Did You Say Pepperoni Soup?!

Only 7 short months ago, I told a tale (over 3 blog posts) of my insane eating vacation in Austin, TX while I was there for the IACP conference. I ate so much BBQ that I was afraid I'd turn into a whole hog and I gave you every last fattening detail.

As luck would have it, Patrick's cousin lives in Austin and was getting married, so I got to go back for the week between Christmas and New Year's. I won't torture you with the details of every single thing I ate, but a few meals are necessary to highlight. Boy oh boy, Austin is quite the foodie town!

Our first meal was lunch right after checking into our hotel. A bunch of us went to a place on South Congress called Hopdoddy Burger Bar. You are right if you think the name is a little odd, so here is what it means: Hopdoddy was created to express the perfect union of burgers and beer: handcrafted beer (hop) + (doddy), the nickname given to the native cow in Aberdeen, Scotland. You learn something new every day!

The line was nearly out the door (usually a good sign) and as soon as I saw the frosty chalices of beer being held by many of the patrons in line, I knew the wait wouldn't be too difficult for us to endure. We all jumped into the line and, even though I don't usually love beer, I couldn't pass up an icy glass of Real Ale Fireman's #4.

We only had to wait about 20 minutes, and they had a great policy where the table is ready for you as soon as you order your food. I went for the burger called The Goodnight, which was Angus Beef, Tillamook Cheddar, Hickory BBQ Sauce and Sassy Sauce. What the heck is Sassy Sauce?! That's a great question, and I don't entirely know the answer to that, but I think it was some kind of mix of mayo and mustard. Whatever it was, it was delicious!

Here I am with my refreshing chalice of beer.

 

And here is my awesome burger, The Goodnight. 

It was a great burger, perfectly cooked (medium rare, of course), juicy, flavorful and awesome toppings. The bun was great and the sauces were very tasty. Best of all, it was about 65 degrees and sunny, so we got to sit outside and enjoy our food in the sun. Perfect!

The other meal that I have to mention was our lunch at Second Bar + Kitchen on the corner of Second Street and Congress. My friend Rev (better known as Burger Conquest) introduced me to his amazing friend Julie down in Austin, and Julie is engaged to Second Bar + Kitchen's Chef de Cuisine, Ethan Holmes. Julie and Ethan are both totally awesome people, and I wanted Pat to try the Buffalo Frickles I had last time I was in Austin. To my great surprise, Ethan was in the kitchen, so we got to say hi to him as well.

We, of course, started with the aforementioned Buffalo Frickles with Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce.I can't say enough good things about them. Spicy, tangy, pickle-y and honestly just downright amazing. Pat was a huge fan of them, as I knew he would be, and we finished the plate off in no time at all.

Next up, and another thing I must give credit to Rev for telling me about, the Pepperoni Soup, truly one of the most unique soups I have ever tasted.

An amazing bowl of San Marzano Tomato Soup with Pepperoni, Melted Mozzarella and Garlic Croutons, you would swear you were biting into a slice of pepperoni pizza with every taste. Ethan, I don't know how you do it, but keep doing it!

Finally, another repeat visit, I had to take Pat to Juan in a Million for the Don Juan Taco, "A secret combination of potato, egg, bacon and cheese in a deliciously hot tortilla" for only $3.80!

I think Pat likes it, don't you?!

We did eat a lot of other great things, like BBQ for Pat's cousin's Rehearsal Dinner, Fish Tacos at the Turf N Surf Po' Boys Food Cart (you have to try the Blue Marlin Taco!) and so much more. Austin is an awesome city with incredible food. I'm going back in March for South by Southwest, and I can't wait for lots of new eating adventures.

What are some of your favorite spots in Austin? I'm looking forward to checking out Congress next time I'm there.

Let's Eat!
-The Fabulous Foodie

Overrated: La Palapa West

When dining out with friends, I can overlook less-than-perfect service if the food is great. Last night, at La Palapa in the West Village, the food was mediocre at best and the service was just plain bad.

When I lived on the east side, I always meant to try the East Village version of the restaurant but never got around to it. When my friends, Jill & Lauren, suggested we try the West Village location last night, I was eager to go. The 3 of us dine out together frequently, and we've had some amazing meals together. Unfortunately, last night wasn't one of them.

When we sat down, all 3 of us agreed that we wanted to share the chips, pico de gallo & guacamole appetizer to start. At $8.95, I was expecting a huge bowl of fresh guacamole, much like the portion at Mexican joints like Vamos in Gramercy and all the Mercadito locations. Not the case. We were given a small white bowl of guacamole that wasn't fresh with a haphazard heap of chips. Not impressed.

When we looked back over the menu to make our entree selections, I was intrigued by the fish taco platter for $18.95. I thought the price was a little high for 3 tacos, but being a fish taco-lover, I was willing to pay the price. It came with a side of rice and beans, and I requested that they just make the order double rice. Lauren got a platter of different types of fish mixed with a few tacos and Jill ordered a steak taco, a pork taco and a side of rice and beans.



And then we waited... and waited... and waited... I sipped on my white sangria, which was the highlight of the meal because for $8 I got a small pitcher of the beverage, but even my sangria ran dry long before the food came. After almost an hour of waiting, Jill asked the manager to check on our food, and it came out a few minutes later. Well, Jill & Lauren's food came out, mine took an extra 5 minutes, but what's 5 more minutes when you've already waited an hour?

The second I took my first bite, I knew I didn't like the tacos. The fish was chopped into tiny pieces and the sauce covering it tasted, frankly, gross. I suffered through the first taco, and mostly just ate the rice, which was thankfully good. I took the fish out of the 2nd and 3rd tacos, filled the tortillas with rice, and ate my $18.95 rice tacos. When Jill took a bite of my fish, she commented that it "tasted like cleaning solution." Not good.

Both of their meals were better than mine, but no one was impressed with the food. We won't be back to La Palapa, and my craving for fish tacos went unsatisfied. I'll have to get to Mercadito soon! Their fish tacos are awesome!

If you're a fish taco fan, where are the best you've found in the city? Do you like them covered in sauce (I don't!) or just a fresh piece of fish with some veggies (I do!)?

Let's Eat!
-The Fabulous Foodie