Food Review Times Two

I got the chance to hit up not one, but two new places in Austin.  Since you've probably seen Menu Plan Monday, you know that we don't eat out that much, but Wednesday was different! 

I met Kristin, a new friend from my Discipleship Group at Bouldin Creek Cafe.  Blake and I have been watching this place while it was under construction every time we drove up South First.  We were curious to see what would go into the space.  The Caffine Dealer sign is out front - I guess this popular spot moved to a new building.  

The space is so cool and has a great patio out front.  It doubles as a coffee house but also has great food.  I was a little bit suprised to find only vegetarian food but it did not disapoint.  We shared veggie fajitas and sweet potato tamales and they were both so good!  I was really satisfied too.  I might be making this my new office every once in a while!

Wednesday night was date night for us.  We've been trying to do a better job of sticking to our evenings out.  This week we tried The Backspace.  This spot is owned by the same people that own Parkside on 6th and is just around the corner from their first store.  It's actually unmarked, without a sign, and people are finding their way in just by word of mouth.  It's a really small spaace - only seats about 30 people, including the bar.  The menu is on the short side, but we were impressed by the quality of ingredients and the suprising flavor combinations. 

We shared the Octopus as an appetizer - drenched in a chilie & blood orange sauce and then shared the beet, fenel and citrus salad.  We started with only one pizza - Roasted Mushroom, Ricotta, Capers and Tomatoes but then decided it was too good to just stop at one and had the Fennel Sausage pizza as well.  The crust was really great.  Chewy but crisp at the same time.  I love the coal fire oven.  Yum! 

This is one that's worth checking out.  I'd stick to a week night if you don't want to wait since it is a small place.  Enjoy!

New Austin Eats & Drinks!

This week we had a chance to try a few new (to us) spots around town.  I love exploring new restaurants around town and this week's picks were great! 

Wednesday night's date night took us to a new Mexican food joint, Takoba, on the East side of 35.  Blake had been there before with some guys, during the weekend I kicked him out of the house for the Bachelorette Party.  The atmosphere was really great and they had a fabulous patio.  Would be a great spot for families too - there is a giant sandbox in the back.  Now that it's finally warmed up, we enjoyed sitting outside - even if the space heater was going.   I tried their mango-habenero margarita to start and we shared some chiviche.  It really inspired me to want to try to make my own - I'll keep you posted on that!  I had the fish tacos and Blake tried the chile relleno.  The chiviche was our favorite part!  

Friday Night we celebrate our friend's birthday at Lustre Pearl in the Rainey Street District.  We had yet to venture over to that part of town and sad that we haven't been yet.  We loved the vibe of all of the laid back bars.  Again, great patio.  There seems to be a theme here with this wonderful weather. Definitely a cool scene - but not too cool, if you know what I mean.  We can't wait to check out Clive - another bar on the street.  We might be hitting that up this week for date night. :)

Saturday Night we were pooped after a day of moving and saying goodbye to some friends.  We had an empty fridge and pantry and I wasn't really up for cooking - so we decided to go out.  We thought we "earned" a burger as a reward for our hard work all day so we tried out Hopdoddy on South Congress.  Hopdoddy is fairly new and recently replaced a grocery type market.  It was packed that night with the line nearly out the door.  Somehow, we snagged 2 seats at the bar and avoided the line.  Blake had the Magic Shroom Burger and I had the Greek Burger (lamb, yum).  We also indulged in some chili cheese fries and a beer.  Totally not what I expected for chili cheese fries but they hit the spot. 

Great new finds for us!  We're excited to keep exploring our new city.  If you're from Austin or love to visit, what are your favorite restaurants, coffee shops or bars?  Would love some recommendations!