Fogo de Chao

Generally speaking, I don't eat at national chain restaurants, so therefore my postings on them are limited. An exception to the rule was this past Wednesday night, when I was invited to a food bloggers dinner at Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian churrascaria.

We were treated to complimentary drinks at the bar before the dinner started. I had a glass of Malbec, which I never got the actual name of, but highly drinkable!

We were seated in their private dining/meeting room, which was set for about 100. The managers spoke briefly, explaining the Fogo experience; it seemed that only a handful of us were novices of the Fogo concept.

Starting first with the salad bar, that alone can be an experience of itself (my mother would be beside herself!), and Fogo recognizes that, as they have pricing levels for "salad bar" only diners ($22.50) and literally, "whole hog" ones ($45.50).  A good 15 - 20 feet in diameter, the salad bar includes prosciutto & salami, genuine parmigiano reggiano cheese (complete in a hollowed-out wheel), assorted pickled/brined veggies like beets & artichoke hearts, mixed salads, smoked salmon.... I didn't see any fresh fruit like melon, which would have been nice with the prosciutto. Loved having the various olive oils & vinegars atop the bar, not to mention the gorgeous tropical flower arrangements.

Back at the table, our ever-circling gaucho waiters made sure we always had plenty of pao de queijo (warm, delicious, golf ball-sized addictive cheese breads), and a trio of sides: crispy polenta, garlic mashed potatoes, and caramelized bananas, all of which were constantly refreshed.

 And then the meat parade started. And it went on. And on. And on! They have 15 different meats on their skewered menu, and I sampled half of them, though I think all of them paraded past at one point or another. I tried: linguica (pork sausage), costela de porco (pork ribs), alcatra (beef sirloin), ancho (ribeye), cordiero (both lamb chops & leg of lamb), picanha (top sirloin rubbed with sea salt), & filet mignon. The gauchos always made sure you received the meat that was to your way of cooking. The lamb chops were overdone, but everything was much to my satisfaction at medium rare. Favorites? The picanha and leg of lamb, just outstanding flavor on them.

I would certainly like to think that every other diner in the main part of the restaurant was getting as much personal attention as we were, because throughout the evening, the service was outstanding. The gauchos were friendly, highly knowledgeable about the meats, would rush to get anything you requested, like a meat cooked in a particular way, and yet remained relatively unobtrusive. 

The manager was present in the room throughout a good portion of the meal, and I had a chance to ask him about his meats. They source them from Texas -- the beef, pork & chicken, and the lamb is from New Zealand. He added that depending on the location of the restaurant, they will source their meats usually from that region. But nice to know we were eating Texas beef. I also asked how much meat they go through in an evening, to which he understandably said it's too hard to gauge, depending on the evening. He did say that the average diner eats two pounds of meat at a meal at Fogo!

So I wasn't stuffed to the gills, but I certainly didn't need to eat any more food, so I skipped dessert, though the signature papaya cream sounded good (also billed as a digestive aid!). It was a very lovely evening. Was I totally blown away? No. Was it some good food (and outstanding service)? Yes. Will I frequent national chains more? No. But I am appreciative to now have experienced Fogo de Chao, as I do think they are probably one of the finer chains out there. Even though I am sure they just raised my cholesterol by a few points.

El Naranjo

There's been a good amount of positive buzz on El Naranjo, a new interior-Mexican foods trailer, on what has become a very hip Rainey Street. In about a 2 block area, Lustre Pearl, Clive, Garaj Mahal, El Naranjo were all thriving on a warm Thursday night (for Austin summers, the evening was actually quite decent). LP & Clive (same owner, I am fairly certain) are both in renovated houses, GM is a trailer with a fancy awning &  yard art (see February's food trailer tour story), and El N is a trailer parked in the driveway of a house that's undergoing renovations for the future permanent home of El N. Not sure what will become of the trailer at that point, but it comes with a good pedigree; the owner had a restaurant of the same name in Oaxaca for years that was very well-received.

Two friends and I arrived a little before 7 pm. We ordered, and sat at one of the picnic tables that's covered by a very nice semi-permanent canopy, complete with fans and bug zappers (need more low-tech fly paper!) First up were the molotes and empandas. They offer 2 types of molotes, and there are 3 pieces to an order. These are little cigar shaped lengths of masa, with different stuffings, that are fried. Our helpful order taker offered to do 1 veracruzano (w/plaintain & Mexican cheese) and 2 oaxaqueno (w/chorizo & potato) as we couldn't decide what to get. They had no trace of grease/oil whatsoever, but unfortunately, were not real flavorful; the masa was a bit dense, and therefore it was hard to taste the fillings. The empanadas were a little on the greasy side; they're stuffed with mushrooms, epazote & some serrano pepper, and were very crisp & tasty; a fresh red salsa (salsa rojo) accompanied them, and a green (salsa verde) with the molotes. Wish the empanadas came with more choices of fillings!

On the recommendation of the recent Austin Chronicle review, I ordered the chicken tinga soft tacos, which come 2 to the plate, and are topped with a slice of avocado. While it was very finely shredded chicken tossed in the salsa verde, they were underwhelming in flavor; a tiny bit of zip from the salsa, but it needed more. One of my friends got the cochinita pibil tacos (also 2 per order), which had been criticized by the Chronicle as too vinegary. Either it had been an off night in the kitchen, or they read the review and corrected it, because they were outstanding! The tender, well-seasoned pork was nicely complemented by pickled red onions. My other friend got the fish taco special of the evening -- 3 tacos per plate, with slaw and a chipotle crema Mexicana. I did not try them, but she said they were great. All three taco plates were served on what I presume to be homemade corn tortillas; they were very tender white corn, but perfectly round, so who knows!

I have heard that El Naranjo makes an outstanding mole sauce, and as I have said before, I do love a good mole. I would actually be highly disappointed if a place with Oaxacan roots didn't have a good mole, given the "seven moles of Oaxaca" were made famous in that region of Mexico. We asked the owner if there was a set day for moles, and she said Wednesdays, so we will have to go back and investigate for ourselves. They have a website, but it is under construction; they also post a little bit on Twitter (@elnaranjoaustin). A chalk board on the grounds had the hours posted, Mon - Sat, lunch & dinner; closed on Sundays. I was glad to see they take all major credit cards, and have trashcans for recycling glass & plastic bottles.  Everything was well-prepared, and except for the swarm of flies, it was quite comfortable out.  Can't wait to get back for the mole!

Fortune

Two foodies and a wine guy went in search of dim sum on Sunday evening at Fortune, but upon arrival, discovered yours truly misread their website, as there was no dim sum in the evenings. But we easily decided to stay for dinner, and were excited by the variety on the menu. Our young, very efficient and knowledgeable waiter was a little surprised by the number of items we ordered, but we did decent damage. Overall we agreed that while everything was very fresh, some things were lacking in flavor.

The rundown, consumed with a bottle of Chateau St. Michele Riesling, which was at a good price at $24/bottle:

#13 -- Pan Fried Dumplings -- Great sear on them, the pork filling was bland, needed ginger, scallions, etc.
#18 -- Grilled Lamb Satay Skewers --Satay? Does that mean it comes with peanut sauce? Well no, because these came with hoisin. Meat had decent flavor & great texture, but the hoisin did pump it up a little. (Not as good as the lamb skewers at Chen's Noodle House, not even close!)

#21 -- Crispy Duck -- A decent duck, not the best ever, but nice crispy skin and not too greasy.
#39 -- Crab Meat & Sweet Corn Soup -- Probably the biggest disappointment of the meal. Apart from the sweetness from the corn, there was no flavor to it what so ever. My foodie friend noticed the longer the soup sat unattended in the bowl, the more it separated, with watery stuff on top and gelatinous on the bottom. Not really appetizing.
#110 -- Chicken w/ Hot Garlic Sauce (had wanted # 129, Chicken with Honey & Ginger, but they were out) -- really good, though certainly not "hot" in the spicy sense. Very fresh, not an overpowering garlic flavor -- could have used more garlic.
#165 -- Fried Crispy Bean Curd with Special Sauce -- Another disappointment. What might at one time actually been crispy tofu was negated by the sauce which is poured all over the fried slabs of silken tofu back in the kitchen, so by the time it reaches your table, it kills the crispiness. Sauce was nothing special either. Doesn't hold a candle to Java Noodle's Crispy Tofu with Brown Sugar Sauce.

#178 -- Malaysia Fried Flat Rice Noodle -- I love stir fried noodle dishes (and can't master the art of cooking with fresh rice noodles....), and we asked our waiter about this one. He said it was in a curry sauce with pork & shrimp, and we said sure! It turned out to be great! The noodles were a hair on the dry side, as in needed more sauce, but good flavor. I think I detected Szechuan peppercorns in it, because I had a little of that tingling on the tongue that I've experienced when eating dishes with them. (In picture, duck at the top, noodles to right, chicken to left.)

We asked what hamsur on the dessert menu was, as none of us was familiar. Our waiter told us it's the crispy fried fat from under a frog's skin. They were out for the evening, and will take advance orders via a phone call if you want it. I am completely curious about it, but not sure I would have been prepared to eat it that night! (And a subsequent Google search unveils that in some places hamsur can be the ovaries or the egg sack of the frog.... so not entirely sure which part of the frog it us, but consensus says it is frog.)

And though we didn't order it, our waiter brought over 3 bowls of a dessert porridge, a coconut milk base with little tapioca balls and taro root cubes. Decent flavor, but not in love with it. It was a nice gesture though, but still not sure WHY it was sent over. I know he saw me taking pictures of the dishes, and he may of overheard us talking about food blogging.

On a side note, the physical appearance of the restaurant is a little bit of a dichotomy. The entrance room has old wooden carved doors, dark flooring & tables, and a beautiful wall of ceramic teapots. You then enter the main dining room, which is filled with light, and 5 rather gaudy crystal chandeliers. My foodie friend who attended culinary school in San Francisco and is well acquainted with that city's dim sum establishments, commented on how the main dining room felt that it was set up for dim sum service -- plenty of room between the tables for the carts to maneuver. It reminded me of hotel banquet rooms. And by the time we left, the place was filling up, and I'd say 75% of the tables were filled with Asians.

So bummed there was no dim sum, and a little disappointed that the regular menu was kind of bland. It's certainly a trek for me to get up to Chinatown, but it is usually worth it, and I am determined to get back for dim sum, as I have it on the authority from 2 food people their dim sum is fantastic.

Somnio's Cafe

Along South First street in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood there are lots of little cottage houses that have been turned into businesses -- hair salons, vintage shops, head shops, and restaurants.  Somnio's Cafe is one of those houses, on the east side of South First, between Annie and Mary Streets, backing up to the creek itself.  You park in the back and then enter on the side. It's pretty small inside, with a bar/counter with about 4 stools on the opposite wall from the door, the kitchen on the left, and a mix of table sizes (I counted 28 seats total) in the middle and to the right. Small, but cute. Hardwood floors, light green walls with a light blue ceiling, funky light fixtures... it has a good South Austin vibe to it. There's also an eclectic collection of chairs from the edge of the parking lot to the trickle of a creek.

Somnio's prides itself on a heavily vegetarian menu that can be adapted for gluten-free or vegan needs. They do have some meat dishes, just not a lot of them. And they use as much locally and organically sourced items as they can. There's a list of local suppliers on their website, and a statement on the menu describing their commitment to quality, sustainable foods and living. Also worth mentioning that nothing on the regular menu is priced over $13. 

At a little after 7pm on Friday of Memorial Day weekend, I didn't know how busy Somnio's would be, and they turned out to be rather happening.  We sat right inside the door, and I had my back to the kitchen, so it was a little hard to see the specials board. I have previously heard the orange pork tacos were really good, but since May 28 is National Burger Day (who knew?!), I opted for the bison burger with sweet potato fries from the specials board. My dining companion opted to go full-on vegetarian, and had the "salad & 3 sides" plate.

Her Uncle Bob's salad and peach & tomato gazpacho came out first. The salad is grated raw beets tossed with fresh ginger in a light soy vinaigrette. You certainly tasted the ginger! It was almost overpowering, and I do love ginger; refreshing though. The soup, from the specials menu, was room temperature (that's fine for a gazpacho), and had a nice sweetness to it from the peaches. I think there was fresh mint in there, and cayenne pepper hit you in the back of your mouth. My friend thought it was too much cayenne; I only took about 3 bites of it and thought it was fine, but I can understand her point, especially if eating a whole bowl of it.

Then my ThunderHeart Bison burger came, along with a spicy pickled slaw, whole grain mustard, mayo (at my request), and a roasted red pepper tahini dip for the sweet potato fries. And in my excitement to eat, I nearly forgot to take a picture of the burger until I was part way through it. Whoops! So not the best pic below, AND my camera batteries needed charging. Anyway, the burger was good; I realize now I wasn't asked how I like my burger cooked (medium rare), and while it looks it in the picture, what arrived was probably more of a medium. But all was not lost. Don't know what else they are mixing into the meat, or if it's just because it's locally sourced and really good quality bison, but it was tender and flavorful. I did one half of the burger with the mayo & mustard, and the other with the roasted red pepper sauce....both fared well on it. The sweet potato fries are lightly battered and well fried... not greasy, but certainly a nice, dark color. Needed a dash of salt on them, but the roasted red pepper sauce was a good accompaniment.

My friend's remaining veggies from her combo plate were the Asian green beans and sauteed red cabbage. The cabbage had some kick to it also, and I didn't try the green beans. The whole plate got eaten, and I kept hearing comments from my table mate on how much she loves cabbage! For dessert, we split the fair trade, vegan brownie. It was a huge piece, I think we may have gotten lucky there! A bit too cake-like for my personal brownie tastes, but the chocolate flavor was nice; there was a occasional pecan baked into it, which surprised me when I first found one, because I had already taken a few bites without noticing any nuts when I bit into one.


What became the only downside the latter portion of our meal was the noise factor. Two tables of two each finished their meals and left, to be replaced with tables of five and six people, both of which brought their own wine/beer. (It's a BYOB place with a corking fee.) Both those two new tables were really loud, and because of hardwood floors and being a small space to start with, there's no place for the sound to go, so it just reverberates. Our primary waitress (possibly the wife part of the husband & wife team who owns Somnio; I saw the husband/chef in the kitchen) was apologetic when she brought the check, saying it had just gotten really crazy, which it kinda had, but the busy-ness wasn't her fault. Overall, it was a solid meal, and I am glad to know a quality place that supports other local businesses in my neighborhood.

Justine's Brasserie

Deep in far east Austin lies a new mecca, an "if you build it, they will come" establishment. On East 5th Street, even east of Springdale, lies Justine's Brasserie, a renovated cottage house on a big lot, surrounded by warehouses, that has brought causal French bistro food to the gentrifying neighborhood. I had been to Justine's once before, in early October, on a Thursday evening, following a work function. As we were driving there at 10 pm, my first thought was "where the heck are we going?", followed by "is it even going to be open?". Not only were they open, they were packed. And on this, my second time there, on a Monday night, they were filled up inside, with only a few little tables outside available. 

Four of us arrived at 7:30 pm and told the hostess we were expecting at least 3 more people. It was crowded & noisy inside, and we followed the hostess out as she began to pull some small bistro tables together. Then the waitstaff realized there were only two women occupying the large picnic-style table, and they (smartly) asked them if they would mind moving to accommodate our large party. They graciously obliged.  

We started with some wine, and ordered the escargot and charcuterie plate while we waited for the rest of our party. You can smell the escargot coming, as a waft of garlic and olive oil comes drifting towards you. I am not an expert in escargot, and therefore couldn't tell you if they were fresh or canned (they don't taste canned!), but it hardly matters when they are in such a flavorful oil (and served in a proper escargot plate too). Simply delicious!  On the house-made charcuterie plate, from the top in the ramekin, we have a very smooth goose pate, to the right, a duck country-style, and on the left, a pork (and rabbit?) pate. All were very good; I think the duck was my favorite, largely because of the texture, and you could taste various spices in each (garlic, cloves, allspice). The cornichon (gherkins) in the middle of the plate were nice, as the acidity cuts the richness of the meats. I believe the charcuterie plate changes regularly, so it might be some different meats when you go.

 A couple people got the French onion soup as a starter. We all agreed that it was good, but not as great as it could be. The beef broth in it lacked depth, and overall, the soup needed some salt. Certainly an edible bowl of soup, but not spectacular. (And there were mentions of how the Austin Chronicle {I think it was the Chronicle they referenced} said the soup was one of the standouts, so a little disappointing.) A couple people also got the Belgian endive, pear, & Roquefort salad, which I did not try, but it was said to be extremely good by both who ordered it.

For my main course, I ordered the duck confit, which came with thinly cut French fries  and an aioli sauce. It too, was delicious. It was a large duck leg, with fairly crispy skin, and very tender, moist meat (and lots of it!) underneath.  The fries & aioli were perfect. I don't really know what else to say about it, other than I pretty much licked the plate clean!

Continuing on the duck trend, one of my friends ordered the evening special, which was a seared duck breast with baby beets and apples. I had a bite of hers, and the sweetness of the apples matched wonderfully with the savory duck meat; the breast was perfectly cooked and very moist and the skin did not appear to be excessively fatty.

Our waitress was present but not obtrusive. She allowed us space as the remaining members of our party trickled in; she wasn't pushy, and she brought us the extra things we asked for, like bread, in a very timely manner. Apparently she was also attentive, because we were there to celebrate the birthday of one in our party, and when the birthday girl ordered creme brulee for dessert, it came with a candle in it. As we were asking each other "oh, who arranged that?!" our waitress quietly said "I overheard." Kudos!  And the creme brulee was lovely; good contrast of burned sugar top with velvety vanilla custard inside.

Apart from some mosquitoes and flies swarming around at sunset, and the sporadic exhaust from the oxygen tank place across the street, it was a lovely meal on a very lovely occasion. Justine's stayed filled up outside, and when I went inside to use the restroom (which you practically walk into the kitchen to find!), it was still buzzing inside. And remember, this was a Monday night! Clearly the neighborhood has embraced the idea of Justine's, as it's a gem in the middle of the East Austin warehouse district.