*The End*

Times are changing...

Well friends, the time has come to put this blog to rest, permanently. What began in September 2008 prior to a trip to Morocco kept going for 573 posts to where we are now. As I prepare to move out of Austin, it is time. All good things come to an end, right? {Also, don't you hate it when you come across a cool blog but their last post was four years ago? What happened?!}

I started the blog as a creative outlet; I've always thought of myself as a decent writer and I have a good understanding of my palate. I've tried to communicate why I liked/disliked foods/dishes beyond just saying "it was good" because anyone can do that. What are the tastes, the textures, does it meet the menu description? Also when I started blogging, there wasn't really search engine optimization or analytics to be concerned about, and hence I have never bothered to be concerned with them. I am not in this for generating a high number of "likes" or other metrics. Plainly put, I don't really give a fig. It's never been my desire to be a social media influencer. It is very gratifying though to hear from someone who did read my post and appreciates my food recs and writing, so thank you. 💓

Leaving Austin and selling my South Austin home of 24 years does not come lightly, but after dealing with the Covid era (or "coronial times" as a good friend calls it) and then snowpocalypse/snowvid in February 2021 it definitely makes me want to be closer to my family. Albuquerque will be my new home come the end of June. Only one state away, but SO different in so many different ways.  And you can't really be South Austin Foodie living in Central Albuquerque, can you?  While I won't be updating the blog, I will keep it hosted + accessible, but will keep my Instagram page going, though undoubtedly the name on IG will change once I get settled. Give me some suggestions for a new IG handle!

I already have some Abq food recs, so if you need some holler and if you have some to share, don't be shy! 

I've been in Austin altogether for 28 years. It has changed, much of it for the better. But I am ready for a change as well. It has been my pleasure being South Austin Foodie for the last 14+ years. Onward.

Yours in good food, 

-- Suzanna

Part of my 50th birthday celebration with my closest girlfriends
 earlier this year at Becker Vineyards.

More: What I've Been Eating

Greetings from South Austin! I've been doing my best to try to support South Austin restaurants, with a few exceptions. Here's a look at what I've been making and getting for take out in the past two months. Caution: may make you hungry! 😂

Homemade: pasta in light cream sauce with asparagus, bacon, pine nuts and parm.

Homemade: coconut cream tarte

Bouldin Creek Cafe veggie burger

Homemade: chili (with beans!) and skillet cornbread

Vespaio canneloni, arancini, beet salad. These were fabulous and I got about three meals out of this.

A dear friend sent me this Bokksu box of Japanese snacks! So much fun!

Homemade: air fryer churros! Easy and yummy!
 (Though not as good as the nearby Churro food trailer!)

Habana pollo salteado, empanada, tres leches

La Patisserie morning bun, croissant, almond macaroon

La Patisserie chocolate hazelnut cake

Homemade: pasta with corn pesto

Bao'd Up BBQ chicken bao

Slab BBQ pork ribs

Tarka's lamb biryani and chicken korma. I can't not get the korma! 

Homemade: raw beet salad, with fennel, red onion and haloumi

Beet issues 😀

Soup Peddler: grilled cheese + salad

Sugar Mama's carrot cupcake and bourbon pecan bar

El Dorado beef enchiladas with calabazas (squash). This was a fabulous evening, being socially distant with friends in north central Austin. Food and friends were excellent! 

A friend and I both ordered carry out from Fat Dragon, coordinated our pick up times, and sat in the parking lot with our cars dovetailed together so we could eat and talk.  Delicious lamb cilantro dumplings and below, dry fried green beans.

Coffee bourbon browned butter blondies. See my previous post!

Artipasta: bolognese + lemon cream sauces for another evening of social distance with a friend.

Thai Fresh pad thai, tom yum soup, veggies

Elizabeth Street Cafe banh cuon and pesty cat.

Oh my. This Queen Beak (fried chicken biscuit) from Bird Bird Biscuit is one of the finer things I have eaten lately! This is the naked version, as I got my chipotle aioli and hot honey on the side, and as I was eating (and photographing) this from my car, the pics with the sauces on them aren't super. This was messy. But worth every bite.

Dolce Neve gelato

Homemade: pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese balls)

Loro: bavette, corn fritters, won ton chips + dips. The bavette is quite good, but somehow I can't get these lightly seasoned won ton chips with peanut sambal out of my mind.

I've heard the buzz about La Tunita 512, and had to go check it out. The consume with birria is delicious! Should have gotten the torta special to dip in the consume -- next time! 

Hungry? Yeah, me too. Time for my next meal! And I should add (and had mentioned in my May post), I've been doing intermittent fasting, so eating all these lovelies, and I am down 20 pounds total! 

What's on your menu?

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

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 -- 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 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'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 -- pork belly with carrot chutney

Frenchish -- lamb bolognese that just melted in your mouth

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 -- jamon serrano wrapped asparagus. wagyu beef, chicken meatball, and onigiri rice.

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 -- the Enlightenment, a vegetarian sandwich for me believe it or not!

TLC Austin -- snow crab legs seafood boil

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! 😊