Eating My Way Through Austin, TX

When I went to Austin I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew there would be music and I expected to have a taco or 12. What I didn’t know was that I would end up wanting to eat my way through the city and not have enough time to do it.

THURSDAY

The feasting began the first night we were there. Andrew decided to cookout for everyone at his house. I had just arrived around five in the evening, so I had a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the crew. Everyone else had already been tubing and drinking all day, so some needed to nap, some needed to shower, and some were ready to start all over again.

I got to hang out with my boys. All that was missing was my husband. 

Drew, B-ry & Matt

This photo is of Andrew, Bryan, and Matt hanging out in Drew’s backyard and chowing down on some fresh mango slices. There is a walking path just outside Andrew & Holly’s fence in the backyard. I think we saw at least two dozen dogs taking their owners for their evening walks.

Andrew was our grill master for the night. He prepared beer can chicken, mangos, corn on the cob, and ribs. I did manage to get him to let me help marinate the ribs and prepare the corn. I was feeling the need to help out with the feast.

It was a beautiful night (aside from a couple rain drops) so we were all sitting out on the deck enjoying our time together, and the smell of the food grilling. 

At some point Shannon said, “Is something on fire?” We all responded with casual “No” answers. Not five minutes later, someone realized that something was, indeed, on fire. It was the beer can chicken. Not too worry, there were several ex-lifeguards on duty, and Matt’s quick thinking had him running into the kitchen to grab a towel and taking the chicken off the grill. Don't worry, the skin was charred, but the meat ended up still tasting great later.

Even with the small disaster, our dinner ended up being really nice. We stuffed ourselves and had a great time. Andrew gets major points for his grilling skills. And Holly made some kicking potatoes!

B-ry, Shannon, Rob, Drew, Elliot, Mike, Lisa & Holly (Clockwise)

FRIDAY

The next day, I spent the afternoon exploring the city with Shannon and Rob. Rob and I were newbies, but Shannon had been there a few times, so she took over as tour guide. We had a list of places to check out. And we did! If only we could have squeezed several meals in! My stomach just couldn't fit any more!

Our first stop was lunch at Hopdoddy Burger Bar. I absolutely love a good quality burger, so I was really excited to try out the local fare. Hopdoddy prides themselves on fresh/all-natural products. They grind their own meat, bake their own bread, and cut their own fries. They also have craft sodas instead of the traditional Pepsi or Coke products. We made our orders and waited at our table for our burger experience to begin.

Self portrait in our booth while waiting for our food

I ordered the Terlingua Burger and drank the Doppelganger soda. 

My burger was Angus beef, Chile con carne, Fritos, Tillamook Cheddar, and Sassy Sauce (Yes, you read that right. There were Fritos on my burger). They serve your food on a metal tray so it can catch all the delicious grease that runs down your fingers. The fries were great too - I dipped mine in chipotle ketchup. Yum!

Up the street from Hopdoddy was a parking lot full of food trucks. I was so stuffed from my epic burger that I couldn't even think about purchasing anything from the trucks...not even the cupcake truck. How disappointing?

Shannon, however, wanted to sample Home Slice Pizza. She only tasted our burgers so she could save room for some pizza by the slice. She ordered two slices to sample. She stuck with the basics and got one slice of cheese and one slice of pepperoni. They came out hot and tasty! (I snagged a quick bite off hers) It was pretty good NY style. Although, it wasn't really better than other by-the-slice places I've had in the past.

But, if you know anything about my husband, it's that he has an obsession with pizza by the slice. He has a radar for these joints when we travel anywhere. So, I had to take a photo of myself in Home Slice, just for him. I also had one of the pizza guys tell me about all the flavors in the window. I was very interested in the sausage + garlic pizza, but still way too full to even think about getting a slice. (They cut the sausage like pepperoni and sprinkled garlic all over the top! YUM!)

Later that night, we were off to the rehearsal dinner. (More about the party part later - right now it's all about the food!) It was a buffet style set-up with a long table of great smelling food. 

My two favorite items were the tilapia (you can see two pieces on the top right corner of my plate) and the ranch dressing. I know that sounds weird, but I like a really good quality ranch (not as much as Brittany does, but she wasn't there to critique it, so I had to take over as the resident ranch expert). I can't believe I had enough room after my huge burger earlier to eat the whole plate. But when it's good, it's good!

Bryan and Matt were ready to dig in!

               

The dessert bar had two kinds of cheesecake and an English Trifle with strawberries. Shannon was super excited about the Trifle.

               

SATURDAY

It was wedding day! But not until late in the evening, so we had all day to hang out with the groom and have some fun. He decided to lead us to a taco Food Truck for lunch. There was a huge group of us and we were hungry!

Waiting in line to order our tacos

Andrew gave us some advice on which ones were his favorites and how we go about ordering. Brittany and I decided to each order one of our own and then to order one more that we could share.

Matt, Britt, Me & Drew ready for tacos!

My tacos were AWESOME!

Fried Avocado on top, The Democrat on bottom

I ordered "The Democrat" for myself and the "Fried Avocado" taco to share with Britt. I actually liked the Avocado taco better, but they were both very good. I'm sure I could have stuffed another one in if it was on the plate. Food is dangerous when it tastes so amazing!

That night we enjoyed a dinner of Hors D'Oeuvres at the Wedding Reception. I took a photo of my and Brittany's plates before we dug in. There were lamb balls, southwest eggrolls, spicy hummus, au gratin potatoes (with an amazing cheese in them), and several dips. 

Photos don't do all these meals justice. But know that if you plan a trip to Austin,  you will be eating well! Now if you don't mind, I need to go fast for a few days to make up for the ridiculous amount of food I consumed last weekend. Thank you, Austin, for making my belly happy!

Farmer's Market Reunion

Saturday ended up being quite the day. Dylan and I woke up at Mom & Bob’s house after a much needed good night sleep. We even slept in a bit! My mom and I had planned on taking Dylan to the Farmer’s Market that morning, so we got ready and got going!

I guess Mom & Bob usually go much earlier in the morning, so it was much busier than my mom was used to. But the weather was nice, so I didn’t mind the crowds. Other than buying some fresh produce, I didn’t really have anything else on my shopping list. I hadn't been to that Farmer’s Market before so I just wanted to walk around and explore.

Dylan was really riding in style. We brought his wagon and some snacks, so he was happy. Well, he was happy until we were going down the last row. Then he wanted to “alk.” We compromised with getting out of the wagon, but I carried him. He’s too much of a runner/explorer to be trusted in a crowd that large. 

Little did I know that fate was about to take over…

We stopped at a produce tent so I could buy some fruit and corn. There was a lady buying huge bags full of corn so I was waiting behind her looking around. I saw these 20something girls waiting to the left holding huge plants. I didn’t even look at their faces, I just thought, “wow, those are huge plants” and then looked away. When the corn lady reached down to get her bags, I realized that it was Patty! Patty, who I haven’t seen in years! Patty, the mom of one of my best friends in high school. Patty, who always follows all the photos I put of Dylan on Facebook. Patty, who always tells me she can’t wait to meet the little man.

 “Patty! Patty! Patty!” She turned and instantly got as excited as I was! Then she said, “Did you see Elizabeth?” Liz, who I haven’t seen in, literally, years. Liz, who has been moving around the country almost as much as me. Liz, who I’ve been emailing and talking to but we never seem to visit the Quad Cities at the same time. Liz, who I was expecting to see at the end of June when we were finally going to be in the same town at the same time. I started frantically searching the huge crowd for my long lost friend. She was one of the 20somethings hidden behind those huge plants!

Her sister (another one of the 20somethings) got her attention and pointed her in our direction. As soon as she spotted us, she dropped everything she was holding and came running at us. (Good thing I didn’t drop what I was holding…Dylan would’ve been pissed!) So Dylan was smushed between us in the middle of the Farmer’s Market while we fiercely hugged and while I got all teary and emotional. I swear, with the week I've had, my emotions are living right under the surface and it doesn’t take much scratching to get them to show.

Later when we were talking about our reunion we were sharing our initial reactions. When Patty asked if I saw Elizabeth, I thought, “Well, that’s just a cruel joke! Wait…maybe she’s serious!” When Liz first saw us she thought, “I didn’t know Anika was visiting Moline this weekend! Wait…she moved here!”

Once we calmed down, and there was some time for Liz & Patty to fawn over Dylan, they invited Dylan and me over that afternoon to go swimming. After finally buying my fruit and corn, we left so Dylan could take a nap before our new afternoon plans.

Immediately after I got Dylan asleep Josh was wanting to Skype. (Yay for me, sad for Dylan)  Although, it might be better that Dylan didn’t see Josh that time because our internet connection was funky and Josh looked more like an acid trip video of an 80’s robot. I could see the outline of him but everything was splotchy and blurry. But at least we were talking and he could see me.

Josh told me about the All-You-Can-Eat place he had gone to the day before and how he had walked over to American Alley (A street in Bahrain with all American places, like Fridays, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Planet Hollywood and more).  He said it’s awfully hot, but not as miserably humid as it was in Florida.

He had to work on Sunday morning, but was then going to a BBQ/Cookout that the base was throwing for Memorial Day. He should be moving into his apartment sometime this week (I think) so I hope to have a mailing address for him sometime soon. I’ll let you know…

Not even two minutes after I hung up with Josh, Dylan woke up from his nap. (So close!) So Dylan and I got pool ready and headed over to visit with the Jones Family. It was great. Dylan was a little nervous at first. I think it was a little much - all new people and a huge pool. But he warmed up after a while and we had some pool fun. He only fell off his raft twice. One time he got a face full of water and the second time I landed a pretty spectacular upside-down catch. But we had fun.

Seeing Liz was exactly the thing I needed to snap me out of my funk. Fate works in funny ways. I can’t tell you how happy I am that lady fate decided that I needed to see my friend. Anybody know lady fate’s address so I can send her a thank you note? I think she deserves one. I’ve also decided that anytime Jon shows up unexpectedly at my door, something amazing will happen within the next 24 hours. Ooo, did you hear that? I’m pretty sure I just heard the Universe whisper, “Challenge accepted!”