July 6, 2009
Whata Whataburger

No, this isn’t a shameless plug for one of the brands I’ve been working on this summer, but rather a genuine endorsement of what I think is the best fast-casual burger around. For the non-native Texans like me, you probably don’t know much about the orange A-line roofs. I can promise you that they’re the go-to spot for juicy and well-seasoned burgers “just like you like it.”

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July 5, 2009
A friend introduced us to the newest vodka craze we’ve been missing. Firefly is a sweet tea infused vodka that seems to have widespread liquor store and restaurant distributrion. Tonight we enjoyed the Firefly martini at Sullivans- Firefly, simple syrup, lemon and a smidge of water. An even easier recipe is Firefly and Sweet Leaf Half and Half.

A friend introduced us to the newest vodka craze we’ve been missing. Firefly is a sweet tea infused vodka that seems to have widespread liquor store and restaurant distributrion. Tonight we enjoyed the Firefly martini at Sullivans- Firefly, simple syrup, lemon and a smidge of water. An even easier recipe is Firefly and Sweet Leaf Half and Half.

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July 3, 2009
Walton’s Sanda Bullock’s new coffee, light fare & florist combination works and it works really well. We’ve been there a few times and all have been enjoyable experiences. The staff is friendly and the food selections are fresh and thoughtfully prepared. We particularly like their salads and paninis. Their iced coffee is actually cafe americano which was tasty with a serious kick. Highly recommended. He says: Bring a book but not your laptop. No wifi yet. She says: My pick is the veggie sandwich.

Walton’s

Sanda Bullock’s new coffee, light fare & florist combination works and it works really well. We’ve been there a few times and all have been enjoyable experiences. The staff is friendly and the food selections are fresh and thoughtfully prepared. We particularly like their salads and paninis. Their iced coffee is actually cafe americano which was tasty with a serious kick. Highly recommended.

He says: Bring a book but not your laptop. No wifi yet. She says: My pick is the veggie sandwich.

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June 27, 2009
Asparagus bacon and manchego coca topped with a fried egg (Fino). Paula Biehler’s favourite. The cocktail is a “Jerry Thomas manhattan”. Delish!

Asparagus bacon and manchego coca topped with a fried egg (Fino). Paula Biehler’s favourite. The cocktail is a “Jerry Thomas manhattan”. Delish!

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Sushi at Soma

Sushi at Soma

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The Heights Hot Spots Last Saturday we changed things up and ate for the first time at Soma and Catalan in Houston. Both were fantastic. We started the night with three dishes at Soma: seared escolar drizzled with the most amazing minced garlic paste/ sauce, a kaiseki roll (6 pieces of sushi comprised of and topped with all different things), and the crazy irish man (a kicked up and flash fried spicy salmon/ tuna/ avocado roll). While the scene was bustling and food was great, we wanted to see what the rest of Washington Ave. offered and moved on to Catalan for dessert and drinks. We loved both the almond cake with sweet tea ice cream and Jorge Ordonez No.1 dessert wine. He says: Houston has historically been dinged for not having the same happening places as Dallas, but is definitely on its way to closing the gap with places like Soma and Catalan. Can’t wait to try the apps at Catalan - funky but refined. She says: It doesn’t get much better than Catalan. The music’s fun, crowd diverse, interior colorful and food exceptional (…and be prepared to pay for this experience).

The Heights Hot Spots

Last Saturday we changed things up and ate for the first time at Soma and Catalan in Houston. Both were fantastic. We started the night with three dishes at Soma: seared escolar drizzled with the most amazing minced garlic paste/ sauce, a kaiseki roll (6 pieces of sushi comprised of and topped with all different things), and the crazy irish man (a kicked up and flash fried spicy salmon/ tuna/ avocado roll). While the scene was bustling and food was great, we wanted to see what the rest of Washington Ave. offered and moved on to Catalan for dessert and drinks. We loved both the almond cake with sweet tea ice cream and Jorge Ordonez No.1 dessert wine.

He says: Houston has historically been dinged for not having the same happening places as Dallas, but is definitely on its way to closing the gap with places like Soma and Catalan. Can’t wait to try the apps at Catalan - funky but refined.

She says: It doesn’t get much better than Catalan. The music’s fun, crowd diverse, interior colorful and food exceptional (…and be prepared to pay for this experience).

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June 13, 2009

Mambo Berry green tea froyo

At $4 a cup (+ .50 per topping) it’s pricey, but high quality and worth the stroll over to the SOCO trailers if you’re already in the area. I like to top mine with coconut.

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June 10, 2009
Abel’s on the Lake We’re not sure whether it should be called Cain’s or Abel’s, but this place has definitely killed the prime-time spot next to Hula Hut, and not in a good way. As our friend Adam queried, will anything decent ever inhabit that space? The fleet of ditzy blonde waitresses (incessantly trying to sell tequila shots to us) and malfunctioning robotic busboys (we appreciated the top-off the first time, but it got annoying when he tried to refill our drinks after every sip we took; and pouring water in Liz’s tea didn’t help matters) ran rampant. As you can see from the picture above, the view simply cannot be beat. The business concept behind Abel’s makes sense: why would people make the trek to Oasis when they can be at Abel’s in 5 minutes, but the execution is lacking. The burgers including the veggie burger were clearly frozen patties from Sysco, but for some reason tasted way worse than stadium food. The fries, also frozen and bulk, were adequate but we didn’t get any of the seasoning they claimed to put on them. Surprisingly, I will absolutely return to Abel’s, but only for beer and the view. They can’t screw that up. He says: They have Leinies on tap. She says: The people watching on the deck and in the water can’t be beat. What dress code?

Abel’s on the Lake We’re not sure whether it should be called Cain’s or Abel’s, but this place has definitely killed the prime-time spot next to Hula Hut, and not in a good way. As our friend Adam queried, will anything decent ever inhabit that space? The fleet of ditzy blonde waitresses (incessantly trying to sell tequila shots to us) and malfunctioning robotic busboys (we appreciated the top-off the first time, but it got annoying when he tried to refill our drinks after every sip we took; and pouring water in Liz’s tea didn’t help matters) ran rampant. As you can see from the picture above, the view simply cannot be beat. The business concept behind Abel’s makes sense: why would people make the trek to Oasis when they can be at Abel’s in 5 minutes, but the execution is lacking. The burgers including the veggie burger were clearly frozen patties from Sysco, but for some reason tasted way worse than stadium food. The fries, also frozen and bulk, were adequate but we didn’t get any of the seasoning they claimed to put on them. Surprisingly, I will absolutely return to Abel’s, but only for beer and the view. They can’t screw that up.

He says: They have Leinies on tap.

She says: The people watching on the deck and in the water can’t be beat. What dress code?

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June 6, 2009
Thinking we’d walk right into Juan in a Million today at 11 a.m. after the morning rush, we were grossly mistaken. To our great surprise, however, the other man who made Juan famous was dining inside. Adam Richman, the Man vs. Food host and fellow Emory alum, was back in Austin and needed to relive the Don Juan. Accompanied by two lady friends, he casually ate and made the rounds as any sociable celebrity would. So, not only was the pound of cheese, three egg and whole potato on top of a tortilla concoction wonderfully heaping today, but the company was spot on. He says: The only 2 words you need to know at Juan in a Million: don juan. She says: I heart playing paparazzi while we dine.

Thinking we’d walk right into Juan in a Million today at 11 a.m. after the morning rush, we were grossly mistaken. To our great surprise, however, the other man who made Juan famous was dining inside. Adam Richman, the Man vs. Food host and fellow Emory alum, was back in Austin and needed to relive the Don Juan. Accompanied by two lady friends, he casually ate and made the rounds as any sociable celebrity would.

So, not only was the pound of cheese, three egg and whole potato on top of a tortilla concoction wonderfully heaping today, but the company was spot on.

He says: The only 2 words you need to know at Juan in a Million: don juan.

She says: I heart playing paparazzi while we dine.

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Our Friend, Juan (of the Juan in a Million Austin empire, and perennial best handshake winner).

Our Friend, Juan (of the Juan in a Million Austin empire, and perennial best handshake winner).

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