Hao Hao Good...

Last night, my fiancee and I were craving some Chinese food. As per usual, we opted for Hao Hao, located on the corner of Manchaca and William Cannon.

Hao Hao never disappoints. They deliver, which is a plus, but we didn't opt for delivery yesterday. They offer Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine for a good price, which is more than you can ask for. My lady normally gets Vermicelli Chicken, but decided on Chicken Cashew Nut last night.

That is what I have been getting as of late. After going through most of the Chinese side of the menu, I have annotated our take-out menus to the last detail, only to lose my annotated copies in the move when I got here. With no descriptions on the menu, I have had to annotate and write down what is in each dish that I order, along with rationale as to why I should or should not continue to order such items, along with the most fitting situations to order said items. Now I just go for the old stand-by Chinese dishes like Chicken Cashew Nut.

While other local places may have price on their side, Hao Hao has great food for the higher price. I ordered four egg rolls, and two orders of Chicken Cashew Nut, provided they give me hot oil and hot mustard. The total was around twenty-four dollars and I tipped four bucks.

Tipping is important and don't ever underestimate the value of a good tip. On this subject, I promise to expound much more later.

The woman at the counter was appreciative of the tip and double-checked our order, which is more than I can say for the last visit to Hao Hao, but we love the place. This was a perfect take-home experience, highlighted only by watching Cecil B. Demented, another amazing John Waters film, along with some more Bootlegger Brown from Austin's own Independence Brewery. I will write more about this amazing beer soon, I promise.

For now, it's late on Friday. I just worked at Satellite Bistro and Bar as a substitute manager today and loved every minute of it. Good times, good people, and a good time for me to take pause and figure out my next move. All the while, I'm drinking Bootlegger Brown.

Until then, thanks for reading...

Joel

A Good Wednesday from the Rockin' Tomato to The Tavern

Last night, I got in touch with an old friend that I have been trying to keep in better contact with. We hung out quite a bit when I first moved up here a little over a year ago and then we just kind of lots touch. He suggested we meet up somewhere that had food, so my first thought was Pluckers.

I crave wings all the time, and rarely make it to the Pluckers on South Lamar. We arrived at practically the same time and started to approach the building, noticing how frickin’ packed the place was. Turning my attention to the marquee, I discovered that Wednesday is live trivia night at Pluckers. The place was packed and didn’t look like somewhere that we would be able to talk.

I had heard time and time again how great the wings were at the Rockin’ Tomato (3003 S. Lamar, 78704), so I figured we could just go there instead since it was relatively close.

The Rockin’ Tomato is located right next door to the Old Alligator Grill, but fortunately hasn’t lost its low-rent charm. Walking in to the smell of pizza pies being cooked to perfection, a typical Austin vibe was certainly palpable. From the dreadlocked young woman behind the counter to the groups of friends playing pool at one of their two tables, the atmosphere was one of familiarity even though my friend and I hardly qualified as locals.

Another young woman behind the counter said she’d be right with us and we let her know we were fine with that. Then a man (who I’m assuming was the manager) came up without looking at either one of us and started adjusting credit card tips without saying a word.

That lasted for about five minutes as the line grew behind us.

We were eventually helped and placed our order: 2 baskets of 10 hot wings, stuffed jalapenos, and a pitcher of Fat Tire. Splitting the tab down the middle, I paid roughly twenty bucks including a four dollar tip to the cashier.

Our food arrived rather quickly and was good for the most part. The stuffed jalapenos were very similar to the frozen variety you can pick up at Sonic or Jack-in-the-Box, but I can’t honestly say that I expected something homemade. The wings, however, were a completely different story.

When I got my first whiff of the wings, my eyes began to water. I took my first bite—amazing! The wings themselves appeared to be grilled rather than fried or baked and were then tossed in the sauce. My low expectations were completely overridden by an all-out sensory explosion and some of the best damn wings I’ve had in a very long time. The Fat Tire was the perfect beer to wash down the flavor and I actually wanted to order another basket.

The scene in the place felt comfortable and my friend and I were able to have a conversation without any difficulties. Some of my favorite bands—The Misfits, Suicidal Tendencies, Social Distortion, to name a few—were on the jukebox and had been selected by other patrons. In all, it was my kind of scene to say the least.

We could tell something was getting ready to begin after a while, and there was no patio to retire to, so we decided to leave the Rockin’ Tomato and move up a little further north for a couple more drinks.

My friend and I settled on The Tavern, a building that has been an Austin landmark since 1916. It was originally a grocery store, and then later became a steakhouse that supposedly once housed a speakeasy and brothel upstairs. When prohibition was repealed, The Tavern began in earnest.

In 2002, the building no longer met city code requirements, but has now been fully restored to its former glory. We shared a couple of pitchers of Fat Tire and two shots of Don Julio Blanco; in all the prices were fair and the service commendable.

Wednesdays, however, is a live trivia night at The Tavern as well, which would be fine if we had wanted to play games. Moving out to the upstairs deck, we figured we could get away from the loudspeaker, but it was being piped outside as well. My friend and I managed to ignore it after a while, but the place eventually shut down at midnight, far earlier than we had actually expected. Thursday through Saturday, The Tavern does stay open until 2:00am.

Ultimately, we finished our night at Flying Saucer in The Triangle, which will more than likely get a post of its own in the near future. Service was amazing, the pickle popcorn tasty, the car bombs went down smoothly, and the Live Oak Big Bark was cold and hearty—a great way to end a great day.

Shiner Commemorator

Call me sentimental, but I still remember the old days of Shiner Bock beer. Sure, I wasn't actually old enough to drink the stuff, but there was something intriguing about the yellow paper label and the heartiness of the beer itself that first challenged my ideas about what beer should taste like.

Shiner Bock in its original incarnation helped open my palette to such life-changing beers as Guinness and Spaten Optimator. Since those early days of beer drinking I have tried countless beers, for better or worse. Yesterday, a good friend of mine raved about the virtues of Shiner Commemorator, the latest beer from Shiner, Texas' Spoetzl Brewery. It was created to pay homage to 100 years of brewing in the small town of Shiner.

As of yet, I still haven't really decided how I feel about Shiner's newest creation.

It started when I twisted off the cap and attempted to smell the beverage awaiting me. A slightly sweet smell greeted my nostrils, which is not what I was expecting given the dark label and old English lettering. I figured I’d give it a whirl in the old mouth hole to see if I was mistaken at what I had thought would be a hearty and robust beer.

My first taste was bitter, which I normally don't mind-but this was not a hoppy bitterness. Rather, it actually tasted to me more like I would imagine the bottle cap I had just removed would taste if I had had the inclination to leave it in my mouth. Rather than leaving any distinct flavors, the beer overpowered my senses, leaving no discernable subtleties to describe.

Not a good first impression.

So I decided to smoke a cigarette. I admit that it’s not the best way to open your palette, but it seems to make me a better beer drinker at times—so I thought I’d give it the true test of social drinkability.

Honestly, I must say at this point that I didn’t really think that the flavor of this latest Shiner creation intrigued me at all. Actually, this was one of those rare cases where I looked at the five remaining beers in my fridge and actually cringed at the idea of having to finish the six-pack. That rarely happens, but sometimes the flavor is so specific that enjoyment goes right out the window and becomes a chore.

Keep in mind that I’m not trying to be a Shiner hater; it’s just that the beer has changed over the years. Nowadays, Shiner is like my cheap beer of choice when it comes to tap beers. At the Waterloo Ice House near where I live, it’s $2.50 a pint during happy hour, just a tad more than Miller Lite, which I refuse to pay for. It’s all right for washing down twenty-five cent wings and Jagermeister shots, but that’s about it.

I ended up pouring out the remnants of the bottle and decided to try pouring one into a frosted glass. The metallic taste when away, but was replaced by that same sickeningly sweet Shiner aromatic that comes forward when Shiner is poured into a glass. Commemorator is definitely not going down as one of those can’t miss beers this season. Last year’s 99 Shiner Helles was a good enough summer beer, but the only really great Shiner beer as of late has been Shiner Black. Even that one can only be appreciated between one or more friends, and then it’s time to move on.

In all, Shiner Commemorator is a beer that I wouldn’t pick up again, even though I’ve only given it a couple of tries. I’d rather drink Independence Brewery’s Austin Amber or Bootlegger Brown if I’m feeling like having a Texas beer these days. Maybe next time I’ll write about one of those—if I’m so inclined.

Inaugural Post for Eat and Drink South Austin

Welcome to Eat and Drink South Austin.

After talking about starting up a food blog for Austinites and anyone who cares to read what I have to saying about eating, drinking, and staying amused in and around South Austin, Texas, I have finally decided to get the ball rolling.

Although I plan on making sure that some of the following information is available in my "About Me" section shortly, I figured that I would let potential readers know a little bit about who I am and what I plan to do with this blog in particular.

I moved to Austin from the Rio Grande Valley (which is at the tip of Texas) in December of 2007 in hopes of making a major life change that needed to happen at that point in my life. The move has been great for me; I write professionally and work from home in this magnificent city that has much to offer for people of all walks of life. However, I felt that I needed to expand my writing life to focus on some of the things that I love to do most in this amazing city that I now call home.

When I moved here, I went back to my old stand-by profession that has gotten me through many a tough spot in my life: waiting tables. While many people may not think that this is a lucrative career choice for a former professional, nothing could be further from the truth. Starting at a local, yet corporate-owned and operated restaurant, I quickly came to realize that restaurants and bars are part of what makes Austin one of the best and friendliest places to live in my experience.

Shortly thereafter, I moved restaurants to a bistro in South Austin where I ultimately met my fiancée. Again, the neighborhood vibe of Satellite Bistro and Bar and its down-to-earth patrons from the Circle C Ranch area helped further solidify my opinion about the holistic nature of the restaurant experience. Having worked in the service industry on and off for the last fifteen years, I know the importance of a smooth operation when it comes to all aspects of a restaurant.

In November of 2008, I once again hung up my hat in the restaurant business (though I'm sure not for the last time) and began writing as a freelancer full-time. This is something that I had always wanted to do, but I had never truly been able to fully realize this goal.

As a freelance writer, I compose article and guest blog posts for various pages and blogs throughout the internet. I have written hundreds of articles on just as many topics, but one thing I have not done thus far is make my own mark on the blogosphere. Certainly, I have made feeble attempts at creating blogs that came across sophomoric and childish to say the least. Although I am not claiming that everything I say and do matches my age, but I do have an idea and a direction with which to take some of my writings and this blog will be the vehicle with which to do just that.

I believe that I have finally found my niche with Eat and Drink South Austin, and I plan on providing regular posts related to my adventures in this outstanding city. Austin is the Live Music Capitol of the World, and my life and adventures revolve around my love of music, food, and beer. My tastes may not always live up to every reader's standards, and I am completely fine with that.

Austin is a town where people go out to eat regularly. Without attempting to give accurate statistics, I do know that there is an enormous amount of restaurants per capita, and that Forbes Magazine has included Austin as one of America's "Drinkingest Cities" as of last year. People here love to party, as do I, and there are plenty of places to do just that.

I am a "regular" at several places pretty far south in town, so readers will more than likely get to know the places I frequent simply by the volume of posts on one or more places in particular, but only time will tell. I won't, however, disclose any of those locations for the time being since that would keep you from coming back to visit regularly.

Above all else, this blog is just one guy's Austin experience committed to the annals of the World Wide Web, for better or worse. I don't claim to be a food critic, but I may criticize and analyze some food from time to time. I may not be a beer or wine connoisseur, but I am learning and may attempt to get fancy schmancy with you. I may not go to all the best shows, but will do my best to give my angle on what I do here in the capitol of the Lone Star State and whatever that may entail along the way.

I have thought about the concept of this blog for some time and have even discussed the format with a few people, receiving nothing but encouragement and positive feedback. So, without further ado, I bring you Eat and Drink South Austin!