Downtown Austin Farmers' Market

Ahhh, a Saturday morning off from work. And the temperature wasn't scorching yet, so a quick little venture downtown this morning to the farmers' market. I haven't been to the downtown one in probably close to three years, as I always go to the Sunset Valley one when I am able to go. And in the summer/hotter months, the one downtown is opening up at 8 am instead of the usual 9. Smart.

Plenty of street parking was available just after 8 am, even though construction crews were plenty busy in the neighboring blocks. Got a canary melon at one of the first booths I encountered (I think it was Gunderson Farms), saw my neighbor, and then saw bacon! Peach Creek Farms from Rosanke (near Gonzalez) had a sign board out advertising "Arkansas bacon" and of course that got my attention! Never heard of it, and the guy told me that it's from the pork shoulder; he has Berkshire pork, which are a great heirloom breed. He sells it frozen for $6.50/lb. Got it home and unwrapped it; they are very thick slices, almost a quarter inch. Didn't look closely at the labeling when I was there, but he cures it with salt, sugar, spices, sodium nitrate and MSG. I could live without the MSG, but oh well. Anyway, fried a piece up, and it's good. Certainly more meaty and less fatty, and it's not streaked in fat like your typical belly bacon. More of a ham flavor (go figure). I think it will be good in place of pancetta in some dishes, like lentils.

Also came across Cocoa Puro/Kakawa, which I have always been a huge fan of. Tom Pederson's original Kakawa Bean is a cacao bean, coated in white, milk, & dark chocolate & dusted in cocoa powder. He won a Saveur magazine top 100 products recognition a few years back. His newest item is caramelized cacao nibs. Fantastic! I've never loved the plain nibs, either raw or roasted because they are too bitter, though I do love dark chocolate. These were perfect, coated with a thin layer of caramelized sugar, you get that bitter AND sweetness. These will be gone fast.

Found some red bell peppers and onions, but was hoping for fresh corn, and didn't see any. Maybe too dry around here for corn to grow. Went looking for breakfast, and came across a booth I had never heard of before -- Rio's Brazilian. The affable guy at the booth (and after looking at their website, figured out he was Ben, one of the owners) explained a bit about their salgadinhos, or savory pastries. They offer a variety of hand-held empananda-like creations, which are served with one of three flavors of their Malagueta sauces (chile, vinegar, oil & spices), a spicy/tangy accompaniment. All of their products are all natural! I got the chicken pastry, technically called the Risoli de Frango com Requejão, and some of the original sauce. They are served warm, and it still was warm and perfect for eating about 10 minutes later when I arrived home. The one I got was loaded with white meat chicken and a homemade cheese; the dough may have been made with tapioca (cassava) flour, though I am not sure and the website doesn't say. It was a little thick, so therefore a touch gummy, but rolled in breadcrumbs and lightly fried to perfection -- no grease! The original sauce is apparently the hottest of the 3 offered, and really added a nice punch to the salgadinho. Their website is very informative, listing recipes and other locations where there items can be purchased. I think I will have to seek out more of that sauce, and try some recipes with it!

Tarbouch

Is Austin ready for Lebanese food? Yes. Is this Lebanese eatery ready for Austin? Maybe.

Located in what I think is the site of the old Texicali Grill on Oltorf (it's right next to Curra's), Tarbouch has been open since May, according to something I just read (and how I found out about them in the first place). Entering just after 12 noon, there was only one other table with customers, and the hostess/waitress said to sit where ever we liked. She gave us menus and took our drink order.

I ordered the gyro wrap, which came with a Greek salad on the side. My friend ordered the vegetarian sampler plate, and picked hummus, baba ganoush, dolmas, Greek Salad, and falafel. The meat on the gyro, a combo of pressed lamb & beef, had a nice texture -- almost a lightness to it, and fairly good flavor. The sauce, onions & tomato inside the soft pita were very underseasoned; salt certainly helped, and upped the flavor on the meat as well. The hummus was overly pureed, and really tasted of tahini; the falafel was well-fried and while not oily, fairly dry. The real kicker though, was the dressing on the Greek salads appears to be a Wishbone salad dressing. Certainly NOT a homemade dressing, as it's got that distinctive bottled flavor and xanthan gum (or other stabilizer) texture. How hard is it to make a vinaigrette?

The menu only listed baklava for dessert, but a closer inspection of their cold case also had another small square spongy looking one, so we ordered both. When she brought them, I asked the name, and it's something with an "n" but I should have written it down. She said it was made from cream of wheat, coconut, and I'd also guess pistachios (because they were on top) and honey or simple syrup. It was heated, which we weren't expecting, and it was quite hot at first. Pretty good, though better at room temp than hot. The baklava (and yes, there's a million ways to make it) was layers of phyllo at the top and bottom, and a walnut/sugar/cinnamon mixture inbetween. The more I ate it, the more cloyingly sweet it was. Almost couldn't finish my half....almost.

When eating at a sit-down restaurant (someplace with actual menus, not fast food), one expects plates and silverware. Nothing fancy, but "real" ones. Cleanup at Tarbouch is obviously fast because our cups, silverware, and plates were all disposable (yeah, great for the environment too). Nice heavy duty Chinet there, as you can see in the photo.

All in all, Tarbouch wasn't bad, there just wasn't anything overly exceptional about it.

Black Sheep Lodge

The newly opened Black Sheep Lodge has squeezed in on S. Lamar, just a hair south of Oltorf. A quick note to say I've been there twice now, and I am thrilled to have a cool neighborhood bar in my area! No pictures to show for it, but I have eaten: the amazing fried pickles (thin pickle chips, in a light cornmeal batter, fried to perfection), the very crispy tator tots, and the mini-corn dogs, made with Nathan's hot dogs, and hence, a nice, crisp, snap to your corn dog.

A report from friends say their sandwiches and sweet potato fries are mighty fine too. The one and a half margaritas I consumed on my first visit were rather strong (and since it was officially before they were granted their liquor license, they were free too!), and my return visit found a very nice pear cider on tap.

Haven't yet sat outside on their patio, but it is 1) awfully hot out these days, and 2) extremely close to the edge of Lamar Blvd! Someday... but I will certainly be back!

Max's Wine Dive

Met a friend at the new Max's Wine Dive last night for happy hour. They are a Houston-based spot, that's recently opened at 2nd and San Jacinto, at the SE corner. The windows face north, getting nice light inside. They've got a long bar, some high tables, and regular tables with bench seating. The tables have foam glued under them to help with the noise levels. Music ranged from 80s, 90s, and some more current selections.

On the plus, they have a fairly huge wine menu. Happy hour runs from 4 - 7pm, and some wines are available by the glass at half price. Appetizers also half off, as are the large plates that are on the menu. I had a glass of cava (Spanish bubbly), and now can't remember the name of it. The wine menu they have online is a "sample" of their selections, and I don't see it listed. I remember it was described as "notes of honeysuckle" which I am not sure I ever got. It was creamy, dry... almost too dry for me (who generally likes sweeter whites), but I managed to suck down two glasses.

From their app list, I ordered their "famous" Pan Borracho (drunk bread), which I guess if I read the description really carefully, I might have figured out on my own that it was a savory bread pudding-style dish. I was expecting more of a toast/bruschetta thing, so I was a bit surprised when it arrived. The real problem was prosciutto was listed as the second ingredient. I couldn't find a bit of it in the dish. I mentioned this to my friendly and efficient waitress, and she went to go ask the kitchen. She came back and said "it's just bits chopped up in there". She offered to have it replaced, and I declined. I told her I could readily taste the thyme, white wine, and Gruyere, but not the prosciutto. She came back a bit later, and said they were going to take it off our bill, and would we like something else. Sure! So we got the bison sliders, which were yummy! A little too much butter on the outside of the bun (brioche rolls?), but tasty meat that went really well with the caramelized onions. Those were a winner!

So I will certainly give them points for taking the dish off the bill, but if you're listing prosciutto as the second item, have some damn prosciutto in the dish! There were lots of employees, and as I got there before 5 pm, most of them were just kinda hanging until later in the evening. The front of the house staff wears t-shirts with different slogans on them, like "Champagne and fried chicken.... sure, why not?!" Catchy. But when I asked our waitress if she said she had ever had the combo she said no, and implied the opportunity hadn't presented itself. But she had had the fried chicken (which she proclaimed delicious, and it better be at $15 for 3 pieces) and champagne separately... but then why are you advertising something you haven't tried?

I would go back. There were a couple other menu items I'd be curious to try.It's certainly not a "dive" in the traditional sense of bars (G & S, Trophys, etc), definitely more posh. The place was comfortable, and didn't seem pretentious, something which hopefully will last as they gain a following.

Walton's Fancy & Staple

Stopped by Walton's, the new business from Sandra Bullock on W. 6th, next to the Hoffbrau. It's a really nice physical space, big doors, high ceilings, lots of light. The front half is a deli/pastry case/coffee bar, and the back section a flower shop. Sort of an odd split to me. According to the interviews with staff a couple weeks ago when it opened, they say "a bride can get everything she needs for her wedding except the dress." Hmmmm. Interesting concept, but are you spreading yourself too thin?

At 4:30 on a Monday afternoon, there seemed to be several employees, but no customers. The gal at the counter was friendly; I asked if business had been good so far, and she said particularly at lunch. I bought a blueberry muffin to go, which I heated up and ate for breakfast this morning. It's not your traditional "muffin top" muffin.... these are a flat top with a streusel topping. While the flavor was good, they were very dense, and underbaked, giving it a bit of a gummy consistency in some spots. But for $1.25, not bad. I was intrigued by the almond croissant, but had a hard time justifying $3.00 for one, so the muffin won out. But now I wonder if the croissant would have been the better choice.


Why haven't they updated their website??? It looks fairly pathetic.