More PORKFEST at OLIVIA

Kay and Jim Richardson, talking to the guy who owns the Whip-In Market, which is a local convenience store that serves a huge selection of beer and Indian Food

As I mentioned before, all the courses at PORKFEST featured Richardson Farms Pastured Pork. Jim and Kay Richardson are absolutely the nicest and happiest folks, always cheerful when I see them at events like this one or at the Farmers Market. You get the feeling talking to them that they are just having the GREATEST TIME raising organic pork, chicken and beef, not to mention wheat, corn and millet on their farm. They got involved with the burgeoning interest in pastured, organic meats and grains just at the perfect time to do well and be VERY appreciated.

Their grass-fed beef is so superior, so flavorful and delicious, that I don’t even ENJOY eating beef that they didn’t raise. Seriously. It is THAT MUCH BETTER. It is like the difference between Texas and California peaches! (In my opinion, there isn’t even any POINT in putting a California peach in your mouth. It is DRECK conpared to a Texas peach. But no one outside of Texas KNOWS this, because Texas never exports any peaches….we eat them all here!)

On to the Cuisine!

Caramelized Pork Belly Rillons in Ginger-Apple Butter. THIS WAS SUCH A MEMORABLE COURSE! The Pork Belly Rillons were the best I have ever had, nice and crispy and not overly fatty, and the GINGER APPLE BUTTER WAS AMAZING !!!

Beer-Glazed Spareribs with cucumber and watermelon salad. These were so tender that the meat was indeed LITERALLY falling off the bone. The Watermelon was a perfect foil.

Remember me going ON AND ON AND ON about Texas peaches? The OUTSTANDING dessert was Texas peach ice cream with CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON. One of the best desserts I have ever had! The chocolate covered bacon was so good, I really wanted to send Jim Gaffigan a boxful.

Olivia: PORKFEST

The First Course: Prosciutto, Salami, Guanciale, and Testa, all made at Olivia. Served with grilled Hill Country Peaches and Plums and Green Onion Salad

Tonight I went to a VERY special event: PORKFEST, at Olivia. At a time when higher end eateries are scrambling to issue “groupons” and get folks in the door, Chef James Holmes practically sold OUT this event the first day is was announced. (Also, I should mention it was ONLY $50, which compares VERY favorably to the price of chef-orchestrated wine dinners.)

The concept: Six courses of all natural pastured pork from Richardson Farms, paired with beers from the 512 Brewery, a fledgling brewery here in town (I have to admit I L*OV*E L*O*V*E L*O*V*E the NAME!! It is of course the name of our AREA CODE here in Austin. It is KIND OF like naming your brewery “78704″, but less obvious! GREAT NAME!!!)

Chef James Holmes HAMMING IT UP with a whole roasted pig! I actually SAID THAT OUT LOUD at the event and everyone GROANED because they thought I was saying a PUN I made up! So embarrassing! I didn't realize it was a pun until they groaned

One day recently I figured out that 70% of the meat I eat is PORK (the magical animal! Pork Chops, Bacon, Sausage, Ham!) which is KIND OF SCARY, actually…but anyway, the menu was right down my alley, and the food was DIVINE.

I have to say, I was VERY impressed with the beers and ales as well. They were ALL awesome, seriously. the “WIT”  brew was made with cilantro and grapefruit peel (two of my favorite flavors, and although you couldn’t REALLY taste them in the beer, I just like the IDEA, you know!); the IPA had just an EXPLOSION of subtle flavors, and the Pecan Porter was seriously, better than most Guinness I have had, dark and smooth in a very luxurious way. I would be hard pressed to say which I adored the most; if I am in a bar that serves 512 brews anytime soon, I will probably ORDER THEM! In preference to OTHER beers!

COURSE TWO: An ENTIRE sausage, with a HUGE perfectly cooked scallop. That is a normal size sausage; the scallop really IS the size of a baseball

Upcoming courses: Caramelized Pork Belly with ginger-apple butter (Extremely memorable and awesome); Beer glazed spareribs with garden tomato, cucumber and watermelon salad; Slow Roasted Whole Pig with potato Gnocchi and summer vegetables; and-

HILL COUNTRY PEACH ICE CREAM WITH CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON!!

Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit

Basket of FREE G*R*A*P*E*F*RU*I*T !!

I am a GIGANTIC fan of many things Texan, but nothing more so than our own Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit. One of my very first oil painting masterpieces was a painting called “Grapefruit Tree“, and every winter I eat about my weight in Ruby Red Grapefruit, and I also make Grapefruit Marmalade ( I am due to make some more soon, too! Because I am OUT!)

So it was Totally Awesome that I got this SWAG BOX of Ruby Red Grapefruit, because, I ALREADY am a GIGANTIC FAN! But I am ALL ABOUT letting the FREE EATS pour abundantly into my reality. With heartfelt gratitude I accepted this HANDSOME BASKET of 9 grapefruits, plus a bonus paring knife and a kitchen towel, AND a DVD about Grapefruit that I haven’t watched yet, but actually DO look forward to watching because I am VERY INTERESTED!!

I have read, heard or somehow absorbed the information (which may or may not be true, as you can tell by my vague ideas about how I ran into it in the first place) that MANY of our Texas Delicacies, such as Pure Luck Goat Cheese and Fredericksburg peaches, never make it out of state because we eat them all HERE. So in the rest of the country we aren’t famous for them, because we are always hogging them all to ourselves. (Which I really have no problem with.)

I had thought that Rio Star Ruby Reds were in that category too; that there just aren’t enough for the Texans, so the rest of the country can go hang…but apparently, they are being publicized, so maybe there are enough to go around?

In any case, I L*O*V*E them SO! So I am going to spend a little more time writing about them. I mean, in addition to this post, which is essentially just to rejoice that I got free grapefruits.

Have I mentioned that they are the Best Grapefruits Ever? And that they are sweet, so sweet that you can just peel them and eat them, like an orange, except they taste like grapefruits, not oranges? Did you know that Fresca was a grapefruit soda?

More About the Carillon

This is the main dining room (there are MORE dining rooms beyond the arches!) The arches, in keeping with the University Theme, have INSCRIPTIONS carved in the stone,like on the UT "Old Campus". (You know, where they teach the REAL subjects: THE LIBERAL ARTS

Here are some things about the CARILLON: The decor REMINDS ME of the inside of the UT Student Union Building, which is no put-down; the UT Student Union Building is SO GORGEOUS inside that one can barely believe that they let undergraduates hang around in there. It is all limestone and arches and it’s sort of Mission style, only very Texan.

SO is the CARILLON! Look at how solidly Texan, how opulent, yet simple the decor is.

CHEF JOSH WATKINS. He used to live in San Francisco. Now that he lives in Texas, he tried NOT the think about Politics

Here is a picture of the Chef, Josh Watkins. He is famous. He is young and famous, and nice and talented.

Here is ANOTHER thing about the Carillon: FREE PARKING. You can park in the underground fancy-shmancy parking garage, and then get your ticket thingy validated, and the parking is FREE and also VERY EASY and if it is bad weather you don’t get rained on.

The CARILLON is in the new UT conference building, I think it is called the A T & T Conference building or something. You know how A T & T has enough money to endow a building at UT?

MY IPHONE BILL

Carillon Opens!

THE MAD POUNDING OF THE BELLS!!!

Being, as I am, a WORLD-FAMOUS MUSICIAN, I know what a Carillon is. DO YOU?

(HA! I didn’t think so!)

The Burleson Bells

A CARILLON is a series of bells that are strung in such a way that they can be played like a piano, that is, there is an entire scale, so tunes can be played.  Usually a carillon is hung in the bell tower of a cathedral or other majestic structure.

THe UNIVERSITY of TEXAS at AUSTIN had a magnificent carillon that was given to the University by it’s very first Valedictorian, Mr. J.J. Burleson, and the carillon was installed in the Main Building. Then later, the Main Building was razed, and the UT TOWER was built. The Burleson Bells were thought not GIGANTIC enough, and the carillon was moved to in front of the Performing Arts Center. A NEW carillon of 56 bells was installed in the Tower in 1987 and it is a HUGE carillon, not the biggest in the world (which you know UT would like best) but one of the largest in this hemisphere.

It is used to play the song “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You”.

(If you DON’T know the story behind “Why does the University of Texas have a school song that is clearly “I’ve been working on the Railroad”, I will tell that story here another day! The STORY really makes the oddly unoriginal school song MUCH more hilarious.)

ANYWAY, the Fancy Restaurant that is in the new UT Conference center (Where IT Copy and Asel Art Supply used to be on 19th street) is named THE CARILLON, which is an AWESOME name for a UT related restaurant. I mean, really, THIS TIME the name consultants or whoever does such a thing: name a restaurant (It HAD to be a committee, right?) really did a great job, I couldn’t have thought of a better name myself. (And I think I am the BEST namer EVER on EARTH.) (That is right. If you need something named, come to me.)

I went there to eat for free the other night, and I am going to tell you all about it. I have decided to tell just a little at a time. Today I am going to talk about my SALAD.

Now, one thing I love is is a nice reclamation. I love me a reclaimed word and I also love me a reclaimed menu item. For far too long, iceberg lettuce has been in the culinary doghouse, while all the other greens and lettuces made a comeback. But iceberg lettuce is really QUITE delicious, and sometimes, iceberg lettuce is what you want! COLD CRUNCHY ICEBERG.

At the CARILLON, my first course was a gorgeous pair of iceberg lettuce lobes, cold and crunchy, dressed with those never-old complements, bleu cheese and bacon. Iceberg, Bleu cheese and bacon.

PERFECT!

PERFECT I TELL YOU!

I felt like Perry Mason!

Also, a chervil ranch dressing and red peppers and red pepper reduction. See for yourself:

Baby Iceberg Lettuce with Apple Smoked Bacon and Maytag Bleu Cheese, Chervil Ranch Dressing and red peppers

My Reward: The Best Meal of 2009, and maybe OF MY LIFE! at UCHI

THe UCHI Sign

After I had completed my HERCULEAN task, I thought to myself, what do I want to EAT?

Now, I have had a $25 gift card to UCHI, that I got in my Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Swag Bag, since April. $25 at UCHI, normally, I think will get you 2 sushi rolls and a water, which is why I didn’t use it yet, and just kept HOARDING it: I knew that on THE PERFECT DAY it would be THE PERFECT TREAT for ME. That I would go to the UCHI sushi bar, at like an “off” time (like first thing when they open at 5) and sit there in the cool dimness of the air conditioning and delect my $25 away.

I decided that using my hoarded gift card would be a JUST reward for my HERCULEAN WEEDING.

The very nice apprentice Sushi Chef directly in front of me

I got there around 6 (after stopping to photograph rain lilies on the way) and my eyes could barely believe it: it WASN’T BUSY! This has never happened to me! I was seated at the sushi bar (because you know, I was figuring to get 2 rolls and a glass of water). I had idly wondered if they had a Happy Hour on the way there (in which case my $25 could go farther) but I figured not, because, it’s UCHI, they have a three hour wait, they don’t need no stinking Happy Hour!

My New Friend JODY who is friends of TRISH

My server came over and I felt bad about just ordering a water, but, you know, $25! Her name was JODY and she was really nice about it.  First they gave me a hot towel (so fancy! YAY!) and then a tiny bowl of cucumber sorbet. Naturally I relaxed into a totally mellow and sensual Freak-Out, plus, it was actually kind of quiet and dim in the dining room, like in my FANTASY (it is usually quite loud because they are always packed, plus, since it is the Best Restaurant In Town, lots of Yahoos like to bring their dates to UCHI because their heads are too empty to think of any OTHER way to impress a date. These sorts of Yahoos are usually LOUD, in my experience. So, usually totally full, plus a certain percentage of Yahoos).

Cucumber Sorbet to BEGIN THE EXPERIENCE WOOOOOOOOOO

Then Jody came over again and said, weren’t you at OLIVIA the other day?

I said “Yes” and Jody said, “I was there too! I was with Trish!” (Trish is the lady pictured in the picture “My New Friends”) Jody told me all about UCHI’s HAPPY HOUR: there was 4 things half price (or greatly reduced). I ordered two of them:

SHIROMI NABE (seasonal tempura whitefish with shiitake mushrooms, fresh ginger and japanese eggplant frites) and the CRUNCHY TUNA ROLL. Then I just sat back to enjoy my sorbet and my glass of water in pleased anticipation, also figuring that since my order was of REDUCED PRICE HAPPY HOUR stuff, I might could get one more thing.

The SHIROMI NABE, when it arrived, was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my entire GODDAM LIFE. The tempura Striped Bass filet and Japanese eggplant sticks were so light and hot that they levitated up out of the bowl and solemnly danced before my eyes, and I had to snatch them out of the air to dip them in the hot ginger and mushroom sauce. Outwardly I preserved my “Austin Geek with Bad Hair” nonchalance, but inwardly I wept tears of adamantine and beat my fist against the sushi bar, groaning “I CANNOT LIVE! I CANNOT LIVE!!!”

Then, Jody brought me an order of KAI JIRU (maine mussels٠tomato water٠celery٠basil blossoms) ON THE HOUSE!

Brooks

(A word about Getting Stuff For Free: Long ago in the late 80′s, when I was a young rock star, I went to Liberty Lunch one night to see the band Doctor’s Mob. At the long and busy bar, I ordered a Shiner Bock (this was The. Beer. to order in Austin in the Eighties, because it was made by the Shiner Brewery in Shiner ,Texas, which was, at the time, (this was LONG LONG before the microbrewery explosion) the One and Only INDEPENDENT BREWERY in all of Texas (Lone Star and Pearl having been bought up by conglomerates.) So, ordering a Shiner was a SUBVERSIVE ACT in favor of the Little guy. Also, a great  and tasty beer, and not expensive.)

And the bartender handed it to me and turned to help someone else. I got their attention again and said “I’M NOT PLAYING TONIGHT!” thinking that the Free Beer had been an error, that the bartender must have thought my band was on the bill (and thus entitled to a couple a free beers as partial payment.) The bartender said “I KNOW“.

I turned away in wonder. I don’t remember if I figured it out myself, or if I had to ask someone about this strange experience and have it explained to me, but ultimately the upshot was: Liberty Lunch gave me a free beer because I was a celebrity and they wanted me to hang around at their club because my very presence made the place COOLER!

Can you even IMAGINE how great that is? Every free beer I got anywhere for the next decade was like a loving hug, and yes, it was sad when that era ended.

Maine mussels in Tomato Water with Celery and Basil

But now! Now I got a FREE BOWL OF MUSSELS IN TOMATO WATER! Not for being a cool celebrity, but probably because I was friends with Trish from the OLIVIA party, but still! IT WAS AWESOME.

And the mussels in tomato water were awesome, too. There were so fresh that I felt like I was in New England; they were perfectly cooked and chilled, and the flavors of the sweet local tomatoes and crisp celery and basil was marvelous and so summery. It was by far the Best Mussel Dish I have ever had!

Sometime in there my friend Brooks came over (he works there) and shot the breeze with me for awhile. We used to work together and once everyone saw us chatting the rest of the staff warmed up to me a little more, because they realized I am a member of the Restaurant Worker Club. ( I bussed tables for Twenty Years (yes twenty years) and waited tables for ten, and have also worked as a baker and line cook and dishwasher and hostess and night manager at various times.)

The Tuna Roll

Then Jody brought me my Tuna Roll, which was perfect and crunchy, with squid ink on one side and spicy mayonnaise on the other. I could have eaten two, and I actually thought about ordering another, when what happened by CHEF TYSON COLE walked by behind the Sushi Bar, and I waved “HELLO!” at him.

And then HE gave me a food gift too! He had a special sashimi plate prepared for me:

Tyson Cole!

Special Sashimi with Fresh Local Tomato

It was a wonderful and special and tasted like summer itself. Plus, now I was really getting the Royal Treatment! The CHEF recognized me and gave me a free item, just because he KNEW I would PROPERLY APPRECIATE IT!

Octopus Pops

At this point I was in such ecstasy (and really patting myself on the back for deciding to use my Gift Certificate THAT VERY DAY!) that I ordered ONE more Happy Hour item: the Octopus Pops. These are tiny grilled octopi on skewers, just a tidbit, but the delights I was eating were paced so perfectly that I still felt a little hungry. The Octopus Pops were slightly crunchy, slightly chewy and just delicious.

Feeling like a Roman Emperor, I asked for the bill (plus it was getting to be late, and I had just stopped in for a quick treat initially.) THEN! THEN! I was favored with FREE DESSERT ON THE HOUSE TOO!!!

OKASHI (olive candy٠grapefruit sorbet٠yogurt caramel) The description doesn’t do it justice; the grapefruit sorbet was, alone, divine. I was instructed to be sure to eat all the components simultaneously, which I did, and I found that the candied olives, caramel sauce, and rosemary rice cake complemented the sorbet (and one another) in ways that could never be predicted. It was sublime, and unforgettable.

OKASHI (which probably means "DESSERT")

OLIVIA

ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST TURNS ONE

Olivia Restaurant, located right nest to the Taxidermy place on South Lamar, turns ONE today, having opened just one year ago. But dig this: simultaneously, they have been selected for the honor of being named ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST NEW RESTAURANTS by BON APPETIT magazine!!!! WOW!

Chef James Holmes

So tonight they threw a little party to celebrate, and, being the A-LIST BLOGGER that I am, I got one of the coveted invites. I say, without a trace of chagrin, that getting invited to a soiree of this calibre is what keeps me slogging along.

I interviewed Chef James Holmes a few years ago for the Austin Chronicle in a story about WHO is DOING WHAT for the food booths at AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL. James Holmes and his partner Luke Bibby had a Burger Booth at ACL and in my interview, James talked about how, when the time was right, he was going to open his own place and name it after his daughter, Olivia.

In September of 2008 OLIVIA opened (I think it must have been about 2 years later or maybe three, I don’t know, time goes so fast when you are getting old old old), and if you remember, that was about ten minutes before the bottom dropped out of the economy and we were all plummeted into THE WORST RECESSION SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION OR OH NO MAYBE IT IS THE SECOND GREAT DEPRESSION. I really worried about James and his venture, because, you know, FINE DINING is one of the first things to go when the belt is tightening.

Chef de Cuisine Morgan Dishman

Well, it seems like I needn’t have worried: The place has been doing so GREAT that it got nominated as one of the ten best restaurants in the NATION. One of the many things that CHef Holmes is doing differently than many another place here in town, is he is a TOTAL LOCAVORE and he is sourcing from area farmers and DAMN THE EXPENSE. Now, that is an attitude that I like to see! Most restaurateurs just say “we can’t afford to use local and organic ingredients, it just can’t be done, we are practically bankrupt as it is.” But: the Chefs who ARE locally sourcing and just charging more are pulling in the crowds. Parkside, Olivia, Uchi….these are the places that have a wait.

Justin Visci Behind the Bar

Because the plain as the nose of your face fact is: organic and local TASTE A HUNDRED TIMES BETTER and if you are doing Fine Dining, that is what you are selling: an experience. Flavor. Luxury. Memories.

So where was I? Oh yes, I got to go to this awesome soiree, and, I almost couldn’t believe it, but: it hasn’t rained here is I don’t know it SEEMS like a million years, so naturally they planned this party to be OUTSIDE, and today it actually RAINED (THANK YOU JEBUS!!!!) so that was a bit of a problem. Nevertheless, once the Champagne started flowing nobody cared.

Champagne Goddess Cat Brackett pours out The Bubbly

Hors d’oeuvres were passed as the glasses were filled with the Bubbly, and they were some of the finest chow I have gotten outside of in a while. First, Bison Tartare: chilled mounds of seasoned raw bison meat, piled on toasted Bruscetta.

Bison Tartare

Then, what followed I will remember to my grave: Loncito’s lamb, stuffed into a giant Jalapeno (I think they were Mucho Nachos), wrapped in Richardson’s Farms bacon and drizzled with local honey, whilst being roasted. I must have eaten, I dunno A DOZEN?!?!?! Best. Appetizer. Ever.

These actually have a name: Corazon Poppers

Then we were treated to the dish that made it into BON APPETIT: Pork Sugo. Delicate and tender little milk-braised pork thingys, sitting on what I thought was mashed potato but was actually semolina. (Years ago, and I mean 1983, I learned the wonder of roasting pork in milk when I was a line chef at Pecan Street Cafe. It is a wonderful method, and the resulting gravy is splendid.)

Award-Winning Pork Sago

I had a marvelous time chatting with Carol Ann Sayles and her cousin from Boggy Creek Farm, and the folks from Alamo Drafthouse who are also quite serious locavores. The MAD PRESS of FOOD CELEBRITIES was AWESOME; I also saw the photographer guy from Edible Austin and Jennie Chen from Miso Hungry.

MY NEW FRIENDS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA and CONGRATULATIONS and IF YOU HAVEN”T EATEN HERE YET you should TOTALLY GO, and I RECOMMEND BRUNCH (They have lemon curd.)

Mad Press of A-LIST Food Celebrities

Free Pei Wei

Pei Wei Spring Rolls

Pei Wei Asian Diner is a chain restaurant that started in Arizona, a “sister” chain to the popular, more upscale P.F Chang’s. Pei Wei was introduced to field all the take-out Chinese orders that P.F Chang’s was getting, but was not set up to handle. Although the Pei Wei stores are sit-down restaurants, they do a lot of take-out, often as much at 50% of their business.

I got an invite to a free feed at Pei Wei. The store I went to was in Hancock Center, a somewhat run-down shopping center that pre-dates “Malls”; my Mom used to take me to the Sears there in, what, 1971? Hancock Center has experienced a revitalization in recent years, mostly due to the awesome popularity of Freebird’s Burritos. It is getting to be a quite respectable destination again, after a few years of being a little Urban Blighty.

Minced Chicken and Shiitake Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

I was surprised when I entered at how crowded the place was! If nothing else, Pei Wei has found it’s niche: the dining room was packed, and on a weeknight! Behind the counter 6 or 7 kitchen workers/chefs were making food as fast a humanly possible, and the kitchen they were working in was spotless. Fresh ingredients were obvious throughout the kitchen. For a chain, this was a good sign, and I noticed it.

We were treated to several appetizers and their new entrée, “a new take on Ramen”. “Ramen” just means “noodles” in Japanese, it isn’t the noodles’ fault that Americans think “Top Ramen” (3 packages for a dollar) when we hear the word Ramen.

*NEW* Japanese Chile Beef Ramen

The appetizers were fine, and some of them are exactly the same recipes used at P.F. Chang’s. I sampled a chicken spring roll (I think it was supposed to be Thai), Lettuce Wraps, and Edamame. The heat and spiciness of the appetizers was more toned-down than I am used to; I found the sauces and flavoring to be a trifle bland compared to local, single-location places here in town. But all the appetizers were more than edible, and the Lettuce Wraps were really nice. Pei Wei uses a lot, A LOT, of fresh vegetables in their food, and fresh herbs such as cilantro and mint, which really sets them apart from the average chain Chinese take-out place. If I were traveling in a strange town and I saw a Pei Wei, I would feel totally OK about eating there.

The Main Dish, the re-imagined bowl of ramen, was a disappointment, I am sorry to say. The ONE THING that they do not make fresh at Pei Wei is their sauces: consequently, they all taste jarred. It really is a shame, when they are doing 90% of everything right (cutting their own meats, prepping all their own vegetables, doing nearly everything by hand at every location), that they made the corporate call to use pre-made sauces from their factory in Arizona. It doesn’t jar too badly when you are talking about sweet-and-pungent sauce or even Peanut Dipping Sauce, but in the Ramen dish the canned flavor was dreadful and overpowering. It made the whole dish taste like it came out of a can. Even the fresh jalapenos and cilantro and bean sprouts couldn’t save it.

I got this AWESOME $10 gift card, and I will be using it and trying another dish. Pei Wei represents a move in the right direction, as far as I am concerned, for fast, chain food, and I am sure there are many things on the menu that I will enjoy.

Pei Wei Corporate: if you are reading this, FOR GOD’S SAKE, use the trained chefs you have at every store to MAKE FRESH SAUCES!!!

Gumbo’s on Colorado Street

Crab Cake with Chipotle Aioli

Well, as we head into the Autumn…what am I saying? It was 104˚ today and it is merely the beginning of August! Autumn is MONTHS away in Central Texas!

(Ahem) As the rest of the country looks toward Autumn, the Food Blogger Events are starting up again. I have to admit, in the middle of the summer, my interest in eating waned; I was glad there were no events. But this week it sounded like fun again, and good thing, because the invitations are piling up. Tonight was GUMBO’S Food Blogger Happy Hour, and they did it up in style.

It is a wretched aspect of human nature, but the better you are treated, the higher your standards get. Nowadays, in order to feel fully feted, I expect a free drink IN ADDITION to the free food. Although all I had at GUMBO’S was 1/2 a glass of white wine, I really appreciated that half-glass.

But even in addition to this, GUMBO’S raised the bar even higher: they provided FREE valet parking. Any restaurant that does not have sufficient parking who does not offer this, I am afraid, is going to compare unfavorably to GUMBO’S in the future. (In my wee brain, that is.)

Redfish Francine

We were treated to five different menu items:

Blackened Beef Tenderloin topped with Crab Bernaise

The Crab Cake: served with chipotle aioli and jicama slaw. These were all gone when I got there (except the one in the photo that was reserved for photographic purposes) so I didn’t get to taste it. It was the favorite of several bloggers I spoke to, and the jicama slaw and chipotle aioli were praised.

Oysters Rockefeller: This was my personal Fave; an oyster shell filled with a dollop of creamed spinach with just a hint of Pernod, topped with 2 fried oysters and Parmeson cheese. Really well done, all the flavors in great balance. The fried oysters were a clever twist, and the soft spinach provided the missing mouthfeel. LOVELY!

Redfish Francine: Blackened redfish served over crawfish tails in creamy tarragon sauce. The redfish was perfectly cooked, however, I found the sauce a little too bland and the crayfish tails a little to0 small and hard.

Oyster Rockefeller: AWESOME!!

Tenderloin George: Blackened Beef Tenderloin topped with crabmeat in Bernaise, in a red wine reduction. This tenderloin was so tender I actually DID cut it with a spoon, and it was just delicious. The red wine reduction was insufficiently acidic; it could have been reduced a good bit more for a more robust flavor. I would, however, happily eat a platter of these tenderloins!

South Louisiana Bread Pudding: Lovely presentation and I particularly liked the ice cream/bread pudding combination. The pudding was a little dense, I think due to the sort of bread used (it may have been whole wheat).

All in all, the refined atmosphere, white tablecloths, warm woodwork and freezing air conditioning, coupled with the not unduly spicy cajun-influenced menu, makes GUMBO’S the kind of place that is perfect to take your folks or any other group when you want to go somewhere “nice”, but you don’t want the food to be unduly spicy or unfamiliar. The staff is excellent as well.

Baking the Bread Puddings in Tiny Muffin Cups was Clever!

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is YET ANOTHER coffee shop to come to South Austin; it is in the original Waterloo Records store, next to the new condominiums that ALREADY has “The Lift” coffee shop in it, and right across the street from the Schlotsky’s on South Lamar. When I first heard the name “The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf“, I have got to admit, I thought something along the lines of: “That is the dumbest name I have ever heard.” I still kind of think so! I mean, SERIOUSLY, people! How many people were on the committee to think that name up? It’s generic….AND twee! To my mind it seems to have “Ye Olde” in front of it, sort of IMPLIED! Ye Olde Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf!

But then they sent me a can of free green tea, and the tea was……TOTALLY AWESOME! THe tea is called “Lung Ching Dragonwell” and is tastes fantastic, comes in charming silken bags, and has so much caffiene in it it makes you feel like you are fixing to have an acid trip! Seriously, I L*O*V*E IT!

So that made me feel more charitable about their name and presence.

Tonight they had a little bash to invite folks like me (and I suppose their friends and colleagues) to see what they are going to do. It was packed! They were having tastes of all the stuff they are going to have, and they have wrangled some local companies to make stuff for them, such as Mary Louise Butters Brownies (that I think are Very Good) and some local cookies and Austin Nuts and some other people, all good vendors, and all local.

They provide LOTS of different powders to put in your coffee

But somehow, it didn’t feel local. It felt, to be honest, like “local-washing”, to coin a term. The store just looked like they had perfected their concept elsewhere. I asked around and it is true: they are from California or something. (Don’t you love how fact-checking and accurate I am on my Blog Posts?)

They had a really good jazz band playing, music I actually rather enjoyed, and I had an iced tea (for FREE!) and sampled their wares. The place is fine, what they are doing is fine; the coffee and tea are excellent, and they do other things, like make fancy coffee slushees that taste great, and yogurt and granola bowls to have with your coffee so that you actually eat breakfast. If I were travelling in a god-forsaken place like the Panhandle and I came across The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, I would be THRILLED.

Mary Louise Butter's Brownies

But here in Austin, the competition is so fierce, I am not certain that they have enough to differentiate them from other, somewhat corporate coffee shops. Well, maybe they don’t NEED to be different, maybe there are enough condo-dwelling well-to-do fancy coffee swilling bozos to keep everyone smiling and profitable. We shall see, I suppose. I hope so, because I wish them well, and they gave me some free tea.

And perhaps the excellence of their teas will set them apart. Because that DRAGONWELL, it is really something. They offer it iced, possibly all the time.

Many Sorts of Coffee

Raspberry Yogurt and Granola Bowl. It was Good.