East Side King at the Grackle

East Side King at the Grackle

I've been hankering for a taste of Asian comfort food from chef Paul Qui's affordable East Side King for a very long time.  However the evening hours of the one at Liberty Bar never worked out for me for some reason so I was delighted to learn that the one at the Grackle serves lunch!  When two friends proposed to have a farewell trailer lunch, I seized the opportunity to check out this spot.

The menu of East Side King at the Grackle focuses on grilled, Asian-inspired flavors.  

We each ordered 3 different lunch specials that all came with rice and grilled Romaine salad: B. had the yakitori (chicken), pork ribs, achara, and kewpie mayo; M. had the yakitori, nasu (eggplant), achara, and kewpie mayo; and I had the yakitori, pork belly, apple, and kimchee.

Lunch Specials A, B, and C

Grilled Nasu (eggplant)

Pork Ribs

Yakitori (chicken) and Pork Belly

This might sound terrible, but these lunch specials remind me yakitori vendors in mall food courts.  However, it's a gazillion times better!  The meats are extremely flavorful but isn't drenched in some ridiculous, gooey, starchy "teriyaki" sauce.  The condiments made everything extra fun to eat.  The meats were grilled to perfection, but the grilled Romaine with Tom-Yum mayo was a surprising hit to us.  It was buttery, nicely wilted, but still retained a bit of a crunch.  

I hope I'm lucky enough to try East Side King at Liberty Bar before I leave!  The Thai Chicken Karaage (Deep fried chicken thigh with sweet & spicy sauce, fresh basil, cilantro, mint, onion, and jalapeño) and the Curry Buns (Peanut butter home made curry in deep fried bun, fresh basil, cilantro, mint, onion and jalapeño) are calling out to me!

Blue Dahlia Bistro

Blue Dahlia Bistro

The last time I had super delicious open-faced sandwiches was in Vienna.  Ever since I heard about Blue Dahlia last year, I've been wanting to check out their yummy-sounding tartines. 

The ambiance is a mixture of Austin and Paris, which makes the experience quite charming.  Blue Dahlia bakes their own bread and makes the tartines from homemade whole wheat bread.

Mint Lemonade

I ordered the shrimp avocado tartine and had high hopes for it, but the taste fell flat.  If it weren't for the mango salsa, the tartine would be thoroughly bland.  The bread was too dense for the sparse amount of solid ingredients on the tartine.  I felt like I was eating 5 heavy chunks of wheat bread for lunch rather than dainty tartines or open faced Viennese sandwiches. 

I love nori and eat it all the time at home.  However, the nori does not work with the tartines.  The liquid from the salsa and salad leaked from the tartines and onto the nori before I touched anything so the nori was no longer crunchy.  This makes it very difficult and awkward to eat.  I tried tearing off pieces and putting on top of the tartine, but they didn't taste good together.  I tried eating the nori separately, but I gagged on a piece of nori triangle that I tore off because it was wet and clung to the roof of my mouth and slid to the back. 

Shrimp, avocado, roasted nori and tomato tartines with mango salsa

The bright side is that the ingredients are all very fresh and Blue Dahlia tries to use organic ingredients when available.

Rio's Brazilian Cafe Blogger Tasting Night

My first experience with Brazilian cuisine was at Fogo de Chão in Houston long before they opened one in Austin.  I was torturously hooked: addictive meat and salad bar galore, but inconveniently expensive.  Being a poor college and now graduate student, I've only eaten once at Estancia Churrascaria and haven't had a chance to visit Fogo de Chão in Austin. 

I managed to satisfy my Brazilian cravings without the amazing meats by buying packets of Yoki brand pão de queijo mixes at Ana Brasil.

I wrongly assumed that churrascaria and pão de queijo sum up Brazilian cuisine.  Rio's Brazilian Cafe introduced me to a whole other side of Brazilian food, and I willingly devoured everyting they had to offer.

Rio's Brazilian Cafe

Chef Elias Martins and partner Ben Googins started Rio's Brazilian in 2006 making all-natural Brazilian packaged products from their cafe kitchen.  You can find Rio's Brazilian products at Whole Foods, Spec's, Ana Brasil, or on the internet at Foodzie.com, but you can also visit their cafe in East Austin to experience a cozy, home-style breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

I went beverage crazy and sampled mango and passion fruit juices as well as Guarana, a Brazilian soda.  I recommend all of them, though that's not surprising since I love all kinds of tropical fruit juices.  The Guarana stands out because you won't find it at many restaurants (though I'm sure you can buy it at Ana Brasil).  It has a lightly sweetened taste without the slimey corn syrup after-taste of American sodas.

(starting from left) Mango Juice, Passion Fruit Juice, and Guarana

What truly sets Rio's Brazilian Cafe apart from other Brazilian venues is its specialization in Brazilian savory pastries.  I tried the Chicken Risoli, Beef & Corn Pastel, and the Brazilian Breakfast Pocket.  The fillings ingredients were fresh and well-seasoned and the pastry was flakey and not at all greasy.  Being able to see and recognize all the filling ingredients is a testament to the quality of food you're getting.  You can still decipher all the filling ingredients from the shaky photos I took!

 

Chicken Risoli, Beef & Corn Pastel, and the Brazilian Breakfast Pocket

Beef & Corn Pastel, and the Brazilian Breakfast Pocket

Chicken Risoli

I especially liked the beef and corn pastel and the breakfast pocket.  The breakfast pocket was very well balanced.  Usually breakfast tacos or sandwiches have disproportionate amounts of egg (because it's cheaper and more filling), which makes me sick in the stomach.  I was pleasantly surprised that the Brazilian breakfast pocket made the cheese and the bacon the standout ingredients.

If you crave pão de queijo, Rio's offers original as well as basil and roasted red pepper ones!!!!  When I saw this on the menu, I couldn't wait to stuff myself with the flavored pãos!  Rio's sells them frozen, and I bought basil and red peppers that very night.  They're pillowy chewy, cheesy, and savory.

pão de queijo

Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Pãos de Queijo

Rio's offers 3 desserts.  I tried the Pudim de Leite, a Brazilian flan, and it was dense and creamy.  I'm defintely coming back to try the chocolate and passion fruit mousse and the sweet banana and cinnamon pastry! 

Pudim de Leite; Big Mug of Brazilian Coffee with Cream

I'm delighted that I can finally afford to eat Brazilian in Austin!

Hoover's

I have to try other dishes to develop a more complete opinion on Hoover's, but from what I've had so far I will opine:

so-so mac and cheese and jalepeno creamed spinach, excellent Jezebel ham, awfully disappointing sweet tea

Jezebel Ham, Mac and Cheese, and Jalepeno Creamed Spinach