Daniel

Thai Elephant 5348 W. Devon Ave. 773-467-1168 Had a surprisingly good meal at The Elephant or Thai Elephant.. The space is small holding maybe 10 tables.. The decor is sparse, but clean looking.. The waitstaff extremely casual, to non-existant, but in no way snobby.. We started with pork on a stick.. Not satay but with a really great marinade.. Strong with garlic.. Was the best thing we ate.. We also had chicken larb.. This was served really hot.. In terms temperature wise.. We ordered it really spicy and were not disappointed.. If it was served cold i would have thought it to be really good.. Tom Yum soup.. Served with tomatos. I like when tomatoes are added.. They provide a sweetness.. The soup was really good.. Next we had the catfish in a garlic sauce.. The catfish wasnt served whole, but in tiny over fried nuggets.. The dish was fare.. We also ordered a noodle dish that i dont remember.. It dont remember it being bad or good.. Overall this place is worth going to if you are in the area.. It was a huge surprise to see how authentic it was in terms of spice and most dishes.. In some parts of the menu they tend to offer some gringo items. Things like crab rangoon<crab and cream cheese deep fried>, and I remember seeing a few Japanese dishes too. But there are plenty of traditional dishes to choose from.. I would go here at least once a trip to mix it up a little..

What great pictures.. I am really looking forward to your blog..

Wow.. What great meals and reports.. Thanks Doc and Molto..

My only thinking would be if you flew in early enough on Thursday night, maybe you could go to Babbo then.. Thus freeing up your saturday for a full day of eating and giving you a later dinner time.. It also would be easier to get a reservation on a Thursday I am thinking..

Thats a beautiful looking burger..

Great pictures yellow, I was driving through there a few months ago and was upset to find the place closed on Sunday.. After seeing these photos, its a must that I return.. A little Kopps for dessert.. Oh baby..

Just got a great sichuan cookbook.. Looking for peppercorns and fermentated beans... Someone tell me the best market to get all the supplies..

Holly please weigh in on this... A nation holds its weary ears towards S.Jersey Upper Pa...

In a perfect world we could have an egullet x-country trip planned out...

hi, I just bought Land of Plenty. Does anyone know of a website where I can order many of the hard to find items that I'm going to need for my sichuan pantry? Thanks in Advance!!!

Wow.. Thats really exciting.. Thanks for the info.. I hope will be good.

Sorry for not answering Jaymes.. I think there might be some confusion.. I am already home from the trip and now in Chicago on business.. I didnt get to Lockhart, we went right from Austin and spent three days in New Orleans.. I will finish the rest of the trip when i return this Tuesday... Thanks for reading it..

That would be great to do.. I would really love to...

I am telling Miz D.. That place is solid.. No matter what anyone says.. Nothing travels well..

I think my roomate sold this in college.. The Greek treat these guys right.. I came home and my cats have hung this picture on the inside of there litter box.. What a great shot..

If pork parm and spatzle dont fix it, its time to shoot him..

Miz D, Have you been to the place I talked about before I went to Indio.. Still on India St. I am curious about your experience..

Day 4.. What an awesome day.. Your pictures are out of control.. Those from the top of the tower, the antipasto, the trio of desserts.. Sick, sick..

Ludja, Can you please post pictures of the start to finish process with the chiles.. Throw in a dog or two for good measure.. But more importantly i would love a step by step...

Ahh yes, the wings from Denny's Beer Barrel, those things were awesome.. And only like 6 hours away.... Jack in the crack is yours. As I dont think its mine.. Thanks for Reating my trip ... And the love..

Jason this comment makes me wonder what the original burger is?

Wow that looks good Ann

Day 6: So we have passed the halfway point.. Its even more sad now then it was the day I woke up.. We woke up really early and hit the road.. We were just about 3 hours away from Las Cruces, New Mexico.. While driving I still wasnt super confident with the tire we had.. I stopped by yet another tire repair place to talk a little shop.. Again the guy told me the tire looked fine and that he would sell me another tire if I wanted, but it wasnt needed.. In this town is where I saw this fine establishment, it was closed unfortunately .. Taco Loco in a school bus.. Wow, i think this might be the one that got away.. We drove until we came to Las Cruces.. Home of the amazing, the outstanding, Nellie's Cafe.. Nellie's Cafe, Las Cruces. 1226 W Hadley Ave, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88005-2423, United States Tel: (505) 524-9982 This is a cute little place that I think is known far and wide.. And it should be... This is the best burger I have ever had.. Songs should be written about this burger.. It was perfectly charred.. It was covered in a cheese combo that was outstanding.. All topped with New Mexico Green Chiles.. Lets not forget about the chile cheese fries either.. One of my favorite meals.. The burger as I said was just perfect.. The cheese fried covered in this amazing cheese mixed with the green chile gravy sauce.. The best, Jerry, its the best, the best.. Also ordered was a combo plate.. I dont remember it all that well. But my girl really enjoyed it as well.. After breakfast we went for some ice cream at this place we passed by, Caliche's.. Menu After reading the menu, I was very curious about the green chile topping.. The people were very gracious and gave me a shot.. It was a sugary gel, that had no heat.. Very nice We got a vanilla custard with toasted coconut.. The coconut was better then the custard. It was thick and kind of tasteless.. I got chocolate with chocolate crunch and marshmallow.. It was way to sweet.. The marshmallow and the crunch were having a contest as to which could rot my teeth quicker.. We drove through New Mexico into the Texas.. If anyone has driven through Texas before, you know it takes a long time to get through it.. Some people say its boring, I say its great.. Nothing but miles and miles of open highway.. Nothing feels more free then to be in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do and no time schedule to keep.. You two are pretty much the only people in the world.. You could go anywhere or do anything, and your only worry is the gas tank.. "Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile." We are now entering territory from our first road trip.. We were there at a different time of day.. We decided to go back to this hamburger place we had gone to at 4 am. Country Cookin in Senora, located in a gas station.. This burger was not as good in the day time.. The fries were old and dry.. The burger had a huge bun and a grey over cooked patty.. Fine for 4 am.. We drove on for several miles until we hit Coopers BBQ.. There are a few of them, but this one is the only one still run by the Original Coopers family.. They closed at 10 and we arrived moments before then.. I must say, Coopers was the best brisket I have eaten, but unfortunately there was none left.. They had chopped brisket sandwich and Cabrito, or smoked goat.. Bad picture sorry.. The goat was fabulous.. Spiced, juicy, smokey, fabulous.. You can see the chunks of black pepper rubbed into the skin.. The chopped brisket sandwich.. Top notch.. Their sauce is sweet and thin. Goes so well with the brisket.. Favorite brisket sandwich?? Maybe... Bad photo.. That night we ended up in Austin TX.. Old stomping ground of DD Gizzal. The ride was pretty uneventfull besides letting my licenseless girlfriend drive for a hundred miles or so and running over a full deer carcas.. We checked into the Hyatt and passed out.. Days 7-11 comming up when I get back..

Thanks Tmus.. Glad you are enjoying it and will definately have to check out the dimensions of the trunk.. This last time it was rather crowded, holding blown tires and everything.. In terms of the Mexican experience it was interesting once we were in the safety of our own car again.. I really look at any experience bad or good as an experience.. It was interesting interacting with the locals, one actually ask how far we were going, but the neck tattoos and the tear drop tattoo under his eye kind of turned me off..