Lunch: After church, I swung into a KFC to try their Kentucky Grilled Chicken. KFC launched the new chicken style shortly after I moved out to Texas (three months ago), but I hadn't had a chance to try it yet. Most of what I've heard is actually positive (unlike the Wendy's Asian Boneless Chicken Wings). Here's what the ad looks like:

Here's what I received:

The chicken was a lot paler than I expected (given the brown caramel color of the advertisement and menu photos). The taste was quite good though - very juicy and flavorful. I thought it was quite close to the charbroiled chicken served at El Pollo Loco (which, apparently, we don't have in Austin). If you need some quick food and KFC is around, I'd recommend the grilled chicken - it's pretty good.
Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: August 9, 2009 (KFC Kentucky Grilled Chicken)

Lunch: I made a sandwich of rosemary-olive oil bread, Cajun roast turkey, Hickory smoked turkey, baby Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, and Dijon mustard. I had forgotten how delicious and satisfying a turkey sandwich could be.

Dinner: I coated a brined center cut pork chop with cornmeal, olive oil, thyme, sage, and kosher salt and baked it in the oven until just done. Then I darkened the coating by frying it briefly on a non-stick pan (otherwise the coating would probably have come off onto the pan). I ate it with a salad of baby lettuce and some store bought potato salad.

Breakfast: I had to wake up early and drive into Austin to take care of some stuff. Since it was morning, I couldn't resist and stopped in on a McDonald's for a Sausage McMuffin with Egg (my favorite thing on their menu next to the Filet-o-Fish). Of course, I got a hash brown patty as well.

Lunch: I found myself driving back to Austin again, and, since I was eating without Tina, I thought I'd take the opportunity to eat something she wouldn't ("Chinese food" prepared by a fast food restaurant - in this case an American fast food chain). I have been intrigued by the Wendy's commercial with cello music playing in the background where they follow a plate of Asian-style chicken that is being delivered to a table by a waiter in a uppity Asian restaurant. The camera zooms in on the chicken and then back out to cleverly transition from the fancy restaurant to a Wendy's. So, I ordered the Sweet & Spicy Asian Chicken Boneless Wings with a side salad and sweet tea. The "fancy" chicken was just a chunk of chicken, breaded, fried, reheated, and tossed in a very sweet, but tasty Asian-influenced sauce. The chunks of breaded meat could have been mistaken for chicken nuggets (I think they use the same breading) except they were not of uniform shape (they could have been incorrectly shaped nuggets) and tougher than Wendy's nuggets normally are.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: August 7, 2009 (McDonald's, Wendy's)

Lunch: Cheesesteak from Tucci's Southside Subs (7101 W Highway 71 # A5, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 288-7414‎). Not bad. I thought the sweet peppers were a bit too sweet but liked the addition of grilled jalapeno peppers.

Dinner: Tina cooked pork with oyster mushrooms, mung bean sprouts, and a stir-fry of red bell pepper, potato, and celery julienne.

Lunch: We had breakfast for lunch. We cooked omelets (filled with cooked fresh spinach and salami) and ate them with nectarines and potato chips.

Dinner: Tina prepared a stew of sweet potato vermicelli, pork, and assorted vegetables.

Lunch: We made a potato and salami hash and ate it with microwaved broccoli flowerettes.

Dinner: Tina's parent's made dumplings!

Lunch: Tuna salad with chips

Dinner: Tina made bulgogi, jab chae, and shrimp pa jun.

Lunch: Tina and I ate at the lunch truck called The Mighty Cone (1603 S. Congress Lot #1, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 383-9609‎).

We had a couple Mexican Cokes, Hudson's Cone Dog (a grass fed venison sausage with cole slaw in a tortilla), Hot & Crunchy Shrimp and Avocado Cone, and French Fries dusted with chili powder. Everything was quite delicious.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: August 2, 2009 (The Mighty Cone)

Lunch: Today was Tina's mother's birthday, so we took my in-laws to have dim sum at Shanghai Chinese Restaurant (6718 Middle Fiskville Rd, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 458-8088‎). The dim sum was decent, but several of the items like the shrimp and chives dumplings were a bit waterlogged (perhaps steamed too long?).

Dinner: Tina and I cooked some rice and mixed with the the green Thai curry we had from a couple nights ago. Doesn't look like much, but full of flavor.

Lunch: I made a couple of shrimp rolls for our lunch.

Dinner: After attending a "Flavor Tripping Party" where we tasted various foods after eating a miracle fruit, we went out to dinner at La Condesa (400-A W 2nd Street, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 499-0300‎). Our table of six shared a whole bunch of dishes including fried crickets.
Chapulines Taquitos toasted oaxacan crickets, avocado salad, salsa de chipotle ($12). The crickets were crispy and salty, but didn't contribute much flavor. With not much else except avocado and salsa to go in the corn tortilla, I thought the dish was a bit too simple in both texture and flavor.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: July 31, 2009 (La Condesa)