Chicken Fried Everything » Food

Perfect at Perla’s

ben — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:21:36 +0000

How have I not posted this yet? A couple of months ago, I had a near perfect meal, featuring the holy trinity of sausage, egg, and oysters. When you think Austin, you don’t think seafood, but between Perla’s and Uchi we seem to have our bases covered.

Anthony Bourdain apparently visited Perla’s when he came to town a while back. I can’t say that Perla’s is on my go-to list for people visiting Austin, but maybe it should be.

Father’s Day Dogs: Ben’s Chili Bowl

ben — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:02:16 +0000

What could be more All-American than a chili dog and a baseball game on Father’s Day? I don’t know, but I can tell you without a doubt that the trio of Dad, dogs, and dugouts is tough to beat.

I had been wanting to visit Ben’s Chili Bowl ever since Anthony Bourdain went there. Luckily, it wasn’t hard to convince my dad–not to mention the rest of a partial family reunion–to come along for the ride.

The “half smokes” are the main event here: a half pork, half beef smoked sausage. Here they are calling my name out as we walked in the door.

I’ve never met a chili dog I didn’t like, and these were no exception. On the other hand, they didn’t seem drastically different from any other dog, despite what Bourdain had to say. After downing our dogs, we headed across town to the Nationals game. Here we are on our way in.

Ok, maybe there’s one way we could have amped up the America factor: if this guy had showed up:

Hidden Gem: House Pizzeria

ben — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:00:07 +0000

Every time I’m tempted to get upset about the de-Austinization of Austin (i.e., Second Street), I think about House Pizzeria, which is one of the most quintessentially Austin places around. Unassuming, unpretentious, and a little rough around the edges, it’s also some of the best pizza in town.

One of my favorite salads anywhere.

I keep wondering: How does no one know about this place? Why does no one talk about it? Well, okay maybe one guy talks about it. A co-worker of mine told me: “Get the one with the stilton.” I didn’t know what stilton was, but I went for it and I’m glad I did.

It Needs to be Said: Torchy’s Queso

ben — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:00:06 +0000

What’s the point of naming a favorite queso? Can queso be bad? Unless you’re talking the shelf-stable stuff you find in jars at gas stations, queso is a safe bet (at least in Austin). Like pizza and french fries, even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.

But I need to just say this: I love the queso at Torchy’s.

How to Put This? Justine’s

ben — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:00:18 +0000

I have an unwritten rule about not writing negative things on this site. (I have broken it). The main reason I try to keep it positive is that negative reviews are a bore. We’ve all seen the seven-paragraph rants on Yelp that begin “We arrived at 7:43 pm…” Spare us, people. More importantly, we understand that the restaurant business is tough. And we love restaurants, so why make it harder for them? Seriously though, negative reviews are really boring.

Having said that, here are some photographs from a recent visit to Justines.

The Real Deal: El Naranjo

ben — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:00:52 +0000

We finally made it to one of Austin’s most celebrated food trucks: El Naranjo. This is a truck with some serious bona fides. Chef Iliana de la Vega first made a name for herself in Oaxaca with a restaurant of the same name. These days, she lives in Austin and teaches Latin American cuisine at the San Antonio campus of the Culinary Institute of America. Here she is showing epicurious how to make corn tortillas.

The truck is in East Austin on Rainey Street, in front of a house that will soon house de la Vega’s restaurant, which will also be called El Naranjo.

Shrimp tacos were the highlight. Here, de la Vega shows Texas Monthly’s Patricia Sharpe how they’re made. We thought we’d be able to get her mole, which is only served on Wednesdays, but they had temporarily stopped serving it due to light crowds. This only makes us more eager for the full-on restaurant to open.

Taquitos.

More tacos.

Brunch: La Condesa

ben — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:07:50 +0000

Breakfast is not one of the more beautiful meals. But it is my favorite one. We recently enjoyed a brunch at La Condesa with our friend Amanda, who was visiting from London. Amanda introduced me and Eliza. There’s hardly a lovelier way to begin the day.

CFE Hits the Big Time; Vol. II

ben — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:54:32 +0000

I just noticed that Eater NY used one of the photos from our Osteria Morini post.

Here it is again, in all its glory:

Fancy Time: Osteria del Treno

ben — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 21:33:56 +0000

When you’re far from home, distant connections don’t seem quite so distant anymore. I guess everything is relative. Eliza and I joined a couple of frogs for dinner one night during our stay in Milan. There was Rebecca, a former frog Austin intern (originally from Brazil) and there was Ben, a designer from frog San Francisco. Both of them were doing stints in Milan. We began the evening as acquaintances. By the end, it was friendship. It was nice to find friends so far away from home.

The restaurant was Osteria del Treno, apparently known for their association with the Slow Food movement. It was very meaty.

This pasta involved some sort of anchovy sauce. Very salty. Every time I look at this photo, my mouth waters at the memory.

Beef cheek. Even for me, this was a massive serving of meat. I had to say basta before I could get through it all.

Standup Italian: Luini

ben — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:16:48 +0000

We eat every day, yet few meals leave an indelible mark. On my last visit to Milan, my friend Rob took me to Luini as soon as I arrived. Located just behind the Duomo, Luini serves fried mini calzones called panzerotti. When jetlagged, there’s apparently nothing better than a little fried bread and a cold Coke. Add to that the fact that most customers eat standing up on the street just outside the place, and you have one of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had.

I owe my return trip to not only Rob, but also my employer, who paid for my iPhone usage during my trip. This enabled me to Google “fried mini calzones” while we were in the area. A few minutes later, I was reliving my memory. Only difference: this time, the Coke was a Diet.

I had forgotten how much these things actually smell like donuts. You almost expect a sugary taste. This was one of the last meals this trip. I guess it’s not surprising that my pants were starting to feel a little tight by the time we got home.