Manna Cafe and Bakery

One of my recurring weekend highlights is sleeping in and getting brunch.  Our favorite spot on the east side is Manna Cafe and Bakery because not only can you get awesome breads and pastries, they offer a number of well made breakfast dishes.

 

Pastry Case by the Counter

I stupidly neglected to take photos of my breakfasts at Manna so you'll just have to trust me that the dishes are beautiful and delicious.  It's no wonder that Manna is always packed in the mornings.

 

Mike likes getting the Cravenous Carnivore, which is an egg sandwich with bacon AND sausage, jack cheese and basil pesto.  This gigantic sandwich is also served with fruit and pan-fried potatoes.  We make sure that we sleep in late so we can eat this enormous dish for breakfast and lunch without feeling guilty. 

 

We also like the various egg scrambles Manna offers, from the standard American ham, cheese and scallion scramble (Wisconsin Sunrise Scramble) to the creative Ojibwe Scramble, which has wild rice, mushroom, bacon and scallions.

 

Too bad we live on the West side...this means we'll have to get up earlier to make the trek over.

 

Breakfasts in Beijing

Here are a few photos of my breakfasts in Beijing.  I mostly ate breakfast zhou or bao zi at S's apartmet because it was too cold to go out early in hte morning.



Long line outside the Maido chain that sells hot savory pies (bing)

Pork and Green Bell Peppers Bing (the pork was way too fatty)

I couldn't resist having breakfast at Comptoirs de France again, but the traffic was horrible; by the time I arrived, they had already moved on to their lunch menu.  I ordered a smoked salmon sandwich and a nice, big cup of coffee.

Coffee at Comptoirs de France

Smoked Salmon Sandwich for breakfast

The day of my departure, I walked to Field Home, a Chinese fast food chain.  I ordered the #8 special which had a bowl of delicious pidan shourou zhou (hundred-year egg and lean pork rice porridge) garnished with youtiao and green onions and a side of guotie (pan-fried dumplings).  YUM!  It was kinda a crazy about of food for breakfast but I gotta get some culinary satisfaction before enduing a 13 hour flight full of crappy food.

Pidan Shourou Zhou

Guotie and Milk Tea

Breakfast at Galaxy Cafe

Galaxy Cafe at Brodie

My brother's visit to Austin gave me an excuse to use up some of my Groupon and Living Social purchases.  One of them was to Galaxy Cafe.  The main draw for me is their French toast, which had been featured in various local food magazines.  I finally got to try it!

The food was delicious and filling but like Zoot the night before, the food lacked "wow" factor.  Even the French toast did not meet my expectations in appearance.  The photos of the French toast in magazine articles look amazing.  In person, it looked and tasted good, but it wasn't as spectacular as described by other people.  It is comforting that the breakfast tasted healthier than other breakfast options out there.  I really appreciated that Galaxy Cafe prepared the dishes without excessive grease.  I left feeling full but not disgusted like I often would at most breakfast joints. 

Iced Coffee; French Press Coffee

Deluxe French Toast with Strawberries and Bananas

The Big Breakfast-eggs, skillet potatoes, ciabatta, and bacon

The Uptown Wrap with Spinach Tortilla-eggs, Canadian bacon, Gouda, mushrooms, and avocado

Breakfasting in Marfa

While in Marfa, we stayed at El Cosmico, where you can stay in trailers, yurts, safari tents, the one teepee on the grounds, or even pitch your own tent.  This road trip was all about doing things I've never done before (i.e. canoeing 21 miles and camping), and staying in a trailer and a teepee fits the bill.  We spent one night in the Imperial Mansion trailer and one night in the teepee.  Both were surprisingly comfortable!

The Imperial Mansion Trailer and Teepee

Breakfast is not included at El Cosmico, and you pretty much only have one restuarant breakfast option--Cochineal.  I was not about to spend $20 for breakfast in Marfa.  I really wanted to eat at Austin Street Cafe, but alas, they're only open on Sundays.  After a morning of searching for breakfast alternatives, we decided on just making coffee in the trailer and eating whatever we brought with us on the trip.

Breakfast at the Trailer

The following morning, we got coffee at Frama/Tumbleweed Laundry and croissants at Squeeze Marfa and brought the goodies back to the teepee.

 

Frama/ Tumbleweed Laundry

 

Scrabble Menu at Frama

The croissants at Squeeze are light, flakey, buttery without being greasy. 

 

Breakfast at the Teepee

Continental Breakfast: Croissant with Butter and Hero Jam, Orange Slices, and Swiss Cheese

Breakfast Near My Former Office

For my buddies still working at TCG Consulting, there are a couple of breakfast joints around the Westlake/Bee Caves area if you're ever in need of some yummy and unhealthy nourishment before heading to your desk and muddling through 8 hours. You know who you are, and I miss you already!


1) Rudy's BBQ breakfast tacos

I didn't take photos, but one taco will fill you up just fine. Ask the cashier to recommend some taco fillings combinations. Nothing beats Casa Maria's machacado breakfast taco though.

2) Lone Star Kolaches

I think this is the best kolache shop in Austin. The roll is not dry and hard to swallow like some places, and not greasy like the butter rolls that some places use to encase the fillings. Lone Star Kolaches is generous with their fillings that are whole and not minced into a texturally disturbing mess like those from some other establishments.

The Quartet-ham, turkey, bacon, and cheese ; Tuscany Chicken-chicken and mushrooms

3) Howdy Donuts

Fickle Foodie and I often lament about the absence of Shipely Donuts in Austin. We like the poofy airyness of their donuts. Ken's Donuts on Guadalupe close to campus isn't bad, Krispy Kreme is way to sweet, don't go near the supermarket donuts, Round Rock Donuts's donuts are huge and tasty, but Howdy Donut makes them the best so far.

A hard working Korean family runs this little shop, and it's nice to see the whole family working together. The children work the counters while the elders make the donuts right behind them. Mmmm. Fresh, handmade donuts...

The dough is light and poofy like Shipely's and is sweet enough to be a true donut, but just so. The free donut holes certainly help blow away the competition. The sausage croissant roll is particularly tasty.

Sausage Croissant Roll

Taste No Evil Muffin Co.

Taste No Evil Muffin Co.

Taste No Evil Muffin Co. is a natural and organic muffin-offering bus on S. Lamar. I'm not a fan of muffins because the overly sweet, greasy, cakey breakfast item from the grocery stores make me sick in the mornings. After reading about them from Tasty Touring's blog, I decided to give Taste No Evil a try. The Blackberry Peach and Strawberry Citrus Sunrise were just the muffins to help me overcome my fear of muffins. Indeed, not all muffins are evil! These muffins are light but packed with fruit. For a person with a strong savory breakfast bias, these muffins sure made a good impression. And for someone who finds grease highly repulsive, these muffins put me at ease because "[t]he butter in this [Strawberry Citrus Sunrise] recipe has been replaced with applesauce making it lower in fat than most muffins you typically encounter, but not less moist."

Blackberry Peach Muffin

Strawbery Citrus Sunrise

Casa Maria for Machacado con Huevo and El Pastor Taqueria for Al Pastor

My friend, Rachel, mentioned to me a while back that if a Mexican restaurant has its own Panaderia, then it should be good. I took heed of her advice, and haven't failed with Mi Tierra in San Antonio and Casa Maria here in Austin.

Casa Maria Restaurant y Panaderia

I've only visited Casa Maria for their breakfast tacos and pastries. The pastries come fresh out of the ovens every morning. The pineapple pastries are my favorite.

Casa Maria Panaderia; fruit filled pastries

I just can't pry myself away from their Machacado con Huevo breakfast taco. Whenever I come here, I always end up ordering that even during lunch hours (they serve breakfast tacos all day). I tried the Al Pastor, and quickly reverted back to the machacado. The al pastor lacked the pineapple flavor essential to al pastor. The tortillas are the softest and fluffiest I've had in Austin.

Casa Maria: Machacado con Huevo Breakfast Taco; Al Pastor

For a way better al pastor, stop by the El Pastor Taqueria taco stand on Riverside. Yes, the strip mall looks scary and deserted at times, but ignore the atmosphere and go straight to the window for the 5 for $5 al pastors during lunch hours. This is a good place to whip out your Spanish...I made a fool of myself by ordering in Spanish...how hard could it be? "dos al pastors con tortilla de harina." But when asked if I wanted cebollas (onions), I said "oui." Nice.

Oh make sure you get the creamy, spicy, green sauce for your al pastor.

EL Pastor Taqueria Taco Stand on Riverside

Al Pastor

Buenos Aires Bakery-Miami Beach

If you can't tell by now, I love bread and pastries. I love them for their diversity. Miami has a multitude of bakeries-Cuban, French, Continental, and Argentine. Buenos Aires Bakery is a huge bakery with lots to choose from. I bought some for breakfast, and came back the next day for small sandwiches to-go for the drive from Miami to the airport in Fort Lauderdale. The pastries are delicious but once you heat them up, they become very greasy. The sandwiches are stupendously simple, and it boggles my mind how they taste better than my homemade sandwiches. I use fancier ingredients!

Buenos Aires Bakery

Ham and Cheese on sweet croissant-like pastry and Ham and Cheese on wheat bread