Eating Out ATX

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Linzy's Cleanse Journal

Day 1:

Thursday

So hungry. So difficult. A little light-headed. Peach, please remove the craving that I have for chicken. Oh god… A Burger King commercial with some nasty ass food just came on. Let me go to sleep so I can numb the First World hunger pain.

  Day 2:

Friday

Hunger and work: a cranky combination. My boss expressed that she will forbid me to cleanse during the next workweek because of my low energy. It’s not low energy; I’m just craving chicken and I keep thinking about it. I also can’t hear over the window ac unit by my desk and the grumbling my stomach is making. But hey, it’s all about self-control right and staying cool, right?

  The dinner recipe for the day required making gazpacho and eating a vegan Caesar salad both things I had never in my life tried or made. I go to Whole Foods, spend way too much money on produce and juice and went home, a woman on a mission. I cry making the gazpacho, both because the onion was really strong and because the more I tasted it, the more I hated it. I settle on a salad without vegan Caesar dressing (it’s impossible to find). eating an avocado, the saving grace on the…how many days have I been cleaning? Two? Are you serious? I continue eating the salad and the onion-ey gazpacho when my asshole roommate showed up with cookies and Cheetos puffs. I hated her, but loved myself for having the ability to say no to her food.

    Day 3:

Saturday

I’m hungry but not as much. My body doesn’t know what to do with the amount of fruits and vegetables I’m giving it. I go into work, gulping the juice, my cleanser. The juice is starting to grow on me and the cravings and hunger seems less. I refuse to tailgate for the UT football game, as the smell of fajita might have me relapse. I go to a friend’s house to watch the game instead and take some itty bitty tomatoes to snack on. They are surprisingly awesome! The only

  Day 4:

Sunday:

I feel wonderful. It is all worth it. I went grocery shopping and realized that this lifestyle would be easier to maintain than I thought. I did “cheat” a little bit on this day. I ate a handful of cashews and tried the cheese on the skinny enchiladas that I made. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!

  I was forced by my boss to go to a seminar over how to be a better assistant (which is absurd because I’m amazing). The 9 hours of HR scenarios, cheesy office jokes and the 120 slide powerpoint were worth bearing for one piece of advice: “A goal without a plan is nothing but a dream.” I started this cleanse because I want to be better to myself and to my body. I want to be healthier. I don’t care how cranky this makes me, but this food blog, this post, this city has given me a new inspiration to lead a better lifestyle and to occasionally splurge at the Driskill Bar, Vivo’s or at Justine’s.

  Big props to my friend, Marcie for introducing me to The Daily Greens cleanse and for being my support system. Now, to Manor Road I will go to get some great food and go to the two new bars that I’m excited to try.

  P.s. Marcie and I went to Vivo's to celebrate our cleanse conclusion on Tuesday and after one drink and an enchilada plate, I felt absolutely disgusting. It was so bad, I felt full the next morning. Remind me to not eat my weight in enchiladas ever again. 

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8/22 Contigo

I’m embarrassed that I don’t cook more, but probably not as much as my mother. Lucky for me, though, this gives me an excuse to spend money I don’t have on food that is much better than easy pasta or tuna, which is unfortunately the extent of my cooking ability. Luckily for me, I am also the assistant to quite the moody foody boss who always suggests meeting locations at eateries that I am too ignorant, too poor, or too non-local to know about.

A coworker of mine kept raving about Salt and Time and even gave me a piece of Salami to prove that the Charcuterie was top notch. JP and I designated Wednesday as the day to go, but alas it was closed. We decided on Contigo instead.

Unlike JP, I had never been to Contigo and I was immediately blown away by the location and the atmosphere: a welcome area, a play area for kids, brown benches for multiple parties and fans to beat the brutal heat. My coworkers joined us for some quick drinks. We weren’t too hungry from overeating Thai food for lunch so we settled on drinks and bar snacks: the delectable ox sliders or chicken skin sliders, the crispy green beans, and the popcorn, the mussels, just to name a few. Contigo was more expensive than I expected and the food portions smaller than I wanted, but the flavoring, the detail in cuisine and the act of sharing with friends made it worth every single penny that is hard to keep in my bank account. Contigo is the place to take people who want that Austin foody feel. It’s hip, but not pretentious.

Linzy

P.S. That past week, I cheated on JP by going on journeys of food self-discovery. Here are a few notes:

I went to a sushi restaurant in Westlake (from what I hear, that’s where all of the real sushi places are apparently) and an angry Japanese woman helped me to my journey to sushi acceptance. I didn’t like sushi before, but have now come to enjoy the raw flavor.

I didn’t realize that Gabriel’s Café at the AT&T Conference Center had recently changed their menu and along with that building, is one of the hidden gems for either having a drink or for studying. Prices are relatively low.

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8/3/13 - Bufalina Pizza

After our weekly Eating Out meeting, Linzy and I needed a restaurant to check out. I immediately burst out Bufalina Pizza, as it was fresh on my mind after hearing about its recent opening from f friend. It seems like obstacles have been more prevalent in my life lately. We planned on going on Wednesday, but Linzy rescheduled for Friday and I had to re-reschedule for Saturday because I had to drive back to my hometown for a funeral.

I love Linzy, but I was dreading the drive back to Austin. I wasn’t feeling up for it. I got back into Austin just in time for dinner, running low on patience and sort of annoyed. I arrived to Buffalina just in time. Buffalina Pizza is located on a strip center on Cesar Chavez (across the street from Top Dawgs bar, if you know what that is). I was immediately thrown off by the size of the restaurant and the lack of waiting area. The restaurant was tiny (our “waiting area” was about 3 feet from the first table), the bar was full and the wait was 20 minutes. My mood worsened.

I stood flat against the wall to avoid other diners walking around and the wait staff maneuvering plates and drinks.

Linzy arrived shortly after and I instantly start to feel a little better. We greeted each other, caught up on each other’s week and before we knew it we were seated. I know they have a revolving menu that changes daily but I was definitely underwhelmed by the variety of the menu. There were only about 3 appetizers and 4 different pizzas. Most of the menu was taken up by beer and wine choices. Who could be mad at that I guess? We decide on an appetizer which is a mozzarella & arugula salad. It was small, but very tasty! The cheese instantly brought the happiness level up a notch and eliminated some annoyance I had, as cheese usually does.

The waitress was still off-putting, though. She constantly seemed disappointed that we didn’t order enough and she couldn’t hear us very well. We finished the salad and ordered a pizza with sausage, scallions, and mozzarella, called Taleggio. It was ok. Definitely a generic oven baked pizza you could possibly find at other (bigger) italian restaurants in Austin. That didn’t even disappoint me that much because at that point, I was so immersed in conversation with my friend that it didn’t really matter. Food has that power, though. It allows you to reunite with the people you care about and carry conversation further from that annoying small talk or the vague texts or messages we send each other via social media. It’s no secret why food plays such an important part in gatherings of any culture, be them casseroles or a huge pot of soup.

Despite having car lag from driving back to the funeral and experiencing trite emotions, I was able to find solace in the conversation that is fostered by our small meal and friendship. Next time, though it will probably fostered elsewhere. (perhaps Top Dawgs bar?)

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Food Trailer Challenge #12: Burro Cheese Kitchen

Best grilled cheese in town since Po' Boys. RIP Po' Boys. 

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Food Trailer Challenge #11: Mmmpanadas

Empanadas are the perfect transporter of beef and goodness. When you can have food in a pocket, you and have food anytime.

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Food Trailer Challenge #10: Coat and Thai

Thai is good. Thai is great. Pad Thai on the go is the best. I want more! 

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Food Trailer Challenge #9: Blue Ox BBQ

I love BBQ on the go. Who doesn't? And I love that they set up at Blues on the Green. 

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Food Trailer Challenge #8: The Mighty Cone

Meh... Just for you, I'll try it again.

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Food Trailer Challenge #7: Llama's Peruvian Creole

I need to try it again. Can’t really judge based on the loaded fries that I got. I’ll try it next time I’m on Dirty 6th, which is hopefully never.  P.S. Sorry for the shitty picture. You can call me shadows from now on.

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Food Trailer Challenge #6: Chilantro BBQ

I first had this at Trail of Lights and it was love at first light. Oh my gah! Dem fries and that fried egg on the burger! If you haven't already been, you're wrong. Drop everything and go now.

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Food Trailer Challenge #5: Veracruz All Natural

A little overpriced (based on my Houston hood rates) but I finally found a bitchin' steak torta! Don't forget to their aguas frescas! I will now be a regular. 

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Food Trailer Challenge #4: Spartan Pizza

Head on over east 6th for meh pizza. I prefer the Detroit style across the street at Via 313.

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Food Trailer Challenge #3: Kebabalicious

Bitchin’ Kebabs. A medley of goodness all wrapped in a pita. If you’re around DT at sometime, get yourself to 7th and Congress. Before and after drinking excessively.

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Food Trailer Challenge #1: Way South Philly

I didn't know I liked cheese whiz.

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Food Trailer Challenge #2: Johnnye's

Hell yeah buffalo chicken sandwich. I could eat this everyday. Can't go wrong with the boneless fried chicken either.

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Qui to open June 20th, Austin rejoices!

Austinites rejoice! Our patron saint of food, Paul Qui, has announced the opening date for his restaurant simply named Qui. The eatery is set to open it’s doors to the public on June 20th. The restaurant features a 50 seat dining room and will be open Monday - Saturday. Along with the rest of Austin, I have been desperately awaiting the opening of this restaurant since I learned there would be such a place! Based on some research I conducted on the interwebs, Qui drew inspiration from traveling to locations like Mexico, France, Vietnam, Japan, and Denmark. The menu possibilities at Qui are endless because it will consist of seasonal dishes and also draw inspiration from art and design. A sneak peak at the menu definitely has our attention. Mexican street corn with sea urchin bottarga? Rabbit cooked 7 ways anyone? Don’t just take our word for how good this restaurant will be, take a look at this video that gives you a closer look into the making of the restaurant. Can’t wait to taste and experience what Austin’s favorite chef has created.

QUI "The Makers" from PUBLIC SCHOOL on Vimeo.

-Joe

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Farewell SoCo Food Trucks

I know this lament is belated but better late than never! In case you have been living under a rock for the past several months, you know about the details leading up to the famous South Congress food trucks being booted from their prime location in the heart of SoCo. The trucks, formerly located on the corner of Monroe & South Congress,  were given until May 25th to relocate and make way for the construction of a brand new mid-rise hotel. Many concerned Austinites fear that this is another part of our unique identity that is being taken away. While you can argue back and forth all day the pros and cons of this recent event, you can’t help but admit that one will miss the convenience of having some of the most popular mobile vendors in one great, central location. I’m going to miss hitting up Burro Grilled Cheese for a quick meal then walking right over to Hey Cupcake! for something sweet. Don’t fear though, because some of your favorite mobile eateries moved to trailer parks located around town. But with Austin developing and growing so rapidly, many other truck lots are being forced to disperse as well.For now some of your favorites have moved right down the street like Burro Grilled Cheese moving to 1221 South Congress and Hey Cupcake! to 1511 South Congress. Mighty Cone and Nomad Dosa have both moved to the UT campus area and can be found at 2512 Rio Grande at the Rancho Rio Eatery (a new favorite).

  What do you think of the city's fast growth negatively affecting our mobile eateries?

-Joe