Dinner: Tina and I tried several tacos from Torchy's Tacos (2801 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 494-8226‎) in the UT area for dinner. Most were pretty good, but our favorite was the Green Chili Pork Taco followed by the Trailer Park Taco.

Green Chili Pork Taco Roasted pork carnitas, green chilis, queso fresco, cilantro, onions, lime, green sauce ($3.25)

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What I Ate: October 8, 2009 (Torchy's Tacos)

Lunch: Leftovers! I had potstickers which I reheated in a convection oven.

Dinner: We went to a dim sum happy hour at Fortune Chinese Seafood Restaurant (10901 N Lamar Blvd # D, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 835-8889‎) sponsored by Bacardi. They served Cantonese-style dim sum we tasted was better than what we had at Shanghai Chinese Restaurant (which is supposed to be the best dim sum in Austin). Some of the dishes (salt and pepper squid) were a bit overly salted, but most were decent to good. The egg custards (dan ta) weren't any good (the crust was more like shortbread instead of the light and flaky crust dan ta is supposed to have). Tina and I plan on going back - probably in a month when my parent's come to town to visit us.

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What I Ate: October 7, 2009 (Fortune Chinese Seafood Restaurant)

Dinner: We went to Vespaio Enoteca for dinner, but mosquitoes inside the restaurant started eating Tina alive. She got six bites within the fifteen minutes we were there and managed to kill one (filled with blood). Tina has allergic reactions to mosquitoes and instead of the typical itchy bump, she gets these half dollar to silver dollar sized bumps that itch like crazy. After we realized she was getting bitten inside the restaurant (instead of on the way into the restaurant), we decided that it was time to go. We had ordered fried calamari as an appetizer and it arrived just as we were asking about leaving. We had that boxed (which we ate in the car driving home), paid the check, and fled. Too bad, we were really looking forward to eating there. We'll have to wait until the mosquitoes die down.

I cooked some aglio e olio with capelli d'angelo, served it with a poached egg, and Tina sauteed some spinach for dinner.

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What I Ate: October 6, 2009

Lunch: Tina and I went to a press and blogger invite lunch to taste the food of the soon to be opened Zoë's Kitchen or Zoës Kitchen (their website and promo materials seem to alternate between the two - doing a look up on the USPTO website for the trademark lists both Zoë's Kitchen and Zoës Kitchen as trademarks AND company names). Zoë's Kitchen is a chain of twenty or so "fast food" restaurants which specialize in what I would describe as fresh, "healthful" Mediterranean-inspired fare. It started in Birmingham, Alabama, and Austin's first location will open on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 in the Arboretum (10000 Research Boulevard, Austin, TX - (512) 372-9080) in the same lot as the Renaissance Hotel.

We tried the steak roll-up with rice pilaf, chicken roll-up with grilled vegetables, and the hummus salad plate (Hummus with pita chips and a Greek salad). The roll-ups where light and tasty while hot. Once cold, they aren't as crispy and the cheese isn't as pleasant, so eat them immediately and don't sit around chatting like we did. The rice pilaf looked a little bland when I got it, but I was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it was. Unfortunately, the batch that I got was also a little over-salted, but after chatting with Hasoum, the owner and operating partner of the Austin Zoë's Kitchen, he acknowledged a little overzealous salting may have occurred and that should not be a problem in the future. The grilled vegetables were excellent - they tasted fresh, were nicely browned on the grill imparting a nice flavor, and cooked just enough to soften but still hold a little crunch. The hummus was decent as was the Greek salad when enough of the salad dressing (found on every table) was applied.

As an alternative to the typical burger or fried chicken fast food, Zoë's Kitchen is definitely something to keep in mind if you're in Northwest Austin. If you do happen to live in Austin, I've got a few coupons to try a free sandwich or entree at Zoë's Kitchen - just leave a comment (make sure you either register or leave me your email so I can contact you) saying you want a coupon.
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What I Ate: October 5, 2009 (Zoe's Kitchen)

Lunch: We ate lunch at the new Asia Cafe (8650 Spicewood Springs Rd Suite 114A, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 331-5788) which is just next door to where they used to be. The new bigger location is very nice, but our food wasn't as well prepared as in the past.

Twice Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts

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What I Ate: October 4, 2009 (Asia Cafe)

Lunch: After a few hours of appliance shopping, we were starving and dropped in on the closest food dispenser - in this case Cici's Pizza (a low cost pizza buffet chain). There was a McDonald's and a Subway nearby as well, but we didn't feel like either. The pizza at Cici's tastes like a really good frozen pizza, the soup tasted like a bouillon cube with fun twisty tube noodles and reconstituted chicken cubes (like in a Cup O'Noodles / Cup Noodles). For around $6-7 per person, it was not too bad, but I wouldn't go again for quite some time.

Dinner: At around 10:30pm, we completed our appliance purchasing (victoriously!) but were starving. I decided to reward my long day with a relaxing dinner at Twin Peaks where I enjoyed a full rack (of ribs) and a girl-sized glass of 99 cent beer. The ribs were cooked until soft and falling apart - so soft that the cartilage needed no effort to chew through. Many people don't like ribs cooked this way, but I enjoy it once in a while (I do prefer ribs that offer a bit more resistance and stick to the bone slightly a bit more, but sometimes I miss the texture of ribs that dissolve in your mouth). It's probably been a couple years since I've had ribs cooked in this style, so it was nice.

Lunch: Leftovers - wild mushroom pasta from South Congress Cafe and left over angel hair pasta with Italian meatballs.

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What I Ate: October 2, 2009 (Los Vega Restaurante)

Dinner: Since this week is GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up, I decided to make a reservation for a restaurant that everyone seemed to be going to: TRIO (98 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 685-8300‎) in the Four Seasons Austin. A portion of the proceeds from the GO TEXAN menu at TRIO would be donated to Caritas of Austin, a non-profit food bank. The food on the menu is supposed to highlight Texan ingredients. The meals cost $39 per person and come with appetizer, main, two sides to be shared, and dessert. We tried everything except the Tomato Watermelon Salad and the Richardson's Farm Ribeye Filet.

Appetizers
English Pea Ravioli ricotta, corn puree, smoked maitake This dish was a failure. It was bland overall - the raviolis barely had any flavor and were tough and chewy. The maitake mushrooms (normally a very meaty and flavorful mushroom) tasted watered down and had no discernible smokiness.

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What I Ate: October 1, 2009 (Steak 'N Shake, TRIO)

Lunch: I decided to make my version of an American classic - spaghetti and meatballs (yes, American - not Italian… I don't think any region of Italy puts meatballs, marinara, and spaghetti together in the way we Americans do). I used ground beef from Coyote Creek Farms' pastured cattle to make several large (1/8 pound) meatballs, browned them in a convection oven, and then simmered in marinara sauce. I served them over a bed of angel hair pasta alongside roasted squash and fresh arugula.

Dinner: Tina and I drove up to Taqueria Star (343 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 909-8423‎), a taco truck parked in the parking lot of a liquor store on the corner of Riverside and South Congress.

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What I Ate: September 30, 2009 (Taqueria Star)

Dinner: Having heard about the GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up which is a week long event set up by the Texas Department of Agriculture to promote local (Texan) produce and meats and to support Texas food banks. McDonald's was on the list of GO TEXAN restaurants and I was wondering what it was doing there? Would they have a special menu or something else special to support GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up? I posed this question on Twitter and GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up (@GoOutGoEatGoTXN) provided this response: "Yep, McDonald's is part of GO TXN Restaurant Round-Up. They serve TX beef. From TRIO @FSAustin to McD's, lots of ways to GO TEXAN!" So, I went to a McDonald's tonight and asked them if they get their beef was Texas beef. They said that there was no way to tell - they get it from a distributor. I asked them if they knew about GO TEXAN and that part of this week's proceeds would be going to local food banks - they did not. I mainly asked in order to make sure that part of the money I spent would go to a food bank (in case I had to order a special meal or something), but they didn't even know about the program. Oh well. I tried the Angus 1/3 pound burger. The burger patty was a bit too thick to be cooked the McDonald's way - otherwise, it was okay, but nothing special. If I find myself here again, I'll try the bacon burger or the mushroom and cheese.

Lunch: I heated up some leftover carne guisada and chicharones and cooked a couple eggs over easy. Unfortunately, I messed up flipping the eggs so they were a bit messy.