Dining on Tapas at Fino

I guess I'm glad I didn't name my blog "Austin Food Dilettante" as I will be leaving Austin and relocating to the DC Metro area very soon.  Last year around the same time, I went through rounds of dinners to send my grad school pals off into the professional world.  It's finally my turn now!

I shared a relaxing farewell meal at Fino with a dear friend whose courses I've had the pleasure of taking in undergrad and in grad school.

We wanted to check out tapas in Austin and found out that Fino had a nice tapas selection. 

I enjoyed every dish, but nothing in particular stood out.  I remember feeling this way when I tried Fino for the first time during Austin Restaurant Week spring 2010.  

We started with a complimentary amuse bouche of beet gazpacho.  This was funny because I've recently began a fruit and veggie smoothie breakfast regimen, and red beets are required in every kind of fruit and veggie combination.  I felt a major liquid beet overload, but Fino shouldn't be faulted for my own high consumption of beets.

Beet Gazpacho with Coriander Seeds

The piquillo pepper tasted like a regular red bell pepper.  Stuffing it with crab definitely made it an exciting treat.

Piquillo Pepper with Gulf Crab and Basil

The grilled pork pinchitos was a heavy and smoky contrast to the crisp and summery taste of the stuffed piquillo pepper.

Pork Pinchitos with sea salt

During my last semester of grad school, I discovered that I love hummus, all kinds of Mediterranean spreads, and pita bread.  Fino offers quite a few different spreads that are served with grilled pita.  The walnut, red pepper, and pomegranate spread was awesome!  I wish they would sell their spreads in tubs at grocery stores!

Walnut, red pepper, and pomegranate spread with grilled pita

The grilled octopus was cooked just right.  It was chewy but not rubbery.  Pairing it with fennel and grapefruit salad lightened up the smokiness and meatiness of the seafood.

Grilled octopus with fennel, grapefruit, parsley vinaigrette, and pimenton

The garlicky Gulf prawns were super flavorful.  It was my favorite tapas dish of the evening.  You can tell that the prawns are really fresh by the snap from each bite.  

Gulf Prawns Ajillo with olive oil, lemon, and garlic

The salmon crudo was a bit dull, perhaps because I felt like the flavors in this dish seemed like a variation of the other dishes.  The piquillo peppers, coriander, and orange were present throughout the course of the meal.    

Salmon Crudo with piquillo peppers, orange, yogurt, and coriander

The highlight of the mussels is the fragrant broth.  Because I didn't have French bread to scoop up the broth, I dipped my fries in it to get as much of the broth as possible.

PEI Mussels with harissa, fries and lemon aioli

I couldn't wait to get to the desserts because I wanted to try the olive oil ice cream that came with the donuts and the pistachio-polenta crust of the Meyer lemon tart.  The subtlety of the olive oil got lost in the sherry and golden raisins.  It was delicious nonetheless.  The pistachio-polenta crust was definitely different in that it was really loose and nutty.  The sandy texture worked nicely with the creamy, eggy filling.

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts with olive oil ice cream, sherry, and golden raisins

Meyer Lemon Tart with pistachio-polenta crust, blueberry compote, and lemon sorbet

Even though we had fun tasting the different tapas offerings at Fino, we were too focused on conversing about the past, present, and future to give the food the attention it deserves for a food blog post. 

I'm going to miss our long talks Prof. H.!

Wholy Bagel

Wholy Bagel

I admit that I never felt like there was anything wrong with Einstein Bros. Bagels.  In fact, I love them!  I like how they're soft and remains so even after refrigeration.  Being more than satisfied with Einstein's, I never hankered for another bagel joint in Austin.  Almost all the bagels I've had in my life are too heavy, dry, and hard.

After reading the Austin Chronicle's 2011 Restaurant Poll, where Wholy Bagel was named best NY bagel, I decided to give the critics' pick a try.

My first impression was that there are pretty good selections of bagels and cream cheeses.  I'm a variety kind of gal, but I'm also a texture kind of gal.  Will Wholy Bagel be hard and dry like the horrendous kinds from supermarket bakeries or soft and pliable like Einstein's?

Bagels: Cherry, Blueberry, Egg, Garlic, Salt, Rye, Jalapeño Cheese, Sesame, Poppyseed, Everything, etc.

Cream Cheeses: Veggie, Garlic & Herb, Scallion, Spring Berry, Pimento, Blueberry, Strawberry, Choco Chip, Walnut Raisin, Sun-dried Tomato, Lox, and Jalapeño 

My breakfast companion and I shared a Taylor ham, American cheese, and fried egg sandwich on garlic bagel and a plain bagel with walnut raisin cream cheese.  I appreciated how much care was put into the bagel sandwich as demonstrated by freshly slicing the Taylor ham.  I don't know how much this adds to the overall taste, but it's nice to know that your food isn't being handled haphazardly.

Taylor ham, American cheese, and fried egg sandwich on garlic bagel

The end product?  The bagel sandwich was fantastic!  The bagel was definitely sturdier than Einstein's but not hard or dry.

Toasted plain bagel with walnut and raisin cream cheese

On the other hand, the toasted plain bagel with walnut and raisin cream cheese wasn't particularly interesting.  The cream cheese was surprisingly bland.  It was basically plain cream cheese with only a few raisins and almost no walnuts.

I bought half a dozen bagels and a tub of sun-dried tomato cream cheese home to see if I would still like these bagels after a day or two.  The bagels became harder and drier day-by-day and the cream cheese still tasted dull.

I strongly recommend ordering the bagel breakfast sandwich at Wholy Bagel, but I think I'll stick with Einstein's for bagels and cream cheese to-go.

Ryu of Japan on Mom's Birthday

Mom and I celebrated her birthday at Ryu of Japan after reading an awesome review by Boots in the Oven.  My parents' favorite cuisine is Japanese.  Dad can't get enough of sashimi and sukiyaki while mom can't do without hamachi kama.

We decided to skip ordering dinner entrees altogether in favor of several courses of appetizers.

We began with a small dish of monkfish liver, which unsurprisingly has a texture similar to foie gras but on the drier side.  It was quite delicious but I kept wishing I could pair each bite with a carb like rice or baguette!

Ankimo (monkfish liver)

The Ryu Special was basically a trio of sashimi (tuna, salmon, and yellowtail) rolled up in cucumber.  This was light and summery, delicious but hard to keep intact.

Ryu's Special - salmon, yellowtail, and tuna sashimi wrapped in cucumber with shiso and roe

Agedashi tofu is as standard as udon at Japanese restaurants but Ryu's is heavenly.  The broth that the fried pieces of tofu was soaking in really made this dish sing.

Agedashi Tofu

I was a bit underwhelmed by the ginger eggplant.  It was good, but a little bland even with the lovely curling bonito shavings.

Nasu No Shogayaki - ginger eggplant with bonito shavings

Mom and I always reminisce about the whole grilled squid served at the cafeteria in the Japanese department store, Shirokiya, in Honolulu.  I grew up scarfing down Shirokiya's smokey ikayaki.  We were super excited to see ikayaki on Ryu's menu, but this version just can't compare to Shirokiya's.  It's a bit tough and although it's grilled, Ryu's ika doesn't have that intense smokiness present in Shirokiya's version.

Ikayaki - grilled squid

No Japanese meal is complete without hamachi kama for my mom.  This was simply prepared with a sprinkle of salt and grilled.  This dish never falters.

Hamachi Kama - yellowtail collar

The next few dishes were fillers for the meal.  The trio of sashimi were fresh, the spider roll was a bit heavy on the eel sauce but otherwise quite satisfying, and the hotate hokkai was my one regret.  Instead of whole scallops, we got scallop bits that were indiscernible among the bigger chunks of chopped krab and smothered in spicy mayo.  It was a wreck.

Salmon, Tuna, and Yellowtail Sashimi

Spider Roll

Hotate Hokkai - broiled scallops with roe and mayo

But rather than leave you with a bad impression, the overall meal was delicious and affordable.  I've complained about how I can't seem to find a traditional Japanese restaurant that doesn't break the bank in Austin, and Ryu has given me a reason to stop whining.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Noble Pig

Noble Pig

Menu

After classes ended, I decided to finally treat myself to the much talked about sandwiches at the Noble Pig.  Noble Pig makes everything in-house, from the bread to the pickles and to the house-smoked meats.  They really take ownership of the quality of the sandwiches!

When I researched their menu, I knew that I had to try the duck pastrami to satisfy my duck addiction.

Duck Pastrami Sandwich with potato salad, chips, and housemade pickled veggies

Smoked Duck Pastrami Sandwich with Russian dressing and rye pickles

The duck pastrami tasted very earthy and the rye pickles gave the sandwich a nice crunch and tang.

The Noble Pig with spicy ham, pulled pork, bacon and provolone cheese

The Noble Pig sandwich was packed with porcine goodness and ended up surpassing the tastiness of the duck pastrami in my humble opinion.  But that's a bit unfair; this sandwich has 3 kinds of pork in it!  

I'm really curious about the delicious looking breakfast menu.  I might just have to fight some traffic in the morning to try it out!

Second Bar + Kitchen and Google Places

I attended a food blogger cocktail party hosted by Google Places at Second Bar + Kitchen almost a month ago.  Apologies for the long delay in posting.  Finishing grad school got in the way of food blogging!

Spicy Mango at Second Bar and Kitchen

Food Bloggers

This event was the first time I heard of Google Places and my first taste of Second Bar + Kitchen.  Google Places is a recommendation engine of local restaurants and businesses that's tailored to the preferences of each user.  Users can link their Google Places profile and recs to their own blogs and websites.

While we learned about how Google Places works, we also enjoyed a cocktail and food tasting with the focus placed on rating 3 different off-menu mixed drinks created by Bill Hankey.  The winning drink of the evening is now on their cocktail menu!

First, the spread:

Cheese Board

Beef Short Rib with truffled grits

Beet, Watermelon, and Blue Cheese Skewers

Queso Fundido with avocado and sausage and chipotle masa chips

Veal Meatball

Black Truffle Pomme Frites; Buffalo Fried Pickle

Pomodoro San Marzano Pizza (mozzarella, basil, and olive oil)

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

On to the drinks!

The first cocktail we tried was Forever My Queen which was a strega concoction with lemon juice, tequila reposado, and orange liqueur.  This was really strong and really sweet.

"Forever My Queen"

Next was the Dickle Daisy, which I thought would contain pickle juice (just shows you how much I know about alcohol...).  It's George Dickey sour mash whiskey with lemon juice and powdered sugar.  This was surprisingly good.  I was ready to vote for this until I got a taste of the last cocktail...

"Dickle Daisy"

The Gin and Jam (housemade raspberry preserve) appealed to me with its presentation, and it tasted fresh and moderately sweet.  This made voting a no-brainer.

"Gin and Jam"

Ballot Jars

And the winner is...
*
*
*
*
*
Gin and Jam!

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