Austin - - Page 4

by Emily

Carbonated Cold Brew Coffee is Here, and it’s Delicious

Calling all caffeine addicts. Everyone knows that iced coffee and cold-brewed coffee are clutch in these hot summer months, and now there’s a new cold brew in town (literally, it was created in my town of Austin). I’m talking about Coffer, the first ever cold brew that is also naturally carbonated. I scored an invite to their preview party at Houndstooth here in downtown Austin and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect – this was either going to be really good, or really bizarre. Since I love both (a) coffee and (b) bubbly/carbonated beverages, I had high hopes.

Worst case scenario, it could taste like weird coffee-flavored soda, but to my relief it was a best-case scenario… it reminded me of a super-delicious stout. A bit bubbly, a bit sweet, and obviously very coffee-tasting, without being overpowering or bitter at all. I can definitely see myself sipping this as an afternoon pick-me-up. And in case anyone was wondering, yes it may look like a beer, being housed in a brown glass bottle and all, but Coffer is non-alcoholic.

Although, as the Coffer folks were happy to demonstrate, it tastes GREAT with bourbon. They had a set-up with Makers Mark to prove their point. I obviously took full advantage of that opportunity. Yum. If you want to try Coffer for yourself, check out up-to-date info on where to purchase here. Right now they’re only available in Texas, but they’re hoping to be available nationwide ASAP.

by Emily

Food Porn of the Day: The Porkiest Belly

Pork belly is definitely a thing these days. So much of a thing that I’m almost… dare I say… over it. (Gasp!) Every menu in Austin, and probably in the country, is full of the stuff. It takes a veeeery special pork belly to catch my eye these days. All that being said, the pork belly at Odd Duck in Austin does it. “It” being “catches my eye and makes me care about pig again.”

The above is Odd Duck’s pork belly banh mi buns, which I devoured at lunch a week-ish ago. The meat is perfectly prepared and intensely flavorful. Chewy, yet somehow also melts in your mouth. By the way, next time you’re in Austin? Go to Odd Duck. You won’t regret it.

by Emily

Food Porn of the Day: The Champion of All Gelatos

The Gelato World Tour came to Austin this year! Everything I tasted was amazing, but the flavor I ended up voting for (everyone who tasted at the event was allowed to vote for their top pick) was the same flavor that won the North American tour here – Salted Pecan with Montmorency Tart Cherries & Tahitian Vanilla by James Coleridge and Salvatore Boccarossa of Bella Gelateria in Vancouver, Canada.

I can’t even explain HOW good this was. It was a really, really hot day in Austin so as soon as I was handed a cup of gelato it would start dripping out of its container and melting all over my hands, but I didn’t even care. Everything I tasted was sososo delectable, especially the champion pictured above. This gelato deserved to win – next time you’re in Vancouver, look these people up. (Or if you’re ever in the same city as a round of the Gelato World Tour – GO!)

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by Emily

Apps vs. Cash Money: How Do You Pay Your Tab?

I guess it’s not fair to say I had lunch with Tabbedout because, more accurately, I had lunch with Ashley, a longtime ES reader/commenter and fellow blogger (at Quarter Life (Crisis) Cuisine) who recently moved to Austin! She just happens to also work in marketing for Tabbedout.

Have you used Tabbedout before? I’d heard of it, but never actually used it or even saw it in action before Ashley met me for lunch. (Speaking of lunch, shout out to the lovely Winflo Osteria and their ultra-delicious Neapolitan-style pizzas. See above for evidence of their glory.) Anyway, it’s basically an app that helps you easily split and pay your bill at various bars and restaurants. Usually when I’m trying to split a bill with friends and we don’t have cash or whatever, one of us will put everything on their card and then the rest of us will Venmo whoever paid. This cuts out the middleman, which is pretty nice.

Unlike my beloved Venmo (my friends and I seriously use that for everything from paying rent to buying concert tickets to splitting Thai takeout), Tabbedout is specifically for dining in restaurants and bars. It’s pretty easy to use, too – first, you download the app, make yourself a little profile, and load in your credit card information. Then when you’re at an establishment that takes Tabbedout, you just let your server know you want to open a TO tab, then at the end of the night (or whenever you’re ready to go) you just pay directly through your phone. You don’t even have to wait to ask for your check.

So is this it? As time goes on and technology advances, apps like Tabbedout and will become even easier to use and accepted by more and more restaurants. What do you think – is cash money basically becoming obsolete these days?

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by Emily

Endless Eating at Austin Food & Wine Fest

Austin Food & Wine Festival was three weekends ago, so this recap is definitely a little later than I would like, but to be honest, it took about three weeks to recover! I attend a lot of food events these days, and AFWF is the mother lode of all food events here in Austin. I ate and drank more in those three days than I did in the rest of 2014, I swear. There wasn’t a moment I wasn’t stuffing some sort of caloric goodness into my mouth. So much wine, specialty cuisine, celebrity chefs, fanciful tacos, sugary sweet macarons… I could go on, but you get the idea.

I’d rather show than tell, though. Here are some highlights from my three days of gorging:

Georgia Pellegrini‘s “Dough a Deer” taco from the Rock Your Taco competition. Green plantain tortilla with parsnip puree, venison tossed in a Cuban oregano vinaigrette, pickled jicama and carrot, tomatillo salsa, smoked Adobo sauce and pickled mustard seed. SO creative and delicious.

The “Not Enough” (salted caramel ice cream, pecans, and bittersweet chocolate) ice cream sundae cup from Jeni’s. Have you had Jeni’s ice cream? It’s seriously some of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. It’s a little pricey, but worth hunting out. You can find it in upscale groceries and specialty markets.

Croque Madame from Chef Lawrence Kocurek of TRACE, made with duck bacon and quail egg. Disclaimer: I work for TRACE, too! But my completely unbiased opinion is that this was one of the best bites I had in the entire Grand Tasting inside the fest.

Brussels Sprouts Gone Wild: Peanut Butter Edition

I stumbled upon the most interesting thing last night! Brussels sprouts are a hot menu item everywhere in Austin (and the general country, I feel) but usually I see them one of two ways: Asian style with fish sauce, cilantro, etc. or uh, Bacon style, as in they’re sautéed with tons of bacon, pancetta, etc. But we were trying out a new-ish restaurant, The Hightower, when I noticed something a little different on the menu: Peanut Butter Brussels Sprouts.

Well, I love peanut butter and I love Brussels sprouts, so obviously the universe had already made this choice for me.

These were some of the best sprouts I’ve had in recent memory – they weren’t too goopy or sugary, thanks to the addition of sambal and lemon. A sprinkling of plump, golden raisins added just enough contrast. This would be really easy to replicate at home — quarter some sprouts, sauté with some coconut oil, add in some natural peanut butter, a scoop of sambal, a squeeze of lemon, and a handful of raisins at the end. Sweet, sour, spicy, what’s not to love?!

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by Emily

Detroit-Style Pizza is Your New Favorite Pizza

Look at that giant brick of cheese. Just look at it. Under that dazzling layer of cheese, prosciutto, and balsamic goodness lies all sorts of delectable toppings and a thick, chewy crust. What is this? Detroit-style pizza! I’m sure some areas of the country are more familiar with this treat than I am, but allow me to gush for a few minutes.

After a particularly long day/night at SXSW, I was grabbing a beer with some friends at a beer bar called Craft Pride when a food truck in the backyard caught my eye. Via 313 has a reputation for being some of the best pizza around Austin, but I’d never checked it out before. I’m not always a huge pizza person—I have to be in a certain mood. That night, after walking miles around town to different festival events and drinking a few brews, I was definitely in that mood. I wandered up to the window and ordered the most rich, indulgent variety I saw. The Cadillac: gorgonzola cheese, fig preserves, shaved prosciutto, shaved parmesan, and balsamic glaze. “For $16, it better be as good as people say,” I thought to myself.

When the pizza was carried out to our table, I was kind of surprised by how thick and…square it was. This is deep-dish like I’ve never seen deep-dish before. Generous on the toppings with the sauce (in this case, balsamic instead of tomato) as the very top layer, this was a bit daunting to bite into but gloriously greasy and satisfying once I took the plunge.

What makes Detroit-style pizza so decadent and special? As the Via 313 menu explains:

Detroit-style pizza features a semi-thick but light and airy crust (similar in texture to focaccia bread). The pizza is baked in industrial steel pans from the Motor City that were traditionally used to hold small machine parts in automotive assembly lines. The pans allow for the cheese to be baked all the way around, creating a delicious caramelized cheese edge.

While I generally eat more thin crust pizza, I really looove me some deep-dish and this one takes the cake (or pie?) Those crispy corners with the caramelized cheese and crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-and-chewy-on-the-inside texture are probably the best part. I’m definitely a Detroit-style convert.

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