bluegrass to lonestar

Louisville was home to a place (Jackson’s Organic) voted one of the best small-batch roasters in the country. They have apparently closed shop amid some sort of business dispute between the partners since I left town (sad sad). Anyways, I have been searching for a place to get my beans here in Austin that comes close to the goodness that was Jackson’s. I started with Texas Coffee Traders because they sell at the farmer’s market. I gave them two tries but was disappointed both times.

A friend of some friends roasts for Austin Java, so they were next on the list. I asked for a medium roast from Central America and the people behind the counter looked at me like I was speaking jibberish. They had to go find another worker to get me what I wanted. The coffee was much better than the service. The best I’ve had so far in Austin.

Tuesday is $2-off day at Little City so I biked downtown after work to grab a bag last week. The dude working the counter was incredibly friendly. He knew exactly what bean would work for what I wanted. Their beans made for a fine cup of joe, but it wasn’t quite as good as Austin Java. I’d like to grab lunch there sometime and wouldn’t hesitate to stop in for a drink if I’m downtown.

I don’t want to settle on a place until I’ve exercised all my options.I keep hearing Anderson’sis the place to go for beans, and I want to check out Progress/Owl Tree too.We’ll see how it pans out.

Sunday was beautiful and sunny, so I decided to take a run over to south Austin. Lauren met me at the end of my run in front of Izzoz Tacos trailer. We ordered the Lone Star Beef Torta, a braised pork taco and a shrimp taco. I’ve decided to be more open minded about non-authentic tacos. Out table was right next to a creek that actually had water in it thanks to the recent rain.

The avocado pinapple salsa on the pork was delicious. The shrimp taco was also really good, the pickled onion provided a nice contrast, but the torta stole the show. The beef was super tender and the torta roll was crispy outside and nice and soft inside. The torta came with hand cut garlic fries. The fries were awesome, they definitely rival the ones I love from Tom’s. This place is way better than Torchy’s.

After eating, we walked over to the Holy Cacao trailer parked next to Izzoz. They serve something called “cake balls” that we had to try. It’s basically a golf-ball sized cake dipped in icing on a popsicle stick. We opted for mint chocolate and a red velvet. They also sell cake milkshakes. Anything that ridiculous has to be amazing.

Sitting in front of an Econo Lodge off of I-35 is a weird little building. It looks like fortune cookies to me. Inside is a taqueria.

They offer three salsas. Always a bonus. The verde was the best with a nice slow building heat, but the fire-roasted one was a very close second. Lauren was slightly unsatisfied with her torta, but the taco al pastor was the best I’ve had so far in Austin. The marinade really stood out and it was nice and moist. I’m pretty sure I had a small heart attack as we were leaving but it was worth it.

Friday night, Dan Deacon played a show at Emo’s annex. While waiting for the show to begin Blind Melon’s “No Rain” came over the PA. This prompted a spontaneous sing along by the crowd. Deacon planted himself in the center of the crowd while his band took up the stage behind him. He calles for a laying of hands on the head of the person in front of you. He then asked the crowd to think of the worst thing they’d ever done and forgave them.

With a start like that I thought there would be a really good vibe for the rest of the evening. I was wrong. This is the second show I’ve seen at Emo’s and the second time the crowd has sucked. The dancing quickly gave way to pushing and jostling for position. They were much more interested in how close they could get than participating and enjoying the music. We moved to the wall to watch the rest of the show without being hassled.

If I learned anything in Louisville, it’s that sometimes the best food hides in terrible strip malls.  So I tried not to be judgmental of Sarah’s unassuming location on Burnett.  Inside is a Mediterranean grocery with a small kitchen area to the side for food service.  The guy doing the cooking reminded me of “the greek” from The Wire except not, you know, evil.

We ordered falafel and baba ganoush and browsed the groceries while we waited.  The baba ganoush was good, but the falafel he made was the best I’ve had.  Ever.  It was pale green, moist crumbled easily and came on soft pita with lettuce, tomato and hummus.  The side of tahini was completley uneeded.  It was perfect as is.  We’ve had overcooked falafel far too many times in this town.