Tuesday, May 1, 2018

April's Eats

Apart from my last post on the new Lunar pizza trailer, what else have I been eating?

The month started with Easter brunch with friends at Chicon.
Chicon -- eggs benny with pulled pork
Chicon -- eggs benny with pulled pork
The Asian food game is getting stronger in Austin, though I continue to wish there were more places down south! I visited Teahaus 101 (Airport and Lamar Blvd) with blogger buddies Girl Eats World and Foodie is the New Forty for a complimentary media tasting. We had a LOT of food! I think my favorites were the bulgogi tater tots, the chicken wings, and the noodles with black bean sauce.
Teahaus 101
Teahaus 101 -- Asian smorgasborg!
While it was a long drive from South Austin 😉 up to the new H Mart Asian grocery in Cedar Park, I am glad I finally made it. On a weekday, the store was virtually empty and there were no lines at the food court. The KJ chicken and onion rings at Sunday Bird were yummy, and they reheated (as in crispy!) really well in my air fryer for dinner. Don't know what they did to the onion rings (MSG? twice fried?) but they were worth the drive.
Sunday Chicken at H Mart
Sunday Bird at H Mart 
I revisited ATX Cocina with a group of family friends, and once again I was impressed.  We had a variety of plates that we all shared, and our server was spot on with recommendations.
ATX Cocina -- snapper crudo
ATX Cocina -- fish of the day, branzino with red and green sauce, along with a jicama slaw and fresh corn tortillas
ATX Cocina -- chicken with white mole sauce
ATX Cocina -- carne asada
Frontier Airlines now has a nonstop Austin to Albuquerque flight (something Southwest hasn't had in years), which makes visiting my parents a bit easier. And they offered super-cheap introductory rates, which I took advantage of.  I hadn't flown them before, and yes, they do nickel and dime you, but the $130 I paid for a round trip ticket including a checked bag was well worth it. Fortunately, my parents appreciate good food too. My first full day there, we had lunch at neighborhood spot Piatanzi.
Piatanzi Albuquerque beet salad
Piatanzi's Ottavio salad with golden beets, goat cheese, pistachios, dried cranberries and balsamic dressing.  Good pizza too.
After checking out the Leonardo DaVinci exhibit at the Natural History Museum, we went to Mary and Tito's for lunch. This true mom and pop spot has been around since 1963, and were recognized as a James Beard award winner in 2010. New Mexican food at its finest!
Mary + Tito's, on the left the carne adovada omelette and on the right, crispy taco, a tamale smothered in Christmas chile sauce (both red and green chile) and a carne adovada flauta. I wish there was good New Mexican food here in Austin!
Frenchish is probably my parents' favorite place, as they have followed chef/owner Jennifer James from place to place over the years (also a James Beard semifinalist for best chef in the southwest). The food here never disappoints, and it turned out that our lunchtime waiter from Mary + Tito's the day before (and grandson of the namesakes) was our waiter at Frenchish. Small world.
Frenchish -- blue crab salad
Frenchish -- blue crab salad
Frenchish -- pork belly with carrot chutney
Frenchish -- pork belly with carrot chutney
Frenchish -- lamb bolognese
Frenchish -- lamb bolognese that just melted in your mouth
Frenchish -- risotto jardinere with pork three ways
Frenchish -- risotto jardinere with pork three ways
Up in Santa Fe, we had another fine New Mexican foods meal at La Choza. We've dined at sister restaurant The Shed (just off the main plaza downtown) for years, but La Choza is a relatively new discovery for us even though it has been around since 1983.
La Choza -- blue corn soft taco (not that you can see it) smothered in red and green chile, with a magnificent side of posole with pork.  Who's got a good recipe for posole??

I treated myself to a spa package and a night at Ten Thousand Waves Spa, where the in-house restaurant is the award-winning Japanese izakaya Izanami.
Izanami kushiyaki
Izanami -- jamon serrano wrapped asparagus. wagyu beef, chicken meatball, and onigiri rice.
Izanami cucumber and wakame salad
Izanami -- cucumber and wakame (seaweed) salad
After returning from my trip, I caught up with friends for lunch at TLC Austin, where I hadn't been since their media tasting in January, and also still impresses.
TLC Austin
TLC Austin -- the Enlightenment, a vegetarian sandwich for me believe it or not!
TLC Austin
TLC Austin -- snow crab legs seafood boil
TLC Austin
TLC Austin -- 04 Goodness Sake
Finally, lunch at Pho with Us in Southpark Meadows.
Pho with Us -- bun bowl with grilled pork and eggroll and a VERY strong Vietnamese coffee
What have you been eating lately that I should know about? Don't want to wait for a monthly recap? Check out my more up to date Instagram page! 😊

4 comments:

  1. Just, yum!!!! It all sounds so good. I think Cedar Park is getting more foodie-friendly as it grows.

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    1. Yes, more room for expansion up in Cedar Park I suppose! I would still like more Asian down south -- a girl can dream! :)

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  2. I still need to try TLC. The New Mexico spots look great! Bookmarking for the next trip.

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    1. Thanks for reading, Amy! TLC has big huge windows which are great for food photography, and I have been pretty impressed witht their food. My friend is a former trained chef (who shares your love of sushi!) and she was quite happy. And if you ever need NM recs, let me know! :)

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