Jalisco's

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For my last Tex-Mex meal in Austin, my dad and I checked out Jalisco's in south Austin.  They offer pretty standard Tex-Mex dishes at very low prices.  I wish I came here earlier on.  This would've been my go-to place for comfort food and queso!

Chile con Queso

Chicken Quesadilla

Steak Taco

Spring 2011 Austin Restaurant Week: Sunday Brunch at Garrido's

I really enjoyed this year's Austin Restaurant Week.  Unfortunately, it had to end on a so-so note.  I checked out my very first Garrido's Sunday brunch and thought that the food didn't come close to the awesome ARW kick-off party.

First, when we were seated, the ARW brunch menu was no where to be found.  When I asked for it, the wait staff did not know about whether they were even serving an ARW brunch though it was clearly listed on the website.  Our kind waiter went on a search for the ARW brunch menu but could only find their ARW lunch menu.  He offered to look the menu up on the ARW website, but luckily, I did my homework and memorized what everyone wanted to order. 

Free Chips and Salsa

The most prominent difference between the ARW brunch at Garrido's from the meals I have had at other restaurants participating in ARW is that the portions of each course is cut down.  I ordered the queso because I enjoyed it tremendously at the kick-off party, but the queso came in a condiment cup that was smaller than the one containing the complimentary salsa!  Seriously?  The pork quesadilla was underwhelming.  The filling was a bit too mushy and bland.  In contrast, the mushroom quesadilla was quite tasty.

Pork Quesadilla with mango pico and tomatillo-habanero salsa

Mushroom Quesadilla with ancho crema and cilantro

Tiny cup of queso

The main course was a big improvement from the generally lackluster appetizers.  The snapper blt was light and fresh.  The bacon helped make this dish.  The lamb sausage omelette was a bit heavy on the cheese, but pretty good.  The lamb sausage tasted almost like chorizo.  The smoked salmon was pretty standard.

Snapper BLT Tacos with habanero aioli and pico de gallo

Lamb Sausage and Cheese Omelette with asadero cheese, caramelized onions

Smoked Salmon with cilantro cream cheese, capers, and cucumbers and toast 

Well, the meal got progressively better with dessert marking the high point.  The creme brulee would have benefitted from more mango flavor, perhaps if the creme brulee was infused with mango rather than using just diced mango as an accoutrement.  The Patron Cafe XO was powerful in the chocolate tres leches, which my mom enjoyed.  My favorite dish of the meal was the zucchini bread pudding.  Zucchini doesn't really have a strong smell or taste, but somehow, you can really pick out the fragrance of the zucchini in this dish!

Creme Brulee with habanero mango honey

Pastel de Calabaza (Zucchini Bread Pudding) with lemon crema

Patrón Café XO Chocolate Tres Leches with chocolate whipped cream

Spring 2011 Austin Restaurant Week Kick-off at Garrido's!

Garrido's

It's finally Austin Restaurant Week (April 10-13 and 17-20) again!  I've been waiting impatiently for what may be my last ARW to sample restaurants that are still on my yet-to-try-out list.  Just when I finally feel like I'm starting to know a lot about the food scene in Austin, I find myself at the cusps of leaving town.  Well, all the more to seize the day and hit my yet-to-try-out list.

Garrido's has been on that list forever, and I'm glad that I'll finally be able to check it off my list after having its ARW brunch next Sunday.  I got a little preview Thursday evening of the delicious food that I have been missing out on all this time.

Here are some notes from the tasting:

Chips and Salsa

Although I didn't take a picture of the wonderful vat of queso served that evening, I believe Garrido's queso gives Kerbey Lane a run for its money in the vegetarian white queso category.  It is thinner than Kerbey's queso, which helps coat the chips better (queso distributes evenly across the surface of the chip instead of bulking up the dipped part and breaking the chip).  The tomato chunks give the queso a burst of fresh tartness.  I look forward to ordering it for my brunch!

Beef Tostada with Truffle and Beet Aioli

Beef Tostada with Truffle and Beet Aioli

My favorite tasting dish came out right at the beginning.  Like with any dish with truffle in it, I smelled it before I saw it.  Upon being presented the beef tostadas, I was thrown off by the magenta sauce drizzled over the perfectly cooked slices of beef.  Did my nose fail me?  Shouldn't there be a truffle sauce rather than this uncharacteristic red liquid?  It turns out that the beef was dressed in an amazing truffle and beet aioli.  These tostadas were out of this world!  Unfortunately these are no where to be found on Garrido's regular menus and ARW prix fixe menus.  Please let me know if I just missed seeing it!

Oyster Tostadas on Yucca Root Chips with Honey Habanero Aioli 

Oyster Tostadas on Yucca Root Chips with Honey Habanero Aioli

I was excited to see the famous Oyster Tostadas.  I would eat more oysters if all oysters tasted like this.

Pork Tacos

Pork Tacos

Chicken Quesadillas

The pork tacos and chicken quesadillas were enjoyable but were quite overshadowed by the beef and oyster tostadas. 

Almond Bread Pudding

I finished out my first Garrido's experience with a warm, comforting bite of nutty, chocolately, pillowy bread pudding.

Chi'lantro

I've been following Closet Cooking's creative use of homemade kimchi in omelettes, quesadillas, pizzas, dips, and tacos, and I've been craving anything with kimchi since.  Then I read a timely post by Tasty Touring about the Korean-Mexican tacos served by the moving trailer, Chi'lanro.  Check their website for their location schedule.

I never thought about the possibilities of fusing Korean and Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines, but I now realize that they share some common ground--spicy, tangy flavors and grilled marinated meats.  The two came together deliciously at Chi'lantro.  I ordered a spicy chicken taco and a beef taco.  At first I thought that the tacos were going to rely on the kimchi to make the fusion happen, but the beef was actually Korean marinated BBQ and not fajita beef, which made the taco a fusion success.  The chicken was good, but not as memorable. 

Beef Bulgogi Taco and Spicy Chicken Taco with Chi'lantro Salsa, Julienne Lettuce in Korean Chili Soy Vinaigrette, Cilantro, Onion, Green Onions, Sesame Seeds, and Lime Juice

I got a side of spicy fries.  The kimchi aioli was a hit.

Spicy Fries with Kimchi Aioli

Chicken Quesadillas in Tulum, Mexico

The Mayan ruins and tasty chicken quesadillas satisfied the art history and foodie side of me. This excursion suited me very well, indeed!

Mayan Ruins of Tulum

Restaurant Frosty's

Chicken Quesadillas

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

Mi Tierra in San Antonio

A grad school friend recommended that I eat at Mi Tierra while in San Antonio. Boy am I glad I paid attention! Mi Tierra is a large 24 hour panaderia and restaurant with live music at the convenient Mercado area. I actually live right by a similar Mexican panaderia and restaurant with live mariachi music, which I love. But Mi Terra is ten times the bakery/restaurant by my place in Austin.

Their pastries are so popular that you need to get a ticket and wait for them to call you number. This isn't so bad because the counter of pastries is as long as the line! When we arrived at the restaurant, we had to wait for a table at the restaurant, so we decided to use our time wisely and buy pastries. This led to us eating some pastries before even getting to our tables.

Our stash of goodies

Pineapple empanada and Dulce de leche filled churro

You must buy the pineapple empanada and dulce de leche filled churro. The emapanda is super flakey, and the dulce de leche inside the churro is ingenious.

Good thing we were extra hungry by the time we sat down at a table. The waiter promptly gave us complimentary chips and salsa and took our order.

Chips & Salsa

Mom had the gigantic bowl of tortilla soup with chicken, avocado, and cheese. Absolutely delicious.

Caldo del Mercado-Tortilla Soup with Chicken, Avocado and two Cheeses

Dad ordered the Steak a la Tampiqueña and I tried the baked goat. This lunch was so decadent even if we hadn't started with pastries! The portions, as you can see, are huge, but they don't neglect the quality of their dishes. I hate it when restaurants give you a gigantic plate of poorly prepared food. In that case, they might as well give me a tiny portion and let me suffer through less junk intake. Everything on these plates were good. The steak was especially juicy and flavorful.

Steak a la Tampiqueña- Charbroiled Rib Eye Steak with Chicken Enchilada topped with green tomatillo sauce with Guacamole, Spanish Rice and Refried Beans

and Monterey Special-Cabrito — baked young Goat with Guacamole, Cheese Enchilada, Spanish Rice and Refried Beans

Dad and I could not help ordering sopapillas even though we practically started the meal with dessert. The last time we had honey drizzled sopapillas was at Poncho's in Houston when I got my elementary school straight-A's-report card coupon for a free kid's meal. We hadn't developed a taste for Mexican food at that time, but we all loved the sopapillas. Those were my earliest memories of Mexican food! How could we not order them 15+ years later when we finally love Mexican food?

Sopapillas

Dad's eyes lit up when he saw these fried puffs and his hands darted forward before I took a picture. I had to reprimand him into putting the sopapilla back so I could take this photo.