bluegrass to lonestar

Lauren and I tried to go to Juan in a Million today for breakfast tacos, but it was crazy packed, so we went to Eastside Cafe instead. A very good choice.

They have a large garden out back where they grow most of the produce they use in their dishes. They also raise chickens and use the eggs for the brunch menu. Almost everything on the menu sounded tasty, but the specials were too good to pass up. I got shrimp & smoked salmon cakes benedict and Lauren got a pecan crusted french toast.

Our friends from Indiana are moving here soon. They were in town this week apartment hunting. Saturday we went downtown for some Thai food at Thai Passion. The restaurant is housed in what looks like an old hotel, with exposed stone walls and molded ceilings. It’s a cool space to dine in.

We tried three types of curries and a pad thai, all quite good, if under-spiced for my liking. One of our friends has a gluten allergy and they were happy to prepare any item sans-gluten. We didn’t take any photos, but their website has plenty.

I made a fancy-pants meal for V-day. Braised lamb shank w/ butternut squash polenta and a brunois of pickled root vegtables. For desert a dark chocolate tart w/ ginger snap crust.

Friday night Lauren and I went out for Vietnamese. My Vietnamese is generally limited to Phở (I love it too much to branch out), but I decided to give some other things a try. We ordered some imperial rolls, 5-spice chicken and a combination clay pot. All of the dishes were delicious. The flavors were subtle and melded well together. The place is apparently known for it’s “Shaking Beef“, so next time we go we’ll have to try that.

I made a loaf of marble rye this week. I didn’t have any caramel coloring so the darker rye isn’t quite as dark as I’d like. Nonetheless it’s tasty.