Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll 2010

As if you need more places to go check out, here's the annual Austin Chronicle Restaurant Poll for 2010. 

Of course we're not always going to agree on things, and there are places listed on here I've never heard of, I never need an excuse to eat out! If you're up for a meal, let me know!

Borrego de Oro

A trusted foodie friend has eaten at Borrego de Oro multiple times, and has always spoken very highly about their mole. I LOVE a good mole, and am always on a quest to find good ones. I have made them before myself, but it certainly is time-intensive. I do have a pretty darn good recipe that's "only" about an hour of work once you have all the ingredients; if you're interested, email me.  While there are different types of mole sauces (as in, the seven moles of Oaxaca), it's the Coloradito Mole that's the most common amongst Mexican and Tex-Mex places in the US. What attracts me to this mole is its depth of flavors when properly made -- some spice from various chile peppers, nuttiness from ground almonds, sweetness from raisins, a subtle bitter savoriness from chocolate or cocoa powder (or both). It's a huge flavor party, but not everyone appreciates it. 

So I met a friend at Borrego at 7:30 on a recent weeknight; there was no one dining, but two guys at the counter placing a to go order. The friendly waitress immediately brought me water and warm tortilla chips and salsa, as I waited for my friend, who arrived shortly thereafter. Warm chips are darn addicting and go very well with cold Negra Modelo!  After studying the menu, I ordered the chicken mole plate (of course), and my friend got the shrimp fajita plate (a slight misnomer, but we'll let that pass!); we had our choice of charro or refried beans. 

The mole turned out to be okay, but not the billing I was lead to believe. My guess is this batch had been sitting in a container in the fridge, and they pulled some out, and heated it up in some oil. It was fairly oily, as can been seen at the top of the plate. The chicken still had it's rubbery skin on, so I pulled that off to the side. Taste-wise, it had some chile in it, so it was a bit spicy, and it was dark brown, so probably some chocolate in there, but there was no real special flavor to it; I couldn't discern any flavor other than chile with a hint of chocolate. No almond, raisin, cinnamon, allspice.... Just kind of meh. The rice & beans were fairly standard for a Tex Mex place. My friend really liked her shrimp dish, though I didn't try it. 

The two young ladies who were the servers were very friendly. And fortunately, about 4 more tables filled up, so the place wasn't a total ghost town. So while the food was fresh, the service really good, and the food came fairly quickly, the mole was a disappointment. Maybe there are other dishes on their menu that are real standouts that I missed. (Have you been?) But if I want really good mole, I'll stick to Manuel's or Sazon or make it myself.

Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu, Mint & Pecorino

So while I was typing up the Salt & Time post last night, my dinner was simmering away. I recently saw a Twitter post featuring this incredible looking recipe from Wine Spectator magazine. The results were great! Maybe not the best dish for a warm Austin night, but the fresh pop of mint, along with the saltiness & twang from the pecorino (aged sheep's milk cheese), and the earthiness of the lamb were a great combination, that frankly, I could eat year round!

I used the dry pappardelle noodles from DeCecco, because they were already in my pantry, but I'd love to do this dish with fresh pasta! And I substituted Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes for the canned cherry toms, again, because there was a can in the pantry.

Buen provecho!

Salumi from Salt and Time

I had the pleasure of getting some salumi samples from Ben of Salt and Time. We met at the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, and we chatted for a few minutes about his products. He uses locally sourced ingredients to produce his various meat products, which age at differing rates. He does use a tiny smidge of sodium nitrate in the salumis, both to ward off botchulism and to keep the meats from turning to an unappealing brown color as they age.

He's gradually breaking into the local markets; Odd Duck Farm to Trailer and the Hotel St. Cecila use some of his items in dishes/charcuterie plates, and he's starting to sell them at retail places like Antonelli's Cheese Shop (I still need to get north of the river and check them out....), Aviary and Apothecary Cafe and Wine Bar. Retail-wise, they run $25-30/pound, and I believe he said he's doing pre-sliced 4 ounce packages for places like Antonelli's. Thoughts of a farmer's market booth are also there. He's also making pickled vegetables, and is considering trying to get those into some of the area bars as good bar snacks. (Any suggestions on where he should try?) Keep an eye on his website for other events he'll be involved with; one coming up on May 28th. Last month, he did the Umlauf Sculpture Garden's annual fundraiser.

Here's a rundown on what I happily sampled, going clockwise from the 11:55 position (all pork products):

Lonzino -- Dry cured pork loin, this was sliced tissue paper thin! In the back notes, I could taste a subtle herbaceous flavor, and I emailed Ben, and he said he uses fennel and juniper in the cure. I knew I had tasted some herbs, but I couldn't pinpoint it!

Brianza -- This is a very mild sausage, with a slight twang to it; it had a very smooth texture, and larger pieces of marbled fat.

Tuscan with fennel -- One of my favorites! A nice sweetness about it, with whole fennel seeds; it's smoother grind than the brianza, but more marbled. Also some black pepper in it. Also cut very thin, you can see the slivers of the fennel when held up to the light.

Soppressata with chile -- A southern Italian speciality, as with the Tuscan there were little flecks of chile flakes to be seen. Great flavor, and while it does have chile in it, the chile doesn't overwhelm at all, and it wold be great on a cheese board. This is a little coarser and chewier than the Tuscan, with bigger pieces of fat. My other fave!

Genoa -- This was the largest in diameter, I'd say 2.5 inches around. Faint garlic flavor, nice swirled marbling, with a few larger pieces of fat. This one tasted more "porkish" to me, kind of like a strong Canadian bacon.

Chorizo -- A denser roll than the others, this had a nice piquant pop of hot smoked paprika. (Odd Duck used tiny slivers in a potato dish with a aioli.)

Really, all I can is they were great! Go and seek out these fine cured products! Eat them plain, make a charcuterie plate, or something of your own devices, but try them!

Thanks Ben!

May 14
After emailing Ben that I had posted on my blog, he sent me info about the May 28th event:

Hunger Awareness Blog Project, post 2

Ever since our meeting at the Capital Area Food Bank, I've struggled with the nutritional aspects in regard to are food bank recipients getting appropriate nutrition? The average bag of food from a pantry is almost pure starch -- rice, potatoes, pasta -- with a few nutritionally devoid (almost) cans of over-processed veggies. How do families with children get a proper, balanced meal? I don't have kids, but I have wondered nonetheless. I am assuming that a good majority of these children eat one (or more) meals at their schools. But we've all heard how many school districts serve poor quality meals -- pizza, french fries, "chicken" patties, etc. Is that actually what kids in the Austin-area eat?

And then in today's paper, there was my answer. The story by Addie Broyles on local school lunches, inspired by Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It turns out, "Austin schools have been working for more than 20 years to improve the quality of the food, while still meeting federal nutritional standards and staying on budget." In AISD, they do baked sweet potato fries, whole wheat hamburger buns, lean hamburger meat, and even have signs up asking students if they've eaten their fruit or vegetable for the day. They've made the conscious effort to improve the meals of their students. So thanks to Addie's story, I feel a bit more at ease, knowing kids have access to a decent meal. 

Back to the food bank project, what have I been eating? There's been a good amount of oatmeal in the mornings, supplemented by a fresh banana or canned fruit cup. The bean dip I made from dried cannelini beans (see previous post) has been eaten with carrot sticks. Dinners have been more interesting! Those russet potatoes? Gnocchi! Baked the potatoes, let them cool, peel them, put through a ricer (or food mill), toss with flour, make a well & add an egg yolk and fresh ground nutmeg, and combine. Roll into 3/4" thick ropes, and cut into 1" lengths. You can leave them as pillow, or lightly squish them with a fork to make indentations, which help to hold your sauce. I squished them, and in a not very patient manner, and they came out rather ugly! Toss them in boiling water, and about 2 minutes later when they float to the top, they're ready. The first night, I tossed them with leftover pasta sauce, and the second night I did them in a brown butter sauce. I melted 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet, and slowly let it brown, so it gets that nice caramelly color and deep nuttiness. I tossed in some chopped fresh sage from my garden. One tablespoon of butter actually would have been fine for one serving; both nights, I ate the fresh green beans from my original shopping trip. 

I found a can of black beans in my pantry, and made black bean burgers with them (a little protein, where the gnocchi didn't account for much). It probably wasn't the best of recipes, but not horrible; the one in today's paper in the school lunch article looks good, AND it uses oats! (Next time...) The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of salsa, but I used a chipotle sauce from the fridge. I think salsa, BBQ sauce, chipotles in adobo, etc. would all be fine -- the object is flavor. I did add too many breadcrumbs, so the burgers were a bit dry after I pan-fried them with cooking spray. Fries and burgers go hand in hand , but I wanted to do something a bit different with my potatoes, so I made potato chips. I used the slicer blade on my box grater (or a mandoline, or a very sharp knife), and tossed them with a touch of olive oil & salt. Bake at 475 for about 10 minutes, until golden. Remove to a rack, and they crisp up nicely. I sauteed a little onion and red bell pepper, and added the can of corn. The corn isn't as nutritious as say, a fresh leafy green vegetable, but it was a decently balanced meal.

And we can't forget potato salad! I boiled a couple of potatoes, let them cool, and peeled them. This recipe used a little pickle juice and some dill pickle in it, as well as red onion, celery, mayo & mustard.I swear I've barely used half the bag of potatoes, maybe not even that much. Good thing they keep well.

This challenge certainly makes me think more about what I spend on what I like to eat. I am accustomed to shopping in the bulk departments of grocery stores, but I think the average shopper is scared off by them. They see the word "bulk" and think they have to buy a huge quantity. In reality, you can buy a tablespoon of something or two pounds of it. Retailers receive the items in huge 25 pound (and up) bags, but customers can save money and space in their pantry by just buying what they need for a recipe. Get to know the bulk department of the store you shop in the most. HEB's have their "Nature's Harvest" area, which has spices, flours, nuts, legumes/beans, grains, and more. Places like Central Market and Whole Foods will have those, plus much more. Making an Asian dish? The $5 bottle of Chinese 5-spice powder doesn't exactly appear feasible when on a budget. How about a 50 cent bag instead? And now to change tracks....


My friend and fellow participant in this project makes a great point in her blog, Savor the Earth, about how Texas' economy never really tanked in this fiscal depression like it did in places like California. Yet while the state marches on, it's citizens are second from the bottom in food security. Where will their next meal come from? Can we, as some of the citizens who at least have enough food to fill our bellies, go about social change? Can we start our own food revolution to see that everyone gets what they need? The schools are a great starting point. But what about for adults who are struggling to get by? They still deserve a quality meal, made from "real food" as Michael Pollan says in his latest book (and my current read), Food Rules, An Eater's Manual. Not processed foods, real, whole foods. The quality and quantity of foods both count here.


Pick up a copy. Check out Jamie Oliver. Find out what foods are served in your kids' school district. Support your local food bank with time or money, or both, if you can. Can you afford to eat everyday? Can you afford not to?