Posts tagged ‘best’

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February 28, 2011

Austin: The Big List of Local Food!

GroACT recently released their list of the top “Truly Local Restaurants” from a survey they sent out (so take into account that restaurants not returning the survey aren’t counted etc.) A lot of my old faves are on the list, and there are plenty of newbies for me to try!

TOP TEN WINNERS
Odd Duck Farm to Trailer (great but small portions)
Eastside Showroom (only had drinks here)
Texas French Bread (who knew?)
Somnio’s (need to try!)
Jack Allen’s Kitchen
Olivia’s
Trace at the W Hotel
La Condesa
Peche
East Side Pies (must try!)

VERY HONORABLE MENTION

Thai Fresh (good but not great for me)
Trio
Fabi + Rosi (need to try)
wink (need to try)
Counter Cafe (good burger but not the best I’ve ever had)
Eastside Cafe
Asti (FINO is better)
Vespaio
Ecstatic Cuisine
Cipollina (pizza deals for happy hour!)

Runners Up (not in particular order)
Fete Accompli
Cool Mint Café
El Arbol
FINO
Hudson’s on the Bend
Jeffrey’s
Justine’s Brasserie (must try asap)
Kerbey Lane Cafés

Moonshine
Pacha
Uchi
St. Edward’s Cafeteria
Sweetish Hill Bakery
Lake Austin Spa and Resort (SO GOOD)
Rolling in Thyme and Dough
House Pizza
High Ball
Salt and Time
Daily Juice / Daily Juice Café on 45th
mulberry (had a nice dinner but small)
Aquarelle (need to try!)
Foreign & Domestic (need to try!)
La Boite
Leaning Pear
People’s Rx (if you don’t like sammies, this is a tough sell)
Taco Deli (lots of people love, not my fave)
TNT
Zoot (want to try)
Blue Star Cafeteria (good but not great)
Dishalicious
Whip In (OMG the naan!!)
Surf n Turf trailer (haven’t tried!)
Alamo Drafthouse

Notably missing? 24 Diner, Bess Bistro, and Buenos Aires Cafe.

Click here for Austin Farm to Table’s List of SXSW Local/Sustainable eats. It rocks!

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February 15, 2011

Austin: Uchi the Cookbook Released!

Uchi Cookbook

Uchi Chef and Owner Tyson Cole pretty much owns sushi in Austin, but it’s not just sushi. He has a creative, innovative approach to all Japanese cuisine that’s seldom seen, so it’s no wonder his cookbook is so long-awaited! Uchi the Cookbook is now available for pre-orders … snag one now and you’ll also get an invite to attend the VIP signing at Uchiko on March 1st at 7:30 pm WITH  complimentary dishes straight from the book!

Smaller subsequent “book social” events will be scheduled for the following two nights at Uchi and again at Uchiko for guests to purchase their copy and have it signed by Chef Cole.  A few complimentary bites will be circulating here as well.

Snag it here: www.uchicookbook.com

Order now, celebrate at Uchiko on March 1st at 7:30 pm, at Uchi on March 2nd from 5-7pm, and again at Uchiko on March 3rd from 5-7pm.

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January 20, 2011

I Want This Whole Outfit

(and a place to wear it)

I don’t know what I love more: skinny trousers, houndstooth coat, or maroon matching underlayers. From Celine, featured in Fashionista’s Best of Pre-Fall

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January 19, 2011

Aspen: Yogroove at King Yoga

Because it’s not AWESOME ENOUGH, my favorite place ever for yoga (Gretchen [Bleiler] and Lance [Armstrong] are fans too), King Yoga in Aspen, is hosting a Yogroove this Thursday night. What’s a Yogroove?

“Come take a creative vinyasa flow co-taught by Aaron and Evan with the sweet melodies of Cameron Williams. Sign-up online at www.kingyoga.net“

King Yoga tee

Yo, it’s yoga to live music! How badass is that? Potluck following. Class 6-7:30p.

Sidenote: I love their clothes too. I rock this tee all the time!

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January 18, 2011

Austin: Top 8 Normal Places to Eat Paleo

I got this email yesterday:

On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 12:34 AM, DUDE* wrote:
Just saw your post on ordering paleo when eating out and wanted to find out if you have any favorite paleo restaurants in Austin. Going to be in Austin this week and looking for a place to eat. Thanks! DUDE*

*names have been changed to protect the paleo innocent

First, a disclaimer: YOU CAN EAT PALEO WHEREVER THE HELL YOU PLEASE. Literally. You can order your food however you want it. You’re paying for it. Don’t be shy.

That said, there are places where it is much EASIER to eat paleo and where you won’t be as tempted by thin crust pizza or the most delicious bread in the whole world or whatever it is that you love that isn’t paleo. There are also normal places where you want to sneakily eat paleo without making a fuss. This is what I sent to DUDE*. It’s short, click the links if you want more info. I also place an emphasis on local, grassfed meat, some people don’t. Leave your faves in the comments!

Paleo Eating Out:
24 Diner – 24 hour diner on 6th & Lamar. Grassfed beef, local produce when possible. Owner is a CrossFitter, they’re used to making things paleo.
Bess – West 6th, Sandra Bullock’s restaurant, local meat, great entrees. Sides aren’t always paleo and they bring out a huge bread basket, so just ask them not to.
Buenos Aires Cafe – East 6th Street (e of 35), local meat, heavy on the meat portions

Pick Up/Quick:
Snap Kitchen - to-go food. Vegetable lasagna (no noodles!) is the best thing ever. Very conscious of paleo.
Whole Foods - sounds like a cop-out, but no other WF has the salad bar and other food bars of the flagship at 6th & Lamar.
Chipotle - also a cop-out, but the meat is grassfed and they do salad bowls with extra servings of guac!

Sushi/Bar:
Bar Chi (2nd & Colorado) is the sushi place I just wrote about and they are really flexible, making you cucumber-wrapped rolls without rice. Reverse happy hour, all day Sunday happy hour.
Piranha Killer Sushi (Rio Grande & 3rd) is also usually really accommodating and they have AWESOME fish prepared without rice anyway. Great mussels too.

Thoughts, paleos?

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January 14, 2011

Austin: Half-Price Sushi at Bar Chi

As the weekend rolls around again, I absolutely must tell you about Bar Chi. It’s on 2nd & Colorado, where the old Yu Sushi Izagaya was. It looks the exact same, but they are doing something no one else downtown is:

Late. Night. Happy Hour. 10p-midnight.

And all-day Sunday happy hour.

And not just $1 off. Like half-price. Here’s the menu:

happy hour menu at Bar Chi Austin

Yes, that’s pieces of sashimi/nigiri for $1.50 each. And rolls for $4.

I cannot recommend highly enough their “very white tuna” sushi. A piece of escolar seasoned with lemon and a hint of spice, it’s as good a piece of fish as you’ll find anywhere in this town.

The rest of the sushi was good but not spectacular. What was, however, spectacular, was their willingness to accomodate our special requests. No rice? Brown rice? Cucumber roll? All are no problemo!

We ordered the one cucumber-wrapped roll on the menu (not on the happy hour special but only $10) and just plain didn’t like it. Could have been bad fish or taste buds or whatever, but the waitress took it off our bill and had the chefs make us a special roll with three kinds of fish wrapped in cucumber. It was fresh and delicious! We’re calling it Leo’s Special, for the sushi chef who made it. It’s here:

Leo's special cucumber roll at Bar Chi Austin

As you can see, it’s awesome. And 100% healthy and paleo, if you care about those sorts of things.

Something should also be said about their sake-infused bloody mary. At $1.50 you can’t go wrong, but the sake is infused with jalapenos, serranos, and habaneros, which makes it SO RIGHT. Yum.

Bottom line? For cheap sushi that’s way better than Whole Foods but admittedly not as good as Uchi, Bar Chi is the spot.

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January 11, 2011

Aspen: Venga Venga Slopeside in Snowmass

The latest Richard Sandoval modern Mexican restaurant (click here for a HuffPo article on Sandoval), Venga Venga fills the slopeside void in Snowmass. Literally the slope-iest a restaurant could get, it sits right at the old mall, beckoning you with the promise of margaritas, which somehow sound delicious even when it’s -14 degrees outside. Trust me, I know, because we went there when this was the case.

Blueberry prickly pear margarita at Venga Venga SnowmassSpicy serrano orange margarita at Venga Venga in Snowmass

These are margaritas made with Sauza infused with things. The red one is infused with prickly pear, then served with blueberries. The orange one is infused with serrano peppers and made with lots of orange. It is not sweet, which is just the way I like it!

Naturally, the mojito didn’t get photographed again. What can I say? The same fella, however, reported that it was nearly as good as Pacifica’s, which means it’s pretty dang good.

Nachos at Venga Venga in Snowmass

These are delicious nachos. I don’t normally eat nachos, not for any particular reason, they just don’t usually call my name. They did, however, and they were worth the caloric splurge (isn’t that what skiing/snowboarding is for?). The chips stayed crisp under the weight of the toppings, which were generous without being overwhelming.

Add in a little of the Venga Venga salsa, which is absolutely delicious and very fresh, and these nachos were divine. And I ate my weight in chips.

After a day of skiing or snowboarding, Venga Venga in Snowmass slopeside on the Old Mall is the perfect spot to stop. It’s not cheap, but it’s good.

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December 30, 2010

Austin: New Year’s Eve Start to Finish

Ah, the start of a new year. If you don’t have plans already, don’t fret, Austin is totally a cool town to be plan-less in. Aspen, not so much. Where did my Caribou Club membership card run off to? Anyway, here are my suggestions:

Pre-Party: From 4-7pm, let Lovely Austin Boutique help you get ready for your big night out … $10 airbrush makeovers and eyelash application from award winning makeup artist Lecia Harkins with Beauty on the Go, plus release the stress of the holidays with $10 chair massages and complimentary cocktails.

Click here to RSVP.

Eat: The Carillon features Chef Josh Watkins’ New Years Champagne Paired Dinners: Nine Courses, $90; Seven Courses, $75; Five Courses, $65. Seating available 6-10pm. Some of the best food around at totally reasonable prices for food and booze.

For more NYE restaurants, click here for the Statesman’s list (with an egregious example of apostrophe abuse)

Go Out (Never Pay Cover!): Now get this. This is life in Austin & Aspen synchronicities NEVER END! Skip silly sixth and hit up Gibson on South Lamar, which is turning into a winter wonderland with 30 tons of real snow! [Sidenote: I will BE IN 30 tons of real snow. In the real mountains.] This Ski Lodge party includes complimentary commemorative ski caps, appetizers from Out There Catering, festive cocktails, music, dancing, and a champagne toast to ring in 2011.

No fancy cocktail dresses or tuxedos for this party … don your comfy and fabulous ski attire–let me tell you, bibs are sexy. Ski bibs. Not food bibs.

All for a good cause, the bash benefits The Trail Foundation. Parking available. Tickets at frontgatetickets.com

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December 10, 2010

Aspen: Tonight, there’s free sushi at Takah

I still haven’t been to Takah Sushi in Aspen, the most affordable of the bunch (excepting Clark’s grocery store sushi, which is indeed made in store every day), but tonight Aspen Public Radio is hosting a membership drive there with FREE bites and 1/2 price sake. Sounds good to me!

Want to join the Aspen Public Radio membership? All first-time members ($60 for individuals, $100 for families) will receive a $15 gift certificate to Takah and be eligible for cool drawings and door prizes.

Friday, December 10, 5:30-8:30pm, check the facebook here.

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November 15, 2010

PetsGiving

Petsgiving. Pets Giving. Pets … oh, you know. My lovable dog Denali is a rescue, so when I heard that Nulo is being thankful and donating money to shelter pets WHILE giving customers a discount, I had to place an order. And share with you, natch.

Between now and Thanksgiving Day (Nov 25), for every $25 order placed, Nulo will donate one pet Thanksgiving dinner to a local animal shelter. Each dinner includes turkey and sweet potato recipe for dogs or turkey recipe for cats. Plus cranberry orchicken treats for dessert!

And because they’re thankful for YOU, use PETSGIVE promo code at checkout to receive 25% off your order.

As always, shipping on your first order is free (it was my second and they still gave it to me for free!)

To join the PetsGiving, click here. Do it for your dog, the Denalis out there, and your bank account (Nulo ain’t cheap!).

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