Flavors of the Month is a monthly feature of some of the best dishes and restaurants I enjoyed.
April brought a visit to the new Kemuri Tatsu-ya, a food event, Ethiopian food, and new ice cream flavors!
All the Eats at Live Fire
Live Fire! has been one of my favorite foodie events in Austin. There are always so many good bites from restaurants and I discover new wines I like. This year was no different! The weather was also perfect!
Chicken Over Rice at Halal Bros
The first time I ate Halal Bros, I was sitting on a sidewalk downtown at an ungodly hour, probably around 3am. The food truck was a big hit back then. Lucky Austin college kids get a different kind of late night”fast food” that doesn’t require a packed drive-through. 😉 Halal Bros has gone on to open a brick-and-mortar off Guadalupe by campus and now a second location up north off Braker Lane. My usual order of Chicken over Rice brought back my insatiable taste buds. The mixture of the chicken, rice, and sauces is addicting!
Pizza at Desano
There has been no shortage of new pizza spots in Austin, and national restaurant Desano opened their fifth location here recently. Desano specializes in Neapolitan-style and Italian ingredients. The ingredients are verified by an Italian organization so that the pizza is authentic. We started with a Caprese salad, continued with pizzas – the Margherita D.O.P. with mushrooms added and Verdura, and finished with a cannoli. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite pizza in Austin (this one here) but it’s a good option.
Ice Cream at Lick Honest Ice Creams
It’s hard to sway from favorite ice cream flavors. My go-to is always salted caramel. But with all the new flavors Lick comes up with, it’s fun to try something new! This visit I had the beet and mint and the sweet cream and strawberry. Both were refreshing. I wasn’t sure about the beet ice cream at first but it grew on me with the mint.
Dinner at Taste of Ethiopia
I tried this restaurant YEARS ago and I was glad to return! I was a fan of the two entrees we got – Doro Wat (chicken) and Kitfo (beef). We followed the custom and ate with our hands, scooping the meat into the injera, which is like an airy sourdough tortilla. It was a little strange at first but quickly became natural. The dishes were spicy! I also tried an Ethiopian beer called Meta. I recommend this place if you want to try Ethiopian food! They will kindly explain the traditions and dishes. They have two locations in Austin – one in Pflugerville and another on South Congress.
Turkey Leg at Sherwood Forest Faire
You can’t go to a renaissance festival and not eat a turkey leg! I’ve only been to this festival once before and had a hard time deciding what I wanted to dress up as this year. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a costume, so I fished out this animal hood out of my costume box and bought some face makeup. Voila, a wolf!
Crawfish at The Busby Foundation LoneStar Crawfish Festival
The Busby Foundation’s annual crawfish festival raises support for Central Texas families living with the challenges of ALS. It was a fun and inspirational night watching the crowd rally behind the organization and families. Josh Abbott Band was the headliner and the crawfish was delicious!
Bites at CultureMap Tastemakers Event
Events at museums are always so fun! This 2nd Annual event was held at the Bob Bullock Museum and featured some of Texas’ best chefs and restaurants. The slider with foie gras from Lonesome Dove and the pasta from Emmer and Rye were my favorites.
Matcha Latte at The Factory – Café With a Soul
Gone are the days where it’s weird to meet people from the internet. From blogging conferences to online dating, I’ve been meeting people on the internet for years. A lot of times awkward but exciting and not dangerous. Most recently, I’ve had foodie adventures with people I “meet” on Instagram! Sujin introduced me to her favorite matcha latte in town AND we got to meet in real life and chat. I finally tried my first matcha latte in the cutest coffee shop in Austin. I also enjoyed the Nutella banana waffle. The best part of blogging is the community and I’m glad mine keeps growing!
Dinner at Kemuri Tatsu-ya
Life slowed down a bit so we had dinner at a new restaurant in Austin that has been at the top of my list to try – Kemuri Tatsu-ya. This restaurant is behind my favorite ramen place in town – Ramen Tatsu-ya. This restaurant is an izakaya, a Japanese gastropub, so the dishes were small plates. This made it easy to order many things! We tried: hot pocket, charred shishitos, smoked fish collar, smoked bbq eel, smoked toro brisket, Hamachi sashimi, and the octopus salad. The smoked dishes were definitely our favorites! I also had the matcha cocktail that is served in a lucky cat. Eating outside with flies everywhere was annoying but this restaurant addition is great for Austin!
Try any new restaurants lately? Give me your recommendation!
Have a recipe I should try? Comment below!
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