Flavors of the Month is a monthly feature of some of the dishes and restaurants I enjoyed. This month I was excited to try Be More Pacific and a new Austin brewery. We also went to one of my favorite Austin foodie events, Wine and Swine.
Dinner at Be More Pacific
I was excited to try Filipino food at Be More Pacific! My friend Kathy and I split the veggie and tofu lumpia, pacit bihon with tofu, cheesy tots, and the halo halo. Have you ever had a halo halo (pronounced hollow hollow)? It’s a traditional Filipino dessert with shaved ice, condensed milk, and mix-ins like boiled sweet beans, jelly, and corn. I loved our whole meal, especially the noodles. They have a few more dishes I want to try so I’ll definitely be back!
Dinner at Emmer and Rye
I have no pictures to show from our second visit to Emmer and Rye but we had a great time celebrating our friend’s birthday. Again, the Johnny Cakes dish (on dim sum menu) was superb and they do a good job with their pastas. (Here’s recap of the first visit.)
Mochi and Beer
My beer blogger friend Caitlin had never had mochi before so we remedied that with a beer and mochi pairing at Whole Foods. Their mochi bar is convenient, though you need to choose six to make the price worth it.
Happy Hour at Toulouse (Complimentary Austin Food Bloggers Alliance Event)
Toulouse spoiled us food bloggers with all this delicious food! The new restaurant in Domain Northside is a French chain with locations in Dallas and Houston and is part of the Lombardi restaurant group, which also owns Taverna, an Italian restaurant. We tried all their bites on the happy hour menu: Croque-Monsieur, smoked salmon rilletes, spinach artichoke dip, steak tartare, and gougere and goat cheese boursin. Plus we got to try desserts: profiteroles, beignets, and fondant au chocolat. It was all delicious, and the croque-monsieur was my favorite savory dish while the fondant au chocolat had an addicting cappuccino sauce.
Pistachio Horchata at Tacodeli
We went to Tacodeli one weekend morning for breakfast (we might have had it three weekends in a row last month…) and I had to try this! Yum!
Craft Beer at Flying Man Brewing Co. and Lobster Rolls from Garbo’s
We visited a new Austin brewery, the closest one to us now! I’m a fan of their Air Racer IPA. Garbo’s food truck was there and I can’t stay away from their Maine lobster rolls. 🙂
2nd Annual Shellfishapalooza
I didn’t take many photos but I did have lots of fun! We hosted our 2nd Annual Shellfishapalooza, and the food was fantastic! Shrimp, snow crab, Dungeness crab, King crab, lobster tails. Potatoes and mushrooms. Crab and artichoke dip. Rice krispy treats and key lime pie. It was a feast! (See details about the first annual event here.)
SoCo Ginger Beer at the Farmers Market
Have y’all tried ginger beer or specifically SoCo’s Ginger Beer? They’re an Austin company that sells at farmers markets. I’m thinking I might need one of those big growlers to stock up for the week. They make flavors based on the season, and this flavor was prickly pear.
7th Annual Wine and Swine
One of my favorite foodie events in Austin is Wine and Swine. The afternoon weather was perfect and the food was delicious! My favorite bites were from Henbit and The Brewers Table, two restaurants that will be opening soon.
Dinner at Jang’s CHIMAC Cafe
There’s a new Korean fried chicken restaurant in town. I enjoyed the macho flavor, which has a bit of spice, and the yangyeom, which is sweet. Get the red if you want lots of spice but don’t double the spice like we did. It will literally make you cry.
Friendsgiving with StreetSmart Kitchen
My friend Sharon invited us over for an incredible spread of food. Our menu included: garlic cheese pull-apart bread, tuna deviled eggs, kale salad, beef burgundy, and pumpkin cheesecake cups. And of course it all looked delicious too! You can read all about our gathering and get the recipes over on her blog.
Other Great Foodie Things
- Did you see my post about Birradamare, an Italian craft brewery?
- My friend Jessica has a great gift guide for the foodie in your life.
- My parents have a persimmon tree so hopefully I can bring some back with me to try this persimmon quick bread recipe.
- These mini cranberry brie galettes from Mary Makes Good are so cute and I bet they’re delicious!
- This article about Austin’s food scene has got me saying EXACTLY! I understand that aesthetically-pleasing restaurants with interpreted recipes have their own audience but when their popularity means overshadowing the mom and pop shop with authentic recipes and a big story to tell, it makes me sad. Americanizing food might make the food more approachable, but it’s more responsible for me to get out of MY comfort zone and live a better story. So, it’s my promise and privilege to not only try restaurants that earn the buzz-worthy media mentions but the places that are working hard to tell the story of their culture.
What’s the best thing you ate last month? Comment below!
P.S. Need a good gift idea? I recommend a cooking class! Check out this post for culinary class options.
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