Sazon: Interior Mexican

I used to go to Sazón (1816 South Lamar) with relative frequency, as it's not too far from my house and I've always enjoyed their interior Mexican cuisine. But it had been about 2 years (or more?) since I had been -- shame on me! Their on site parking got a little tougher in recent times, and apparently that has stymied me from dining there along with the onslaught of traffic on South Lamar. But Sazón is still standing in the face of over-development along this corridor.

Around 1:15 pm on a recent weekday, I met a friend for lunch, and I had my pick of parking spots, not to mention tables inside. (I hope we were just fortunate to miss the lunch rush, and not they're not hurting for business.) There were only two other tables with patrons, and I was promptly greeted by the waitress/hostess, and settled in at a lovely painted tiled table to wait for my friend who arrived just a few minutes later. The chips were tasty and they brought two little bowls of salsa, one for each of us.

I ordered the Ensalada Mexicana, which clearly was made fresh. The spinach looked like it just came out of the bag, and had almonds, tortilla strips, ancho chile, and a nice vinaigrette that I remember liking, but now I can't remember what the flavor profile was.

And I got the tacos al pastor, because the sweet and savory pork is always a favorite! These are fairly small, but they were perfect to go with the salad, and these also tasted good and fresh. Crispy bits of pork with little bits of pineapple on a corn tortilla.

I also ordered a Crema de Elote (creamy corn chowder) to take home for dinner with half of the salad. My friend also ordered a salad and a bowl of the caldo, their version of chicken and rice soup. I didn't try it, but she said it was great. The crema de elote was creamy, sweet, and not overly rich.

In the past, I have been very pleased with their mole negra de Oaxaca and the cochinita pibil, both traditional interior Mexican dishes. Sazón is also one of the few places I know locally that serves huitlacoche (corn smut... yes, smut -- look it up!), which they put in empanadas. They do have enchiladas, but these are not your greasy Tex-Mex type.

So if you're looking for good interior food, and can grab a parking spot, stop by for breakfast, lunch or dinner! I've actually never been there for breakfast, so I'll have to check that out. I also remember their margarita at happy hour being decent. I've linked to their Facebook page, but normally they have a website at www.sazonaustin.com which shows their menu, but the page is currently not functioning. Their Yelp page does have a link to their menu though. Sazón has nice atmosphere, including a outdoor patio on the Lamar side; the food is not fussy or trendy, just good and fresh as it should be.

Liberty Kitchen

I was invited to come and check out the relatively new Liberty Kitchen, so I grabbed my friend Linda of Girl Eats World because we're good at eating off each other's plates and she always makes me laugh! We had a great time learning more about Liberty Kitchen, at 507 Pressler Street, with the entrances to the parking garage and restaurant both on the West 5th Street side. They have expanded to Austin from Houston, where they are part of the FEED TX Restaurant Group. I was not monetarily compensated for a blog post, and all opinions are my own.

I immediately loved the light-filled dining room, and we had good natural light for pictures during most of the meal! The border around the ceiling spells out "The stars at night, are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas" and the design was created using custom designed rulers!

To the left is a private dining room that can seat up to 24 guests, so if you have a need for a private function, keep this in mind.

And at first glance the wall paper looks like your standard damask print, but when you get up close to it....a great representation of Texas, and this wasn't even a custom paper! (Bats instead of butterflies would have been perfect for Austin.) ;)

While looking at the drink menu, I was immediately intrigued by the first cocktail, but when I mentioned to our waiter that I was more of a vodka person than gin, he volunteered the switch, so this is the Lillie Langtry with vodka, fresh lemon juice, hibiscus syrup. And super-refreshing on a warm evening it was!

Our parade of food began with the campechana with shrimp, crab, sweet tomato sauce and a fried oyster on top.

Next was deviled eggs done four ways. From the bottom: smoked salmon, fried oyster, crab and pimiento cheese, spicy fried chicken, served with a side of bacon jam. Pure decadence!

Roasted oysters, done two ways: pork belly +  bacon with apple cider butter and salt + pepper with butter. Loved the light acidity of the cider butter, and it went very well with the savory bacon.

Queso with roast chiles and chips; we are picky about our queso in Austin, and I'd say this certainly passed with flying colors!

Raw oysters from different waters. Raw ones aren't my most favorite, and there was plenty of other food, so I passed on these, but Linda was quite happy with them.

Technically these are called gorilla-style street fish tacos with the daily catch from the Gulf, cilantro slaw, spicy crema, and grilled lime. They are only offered on Tuesdays (#tacotuesday) as part of their daily specials; not sure what make them "gorilla-style" but they were fresh and tasty and one of my favorites all night.

Mac and cheese... in the hubbub of three dishes arriving at once, I may have neglected to get a picture of JUST the mac and cheese, but I am sure you can identify it in this shot below. Linda is modeling the side of bacon jam, which we both absolutely fell in love with! The also sell it by the pint for $24, which is a wise investment.

The Heisenburg-er -- a burger "club" with all the trimmings: jalapenos, pickles, avocado, deviled eggs, cheese, bacon and bacon jam... the name is a nod to Breaking Bad. This sandwich was HUGE, and what you see pictured here is the half-order! There's no much stuff packed on here, it was decidedly a fork and knife experience.

Happy to say we did not eat all of this food! We'd eat some and then move on to the next thing. But still, by the time dessert rolled around, we were getting pretty stuffed. This is the bread pudding with cajeta (caramel sauce), and it's a huge serving, and pretty darn delicious.

Liberty Kitchen also makes cake shakes: with your choice of cake blended with frozen custard, so this was red velvet cake with vanilla

So as you can see, we had more than our fair share of food, and to reiterate, we DID NOT eat it all! Also happy to report that at an office health screening the following morning, my cholesterol was only 156. We really enjoyed our experience at Liberty Kitchen -- good company, good waitstaff, and good food! They are open seven days a week, and even open at 8 am on the weekends for brunch. As you can tell from what we ate, they are a mix of seafood, southern comfort, a touch of Tex-Mex, and burgers all rolled into one -- something for everyone!

Billie Jean's Burger Pub

** Editor's note: CLOSED in 2016**

A couple weeks ago, I met a friend for happy hour at the relatively new Billie Jean's Burger Pub. They opened at the end of May, and were barely a blip on my radar until I saw another friend post their huge wedge salad on Facebook. Can I let you in on a secret? I think they are a hidden gem, literally hidden behind the road construction at 6501 South Congress just north of the light at William Cannon.

Walking in at 5 pm, there was little business at Billie Jean's, but it gave me a moment to take in the space, which is light-filled thanks to huge windows. There's a bank of booth seating to the right, four-top tables in the middle, and a nice-sized bar on the left.  I plopped down at the bar where the only other patrons in the whole place were also seated. The friendly female bartender brought me menus, and my friend arrived shortly thereafter. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, and I had their hard lemonade, which was fairly hard (no complaints!).

We split a basket of Rosie's Fries, which quite basically, were amazing. Hand cut fries with caramelized onions, goat cheese, bacon, and sriracha. I've been singing their praises and dying for these ever since. The name I would guess is a nod to their Rosie the Riveter-inspired logo, and the two women who started Billie Jean's as a food trailer. Nicely done, ladies!

Another friend came and joined us, and he wanted onion rings, so we ordered those. They were good, but not as much to my liking as the fries. Funny, I had two people say to me, as I was showing them the food pics on my phone, "I don't like tempura style onion rings." And they're right, that's exactly what these were, and I definitely missed all the little crunchy bits on onion rings that fall off everywhere. These weren't bad at all, just a style preference.

So now being fairly well-stuffed on fries and rings, none of us were particularly hungry, but I didn't feel that we should pass up the opportunity to try their burgers. We had seen some HUGE burgers come out of the kitchen, and the place was starting to fill up. They do have a slider option on the menu, where you get three sliders with your choice of two meaty toppings; we picked corned beef and bacon. It was a tasty burger though a bit dry (but that's often the case with sliders), and the side of harissa was particularly yummy. Their burgers are always made fresh from Angus beef, and never frozen. I would like to go back and try one of their regular burgers, and I am hearing a lot of buzz about their Moroccan. And that wedge salad still tempts me! Heck, even the tofu black bean burger sounds good!

People are able to find Billie Jean's through the ongoing road construction, as there was a good crowd when we left. Great addition to that part of town, and really look forward to going back!

Bits and Bites -- Austin Food News

Openings/What's New
-- My Fit Foods has launched a series of salad bowls: Southwest Chicken, Asian Beef, Mediterranean Shrimp and Vegetarian with quinoa.

-- Goodall's Kitchen at the Hotel Ella has completed a remodel, featuring classic American bistro fare and handcrafted cocktails. They are also offering a tailgate buffet for UT football home games, $50/person.

-- Shake Shack is now open at the Domain.

-- Royal Jelly is coming to 704 St. John's (at Lamar); no menu info as of yet.

-- Toss Pizza and Pub is coming to 2901 S. First (just south of Torchy's at El Paso St.).

-- New home meal delivery service in Austin, Nimble Foods, which brings fresh cooked foods to your doorstep.

-- New corporate meal delivery service, Foodee, which partners with local restaurants.

-- South Congress Hotel prepares to open September 8th, and along with it, their all-day cafe, Cafe No Se will be open from 7 am - 2 am daily. Coming soon to the space will be Paul Qui's sushi bar Otoko; Central Standard, an American bar and grill; and Manana a coffee shop and cold-pressed juice bar.

Events/Happenings
-- Prizer Gallery's Artist as Farmer exhibit runs August 29 - September 13th, 2023 E. Cesar Chavez.

-- Tailor Made Treats (vegan chocolates) will have a pop up sale at Metier, Saturday, August 29th from 11 am - 2 pm.

-- Shawn Cirkel's latest project Bullfight is getting close to opening at 4807 Airport; they're hosting a preview benefit for the Sustainable Food Center August 29th, $75/person (no menu details as of yet).

-- Contigo Catering and Austin Beerworks are hosting a dinner featuring roast goat, August 29th, $55/person at the brewery.

-- Texas French Bread is hosting a 4 course dinner with pate, grilled shrimp, quail and apple tart, Sunday, August 30th, $50/person.

-- Counter 3.Five.VII and Qui are teaming up on a 15-course dinner, Monday, August 31st, $180/person $300 with wine pairings.

-- HAAM Benefit Day (Health Alliance for Austin Musicians) is September 1st, and a number of participating restaurants will feature live music and donate at least 5% of profits that day to HAAM. ABGB, Amy's, Whole Foods and lots more.

-- The soon to open Geraldine's at the Hotel Van Zandt has hired Jennifer Keyser as Chief of Bar Operations; she will host a bar takeover at Midnight Cowboy September 1st to showcase her drinks.

-- Metier will host a pop-up bakery with Odd Duck's pastry chef Susana Querejazu, Saturday, September 5th beginning at 10 am until sold out; cash and credit cards accepted. And Metier will be having a sale!

-- Knife sharpening demo with a master of Japanese knives, at Metier, Thursday, September 10th at 11 am.

-- The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas will hold their annual Tour de Vin fundraiser at Fair Market on September 17th; Andrew Wiseheart of Contigo serves as honorary chair and will include chefs from Bribery Bakery, Kin and Comfort, Juliet and VOX Table. Tickets $70/person.

-- Patron Tequila tasting at the Coppertank Event Space, Friday, September 18th, 8 pm.

-- Edible Austin's annual Chef Auction will be October 8th at Allan House, $85/person. From the press release: Benefiting Sustainable Food Center and Urban Roots, the live auction is your chance to bid on exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime dinner packages prepared by Austin’s hottest chefs while supporting two nonprofits who truly “walk the walk” of strengthening our local food system. Participating chefs are from Contigo, Eden East, Franklin BBQ, Justine's, Lenoir, Ramen Tatsuya, Travassa, Uchi/ko and Wu Chow.

-- Central Market will debut a new event, Garlic Fest at all locations, September 16-29, with all kinds of garlic creations, demos, and cooking classes.

-- Thundercloud Subs is holding an art contest to design the upcoming poster/t-shirt for the 25th anniversary Turkey Trot 5k to be held on Thanksgiving Day; submissions due September 15th.

--Austin Alfresco, an exclusive food and wine overnight glamping retreat and festival with some of the areas top chefs, will be at Carson Creek Ranch, October 16-18, and they have currently dropped their price to $895/person.

-- The Carnivore's Ball returns Thursday, October 22nd, $72; as it sounds, probably not suited for vegetarians! Three different meat courses plus dessert, paired with St. Arnold's beers.

-- Tickets are on sale for the Austin Fermentation Festival, October 25th at Barr Mansion, $20+ /person. 

Johnson's Backyard Garden: Cooking Up Dinner

Johnson's Backyard Garden is one of the largest Austin-area farms and providers of CSA boxes in Austin. What's a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture -- you can read more about it on Johnson's page -- but basically, you pay into a local farm for a share of the produce that comes out of it. The farm will pack a variety of their seasonal items literally into a box and subscribers pick them up from a pre-established location or they are delivered right to your doorstep. Prices start at $21 and go up from there; you determine the size of the box and the frequency in which you want it. They were kind enough to offer me a box free of charge. All opinions are my own, and I was not financially compensated.

What comes in the box? Well, of course that will depend on the season! Johnson's has stuff growing 365 days out of the year, so even if you were only going to get a box occasionally from them, there would be a ton of variety! Have you ever been to one of the Austin-area farmers markets and seen a HUGE booth with just about everything that could be in season? Yeah, that's JBG, and they're at 20 different markets now! Anyway, if you're a CSA box subscriber, you can always go to their website for a description of what's in that current week's box.

I left a cooler on my front porch, so this was my first glimpse of my produce treasures!

I was excited because when I looked online, I saw that carrots and beets were part of the current haul, and I wanted to make this awesome vegan, almost-raw beet slaw that I've made before (and blogged about it! here's the recipe). But when I got the box, no beets or carrots! So you have to remain flexible when working with a CSA. Here's what I did received (with the official produce inspector!):

Inspector Charlie gives his approval

From left to right, we had sweet potato greens, poblano peppers, cantaloupes, red potatoes, yellow squash, basil, cucumbers, eggplant, malabar spinach (in the bag) and okra.  For a small household, it's a lot of produce! I have to admit, unless it's fried, I am not a big fan of okra, so I gave it to a friend who loves it. And I still haven't used the malabar spinach; it seems very hardy, and in fact isn't even a spinach! But here's a look at what I've been cooking for dinner.

The sweet potato greens were a new one for me. I looked online for some recipe ideas, and via Prevention magazine, actually found a recipe from local blogger MJ and the Hungryman! So I made my version of their sauteed sweet potato greens: heated a equal combination of grapeseed oil (neutral flavor) with sesame oil (great flavor, but low smoke point) in a skillet, and added some fresh grated ginger and a little garlic to taste. I added the greens, and just cooked them for about 2 - 3 minutes so they wilted down. I made a complete meal with some miso-glazed wild salmon and brown rice. I really liked the greens (I was surprised!); they were a lot like cooked spinach with a little bit more of a bite to them, kind of like arugula. I had some leftover and took them to work for lunch the next day; unfortunately, they were much more bitter the second day.

Asian-inspired sweet potato greens

With the poblano peppers and basil, I made pesto.  I lightly charred the peppers over the open flame of my gas stove, sealed them in a plastic bag to steam, and then peeled the skins off. I cut the stems off, de-seeded them and put them in a food processor with the basil and pumpkin seeds, some Parmesan cheese, and then drizzled olive oil in. It's got a nice little kick! Pesto is one of those versatile things that can be made a million ways depending on your preferences; it doesn't have to just be basil. While I do like pesto pasta, as seen below with sauteed yellow squash from the box, I LOVE using pesto as a base on a pizza instead of red sauce.  Smear it over your crust, add a little prosciutto, some good fresh mozzarella, and maybe a touch of olive oil on top. Bake it around 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, so the cheese is getting bubbly and a bit golden. Great for an appetizer or main dish. Pesto also freezes fairly well. You can freeze in small batches (ice cube trays or just plop by the spoonful or quarter-cupful on plastic wrap, wrap well, and put in a zippered bag) so you can then pull out just what you need.

Poblano basil pumpkin seed pesto

Sauteed yellow squash with pesto pasta

I love different types of Asian food, and a Thai curry stir fry is one of my go-to dishes. You can vary the protein: tofu cubes, pork or beef strips are my favorites, and of course lots of different vegetables. I had lots of eggplant and yellow squash from Johnson's, and I added red bell pepper and baby bok choy. In a wok or large skillet, I heated some grapeseed oil and a splash of sesame oil; for this one, I used beef that was already cut into stir fry strips by the butchers at Central Market (it's very handy). I cooked them for about 2 minutes to take the pink off the outside, and removed them from the pan; they'll get cooked all the way through later. In the same wok, I added a touch more oil, and added my cut up vegetables, saving the bok choy for last because it takes less time to cook. Push the vegetables up the sides of the wok; add about a quarter cup of well-shaken canned coconut milk and then about 2 tablespoons (or more if you like it spicy!) of the panang curry paste. Work the paste into the coconut milk to dissolve, gradually adding more coconut milk, and finally adding the entire 15 oz. can.  Incorporate the veggies into the sauce, and let simmer about 5 minutes, adding the protein back for the last two minutes (can get tough if over-cooked). Check for seasoning; I usually add a couple tablespoons of fish sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar (or palm sugar if you have it) to round out the flavors, and my Thai friend has complimented my panang rendition! Serve over rice of choice (white jasmine would be the traditional Thai choice, but basmati, Texmati or even brown are fine -- you're in control!).

Preparing panang curry

I am partial to the Mae Ploy brand of curry pastes, as my Thai friends have recommended them. Central Market carries the red, green, and yellow, but the Asian groceries like MT Market up at the Chinatown complex on North Lamar and Braker has the panang. Yes, these curries are all different and are nothing like Indian curry!

Available at local Asian markets

Potato and pea mint salad is a recipe that my mom used to make. Cube/large dice (your choice on size, just so they are mostly uniform so they will cook evenly) about a pound and a half of red potatoes (I used three small fist-sized ones), and either boil or steam them until tender. Drain, rinse with cold water, and toss with 1 - 2 tablespoons white vinegar to keep from sticking as they cool down. Blanch about a cup of green peas until just cooked, and drain and rinse in cold water. Toss with the potatoes. Add 2 - 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint.  In a small bowl, combine about 1/3 cup mayonnaise with 2 tablespoons vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Add to potato mixture, combine well, and refrigerate for at least an hour so flavors can meld.

Like Mom used to make!

All the variety, year-round abundance, and multiple outlets from CSA deliveries to farmers market stands give Johnson's Backyard Garden a huge presence in Austin and the surrounding areas. I imagine they will be here for years to come, which is awesome. And if you really want to know where your food comes from, they take volunteers to help out in exchange for a bit of produce. Though for now, it's time to figure out that malabar spinach.... any suggestions?