailer, carport, and a few other small buildings sharing the space with recycled bicycles that make up the Austin Bike Zoo. Anyway, we both opted for chai tea, a cardamom kulfi (like ice cream) to split, and some items to go. The chai was nice, though a bit heavy on the black tea for my taste, and not enough of the spiciness -- ginger, cardamom, clove, etc, that I really like in my chai. The kulfi was like a vanilla ice milk, with ground cardamom powder sprinkled on top, with golden raisins and I think pistachios on it too. More cardamom please! To go, I got a samosa, and the spicy tomato soup, which was supposed to be served with the crispy papadams, but none got put into the bag with our order. Bummer. My friend got the chicken tikka masala, which I think was a half-portion sized special because of the tour. At this writing, I have had a bite of each the soup & tikka, and they seem to have a nice kick & depth. Haven't eaten the samosa or the rest of the soup as I am still too full. They've got a nice looking full menu, though the prices on the curries & other dishes would be about the equivalent at a full-service indoor restaurant.


Boy this has been a long post. Overall, we had a lot of fun checking places out, and thank god for good weather after a week of rain. All the proprietors we encountered were super friendly, and happy to chat about their food stuffs. There are a number of places on the tour we didn't get to, and a ton more that have popped up around town; Austin Food Carts is a great site to keep up with the trailers as they come & go. Many thanks to my traveling companion of the day, and fortunately, we didn't need the Pepto!