Achim "Chef Keem" T.'s Profile

My wife and I just finished our Mesquite-grilled Chicken Tacos with Rice and Beans and nice heap of Feta Guacamole. We both agree: this is very, very good food! I can't help it but use what may sound like a cliché...this food tastes like it has been cooked with extreme care and love.

I've had their Pork Tacos before, and I've had the same impression back then: BIG flavor! All their ingredients simply fit together like a recipe made in heaven. When you're done eating, you feel heavenly satisfied rather than heavily full.

Emily's Dive has been open for only 6 weeks, or so. But I predict a great future for this amazing new food trailer.

Considering the poor restaurant selection in Cordova, the "Fisherman" is a good choice. I enjoyed the fried halibut a lot and the burgers are quite decent. The atmosphere is very friendly and the connected hotel is comfortable and affordable. Free computer access and WiFi.

I was looking for a local specialty food item to give to my out-of-town friends for Christmas 2007. I knew about spiceburst's Rocket Sauce, I've been using it regularly for a couple of years. It has a very unique and spicy character, and I squeeze it onto and into anything that I'd slathered with mustard in the past. The Rocket Sauce not only replaces mustard but it is much more and better than mustard to me, because of its distinct flavor profile. A very complex spice mix paired with some really attractive heat (not overpowering yet powerful) enhances my weenies, burgers, sandwiches, stews and soups to a wonderful degree.

Back to my Xmas mission: the Rocket Sauce went into the basket but I wanted a little more. So I bought some of their Chipotle Saltburst and Chile Lime Saltburst, also for myself. And here's where the excitement began. For the first time, I realized that not all salt is alike. What a difference in salt flavor and enhanced food flavor, when using natural sea salt. It's like eating supermarket x-ray tomatoes versus the heirloom farmers market variety. You simply know this is good! And you don't want to go back to the old stuff you used to buy. I didn't know how harmful regular table salt can be because of the chemical processing. On their website is an interesting primer on salt history and usage.

Look for their booth at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market, and their product on the shelves of Farm to Market Grocery, Central Market, Whole Foods, and many more places.

I grew up in Munich, Germany, back in the '50s and '60s. The produce was as clean and fresh as can be, and my mother served Boston Bibb lettuce nearly every day. Of course, it wasn't called Boston Bibb - we called it "Kopfsalat", meaning "head salad". So, one could say, I know my Boston Bibb, I was raised on it.

After I had come to the States, in 1981, I was introduced to this thing called ice berg lettuce, not bad for certain applications, but pretty flavorless, otherwise.

Fast-forward to the early 2000's, when I first trained my bite on this flavorful gem called Amador Farms Boston Bibb.  My peeks turned chink...um...I mean, my cheeks turned pink, and the memories of crunchy greens of my youth rejuvenated my worn corpse into something way more age-appropriate.

What a revelation! Susan and Rusty Staub, owners of Amador Farms, sell IMHO the best bibb around, and then some: Romaine, Arugula, Asian greens, all of it with true flavors you didn't know exist in such greenery. Makes it damn fun to eat healthy.

Find Amador Farms at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market and at select gourmet groceries (Farm to Market) around town. Call 'em for stores in your vicinity.

I can't emphasize it enough: this is, hands down, the best rotisserie chicken I've ever had in my entire life. They use some kind of a new infra red grilling technology from Germany, paired with an obviously secret dry rub recipe, and the result is a wonderfully moist, tender and flavorful whole grilled chicken.

You know how cooked chicken normally dries out quickly, when stored in the fridge for a couple of days. I had this chicken after a week of storage and it was still as moist as a fresh bird.

Country Grill chicken can be found at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market, in the parking lot of the Toney Burger Center (stadium), every Saturday from 9-1. http://www.svfm.com

Look for the delivery van with a big half chicken on the roof. They often sell out in the last market hour, so don't be too late.

I'm gushing a bit here, but I swear to God that I have no vested interest in this business. The owner is German, like myself, and we chat it up every once-in-a-while, but that's it! The quality of this chicken is so overwhelmingly great that I'm sharing this info with everyone I meet. And if you don't believe me, just ask anyone in the long line of folks waiting for their weekly chix fix at the market.

A fairly new neighborhood convenience market with a special touch added by the extensive food and wine expertise of the owner. This place is still developing in terms of inventory, but one can already see the trend towards locally-made specialty/artisan products in addition to all the items one expects to find in such a store.

The breakfast tacos are delicious and the sandwiches are wonderful and  of gourmet quality. I really recommend the Cuban Pork...mmmh!

I'm looking forward to watch this business grow into a full-fledged member of the South Austin community of unique neighborhood groceries with outstanding customer service, a movement initiated and perfected by the Farm-to-Market Grocery on South Congress.

Full disclosure: I do business with both Live Oak Market and Farm-to-Market Grocery as a vendor of specialty chocolates and flavored agave nectars.