Restaurant Week. Stop No. 3: III Forks

To close out ARW with 'broche de oro' the girls and I decided to catch up and try III Forks.

 Ish, Brown, and the Venezuelan ordered the French onion soup---they kept OOOing and AAAing, so I guess it was good.

I had the III Forks salad: The typical spring mix with pecans, apples, blue cheese, and a vinaigrette.

Ish and I had the  Bacon Wrapped Filet: 6 oz of fantastic, addicting flavors finished with Charon sauce, served with broccolini (can you believe I ate this two nights in a row?) and new potatoes. I could have done without the huge potato on my plate...but the sauce, the tomatoes, the bacon, everything was delicious.

Brown chose the Mahi Mahi:  marinated in a Ginger Lime Dijon, served with marinated onions, red bell peppers and jasmine rice. It was so flavorful. She described the rice as bland, like 'the kind you get with chinese food', but it truly tasted like jasmine.

Ish and I finished off with the Chocolage ganache cake. It was not mind-blowing, but it did have a little coconut on top... yum!

Brown ordered the Cheesecake, but the Venezuelan ate it (she skipped the main course): Honey cheesecake topped with glaze with a  graham cracker crust.

The ambiance is very 'rich country man' : Antler chandeliers, heavy woods, dark leather booths and  bar stools...I could just see JR from Dallas sitting there with a scotch in his hand.

Driskill Grill

Few things top having a romantic dinner with your man. 

It also doesn't  hurt when it's in a beautiful historic building over delicious food!

The Italianini and I had planned to check out the Driskill Grill for Restaurant Week, but once we got there... he looked at the menu and said: "Forget about the ARW Menu, pick whatever you want"... what girl doesn't love getting spoiled by the BF, right?

First of all, you may think it's cliche or that I'm a cheeseball , but this place is truly magical. The lobby greets you with the most delightful smell; fresh yet sophisticated, and the service is phenomenal. Even the restrooms make you feel like you're in an old luxurious mansion. Lovely, really. 

The amuse bouche was a puff pastry with some caramelized onions, the Driskill's version of ceviche, and some lemon sorbet to cleanse the pallate.

I was still really looking forward to the Medjool Dates (Which were on the ARW menu and since the last time I had anything close to that was at AVEC in Chicago forever ago--sigh).

These little pieces of heaven are bacon-wrapped, with manchego cheese and smoked Spanish chorizo.

Oh! No words can describe the experience of crispy bacon, creamy cheese, and sweet dates perfectly balanced by the saltiness of the chorizo in my mouth. YOU MUST TRY THEM!

Italianini picked the Charcuterie Plate: Cured Meats, Pâté, Mustard, Pickled Vegetables. I only had a couple of bites of prosciutto, and pâté... I couldn't take my eyes off of my delicious morsels of scrumptiousness!

Italianini had the Filet Mignon: Mushrooms, brussels leaves, purple potatoes, port cipollini. OMG what a piece of meat. There was this foam/mousse surrounding the filet that was to die for...a mix of truffle oil and coliflower flavors, delectable. The cipollini (little onions in Italian) added a perfect hint of sweetness.

I had the Seared Georges Bank Scallops: Crab and shrimp ravioli, saffron broth (YUM!), artichokes and broccollini. The scallops were beautifully cooked and buttery.

You know how when you're eating something so good you want to eat it sloooowwwwly so it lasts longer? This was that kind of dish.

We skipped desert...we had sooo much food!

So, not so much a AWR review...but such a fabulous dining experience. 

Note: I borrowed the pic--it was so nice, fancy, and dark in there that I felt awkward taking a pic myself :)

Restaurant Week. Stop No. 2: Hudson's on the Bend

I had heard great things about Hudson's on the Bend...specifically, that if I liked game (you know, not your typical hamburger helper types of meat), I had to go. 

The menu is on the $$$ side, so we went to try their FAB Restaurant Week menu. 

The really cool thing about this place's ARW is that for $10 more you have wine pairings with each course---it's like the dining experience on steroids.

OK so I was expecting a fancy restaurant (from all the hoopla you know? And a 30 minute drive to dinner is painful when you're hungry), but what welcomed us was the prettiest outdoor seating area, enormous trees covered with lights, a busy patio, and a rustic waiting area with heavy woods, a tin roof, and guitars signed by all the ACL stars. 

It is so country, in a good way. 

The dining room was cozy, even romantic, with low lighting and heavy candle light. It was comfortable. 

Started off with complimentary cocktails while we waited. Yes, please!

Our first course was the amuse bouche: Wild Boar in a puff pastry with tomatillo white chocolate sauce with cotija (or queso fresco) sprinkled on top. I must admit that I am NOT the biggest fan of white chocolate, but this was gooood.  

Italianini had the Chipotle Lobster Bisque with a Parmesan Puff Pastry Crouton. He loved it. He, literally, would not shut up about it and how perfect it was.

I had the Smoked Duck Diablos: Duck breast, jicama, jalapeno, figs in balsamic wrapped in apple wood bacon with a red chili glaze dipping sauce. The presentation was a little weird, but the bacon was perfect and the jicama gave it a great crunch. The dipping sauce, however, just ruined it. It was too vinegary, too thick... I just skipped it. 

We both HAD to have the Pecan Grilled Venison with Chipotle Beer Blanc

Served with green chile mashed potatoes and a medley of summer vegetables. It's hard to explain how good this dish was. The meat was tender, nutty, and cooked to perfection. The mashed potatoes tasted like a piece of New Mexico...that green chile kicked my butt!

Oh, and that sweet tooth of ours... I had the Warm Spring Berry Flambé atop Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. It made me warm and fuzzy inside. 

Italianini had the Brownie Sundae with Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Ice Cream

and Hot Fudge Sauce. It was good, but he kept stealing bites from mine! 

The choices of wine were vast. You had two or three choices for each course. The service was stellar, and overall a great experience. 

The regular menu has things like- rattle snake cakes, rabbit, pheasant, buffalo, elk, etc...

Panza llena, corazon contento. 

Restaurant Week. Stop No.1 : Aquarelle

Italianini and I were on a mission. The day he finally got his hands on a Restaurant Week map we went through the list and picked four we would tackle (conflicting schedules you know, work, class, life).

First stop- Aquarelle. This French place, is really for special occasions and when you really want to treat yourself since their regular menu is pretty pricey.
Consider this: Foie Gras = $20
The Restaurant Week Menu = $35/person for a three course meal.
We had to go.

 Let me just tell you that the French are very particular about their dinner tables. For example, a very cultured (from an uber wealthy family) French  man once taught me that the fork must ALWAYS face down when you set the table...'It's so tacky to have it facing up' ---excuse me while I stick my nose in the air and lift my pinky! Anyway, this French place is no exception, the fork was facing down.

Amuse Bouche: coliflower mousse--- bland... the only exciting part was the toast!

Wild Burgundy Escargot: Pretty tasty (no shell).
Tomato concasse, herbs de Provence cream, persillade brochette
Marinated Raw Beet Salad: So yummy! How can something so simple, make me so happy? I know, it's raw beets, but I love them!
Animal farm’s arrugula, pure luck goats cheese vinaigrette

The Italianini went with P.E.I. Mussels and TX Gulf Shrimp: Fettuccine, duo of sauces, roasted tomato butter and saffron butter. Very good.
I had the Pan Roasted Lamb Chops: Mint gnocchi, spicy melting onions, swiss char, lamb jus.  The lamb was "medium rare" but just toooo rare. Gave me the heebe jeebes, parisian gnocchi? it was o.k...can't say it was something to write home about.

Sweets? Oh yes!

I had the Profiteroles: More like profiterole...a very small one.Pastry with rum coffee ice cream and chocolate---yummy.

Italianini had the Frangelica Crème Brulee: Sable cookies, chocolate covered espresso beans-- nice surprise! not your typical  blueberry. 

The ambiance is fancy, low lighting, super cozy, but it's almost intimidating to talk in there---The wood floors, how small the dining room actually is and considering the table next to us was practically on top of us, made it difficult to have a private conversation.

Overall it's good and the service is good but I'm just not super excited about it. 

Not sure if the reason it left me feeling 'whateverish'  was the Restaurant Week Menu limitations...

You should eat there at least once when you're in Austin... and if you live here, take your time, just be sure to make a stop there before you're 80.

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Galaxy Cafe (Clarksville)

My brother was flying back to school the other night so we all had a family meal at Galaxy on West Lynn.

Don't you love their counter service but chic look? It's efficiency with flair. I was hoping for good food cause it had been such long time since my last visit.

Dad got the steak with chimichurri and sweet potato fries. The meat was perfect and the chimichurri was just like Buenos Aires Cafe's. Good.








Mom got the turkey meatloaf and veggies (She's into healthy stuff). It was good, but I have to admit, I love my ketchup on my meatloaf instead of the fancy roasted bell pepper sauce.








My brother got the steak that dad got but in a wrap...with avocado...and sweet potato fries.


The Italianini went for the yellowfin tuna steak with avocado, ginger, soy, and, lime marinade. It's originally served with Israeli Couscous, but instead he got... yep, sweet potato fries.



Since everyone picked out something different, I had to go with the citrus chicken. To be completely honest, I got it because it said prosciutto and fresh basil...but was very disappointed. It comes with Rice Pilaf, but substituted with mac and cheese.
The chicken was dry, their version of prosciutto was so salty, there really wasn't basil, and the mac and cheese didn't quite hit the spot.

Maybe it wasn't my day for chicken, cause I loooved everything else!
If anything, you MUST try their sweet potato fries. Delish.

East Side Cafe

The Italianini and I grabbed brunch at East Side Cafe on a lazy Sunday. I had been there once before with the crew, and liked it, but this time I wasn't too impressed.

First, let me share with you that they grow all their own stuff... you know, their veggies and herbs (get your head out of the gutter!).
So when we got salsa with our dishes (which they brag about calling it "our own East Side Cafe Salsa" with ** next to it! And you know it's something special when there's * next to it on the menu), I expected the freshest salsa around. NOT!

We shared the goat cheese and shrimp quesadilla. It was SO good. It may be unfair for me to say it was SO good since I'm really into goat cheese and shrimp, but even the tortilla was good. Flaky, a little buttery, like it had been left on the skillet just long enough to toast a bit...delicious.
It also had cilantro and jack cheese which I thought were unnecessary, but who cares! It's heaven in my mouth!

Italianini ordered normal eggs Benedict, and I had the smoked salmon eggs Benedict.

When the food arrived, there was such little hollandaise on them that I almost asked for a side of it...Thank God I tried it first! It was the worst tasting hollandaise I've had in my life. I mean, even South Congress Cafe's is better. The side of home fries were not good either. Something about the texture... the consistency. Super dry and hard on the outside, and the inside was like a McDonald's fry.
Richard Pryor's face says it all.

I really just wanted another quesadilla. Instead, we smiled, got the check, and went on to veg-out on our lazy Sunday.

http://www.eastsidecafeaustin.com/index.html

Wink

Yes, it's true, yours truly turned one year older...and naturally, wanted a good b-day dinner.

A few of my friends, my brother, and Italianini went to Wink.
Off to a good start when I saw the menu said "Happy Birthday Epicurean Vixen" at the very top. Great touch. Kudos.

We began with the sweet breads (don't cringe) and the foie gras. The sweet breads were really good, but the consistency is tricky... I guess you could say the same about the foie gras. The foie gras was grilled, but still very slimy with a slighty harder outside, but a gushy inside.
This is the best foie gras I've had in ages!
Foie Gras

My brother had the roasted halibut on potato with oyster mushrooms and bull's blood beet emulsion. It was perfectly seasoned and it went so well with the blood sauce. Although, at the end I could tell the thought of the blood was getting to him. Still, cleaned the plate.

The Austinite had grilled quail breast on gnocchi with okra, sweet corn, and cubanelle peppers. The quail perfect...but give me anything with gnocchi and I'm a goner.

The Persian had grilled hanger steak on red lasoda potatoes with wink sauerkraut (yuuuuummmyyy) and grain mustard demi. ----By far the most interesting plate at the table and with the strongest flavors. Steak cooked to perfection (although she likes it reeeally well done) and the sauerkraut kicked butt. Pretty girl, pretty plate!

The Italianini had Cervena venison on semolina cake with shiitakes, charred red onion, and blackberry malmalata. It was so good that he only gave me one bite :(

Last, but not least, I had the lamb on celeriac puree with grilled daesene eggplant and king trumpets. I'm a really big fan of the clean taste of celeriac. It was fresh and it went so well with my super delicious lamb... Here's my thing with king trumpets, I realize that mushrooms are pretty much like fungus... but, these actually look like they could be growing out of a college freshman's dirty shower, you know? I feel the same way about Hen of the Woods (eewww) (Yes, I saw on the menu that my dish had king trumpets, but I'm not about to miss out on the delicious goodness of lamb for some measly mushrooms! ok?).


Now for dessert. The Italianini and I were the only piggies that had any. He went for the wink trio: lemon meringue pot, creme brulee, and El Rey chocolate cake (I have an emotional attachment to El Rey chocolates...thank you, Turners!).

I had the foie gras bombe: mission figs, honey gastrique, and demarara tuile.
I was pretty excited, but could really only eat two bites... it was so rich and intense. My poor mouth couldn't take it!
See the birthday candle? Cute...

Overall, a truly great experience.

They take reservations---but for parties of 6 or more, they make you give them a card number... and if anyone in your party is missing at the time of your reservation, they'll charge you $50/head. So, make your friends RSVP and be punctual! ha!