A month after- Texas food blog!

Yes indeed, here it is. After my week vacation in Texas, I finally have time and motivation to let you in on some of my culinary experiences in my short time there. I was able to take a week vacation this year since I have a year in at a full time job and haven't been laid off or anything! So, I decided to visit some friends in Texas. I also wanted to see how habitable Texas would be for me, since I may have to move when the Summer is over. But that has nothing to do with food, so we won't go into all that now! On to what you came here for... my witty humor and fantastic writing, right?

Houston-

I spent a couple days in Houston, initially. I stayed with my friends Cole and Mia and they were kind enough to let me hang out on their couch and play GTA4 with them. It was really fantastic and they were terrific hosts. The first night Mia made a chicken/Alfredo dish that was terrific. The chicken was cooked in a terrific old cast-iron pan, and it was fantastic. The spiral pasta and sauce in gigantic portions made for a great meal after spending all day flying around the country.

I will spare you the little things like Jack-in-the-Box visits and such, since many of you know about it and don't really care how much I like curly fries and little fried tacos.

On my last evening in Houston we went to a Mexican restaurant called Mamacita's.

It had a typical "authentic" Mexican restaurant feel entering, with some Mariachi music playing and a faux margarita table set up. However, it was clean with a slight hint of "chain restaurant" to it. We sat down and were greeted by a friendly male waiter with the thickest accent I had heard at that point. We got the complimentary chips/salsa to begin, along with a "Blue Spider" (page 5 of link, it's a menu .pdf). The chips and salsa were good, perhaps not as fresh due to the late hour we attended, however. If you are in the mood for some chips and salsa, it was satisfying. The Blue Spider was terrific. Fruity, flavorful, not too much alcohol but it had a good kick if you weren't careful. The colodas and daquiris are great as well (we each tried each others). I ordered Enchiladas de Crema (page 2 of above link). It came with refried beans and rice with lettuce, tomato, and a bit of sour cream. I tried the rice first, which was cooked well and had a subtle 'tang' to it, but was a good palate-cleanser for other items on the plate. The beans were next, which were delicious. There was a strong cumin flavor with the creaminess of the beans and a peppery hint throughout. I finally made it to the enchiladas, trying the Crema sauce first. The sauce was light, bold, and delicious. The tortillas were fresh and perfect texture. However, the real standout part of this dish was the chicken. The chicken was some of the most tender and well-seasoned I have ever had. It was moist, with a hint of salt, cumin, and cilantro. It was fantastic. If you are ever in the Houston area, make sure you go here.

Austin-

Austin was the second destination of my week-long adventure. Austin is a beautiful city with obvious diversity and a laid-back atmosphere apparent nearly immediately. I stayed with friends Amanda and Marc for the rest of my vacation, and they were terrific hosts as well.I am very lucky to have such terrific friends!

Now on to the food. I will go about this chronologically or I will get all mixed up and forget everything.


Our first stop was at Buffet Palace (no official site that I found, link has info). Now, I know what you may be thinking- oh great, a generic Chinese buffet that has the same stuff every other buffet has since they have the same supply company. NO. My meal at Buffet Palace was one of the best buffet experiences in my life. Everything was fresh, there was a wide array of cuisines to choose from, and you can tell everyone who made it cared and tried to make a good product. I started with the "traditional" buffet fare, fried rice, egg roll, the fried chicken things, and it was all fantastic. The second plate I experimented a bit with some sushi (made with crab meat, but still deliciously done), Thai coconut chicken (chicken and mushrooms in a spicy coconut sauce), and a bit more rice. Dessert consisted of a small slice of chocolate cake (moist and flavorful), a small slice of strawberry cake (great too), and a bit of soft-serve with caramel sauce. I am not sure how the cakes/desserts are made, but they were tasty and moist, a change for buffet desserts. Overall a fantastic experience.

The next stop was Rudy's. This place was fantastic, even after all the hype that was given all day :). It is a barbecue shack and country store that smokes and cooks all it's own meats. If you are a first-timer, you get to try the various meats to determine what you want. I tried the lean brisket first, which was tender, smoky, and great. I tried the turkey next, which was melt-in-your-mouth fantastic poultry goodness. Finally, I tried the moist brisket (basically a choice of fattier or leaner cuts) and that was it. Some salt, smoke, and moist beef made this my choice of a 1/4 lb with some cole slaw and a drink. It didn't exceed $8 and was served in a large tray. The seating for Rudy's is a large dining area with picnic tables to complete the BBQ atmosphere. Large windows showed the back area with some flowers and other great landscaping. However, this all paled in comparison to the food. With your choice of meat you get a handful of sliced white bread. I made sandwiches out of my brisket, and after tasting the barbecue sauce available at each table, slathered that on as well. The sauce was a heavily-spiced tomato-y concoction with lots of coarse black pepper, vinegar, garlic, and lots of spices. It complimented the meat very well. The meat was fork-tender, and just plain out-of-this-world. A great meal.

Rudy's offers a number of meats and sides and while I could go into all of what they have, just go to the site linked above. A great time. Plus, they had this rotating hand washer that you stuck your hands in, and warm water rotated and cleaned you!

P. Terry's was a fast-food stop in the mid-day for us. This is a burger stand, typically drive-thru only. For fast food, this was simply great. I got a cheeseburger and fries, and it may have been the signs leading up to the window stating they use only real butter and that they cut their own fries and that they use organic tomatoes, or maybe it was the anticipation of sitting in a long line (popular place = awesome). It was a great meal. The fries tasted very homemade and were light but greasy goodness. The burger is California style with lettuce and tomatoes, along with some mayo and of course some cheese. The meat was quality, as were the toppings. I prefer a strongly seasoned burger, and while this was not, it was still a good and inexpensive meal done with quality ingredients. Top-notch fast food.



Finally, one of the last stops on my trip was at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. This was an interesting concept, as it is a movie theater with full-service dining in the seats. Instead of a row in front of you, it is a long table set up with menus and paper to order quietly. We saw the newest George Romero zombie flick "'Insert noun here' of the Dead." It was a typical, poorly done zombie movie but entertaining at least. The food there was quality, and consisted of typical fried appetizers to more upscale type. I got a salad with panko-breaded goat cheese medallions with candied walnuts in a raspberry vinaigrette. I also got it with an Arrogant Bastard Ale. The salad had many good qualities. The cheese was good; light and crispy with that tang of the goat cheese. The walnuts were sweet and plentiful. The greens were fresh. However, the salad was not only HUGE, but it just got to be too much. This salad would be good in a small portion, but as an entree it suffered being too rich and just kind of knocked me out. The Arrogant Bastard was a bit too stout for my taste (and I love Guiness) and I had a hard time finishing that as well.

HOWEVER- I don't want anyone to think that this is a bad place with bad food- by no means. It was all prepared well and had great ingredients. It just didn't hit me that well, and I think that the concept of a theater with full meal service is a great idea to capitalize on.

My trip contained fun adventures and some of the best food I ever had. While I may just stay around the midwest, at least I know that Texas has some great destinations... now to go get some more of that barbecue...