Things & Stuff
I’m too tired for words today. Here are some photos from a recent (lovely) dinner at Justine’s.
Kir royale and red wine…
Salad special – egg, tomato, crouton, anchovy…
French onion soup, smothered in melted gruyere…
Steak frites with herbed butter…
Juicy pork chop with buttery mashed potatoes…
Perfect creme brulee and cappuccino…
I stopped at East Side Pies to pick up a pizza for our girls’ movie night. I love this place… it’s a tiny storefront that sells whole pies and slices, and though you may be able to snag a chair outside, it’s really a take-out kind of place.
The case is full of options for heat-and-eat… slices and pepperoni rolls and such.
We tried the Frankie, with sausage, ham and mushrooms. I love the thin and crispy crust!
Mmmm, pizza. I think I could eat pizza every day and not get tired of it. 🙂
I stopped at East End Wines to pick up some bubbly for a girls’ movie night my friend was hosting. (We watched Sense and Sensibility, then Pride and Prejudice. We’re hopeless romantics. You do remember my hopeless crush on Mr. Darcy, right?) It was a Friday evening, and I was lucky enough to pop in when they were holding a wine tasting.
The place is gorgeous… it’s a beautiful white house on east 12th Street.
The wines are shelved from wall to wall, and there are also select beers and liquors.
Sam, the resident sommelier/wine buyer, helped me choose a perfect pink bubbly (Torre Zecchei sparkling rosé) as well as a reserve bourbon (Corner Creek) and an organic gin (Tru 2). I’m so excited to try that gin! They had plenty of whites, reds and pinks.
Everyone was really friendly and helpful, and they created a customer profile for me so that I can keep track of what wines I’ve purchased. They hold free wine tastings on Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 – 7 pm. Stop on by!
Hi guys… if you like reading my blog, and you’re feeling generous, wanna go over here, under Food and Drink, and vote for me for best local food blog in the Austin Chronicle’s Best Of Austin 2010 poll? You don’t have to vote for anything else on the page if you don’t want to. 🙂
K thx!
I think sushi is the perfect anti-stress food. It’s somehow calming, grounding, light and nurturing. I’ve had a stressful few days, so tonight we drove up north to Tomodachi Sushi to sample their fish delights. It’s a tiny spot in a little shopping center… I really wish this was in our neighborhood, because I think we’d belly up to the sushi bar at least once a week. It’s nice and cozy in there… unpretentious, friendly and relaxing.
Of course we had some miso soup to start…
And Justin had to have Asahi black, though there was a nice selection of sakes.
We had some avocado and shiitake mushroom tempura with a lovely gingery dipping sauce (Yep, that’s a whole wedge of avocado, lightly fried. Mmmm)…
This is the Screaming Orgasm (really, that’s what it’s called), tuna tataki with an amazing creamy sauce.
And this is the poki, much like the poke we had on Oahu: tuna, sesame, seaweed, and a bit of heat. So very good.
We had salmon, yellowtail, and escolar nigiri. I loved the fresh wasabi on the yellowtail… why isn’t all wasabi served fresh like this? Chef Riad noticed that Justin ate his nigiri without soy sauce, and recommended that we let him know beforehand next time, and he’ll serve it up with a sprinkling of yuzu and sea salt instead. We also tried the Double D roll, with shrimp tempura, spicy crab and spicy tuna.
Chef Riad told us that the best time to stop in is on Thursday nights, when he gets a variety of fish shipped in from Japan. He will also do an omakase menu for you on request. We’re definitely going back on a Thursday night very soon!