Garlicky Goodness

Austinites, have you ever been to Phoenicia Bakery and had the garlic sauce they serve with the roast chicken and cheese breads? A couple friends and I have been addicted to that stuff, but haven't known what it was called or how to make it. A chef friend of mine couldn't even figure it out. We were all stumped. One day, I stumbled across something online, and the mystery was solved! It's called toum, and it's a Lebanese garlic sauce, similar to a French aioli. The original post I read is from a blog, and you can read more about toum here; I have adapted their recipe.

Garlicky Goodness – aka Toum (aka Crack)

1/2 cup fresh garlic cloves* 
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (it may more though!)
2 cups grapeseed oil (or other light, neutral tasting oil)
3 - 4 tablespoons lemon juice

* About the garlic: fresh, whole heads of garlic are preferred, but I have used the pre-peeled, refrigerated cloves too. Either way, once peeled, I remove the stem end, cut the cloves in half lengthwise, and remove the shoots in the middle -- the shoot is where all the bitter garlic aftertaste flavor is contained. This is a little time consuming, and your fingers get sticky, but I think worth it.

 

Have everything at room temperature before processing.

Put the garlic and salt in the food processor (I use my mini Cuisinart), and pulse until finely chopped. Begin streaming in the oil through the top of the processor with the motor running; alternate with the lemon juice. You may not need all of the oil (I usually use around 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups), but keep blending until it reaches a mayonnaise-like consistency; it will take several minutes. Check for salt.

Yield: about 2 cups. Keeps well in air-tight container in the fridge

I have come up with multiple uses for this garlicky goodness....what else can you think of?

-- garlic bread

-- toss with pasta

-- smear over chicken or a pork loin, add fresh herbs, and bake

-- make a bean dip with cannellini or black beans

-- vegetable dip  

-- burger/sandwich spread

-- on French/sweet potato fries

-- baked potato 

-- on pizza, instead of tomato sauce

-- with roasted/steamed veggies

Bits and Bites

-- Dunn Bros Coffee is celebrating their grand opening this weekend at the Gables 5th Street Commons at 1611 West 5th Street. Free coffee, samples, and raffle prizes.  (Hmmm, they're a chain, founded in Minnesota, 25 years ago, so I think this is a locally owned franchise.)

-- Toast for the Cure presents Sunday Funday, this Sunday, July 29, 2 - 6pm at Icenhauer's on Rainey Street, with live music, and proceeds benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Charlie Gore plays music, suggested donation $10.

-- Austin Cake Ball Kitchen & Bar at the Domain has a new chef, new menu, and new specials/events, including Sunday Speakeasy on Sundays (beginning August 5) with cakeballs and cocktails, and Ladies Night on Tuesdays (beginning August 7) from 5 - 10 pm. 

-- Pay it Forward with Daniel Curtis will be held at the AT&T Conference Center, August 21, 6 - 10 pm. Daniel was the assistant food and beverage director at The Carillon restaurant (located at the AT&T) when he was left quadriplegic after a diving accident. A fundraiser for him last year raised $65,000 to help with medical expenses, and now, he wants to pay it forward to help others. This year, a number of the area's top chefs will prepare dishes to be paired with cocktails from local beverage crafters. Tickets begin at $100, and can be purchased through the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation.

Bits and Bites

-- Go Texan Restaurant Round Up is July 23 - 29;  a number of local restaurants will feature Texas menu items. Great list of the participating places and see what they're serving!

-- Banger's Sausage House and Beer Garden will officially open on July 30th in the Rainey Street District. With 30 sausage and 103 (!!) taps of beer, and even vegetarian sausage (oxymoron?) and kombucha on tap, there ought to be something for everyone! Am told there's a parking lot behind the building.

-- Max's Wine Dive will host a "Picnic Wine Dinner" on August 2, $50/person, available for purchase in advance here.

-- Slow Food Austin is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Slow Food Quiz Bowl at the Highball, August 12. To join in, purchase your $25 tix here.

-- Roll On Sushi at 5350 Burnet Road, has a new chef, Patrick Acuna so look for some updates to the menu.

-- Drink.Well at 207 E. 53rd has launched a new menu.

And, a reminder COME AND JOIN US!!!

The Austin Food Blogger Alliance is holding a fundraiser, Cocktails and Cupcakes, for Bake a Wish, a non-profit group of volunteer bakers who provide cakes to kids in foster care.  It's Wed., July 25th, from 6 - 8pm at the AT and T Conference Center on the UT Campus. Food and cupcake-inspired cocktails by the Carillon, a cupcake taste-off from five fabulous local bakeries, and a silent auction. Tickets are $35 (purchase here), which includes two drink tickets! Come see me, eat some cupcakes and drink some drinks!

Hai Ky

Hai Ky on East Oltorf is one of just a few Vietnamese restaurants in South Austin, the majority of them being up north, where larger segments of Asian populations live. This place was one of my very early blog posts, but since it's been three+ years, it deserves another mention.

I scheduled a last minute lunch with a friend; she used to frequent this place, so she's more familiar with their menu than I am. (I don't think I had been here in the past three years, clearly a mistake!) I got a Vietnamese coffee and she suggested the the crab rangoon as an appetizer, which come with this outstanding sauce with lots and lots of ginger in it. The sauce also ended up being good on my entree!

I ordered a bun (vermicelli noodle) bowl, #44, with char-grilled pork and crispy egg roll on the side. The pork is cut into fairly small pieces, but has a nice flavor to it. The accompanying cucumbers and carrots were nice and fresh, though the lettuce in the bowl as well as from the appetizer plate did not hold up well at all to hot food being placed on them. While you can't see them, in the bottom of the bowl are thin rice noodles; I ate about half this bowl and saved the rest for dinner. Not bad for $6.99.

My friend recalled a dish she had consumed in the past, one where flat rice noodles are pressed into a cake and then fried. I don't know the dish was called, but it's #101, and it was really tasty and filled with fresh veggies. I love noodles, and this was different from anything I had ever had before. At first glance, I thought it was a tofu dish, but it's certainly noodle.

Hai Ky does serve some standard Chinese dishes, but what's not so typical about this Asian eatery is that all of the waitstaff were twenty-something hipster guys. Service was fairly prompt, and the dishes came out fast. A Google search does not come up with a working web address; the link above is what's posted on their Yelp review site, but interestingly, they don't list the Oltorf location on the website. And, my #44 was $7.29 at the Guadalupe spot, and $7.99 on Bee Caves. I'll stick to the Oltorf spot.

Central Market Westgate

Central Market Westgate has once again changed it's old wine bar in the center of the store to yet another eatery. At present, they have The Local, inspired by British pub grub and will coincide with the upcoming Olympic games in London. It's got a pub feel to it and even a telly, currently playing daytime sporting events. 

I stopped in the other day, and had Squeak and Squeal -- a piece of seared pork belly over wilted cabbage. And this pork had a wonderful sear on it, wasn't too fatty, and was served with a Crispin Cider glaze to it.  And I think a decent sized portion for $7. I could eat more of those -- it certainly rivaled some of the pork belly dishes I've had in fancier restaurants around town!

My friend had the steak and ale pie, a pot pie with nice chunks of tender beef. The ale gave it a great flavor, but it seems more of a colder-weather food to me.

The fish and chips is also a generous-sized piece of fish, with a great batter on it. It was well-fried, and not greasy, and the plate is with a house-made tartar sauce, though malt vinegar is also available. 

The Local is open daily, 12 - 8pm. Apparently it will change to New Mexican foods to coincide with the store's green chile festival (aka Hatch chiles)  August 8th. Shop for your groceries, and go grab a pint and some pub grub! All three of these were really good dishes!