Our first day trip...

Soon after Andy flew in from Myrtle Beach we took a pseudo-work trip to Kyle, TX. A quaint little town about half an hour south of Austin, it's home to Texas Old Town, a hand built theme park turned event center that could double as the set for Bonanza (OK, don't know if I've ever actually seen that show but you understand the feel I'm trying to convey). After our scouting mission we weaved through the town's main streets looking for eats.

Luvianos Mexican Restaurant caught our eye with its brightly colored accents and authentic looking exterior.We grabbed a booth by the window; by now we were tired of being out in the blazing heat (and it's only the beginning of June). Our server quickly approached with the obligatory chips and salsa. This was the day I figured out that I don't really care for thick tortilla chips. Unfortunately I couldn't hide them under their watery, over-spiced salsa either.

My cheese and chicken enchiladas, laced and stuffed with a cheddar cheese blend instead of the queso blanco I'm used to, were pretty average but filling. Andy seemed to like his omelet, especially constructing the perfect mouthful by combining a fork load of all the elements and following it with a bite of tortilla. At least when the cheap bill came, we felt like it was worth the price.

On our way through town we passed a plot full of bbq-ing wood. Different trees splintered and neatly stacked for customers hoping to impart a certain flavor to their next hog.

Here I'll admit that I was damn near grown before I learned that in addition to being a BBQ potato chip flavor, mesquite was also a tree; a hardy, shrub like plant that grows from northern Mexico to southern Kansas and westward, according to wikipedia. You can also grind mesquite tree bean pods up to make flour or soak the leaves in water to make medicinal eye drops apparently. It's used to make furniture and, of course, to smoke or grill anything you can fit over a BBQ pit. It sounds kind of like the Hickory of Texas.