Three Little Pigs

I have been wanting to go to the Three Little Pigs trailer for over 2 years. Somehow other things always come up, and I never made it over to East 11th and Rosewood, where it's parked behind East End Wines, on the north side of the Texas State Cemetery. Then on a recent Saturday, I got a message from friend and blogger Mad Betty asking her if I wanted to go with her that evening, as she had set up an interview with owner Raymond Tatum for a future edition of Austin Foodstyle magazine. I ditched work a little early and jumped at the chance!

Since we were there early, they weren't too busy, and Raymond came and sat with us for a little while. He's a native Austinite, and was at the helm of Jeffery's during it's late 1980s/early 90s heydays. He thinks pigs are the perfect animal, because you can use every part of them to cook with; I think he's done "nose to tail" cooking before it was *cool*. He's done some dishes at the trailer like pig tripe, which he knows doesn't have mass appeal, but it's something he loves, even though it takes days to rinse and prepare the tripe. You can feel the passion for the food oozing from him. He also draws a lot from Asian cuisines, as was evidenced by the three dishes he made for us which were on that night's specials.

First was the pork belly with kim chi. Bite-sized pieces of pork belly that have been cooked so nicely, each piece was good and crispy, and the kim chi had a nice kick. His Korean friends have taught him which is the best kim chi to buy at the Korean grocery store on North Lamar and Justin Lane. For people who may not like pork belly because of its fattiness, this is a great way to try it.

Next was pork tongue with noodles, leeks, and a spicy black bean sauce. I had never had pork tongue before, and it was really good! I doubt I would have known I was eating tongue, because it had a good texture, kind of crispy, but not tough. The black bean sauce really added a nice savory dimension to the dish.

And braised pig cheeks with pineapple jalapeno chutney. It's a very close call, but I think this was my favorite, in part because of my love for sweet and savory combinations. The cheeks were really meaty and incredibly tender, the plastic fork just sliced right through them.

Here's a shot of the menu. They've got their Twitter and Facebook pages linked to their main website, and they're good about updating them with the daily specials. I aim to get back there soon. Even the regular menu items sound fantastic. Good people, good food. New favorite trailer, hands down.

Finn + Porter

I was invited by Finn + Porter to sample their new fall menu by Chef Peter Maffei. Located in the downtown Hilton Hotel, Finn + Porter hasn't really been on my radar as an Austin dining destination, but it surely is now. The staff and the food were delightful; here's the rundown of the 14 courses (!!) they presented to myself and my friend. And no, we did not eat all of it, and they were gracious to provide to go boxes! Gracious doesn't even begin to describe the entire staff -- they were fantastic, as was the food.

Lockhart quail with celery root, golden beet, leek, carrot. While not the best photo to start things off with, these little guys were tasty and the different vegetable purees went nicely with it.

Trio of beets with Wateroak Farms chevre, pistachios, arugula, beet vinaigrette. Really pretty simple, and one of my favorite dishes from the whole evening. The addition of pistachio was almost revelatory, and the Wateroak Farms chevre was very mild and incredibly creamy.

Grilled broccoli salad served room temperature, with pickled shallots, golden raisins and sourdough bread. Hey Mom! THIS is how I'll eat my broccoli! Somehow the grilling and the acid from the shallots made this magical, and I am not a broccoli fan. (Until now.)

Crispy Gulf oysters with a masa crust, with arugula, celery, tomato chutney, pickled shallot vinaigrette. A little thick on the crust, but a gorgeous presentation, and a great pop from the tomato chutney.

Soy-glazed Richardson Farms pork belly, with Asian pear, celery, balsamic teriyaki. I rarely have met a pork belly I didn't like, and that sweet little square of Asian pear made these two-bite cubes of savory pork just perfect.

Gulf shrimp with smoked salt, truffled orzo, chives. I think the chef was impressed that I could tell it was smoked salt on the shrimp. I knew they weren't grilled enough to take on the nice smoky flavor on their own. The shrimp on their own were great, but almost overshadowed by the accompanying orzo. Creamy and just the right amount of truffle.

Beef cheek ravioli with little neck clam ragout, root vegetables, arugula. Chef Peter said to get a bite with a little bit of everything, and he was right -- all the tastes together for one big party!

Braised local lamb shank with roasted carrot, mushroom, tarragon, and a rosemary popover. Loved the little cast iron dish the lamb came in; this is really such a perfect fall dish. The popover would have been great if it was served straight from the oven.

Beef short rib with roasted bone marrow, fall root vegetables, and beef consomme. This was another one of my favorites, and it was juicy (and not just from the consomme) and fork-tender.

Striped bass with sourdough crust, broccoli, ricotta gnocchi, sweet potato. I was intrigued by the technique employed here; they took a very think piece of sourdough and basically adhered it to the fish, and pan-sauteed it to give it the look of the skin. It came out really nice and crisp with perfectly flaky fish underneath. Chef Peter called it a grilled cheese without the cheese. The gnocchi was a bit dense for my taste.

Halibut with roasted cauliflower, butternut squash, raisins, verjus. Great use of fall flavors here.

Duck breast with farro, heirloom carrots two ways, raisin puree. This was a huge serving of duck breast , and the raisin puree really went nicely. Duck generally needs something sweet/tart, and the raisin puree was a lovely spin.

Meat trio of Strube Ranch Wagyu strip steak, brined pork chop, and filet mignon, with bacon and potato terrine. For this last entree, they plated three separate meat dishes onto one plate so we could finish with a hearty morsel. We were so stuffed at this point, we could barely eat more than a bite of each. All were delicious, but for me the filet was the standout.

And *finally* dessert! Chocolate peanut butter mousse with toasted marshmallow and banana sorbet. A little sweet and a little savory, and surprisingly fairly light.

Chef Peter brought every dish out to us personally, and he talked about how he tries to find local as much as possible. He started creating the menu earlier this spring, and is already working on concepts for next spring's offerings. Finn + Porter's fall menu has something for everyone, I was just lucky enough to be able to try almost all of it!

Disclaimer: They invited me for a meal, no money exchanged hands. They did not even ask me for a blog post, but I am happy to sing their praises.

Recent Austin Eats

Here are some recent eats worth mentioning! If you follow me on Instagram < @southaustinfoodie > you may have seen some of these pics before.  :)

Blue Bell in Brenham
Last month, I took a little road trip to Round Top with the hopes of eating for the first time at Royer's, but they were closed because it was the week after the big market. And so we continued on to Brenham, to go to the Blue Bell ice cream plant! Now can you believe I was with some NATIVE Texans, who had never been there before? Heck, I am East Coast girl, and I had even been once before, many years back. Anyway, we had a blast. And I learned from our tour there that Blue Bell was the very first company to produce a cookies and cream variety of ice cream. Originally they used Oreos, but they eventually switched to making their own cookies. And employees can eat as much ice cream (or other Blue Bell products) as they wish when they are on their break! My mint chocolate chip was refreshing and delicious!

Wholly Cow Burger
I drive past this convenience store/burger spot all the time on South Lamar. Wholly Cow uses locally sourced, grass-fed, hormone-free beef from a farm in Fredericksburg, and also has many vegetarian, paleo and gluten free options. I had the burger and onion rings, and my friend the cheese steak and fries. Look at those gorgeous onion rings! It was a huge pile, and they were fried really well..... but I think they are using a gluten free batter, because there was no crispness to them. (I did try asking about the batter, but the guy at the counter was a rather evasive...) The burger is served on a King's Hawaiian Sweet Roll, which I like; the burger itself was fine, but I wouldn't say there was anything majorly special about it.

The fries unfortunately weren't a whole lot better; they too look like they'd be great, but they were undercooked, and rather starchy in the middle. Overall, a bit of a disappointment for me, but my friend really liked her cheese steak.

Peached Tortilla
The Texas Book Festival had a barbeque food court, and the Peached Tortilla trailer was serving items featuring brisket from Miller's BBQ. I had the sweet potato fries, with brisket, fried egg, and sriracha mayo, and it was pretty darn tasty. The meat was really nice, though it could have used more brisket; I would order this again if I came across it. My friend had the pork bowl with wasabi slaw, pickled cucumbers, and rice; I didn't try it, but it looked good, and he ate all of it.

Dong Nai (no website)
Tucked away by the Target on South Lamar and Ben White is Dong Nai, a Vietnamese place with some Chinese food options as well. It's been probably 2 years since I've been here, even though I've always liked it. They've changed their decor a bit, removing the booths along one wall in favor of regular tables. The chairs at our table though were on wheels which was a little odd for a non-carpeted environment. Prices have always been good, and food comes out quickly. Their pho has always had a wonderful broth, very aromatic. I am partial to their vermicelli, or bun, bowls, particularly the char grilled pork. It looked great, and everything was very fresh, but the pork wasn't as flavorful as I remember it to be. Hopefully it won't take me two more years to return.

Veracruz All Natural
On East Cesar Chavez between Chalmers and Chicon, you'll find the Veracruz All Natural trailer alongside Kerlin BBQ. My friend and fellow blogger Mad Betty is crazy about chilaquiles, and she had learned that on the first Sunday of the month, Veracruz serves them as a special. I was prepared to get the chilaquiles too, and figured one of us would get with red sauce, and the other with green. However, when I saw they were offering chicken enchiladas with mole for breakfast, all bets were off. You know I've been a on quest to find Austin's best mole, right? (And if you have suggestions, PLEASE leave them in the comments below!) I LOVE a traditional Oaxacan mole (aka mole coloradito, made with chiles, nuts, raisins, chocolate....), and I rarely pass up the opportunity to try a new one.

These were nice fat chicken enchiladas, with mostly shredded white meat. I could have lived without the raw onion slivers, but the fried plantains with their caramelized edges made up for it. And the mole sauce -- overall, not bad, though not my ideal. It was a thinner sauce in body, and was heat-forward, meaning the chiles were pretty much the first thing I tasted, and I didn't get the depth that I should get from the other ingredients, but still tasty. Plus this stunning plate was only $8.50. I've been to brick and mortar restaurants who have served smaller portions for twice the price. And, for a food trailer, notice they are using REAL plates!

I had a taste of the chilaquiles (with red sauce) which were quite good, and Mad Betty seemed very pleased. Check her blog, as I am sure she'll be writing it up soon.

The local 7-Eleven had a two pound Rice Krispie treat! And they even had "recipe suggestions" on the back! I am not even that big of a fan of these things, but I just marveled at the sheer size of this thing, and think it's pretty genius, especially for those who can't make their own. Though I think for the cost of $11.99, you could make two batches.

And finally, all the recent rains brought a bounty of snails to my front porch (seeking higher, drier ground, perhaps?) Escargot, anyone?

Bits and Bites -- ATX food news!

Let's Celebrate!
 -- Celebrity chef Mario Batali has a new web series called Batali Cooks 4, where people Tweet him four different ingredients and he comes up with a recipe. For his fourth installment, he picked cauliflower, anchovies, walnuts, and Parmesan submitted by my friend and foodie mentor, Elaine DiRico! Click the link above to see what he created.

-- Congrats to Les Dames d'Escoffier of Austin for raising over $12,500 in their recent Food Fight online auction, for culinary scholarships and farm to table initiatives. 

Events + Happenings
-- Hops and Grain is having a Halloween party on October 31st; $5 at the door, which includes a beer glass.  Costumes encouraged!

-- The second annual Austin Oyster Festival will be November 3rd at Shoal Crossing Event Center, tickets are $50-75, and will get you various raw, grilled, and fried oysters as well as a bloody mary bar!

-- Epicerie and Jester King Brewery are teaming up for a cheese and beer pairing class as part of Austin Beer Week, November 3rd at 6:30 pm at Epicerie. Tickets are $35. 

-- Jack Allen's Kitchen (Oak Hill location) will host a bourbon pairing dinner with with Buffalo Trace Distillery, November 5th at 7 pm. Tickets are $75. 

-- A new concept restaurant,  Vox Table will debut next spring, and until then, they will host a series of pop-up dinners. The first will be November 6th, at 7 pm, on the 55th floor of the Austonian Building (the view of the city from up there is stunning!), tickets are $60, and benefit No Kid Hungry, a non-profit striving to end child hunger.

-- The Austin Food and Wine Alliance's annual Wine + Swine, a celebration of all things pig, is November 10th from 11am - 4 pm at Ceres Park. Tickets $75 - 95.  Check their link for the awesome list of local chefs participating. (And yours truly will be out there volunteering!) 

-- The first Austin Meatball Festival will be held at Winflo Osteria on November 23rd; several area restaurants will be competing for the best meatball title. {Have to say, the best meatball I have had in town has been from Patrizi's, who is sadly not on the list of participants.}

-- From the press release:  "The Rattle Inn (at 610 Nueces St.) will soon unveil three murals on the exterior walls of the bar inspired by vintage Topo Chico ads....Kevin Williamson, who owns Ranch 616, Star Bar and Rattle Inn, has long been a fan of Topo Chico and commissioned this project to pay homage to Topo Chico’s rich history...Williamson hired Show Goat Mural Works for this project to showcase the history of Topo Chico, which has been sold in Mexico since 1895 with an important presence in Austin and sold across the United States."

Openings + Menu Updates
 -- Italian gelateria Dolce Neve will be opening in Bouldin Creek along South First Street between Mary and Annie Streets in December. They are Italians who have come to Austin to make their handmade gelatos, using locally-sourced ingredients like Mill-king milk. I live in the neighborhood, and CANNOT WAIT!!!

-- Local chef Shawn Cirkiel (Parkside, the Backspace, Olive + June) will transform the TGI Friday's at the Radisson Hotel on Cesar Chavez into a contemporary southwestern restaurant, opening in early 2014. 

-- TacoDeli will debut two new spots in 2014, one in Crestview at 7301 Burnet Road and the other in the Village at Westlake at 701 South Capital of Texas Hwy.  

-- New York-based Shake Shack will open their first Texas location alongside the rebuilt Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. Look for it in late 2014. (I've never been to one, but it sounds like Hopdoddy to me. Yes/No?)

-- Also late next year, the team behind Stubbs BBQ will open a new bar/restaurant at 615 S. Lamar, in the old Ridgeway Reprographics building.

-- NoVa on Rainey Street is now doing Sunday brunch.

-- Kenichi Austin has debuted their fall menu, with items such as lamb chops and sea bass with grapefruit truffle miso.

-- Finn + Porter also has a new menu with seasonal items beef cheek ravioli and signature sushi dishes such as Tuna + Chocolate.

Winebelly

Here in South Austin, the South First/Oltorf/South Lamar food corridors have gotten a lot more interesting  in the past couple months. First Barlata on South Lamar, a Spanish tapas bar (see my post here), and now Winebelly at South First and Oltorf, also a tapas bar, but serving a wider range of cuisine. (And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Austin Beer Garden Brewery, just east of Lamar on Oltorf with their various beers brewed on site and delicious pizzas.) I tracked the openings of both Barlata and Winebelly and waited a good six weeks for things to shake down before trying either one. Verdict: worth the waits.

Winebelly took over the Green Muse Coffee Bar; it's on the south side of Oltorf, just east of South First, with sort of a disparate grouping of businesses (the gas station/convenience store on the corner, Pizza Patron, two financial services, Austin Rebuilders and Habanero). Fortunately, once inside, you don't feel like you're in a (quasi) strip center. The bar is directly in front when you walk in, with table seating around to the right and back, including what looked to be a nice patio area outside.

We started with some cocktails, I had the John Lee Hooker, a very tasty concoction of Gewurstraminer, Cava, agave nectar, ginger, and a dash of hot sauce. Winebelly presently offers only beer and wines, no liquor.

My friend started with the panzanella salad, which was beautiful and delicious! Lacinato kale dressed in a light sherry vinaigrette with watermelon radishes, idiazabal cheese (an aged Spanish sheep's milk cheese), and crisp bread cubes, which I much prefer over soggy ones often found in a panzanella.

I had the cauliflower soup, which was creamy and velvety beyond belief. It's topped with smoked trout and trout roe, and what you can't see but was an amazing addition was little bits of lightly tart apple at the bottom of the bowl. All the flavors were extremely well-balanced.

This is the specials board, which I didn't see when we walked in; it's on the wall to the left of the door when you walk in, but the hostess stand was to the right, so I missed it. We had a great waitress who was knowledgeable about the menu, and didn't hesitate to name her favorite dishes when I asked. Her only miscue was when describing the pork belly special, she said "summer squash puree" which sounded odd to me, and I even repeated it back to her. Clearly it didn't stop me from ordering the pork belly, and fortunately, it was with a sweet potato puree, whose sweetness countered the savory nature of the pork belly. The belly was nicely crisp on top, but still fatty -- without seeming fatty -- in the middle, you know what I mean? The Brussels were good, though I am having a hard time remembering how they were seasoned.

The meat balls was the one dish that neither of us were real impressed with. It's a decent enough serving of five not quite golf-ball sized  pieces, and they are a combo of pork, veal and beef. The flavor was okay,  however something was off with the texture. They held together, but were too....loose? Squishy? Undercooked, but not raw? Can't quite put my finger on it, but we didn't finish them.

We both wanted dessert, but presently Winebelly is only offering sorbets and gelatos. Something toothsome like cake or a brownie is what we both were craving.....hopefully in the future, they will offer more of a selection. The place has a great vibe, shabby chic decor, though a little dark even in the daylight hours (had to use the flash on the food pictures). I look forward to sitting out back and sipping on some wine for my next visit. Or perhaps some bubbly! The Mark Twain quote was inside one of the bathroom stalls.... might have to sneak a peak inside the men's room to see what inspiration is in there. Cheers to a great new addition to the neighborhood!

I believe Winebelly does a seasonal menu, so all items I described might not be on the menu when you go! Another side note, the owners are the Tran family that owns Hai Ky on East Oltorf.