Keep Austin Full

Justine’s French Cuisine

meerarajagopalan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:05:30 +0000

One of my friends was browsing Austin.360.com, and she stumbled upon this restaurant, Justine’s.

Justine's coquilles St. Jaques layers bacon and scallops on skewers. (photo by Mike Sutter, Statesman)

From the looks of it, Justine’s is a French eatery in East Austin. It is simple, with a menu that has a few options, which can appeal to anybody.

The owner, Pierre Pelegrin, restored a 1937 house on the East Side, in September.

It appears that the restaurant is only open for dinner and only from 6:30 pm to 2:00 am. What is also interesting is they’re closed on Tuesdays.

Mike Sutter, from the Austin American-Statesman, recently gave Justine’s an 8.1 out of 10.

Here is its address and phone number:

4710 E 5th St.
Austin, TX 78702

(512) 385-2900

Magnolia Cafe

meerarajagopalan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:51:34 +0000

So at the beginning of this blog, you’ll notice a post about Kerbey Lane Cafe. Kerbey has many

locations around Austin. Something that may be considered the “bastard child” is Magnolia Cafe.

Magnolia Cafe

While Kerbey Lane is open 24/7, Magnolia, according their Web site, is open “24/8.” What that eight day is, I don’t know, but there food is really good.

Magnolia’s menu is just as diverse as Austin is.

Check it out.

Milto’s

meerarajagopalan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:25:23 +0000

Milto‘s. check it out.

Mandola’s Italian Market and Restaurant

meerarajagopalan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:35:35 +0000

Mandola's Italian Restaurant

So, breakfast and chocolate are at the top my favorite foods list. Something that is not too far behind is good Italian food.

The chains are good (Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill), but a few months ago, I was introduced to Mandolas, a little Italian Market which also has a restaurant in it.

Located in the Triangle, down Guadalupe, Mandola’s is easy accessible by car or bus (1L/1M).

The menu boasts authenticate Italian cusine, and the best thing is, it doesn’t leave you feeling like you ate a lot of food. The portions are a little pricey, but can also last two meals, if necessary.

What’s even better than the restaurant, is the bakery (you knew it was coming) which has chocolate cake, cannoli, and gelato. The restaurant is amazing.

Two thumbs up!

Tortilla Stew/Soup

meerarajagopalan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:57:58 +0000

So when I’m home, and my mom doesn’t want to cook, I become the chef for the night. When it comes to food, my mom is really picky and there are a few musts that need to be in the dish I prepare. Spicy and not messy to clean-up. My favorite thing to make is a Tortilla Stew/Soup recipe I found on Allrecipes.com.

This stew/soup only takes one pan, and it can be made and then served directly. What’s even better is that is it vegetarian, but you can feel free to add meat as desired.

Ingredients

1 (19 ounce) can green enchilada sauce

Tortilla Soup courtesy of Mindy Poje
1 1/2 cups water
1 cube vegetable bouillon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup vegetarian chicken substitute, diced (optional)
4 (6 inch) corn tortillas, torn into strips
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a pot, mix the enchilada sauce and water. Dissolve the bouillon cube in the liquid, and season with garlic powder, chile powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Mix in the beans, tomatoes, and corn. Simmer until heated through. Mix in vegetarian chicken and tortillas, and cook until heated through. Stir in cilantro, and season with salt and pepper to serve.

The recipe as is, is a stew. I like to take a hand mixer and blend everything together, to create a smooth consistency, turning this stew into a soup.

Be warned, this recipes makes A LOT of soup, so cut it in half, or be prepared to eat it for many days. (This is probably another reason why my mom likes it, because she does not have to cook for several days after.)

Here is the link to the site.

Happy Eating!

Halcyon and other good date places

meerarajagopalan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:30:48 +0000

So this past week I was chatting with some of my friends, and we got on the topic of good, low-key places to go on dates.

One of my girl friends mentioned how she hated Spiderhouse, (located just off of 30th), a typical Austin hangout. It combines three things Austinites seem to gravitate to, coffee, music and the outdoors. The reason my friend hated it was because she felt it was dirty. (She’s not from Austin).

Spiderhouse is a chill atmosphere, with a wide variety on its menu. It’s a nice place to go to get away from campus and just relax.

As we talked more and more, I brought up Halcyon. For me, Halcyon is just one of those places I have only looked at in awe from a distance. I have never actually been inside, but I hear it is amazing. If you go for a visit, here is a look at the possibilities.

Besides its full menu, Halcyon has an impressive dessert menu. As it begins to get colder, if you’re in the mood for a campfire atmosphere, this louge has not only gourmet hot chocolate, but also a s’mores dessert option, where customers can make their own s’mores. The prices are reasonably priced for a nice night out.

So if you’re looking for a good place to go on a date, or just hang out with friends on a Friday night, visit Halcyon. If you don’t want to head all the way downtown, go to Spiderhouse, but be prepared for an evening of outdoors and entertainment.

Thai Kitchen

meerarajagopalan — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:29:20 +0000

I’m a big fan of Thai food. The spices, the flavors are two big factors that make me appreciate it. A Thai restaurant, which I recently tried is Thai Kitchen.

I went with my mom, which made it even better. I got the Vegetarian #17 and she got the Indian Curry Fried Rice with Tofu. I really like the #17, it had the perfect amount of sweet and spicy. My mom really liked her dish too, she’s really picky when it comes to food, and she really likes her food spicy, so Thai Kitchen had the perfect combination for her.

Check out their menu.

We also got the dumplings, which I didn’t enjoy as much. I prefer the dumplings from Thai Noodle House, located just off of 26h street.

Both of these places deliver and offer the option of calling-in a to-go order. Thai Noodle House definitely has better dumplings, and an amazing peanut sauce.

What’s Austin without a little Bar-B-Q

meerarajagopalan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:16:48 +0000

So even though I am a vegetarian, I still love going to Rudy’s BBQ for their breakfast tacos. (The two things I love: breakfast and dessert).

Being vegetarian, I’ve never actually tasted the BBQ at Rudy’s so I take the words of my friends pretty seriously. According to one of them, Olivia Fong, Rudy’s has “melt-in-you-mouth, extra moist briskets” and delicious jalapeno sausage links). She thinks the secret is in their sauce, “which is the perfect combination of smoky, sweet, and spicy.

It has a picnic feel to it, with picnic tables inside and outside. Make sure you bus your own tables when you are through.

Apparently, according to Olivia, first-timers get free samples on anything before ordering.

Austin’s Own Burger places

meerarajagopalan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:48:23 +0000

While being in Austin allows us to surround ourselves with many chain burger places, we also are able to enjoy local places which feature similar menus.

Dirty Martins, located at 28 and Guadalupe, has a diverse menu.

With a variety of options from nachos to chili, Dirty’s has plenty of fried food to clog your arteries. They offer plenty of vegetarian sandwiches too, like their grilled cheese, veggie burger, black bean burger and their egg sandwich. For the sweet tooth, Dirtys has chocolate, vanilla and strawberry shakes, malts and cones.

Dirty’s also boasts a happy hour from 3 to 7, Monday through Friday, with 1/2 appetizer.

P.Terry’s, noted by Austin Monthly as “Anti-Fast Food,” has three locations in Austin, on off of Barton Springs, one on 32nd and one of MoPac and William Cannon. They are open 11 to 11. Their menu is extensive and they have plenty of options for anyone.

I mentioned Terra Burger in an earlier post, but it is still one of the closest “Austin” burger joints near campus. It prides itself on organic burgers, fries and ice cream. They have adapted to various diets, including a vegan and gluten free menu.

Dan’s Hamburgers features a simple menu, which still has a lot of options. They have grilled cheese. While I haven’t been to this place yet, what sold me on it was the fact they serve breakfast in the mornings. One I love almost as much as dessert is a place that serves breakfast.

Alamo Drafthouse

meerarajagopalan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:46:00 +0000

It’s hard to talk about Austin food without talking about Alamo Drafthouse. Alamo Drafthouse combines the love for food with that of entertainment. The Drafthouse is a chain of movie theaters around Austin, which offer food and drinks, while you enjoy your movie.

They constantly add to their menu and offer specials, which correlate to the special movie they have going on.

Tonight, they have a Michael Jackson Sing-a-long.

Tomorrow, Friday, November 6, they will have their special, Master Pancake Theatre. They will be showing ET.

Besides the entertainment, the menu is definitely something to rave about. Many items on the menu were inspired by movies or notable characters like “Moonstruck,” a Margherita pizza with basil and tomatoes or “The Godfather” with pepperoni, green bell peppers, mushrooms, onion, basil, tomato, black olives and cheese.

The pizzas are not the only thing that’s good here. The Alamo also has an impressive dessert menu (we know how much I love sweets). Besides their $5 milkshake, the Alamo also has a Molten Chocolate Cake with ice

Midnight Espresso Milkshake

cream, a midnight espresso chocolate shake, and a White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cake.

After a hard day’s work, the Alamo Ritz has happy hour shows, from 4pm to 6pm. They have $2 Tecate and Lone Star, $3.99 frozen margaritas, $1 off wells, and $2 small popcorns.

Besides the location downtown, there is a location at in the Village boasts “dessert eggrolls,” which are two apple-ginger eggrolls with chocolate ginger sauce and scoop of Amy’s Ice Cream.

Here’s a look at last year’s Master Pancake Theater of “Forrest Gump.”