Austin, Texas: "I Hate Tacos...Said No Juan Ever"

                 My coworker/fellow foodie friend and I dragged our boyfriends out to Texas and promised them great music, food, and a laid back atmosphere, and Austin delivered.

Our trip to Austin wouldn't be complete if we hadn't waited over three hours for this.

Franklin BBQ's Brisket, Sausage, Turkey, Pulled Pork, Ribs, Beans, Potato Salad, Slaw, Pickles, Onions, and White Bread

Franklin Barbecue opens at 11am and stays open until they sell out. We arrived around 9:45am and already had dozens of people lined up in front of us. Good thing we brought Sangria...

The Only Things I Wait In Line For Are Food And Music 

It truly was the best BBQ I have ever had in my life. We ordered everything on the menu but the brisket stands out and has the best flavor of any meat I've ever had. Smoky, sweet, melt in your mouth beef...I dream about it at night

Franklin Barbecue

We used the site Homeaway and found a really cute purple cottage to stay in right off South Congress. I personally love the SOCO area and would stay there again...the best part was that we were down the street from La Mexicana Bakery. 

La Mexicana Bakery:Open 24hrs

This place is so authentic you will forget you're in a first world country. We went for breakfast and I got three different tacos, all about a buck fifty each! I liked the egg and potato a lot but my favorite were the Migas tacos because I've never had them before. Migas means "crumbs" in English and they are basically just scrambled eggs with strips of tortilla in them, but the tortillas are not hard, they have more of a mealy texture when mixed with the eggs, you have to try one!

Authentic Breakfast Tacos From La Mexicana Bakery

When I'm anywhere south of Delaware I crave that down home comfort food, fried chicken is the ultimate quencher and Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken did not disappoint, it was super flaky with just the right amount of spice on the outside, and tender and juicy on the inside, I wish I had a drumstick in my hand right now. 

Gus's Fried Chicken

Now since pecans and Texas go hand in hand ya'll, you know we couldn't leave without some pie

Pecan Pie

Now food is not the ONLY reason we ventured out to Texas. I am proud to cross Austin City Limits Music Fest off my bucket list. 

Zilker Park ACL Entrance

Zilker park is the perfect venue, while waiting for Pearl Jam to come on we could listen to Lorde, and look over at the Calvin Harris stage and it's crazy alien light show.

Main Stage at ACL with Austin Skyline

Ok that's enough of that, back to the food, BUTTER COFFEE to be exact. 

Follow the Butter Brick Road

Picnik Austin is the kind of place you wish you had the guts to open yourself. It's literally a shipping container made into a cafe with all Paleo drinks and treats. I loved my coffee with butter and coconut oil, as well as paleo coconut chocolate chip cookies but they get pretty creative with drinks, adding mint and coco.

Diana And I Wishing We Lived In This Box

Keeping on that healthy trend, we found a really yummy vegetarian brunch place called Bouldin Creek. They are dealers in caffine, the best veggie burger in the world, and a Vegan "V-Lux" Salad (fresh basil, diced apple, chopped pecans, orange-marinated shredded raw beets, red onion, carrots, sunflower sprouts and locally grown tomatoes on a bed of mixed greens with ginger miso dressing!)

Veggie Royale: homemade veggie burger patty served on grilled ciabatta bread with green leaf, red onion, local tomatoes with homemade chipotle-pecan pesto

Here is the group on a rooftop bar on Sixth Street AKA Dirty 6. Every time I walked into one of the bars, I found myself saying "wow this is so big" and then I remembered I was in Texas and everything is bigger in Texas, especially compared to a crowded NYC bar. 

6 on 6th

Oh and did I mention Geoff Stults sat next to me on the flight? He was going for ACL too, go watch the Netflix movie called Life Happens, he was so cute in it...He is really cute in real life too! 

Airplane Selfie with Geoff Stults

Bye Bye for now, love your Foodie Friends! 

Delectable Delicata

This Fall I found my favorite squash, Delicata. how could I not have noticed it before? It's abundant in Trader Joe's, local farmer's markets, and Pinterest has a bunch of recipes!

I love Beard and Bonnet's Miso and Red Curry Glazed Delicata Squash Fries and make them all the time. It's great that you can keep the skin on the Squash and just cut them like you would regular fries. If you have the patience to fish out the seeds they can be roasted for a toasty snack. I just happened to have both fresh Miso and Red Curry in the kitchen from Japanese and Thai recipes I was trying out but you can get these both at any Asian market. The two ingredients are such a delicious flavor combination I wouldn't change the recipe, the only thing I don't bother with is heating the pan in the oven first as instructed, and I put the oven at 450degrees the whole time.

Red Curry Miso Glazed Delicata Squash
This can be an app or a side for 2-4 people


Ingredients:

• 2 small delicata squashes; stem cut off, cut in half, seeds and strings removed, formed into fries
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup white miso
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• Juice of half of 1 large lemon
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional) 
• 1 teaspoon red chile flakes (optional)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 450degrees
• In a large mixing bowl combine olive oil, white miso, red curry paste, and lemon juice. Mix with a whisk or fork to combine. Add the squash fries to the bowl and gently toss the squash in the sauce with your hands making sure that all of the squash is covered. 
• Arrange the fries in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet (you don't have to grease it but you can foil it if you want), place the pan in the oven.
• Bake the fries for 20-35 minutes depending on the thickness of your fries, flipping the fries over once during cook time with a spatula or individually using tongs.
• Garnish with cilantro and red chile flakes.
• Enjoy! 

Cauliflower Pinterest Power!

For some reason cauliflower has never been one of our go-to veggies as a couple living together for the last year. I've always liked it in the past, steamed as a side, blended in soups, or a conduit for some fancy dip, but I thought cauliflower creativity ended there. When I saw it on sale at the store I didn't think it would be a big deal to put in the cart with the rest of the week's produce...Well was I wrong! It elicited quite the disproving smirk from my boyfriend, followed by an "I don't like cauliflower" whining voice (cute but still whiny). Of course I smiled and placed a head of cauliflower in the cart anyway, in the back of my head hoping he would come around after some recipe scouring. Yes I scour recipes, I comb, ransack, and rummage the world of Pinterest on the reg, I have an obsession you could say, and for good reason..That night I made Buffalo Cauliflower. Guess who now wants cauliflower multiple times a week?! Last night I also tried a Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe, Pinterest win people, it's safe to say the once drab brainy looking crop has become a pizza and wing night wonderland, and our number one go-to veggie.

First the "wings." We are not vegetarians, and a lot of times I will serve these as a side with chicken, salad, or other vegetables. Even in the summer we hike up the oven to make it, they are THAT good. I originally used this recipe for the Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe but I like my "wings" saucy so added more hot sauce! 

Buffalo Cauliflower: 

Ingredients: 
1 medium to large head cauliflower, leaves removed and cut into small bite size florets 

For the batter:
1/2 c. white rice flour (I've also used gluten free flour, or regular all-purpose would probably work)
1/2 c. water
One dash of Frank’s Original Hot Sauce, or whatever you like 

For the Buffalo sauce:
1/2 c. Frank’s Hot Sauce (add 1/3 cup instead if you like it less saucy/less spicy) 
1/3 c. oil, I use grape-seed oil, canola works too

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together the batter ingredients in a medium bowl. Dunk the cauliflower in the batter mixing with your hands until evenly coated. Spread cauliflower out in one layer on greased tin foil lined baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the batter hardens.

Mix together sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Take the cauliflower out of the oven and brush them with the hot sauce or alternatively carefully dump them all in the bowl lightly mixing. Place the now saucy cauliflower on the baking sheet back in the oven for a few more minutes, until cauliflower is roasted to your liking. 

You will want to make these again, I promise. 

Now for the Cauliflower Pizza Crust...

I have to say this came out better than I thought. It's obviously not doughy like a real crust but when it's all done it tastes delicious, and you can think to yourself you're really only eating veggies and cheese!

When attempting to make this, or anything new and seemingly strange, I never know which recipe will actually work and yield the best results. I found these two recipes Cauliflower Crust 1 and Cauliflower Crust 2 which in the end have the same measurements and ingredients just different pictures and words of wisdom dispersed through. I didn't change anything from the other recipes the only difference is the wording and as for the ingredients I did not add salt like the others because the cheese is already salty. Last, because my head of cauliflower seemed larger than the one in the two previously mentioned recipes I was very generous with the cheese and spice measurements until it got to the consistency I wanted.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower medium to large, leaves removed and cut into florets 
1 egg, large
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (be generous with the cheese) 

1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1-2 tsp dried spices (I used oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper and basil) 

Instructions:

Rinse cauliflower, pat dry with paper towel and place florets in a food processor until it looks like rice. (my head of cauliflower produced around 5 cups once processed, if yours is less that's fine)

Place riced cauli in a microwave safe bowl, cover with a microwavable plate and microwave for 6-8 minutes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F, line a backing sheet with parchment paper

Remove cauliflower from the microwave, let it cool for a couple of minutes (you can put it in the freezer if you want to save time), and then transfer to a bowl lined with cheesecloth or a thin dishtowel. Squeeze all the liquid out of the ball, I separated mine into two batches to make it easier to squeeze

Transfer cauliflower to a mixing bowl along with egg, cheese, spices, and mix to combine. Transfer cauliflower mixture on to baking sheet and flatten with your hands to make a thin crust

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes and remove from the oven

Top with sauce and cheese or any prepared toppings you like, and place back in the oven until cheese melts

Let the pie cool for a couple of minutes before slicing, and then mangia! 

Broadway Bites 2014

Greenly Sq pop-up market proves to be a street food paradise.

Some seriously creative culinary vendors include Graffiti/Me & You, Jicama, Chutney, Asia Dog, Red Hook Lobster, Brooklyn Taco, Gelato Ti Amo, Hong Kong Street Cart, Bar Suzette, Mighty Balls, Mexicue, and more!

  

Sifting through each outdoor kitchen stand to find the best bite is tough...but only because all the choices seem equally delicious and I want to try everything at once!

We finally decided to try the buzzed about Teriyaki Balls from Mimi and Coco NY.

BEST. DECISION. EVER. When I eat out I like it to be something I've never tried before and can't just whip up at home. These Teriyaki Balls were really satisfying and unless you have some serious time and a food scientist background, I don't see myself (or anyone else I know) going home to make them, which is what makes them special and worth the trip to 33rd st. 

The outside coating of the ball has almost a pancake-like texture, then you can choose the inside stuffing...sausage, shrimp, or potato.  We tried the first two options and the flavors are sweet, salty, crunchy, tender...pretty much everything you could want in one BITE. 

Next, since it's summer (and we walked over 20 blocks from our office to get here), we thought something fresh and light would serve us well. Two Tablespoons was the perfect choice for a healthy vegan and gluten free meal....for two non-vegan, non-gluten free girls so you know it's good!

We each ordered a combo that came with two rolls and a noodle salad. pictured below is their Lentil, Beet, and Goat Cheese Roll, Corn, Coconut, and Curry Sauce Roll, Cucumber, Edamame, and Sesame dressed Noodle Salad, and Lentil, Kale, and Masala Sauce Noodle Salad. That's a lot of commas...I can't even pick a favorite because I loved it all, the lentils were cooked and spiced perfectly, and the corn/coconut roll was sweet and crunchy. 

I really can't wait to come back to #BWAYBITES over the course of the summer and try everything else! For example who can say no to a wood burning oven in the middle of a busy street in Midtown Manhattan?
NO ONE. Exactly, that's my point.

Just head over to 33rd and Broadway any time between 11am-9pm daily from June 3rd to August 1st and find your favorite bite, will ya!

For more info visit http://urbanspacenyc.com/broadway-bites/

National Beef Jerky Day 2014

"There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate" -Robert Brault

In honor of National Jerky Day, I give you the #meatrushmore masterpiece! Free beef jerky today, June 12th, in Columbus Circle. Paleo eaters rejoice.

Assembly Media Summer Party at the Mondrian Soho

Starting things off right with a fresh spring roll at the Mondrian Hotel Penthouse in Soho.

Hor d'oeuvres passed around included chicken satay, toast with cheese, oil, and shaved truffles, steak skewers, veggie skewers, mini lemon cream cannolis, and strawberry shortcake mmmhmmm

Marlena and Diana, my best friends (and fellow food lovers)! 

NYC, all I see is untapped food

Bread and truffles

Cannoli freaks close out the night

Big Apple BBQ 2014

This past weekend BBQ joints from all over the country met in Madison Sq. Park to worship the stuff of America. Pulled pork, brisket, and sausage populated the menus and brought in huge crowds of delicious smoke and meat-lovin people. These are my kind of people, all ages, laying down a blanket in the park, waiting in line for a taste of summer.

Salt Lick BBQ came all the way from Texas just so we could appreciate their brisket and sausage with essential white bread and coleslaw

Smokers decorated the streets of Madison ave, making you wonder how something resembling a pig graveyard could be such a delight 

 The view wasn't so bad either! 

Even this guy looks like he's having a good time...cigar in mouth and all

Delaney of Brooklyn had their own take on sausage and brisket served with salty tomato and onion

Some other places we tried that are not pictured were Bob Gibson's whole hog, 17th Street baby back ribs, and Homestyle BBQ for beef ribs. All delicious and made for a spectacular day!