Hopdoddi Burger Bar

After weeks of hearing about the new burger joint downtown, I finally made it there.  The set up is a little confusing so it was good that there is an employee to meet you at the door to explain.  You stand in line to order and since it is so crowded, one of the employees finds a table for you as you get near the front of the line.  The choices of burgers is interesting.  They make them using either beef, bison, lamb, turkey, tuna or veggie.

I have been trying to eat healthier but after a 9 mile run in the morning, I figured all bets were off.  As soon as I read the ingredients of the Terlingua, I was sold.  It is a beef patti with chili and cheese and wait for it.... Frito's.  I decided not to be a total pig so I split it with Jo.  But, we did add a side of chili cheese fries and a chocolate shake to split as well.  Let's start with the shake since they make such a big deal about churning their own ice cream.  It was good but it was kind of small and a costly $5.  Personally, I think the shake at Mighty Fine made with Blue Bell Ice Cream is just as good if not better and less than $4.  Either one of these restaurants would be smart to copy the old Mad Dog and Beans shakes.  They carried about 10 different flavors of Blue Bell and would make a shake out of any of the flavors they had in stock.  A Cookies and Cream Shake is unbelievable.

The burger was sublime.  The combination was great with the Frito's completing it.  I am glad I only ate half especially with the chili cheese fries.  The fries were good but I would not say the best I have ever had.  The chili cheese sauce was served on the side which was nice.  It was more cheese than chili but it was good.

I will definitely be back to try some of the other burgers.  I think next on my list will be one made with Bison.

Doing my part to Keep Austin Weird,

Alan

House Pizzeria

My son has been telling me about a new Pizza place that he says is the best in Austin.  So, I decided that tonight was a good night to try it.  I needed carbs for the run tomorrow and figured pizza was a good choice.  I always try to get plain cheese on my first visit to a new pizzeria.  Of course Jo needed some pig so we split a half pepperoni and half cheese.  Well, Zach was kind of right.  It was great pizza.  Best in Austin?  Maybe.  On different days, I like different kinds of pizza.  This was thin crispy pizza.  For tonight, this was perfect and I enjoyed it.  Flavorful but not too heavy.  But I would probably say that generally speaking, my favorite is still Home Slice.  We did have a salad before the pizza.  It was mixed greens with walnuts.  The whole experience was perfect for tonight.

Doing my part to Keep Austin Weird,

Alan

Bistro 88

I have been to Bistro 88 a couple of times in the past.  However, I have only recently added Sushi Rolls to my edible list.  So when I was asked to meet for a business lunch there today, I checked out the menu online beforehand.  The roll that stood out as a must try was the Spicy Sarah.  It has spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado topped with salmon sashimi, aioli and tempura flakes.  It was one of the best sushi rolls I have ever had.  It was so creamy and full of a great combination of flavors.  I was so excited about the sushi roll that I forgot to mention the Just Wonton.  It is a soup that is big enough for a meal.  We split it and the kitchen was nice enough to split into two for us.  I cannot imagine anyone eating the entire bowl themselves.  Half of the bowl was more than enough.  Just Wonton has Beef, shrimp & chicken with seasonal vegetables in a savory broth.  It was very good as well.  


I have always been happy with my meal at Bistro 88 in the past but now that eat sushi rolls, it took it took this restaurant to a whole new level.


Doing my part to Keep Austin Weird,


Alan

Julio's

Julio's has been in the Campus area since my collage days.  Although, I never ate there until I came back to Austin in the late 1980's.  It is on Duval next to another Campus Classic, Hyde Park Cafe.  Julio's is famous for their rotisserie Chicken.  It taste great and falls right off the bone.  They serve it with rice, beans and tortilla's.  Usually if just 2 of us eat there, we split a 1/2 chicken plate.  It is more than enough for both of us.  Last night, we had Zach and Abby with us.  Abby had her usual refried beans and tortilla's.  The refrieds looked good.  Just cannot convince Abby to try the chicken.  I know she will love it but in her mind, it is a Mexican restaurant so she has to order what she always gets at Mexican restaurants, beans and torts.   I was still suffering from my 10 mile run earlier in the day and just wasn't that hungry.  I had seen someone eating soup the last time I was there so I decided to try that.  It was really good.  It had big chunks of the rotisserie chicken in it, together with carrots, squash and other vegetables.  Then there was a half of an avocado sliced on top.  It was served with a couple of tortilla's and rice.  It was a big bowl of comfort.  I could only eat about half of the bowl.  Jo had the 1/4 chicken plate and indicated it was tasty as always.  Zach has discovered the Chicken Enchiladas Verdes and really likes them.  I guess making enchiladas with the rotisserie chicken, you cannot go wrong.

They have beer, margarita's and Mexican sodas.  We tried all the different flavors of soda last night.  I had the grapefruit, Jo had orange, Zach had apple and Abby had lime.  We all liked our drinks.

The only negative I can say is that they only take cash.  Luckily, there is an ATM across the street at Fresh Plus.  All the food was great and the next time I need a bowl of chicken soup, I know where I am going.

Doing my part to Keep Austin Weird,

Alan

Dining plans ruined by MoPac Traffic

It was the usual Friday night dilemma, where to go eat dinner.  Zach and Abby were with me so that really makes it a stressful event.  Zach is a snob and only wants good food.  Abby never wants to leave the house and only eats about 2 things.  I wanted to eat pasta since I am scheduled to run 10 miles in the morning.  I had heard that La Traviata is good and called and by chance they had a cancelation and they could fit us in at 7:30.  We left the house a little after 7 which should have given us plenty of time to make it downtown.  We reach MoPac and it is packed.  No movement.  Finally at 7:20 and only reaching FM 2222, I called and cancelled our reservation.

This led us to the Triangle.  We figured that Mandola's would be very crowded but would give it a try.  Another crowded situation.  No parking and we could see the line at Mandola's out the door.  I was on my way out to go, I don't know where, but saw a parking spot.  So we decided to go to Galaxy Cafe.

I always eat the same thing, Chicken Wrap with sweet potato fries.  It is so good.  I love those sweet potato fries.  Zach had the Mozzarella Sandwich.  He like it but was still hungry after eating the entire sandwich and fries.  Abby had Chicken Strips and Fries.  Big surprise!  But I did taste the chicken and it as very good.  Jo had a pasta that had lemon and herbs and chicken.  It was good and looked healthy.  Overall, a good experience.  I still would like to try La Traviata.

Doing my part to Keep Austin Weird,

Alan