Archive: July, 2009

Trailer Park & Eatery

July 30th, 2009 · · Austin, Birthdays, new thing(s) of the week, savory, still-frames, the single life 2 comments - Tags: , , ,

I didn’t get my birthday wish but I did have a nice dinner with some friends at a new place I’ve been meaning to try. The only person who had Torchy’s Tacos was Jen and she’s never had it at the Trailer Park & Eatery. Happily, it was a new experience for everyone involved.


Si Nae and Stephen brought their two new puppies.


So at the Trailer Park & Eatery there’s Torchy’s Tacos and another trailer I didn’t try out yet called Treat, a dessert eatery. This is Brandi in front of the Torchy’s window.


I ordered the popular deep fried avocado taco and the green chile pork taco. Delicious. I especially liked the green chile pork taco.

My brother ordered the “Dirty Sanchez” which instigated a few immature chuckles.


What’s in the Dirty Sanchez? Scrambled eggs with guacamole, fried poblano chili, escabeche carrots, and shredded cheese served on a flour tortilla with poblano ranch sauce.

Everyone enjoyed the tacos. Pretty damn good and I’d so come back.

Some more photos:







Brandi, the cake decorator made me that cake. Reminds me of a little girl’s birthday cake. Plus, it was chocolate. Chocolate is medicine for the soul.

I’m glad my 25th year is over. 26 is starting off shaky too but through it all I have good people and good food. That’s not too shabby.

Embarrassment of riches

July 28th, 2009 · · Birthdays, love No comments

I’m 26 today.

So these came over the weekend.

Then today I got two more deliveries.

I’m so lucky to have the people I have in my life.

Wish

July 27th, 2009 · · Birthdays, savory, still-frames No comments

Last night Brandi, Jessica, and Jesse took me to Melting Pot, I blew out a birthday candle and made my first wish. I wished pretty hard. I usually have a very broad wish when I blow out candles but this time, I specifically wished for something. My actual birthday is Tuesday (Brandi just likes to spoil me) and I’ll wish for it once more.

Brandi declared today, “Linda Hot Dog Day.” She’s crazy. I like to only really have one big celebration with loved ones and then maybe one more if I have someone special but she’s adamant about extending festivities. So she made us hot dogs and made us wear party hats.


Jessica: “You can see me two times, bitches!”


Maybe I should have wished for bigger boobs…


This shot took us several times to get kind of right.

PPPUURRRple

July 25th, 2009 · · Birthdays No comments

I woke up to beautiful flowers. My roomie signed for them for me. It came with a kiddy joke. You know I love my kiddy jokes.

Q. What’s a cat’s favorite color?
A. PURRRRple.


I keep admiring them. I’m still surprised they’re for me. Thank you.

Swirll

July 18th, 2009 · · Austin, new thing(s) of the week, savory 6 comments - Tags: , , ,

I’ve only tried out three frozen yogurt places thus far. Pink Berry and Red Mango when I was in NYC and there’s a yogurt place down the street from me called Tomunchi. It’s funny how it’s all the rage now. Jen T and I tried my second new one in Austin, Swirll on the drag. I liked Swirll’s topping selection better than Tomunchi’s but Tomunchi’s location is so much more convenient to me. Swirll is 4 cents more at 43 cents an ounce compared to Tomunchi’s 39 cents an ounce. They’re all really good though. My yogurt selection today: lychee, strawberry, cookies and cream, taro (my favorite flavor), their own house blend. The only flavor I would steer clear from next time would be the strawberry because it’s too tart for me. My toppings today: Lychees, lychee jelly, chocolate chips, brownie bits, fruity pebbles, strawberries, and mangoes. I ate it ALL.


The spoons are from Ikea. ;)

Look how expansive the selection of toppings.


I forgot the mochi. I can’t remember if they had mochi.


Jennifer’s yogurt.

Yummy. I have a handful more of yogurt places in Austin to try. I want to eat the world. Too bad I don’t have enough time or money!

Other Blog Entries:
April 6, 2009 – Tomunchi
April 19, 2008 – Pink Berry
April 16, 2008 – Red Mango

Lunch with Jamie and Lily

July 17th, 2009 · · Austin, memory, new thing(s) of the week, savory One comment - Tags: , ,

One of the things I miss about my previous job aside from the obvious INCOME, is my coworkers. Namely, Jamie and Lily. I miss sitting next to Lily and overhearing her crazy conversations with her boyfriend. Being her neighbor was such a pleasure. Jamie wasn’t as physically close to my desk but bumping into her in the hallways was always refreshing. I miss them. I met them up for lunch today. The three of us, when going to lunch during work hours, we always either went to Korea Garden or Korea House. We’ve never been anywhere else for lunch during work hours. Today it was Korea Garden. Being as our last few lunches together we opted for Korea House, I haven’t been in Korea Garden in the last 5 months. They’ve had a big change!

They’ve converted half their sitting area into a sushi conveyor belt room! I haven’t eaten off a conveyor belt yet and appreciated the novelty. It’s pretty cheap too during lunch. Each plate you grab is a flat 2.50. Hip and casual. Korea Garden has a new modern twist. I don’t know of any sushi restaurants in Austin with a conveyor belt.

We grabbed dessert at Dairy Queen. I’ve been seeing commericals on TV for their new Girl Scout Tagalog Blizzard, I had to try. It was AWESOME. If you don’t know, Tagalog cookies are peanut butter patties.



I finished the whole thing.


Jamie’s turtle chocolate waffle sundae also from DQ.

Classic Kitchen

July 17th, 2009 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory No comments

Last weekend in Houston, Cindy introduced me to some really cheap and authentic Chinese food on Bellaire in the same shopping center as Sinh Sinh. The place is called Classic Kitchen. We ordered more than we could finish (2 family style dishes) and paid nine dollars with tip. I really enjoyed it and would totally go back, that is, with someone who can read Chinese/speak.


Their menu is in Chinese.

We ordered the spicy beef noodle soup and something that is directly translated into “grab pancake.” The noodles come three different ways: small, big, or sliced and cut from a block of pasta. We chose cut and sliced.


spicy beef noodle soup

The beef was SO incredibly tender. It was amazing, how tender it was. The broth was delicious. It was the first time I’ve heard of or had these kind of noodles. It’s a bit firmer and heartier than most noodles. I’d so order this soup again. A restaurant is a winner to me when I think about what I’ve had there and it makes me want to go back fast and relive it.


Close up of the noodles


grab pancake

I forgot the Chinese name for this but it translates to “grab pancake.” It’s call grab pancake because they grab the dough and fluff it up before they fry it so you get nice stringy and fluffy layers. It’s awesome. I’d order this again too.

I was satisfied and impressed by Classic Kitchen. A LOT of good food for dirt cheap. You can’t go wrong there.

Book Review: How We Decide

July 14th, 2009 · · love, on the nightstand One comment

Finished this some time last week so things aren’t completely fresh. Again, this book overlapped Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence basically asserts that there is Emotional Quotient in addition to Intelligence Quotient. It outlined all the domains of emotional intelligence and supported them with studies. How We Decide asserts that all our decisions are emotional decisions even when we’re not aware of it. It actually reminds me of Malcom Gladwell’s Blink which is funny because Blink is listed in his bibliography. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve read Blink but Blink mainly focused on psychological studies whereas How We Decide mainly focused on the inner workings of the brain, mainly with the prefrontal cortex.

He explains that our brain works on a very rudimentary rewards system. As we’re rewarded or punished by our decisions, our brain tries to figure out the events that lead up to the surge or dopamine when we’re rewarded. The dopamine acts as our pointer. Later he explains that because it is so rudimentary, we need to sometimes try to rationalize a bit before we follow “our heart.” Basically, we need to master a balance between head and heart.

He then unveils some of our decision making defects, One such defect, loss aversion is our inclination to be so afraid of loss that we make irrational decisions or give up long term gain to avoid short term loss. Another example of a defect is that we tend to count and remember and give more weight to the negative things over the positive things. It takes five compliments to offset one criticism.

Generally, the book is entertaining with current examples. Focused on a lot of science which makes it a good counter to Gladwell’s books. I’d recommend this book to boys who don’t like to read. I like to keep a mental list of books that are good hooks for nonreaders. I was thoroughly engaged by this book because it’s so interesting but his examples I find would appeal to a lot of guys I know. He opens up with football and Tom Brady, discusses fighter pilots and their having to decide whether to shoot at a blip on the radar, poker players and their strategies. I was hoping maybe it’ll have more examples with interpersonal decisions. You know, talk more about how we make some of our emotional decisions regarding relationships. Lehrer did not touch any of that. Perhaps, that’s a whole other ballpark.

Excerpts

Loss aversion is now recognized as a powerful mental habit with widespread implications. The desire to avoid anything that smacks of loss often shapes our behavior, leading us to do foolish things…We try to postpone the pain for as long as possible; the result is more losses.

This is so sweet. From his acknowledgements:

My girlfriend, Sarah Liebowitz, has read this book dozens of times (I’m not exaggerating) in all of its various drafts and guises. This book wouldn’t exist without her insightful criticisms, cheerful support, and love. By the time you read this, Sarah will be my wife, which is, without a doubt, the best decision I’ve ever made.

You might also like:

P.S. He’s pretty young (27) and cute, this Jonah Lehrer.

Did we find my favorite restaurant in Houston?!

July 13th, 2009 · · Houston, new thing(s) of the week, savory 8 comments - Tags: , , ,

Friday night, I had a date with miss Kim and we were initially going to do something crazy and try grasshoppers at the famed (and RIGHTLY so) Hugos. We ended up not going with the grasshoppers for appetizers when we got there but man was I surprised. I had no idea the best restaurant I’ve been to in Houston would be MEXICAN. First of all, I’ve never had Mexican done up like this. My experience with Mexican is pretty limited to quesadillas, fajitas, tacos, and enchiladas. Holy crap did Hugo’s open up my world to Mexican cuisine and rocked it.

Squash Blossums are apparently in season. It’s funny because I’ve only just heard of squash blossoms on the Food Network when they featured it on a show about Italy. Here there are, featured in a special menu for squash blossums.

We went with the squash blossoms crepes for appetizers. They had squash blossoms, huitlacoche (fungal delicacy that grows on ears of corn), mushrooms and cheese topped with poblano cream and gratineed. We liked. Yum. Never had huitlacoche or squash blossoms. Great first experience.


Kim ordered one of the specials that was featured Friday, soft crab and some kind of corn bread that tasted like a done up fancied up Rudy’s cream of corn. Funny, because we bought thought of Rudy’s cream of corn at the same time. The soft crab was delicious! She did good in ordering as always.


My entree: Mariscos al Aijillo.


Mine comes with rice. This makes me want to do some rice sculpting.

My entree was the Seafood plate.. or at least that’s how I translate “Mariscos al Ajillo.” Mariscos al Aijillo has shrimp, scallop, lobster, mussels, clams, oysters and octopus, sautéed in olive oil with roasted garlic, chile de arbol and lime. I’ve never had octopus. My thoughts on octopus: like squid, it’s okay the first 4 seconds of chewing, afterwards the texture really gets to me. The dish on the whole was AMAZING. There’s a little bit of sauce from the olive oil, chile and lime that served as a great broth to eat with the rice. The seafood in it was fresh and I’ve never had a scallop as big or as juicy as the scallops they had. Kim and I poked at it with our forks and oohed and aahed at its extra plump texture. The lobster tail was succulent. Seriously, this restaurant blew me away. It’s a bit pricey. Runs 40-70 dollars a person without alcohol but very much worth the money.


Our waiter suggested we have the churros because it is “very Mexican.” It’s filled with dulce de leche filling and served with chocolate icecream (always a winner) and their famed Mexican hot chocolate. I’ve never had Mexican hot chocolate, after having Hugo’s, I vow to seek out Mexican hot chocolate more often. It was a lovely treat. Don’t be too shy to dip your churro in the hot chocolate. It’s like a crisp cinnamony donut.


My lovely date. I like this picture. She’s pretty AND quirky.


Do you see how high the ceiling is? Loved the ambiance.

Next time I’m in Houston, we’re definitely going back and this time for brunch. If you ever find yourself in Houston, do yourself a big favor and make this restaurant a food priority.

Chicken Piccata and Banana Nutella Crepes

July 12th, 2009 · · Birthdays, new thing(s) of the week, Personal Finance, savory 5 comments - Tags: , ,

I usually send Jen T. something for her birthday but this year I was forgetful so now that she’s in town I decided to make her a belated birthday dinner. I was driving into Austin today from Houston so I wanted to pick something that’s easy. I found a Giada recipe for Chicken Piccata. I’ve never tried making Chicken Piccata before so it’s also expanding my horizons. It’s pretty easy. The only change I made to the recipe was not put in capers. I bought pickled capers inadvertently. Oops. For sides, I just sauteed squash and zucchini. I liked it. Jennifer and Brandi didn’t complain and Jen wanted the recipe. I consider that successful. It’s always kind of unnerving to make something for the first time for people.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Directions
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Banana Nutella Crepes

Then for desserts I made Banana Nutella crepes. I’ve made these a few times back when I was living with Alan. The batter makes approximately 18 crepes. Every time I make these crepes I call a bunch of people to come over to help eat. Nisreen and Nino and Jessica joined us for desserts. It’s an incredibly easy recipe. The only change I made was I sprinkled cocoa powder on top of the whip cream. It was delicious. Nutella is where it’s at.

Ingredients
Crepe Batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
1 jar hazelnut chocolate spread
5 bananas, sliced
1 can whipping cream
Directions
Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg and egg yolk. Pour in the milk, slowly, stirring constantly and, when half is added, stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Beat well until smooth. Add the remaining milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before using. The batter should be the consistency of light cream. Heat a well greased 6-inch skillet,. Add 1/4 cup batter. Tip skillet from side to side until batter covers bottom. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, turn and remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter. Spread a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut spread onto crepe and place banana slices down the center. Roll or fold crepe. Just before serving top with whipped cream.

All in all I spent 26 dollars and fed 3 people (4 if you include the leftover box I made for Alan) dinner and 5 people dessert.

I used to cook pretty often over a year ago when living with Alan because we had a lot of counter space. I loved it. But then I took a year off of cooking (I think I cooked maybe 15 times the whole time I was at my previous apartment) because I had a single sink and hardly any counter space. Now, Brandi and I have a full kitchen again, I plan on cooking more. Can’t wait.