Gourdough's

In Spanish, gordo means fat. In South Austin, Gourdough's means big, fat, freakin' doughnuts!!! And you will not stay flaca by eating these masterpieces! Welcome to the newest Airstream trailer to hit South Austin. Does it get any better than hot doughnuts??

It's just before 3 pm on Thursday. I am with 3 work colleagues, and we are supposed to be someplace at 3 pm. We heard rumors of a new doughnut trailer on South Lamar. Near Mary St? Near Treadwell? And it happens, that Lamar coincidentally is the road we need to travel on to get to our destination. And there it is. Just north of Genie Car Wash, before the light at Treadwell (when going north). I believe the trio of yard signs say "BIG", "FAT", "DOUGHNUTS." Screw the work appointment, we need fried dough!

The menu board is extensive and overwhelming on the first visit, to say the least. Almost every combination you can think of, OR you can design your own. Click on their website link and look. Try not to drool. Or pee in your pants. We placed our orders, even getting extras to make up for our tardiness (like the Whataburger commercial where they guy stops and gets breakfast for his office), and told the guy we were sort of in a hurry. And politely he says that everything is made to order. And that's fine. We learn the wait pays off. (And they've only been open for 6 days.)

We pile back into the air conditioned car, as it's one of those hot & humid October days. And we wait. It took almost 20 minutes. But, the results were so damn worth it. Being the sucker for bacon, AND for salty sweet things, I got the Flying Pig -- a hot doughnut with maple syrup icing and bacon on it. And I mean a crap-ton of bacon. There were probably 8 pieces of crispy goodness on my doughnut. Look at the picture with the box of four, from the top left going clockwise we have: Naughty & Nice (sugar & cinnamon), Sara's Joy (coconut filling w/ fudge frosting & coconut), Mama's Cake (yellow cake batter filling & chocolate frosting), and Black Out (death by chocolate). These pictures were taking in a moving vehicle as we were trying to figure out how to eat them. I don't recommend eating in the car, but some milk (which they sell) would have been great! It's a sugar-high experience, not to be missed! Get extra napkins too.

So we arrive late to our work function, but fortunately, there's no punishment for those who bring doughnuts! Our event goes late, and at the end, the boss man wants to take us out for drinks. Who are we to argue! We meet at Justine's, the new cottage house French bistro in East Austin. Arriving around 10:30pm, the place is packed. There are several little tables outside, all of which are filled. We get some cocktails, and nibbles. Pomme frites, escargot, and house-made charcuterie, which included an incredible pork rillette, a mousse of duck and don't remember what, and a compagne, or country-style pate, that I think was also pork-based. The pate was lacking in flavor, but the rest of the appetizers certainly make me want to go back for a meal. Obviously this area was majorly lacking in a bar/bistro, and at just a month old, they seem well on track for success.

Gourmet Magazine

RIP, Gourmet. It was announced today by their publisher, Conde Nast, that it and 3 other publications would cease and desist. I had actually really enjoyed Gourmet this past year, and it leaves a scarcity of quality food magazines. (Thumbs up to Cooks Illustrated, Saveur & Bon Appetit. I personally can't stand the redesign of Cooking Light. Any other good ones I should know about? Food & Wine is okay, but somehow, it's never really grabbed me.)

No word yet on whether the PBS series Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie will continue. Currently in reruns on your local PBS station, they're a gem if you can figure out when they're on.

Sad.

Tarka update

Since my original post, I have now eaten at Tarka two more times. I don't usually repost on places I've eaten, but I feel this is worth it! (And read to the end for updated menu info.)

Arriving Sunday at 7:45pm, we had to wait 15 minutes just to order food because the kitchen was so backed up. Little irritating 'cause I was starving, but fortunately once we ordered, the food came fast. We had the veggie samosas, which are small but delicious, and come with a fantastic mint chutney. I had the lamb vindaloo, medium spicy. Lamb was tender, and the sauce flavorful, but certainly on the milder side of medium heat. My friend had the tikka masala with paneer, and the sauce was great.

Yesterday for a late lunch, I opted for the chicken curry "naaninni," which is their take on a paninni. The chicken was tasty, but maybe not as layered in flavor as it could be. Fortunately, it comes with the mint chutney, and that certainly elevates it. The plate also comes with seasoned fries, which were crisp & perfect. My friend and I split the samosa chaat from the appetizer menu, and essentially, it's a deconstructed samosa. Good flavor -- nice spice mixture, not too overpowering, nice texture. She ordered the lamb korma, hot heat, which it was, but good. She was torn between the korma and the coconut curry, and we asked our order taker, who deferred to the line chef, as he had only been working there 2 days. With no hesitation and a bulging of his eyes, the chef said korma.

I had noticed that there wasn't the after 5pm specials listed on the board, as there had been in the past. We asked about that too, and a woman, who I think is one of the owners, said that they decided to do away with them because they took extra time to prepare, and it was really backing up the kitchen, like my experience on Sunday night. She said they still had a couple things made in the back that people could order, but they're weren't going to be posted. I asked about my beloved Clay Pit Khuroosh-e-tursh, which I have been eyeing in anticipation on the Tarka menu for weeks now, but on my previous 2 visits, I forced myself to try other things. They did have some available, and I got it to go, and that will be dinner tonight! Of course when I got home with it, I did taste it, and the sauce still sends me over the edge! But in short, specials no more.

These last 2 trips in, particularly for Sunday dinner, I was pleased to see a LOT of people of Indian heritage eating there. Apart from Bombay Grill on Bee Caves, this is the only Indian place I know of in South Austin. Lots of happy campers, me included!

Yanagi Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

A friend of mine who is a HUGE sushi freak turned me onto Yagani, open since June in the strip center where Gold's Gym is at Wm. Cannon & Mopac. (I think this may be the same location that housed Noodleism a few years back.) My friend loves this chef, and says he's the best Japanese chef in town... can't remember where she said he used to cook. She's decidedly a food person, and I trust her food input, though raw fish is not my first love.

Anyway, made a 1:30 lunch date today with another friend, who ended up having to cancel because of a sick kid. Decided to go anyway, and see what's what. Fortunately, when you walk in the doors, you forget you're in a strip mall. The pleasant interior could transport you away from the sweaty gym neighbors next door. Dark wood, minimal decor, not too large. At least for a late lunch with only a few tables seated, it seems to work. Except for the Top 40 music playing. Oh well.

A very perky hostess greeted me as I opened the door, and escorted me to a table, leaving a menu and a list of bento box lunch specials. I had a 15% off coupon for the bento lunches; and settled on the tonkatsu box. The waiter took a few minutes to appear, as he was serving meals, but I could see that the food coming out looked good and in large portions. I ordered, and he scurried off. Moments later, he brought my water, and a bowl of miso soup. I don't think the menu listed the soup as one of the accompaniments with the bento meal, but I love miso! While waiting for my bento, I glanced a bit at a magazine, and around the room to really get a feel for it. Looks like the place seats about 80+, room at the sushi bar for 6 - 8 bodies, and a separate bar area by the entrance. Unfortunately I found out before leaving that the ladies room smelled overwhelmingly of room deodorizer.

The bento box arrived, and it was gorgeous! A TON of food. Look at the picture, starting in the top right, we have the pork tonkatsu itself, rice, California rolls, salad, vegetable tempura, tonkatsu sauce (and underneath it I discovered fresh ginger slices), and the top plate with a generous amount of wasabi & pickled ginger. The pork was fabulous, and extremely thin cut/pounded, like the pork isn't much more than 1/4 inch thick. Great panko breading, nicely fried. The sauce with it, I wasn't in love with. It took me quite a while to place the flavor, but it's really raisiny. Not enough contrast in it. The tempura was fabulous too; I was given onion, sweet potato, and a white starchy thing not unlike a potato, but I am not sure that it was....taro, maybe. The batter stuck nicely to the veggies, perfectly fried ( I do wonder what kind of oil they use...). The dressing on the salad has potential, but this didn't have enough ginger in it for my tastes; iceberg lettuce, cuke, & cherry tomatoes were all fresh though. The CA rolls are okay, but nothing special; nice to have pickled ginger that isn't pink, meaning no food dye.

Looking at their menu, they have a lot of rolls, many with interesting names (the Wm. Cannon, the Mopac, the Sexy). They sound good, but I didn't see any go past while I was there. I did see one tray of sushi, which from the distance, looked lovely. Would certainly be fun to go back and check out the other items; they've also got a few Korean items on the menu. I've got a few more of the 15% off lunch coupons, so if you want one, let me know!

I can't find a website for them, and on their takeout menu, there isn't one listed.

Frank

How bad can anything be that's called "pork it"??!! At Frank, the new upscale hot dog & sausage eatery in the middle of the warehouse district, you can get any of their dogs in the "pork it" style -- split open, stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon, and briefly fried. Oh yeah, bring it!

Not to mention, they have bacon infused vodka & whiskey.

So last Friday night, I went with 3 friends for a bacon-inspired meal. One's eyes get very large looking at the menu. You actually think: Oh, I could eat two dogs. Wrong! Not when there are perfectly crispy waffle fries to devour! We started with some cocktails -- an Old Fashioned, a Triple Crown, and an order of fries with 3 dipping sauces -- the horseradish, the buffalo bleu, and the punchy, a slighly spicy vinegary sauce. The non-greasy fries were consumed pretty quickly.

Then the dogs came. I just got a good old standard Vienna, porked, of course, with a side of the grilled corn. Companions had a polish w/ adobo slaw (I think) from the specials menu, a Chicago dog (with the trademark bright green relish), and a portobello cheesesteak. And an order of green chili chorizo cheese fries, also from the specials. The dogs & cheesesteak were devoured in about 3 minutes. We proceeded to pick at the chili fries, which were delicious and gooey, but we were stuffed. The corn cup I had was really tasty too -- fresh grilled corn with cilantro & a bit of chile & lime. Practically healthy! (Hey Mom, it's a vegetable!) Anyway, the thought that some had of eating two dogs was quickly wiped out.

Frank occupies the spot on Colorado that most recently has been Starlite and Crimson. They've renovated the interior a bit, to give it a sort of old-fashioned watering hole feel. Not sure how I'd describe it. When we got there at 6 pm (on a Friday), there were only a couple of tables taken, but a bunch of folks at the bar up front. When we left, it was pretty packed. Maybe a sit-down hot dog place really can make it in this economy. Sure hope so, because anything porked is alright by me.