Love Me a Banh Mi

been craving one of these vietnamese sandwiches for a while now. the urge was compunded by an article i read in the new york times dining & wine section which reviewed the best spots for these fresh and filling treats. unfortunately they were all in manhattan. luckily, austin has a contingency of its own banh mi vendors. i've heard great things about tam's deli, but it's a little ways north and never seems to be inside the acceptable radius for scoring food when i get a hankering. after a little internet research, i uncovered Lulu B's on the corner of s. lamar and oltorf. i would have missed this little white trailer nestled under some trees next to office depot had i not been scouting for it.
the menu is simple; sandwich or noodle bowl. the choices of meat are straightforward; pork or chicken that's grilled, bbq'ed or cooked with lemongrass. i ordered the chinese bbq pork sandwich and hunkered down by a tree, which also holds the menu, trying to escape the wind. After less than 5 minutes and $5 i was on my way.


this sandwich was really, really good. perfectly sauced and grilled pork, lightly charred with just enough crunchy, carmelized bits. not too fatty. the condiments were yum; pickled carrots, handful of cilantro, and cucumber sticks that were seeded and peeled with care. the footlong french-inspired bread was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, with a swipe of good asian mayo (kewpie?). the sandwich was light on the daikon, a personal favorite, but heavy on flavor. i'll definitely be back for another of these treats that managed to tickle all my sweet, salty, sour and spicy taste buds.

good thing i studied CPR...

Oh no…this is horrible…
We need help…
Help….
It’s not looking good.
What’s the little guy’s name?
Austinbythehorns.
Austin…can you hear me?
(Quiet. Waiting)
No pulse.
I need a defib – stat.
Everybody stand back.
In 4, 3, 2, 1…
Thwump.
Checking for pulse.
Thwump.
I’ve got something…
It’s holding steady.
Dunt dun…dunt dun…dunt dun…
Not quite the end of the road for austinbythehorns yet…

Don't tell the police

We've finally gotten around to getting legal...mostly. Our snazzy Texas plates on our old and so-nearly-paid-off and new and sporty (respectively) cars...

how beautiful...

are the sunsets viewed from our over-sized living room window?

Piquant Ginger & Spice

andy and i took a little work trip over to Marble Falls, TX. truth be told, he was on the job and i was lounging and reading by the lake that robbed this little town of its namesake. when the Colorado River was dammed in 1951, the water level rose to cover the shelves of limestone that formed the water falls. also noteworthy is the fact that all the pink granite used to build the Texas Capitol building was mined from this city.after asking some locals for recommendations, we debated about which of the 2 ‘real’ restaurants we wanted to try. we chose well.


ginger & spice is a fairly new addition
to the town which is about 40 miles northeast of Austin. upon entering we immediately recognized its authenticity echoed in the staccato thai language being traded behind the long wooden bar that ran the length of one wall. our cute and somewhat awkward server greeted us with a mixture of trepidation and eagerness. after discerning that he was a reliable source (he’d moved to Marble Falls from Bangkok several months earlier to work at his family’s restaurant) and questioning him about several menu items, we settled on masaman curry and ginger beef.


the masaman was a thick stew of potatoes, peanuts and carrots in a coconut and curry spice blend broth. really tasty even though it lacked the layers of flavor that can elevate rich curries to a truly fabulous level.

the vegetables were as perfectly crisp as the meat was tender in the ginger beef. slivers of aromatic ginger were plentiful and could’ve run the risk of overpowering the thin gravy had we not been lovers of the tangy tuber.

our server’s uncle approached the table and plucked andy’s camera up explaining that he’s a photo-graffer. they talked about picture taking as i discussed travel with our waiter. the employees were constantly berating and joking with each other in a good natured, broken English kind of way and warmly invited us to join in the fun by explaining cultural tidbits and inside jokes.

andy snapped these shots as we had an after-dinner beer overlooking the water at river city grill. a nice view but none of the charm of the Thai restaurant.

we had a really great experience at ginger & spice. what the food was lacking in depth was more than compensated for by the warm personalities of the family who own the place. if you’re ever in Marble Falls, i recommend you stop in.

Magnolia's Cafe - Don't believe the hype

magnolia’s café was an utter disappointment. after it was profiled on the food network’s ’diners, drive-ins and dives’ and discovering that it was just a couple blocks down the road from our place, we decided to try brunch there. this was actually our second trip and we were hoping for an improvement over the rushed lunch we’d eaten there back in November on our scouting mission. after a bit of a wait (cannot believe people line up for this place), we were seated but given no menus or greeting until we flagged someone down, which was after a neighboring table that had been seated minutes after us already had drinks. we noticed that all the cute, sparkly cupcake paintings that hung on the wall months before were m.i.a. and unfortunately replaced by nothing. right away we were confronted with another table’s conversation about cold food that needed to be returned to the kitchen. we ordered water, which came with limes instead of lemons, that we would have rationed had we known it would be the only glass our server would deliver. the menu consists of standard sandwiches, lunch specials like meatloaf and fish, and some unique dishes like the magna cristo (a club sandwich on battered French toast style bread) and the mag mud nachos (a heap of avocado, queso, chips and beans). that table that had to send back cold food…yep, there they went again…eventually they just ordered something totally different.

i should have known better than to try my first migas (eggs scrambled with tomato, onion, pepper, cheddar, jack and tortilla chips) here. i can’t imagine how rough they would’ve been had i not paid the extra 25cents for a serrano and garlic LOVE butter upgrade. the veggies were really firm and crunchy, the eggs were watery, the cheese wasn’t melted and the whole thing was bland. it’s supposed to be served with tortillas, which took asking and waiting and asking and waiting to actually get my hands on.

same went for andy’s hot sauce, although he scored a little better on his meal. he had the house special omelet with home fries and an English muffin. the omelet was average but the home fries were crunchy and salty.

when i finally got up to corner our server and ask for the check, i refilled our drinks. the server realized how terrible the whole experience was, or maybe he was just lobbying for a decent tip which would not have been commensurate with the service, but he gave us a $5 ‘good patron‘ discount. still wasn’t enough to make up for the whole lousy experience. yeah, magnolia’s café, we’re sorry you’re open too.

toobin'

birthdays rule. especially when they involve 18-wheeler tire inner-tubes, lonestar tallboys and 6 hrs in the wilderness like this...

this adventure down the guadalupe (don't you dare mis-speak...it's pronounced guad-a-loop) was recorded on an old, waterproof disposable camera. so old that it actually accompanied ben and i on our rafting trip in costa rica. yikes...that was november of '07. no wonder the pics look ancient.