Out And About in Austin-Brunch At Mulberry

I was up crazy early today and yet it has taken me all day to post about my morning!  Anyway, storms and bad allergies got me out of bed which isn't to glamorous a claim, but the truth.  The storm itself was a nice surprise (even though it ends up making the rest of the day humid and gross,) and I sort of enjoyed the rare gloom.
But by 8 AM, I was starving and the 3rd cup of coffee wasn't doing it for me and it didn't take much to convince the BF to get out of bed for brunch.  (Which he did around 9:30, sort of a record for him.)  He had been teasing me with pictures of Mulberry for a while and I had been wanting to check it out for at least a year but had heard mixed reviews. I'd say it was well worth the early rise...

He had the blueberry crepes,

And I had the french toast.   My picture doesn't show it but the single slice is at least 2 inches thick, and perfectly buttery soft on the inside...It was amazing, it was obscene.  I hope to return...

After this a short walk was called for, if only to check out the landscape,

I love this Ranna Gill dress, it has neon studs on it!

Seriously, I need to shout it out loud NEON STUDS!!!  Ack, the pictures don't do it justice, it's much better in person.  The shoes however rubbed blisters and I wasn't able to walk much further, it was the first time I'd worn them for any length of time.

We made one last stop at Vintage Heart Coffee for vanilla lattes. 

 I figure you know what a cup of coffee looks like so here's one of the amazing murals in the parking lot. 

What'd you do today?
J.

Out And About in Austin-The Butterfly Bar

I have been stuck at home sick on and off for the last two weeks and I finally had the chance to get dressed and go out for the evening! 

Yup, no more pajamas and sweatpants.  No heels but they weren't really necessary for the night.  Austin is probably one of the most casual cities ever and the Butterfly Bar helps it live up to that reputation.

   (Photo via)
It's attached to a local theater, the Vortex.  I think it sort of serves as the concession stand for the theater.  The inside is lovely but it's even better outside...

 (Photo via)
You can hang out on the patio or in one of the many outdoor chairs...

  (Photo via)
or in the greenhouse for a little privacy.  No heels...they either get caught between the porch planks or dig into the dirt.  I speak from experience.  But like I said, Austin is very casual and this place is kind of like hanging out at your neighbor's, which also happens to have an excellent Italian food cart conveniently located in the backyard...

 Mmmm!  Patrizi's!  I don't tend to eat Italian food very often so it's a treat when I do.  Apparently the family has a few restaurants around Texas and this is the 2nd food trailer/cart in Austin.

 Plastic forks and paper plates...Last night I had the carbonara and soup special. 

(If I hadn't almost gotten my car towed, it would have been a perfectly lovely night...it took a lot of politeness and sweet talk, but I got out of it!)
I love eating outdoors and the sweaty hot nights of Austin...what do you love about where you live?

J.

Out And About In Austin

Warning-Picture Heavy
This past weekend, on a hunt for a very specific mustard, I visited no less than 3 local farmers markets.  When the lady who makes and sells the mustard was finally found, she was already sold out!  (It's that good!)  Bummer, but at least I know where to find her and I guarantee that I'll be first in line to get it this coming weekend, and I'm not complaining about that because Austin has some great local vendors and there's nothing like cooking with fresh foods and of course there's no calories in taking pictures of pretty food...

On Saturday the BF and I visited the Barton Creek Farmer's Market, one of the nicer and bigger markets around. Isn't this beet beautiful?  It's from one of my favorite local farms, Johnson's Backyard Garden.  They always have a great variety and a few interesting things as well, (like black Spanish radishes.)


I didn't buy any beets or radishes but I did buy some of these turnips, which I have only eaten once and have never prepared myself, so these will be an adventure for sure!  (Let me know if you have any good recipes!)

  I love this sign!  And I'm looking forward to eating some lamb.  (I go for ground.)  It's a new item in my diet and I only eat it every so often because it's a heavier and fattier meat than chicken or beef but it's delicious!

Afterwards we stopped at Gourdough's Public House for lunch, another new place for me.


Anything and everything served on or with a donut!  Burgers were actually served on donuts instead of buns.  Sounds weird because you think it's going to be overly sugary but not so!  They were a little bit on the sweet side, but without any frostings or fillings it worked perfectly with the saltier items that it was served with.


 I had 3 Little Guidos.  Pork belly, mozzarella, basil and tomato on donuts with homemade chips.  What can I say but WOW!


I guess technically this place is a bar and the rustic, industrial interior is really quite perfect, very Austin.  Afterwards, we rolled ourselves home for a nap.

  On Sunday we thought we would try to catch the mustard lady at another market, this time it was the Mueller Market, but sadly, she wasn't at this location.  However, this one had more prepared foods, and was very child friendly with a petting zoo and balloons.


You see the rectangular donut on the right?  Peanut butter frosting and jelly filling.  And it was amazing!  (Ok, so it wasn't the healthiest of weekends...) 

So after admiring some ducks we made our way out to Micklethwait's Meat Trailer, the newest, hyped up barbeque joint (trailer) in town.


 Barbeque goes fast here in Austin and to get the good stuff you gotta go early, that's all there is to it.  Usually you need to be in line by 10:30 AM.  We got there around 1:30 and they were already sold out of everything but ribs and sausage and 2 or 3 sides.  I was already full by the time we got there so after a few bites of sausage, I was done!  The BF enjoyed the ribs.

Verdict-Sometimes BBQ gets a little over spiced but we both agreed that you could actually taste the meat and it was very nice.  We will be returning to try the brisket.

As if this post isn't super long already, here's a few pics of the local scenery around the BBQ trailer...

Gigantic BBQ pit/smoker thing...I don't claim to know the process, I just eat it.  And for some reason I find these things wonderfully depressing, like oil derricks.


This little salon was right next door...


and this Airstream was sitting next to it.  I looked up the website - I'm some what intrigued by facial acupuncture.  Anyway, it was just as pretty on the other side...

Used to be that you never went to the East Side of Austin...ever...

What's going on with you?
J.

  

Out Of The Closet and Out For Dinner-The Midi Skirt

Hooray for cold weather!  Ok, normally I embrace the sun and heat of Texas but every now and then a bit of cold and gray can be sort of refreshing...as long as it doesn't last more than 3 days.  After that it begins to depress me a little.

But it's perfect weather to wear this knit midi skirt to work...


Yes, there I am wearing a midi skirt, a length that I swore would never succumb to, not in a million years.  Yup...and I like it!  (Usually any skirt hem that falls between the bottom of my knees and top of my ankle bone is a very bad choice, like somehow my calves are only 9 inches long, it's very weird.)  Anyway, maybe it's the pleats that help create a longer illiusion or something but when I first tried it on, I was shocked at how much I liked it, so it went home with me.  (I found it at a sample sale, and there's no tag so sadly I don't know who to give credit to.)  Oh and those boots?  Yeah, I seem to be wearing them all the time.  Ok, so it's never too cold for peep toes.
 

After work I was starving so the BF and I headed out to a new little place I'd been wanting to try, Epicerie Cafe and Grocery.  For a Tuesday night, the place was hopping!  It's really quite tiny and the seating is somewhat communal which I think is the only true downfall to this place.  But it looks like it has a nice patio which I can see myself sitting at when warmer days arrive.


They've only been open 2 weeks, and as far as grocery goes, they didn't  have too much but they did have a nice sized cheese case, a variety of specialty beans and a few other yummy looking treats like a packaged  pressed fruit and nut cake thingy.  (I will be trying a cheese plate next time.)  The menu was somewhat small, but here's what we tried...


Oxtail Stew with turnips over grits.  Sounds crazy I know but it was probably my favorite dish of the night, the turnips were slightly pickled which made for an interesting twist of flavors.


Red beans and rice...mmmmm!  This was spicy but perfect for the current temperatures...sorta sticks to the ribs too.


Fried shrimp sandwich with green tomatoes.  Throw in a glass of red wine and I was a happy girl.  I will be returning...and then heading to the gym...

J.

Austin Afternoon

I found myself with plenty to do today but no desire to do any of it.  Instead, the BF and I got out butts out of bed and explored some things that we had been hearing about but hadn't yet tried...

We started out at this local deli on campus,



I rarely make it down to the campus area, the usual bad parking if you can even find any, etc, but it being Saturday made it a little easier.  I had the "Quick Lunch Special" with a 1/2 turkey pesto sandwich and pasta salad.  The sandwich had cucumbers and sprouts...mmm...

Afterwards, we went to Antonelli's Cheese Shop and picked up 3 cheeses...

 
 Clockwise from top left:
Moses Sleeper, a brie like creamy cheese
Kunik, Extra extra creamy...need I say more?
Brick, surprisingly soft and buttery
We also picked up 2 different types of salami.  I like cheese (a lot) but I'm not really very knowledgeable about it.  You definitely go for the experience, you get to sample almost everything in the shop.

Then we stopped at Drink.Well. a new joint in our old neighborhood and enjoyed an afternoon beverage...


  The BF declared that he would be here every night if we still lived there...good thing we moved.
But I did have a yummy house made twinkie.
Our last stop was in.gredients, a zero waste, package free grocery store. 


For the most part, everything is sold in bulk and not only are you are expected to bring your own bags but plastic or glass resealable containers for things such as cereal, flour, even laundry soap.  It's a very small selection but you can buy as little or as much as you need.  We picked up the baguette and milk as well as some local tea tree soap.

And now the salami and cheese is gone and my laundry is still all over my dining room table...well, it was almost a completely magical day...
J.

As Short As I Go

And maybe I shouldn't really be going this short, but I love this Ace & Jig tunic/dress anyway.


  Perhaps it's more of a personal risk, since I never wear anything more than 2-3 inches above my knee...sometimes I think this length actually makes my legs look shorter.  (I feel this way about cropped pants too.)  Anyway, I envisioned it with black jeans and a different pair of shoes for fall when I purchased it, but it's so soft and lightweight, it was perfect for our spur of the moment evening of art and ice cream...



Mango rose pistachio ice cream with strawberries...yum!!

How short is too short?  How short do you go?

J.