September 2016
barley swine / lick honest ice creams / franklin barbecue / brew and brew / hotel san josé lounge / cheer up charlie's / the side bar / odd duck / noble sandwich co. / cow tipping creamery / torchy's tacos / sway / shake shack / veracruz all natural / gourdough's public house / baton creole / the hightower / prohibition creamery / via 313 / easy tiger / royal blue grocery / noble sandwich co. / odd duck / la barbecue / tiny pies / lenoir / snooze / alamo drafthouse / whataburger
Beef Rib (La Barbecue)
^ "What am I eating?" I wondered as I chipped away at it. $22.00/pound. Each rib weighs about 1.5 pounds.
Brisket (La Barbecue)
Brisket (Frankin Barbecue)
—The gold stars are only for brisket with some fat. Lean brisket is trash, even Franklin's.
Steven and his friend Marissa drove up from San Antonio to help me eat the four pounds of Franklin brisket that I pre-ordered. We managed to eat about half of it. In retrospect, The Amazing Race's "eat four pounds of meat by yourself" Roadblock in season seven was mental.
I ordered the 10-course chef's tasting at (Barley Swine) and a root beer that was unpalatably rooty.
Pictured:
Pig Skin Noodles (Barley Swine)
shrimp dumpling, hot sauce
Mid-Tasting Palate Cleanser (Barley Swine)
watermelon shrub, basil and mint pearls
Dry-aged Akaushi Ribeye (Barley Swine)
bone marrow hash
—A heavenly slice of red meat.
Koji Rice Porridge (Barley Swine)
honeydew
—Like a honeydew sago. Flashback to my childhood.
Potato Chip-Crusted Catfish Sandwich (Noble Sandwich Co.)
remoulade slaw, bread and butter pickles, tnp vinegar hot sauce, garlic bread
Smoked Duck Pastrami Sandwich (Noble Sandwich Co.)
russian dressing, rye pickles
—Odd-tasting duck.
(Odd Duck) is (Barley Swine)'s seemingly more popular sibling.
Pictured:
Pretzel (Odd Duck)
pig face carnitas, cheddar, fried egg puree
Beef Cracklin' Tater Tots (Odd Duck)
mustard bechamel, pickled mushroom
—I couldn't discern the "cracklin'."
Spiced Eggplant (Odd Duck)
sunflower butter, marinated feta, olive, sweet peppers
Chicken-Fried Fish Head (Odd Duck)
seeded dredge, salsa verde, mint, cilantro
—Much larger than I expected.
Coffee Croissant (Odd Duck)
pecan, whiskey, milk jam
Chocolate Layer Cake (Odd Duck)
mexican vanilla ice cream, chocolate potato chips
—The chocolate potato chips are just garnish, disappointingly.
Jon: I'm confused. This place (TOMS) sells coffee and shoes?
Activated Popsicle Shandy (Hotel San José Lounge)
charcoal lemonade popsicle, shiner blonde light
^ Charcoal, lemonade, beer.
'Son of a Peach' Dessert Donut (Gourdough's Public House)
peach filling, cinnamon sugar, cake mix topping
^ Cloying, even for my diabetic ass. My donut had, like, a ladle of icing slathered on it.
Peach Cobbler Pancake (Snooze)
peaches, almond streusel, vanilla cream, whipped raspberry mascarpone
Baked Potato Pancake (Snooze)
—A poor man's latke.
Jambalaya Baton (Baton Creole)
traditional rice-based dish smothered with the "trinity" of cajun vegetables along with garlic, tomatoes, and cajun spices; deep-fried on a stick and drizzled with remoulade sauce
^ I dislike how its chunks of sausage are skewered on the stick.
Cajun Poutine (Baton Creole)
seasoned waffle fries, melted brie cheese, badass brown gravy
—I ordered this to go and received the saddest box of waffle fries topped with a few slivers of congealed brie [gravy in a separate container].
Migas (Veracruz All Natural)
eggs, tortilla chips, avocado, pico de gallo, cheese
—Served as a taco.
(Torchy's Tacos) are…fine.
Green Chile Queso and Chips (Torchy's Tacos)
homemade chips with green chile queso topped off with guacamole, queso fresco, cilantro, and diablo hot sauce
—Torchy's queso, on the other hand, I still think about.
Fruit Cup (The Hightower)
mexican marigold ice cream, clementine sorbet, watermelon granita, chili and lime powder
—"What a curious play on a fruit cup," I thought, not realizing that it is a play on a MEXICAN fruit cup.
Banana Split (Sway)
milk chocolate five spice, condensed milk, and cashew caramel swirl ice creams; black sesame brownie, candied cashew, coconut milk jam, drunken cherries, bananas, whipped cream
—A Thai play on a banana split.
Its description as punctuated on (Sway)'s website –
– reads like it only features one flavour of ice cream [condensed milk and cashew caramel swirl], when it actually features three [milk chocolate five spice, condensed milk, and cashew caramel swirl].
"Bubble Cone" Stacker (Cow Tipping Creamery)
housemade vanilla egg waffle cone, green tea soft serve, toasted coconut dust, cornflake crumb, toasted sesame seeds, drizzle of white chocolate sauce, pocky stick on top
^ My bubble waffle was tough.
Signature Bourbon Ice Cream (Prohibition Creamery)
Sangria Sorbet Ice Cream (Prohibition Creamery)
Tiramisu Ice Cream (Prohibition Creamery)
Whiskey Chocolate Ice Cream (Prohibition Creamery)
—High-quality boozy ice cream.
Steven: This place (Star Seeds Cafe) has good food, but the wait staff treats you shitty if you don't have tattoos.
Jon: Soooo they hate Jews?
(Alamo Drafthouse / HBO)
Green Chili Lamb Sausage with Pretzel Bun (Easy Tiger)
lamb, queso blanco, escabeche
—The escabeche I can take or leave, but the sausage and pretzel bun are superb.
(Lenoir) is a wonderland of ingredient combinations.
Pictured:
Habañero Noodles (Lenoir)
cucumber lime broth, pepita-sesame crumble, mint oil
Braised Goat (Lenoir)
everything sourdough crepe, full-sour gherkin, thai chili mustard, barrel-aged beet hot sauce
Smoked Apple Crème Caramel (Lenoir)
chili coconut chicharrón, grape consommé
Brûléed Spice Cake (Lenoir)
cheddar ice cream, watermelon-fig salad, garam masala
Thai Lime Leaf and White Chocolate Profiteroles (Lenoir)
herb anglaise, cocoa nib
No dish I tried, however, was as wonderful as its optional
Miso Apple Sesame Bread (Lenoir)
eggplant pecan spread
—Scrumptious.
'The Detroiter' Pizza (Via 313)
smoked pepperoni under the cheese, natural casing pepperoni on top
—I knew that Detroit-style pizza was square, but was unaware that traditionally, a layer of pepperoni lines Detroit-style pizza crust – pepperoni under the cheese.
Texas Two Step Pie (Tiny Pies)
—Combination brownie and pecan pie.
Texas Sheet Cake Ice Cream (Lick Honest Ice Creams)
chocolate pecan icing, chocolate ice cream
(Whataburger) is the lean brisket of burger chains.
MISSED CONNECTIONS
(Lala's Little Nugget) – Christmas-themed bar.
Corndog Fish Collars (Barley Swine)
hot sauce
French Toast Fritter (Odd Duck)
butternut squash, coffee mayo, goat feta
^ COFFEE MAYO.
Housemade Twinkies (Drink Well)
Donut Cone (Cow Tipping Creamery)
Tiramisu Pops (Sophia's)
mascarpone, coffee, housemade lady fingers
Asian Movie Night (The Peached Tortilla)
popcorn ice cream, asian caramel, rice puffs
Kimchi Arancini Balls (The Peached Tortilla)
wasabi and sriracha aioli, roasted nori
Honey Walnut Shrimp Po'boy (General Tso'boy)
battered wild caught gulf shrimp, sweet mayonnaise, candied walnuts
Honey Walnut Sundae (General Tso'boy)
Mexican Coke Sweet Potatoes (Lucy's Fried Chicken)
The Real Deal Holyfield (Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ)
tomato serrano salsa, fried egg, potatoes, refried beans, bacon, mesquite smoked brisket
Whip-Indianized Nachos (Whip In)
el milagro tortilla chips, braised black beans, kashmiri pepper queso, pico de gallo, cilantro chutney
Kashmir Frito Pie (Whip In)
spicy goat chili atop fritos with black beans, melted cheeses, sour cream, and cilantro
Mumbai Migas (Whip In)
vital farms eggs soft scrambled with grilled onions, feta, totopos, and cilantro chutney; topped with pico de gallo and served with black beans and basmati rice
Bangalore Biscuit Sandwich (Whip In)
vital farms fried egg, house made goat chorizo sausage, grilled tomatoes, mixed greens, and melted cheese on a fluffy indian spiced biscuit; served with grilled crushed potatoes
Naan Burrito (Whip In)
Jon: You had sex with your Uber driver?
Steven: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Steven: She gave me five stars.