Bourdain...tear...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I just needed a public outlet to express how pissed off I really am about missing Bourdain yet AGAIN on his visit to Austin. 

If you saw him (whether back in April at East Side King, or a couple of days ago at the Old School BBQ Bus, or at the Paramount, or you stood in line for hours for a book signing), will you please give me the highlights?

...tear...

http://www.thrillist.com/austin/new-grub-oldschool

Uchiko: Japanese Farmhouse Dining & Sushi

While UCHIKO is still not officially open (July 6), Italianini and I were able to make it to their Family & Friends event last night. 

There are far too many things I want to share about my experience, but I think I can sum it up in one word: GO!

The restaurant is beautiful! The textures, colors, spaces, walls, ceiling, floor, fixtures, and an amazing piece of art on the wall made of recycled paper rolls make you feel pretty and fabulous.
The service was stellar...can you say soft opening?... AND I got a quick hello from Tyson himself (star struck!!!). Don't worry, I composed myself and didn't embarrass the Italianini.

Here's what we had:

• Roasted golden beet skyr yogurt, bitter greens, acacia honey
• Koviche: fresh day boat scallop, tomatillo, kala­mata, black lime
• Usagi Yaki: crispy rabbit terrine, quail egg, pear mostarda
• Saba Shio: norwegian mackerel, fried tomato, english cucumber, truffle 
• Tempura Nasu: japanese eggplant crisps, mitsuba, sweet chili sauce
• Tempura onion rings tograshi, white soy, lemon zest
• Toledo (Roll):big eye tuna, bitter greens, chorizo, avocado, pepita, grilled garlic
• Boquerones (Sashimi): spanish white anchovy bottarga, lemon zest
• Take Nabe: japanese mushroom, koshi hikari, farm fresh egg, katsuo-bushi flakes (Winner of the BEST DISH OF THE EVENING award)
• Sweet corn sorbet polenta custard, caramel salt, lemon

The Take Nabe was awesome...The little bonito flakes start to wiggle around when they take the top off of the hot bowl... server told me they were alive, and I totally believed him, ha! 

http://uchikoaustin.com/uchiko

TRIBEZA Supper Club: Hotel Havana,San Antonio

It's not very often that I get a Sunday like this past Sunday:

The new Liz Lambert hotel on the San Antonio River Walk- Hotel Havana, a 5 course meal by Chef Jason Dady, a special Tribeza rate for dinner+hotel for 2, AND a seat next to George Elliman, a Lobbyist, his lovely wife, a make-up genius from RAE Cosmetics, and an entrepreneur helping the community with his elementary school side project (be on the look out for 'Little Green Thumbs'!).

We came down stairs to passed hors d'œuvres as big as my fist! That should have been my cue to pace myself...
And then...

Smoked trout with aioli,asparagus, and garlic chips

Coconut milk, curry, shrimp, shallots (I loved this because Chef said he never gets the chance to make it at his restaurants, but loves to make it at home...took Italianini back to his Thailand days)

Wonderfulness wrapped in pancetta with the most dreamy jus

Beautifully marbled beef with white vegetable and beet puree 

Nutella deconstructed (OH.MY.GOD. YUM!)

The great thing about this was that there were only about 20 or so of us, so the setting was intimate, personal, and cozy. Each round was paired with a wine to perfection, and a great intro from the Chef.

Kudos to Chef and his staff for making a kitchen out of a little break room in this adorable boutique hotel and busting out amazing dishes .

Tribeza is doing their Supper Club once a month...next stop, 34th Street Cafe.

http://www.tribeza.com/

Olivia

I'm embarrassed to admit that it has taken me 15 days since I began to write this post, to actually finish it. It's not because I'm lazy, but because there was absolutely NO inspiration. I was left feeling very blah.

Nothing about Olivia made me want to get on the computer right as we got home and spill my beans about this food with the world ...or my 27 followers...

Sure, the building is beautiful (Michael Hsu, duh!), they have fantastic service, tasteful decor, and fresh ingredients, but it's simply NOT enough.

It's one of those places where the price point is just high enough that when the food doesn't blow you away, you feel robbed.

We had the grilled escargot and crimini mushrooms skewered.

Lamb tongue

Sweetbreads with maple glaze

Italianini had the Tiger Prawns over some creamy/cheesy risotto and I had the local Kobe tri-tip with frites.

His tasted fine, but gave him a serious belly ache. Mine was o.k., but you know there's something wrong when you like the fries better than your steak.

I can truly appreciate their home-grown point of view and the freshness of the ingredients, but I don't think that should be the only reason you're nationally recognized as one of the best new restaurants of any year, anywhere. 

They have a beautiful dining room, a cool bar, and a sweet patio...but,I seriously doubt I'll go back.

http://olivia-austin.com/

G'Raj Mahal

Oh what a lovely Sunday I had...

On a hot summer night after watching The Gourds at Threadgills we made our way over to G'Raj Mahal. 

Can you see me in the sucky, blurry, crap-quality picture? I'm the one in total samosa bliss on the left.

I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know anything about Indian cuisine...All I know is that the paneer in my curried yogurt sent me into food coma (in a good way).

ARW coming soon

People!

Rare Magazine will announce Austin Restaurant Week dates next week. 

Stay tuned...

Jeffreys - Happy Hour

One of my favorite food bloggers kept writing about Jeffrey's 'amazing' happy hour, so I gave it a go.

What my dear blogger failed to tell me is that the specials are only on the bar food--- not the booze. But, we are food bloggers, so whatever. Here are my two cents:

I was so looking forward to trying the ORIGINAL fried oysters on chips (You know, 34th Street Cafe, Garrido's, and a half dozen of other restos have their version). Honestly, I've had better.
I think my exact words to my calorie-conscious friend were "Don't waste your calories"

These little suckers were a little surprise, compliments of the chef. Short ribs... So soft, a little dry, and lacking a little flavor.

But this blob of rare meat goodness took the gold medal in my eyes. This is the BEST Steak Tartare I've had in Austin.

I guess it should be expected when you read - Filet Mignon- in the description. 

Yes, it is stuffy and dark, and yes there are curtains to make the elite feel protected, but don't be intimidated.
We all had two glasses of wine, and technically only paid for two apps...Still $24 each, is not bad ;)

ASTI

I forget how much I love Hyde Park (the neighborhood).

The Brazilian and I went to ASTI late last week and had a fantastic, casual, and very satisfying meal.

The service was splendid. The ambiance is casual, but you still feel like you actually went out for dinner. The dining experience is great and the food did not disappoint.

We shared the fried calamari. The aioli was amazing (although it still doesn't hold a candle to my favorite at NORTH).

I had the roasted salmon with tapenade, cauliflower, capers and sundried tomatoes. At first I thought there would be too much going on...but, it was surprisingly well balanced.

The Brazilian had the trout with lemon aioli, fregola, cucumber, parsley, and mint salad.

Sounds refreshing, no? Not so much. The fish was cooked perfectly, but the salad was very bland.

We each had a glass of white wine and called it a night.