People who don't like Austin......because of the restaurants??? (Houston: to live in, prices)

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by twange

Don't forget P. Terry's burger stand!

We took a vegan friend there from out of town(this reminds me of the Carl Sagan book "Contact", where the radio message from space comes from the star Vega, and they refer to them as "Vegans")....anyway, he raved about it, and said that place alone made him want to move here. Macrobiotic food can be odd if you're not used to it, especially if you're used to dairy, but there is some very tasty things to be had there. I think it was $12 all you can eat.

BTW, it's Green Mesquite you're thinking of...

I'll take the Chicken fried Steak, please!

Or the, so nice they had to say it twice, famous "Chicken friend Chicken!" LOL!
http://www.greenmesquite.net/files/Download/Green%20Mesquite%20To%20Go%20Sept%202007.pdf (broken link)

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by twange

Funny thing but when we came here and saw the word "Kolache" we thought it was just another spelling for "kolachky", which is a Polish sweet pastry(apricot, raspberry, prune, sweet cheese). When we saw that they had sausage, ham, cheese etc...there was definitely a "WTF?" moment

There was 2-3 great Euro-bakeries within walking distance of our house that right now I'm thinking we took for granted

I had that exact same surreal moment over kolachky v. kolache. not the same thing!

scongress..I think White Castle would do just great around campus...it really tastes best after a night of drinking, at about 3 a.m.

[arrow_keys]

Originally Posted by schoenfraun

Any other suggestions?

Every time I pass the Monument Cafe in Georgetown I think, I gotta go in there, but I have yet to do so. It looks fantastic.

And kolaches...what is the deal with them? Why do people like them? Just a bunch of white flour, no texture, just taste like sugar, no flavor. And Round Rock donuts, those orange things, are grotesque.

So there's a lot of much-loved local foods, I don't get at all.

When I was talking about this a few days ago in the office kitchen, one of my coworkers said, "Stop, you're hurting me! I love these places." So I think there is a great deal of sentimentality or emotion that goes with food that you know, really know. Food and memories. I don't have any memories here, I'm new, so my opinions come across as harsh, perhaps. I don't have any attachments to these places, I'm just talking about tastes, textures, presentations.

I am sure there are people reading this who have very fond memories of late nights or early mornings at Magnolia, for example, or Las Manitas breakfasts. I don't have that....

You are one of my favorite posters. I think it makes sense for local favorites to not necessarily be that impressive to someone who didn't grow up there. The locals have treasured memories of being a kid and going to these places on special occasions. Have you been to Mueller's or Mikeska's? There's a Mikeska's where I live and I would admit that its not the best BBQ I've had but the old interior that hasn't changed in 30 years has a special place in my heart. That adds to the taste of the food.

Kolaches...to me, they are just the opposite of how you describe them. They speak to my heritage and about the place where I am from. That adds to the taste (which to me would be good regardless!)

Monument Cafe is pretty good. I didn't grow up in Georgetown but went to college there and Monumnet holds some good memories. It is moving soon to the square so you better visit its original location while you can!

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by twange

Funny thing but when we came here and saw the word "Kolache" we thought it was just another spelling for "kolachky", which is a Polish sweet pastry(apricot, raspberry, prune, sweet cheese). When we saw that they had sausage, ham, cheese etc...there was definitely a "WTF?" moment

Actually they may be the same thing - just a slightly different name because of the country of origin. The kolache in Texas is Czech. I'm from a heavily Czech area and kolaches when I was growing up were strictly sweet pastries as you described. If it had sausage in it, it was a different dough...more bread like and was called a sausage roll and the sausage was a hot link. Ham and other flavors didn't exist either. There's a different Czech word for these type of rolls but it escapes me at the moment. I think in Central TX they all get lump in under the banner of "kolache" to not confuse the masses.

[Cardiff Giant]

Originally Posted by scongress1234

I've lived in Indianapolis, and I would put Austin about on that level. Both cities have a great lack of ethnic diversity, which filters down to the very real and vital food offerings of the same.

Funny, me and the wife were having this exact discussion last night; we both grew up on Long Island, moved to Michigan for grad school, moved back east to Manhattan and now here we are.

Anyway, we were debating; she said "Austin has better food than Long Island." I heartily disagreed. "Michigan?" Yeah, Austin is better than Ann Arbor/Detroit. Slightly.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by gigi927

I had that exact same surreal moment over kolachky v. kolache. not the same thing!

scongress..I think White Castle would do just great around campus...it really tastes best after a night of drinking, at about 3 a.m.

Well, sliders are indeed just barely edible, and almost tasteless, if it wasn't for the dehydrated onions, which have known side effects(ahem...LOL!)...
they call them sliders because they are little and wet, from the steamy buns,and slide down your throat.....actually, Krystals has much better little burgers, and they've been around just as long. Some people might be familiar with them, that haven't tasted the slider....
Best fast food burger? Hands down, In N'out Burger, from the west coast, still all privately owned by the same family....ths Snyder family, who pays 10 dollars an hour starting pay, with benefits(yes, you heard correctly!)
That burger wins every survey, even industry ones, as they don't ship anything frozen...All scratch, like those great Austin places.

In-N-Out Burger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...I love Huts, (what'sup, Frank and Angie?) but I know many for some reason don't.....Huts to me is manna from the fast food gods, and the All-American Burger, #20
(yes, the same name as the fictitious burger in "Fast times at Ridgemont High") is the stuff, the works, call it what you will!

The following is the best selection of burgers on earth!

www.hutsfrankandangies.com/hutsmenu (broken link)


Okay, nuff about burgers!

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by scongress1234

they call them sliders because they are little and wet, from the steamy buns,and slide down your throat....

Nah, they're called sliders because of the way they slide through the digestive system. Usually they slide right through but sometimes they slide back up, depends on how much who-hit-john you had.

Back in 19and77 when I was in one of Chicago's first punk bands I wrote a song called "Sliders". The chorus went----

Sliders, I love 'em so
Sliders, that's where I go
Sliders, best food in town
As good comin' up as they were goin' down

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Nah, they're called sliders because of the way they slide through the digestive system. Usually they slide right through but sometimes they slide back up, depends on how much who-hit-john you had.

Back in 19and77 when I was in one of Chicago's first punk bands I wrote a song called "Sliders". The chorus went----

Sliders, I love 'em so
Sliders, that's where I go
Sliders, best food in town
As good comin' up as they were goin' down

Thanks for the concept of throwing up sliders.....a bad thing......you forget a worse thing at WC's....the onion rings.....scientists to this day are still researching the composition of the white castle onion rings....now, you have to be REALLY wasted to eat onion rings.....they are weird looking, come apart, resist swallowing, are stringly, and mostly water and fat resistant, so they spend a long time in your digestive tract, like sliders.
I believe WC is the only fast food place that sells onion rings......hey, someone has to!


And look! Someone on the web has uploaded their own do-it-yourself wc onion ring recipe...the place they mention is obviously white castles.

Old Fashioned Onion Rings - Allrecipes

And I believe you can't get them in Austin, or am I wrong?If anything, green mesquite has them....

Hmmm, lets check out GM's menu, the most pigout menu in the western world, no S**t! Read it, its a freakin' hoot!

http://www.greenmesquite.net/files/Download/Green%20Mesquite%20To%20Go%20Sept%202007.pdf (broken link)

[love roses]

Sonic and Whataburger have onion rings. There's a cafe here in Hutto that has them as well.

[TexasHorseLady]

Many places have onion rings. I was buying them iin restaurants here a good 40 years ago. I was wondering if they were referring to a particular type of onion ring.