Recent Eats

I spent Saturday, January 25th at Travaasa for Edible Austin's Jam and Jive, benefiting the Sustainable Food Center which featured local presenters discussing ways to use seasonal foods.  Thank you to Giant Noise PR for the media pass!

The first session I attended was with Travaasa's own executive chef, Ben Baker, who talked about fermenting and sprouting grains for breads, as they breakdown the cellular structure and make them easier for digesting. He gave us pieces of three different sourdough breads, a traditional, one with red wine and thyme, and one with rye, all outstanding in their crust, crumb, and most importantly, flavor.

The second session was from Hip Girl author Kate Payne who gave us four different ways to use grapefruit, apart from eating it! You can make a shrub (or drinking vinegar) from the peel, an infused salt from the zest, cleaning solutions from the pith and peel, and a natural thickener from the seeds. No waste!

After a happy hour a featuring some of the items made in the classes, we had dinner prepared by Chef Baker and his team. Pickled cauliflowers with hydroponic watercress, preserved trout and deviled egg. Pork tenderloin wrapped in ancho-cured pork belly. Pickled strawberries, chocolate bacon, and zabaglione. All delicious, and much of it grown there on the Travaasa property.

Other recent eats....if you follow me (and of course you should!) on Instagram, you may have seen some of these before.

-- A pleasant brunch at the Steeping Room (the one at 45th & Lamar). A quaint modern tea house that happens to serve an array of food. This was "the Morning Tea Service," one of the brunch options and quite a lot of food, and included tea, coffee, or chai. The ginger scone was outstanding (as was the crispy bacon, duh!), and yes those are miniature cookies on top of the fruit salad, along with a generous serving of clotted cream.

-- Barbeque from the Lone Star BBQ trailer, located at South Lamar and Bluebonnet. While I drive past this practically every day, a recent sunny Sunday during the farmer's market was the first time I had stopped, and the whole place was packed. The service was super-friendly, and I got my food to go. As you can tell, it's a bit on the greasy side. The brisket had a decent smoke ring, but was a bit bland in flavor; the sausage was good, nice medium-coarse texture and if I had to guess, I'd say the potato salad was pre-made from a grocery store. Not bad barbeque, but not outstanding.

 

-- Quite a number of people attended the soft opening/media preview for Chavez, Shawn Cirkiel's latest project, which replaces the TGI Friday's at the Radisson Hotel at Congress and Cesar Chavez. The food is a spin on modern south western cuisine, and the new interior is stunning! The evening featured very hard-working staff members cranking out drinks and passing trays of a number of appetizers which were miniature versions of menu items, including these lovely smoked cherry margaritas.

 -- The impeccable staff at Uchi and Uchiko should be the gold standard for which all other restaurants strive to achieve. The food and service is always flawless. One of my good friends and I went early on a Monday night to celebrate her birthday; we had a 5 pm reservation, and the place was essentially full by 5:30. The bacon steakie with the watermelon radish was pork belly perfection (so good, we ordered a second one, right before the end of social hour), and we were treated to the jizake creme caramel -- browned butter sorbet with a gingery flan and light simple syrup poured on top. I generally don't care as much for their desserts (a little too "modern" for me!), but this was a winner in my book.

-- I had lunch plans with a friend who is the parent of a toddler, so she doesn't get out much. She said "I want ramen! I've never had ramen and I hear you guys all talking about." So I opted for Kome (I really want to get back to Ramen Tatsuya, but I wasn't willing to stand in line, as this was on one of our recent "wintery" days.) Well, needless to say, she loved it (as did I)! She ordered the tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen bowl with pork belly and soft-boiled egg, and I had the chicken kara-age, their take on fried chicken, with an ultra-light batter. While the chicken looks a little washed out in the picture, it was piping hot, devoid of any grease, and very juicy! We also got the tsukemono (pickled veggies) and a longhorn roll (with steak) that were also perfectly prepared. Kome has different menus for lunch and dinner, and now having been twice for lunch, I think dinner there is in my near future.

 -- Yes, I've been on an Asian kick (though I almost always am!), and just days after ramen at Kome, I had dinner with a friend at Michi Ramen, which was better than I remember it from last summer -- maybe because it was colder outside now and hot broth just warms you up! We split the tempura which had a perfect batter on them and the gyoza, which were some of the best-seared dumplings I've ever had at a restaurant. I had the michi ramen bowl (pork broth) with the stout (or heavier) broth, with an extra topping of veggies. The broth has a nice porky flavor and the noodles had just the right firmness; because we had ordered appetizers, I ate about half my bowl, and took the rest home for lunch the next day. My friend ordered the Texas BBQ bowl with a tomato-based broth, which comes complete with pork ribs in it!

-- And finally, I was very excited to receive this in the mail the other day! It's CHOCOLATE! It's my "thank you" from local business Piq Chocolates for donating to their recent Kickstarter campaign, which allowed them to purchase a 3D printer that makes personalized designs on chocolate! I got to custom design my bar, and while just putting a logo on it is pretty basic, I think it's genius for many businesses out there! See their website for more details. Oh, and the dark chocolate tastes good too! After shooting this picture, I took a bite, and it's a nice bittersweet chocolate with some light fruity undertones, and good texture! Not chalky or dry.

What have YOU been eating lately?

Daruma Ramen

I recently attended a soft opening at Daruma Ramen, Austin's latest ramen shop, brought to you from the owners of Kome up on Airport Blvd. They've had ramen on their menu at Kome, but I am sure after seeing how popular Ramen Tatsu-ya and Michi Ramen have been, they decided to venture into the land of noodles as well. 

There are a number of things that set Daruma apart from the others.
-- It's located downtown, on 6th Street (yup), on the north side of the street, between Sabine and Red River Streets.
-- It's a tiny little spot, with at very most, seating for 30, and that would be pushing it! And while I love the decor at Ramen Tatsu-ya (I still haven't been to Michi), I really enjoyed the cherry blossom wall paper, and very minimal, clean lines of Daruma.
-- They're using a chicken-based broth, as opposed to the more traditional pork (tonkatsu) broth, and they have a vegan ramen bowl too, so these broths aren't quite as rich.

There were four of us (and you can read Mad Betty's take on Daruma here), and there were four ramen bowl options, so we got one of each, and passed them around the narrow table.

Shio -- certainly the lightest and cleanest, you can taste the chicken in the broth (which also takes hours to make). This would be the perfect "chicken noodle soup" when you are under the weather. The same noodles are used in all the bowls; I thought they had a nice texture and give to them, but more on the noodles in a minute.

Shoyu -- very similar to the Shio, but with the addition of dashi (made from fish and kombu seaweed) broth, which gives it a little more depth. Also characterized by the fish cake, or naruto, the white and pink-swirled piece next to the soft-boiled egg.

Miso -- this seemed to be the consensus favorite at our table! The addition of miso to the chicken broth really brought the umami sensation to your palate. Plus you have shredded chicken, the saffron threads, and a bit of chili oil.

Vegan -- talk about eating the rainbow, this was a gorgeous bowl! This vegan broth also takes an extremely long time to produce, which also makes it a touch more expensive than the other ones. Apparently in the broth is made primarily from Japanese sweet potato and I believe pineapple. At first I didn't really get the fruit influences in the broth, but I was gradually able to taste a light sweetness with almost tropical undertones I didn't see any sesame seeds (as listed on the menu) nor really taste the ginger in this bowl, but it will surely be popular with the vegetarians and vegans!

As we were eating, owner Kayo came over to talk with us. She had seen we were taking pictures of everything, and asked how the food was. She also told us about the noodles. They had just met with the noodle man from Los Angeles, and after sampling lots of different noodles, they decided to change the noodle slightly from what were currently eating. I was happy with the ones we had, but I believe the new ones will have a touch more bite to them. 

So on your next venture to 6th Street, go check Daruma out, but just remember, this is a lighter style of ramen than the other shops in town. The friendly staff also told us what "daruma" meant -- it's the little creature depicted on their bowls that serves as their icon, that's known as a talisman of luck to the Japanese. Good daruma, indeed.

Ramen Tatsu-ya

If you've been paying attention to the food buzz in Austin lately, you know that ramen noodles are one of the hottest things out there. The Japanese restaurant Kome serves ramen at lunch time (see my post from January here; I did rather like their ramen!). There was a ramen trailer called Michi Ramen that opened in late spring/early summer, and ultimately closed to search for a brick and mortar home. (Their website announces they have secured a spot at 6519 N. Lamar Blvd., in the old Korea Garden spot, and that they were aiming for a November opening...so SOON, hopefully) Then Ramen Tatsu-ya opened in a strip mall in North Austin. And Paul Qui's new East Side King at Hole in the Wall on The Drag just opened, and is also serving ramen. (Hey! We could use some ramen in South Austin!)

Very quickly, that's become a lot of noodles!

Ramen Tatsu-ya did succeed in opening in September, on Research Blvd., at Peyton Gin, in the strip mall that houses Target, Sunflower Vietnamese, and Din Ho Chinese BBQ. They are only open for dinner, and immediately, they gained a following, with people were lining up outside, waiting for the doors to open at 5 pm. The owners are two Japanese guys who have both been in the restaurant business for a while. The stylized design on the wall in the picture below is the mon, or family crest of one of the owners.

The interior is small, only about 40 seats, with a modern feel. The light fixtures have ropes dangling from them -- to resemble noodles? We arrived about 4:45 pm, prepared to do our duty and stand in line. There were seven people in front of us, but the line quickly grew behind us. Just before 5 pm, they opened the doors for business. As we entered, one of the waitstaff asked how many were in our party, handed us an order number placard, and directed us to where we should sit after ordering at the counter.

There were four in our group, and four different types of noodle bowls, we we agreed to each get a different one (more on this coming up). I also wanted to try some of the other menu items, like the Katsu slider, which is lightly breaded and fried, and served on a Hawaiian roll with a little potato salad. After successfully cutting the slider in half with chopsticks (!), I thought it to be quite delicious! Relatively tender and flavorful. The potato salad wasn't particularly memorable.

The sweet and sour yodas, or Brussels sprouts, we all agreed were amazing! Roasted, and seasoned with apricot vinegar and some curry seasonings. I have become a fan of Brussels all around!

Ramen #1 -- Tonkotsu original, a creamy pork broth with pork belly, marinated egg, mushrooms, and green onions. I tasted it, and it was a fairly rich-tasting broth.

Ramen #2 -- Tonkotsu Sho-yu, like #1, but with the addition of soy sauce, bamboo, and roast seaweed.

Ramen #3 -- Mi-So Hot, a miso-based tonkotsu broth with ground pork belly, cabbage, corn, bean sprouts, and marinated egg; this also has the addition of chile, but can also be ordered without the extra spice. This was my bowl, and I did like it. It was not overly spicy for those of you concerned with spice levels. (A solid medium spicy? But every person is different!) The broth was creamy and velvety, with a certain sweetness to it, but upon further contemplation over the broth later that night (I took my leftovers home), the broth does not have a depth to it, and certainly lacking in a umami-character that I would really expect from a miso-based broth. Miso is something that is known to provide that umami quality, that savoriness, that extra layer of hard-to-describe-flavor that really can give a dish it's depth. This didn't have it. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, and a nice large bowl of soup for $10, but it did not change my life.

Ramen #4 -- Tsukeman, or dipping ramen. A bowl of noodles, with pork belly, nori (roasted seaweed), and a nice side bowl of broth to dip into. I had a taste, and it seemed good; the person who ordered was quite happy. This is probably what I would order on a return trip, as it's a bit different.

Bathroom decor is quite colorful!

If you go to Ramen Tatsu-ya, be prepared to wait in line for a bit. I have talked to one friend who has been a few times, and has never had to wait more than 30 minutes, having gone at different times in the evening. It appears the staff runs a pretty tight ship, and are fairly quick to bus plates from the tables. Apparently they do not have to go containers (nor do they prepare to-go orders), but customers are welcome to bring their own, which is what I did. I don't think they have forks either, so if you are not comfortable using chopsticks, BYOF. The one thing I am confused about, if you look at Ramen #3, you'll see thin, red strands of something topping the bowl. I got no discernible flavor out of them (though they looked pretty on top); I asked one of the wait staff what they were, and was told saffron. There's no way this is saffron! One, I've never seen saffron threads that long (these were probably 3" long), and again, no real flavor, and saffron has a very distinct one. Must get to the bottom of this mystery!

So it will be interesting to see what kind of Ramen Battles will ensue once Michi Ramen opens. I've already seen various debates and opinions formed various food bloggers and foodies as to who has the preferred ramen between Tatsu-ya, Kome, and East Side King. Food and flavor is such a personal preference, I don't think there could ever be a clear cut winner. Go to Austin's first official ramen noodle house, and judge for yourself.

Kome

The new hot Japanese place that's getting a lot of buzz? No, not Uchi/Uchiko. Kome -- serving up authentic, home style food.

Open since the end of October, Kome is operated by a Japanese couple, who previously brought us bento boxes at the farmer's market, followed by the Sushi-a-Go-Go trailers. Take Asazu previously worked at Uchi, before he and wife Kayo launched their own food businesses. Executive Chef of Uchiko and current Top Chef contender, Paul Qui (also owner of the East Side King Asian fusion trailers), is also said to be very fond of Kome.

I arrived a few minutes ahead of my lunch companions, and asked our waiter if he had any favorite items on the menu. He said he was partial to the gyu-don, a rice bowl (donburi) with beef and onion, as well as the gyoza, which were filled with ground pork. I ordered some genmaicha tea (green tea with toasted rice) and studied the menu. My foodie friends and I all agreed to order a few different items and just share. It's always more fun that way!

We started with the recommended gyoza, which were some of the best seared I have come across! Forget steamed dumplings/pot stickers/gyoza, they all need to be like these, nice and crisp on one side, and soft on the other, and still steaming hot when you took a bite. The pork filling had nice flavor, with something a little zippy/tangy in them that I can't totally place. Yuzu (a type of Japanese citrus) perhaps? We also got the veggie tempura, which consisted of onions, zucchini, and slices of kabocha squash, which was certainly the best one of the three.  Zucchini sort of has no flavor as it is, and onions are onions (think these were sweet onions of some sort). Kabocha is a nice winter squash, not unlike pumpkin in taste or appearance; it's used a lot in Japanese cooking during the cooler months. (I came across it a few times during my recent October trip to Japan.)

We chose two of the rolls, the #11 Rock 'n Roll (with tempura shrimp, avocado and carrots), and the #13 Spooky (with tuna, avocado and salmon). Both very fresh, and the larger one being a bit more difficult to eat!

And then the Tonkatsu Ramen bowl. This was downright fabulous! The broth is made by simmering pork leg bones for hours on end....the breakdown of the marrow is what gives the broth it's milky color and sumptuous flavor. From the 12 o'clock (okay, 11:55) position, that's a piece of nori (seaweed -- what is used for wrapping sushi rolls) sticking up, and next to it are some type of greens (chard? not sure what it was), corn, slices of pork belly, soft-boiled egg with fried onions or shallots, kamaboko (pressed fish cakes), and what looks like carrots on top is actually slices of pickled ginger. Oh, an while you can't really see them, there were a whole lotta nice fresh noodles under all those toppings. Really a delicious bowl! And the waiter had brought a sesame seed grinder and white pepper, which I had forgotten about until we were mostly through the bowl, but they do add a nice little extra dimension.

The serving dishes at Kome are a nice mix of your typical Japanese pieces, like the tea cups, and the small bowls for dipping sauces, and then your whiteware pieces like what the tempura and rolls were served on. Decor is sparse, but it emphasizes the clean interior lines. I liked how the vertical support beams had various Japanese labels on them, I think many from sake bottles. The staff was friendly, and our waiter helpful with suggestions. It definitely feels like a neighborhood hangout, nothing stuffy or pretentious about it.

Kome, which translates to rice,  has recently been written up in Austin 360, mentioned by Eater Austin as one of the most exciting new places to open, and has been receiving a host of other press, well chronicled by their Facebook page. And I'd say it's certainly well-deserved. Their lunch and dinner menus are completely different, so I look forward to going back and trying new dishes with foodie friends who like to share.