Dinner: We went to Asia Cafe (8650 Spicewood Springs Road #114A, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 331-5788) where we once again ordered a bunch of food to eat over the course of the week.

Beef Chow Fun, Bok Choy with White and Black Mushrooms, Yang Chow Fried Rice

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What I Ate: September 13, 2010 (Asia Cafe)

Dinner: Tina and I headed over to Uchiko (4200 N. Lamar, Ste. 140, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 916-4808‎) for our second dinner there. Lighting was a bit mixed (making for poor photos) until I constructed a wall using menus and finding a spot shaded from window light.

They brought us an amuse of compressed cucumber in a Spanish white anchovy vinaigrette with basil flowerettes. Very crisp, very flavorful.

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What I Ate: September 12, 2010 (Uchiko, Nordstom's Cafe Bistro)

Dinner: We decided to go to Ruth's Chris Steak House (107 West 6th Street, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 477-7884‎) because it keeps coming up in conversations about steak and steak houses (as in: "So they make a good steak? How does it compare to Ruth's Chris?"). We've eaten at quite a few steak houses (Peter Luger in Brooklyn really is the best so far) but never a Ruth's Chris, so we decided it was time.

They have a special oven at Ruth's Chris which supposedly runs at 1800°F (980°C). They took me back through the kitchen to see the ovens which are pretty much just triple wide and extra deep salamanders with roll out grills that come all the way out to access steaks placed in the back. I was unable to verify the temperature because my IR thermometer maxes out at 900°F. I was also not allowed to take pictures of the oven.

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What I Ate: September 11, 2010 (Ruth's Chris Steak House)

Dinner: After watching Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D, we dropped in at Red Robin where we started off by sharing a small order of potato skins.

I had the "Buzzard Wings" appetizer for dinner.

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What I Ate: September 10, 2010 (Red Robin)

Lunch: Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, and Fries

Dinner: Leftover Chinese food

Dinner: We were in North Austin, so we decided to try out Taco More (9400 Parkfield Dr., Austin, TX - (512) 821-1561).
Tacos Al Pastor, chicharon (pork skin), cabeza de res (head - beef), and lengua (tongue - beef). They were good, but not the best we've had. I enjoyed the lengua the most while Tina preferred the cabeza.

After those tacos, we ordered a cup of chicken soup, bistec taco, and ceviche. I didn't get a picture of the chicken soup, but it was very good and clearly made by stewing chicken and vegetable for a long time with spices and seasonings. A far cry from the last chicken soup we had at Pappasito's which tasted like it was made from a bouillon cube.

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What I Ate: September 8, 2010 (Taco More)

Dinner: I went to Uchiko (4200 N. Lamar, Ste. 140, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 916-4808‎) for a media mixer event. Everything they served was excellent with the exception of the tempura eggplant which was too salty. Having had this last time I was at Uchiko, I knew this wasn't how it was intended (and, speaking to other people there, it seemed that it was my batch that was over seasoned).

Chef Tyson Cole prepares Yakitori

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What I Ate: September 7, 2010 (Uchiko)

Dinner: We ate dinner at Chuy's where I ordered the Fajita Beef Burrito. Once our food arrived, I took pictures of my burrito and then helped Tina eat her fajitas which I did not take a picture of. By the end of our meal, we had finished off her fajitas for one (with us both full) and my burrito was untouched. I packed it and took it home for later.

Dinner: Tina and I drove up to Asia Cafe (8650 Spicewood Springs Road #114A, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 331-5788) where we ordered enough food to have leftovers for several meals.

Lunch: Braden and Kelly came up to Austin from San Antonio, so we met up for a dim sum lunch at Fortune Seafood Chinese Restaurant (10901 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 490-1426‎). This is my second dim sum on a Saturday at Fortune, and I have to say they have been better both times than Shanghai's dim sum.

Dinner: They suggested we try one of Austin's famous trailers for dinner, so I took them to The Odd Duck Farm to Trailer (1219 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 695-6922‎). I had the tomato and melon salad with goat ricotta ($4) and a slider with spiced pork belly, sauerkraut, jalapeno and arugula ($6). Both were perfect. The acidic tomatoes matched really well with the sweet and crisp watermelon cubes with the mild goat ricotta cheese blending it with a pleasant earthy flavor. The slider was as good as I think you can make a pork belly slider - juicy, flavorful, and wonderfully fatty pork belly playing off of the crunchy sour and pepperiness of the cabbage and rocket - I'm getting hungry for another one just writing this. Too bad they're closed on Sundays and Mondays!

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What I Ate: September 4, 2010 (Fortune Seafood Chinese Restaurant, The Odd Duck Farm to Trailer)