Barley Swine, Austin, TX.

On my continuous food journey though Austin, I made a stop at the popular Barley Swine. I would describe it as a farm to table gastropub.  Yes, it is hip and it is too cool for school.  It was a 45 minute wait so we waited next door at a little bar that was the epitome of the little Texas bar. 

Overall, Barley was quite good but not as great as the hype would lead you to believe.  Solid cooking, with a few misses.  The ingredients are really the highlight at this restaurant. You could really taste the freshness of the fruits, vegetables and meats.

I would call this goat cheese "advanced" and spicy, quite intense.  I liked it!

Goat Cheese with Grilled Organic Texas Peach

The freshest, wonderfully juicy, height-of-the-season zucchini, so lightly battered and fried. Mussels were fresh and salty.

Beer-battered Zucchini, Mussels, Basil Dressing

At this point of the meal, I see the theme.  Good ingredients, decently cooked, and then something "surprising" or "clever." Sometimes, it worked, sometimes it didn't.  Here, the scallop was a little overcooked.  And the green swoosh unnecessary. Hard to dislike the pork belly though.

Scallop, Pork Belly, Shisito Pepper, Cucumbe

The other "clever" thing Barley Swine does is to name a menu item in a way that makes you think its one thing, but is actually another. This should have been called "Crab risotto stuffed crepe with morels in egg sauce and squash." The squash was incredible. Wish I had more of that.  The crab risotto was tasty as well and I did enjoy this dish.

Crab Pancake, Soft-scrambled Egg, Morels

Basically, a Mexican take on pig cheek. I love pig cheek, also known as pork jowl.  You know I do. While I respect the nod to the heavy Mexican influence, perhaps trying a little too hard? Pork jowel is so flavorful by itself that adding the heavy spice took away from its inherent flavor.

Soft-boiled Egg, Refried Beans, Red Chili Potato, Pig Cheek

I love sweetbreads and I will almost always order them. These were lightly fried and lovely with the creamy sauce. Bacon was really good quality. There are a lot of components in Barley Swine's dishes but it didn't seem to always make sense to me.  Felt like the bacon should have been incorporated more but hey, who am I to complain about delicious bacon on my plate?

Sweetbreads, Green Bean Salad, Potato, Buttermilk, Braised Bacon

I just had chicken hearts at a churrascuria last weekend and I loved their bouncy texture. So, when we saw the lamb heart on the menu, we could not pass it up.  The texture is similar but not nearly as "bouncy." I did not like the tapenade with the heart at all.  I wish they would just have salted it and grilled it at high heat.

The special of the day: Lamb Heart with Olive Tapenade.

My favorite dish of the evening was just a well-seared foie gras.  I could not get enough of that waffle with the maple syrup jus. 

Foie Gras, Chicken Fried Duck Confit, Waffle, Maple Syrup Jus

Well executed wagyu tri tip. The cooked tomatoes were out of this world delicious.

Grilled Wagyu Tri-Tip, Eggplant, Red Pepper Salsa

Food Trailers in Austin ... it's part of the counter culture

Last weekend, my husband flew to join me in Austin to celebrate his birthday.  He landed late at night and was ready for a snack! Luckily, Austin is a late night town and you will not have a problem finding something to eat as there are opportunistic food trailers and trucks selling their dishes to hungry partiers in downtown. In fact, these trucks and trailers are sprinkled all over this town. They are serious eateries and are part of Austin's charming culture.  Here are just a few we tried.

Don Churro: In the land of Mexican and Mexican-inspired food, it's refreshing to find Don Churro's, serving a few Cuban specialties. The chicken and rice with plantains were just as expected.  The plaintains soft and mildly sweet, caramelized, just like I like 'em.

Chicken and Rice Plate

Chi'Lantro: Korean Taco Truck. Spicy, Korean style pork served on a tortilla. Satisfies those late night hunger pangs.

Spicy Pork Tacos

Gordough's: Ginormous donuts!! So many options on the menu.  :)

The Mother Clucker (fried chicken and donut) was a contender but in the end, we picked The Puddin'.  A made-to-order donut, smeared with cream cheese frosting, crumbled Nilla wafers (my childhood favorite) that added a nice crunchy texture, cold vanilla pudding on top and bananas.  Is this donut perfection? Maybe. Maybe.

The Puddin'

Austin Frigid Frog Shaved Ice: Over 100 degrees. Time for a shaved ice. They have the most interesting flavors: cactus pear, horchata, tiger blood which is fruit punch. :)  This little trailer is parked side by side with many others on the popular and hip South Congress Ave.  You can sample a bunch of tasties in a short distance.

Austin Frigid Frog Shaved Ice.  Hey Cupcake in the back ... next time!

Oh, this hits the spot.  I got a sugar free version and there was barely an aftertaste. The ice is shaved very fine and sticks to your teeth from time to time. Not overly sweet which is perfect for me.

Tiger Blood Shaved Ice from Frigid Frog Shaved Ice

We only hit up a small portion of the food trailers and trucks in the area. You can expect another blog on this fun way to eat!

Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Austin TX

Hopdoddy is on a hip little part of Congress Ave. All around are eateries packed with people: Guero's, Home Slice Pizza, Magnolia Cafe ... so many restaurants to try. But tonight, my palate belongs to Hopdoddy named after beer (hops) and cows (doddy is the nickname for a cow native to Aberdeen, Scotland). 

What would you do if you saw a Caramel and Sea Salt Milkshake on the menu? You order it! Right! It had a buttery, smooth caramel drizzled in with distinct little salt sprinkles throughout. I'm really big on sweet and salty and when I got a mouthful of creamy shake with caramel and a bit of salt through that straw, wow wow wow.   Hopdoddy also has a good beer menu (according to my beer drinking comrades) and a decently creative cocktail bar. 

Caramel and Sea Salt Milkshake; Jester King Commercial Suicide draft in the background.

I just had a burger last week at Counter Burger in Palo Alto, CA. So, here at hopdoddy, I opted for the Greek, a lamb burger cooked medium with feta cheese, arugula, pickled red onions, cucumber, tzatziki sauce. The bun is baked at the restaurant. Love that. Super juicy, super fresh; all the elements worked together.  After I ate this, I found out that they have a gluten free bun which I will try next time. 

Greek

I gave 1/2 my Greek to my friend in exchange for half of the Llano Poblano: Beef, Pepper Jack Cheese, Roasted Poblano Chiles, Apple-Smoked Bacon, Chipotle Mayo. Again, super juicy with clean tasting all-natural, Angus beef. In fact, all their ingredients are all-natural. This thing had a little kick!

Llano Pablono

It seems like it's not an Texas meal without some queso! It was on the menu as Chile Cheese Fries so I thought I was getting fries with chili and cheddar on top. But now I realize it was chile, not chili! This was definitely queso which is a common Tex Mex appetizer. It is basically a creamy cheese sauce for dipping usually made with a variety of cheeses, including velveeta and cream cheese although recipes differ restaurant to restaurant. The fries here are homemade and a bit too salty for my taste.

Chile Cheese Fries

I really have been impressed with the quality of the food here in Austin. Hopdoddy goes back to basics ... making their own bread, fries; using the fresh, all-natural ingredients and focusing on making really good burgers and shakes and serving high quality brews.

Focus on a few things and make it perfect.  A good concept for a restaurant and for life, no?