Taking a Bite Out of Austin

Oh my goll, y’all! Can you believe I’m finally here? I am officially living in Austin….and it feels so good. [Cue Peaches & Herb! (Well, as long as that herb is mint.)]

But before we talk about that, a lesson on thievery.

Staying in a hotel/motel/mountain lodge with a free continental breakfast signifies only one thing: it’s time to break out your bows and arrows, find your Merry Men, and, like Robin Hood, steal from the “rich” and give to the poor (in this case, unemployed me, and my poor, hungry, stomach).

1. Survey the Scene: Also the first step when administering American Red Cross CPR, it is important to scout out the available options prior to committing on a breakfast selection. [Caroline was trained in this well, as she did a pre-screen while I was showering, and did an initial poaching of bananas, so we looked more inconspicuous later when we inevitably took more.]

2. Depend on Disposables: Yes, styrofoam is bad. However, when you are traveling, you work with what you’ve got. If you are a Smart Cook like me, then you already carry around napkins, bowls, and utensils (usually plastic, but sometimes metal, which you wash in random rest stop sinks or Walmart bathrooms along the way)…but the continental buffet is a great place to restock!
I took two bowls, one cup with milk, one with coffee, extra forks, spoons, and knives (solving the nut butter sandwich-making dilemma), two bananas, and two small apples (unpictured, as they were already in my purse).

3. Combine Creatively: Supplement what you already have (in my case, cereals, nut butters, some fruit, etc.) with options from the buffet.
My breakfast: assorted cereals, topped with frozen (now thawed) strawberries that I had been using to keep the cooler cold, covered with milk from the motel.

Caroline had two slices of Great Harvest Dakota Bread that she smuggled in and toasted in their toaster; one covered with Trader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Butter, and the other with Maranatha Almond Butter. (Thanks Jess!)
…and a banana! (She called this “Deconstructed PB & B”…I was proud of her Top Chef-like titling.)
I ate one of my continental breakfast accumulations as a snack a little later.
I also took a moment to pretend to be John Cusack…
..although I’ve never actually seen the movie, the video’s cover image remains implanted in my brain.

The rest of the drive was relatively uneventful…there was a lot of listening to Martha Radio (the morning shows are the cooking shows) on Sirius, and comments like this:

“OK, Caroline…I’m turning off the air conditioner so we can practice being hot.”

Although I had had this grand vision of us driving into Austin in a blaze of glory (Speaking of which, how does glory blaze? What does that actually look like?) and immediately entering the grand Whole Foods so that I could induce tears of joy in Caroline when she saw the grandiose salad bar and the number of different types of hummus available, our stomachs were not having any of that. “Screw your big plans, Sarah,” they said,”FEED US NOW.”

And yet, as so often has happened to me, fate intervened yet again. We pulled off at a random exit, expecting to go to Subway and eat fresh. Then, like Ace of Base, I saw the sign. This sign:
I veered across three to four lanes of traffic, crying out, “Oh my goll! A Jason’s Deli! People blog about that!” So Caroline and I entered and decided (despite the enticing sandwich options) to get what you probably knew I would get all along…salads! [To go, of course. Although to be honest, by the time I figured out how to eat this while in the car without killing myself or anyone else, it probably would have been safer and less time consuming just to sit and eat there. But I am clearly a rebel and a renegade, and will never change.]

So many to-go containers…
…so easily filled with deliciousness!
My salad was a mess of Romaine, spring mix, and spinach, along with carrots, bell pepper rings, green peas, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, artichoke hearts, sprouts, cottage cheese…and probably other things that I don’t remember right now. (I see some apple slices!) I grabbed a flatbread cracker, and scooped the red pepper hummus into what was supposed to be the dressing container. I used the small cup, intended for as-yet-undetermined purpose, with the mixed bean salad.

If you know me, or you have read about my praise of salads, you know that I love a good salad bar. However, the general issue I have is that they are weighed by the pound, and since I am a woman of many toppings, I end up paying an intense amount to get what I want (which is usually everything…). There were so surcharges for overweight luggage here..and for that, I was extremely happy.

They also had limes with the tea! Score! I mixed club soda with a splash of sweet tea and a squeeze of lime and it was A-MA-ZING.
Flash forward through my arrival in Austin, slightly getting turned around, but stumbling upon my new home in the cutest of neighborhoods, with tree-lined streets, small children and dogs, a patio already set up with a grill and outdoor dining furniture…my friend Shannon immediately came over with my social itinerary (literally, a calendar filled out with events) for the next two weeks and said that when she pulled up she thought, “Am I in a postcard?”

Sort of unpacked but not really…spent more time googling grocery stores than doing anything productive. (So sue me. Is it my fault there are so many different markets for me to explore?)

I asked one of the roommates (who is actually moving out) what her favorite restaurant was…although she had to waffle a bit, she asked if we liked vegetarian food. Umm, yes, please! She recommended Mother’s Cafe & Garden, which had also been suggested by the ultra-friendly Austin-dwellers we had met in Asheville…so clearly we had to go with that for dinner!
Started with a vegan Tomato Artichoke Bisque, which was incredibly delicious and that Caroline said I must immediately try to recreate. (Noted.)
Caroline, in her new obsession with tofu (“I just realized I’ve eaten tofu for dinner the past four days”), ordered the Jamaican Stir Fry. I sampled, and the veggies were perfectly crisp tender, served over brown rice and black beans. I didn’t really get any hint of the tropical chutney they promised, but it was still good…and served with chopsticks, which automatically makes the dining experience more fun!

One photo without the flash (above)…and one with!

I decided I needed to take a big bite out of Austin…
…or at least what was supposed to be the best veggie burger in town. (To be honest, I’ve had better.)
I added a side of guacamole and their housemade BBQ sauce (don’t I always need a side of BBQ sauce?), which, when I asked for it, the waitress hesitated before saying, “I just have to warn you, it’s a little weird.” My response: “Yes. That is why I want it.”
The sauce was good… it was sort of peanut buttery, but tasted a lot more like tomatoes (or tomato paste) than the one we had at Rosetta’s Kitchen in Asheville, which was like a peanut butter-molasses creation sent from the gods. All in all, a delicious meal, however.

PS. Thank you for bearing with me as I get settled in! I am just itching to start cooking, I swear. I even bought a honeydew at Super Target last night just so I could use a knife and cutting board. There is just a lot to do, and with Caroline here I want to spend time showing her around and “using” her to help me making rational decisions as I undergo the relocation and job interview process.

New recipes will come, I promise! (As soon as I organize this”yeah, every time someone moves out they leave random stuff and now we are left with four cans of water chestnuts and instant chili that have been sitting there for ages” kitchen….)