kyoto

last dinner in austin for the summer, at Kyoto downtown.


blue sake drink


nito's cold sake


dragon and caterpillar rolls



dragon roll








seaweed salad

graduation dinner at Fleming's

For every new chapter in life, and every chapter that ends, there is a food event to mark it.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar

Petite Filet Mignon (8 oz.) for a petite Rose. I asked for medium well, and it was perfect.




Genaro's Beef Flemington. It's a "filet wrapped in puff pastry with a mushroom duxelle, madeira sauce". The bread on the outside was really good. Of course, being the carb lover that I am, I rave about the bread and not the meat.




Uncle Fred's Mixed Grill dinner. Aunt Olivia got the 12 oz. filet mignon.




and, the yummy veggie plate side. "Season's Best Vegetables", they so eloquently call it. The asparagus and the mushrooms were my favorite. The mushrooms had a spicy kick to them.




The red wine to go with the steak. It really brought out the spice in the food.




of course, dessert!
a heavenly, creamy Key Lime Torte for both couples. Genaro noted that it was the best key lime he's had. "I like 'em thick," he says. Ahem.

Hyde Park Bar & Grill

4206 Duval St.
Austin 78751
(512) 458-3168
Hours: Daily, 11am-midnight

Foggy, humid Sunday afternoon. Tu and I walked to Hyde Park Grill with the intention of getting brunch. It's a very American, "neighboorhood cafe" kind of place. The freshly squeezed orange juice cost a lot for a tiny glass, but it was great. and if Tu the coffee guru loves the coffee, then it's gotta be good.


Tu insisted on getting Mac and Cheese. I think she even chose one of the entrees that would allow her to get Mac and Cheese...



fried egg sandwich!





ground turkey burger. it was so, so good. juicy and perfectly cooked. not too big, not too little. i think i ate it way too quickly.





... and, if given the choice, opt in for the fresh basil pesto. 95 cents of deliciousness.

Sailing and Kerbey Lane

When I received Aditi's call at 10:30am on a Saturday, I rushed to put on a swimsuit top, shorts, Chacos, and sunscreen. I grabbed a Kellog's protein meal bar (which are ridiculously sweet) and unfortunately started eating it before I realized that we were going to Kerbey Lane for lunch. I had the veggie burger. Rachelle and I shared homefries, mmm. At 1AM, Genaro wanted Kerbey Lane. Twice to Kerbey Lane in one day?? Happy Cinco de Mayo.

The pita and hummus, surprisingly good.





the Really Good Burger. (that's really what it's called)

Sushi Sake

Colleen picked me up and, on a whim, we decided to go to Sushi Sake for dinner (for the second time). For Colleen, chawan mushi as an appetizer is a must. For the information-hungry, Wikipedia defines it. It's this egg custard soup-y stuff that tastes like miso and has veggies, shrimp, and chicken in it. There's a story about the bad-tasting bean in it. We had really good caterpillar role (mmm avocado), a mediocre spider roll, and a really good spicy salmon roll. With a glass each of Robert Mondavi Riesling.

The wait was about 30 minutes (we got there are 7:30 pm on a Friday). Our waitress was demure and sweet. Dimly lit, casual enough for casual, nice enough for dates. At the table next to us were two awkard couples (very obviously on first and/or blind dates). One of the girls pulled the taboo "and so here's the awkward silence..." line. It was painfully comical for Colleen and me.

tortilla toasting

as we listened to the rain outside, i asked Tu if i could munch on one of her whole wheat tortillas. she caught me in the kitchen putting pieces of tortilla in the microwave and promptly took the rest of the tortilla and dropped it into the toaster. i gasped.

apparently, if you put the tortilla in the toaster, it pops out slightly crispy. then you get all the goodness of tortilla chips except less salty, less guilty, and more yummy. dip in salsa or hummus, and you have a stand-in-the-kitchen-eating-while-you're-supposed-to-be-writing-a-paper perfect snack!

roommates are fantastic.

Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant

2804 N. I-35
Austin, TX 78722
(512) 469-5966

Rahul picked me up after an intense afternoon of basketball. We finally made our highly anticipated visit to Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant, which recently reopened. It's on I-35, just north of Dean Keeton, on the southbound side.

If you've never had Ethiopian food, here's Wikipedia's ever-useful wisdom. The first time I ever had Ethiopian food was in Washington, D.C. with a bunch of HBAers. dim lights, lots of food, lots of talking, great atmosphere.

At Aster's, the atmosphere is casual (fortunately, since Rahul was still in his gym shorts). Patio seating is optional, and there's good, bright lighting. The obvious choice (since I was with Rahul) was the vegetarian sampler platter. We sat there trying to decide what choices to get (the menu said that we get a choice of vegetarian dishes) but it turned out that we got a little of everything. The waiter was really nice and helpful about describing the various oddly-named dishes. He asked if we wanted silverware, but what fun is Ethiopian food if you don't allow yourself to get messy with it? (Be prepared to get injera stuck under your fingernails and whatnot). The potatoes and lentils were good, but some of the other dishes seemed bland. The injera was thinner than I remember at the other Ethiopian restaurant, and it was served room temperature. I thought they could be more generous with the injera, but maybe I'm just too much of a bread lover. Or maybe they just are generous with the food servings! :)












Though it can't beat the Ethiopian food of Washington, D.C., it's worth a try. Apparently, Houston has some great Ethiopian restaurants as well.

Some other food lovers' thoughts:

1. "food from the birthplace of humanity"
2. yelp reviews

Mi Colombia

Mi Colombia is a restaurant nestled on the non-downtown side of 7th street. We went there after a whole Saturday of sleeping in after Orange and White Ball.


Oh, mango. Lots of great jugos tropicales to choose from. The little umbrella entertained me, too.






The yuca was really good- just soft enough and piping hot. We both really liked the red salsa sauce stuff that it came with.





Nito had Pechuga de Pollo (and some Postobon!). The mashed potatoes and green beans were good American complements. He wrestled with finishing everything.





The Pollo Guisado (stewed chicken) was tender and tasteful, though pretty oily. Fresh salad and more yuca, who can complain?





We were so full that we couldn't even have tres leches for dessert. I made Nito take a walk with me. After three feet, he wanted to return to the car.

...if that doesn't say volumes about the food, I don't know what does.

hello! my name is rose and i adore food.