jen "Procrastinatress Extraordinaire" f.'s Profile

Two months ago for our anniversary, my parents were treating and we were trying to decide between Soleil (which I'd just read a great review of) and Uchiko (which, duh). We went with Uchiko.

So yesterday, being Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I thought it might be fun to get out to Lake Travis for lunch, but not in the hang-out-with-dudes-drinking-Bud-Light kind of way. So we decided to go to Soleil.

When we pulled up it immediately reminded me of Kemah: cheesy restaurants (with mediocre food) geared toward tourists and suburban families. Not what I'd expected given the classy writeup I'd read.

Guess what? Soleil is an oasis (get it?) of uncheesiness in that whole complex. The interior is bright and clean and simply decorated. We of course sat on the patio and drooled over the view. With the fans and misters it was surprisingly pleasant given that it was 98° out.

And our food was delicious. We ordered the tomato/pesto bruschetta and cocktails. And my husband got the gorgonzola pizza, I got the shrimp burger and our friend got the rainbow trout with crabmeat and raisins and pine nuts.

Dessert was key lime "pie" that was really more like a key lime cheesecake.

It was perfect. The food was light and fresh, just what you'd want on a hot day while sitting outside. No frat boys and a beautiful view of the lake.

No complaints. Oh, except that halfway through our meal the sun crept over the edge of the table putting me in the sun and mildly burning my right arm. But I can't really complain about the sun at a place called Soleil, can I?

I'll preface this by saying we don't really go out. Like past 10pm. Or dancing. On weekends.

I WILL go to a nice cocktail bar for happy hour or an early evening drink. And I will listen to decent music on my phone or laptop. And a few years ago I had a cocktail conversion wherein I abandoned my vodka/sodas for drinks with gin and creme de violette.

(5 points if you figured I was talking about an Aviation.)

So when I found myself at Malverde's bar on a Saturday night having to shout over the (good) music, I was at a loss. The girls next to me ordered shots. The guy next to me ordered vodka/Red Bull. In their fridge I saw containers of what looked like fresh juices.

I yelled to the bartender, "Can you make me something fresh?!"

"Fresh?! What do you mean, like a vodka/soda?!"

". . . just give me 3 Topo Chicos!"

"Do you want a cocktail menu?!"

"You have one? Yes, please!"

And I ordered the spicy paloma and it was awful. The spicy flavor overwhelmed everything. I didn't even finish it and wish I'd just stuck with my Topo Chico.

All of that aside, the space is badass. I love the low couches, the giant windows, the hanging plants, the no cover, the huge patio, the crazy white girls dancing like nobody was watching.

Next time, I'll probably just order something reliable, like a Dos Equis.

Don't get it twisted! The food here is great- everything we tried was delicious. They lose 2 stars for not offering many vegetarian items (at least not any healthy ones) or any vegan entrees.

[I originally gave this place 3 stars. I'm adding a star because their menu is actually ON THE WEBSITE instead of making me download a damn PDF. I hate that.]

I'd like to give them 5 stars because I LOVE the patio, love that it's dog friendly, love the location, loved the food and drinks. But this is 2011 and its Austin and it's kind of ridiculous that a vegan could only eat fries, nuts and pickled beets.

That aside, we ordered every vegetarian item on the menu and ate them all and they were tasty. I really liked the Escarole with its crazy chunks of dried garlic.

The highlights were our drinks (I had the Ranch Swizzle and YUM) and the beer ice cream. In fact, more than once these past few weeks I've found myself I've craving it.

I'll definitely go back to Contigo for a summer evening drink/dessert or in cooler weather for happy hour, but I probably won't waste my time trying to eat a meal there unless the menu expands.

I'd read good things about this place somewhere and since it's in my hood, I decided to try it today for breakfast.

My husband and I have been mostly vegan for about a month and a half and something came over us when we entered the door. I don't know if we were craving cholesterol or if we'd had one too many bean and avocado tacos, but next thing we knew we were ordering french toast and crawfish omelettes.

What?

Oh, and cheesy grits. (In my defense, my cafe au lait was soy.)

My french bread french toast practically melted in my mouth. D's omelette was good, too. About halfway through, we came out of our trance and were like, "What are we eating?" And then we kept eating it.

They do have veggie tacos but we didn't try them. Maybe next time. We will definitely be going back for the beer-on-tap and dog-friendly patio goodness. And maybe we'll bring some willpower when we're faced with their deliciously sinful food.

A few weeks ago some girlfriends and I decided to make plans for brunch. (Hear that, young'uns? MAKE PLANS for brunch. A FEW WEEKS in advance. It's what you do when there are spouses and kids involved and your days of waking up at noon and texting your friend you partied with the night before to see where everyone's meeting for brunch are over.)

We were scrolling the interwebs for where to eat and I saw on the Twitter that the W was now open. So we decided to eat at Trace. I made a reservation, thinking I'd need one since the W is new and fabulous and it would probably be a hot brunch spot. Um, not yet. (I keep forgetting that I'm not on Sex and the City.) There were only 4 other tables occupied the whole time we were there. So what I'm saying is go now before everyone figures it out and you can't get in.

Anyway, the decor is fabulous, mostly gray/black/white. You feel fancy just being in there. To start, my friends got mimosas and I ordered a gin-based drink with watermelon and thyme- it was yum. Oh, and they have complimentary sparkling water! (In yo FACE, San Jose, with your $4 Topo Chico!) They were still working on their brunch menu, so from 11:30 - 3:00 they offered both breakfast and lunch. I ordered the shrimp tartine and my friends ordered the corned beef hash and the stone ground grits. I wasn't sure what to expect with my tartine, but it certainly wasn't shrimp and butter lettuce on grilled bread served with a sculpture of fries on a wooden plank. And luckily the presentation wasn't compensating for anything- the food was delicious. We all finished our plates. (I felt like my friend's grits needed salt but she didn't say anything and ate the whole thing, so maybe I should start going to Saltoholics Anonymous.)

We declined a second round of drinks (see aforementioned spouses and kids) and opted for coffees and we all split a dessert: clementines on a moist cakey-thing (that's right, I'm a chef. (I'm not.)) with tarragon ice cream and an almond brittle (I think).

On the way out we got a tour of the hotel and duh, it's amazing. So, yeah, Yelp, I'd say it was as good as it gets. I didn't mention the service but everyone was super-friendly and attentive and I'm definitely going back.

So I've slept on the whole frozen yogurt craze and when my friend invited me to hang out on a 10987345 degree day this past weekend (with a heat index of 3240897325087), um, yeah, we needed something frozen.

We read about Rita's and it was close to both of us, so we went. I know nothing of Italian Ice snobbery and we sampled the watermelon flavored one but it was super sweet, like a Jolly Rancher. And the girl in front of me ordered a gelati, which is custard, topped with an italian ice, topped with custard. Um yeah. I'll have that with vanilla custard and the lemon ice.

How could that not be refreshing? Remember waiting in line for 2 hours for the new-roller-coaster-of-the-year at Six Flags in the middle of the day in July and buying the hard-as-a-rock Lemon Chill just to cool down?

Well, this was better. Much better.

I got the smallest size, but I could have gone smaller because I didn't finish it, it was too much- too rich, I think. Or I'm a weakling. Whatever.

Every time I tried to go here (and with everyone and their mom talking about it, it seemed like a requirement) it was closed.

But finally, FINALLY I got to try it this weekend. We were at Liberty anyway and I hadn't eaten. So I went to order and being vegetarian, I could pretty much only order the beets or the brussels sprouts. Two things I've never, ever liked.

Well guess what. I like THEIRS. Much in the same way I never liked butternut squash until I had it with goat cheese, green onions and truffle oil (talking about you, fete)? I never liked brussels sprouts until they were roasted and served with fresh cabbage, cilantro, jalapeños and some sauce whose main ingredient is crack, I'm sure of it.

And the beet fries we also awesome. But then again, I'll eat just about anything if you fry it and serve it with a side of mayo. What high cholesterol?

(Wanted to give it 4 stars for not having a wider vegetarian selection, but frankly, it's not going to keep me from eating there, so 5 stars it is.)

I'm here for work and last night I spent $31 BY MYSELF at Lüke eating things with blood orange hollandaise sauce and fancy drinks with absinthe. So tonight I wanted a po'boy and a beer. I wanted to make a mess and sit at a bar.

Thanks to Yelp, I found a place to eat a po'boy within walking distance of my hotel. The reviews were right about the line of people and they were also right about it moving quickly.

I was seated at the bar after about 2 minutes of waiting in line. Another guy sat next to me at the same time and he seemed confused. He should have read Yelp! I quickly ordered a half shrimp po'boy with a side of cole slaw. And an Abita- DUH. Then I saw the oyster shooter for $1.49. Cool. I didn't need a plate of raw oysters, just one would be enough- at least so I could try it. I mean, I AM at an oyster bar.

The food came out quick, before my confused neighbor had even decided what to order. It looked perfect. The girl asked if I wanted tartar sauce or cocktail sauce, I said "Sure, both." She was like, "Really?" I said, "Sure!"

I had no idea what the po'boy would need. I mean, come on.

I ended up adding both, but in hindsight could have done away with the tartar. The cocktail sauce was just like I like it: 80% horseradish. Horseradish is my favorite kind of spicy. I want to not hear what you're saying for a second because I had too much horseradish.Y'all can all keep your jalapeños and habaneros and fire-breathing dishes. I'll take an exploding head ANY DAY over having to keep my toilet paper in the freezer.

So the food was great, but not mindblowing. The bread was just right, the cole slaw was decent cole slaw. I'm taking away a star because the fried shrimp- while delicious- were small, like salad shrimp. My neighbor ended up ordering a fried platter and his shrimp would have been AWESOME on my po'boy, IMHO.

What about the oyster shooter, you're saying? I know! Well, I thought it would be a single oyster on a cracker with fixins. Nope. they brought me a tiny plastic cup with an oyster sitting in some cocktail sauce and some liquid. I smelled it, no smell.

"Um, excuse me, what's in this? Besides the oyster?"

"Vodka. And cocktail sauce."

Oh. Not what I was counting on. But it's my new favorite way to drink vodka, y'all!

So go. Order some oysters (while you still can) and have fun. Don't be intimidated by the line. If you sit at the bar and mention the oil spill (that's you, drunk dude sitting next to me) you get to hear the oyster-shucker launch into a good-natured diatribe about Big Oil corruption, government corruption, fishing regulation, poverty, Bush, Obama, Israel, his mom, Katrina and his new-to-him boat.

What. It's New Orleans. You just wanted a po'boy?

Y.U.M.

I've seen this truck on the way to work but have never stopped. (Because I don't have time. It's 8:58 and I still have to go 7 blocks. The kind of people who have time to stop and get tacos on the way to work, who ARE those people?)

Tonight I went to twitter and found out that TaKorea would be @6th and Waller (east side, what what!) AND we had cash. (Also, those people who always have cash, who are THOSE people?) There were 5 trucks serving food tonight (plus free beer due to #19's grand opening party) so we ordered from a few.

But TaKorea was my fave. I had the veggie dog with cabbage and spicy tofu. It was all the way awesome. The dog was good, the cabbage was good, the tofu added a spiciness and there was some kind of sesame seed salsa over the whole thing. Halfway through eating it I noticed the bun. I think it was a potato bun? It was melting in my mouth. Perfection.

I took away a star because of their beverage choices but then I added a star because the name TaKorea is sheer brilliance.

I've been here about 4 times in the last 6 months. First, my car was broken into and the jerks stole my prescription sunglasses. So I looked on Yelp and discovered Eclectic Eyewear. My prescrip from Houston was only 6 months old, so I had it faxed to me and went in to get sunglasses.

Zach was super patient and helpful and helped me pick out a pair of sunglasses.

Then a few months later I got a wild hair you-know-where and decided that, at 31, after 10 years of glasses, I want contacts. So I made an appointment with Dr. Gajda and they taught me how to put in contacts and got me all set up.

I went back a week later for the follow-up and I wasn't happy. Contacts were weird, I was having a hard time reading and the brightness of my monitor suddenly bothered me, etc.

So Dr. Gajda had me try a month-long pair instead of the 2-week type I'd first tried. And those seemed better. I don't know if they actually fit better or if I'd just been being a big baby and needed to get used to them. I suspect it was the latter.

At any rate, everyone there has been super helpful and I LOVE LOVE that they have their own parking lot. So I'll go in, and then find an excuse to go to Cream Vintage, Urban Outfitters or Terra Burger. (Ahem)

The only thing I regret is that I haven't had a chance to buy any of their fun glasses frames! Next year, I guess.