Sunday, October 08, 2006
Austin, TX
Iron Cactus
606 Trinity St. Austin, Tx 78701
Tel: 512.472.9240
Dinner: Monday - Friday: 11am to 11pm Saturday: 12am to 11pm Sunday: 4pm to 10:30pm (bar open later)
Upon our latish arrival we headed for 6th street, knowing we could still get dinner. The first consensus pick was Iron Cactus. The salsa was good, but my entree was so-so and my sangria tasted like kool aid. The upstairs deck overlooking 6th street is great though.
Iron Cactus website
Las Manitas
211 Congress Ave Austin TX 78701
(512) 472 9357
On recommendation of the Dallas bureau's Joel, me and JP had breakfast at Las Manitas. It was a nice mexican breakfast spot, bright and bustling. I had eggs with chorizo which I expected to be eggs beside chorizo, not one big scramble but it didn't matter, it was good anyway. The salsa was spicy and good too. JP reports that the huevos rancheros were "good".
*note the name of the Restaurant is Las Manitas, which it says if you face it head on, the "Avenue" sign is from a previous establishment.
606 Trinity St. Austin, Tx 78701
Tel: 512.472.9240
Dinner: Monday - Friday: 11am to 11pm Saturday: 12am to 11pm Sunday: 4pm to 10:30pm (bar open later)
Upon our latish arrival we headed for 6th street, knowing we could still get dinner. The first consensus pick was Iron Cactus. The salsa was good, but my entree was so-so and my sangria tasted like kool aid. The upstairs deck overlooking 6th street is great though.
Iron Cactus website
Las Manitas
211 Congress Ave Austin TX 78701
(512) 472 9357
On recommendation of the Dallas bureau's Joel, me and JP had breakfast at Las Manitas. It was a nice mexican breakfast spot, bright and bustling. I had eggs with chorizo which I expected to be eggs beside chorizo, not one big scramble but it didn't matter, it was good anyway. The salsa was spicy and good too. JP reports that the huevos rancheros were "good".
*note the name of the Restaurant is Las Manitas, which it says if you face it head on, the "Avenue" sign is from a previous establishment.
Lockhart, TX
Smitty's Market
208 south Commerce St. Lockhart TX
512 398 9344
Closes at 6pm daily.
I had read this article on the internet a while back and being somewhat of a barbecue connoisseur, it stuck in my mind, and I made a note that if I'm ever in the area I should try and eat at this barbecue restaurant. Well I was in the area (Austin is only a half hour drive away) and it pretty much lived up to the hype. You order your meat from the guys at the pit in the back and you pay by weight. You can choose a combination of brisket, ribs and sausage. Then your order drinks and sides from the counter in the dining area. I had brisket and an avocado with sweet tea, JP had ribs and we split the sausage. Your meat comes on brown paper and you sit at big tables and eat it with plastic knives and dos manos. The sausage was really good and the brisket was great - the lean slice with the crust is divinely salty smoky delicious. This is one of those places were they are a little snobby about sauce (the idea being that the meat is so perfect it doesn't need sauce, and I thought the brisket truly was, I enjoyed it straight up, with no added seasoning) but it is available upon request. And the avocado was delicious to boot.
As you can tell, I loved this place, and even bought the tshirt, which smelled good enough to eat days later.
* The website is Smittysmarket.com, but it is not working right now even though I used it a week ago to get the address.
208 south Commerce St. Lockhart TX
512 398 9344
Closes at 6pm daily.
I had read this article on the internet a while back and being somewhat of a barbecue connoisseur, it stuck in my mind, and I made a note that if I'm ever in the area I should try and eat at this barbecue restaurant. Well I was in the area (Austin is only a half hour drive away) and it pretty much lived up to the hype. You order your meat from the guys at the pit in the back and you pay by weight. You can choose a combination of brisket, ribs and sausage. Then your order drinks and sides from the counter in the dining area. I had brisket and an avocado with sweet tea, JP had ribs and we split the sausage. Your meat comes on brown paper and you sit at big tables and eat it with plastic knives and dos manos. The sausage was really good and the brisket was great - the lean slice with the crust is divinely salty smoky delicious. This is one of those places were they are a little snobby about sauce (the idea being that the meat is so perfect it doesn't need sauce, and I thought the brisket truly was, I enjoyed it straight up, with no added seasoning) but it is available upon request. And the avocado was delicious to boot.
As you can tell, I loved this place, and even bought the tshirt, which smelled good enough to eat days later.
* The website is Smittysmarket.com, but it is not working right now even though I used it a week ago to get the address.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Bryan, TX
Los Nortenos
205 Main St. Dowtown Bryan TX
(979) 779 7337 Open 7 days 7a-8p, Sun 7a-2p
Los Nortenos is authentic and a little gritty. It'sarchetypicall texmex. The atmosphere is good but the food is so so at best. The salsa was a bad, watery concoction with giant slices of onion in it. I had the special, which was greasy chicken enchiladas, and the guac on the side was manufactured and bland.
But the service was friendly and quick, and there was excellent graffiti in the bathroom.
* Whoever comes along to Bryan next should try therestaurantt next door, Papa Perez, which was also recommended to us but closed when we were eating.
205 Main St. Dowtown Bryan TX
(979) 779 7337 Open 7 days 7a-8p, Sun 7a-2p
Los Nortenos is authentic and a little gritty. It'sarchetypicall texmex. The atmosphere is good but the food is so so at best. The salsa was a bad, watery concoction with giant slices of onion in it. I had the special, which was greasy chicken enchiladas, and the guac on the side was manufactured and bland.
But the service was friendly and quick, and there was excellent graffiti in the bathroom.
* Whoever comes along to Bryan next should try therestaurantt next door, Papa Perez, which was also recommended to us but closed when we were eating.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Boston, MA
Pourhouse
907 Boylston St. Boston MA
617-236-1767
This is a Boylston street dive frequented by BU, Emerson, and Northeastern students. The food is awful but the burgermania (saturday nights burgers half price) is about the best deal ever.
Pourhouse website
Legal Seafoods
800 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02199
Phone: (617) 266 6800
Back when I lived in Boston I thought Legal's was a Boston chain but now they have locations down the east coast. Not that that makes it bad exactly, their clam chowder and lobster rolls are pretty much the quintessential examples or their respective species. They have all this mumbo jumbo about testing their seafood too so you always feel real confident eating lots of raw stuff. If you're in Boston there's probably one nearby.
Legal's Website
Finale
One Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 423-3184
A great place for high end desserts ( and they only serve dessert).
Finale's website
The North End
(Use Hanover St. and Prince St. for mapping devices)
Boston's North End is a neighborhood historically home to Italian immigrants and one of a handful of places to go for authentic Italian American food. Take the T to haymarket and ask directions, or go the opposite direction of the people with Mike's Pastry boxes.The restaurants aren't that important, or different in my opinion, just go to the North End, stroll around for a minute, and pick one - one that isn't too crowded or too empty. And pick up something from Mike's Pastry to take to the hotel room; the tiramisu cup and pitzelles are recommended.
Bella Vista
288 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-367-4999
website
Cafe Florentine
333 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-227-1777
Website
907 Boylston St. Boston MA
617-236-1767
This is a Boylston street dive frequented by BU, Emerson, and Northeastern students. The food is awful but the burgermania (saturday nights burgers half price) is about the best deal ever.
Pourhouse website
Legal Seafoods
800 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02199
Phone: (617) 266 6800
Back when I lived in Boston I thought Legal's was a Boston chain but now they have locations down the east coast. Not that that makes it bad exactly, their clam chowder and lobster rolls are pretty much the quintessential examples or their respective species. They have all this mumbo jumbo about testing their seafood too so you always feel real confident eating lots of raw stuff. If you're in Boston there's probably one nearby.
Legal's Website
Finale
One Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 423-3184
A great place for high end desserts ( and they only serve dessert).
Finale's website
The North End
(Use Hanover St. and Prince St. for mapping devices)
Boston's North End is a neighborhood historically home to Italian immigrants and one of a handful of places to go for authentic Italian American food. Take the T to haymarket and ask directions, or go the opposite direction of the people with Mike's Pastry boxes.The restaurants aren't that important, or different in my opinion, just go to the North End, stroll around for a minute, and pick one - one that isn't too crowded or too empty. And pick up something from Mike's Pastry to take to the hotel room; the tiramisu cup and pitzelles are recommended.
Bella Vista
288 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-367-4999
website
Cafe Florentine
333 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-227-1777
Website
