Monday, August 25, 2008

Texas Food!

If the food I ate this past weekend was indicative of what Texans eat all the time... well, all I can say is that I love Texas. It wasn't the most healthy food, not by a long shot, but boy was it tasty. My girlfriends and I pigged out in San Antonio and Austin with BBQ, Mexican/Tex-Mex, and multiple trips to Sonic. And, of course, I have pictures of every meal we ate!

Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q





We stopped at the side of a highway for this authentic no-plates BBQ joint. It wasn't until I saw the "sause" bottles that I realized it was the same Rudy's from a coworker had bought me a bottle of BBQ sauce. We ordered a bit of everything... beef brisket, pork ribs, half a chicken, sausage, creamed corn, baked beans, and potato salad. My favorites were the ribs and creamed corn.





Although I'd seen it on TV, it was my first time eating piles of barbecued meat on waxed paper. We sat at picnic tables surrounded by Rudy's "kitsch" including this hilarious yet disturbing sign:



La Fogata

This Mexican restaurant had quite the flashy and tacky decor with hundreds of strings of lights woven in and around the outdoor patios, bubbling fountains, and neon signs. But the food? Well, I only have one picture of my meal (beef quesadilla), which is evidence of how good it really was.



Sonic

What is it about Sonic that makes it sooo good? Maybe it's because there are none in DC (always want what you can't have, right?) or because the drive-in concept is so quaint yet novel, or maybe it's because they serve one of my favorite foods - tater tots! Whatever the reason, we went there twice in our brief weekend trip.


Chili cheese tator tots


Chili cheese Coney


I read about this place on both Chow and Yelp, so I recommended that we go there for brunch. The restaurant is in kind of a sketchy neighborhood at the side of a highway, and the building is extremely ramshackle on the outside. Inside, your senses are assaulted with pink walls and slanted floors that feel somewhat fun house-esque. I could tell my friends were skeptical but the food definitely upstaged the decor. I particularly loved the scrambled egg-covered tortilla chips that were still slightly crispy with a hint of smokiness.


Hibiscus and mint iced tea with ginger and white grape juice


Refried beans, guac salsa, scrambled eggs with tortilla chips


Guac salsa and refried beans on a special roll with garlic sausage

Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill

I'm pretty picky about choosing a restaurant so I felt a bit uneasy letting a friend of a friend book us reservations for dinner in Austin. But we likely never would have found this affordable and delicious place on our own so I'm extremely grateful! The decor was very nice with stone walls and low lighting, and our waitress was the friendliest server you could ask for, even going out of her way to ring up separate checks for our party of 13. Everything I tried was good and the complimentary cornbread, which had its own huge box advertisement on the menu, was out of this world especially when paired with creamy honey butter.


Chorizo-stuffed pork tenderloin


Five-cheese macaroni and achiote chicken


Miso-grilled salmon


Seafood enchiladas


The infamous cornbread

Casa de Trimi

This last meal was a hearty breakfast lovingly prepared by one of my best girlfriends after a long night of drinking and only 4 hours of sleep. Sometimes you just can't beat home cooking.




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