Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Roast Beast (2 Dine For Boston)


When I was a kid, my parents and I would often go out for delicious roast beef sandwiches at the now-defunct Mur-Mac’s Roast Beef, a dark and grungy yet beloved institution in Stoughton, MA that also featured fries and soft-serve ice cream. (It was even one of my first drives after getting my learner’s permit.) Somewhere along the way, we started calling roast beef “roast beast.” I’m not sure where we picked up the phrase, although apparently a “roast beast” makes an appearance in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, so maybe we read it there.

When a new restaurant called Roast Beast opened in Allston, it triggered immediate nostalgia, and I knew I had to try it out. One strangely warm afternoon in January – warm enough that Joel biked over from Somerville – we met our editor, Kevin, at Roast Beast for a roast beef feast. Turns out we’d just missed dynamic blogging and catering duo The Skinny Beet, made up of Katie (The Small Boston Kitchen) and Richard (Boston Burger Blog). It was a bloggerific day at the Beast!


Read my full "she said" review, along with Joel's "he said" review, at 2 Dine For Boston.

Roast Beast on UrbanspoonSee my favorite dishes on Tasted Menu

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

3 Little Figs (2 Dine For Boston)


It’s hard to review a particular visit to 3 Little Figs because it’s one of the few places where we really feel like regulars; since it’s five minutes from my door – and I love it – I’m there quite often. For the purposes of this post, though, I’ll focus on a morning we brought by Joel’s old roommate, Andy, who abandoned us (and our folk band) last summer to attend med school in Pennsylvania. I mean, I guess saving lives is more important than our dreams of eternal folk music glory, but we definitely miss him (and his fantastic bass playing and vocal harmonies).

After ordering at the counter, we were able to snag the coveted corner table, bright white and low and accented by an intriguing overhead lamp. The cafe is in fact bright all over, mostly white with brilliant blue accents and large windows.


Read my full "she said" review, along with Joel's "he said" review, at 2 Dine For Boston.

More photos:



See my favorite dishes on Tasted Menu

Izzos Tacos (Fork it over, Austin! - Part 26)


Well, I think this is going to be my last Austin post! I do intend to eventually write about the massive amount of hot sauce I got at Tears of Joy (plus one from Torchy's Tacos!), but for now, I'm going to wrap this series up with my last dinner in town, Izzos Tacos. Another truck. Food trucks make me so happy.

I had first spotted Izzos earlier in the day when I ate a donut for lunch; Izzos was in the same lot, and Jodi said that I really had to try it, so I was excited that my co-workers wanted to check it out for dinner.

We started with guacamole, which I actually tried and enjoyed. (Guacamole is one of those foods that I've just always avoided. While I don't really mind the flavor of avocado, I don't like the mushy texture, so I figured I wouldn't like guacamole. Then I realized that guacamole was probably closer in texture to a chunky salsa, not mushy like the fruit itself, so I gave it a try. Turns out it's pretty good, which I'm sure you all already knew.)


Then, of course, we had tacos. And they were pretty fantastic.





I got The Padre (photo directly above): braised carnita pork, pineapple, tomatillo salsa, avocado (which I requested be held). The pineapple was a great touch, and the flour tortilla was outstanding. (I vastly prefer flour to corn tortillas, so I was thrilled that every taco I ate in Austin was in a flour tortilla. Some places offer a choice.) This was probably my second- or third-favorite taco of the trip; I liked the BBQ brisket taco at The Peached Tortilla best, and the bulgogi taco at Chi'Lantro was pretty awesome as well.

Writing this post is making me sad because I now have this newfound taco love, but I haven't found any tacos quite as delicious in Boston. Perhaps it's time for a taco quest?

After enjoying Izzos, we moved over a truck for dessert at Gourdoughs, followed by fries and cocktails back downtown at Second Bar + Kitchen. Then we packed up and got ready for the morning flight back home.

At the airport, we found breakfast tacos from heaven, or Salt Lick BBQ. It was a perfect way to wrap up the trip.

Izzoz Tacos on UrbanspoonSee my favorite dishes on Tasted Menu

Other posts in the Fork it over, Austin! series:
Part 1: Whip In
Part 2: Foreign & Domestic
Part 3: Caffe Medici
Part 4: Walking Along SoCo and Lunching at Chi'Lantro
Part 5: The Capitol, UT Austin, and Lunching (Again) at Torchy's Tacos
Part 6: Museum of the Weird
Part 7: Uchi
Part 8: East Side King at The Grackle
Part 9: Franklin Barbecue
Part 10: Flagship Whole Foods and My First Green Smoothie
Part 11: Late Night Pizza at Via 313
Part 12: Kebabalicious
Part 13: My Robotic Kitchen Planned This Dinner Party
Part 14: Papi Tino's
Part 15: Annie's Cafe & Bar
Part 16: The Peached Tortilla
Part 17: Cupcake Quest: Hey Cupcake!
Part 18: Arancini
Part 19: The DeLorean, Boxing Robots, and Roller Derby Pillow Fights
Part 20: Second Bar + Kitchen
Part 21: Tia Kelly's Navajo Tacos
Part 22: Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Part 23: Gourdough's
Part 24: The Ice Cream Social
Part 25: Walking to Barton Springs

I'm also posting daily recaps on the Tasted Menu blog, FOOD=LOVE:
Day 1: A First Taste of Austin
Day 2: Tons of Tacos, Sushi at Uchi, and a Late Night Trip to East Side King
Day 3: Early Morning Barbecue and Late Night Pizza
Day 4: Globetrotting: Kebabs, Enchiladas, Pommes Frites
Day 5-6: Meeting and Eating

Monday, March 19, 2012

Walking to Barton Springs (Fork it over, Austin! - Part 25)

Another food-less post. Sorry.

On the beautifully sunny last day of the trip, I decided to take a walk out to Barton Springs. Here are some of my favorite photos from the walk (on which I spent some time pestering birds and squirrels with the zoom lens I hardly use, met my pseudo-doppelganger, and saw even more examples of Austin's happy graffiti.)

Nature:







Structures and graffiti:












And my doppelganger! Well, not really, but basically I was approached by a photographer who asked if he could borrow me for a minute. Turns out he was a with another photographer; she and I were wearing the same color shirt and both carrying large cameras and large black camera bags, so we did a quick photo shoot. Fun! (The first photo below is by Marco Guiterrez. Check out his work.)



Barton Springs itself is nice, but it was extremely crowded, so I just quickly waded into an area set off from the main pool. (Kind of chilly!) I didn't take any photos because there were a lot of people walking around in bathing suits, and I didn't want to be a creep. It's a pretty place, though; definitely worth checking out!

Other posts in the Fork it over, Austin! series:
Part 1: Whip In
Part 2: Foreign & Domestic
Part 3: Caffe Medici
Part 4: Walking Along SoCo and Lunching at Chi'Lantro
Part 5: The Capitol, UT Austin, and Lunching (Again) at Torchy's Tacos
Part 6: Museum of the Weird
Part 7: Uchi
Part 8: East Side King at The Grackle
Part 9: Franklin Barbecue
Part 10: Flagship Whole Foods and My First Green Smoothie
Part 11: Late Night Pizza at Via 313
Part 12: Kebabalicious
Part 13: My Robotic Kitchen Planned This Dinner Party
Part 14: Papi Tino's
Part 15: Annie's Cafe & Bar
Part 16: The Peached Tortilla
Part 17: Cupcake Quest: Hey Cupcake!
Part 18: Arancini
Part 19: The DeLorean, Boxing Robots, and Roller Derby Pillow Fights
Part 20: Second Bar + Kitchen
Part 21: Tia Kelly's Navajo Tacos
Part 22: Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Part 23: Gourdough's
Part 24: The Ice Cream Social
Part 26: Izzos Tacos

I'm also posting daily recaps on the Tasted Menu blog, FOOD=LOVE:
Day 1: A First Taste of Austin
Day 2: Tons of Tacos, Sushi at Uchi, and a Late Night Trip to East Side King
Day 3: Early Morning Barbecue and Late Night Pizza
Day 4: Globetrotting: Kebabs, Enchiladas, Pommes Frites
Day 5-6: Meeting and Eating

The Ice Cream Social (Fork it over, Austin! - Part 24)


On my last day in Austin, after Jodi and I lunched on lobster rolls and donuts, we made a quick detour to The Ice Cream Social, an adorable new ice cream truck. While I was tempted with flavors like peanut butter mole (that's the Mexican sauce, not the mammal), I was all full of donut and decided on a popsicle instead: mojito. (I have such a weak spot for mojitos.) It actually had mint leaves frozen inside of it. Awesome!


Jodi got an amazing-looking dish of salted caramel with a chocolate shell.


It was a perfect way to celebrate one of the only sunny afternoons of the trip.


See my favorite dishes on Tasted Menu

Other posts in the Fork it over, Austin! series:
Part 1: Whip In
Part 2: Foreign & Domestic
Part 3: Caffe Medici
Part 4: Walking Along SoCo and Lunching at Chi'Lantro
Part 5: The Capitol, UT Austin, and Lunching (Again) at Torchy's Tacos
Part 6: Museum of the Weird
Part 7: Uchi
Part 8: East Side King at The Grackle
Part 9: Franklin Barbecue
Part 10: Flagship Whole Foods and My First Green Smoothie
Part 11: Late Night Pizza at Via 313
Part 12: Kebabalicious
Part 13: My Robotic Kitchen Planned This Dinner Party
Part 14: Papi Tino's
Part 15: Annie's Cafe & Bar
Part 16: The Peached Tortilla
Part 17: Cupcake Quest: Hey Cupcake!
Part 18: Arancini
Part 19: The DeLorean, Boxing Robots, and Roller Derby Pillow Fights
Part 20: Second Bar + Kitchen
Part 21: Tia Kelly's Navajo Tacos
Part 22: Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Part 23: Gourdough's
Part 25: Walking to Barton Springs
Part 26: Izzos Tacos

I'm also posting daily recaps on the Tasted Menu blog, FOOD=LOVE:
Day 1: A First Taste of Austin
Day 2: Tons of Tacos, Sushi at Uchi, and a Late Night Trip to East Side King
Day 3: Early Morning Barbecue and Late Night Pizza
Day 4: Globetrotting: Kebabs, Enchiladas, Pommes Frites
Day 5-6: Meeting and Eating

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Gourdough's (Fork it over, Austin! - Part 23)

After nearly a week of feasting our way through Austin, we came to the last day. Finally, a beautiful day. I spent a lot of it walking. And eating. (What did you expect?)

For lunch, I was thrilled to finally get the chance to meet Jodi, my co-organizer and swap partner for the holiday gift swap between the Boston Food Bloggers and the Austin Food Blogger Alliance back in December. She brought me to a food truck lot I hadn't been to yet, but it had certainly been on my radar: Gourdough's. Izzos Tacos. Dock and Roll Diner. She got a lobster roll from Dock and Roll, but as (a) a mayo hater and (b) a native of a city known for lobster/lobstah rolls, I needed something else. Big. Fat. Donuts.



Since it would be my whole meal, I opted for a donut with more of a well-rounded meal quality, not a dessert: the Mother Clucker. Fried chicken on a donut, topped with honey.



The donut was as big as my face. I didn't come close to finishing it, but it tasted good enough to eat five. While huge, it was actually light and airy, with a nice crispy exterior, and it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet.

Later that night, I ended up back in the same lot with Sam, Jen, and John. We started with Izzos - more on that in another post - but we ended with a donut. Fortunately, a different person was working this time. Being seen twice in one day at the donut truck would be a bit embarrassing.

We all split the Dirty Berry, which was covered in gooey chocolate and grilled strawberries.




These donuts are not for the faint of heart, but if you have even the slightest sweet tooth, Gourdough's should be a necessary part of your Austin itinerary.

Gourdough's on UrbanspoonSee my favorite dishes on Tasted Menu

Other posts in the Fork it over, Austin! series:
Part 1: Whip In
Part 2: Foreign & Domestic
Part 3: Caffe Medici
Part 4: Walking Along SoCo and Lunching at Chi'Lantro
Part 5: The Capitol, UT Austin, and Lunching (Again) at Torchy's Tacos
Part 6: Museum of the Weird
Part 7: Uchi
Part 8: East Side King at The Grackle
Part 9: Franklin Barbecue
Part 10: Flagship Whole Foods and My First Green Smoothie
Part 11: Late Night Pizza at Via 313
Part 12: Kebabalicious
Part 13: My Robotic Kitchen Planned This Dinner Party
Part 14: Papi Tino's
Part 15: Annie's Cafe & Bar
Part 16: The Peached Tortilla
Part 17: Cupcake Quest: Hey Cupcake!
Part 18: Arancini
Part 19: The DeLorean, Boxing Robots, and Roller Derby Pillow Fights
Part 20: Second Bar + Kitchen
Part 21: Tia Kelly's Navajo Tacos
Part 22: Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Part 24: The Ice Cream Social
Part 25: Walking to Barton Springs
Part 26: Izzos Tacos

I'm also posting daily recaps on the Tasted Menu blog, FOOD=LOVE:
Day 1: A First Taste of Austin
Day 2: Tons of Tacos, Sushi at Uchi, and a Late Night Trip to East Side King
Day 3: Early Morning Barbecue and Late Night Pizza
Day 4: Globetrotting: Kebabs, Enchiladas, Pommes Frites
Day 5-6: Meeting and Eating

Hopdoddy Burger Bar (Fork it over, Austin! - Part 22)


I wanted to love Hopdoddy Burger Bar. The concept is awesome; nearly everything there is some combination of local, made in-house, organic, compostable, etc. The way the line moves is awesome as well; you enter along the bar so you can order a drink to bring with you as you follow the line to the counter where you order your food.

I ordered a pomegranate Texas Greyhound, which was refreshing, although I wish I had gone with a milkshake. I would have been uncomfortable stuffed with a milkshake, fries, and a burger, but I bet it would have been worth it.




While you're waiting in line to order food, a hostess gives you a table number, and by the time you order, your table is waiting for you. Then, when your food is ready, it's served to you at the table.

The atmosphere and the employees were great, and the menu was interesting, but I was disappointed by my burger (Angus beef, cheddar, hickory BBQ), which ended up being bland and undercooked. One of my dining companions fared better with the Greek burger (lamb, feta, tzatziki, arugula, and more).



The buns, however, were amazing, and we were also really into the fries.


There's so much to like about Hopdoddy; it's unfortunate that I didn't like my burger. But if I lived in the area, it's the type of place I'd definitely try again.

On a somewhat unrelated note, we saw a couple awesome signs on the way home - one plain awesome one and one that makes me chuckle for a couple different reasons.



Hopdoddy Burger Bar on UrbanspoonSee my favorite dishes on Tasted Menu

Other posts in the Fork it over, Austin! series:
Part 1: Whip In
Part 2: Foreign & Domestic
Part 3: Caffe Medici
Part 4: Walking Along SoCo and Lunching at Chi'Lantro
Part 5: The Capitol, UT Austin, and Lunching (Again) at Torchy's Tacos
Part 6: Museum of the Weird
Part 7: Uchi
Part 8: East Side King at The Grackle
Part 9: Franklin Barbecue
Part 10: Flagship Whole Foods and My First Green Smoothie
Part 11: Late Night Pizza at Via 313
Part 12: Kebabalicious
Part 13: My Robotic Kitchen Planned This Dinner Party
Part 14: Papi Tino's
Part 15: Annie's Cafe & Bar
Part 16: The Peached Tortilla
Part 17: Cupcake Quest: Hey Cupcake!
Part 18: Arancini
Part 19: The DeLorean, Boxing Robots, and Roller Derby Pillow Fights
Part 20: Second Bar + Kitchen
Part 21: Tia Kelly's Navajo Tacos
Part 23: Gourdough's
Part 24: The Ice Cream Social
Part 25: Walking to Barton Springs
Part 26: Izzos Tacos

I'm also posting daily recaps on the Tasted Menu blog, FOOD=LOVE:
Day 1: A First Taste of Austin
Day 2: Tons of Tacos, Sushi at Uchi, and a Late Night Trip to East Side King
Day 3: Early Morning Barbecue and Late Night Pizza
Day 4: Globetrotting: Kebabs, Enchiladas, Pommes Frites
Day 5-6: Meeting and Eating

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