Elizabeth Street Cafe

02 Feb 2012 No Comments

by Emilyin Asian, French, Pork-a-licious, Restaurant Review, This may contain fish sauce or anchovies

On Saturday, we had a few hours to kill before a friend’s birthday party and finally had the chance to nom, nom, nom some killer Bahn Mi at Austin’s new French Vietnemese restaurant Elizabeth Street Cafe. Founded by Chef Larry McGuire who is slowly taking over Austin’s food scene one restaurant at a time (seriously, the guy has Lambert’s; Perla’s; Jeffrey’s and a new restaurant concept, Fresas opening next year). You can definitely tell this has Larry and Liz Lambert’s, what is now, signature touches to it. The curved seating, clean, bright colors, and a blend of Austin funkiness – mismatched wood chairs, eclectic artwork –  to round it out.

Now let’s get to the food. The French influence on Vietnemese food is evident in one item: the Bahn Mi. A French baguette stuffed with the flavors of Vietnam – cucumber, cilantro, carrots, jalapeño,  daikon, fish sauce and yummy pork or pate. We started with the Niman Ranch Pork Belly Steamed Buns with cucumber, scallion and hoisin sauce. Ohh, delightfully good. The buns were steamed to that just perfect pillow-soft texture and with the delicious juicy, soft pork belly it was an A+ bite of food. Exellent way to start the meal Chef McGuire.

We saw a lot of things we wanted to try on the menu but we knew our first visit to the restaurant would have to be all about the Bahn Mi. David ordered the House Specialty of Chicken Liver Mousse, Pork Pâté, Roasted Pork and I got the marinated pork. I’ve made my own Bahn Mi at home and had some at eateries here and there, but this by far was my favorite. The baguette was crispy outside (without crumbs falling all over the place), chewy on the inside with some super fresh and crunchy daikon, cucumber, carrot, jalapeño and topped with cilantro, sambal and mayonnaise with the perfectly marinated pork. In fact, they were so good, we ordered a third one to split! The housemade spicy pork meatball to be exact and yes, we snorted it. Total fat kids I know, but completely worth it.

To finish out our meal I had to get what’s being deemed as the new cupcake (honestly, I really don’t think anything is going to be the new cupcake), the canelle.  Given the fantastic house made bread (seriously, amazing stuff) I was super excited about the canelle and it had a nice moist interior with a crunchy caramel crust – it was a perfect sweet bite to end our meal. I’m happy that (a) I work down the street from this place (b) that our home is right not too far either since it’s a perfect grab-and-go restaurant for a quick Vietnamese coffee and pastry or a nice little spot to sit down and eat 85 Bahn Mi.

Niman Ranch Pork Belly Steamed Buns

Marinated Pork Bahn Mi

Canelle

I Heart Tomo Dachi

02 Mar 2011 No Comments

by Emilyin Restaurant Review Tags: Asanebo, Katsu-ya, Tomo Dachi

WhenI lived in Los Angeles I loved the multitude of sushi joints in the city. From the fancy schmancy places like Nobu to the beloved and even more popular ones in the strip malls across the Valley, where I called home. The most popular one was Katsu-ya tucked in a corner in little strip mall off Ventura Blvd, but I liked another even more unassuming sushi place just down the street in an even tinier strip mall called Asanebo. You walked in and always felt like family and the sushi, goodness the sushi was incredible no matter what you ordered.

When I left Los Angeles for Austin I wasn’t upset about the move much, except for my sushi and shabu shabu loss. Don’t get me wrong Austin has amazing sushi choices. Uchi anyone? But I knew I was going to miss the family feel, service and sushi that didn’t cost an arm and a leg if you were craving it. Leave it to my friend Kari who has been going to, wait for it, a sushi place in a little strip mall off of Parmer Lane up in North Austin called Tomo Dachi. Bit of a drive? Sure. Is this new my new family sushi joint that I totally love? Bet your bottom dollar.

Steve, Owner of Tomo Dachi (Photos from Tomo Dachi)

You walk in, especially with Kari because they lurve her (who doesn’t?), and cozy up right up to the sushi bar. Check out their specials and ask Sushi Chef Steve Riad (the owner) or any of the other excellent sushi chefs behind the bar what’s good, they will never let you down. I love this place, Steve and his wife Tina Son (head maitre’d and responsible for the awesome decor) take such amazing care of you and the food is amazing. Always get as many specials as you can, but some items off of the menu you can’t miss are Cherry Bomb, Screaming Orgasm, Fatty Tuna done Steve’s Way which means slightly torched, and the sushi sampler done roulette style.  As you know sashimi and the rice it sits on are typically held together with a light paste of spicy wasabi. Roulette style loads on a big piece of wasabi instead but you can’t tell until you put it in your mouth. The burn is mild and fades quickly, but there is something so funny about watching your friends to see if they’ve been “hit” or not. One time all three of my friends got hit and I didn’t. Bahahahaha. Also, be sure to ask for their cucumber sake or if they have it, watermelon-infused sake. I’m warning you now, you will drink this like candy so be careful!

If you are looking for a great sushi experience, a comfortable and totally fun environment get thee to Tomo Dachi immediately. I can gaurantee you will probably find us there any given weekend giggling at someone who has been hit with a wallop of wasabi.

Tomo Dachi location and logo - I want a t-shirt! (Photos from Tomo Dachi)

Haddington’s

09 Jan 2011 4 Comments

by Emilyin Restaurant Review Tags: Haddington's, Mulberry Austin, Petticoat Fair

Yesterday, the ladies and I had a super fun girl’s day. First was a trip to Petticoat Fair, which ladies of Austin,  if you haven’t been I highly suggest you get thee to the shop immediately. I don’t think I’ll ever buy foundation garments anywhere else after visiting this store. After hours of looking through knickers and brazziers, we had worked up quite an appetite and I suggested we visit the newly opened Haddington’s. I’m a super fan of Chef Northcutt’s Mulberry restaurant just across from Austin Music Hall. The Foieberry Burger and Bahn Mi are worth the trip and the wine list is awesome (get the Justin Cabernet Sauvignon).

Petticoat Fair

Haddington’s is a British-American gastropub featuring things like Fish and Chips (or Frips as they call them); Foie Gras Sausage; Pork Chops; Whole Branzino; a Turkey Sandwich with cranberry relish and stuffing on cornbread – Thanksgiving on a sandwich; and so much more. We decided to order all four of what’s called Toast Pots.  These are little pots of gooey goodness including: white bean and garlic; egg custard with truffles; rabbit rillet; and duck liver.  You schmear the delicious spreads over crispy toasts and then your eyes roll back in your head. These were all amazing in their own way and at $3 a pop with unlimited toasts it was a cost-effective start to our meal. I think the egg custard combined with the duck liver was my favorite.

They were out of pork shank but decided to replace it with a pork belly option. Well, twist my arm Haddington’s. They rolled the belly with tyhme and other herbs and then served with a mirepoix sauce and roasted carrots. At $24 to serve four people, it was certainly a good deal though. For sides we had mashed swede and Gorgonzola cheese…I’m bowing down to whoever created this side. It was AWESOME. We also got crispy potatoes which are basically long, crispy potato wedges.

We are all wine drinkers so we really didn’t peruse the beer list, but the wine list was confusing and a wee off-putting. I love good wine lists. I even appreciate wine lists that challenge me, but this was sporadic, very French-heavy and waaaaay out of price range for a gastropub. Austin has a lot of great wine lists and I think Haddington’s might want to rethink their wine options for their gentle wine-drinking clientele who are eating, albeit higher-end-than-normal, pub grub. We ordered some cost effective wines including the Cartlidge & Browne and Lucas & Lewellen. Also, the cocktails looked insanely good and I might fit one in next time. There’s one with duck fat in it…wow!

The decor is pubish with a modern but comfortable vibe. It’s also pretty neat as the restaurant is maze-like and filled with room, upon room, upon room; pubish indeed. We sat in The Picture Room and it was very hard to hear our table of four, especially when they moved in a table of 12 right next to us. I liked the ambiance but even for me it was a little dark,  We found ourselves huddled around candlelight snarking at the wine list and oogling at the food.

We plan to go back to Haddington’s a few more times since it was our first impression, but overall it was a great first experience. Until then, as their door says on the way out, Many Happy Returns.

Toast Pots

My One Potato Wedge

Rolled Pork Belly with the Cracktastic Mashed Swede

Barley Swine

30 Dec 2010 5 Comments

by Emilyin Restaurant Review, Uncategorized Tags: Apron Adventures, Barley Swine, Bryce Gilmore, Odd Duck

Gulp, gulp, oink, oink. You could say that was certainly me at Chef Bryce Gilmore’s new venture Barley Swine. Chef Gilmore has earned critical acclaim and tremendous success with his food trailer venture Odd Duck. Having eaten there plenty of times, and dreaming of some of his concoctions when I went to bed at night, I was pretty certain Barley Swine was not going to disappoint. I love it when I’m right.

David and I went there with Luke and Lindsay, AKA Apron Adventures, on the restaurant’s first official opening night. Heck, I was even nervous for the restaurant but there was no need for the nerves, the food seriously, seriously rocked.  Just to tell you how much it did, as we were walking in two guys said “Just order everything on the menu, it’s that good.” I did want to order the whole menu but we settled on: Potato fritters with goat cheese, leek, espelette; white bean soup, Spanish chorizo, flaked cod, olive; scallop, duck cracklin, cauliflower, green garlic, coriander; barley, foie gras, duck sausage, mushroom, sweet and sour onion; sweetbreads, garlic puree, almond, brussel sprouts, bacon. INSANE, all of them. I almost licked the sauce off the fritter, scallop and sweetbread plates. One small complaint, the soup came out lukewarm instead of hot. We weren’t sure if that was how it was meant to be served or what but it was still amazing.

For wine drinkers like moi, be warned that the wine list is limited. It’s not called Grape Swine now is it? The beer list is lengthier and I was told had a nice selection. I ordered the Troublemaker blend and thoughrougly enjoyed it. The space is super small and is all either community tables or bar seating so be prepared to get to know your fellow diners or the chefs!  Overall, we loved our first visit and thank goodness it’s just down the street so we can go again and again and again. We’ll be back Barley Swine. Call me, mean it!

Sweetbreads...kidding. We forgot to take a photo but check out this decked out Christmas El Camino we saw on our way home. Oh Austin...

Potato Fritters (Photo by David Kealey)

White Bean Soup (Photo by David Kealey)

Scallops (Photo by David Kealey)

Barley, Duck Sausage (YUM!) and Foie Gras (YUMMMMM!) (Photo by David Kealey)

Uchi KOOOOOOOOOOOO!

03 Jul 2010 2 Comments

by Emilyin Restaurant Review

Yet, I was invited to a soft-launch opening by the ladies at Cultivate PR to come and experience Uchiko before it opened. Since I do love me some Uchi I jumped at the chance to get to go. Right off North Lamar between 42nd and 43rd, the exterior of the restaurant is reminiscent of a Japanese style farm-house with modern touches. We walked in and the place was PACKED. It has a great bar, smallish, private rooms in the back of the restaurant and a great room where the sushi bar is located. We parked ourselves at the sushi bar and got started on our grazing plan.

The menu was very interesting and a little more limited than Uchi’s but they did have one thing on the menu that was a must: Pork Belly. J’adore pork belly like it’s my job and I have to say Tyson Cole’s is one of the best I have ever had at Uchi. So, obviously the Bacon Sen which is berk­shire pork belly, fried green apple puree and brussel sprout kimchee, was a given. David also wanted the “sear it yourself” wagyu beef that you cook on a hot rock with kaffir lime and sel gris.

 Now, what to do next? We had the fortunate opportunity to sit by a chef from the restaurant on his day off and asked what was the one thing we could not leave without trying. He said definitely the pork belly – well yes – and the fried chicken. We looked at him with confusion and then he pointed it out on the menu…Yakitori which is brined half cornish game hen with chayote and peanut. We also chose the Cobia Crudo which is Carribean kingfish with jalapeno and cucumber and the Akime Te with big eye tuna, watermelon, mitsuba and coriander to at least get some sushi since we were at Uchiko.

Akime Ten

Cobia Crudo

Yakitori

Everything, and I repeat everything, was absolutely fresh, delicious, inventive and enjoyable. The tuna and wagyu were fantastic but compared to the cobia, pork belly and yakitori they kind of faded into the background of our food experience. I agree with the chef we met, go for the great sushi experience and the pork belly and fried chicken and I would add the fried milk (and then put yourself on a diet for two weeks). Get to Uchiko stat Austinites, you will not be disappointed.

Let’s Be Frank

30 Jan 2010 3 Comments

by Emilyin Restaurant Review

Normally, I leave Austin restaurant reviews to my buddy Jodi at Tasty Touring but I had to share my experience at Frank last night. The Lex and me wanted a gentle, cost-effective place to eat dinner for Saturday night, and having recently passed by this new Austin “artisanal sausage” establishment, we checked out the menu and after seeing its prices and bacon-licious menu, decided to go.

I started my meal with the BOMB beverage called a Red-Headed Stranger which is – get ready – house-made bacon infused Dripping Springs Vodka with Frank bloody mary mix, cheddar cheese and bacon. Ummmm, I was a happy little lamb during this entire drinking experience. Bacon in your drink = happy Emily.

 

 

For the main course we had a friend join us and he got the Notorious P.I.G. which is housemade pork, bacon, jalapeno and sage sausage with macaroni and cheese and Texas BBQ sauce. I took one bite of this and for flash of a moment I thought about stashing it in my turtleneck and running out the door to devour outside. He also decided to “Pork It” which is where you can take any daily dog split and stuff it with white American cheese, wrap it in bacon and deep fried.

 Alex got the Chili Cheese Dog which is 100% Vienna beef, chili, cheddar and decided to “pork it” too. Now, I got the Nacho Dog which is refried beans, cheese, sour cream, pico, jalapenos which both were awesome! 

 

After eating all of this one would think we would be done but come on y’all it’s US! We got the bananas foster and they used rum and banana liquor instead of the traditional brandy which made it sweeter plus the they served with Amy’s Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream. We highly approve.

Overall the service was great and although they were out of fries (what?!) and the first dessert we wanted to go with, they were gracious about it and gave us alternatives that they didn’t include in our bill. Gentle.

Our next trip to Frank will be for brunch, chicken and waffles anyone?