Sorry, MIA!

Sorry for the long delay in posts folks!  We haven't forgot about you and we hope to update soon. 

We found out we are expecting TWINS and this morning sickness/ ALL DAY sickness kind of puts a damper on trying new places.  We will be back soon!

Lupe Tortilla

Lupe Tortilla is my new favorite Mexican Restaurant.  If there wasn't almost a guaranteed hour (or more) wait here at our new Austin location, then we would eat here every week.  Not a doubt in my mind.  Let's start with the margaritas.  Strawberry Margaritas to be exact. They were the perfect mix of margarita/lime, strawberry, sweetness, and tequila.  I was in love.  Mike had the margarita on the rocks and was happy with his as well.

Then they have their chips and salsa.  The salsa is more of a pico type salsa.  They also bring out a pinto bean salsa.  It is very good.  I brought my brother and he asked for a pint to go and they brought him one!!


Then, they are known for their fajitas.  They have the best beef fajitas that I have ever tasted.  They were so juicy, moist, and didn't get that stringy beef texture you sometimes get at Mexican restaurants.  We have also had their shrimp and it is very good.  It comes with a red pepper butter to dip it in and it's delicious!  You get your choice of flour and corn tortillas.  The flour tortillas are HUGE but fresh and delicious.

They also had a side of Mexican street corn that was to.die.for.

The only downside to this restaurant is the wait.  We can't go during dinner time, pretty much any day, without their being an hour wait.  Problem is, when I get off work, I don't have the patience to wait an hour.  But, when I do, the wait is wellll worth it!!

Maggie Moo's

Ice cream is my favorite sweet treat.  Mike could eat sweets all day, every day.  Me, not so much.  Ice cream, absolutely!  Austin is known for their very own Amy's Ice cream.  Besides Blue Bell, I thought Amy's was next in line.  Then, Mike introduced me to Maggie Moo's.  Heaven.  Our go to, absolute favorite ice cream, is their Mexican Vanilla ice cream with strawberries mixed in, in a homemade waffle cone.  Mmmmm.

See??  Totally drool worthy!!

South Austin Food Trailers- Round 2

We reviewed some South Austin Food Trailers before and that can be found here.  We have been back since (of course!)  I took my younger brothers down there when they came to visit. 

I ate my tried and true Mighty Cone.  We already reviewed it so you know how good it is.  This time I got the chicken and avocado cone.  It is just as good as the last time!

The boys then ate at The Original New Orleans Po-Boy and Gumbo Shop.  It was very tasty.  They got a 12 inch Philly Cheesesteak sandwich and a 12 inch cheese burger.  Both were absolutely amazing.  The Cheesesteak was probably one of the best I had ever had.

Of course, we couldn't end our food trailer experience without getting a Frigid Frog Shaved Ice.  I tried their Bevo which was essentially a dreamsicle and vanilla flavor with cream.  This is my new favorite!

Then the boys got blue bubble gum, root beer, and a frog in the blender (lime and tiger's blood).  They were all happy with theirs as well!

 

Once again, happy customers at the food trailers!

Moonshine Sweet Tea

Mike and I often frequent the Cedar Park Farmer's Market on the weekends.  There is generally a lot of vendors so we not only get our vegetables but also get to try new things, which we love!  Well, our last visit we left with a quart of Moonshine Sweet Tea.

 Listen up folks, this is the best sweet tea mix you can buy.  I am a sweet tea/iced tea snob.  I have tried every store bought tea there is and I'm not a fan of really any of them.  This is basically a syrup that you add to water to make your tea.  That of course also makes this super easy.  No waiting for tea to brew, burning your self with boiling water or tea bags, or having a pitcher of tea go to waste because you don't drink it all.  Just add a little syrup to your glass of ice water, stir, and enjoy! Even my non tea drinking husband loves it!

2012 Hot Sauce Festival- Austin, TX

Today, Mike and I went downtown with approximately 15,000 Austinites to eat salsa.  If you know us at all, you know our food of choice is Mexican.  We had no idea this festival even existed but we will definitely be back next year!

There was free parking with a shuttle bus to take you over to the festival.  There was a pretty long line, but we didn't have to wait very long.

To get in the festival was free, they just asked that you bring three non perishable food items.  Once at the festival, there were several things going on.  There was live music, several drink booths, several hot sauce booth/vendors, a few food vendors, a few other vendors, and last but not least, a huge area where you could try salsas for free.

We started out under the tent where the salsas were.  There were 3 sections you could go through- specialty, green salsas, and red salsas.  There were several lines for each flavor but each line was pretty long.  We chose the red salsa line. 

Once you got close enough in line, there were trays of chips and then you just got to try many, many different salas.  You could also register to vote for your favorites.  I was in salsa heaven!!

We then walked around to other vendors and I am soooo glad we did!!  While walking around we discovered Black Iguana Cocktail drinks.  It's a local company based out of Tomball, TX.  I have clients that refer to these types of beverages as "mommy capri suns".  We tried the strawberry margarita one and it is super yummy.  I am very picky when it comes to alcoholic beverages.  I rarely drink and when I do I want something sweet, want to taste the alcohol, but I don't want it so strong it burns when I drink it.  Most drinks like this, wine coolers, things like that, I really don't like.  This however, I had drank in probably 20 minutes and could have drank a few more.  I loved it!

Another thing we found was Austin Slow Burn, another local company.  They had their salsa's to sample, as well as some jams and their pulled pork.  Let's just say that Mike and I looooved the pulled pork.  They have this Jamaican Jerk Marinade they use and it was to die for.  We liked it so much we bought some of the marinade to try at home and I can not wait.

We also tried their Green Chili Con Queso and were a huge fan.  I could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting.

The other thing I tried that I loved was their Hot Apple Pie Jam with Jalapenos.  It had this perfect balance of sweet with spicy and it was oh so good. On the website it says it would be good on ice cream and I tend to agree.  But the thing I was thinking while eating it was to put it on cream cheese and eat with crackers. Yum!

  

There was also several food vendors present.  We had a beef fajita taco from Jalapeno Joes.  The meat was very moist and they had 3 salsas that were all very good.  We also had a slice of Green Chili Pizza from Brick Oven Pizza.  I am still thinking about the pizza even hours later.  I don't see it on their menu so I hope that doesn't mean they don't have it, because I forsee a trip to the restaurant this week.  We took a picture after it was half eaten.  What?? We were hungry!

All in all it was a very fun (and tasty!) experience and we will definitely look forward to going back!

Ama Lur

Ama Lur was a restaurant that was inside the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine, TX.  Mike and I celebrated his birthday there in 2009.  What stood out to us the most at Ama Lur is that they bring you out a basket of cactus shaped, blue corn cheddar jalapeno bread.  It was not only unique but very tasty.  So tasty in fact, we immediately came back home and looked at several different grocery stores and could not find any blue corn to try and make these on our own. 

Fast forward to almost 3 years, we are walking around Whole Foods, and low and behold we find blue corn meal.  Talk about excited!! 

So... here is my version of Blue Corn Jalapeno Cheddar Bread:

1 ½ cups flour
½  cup yellow cornmeal
1/8 cup sugar

1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoons baking powder
2  large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 stick butter melted

2 Cups extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

-Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

-In separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, and butter.

-With wooden spoon, stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until all dry ingredients are moist.  Do not over stir it.

-Mix in 2 cups of cheddar cheese and jalapenos and allow mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

 

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Grease a square pyrex baking pan and pour into pan.

-Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

-ENJOY!

 

All Star Burger

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to drive on down to the Hill Country Galleria.  We had nothing to do for the day and had never been there before.  We are finding that our new favorite places are the ones where we just drive around, while hungry none the less, and stop at new places.  This day was no exception. 

The first place we came to was All Star Burger.  I could eat a burger every day and if we have leftovers, I have been known to eat the leftovers for breakfast.  GASP!  Crazy I know!  So, since we were starving, it was the first thing we saw, and duh, it was a burger, so we went in.  It was a super cute place and it was very patriotic and Texas-y.  Once inside, we learned that they support only local farms and vendors to get the very freshest ingredients. 

I went with their "The West" burger.  It had cheddar, bibb lettuce, roasted jalapenos, and garlic-cilantro cream cheese.  It was to.die.for.  There is something about the roasted jalapenos and the cream cheese that made it a whole new experience. 

                                      {Photo courtesy of FedManWalking}

Doesn't that look so delicious?!  Mike went with the western twist called the Ranch Hand (I think) of BBQ, cheddar, and bacon.  He said his burger was equally as appetizing.  Their house fries were just ok.  They weren't anything special but they make their own potato chips in house, which was pretty cool, we just didn't try them.  We would definitely go back.  The only down side is that they are not centrally located and it took us easily 45 minutes to get there from Pflugerville.  But, if you are ever in the area, or just want to take a drive out to the Hill Country, make room for a burger from All Star Burger.

Man Bites Dog

No, no one really bit a dog.  HEHE.  We're comedians around here too, didn't you know?!

Man Bites Dog is just the name of a little hidden hot dog place that is delicious.  If you know anything about me, you know I do not eat hotdogs.  If I do, it is very, very rare.  They just aren't my thing and I don't enjoy them.  So, I was a little skeptical when we stopped by here.  They have a slew of different hotdogs and they are really creative.

Since I was a little skeptical at first, I went with the classic chili cheese dog.  Let me just say, had that been the very first hot dog I had ever tried, I would be a HUGE fan.  It was delish!

                                                  {photo courtesy of MBD Facebook Page}

Mike had to be a bit more adventurous than me.  He got a hot dog called the "Hair of the dog". I don't know what about that sounds appetizing but he went for it.  It was a bacon wrapped hot dog with chili and cheese and topped with a fried egg and Tabasco sauce.  Mike gave it two thumbs up!

                                                 {photo courtesy of MBD Facebook Page}

We then shared one of their corn dogs.  This was by far my favorite and next time I go back, it will be for this corndog.  The breading on here was melt in your mouth good and I loved it.  Mike's only complaint was that once you started biting in to it, the breading started to fall off.  He wanted it to stick a bit more.  I didn't seem to mind one bit!

                                                {photo courtesy of MBD Facebook Page}

Overall, if you are wanting a quick bite to eat and are wanting a creative twist on a ballpark favorite, Man Bites Dog is the place to go!  We will definitely go back.

Texan Cafe

Texan Cafe is a small town favorite.  Just outside of Austin, to the northeast, is a small little town called Hutto.  I love the small town feel and southern charm environment of Hutto.  Plus their city mascot is the Hippo.  In fact, if you call the high school, the automatic recording tells you to "Have a Hipporific day!"  How cute is that?!  In the heart of Hutto is a small little cafe called Texan Cafe.  If you are craving southern comfort food, then this is your place! But wait, there's more!

Texan Cafe has pie happy hour.  Yes, you read that correctly, PIE HAPPY HOUR!!!  They regularly have around 20 pies daily to choose from and Tuesday thru Saturday from 3-5 you can get a slice of pie and beverage for a discount.  It's awesome!  Here's some of their selection:

For lunch we had chicken fried steak and grilled chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms and swiss cheese.  They post all of their vegetables on a chalk board to choose from.  Then for dessert we tried their Strawberry Cream Cheese pie and their Chocolate Silk Pie.  We love this place.  It tastes great, it's local, and the pie is out of this world.  We highly recommend it!

South Austin Food Trailers

I love Austin food trailers.  I think the idea is genius and super convenient.  We went to the South Congress location. We went to The Mighty Cone, Wurst Tex, Frigid Frog Shaved Ice, and Hey Cupcake!

At the Mighty Cone we shared a chicken cone, fried pickles, and Chili dusted fries.  First let me just say, I love fried chicken.  Fried chicken is such a comfort, down home, southern food.  Mighty Cone's twist on fried chicken with their sesame seed, almond, chili flake, and corn flake batter is brilliant.   I think I said "mmmm" after every bite.  Seriously delicious.  The chicken also had an ancho sauce and coleslaw in the cone.  I think it was my favorite thing.  Mike loved the chili dusted fries.  Well, and fried pickles, you can't go wrong with those!

At Wurst Tex, they have probably the best "Wurst" that I have had.  I just went with the tried and true classic bratwurst and it was great.

At Frigid Frog Shaved Ice, Mike and I each got a shaved ice.  We live in Texas, so a snow cone on pretty much any day is sooo refreshing.  They make theirs with pure cane sugar and water unlike the corn syrup in most snow cones.  This was by far the best shaved ice we had ever had.  It was very creamy and pure yumminess!  We didn't try it but something they had that was very cool was a "Stuffed Snowball" which was a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the bottom of a shaved ice.  That just sounded so awesome!  They also have Dog snow cones and that is just too cool!

We also grabbed two cupcakes to go.  We got a John Lemon and Sweetberry cupcake.  I struggled with even posting this because we weren't sure if we wanted to post any negative reviews, but inevitably decided to go ahead.  Honestly, we weren't impressed with the cupcakes.  They weren't bad by any means, but they just weren't our favorite either.  I think the cupcake industry in Austin is pretty competitive and if I had to pick a favorite, Hey Cupcake just wouldn't be it.

Overall, the food trailer experience was a great one.  We can't wait to try some of the other cool places too!

Bacon!

We have all seen that commercial with the dog that is going crazy for bacon.  Ya know, this one:

Well, that's what I think when I go here:

{Photo courtesy of Bacon's Facebook Page}

This is a small little place pretty close to the center of Austin, called Bacon.  If you like bacon, you will like this place.  What makes it so awesome is that every day, they have different types of bacon like a house bacon and different specialty seasoned bacon.  While we were here we had their Bacon fries which were like loaded fries with cheese, bacon, chives, and sour cream.  I had their BLT sandwich.  It was like no other BLT I have ever had.  I had to take some of the bacon out of the sandwich because there was so much I couldn't even get it in my mouth.  Mike had their chicken BLT which was a BLT with a grilled chicken breast on top.  We each tried a different kind of bacon.  It was A-MAZ-ING!  We would definitely go back here again and think its a nice little treasure in town that everyone should try once!

Hopdoddy

A couple of weeks ago we tried Hopdoddy Burger Bar.  It was so delicious!  You could call  me a burger snob.  I love burgers and am very picky about the burgers that I eat.  With that said, Hopdoddy was fan-freaking-tastic.  Burgers are made with fresh, all natural ingredients and made there daily.  They also make the buns homemade.  I had the Llano Poblano Burger that had bacon and roasted poblano peppers on it.  I love me some poblano peppers and these hit the spot!  Mike had a classic burger that comes with their "sassy sauce"  I just love the name of that!  We also got an order of chili cheese fries to share.  The fries were delicious.  The chili cheese was kind of like a queso and was also very good.  Over all, I think it is my new favorite burger place!

{photo from Hopdoddy's website}

Welcome!

Welcome to Texan's Tasty Treats! This is the blog of Mike and Mandy.  We love to eat and love to share what we find, so what better way to share than to start a blog.  Here you will find new places, restaurants, and recipes we have tried and would recommend to others.  We unfortunately didn't take pictures of the first places we have gone to but be on the lookout for pictures in the weeks to come.
 Let us know what you think!