nacho

I've tried a few of them and have liked each product a lot! Very impressed. So here goes my input: CM Italian Sparkling Mineral Water: I'm no expert on the sparkling water, but I bought these at $.99 for a 1 Liter (I think), and they were good. CM Italian Sodas: I've tried the blood orange soda, and it was amazing. I had to try hard not to drink the whole bottle after finishing my first glass of this stuff. They also have a Lemonade that I bought but have not tried yet. I think these were in the $2.50 to $3.50 range, but not certain. CM Strawberry Preserves: I love strawberry preserves, so I bought a bottle of this. I tried it last night and it was good. I'm not sure if it's my new favorite yet, however. CM Soy, Corn, and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips: Man, are these tasty! They are definitely my new favorite chip (old fave was Blue Chips). They have a nice nutty hint to them, and not too much salt. There were other varieties of tortilla chips as well, but this was the only one I've tried so far. The products are packaged in attractive clean white labels with green accents and text, which gives them a very gourmet look. I think they are going to do very well.

I've been once on a Sunday night and the parking was no problem. The place was almost empty. I liked what I ordered (it was some kind of pasta with wild boar sausage in a tomato based sauce, I think). My friend and his girlfriend said they liked what they ordered (some sort of ravioli and a chicken breast dish, respectively) but neither ate more than a few bites and didn't take the leftovers home with them. I later learned that when his girlfriend suggested we go for Italian, she meant Olive Garden I'll definitely give the place another try with friends who are a little more adventurous.

I've been hearing a lot of good things about this place on various message boards and have been meaning to try it. I made one failed attempt about a month ago b/c the place is closed on Sundays. So if you are coming in from out of town and want to give it a go, plan accordingly.

I grew up outside of Victoria, and I make the trip back to visit the family a couple of times a year....and sadly, it's still chain-restaurant hell. In fact, I was there this weekend and asked my folks where we could go today for lunch that was good but not a chain, and the choices were nothing exciting. One place that sounded somewhat intriguing was a newish restaurant called La Hacienda near the mall on Navarro. Mom said it's interior Mexican, which is surprising for that area. I wasn't really in the mood for Mexican, so we decided to go to the Pelican's Warf on Hiway 59. It was okay for Victoria, but nothing great. I was a bit surprised that my gulf fried shrimp plate had a small container of sorbet next to the cocktail sauce and tartar sauce to help cleanse the salad bar flavors from the pallete I'm constantly amazed that a community that has grown so much over the past 10 years since I moved away for college is still so horribly underserved by decent dining options. I mean there are a ton of dives that serve huge meals at rock bottom prices, and there are some okay chains, but I can't find anyone who can recommend a restaurant that has decent ambiance and is owner-operated. IF THERE ARE ANY CHEFS OUT THERE LOOKING FOR AN UNDERSERVED MARKET IN A DECENT SIZED CITY, VICTORIA IS YOUR PLACE.

People's Pharmacy sells beef??? This has me intrigued enough to stop by sometime and see what else I've been missing by not shopping there (not that I avoided the place in the past, it was just never on the "I gotta see this place" list before).

In Houston, I saw a place called Back Door Sushi. "Umm...I'd like the Sodomy Roll please."

I once joined my friend's family for Sunday brunch at Fonda San Miguel in Austin, TX (one of Austin's finer restaurants and well known for their Interior Mexican cuisine). For the brunch, the chef prepares an elaborate buffet and describes all the dishes before the diners begin eating. He then assists his staff to serve the diners and answers any questions they have. Well, my friend's stepmother (who had not had Interior Mexican food before, only Tex-Mex) was curious about one dish with a creamy orange colored sauce (if memory serves, it was an almond mole or something), so she asks the chef "Is there any velveeta in this?"!!! I've never seen a chef so insulted! Good times.

So last night I made fifi's oven fried eggplant recipe, and then stacked them up with sauce and parmesan as described by lovebenton0 (I don't know why I can never do just one recipe, I always seem to take my favorite parts from a few different places to experiment). Anyway, it was very good, and even better for lunch today I look forward to trying it again soon, as I'm sure I can get better at it with practice. This time, I think I got my breading too thick, and cut the slices too thin. They were nice and crispy before adding the sauce, but once stacked and baked, I didn't catch a lot of eggplant flavor (but, in my experimental manor, I varied the slices from pretty thin to 1/3 inch to see which I liked best; in the end, if I had followed the recipe more precisely, I think it would have been exactly what I was trying to create). Thanks again for the inspiration.

Thanks for the Eggplant Parmesan recipe, lovebenton0!! One day last week when I didn't feel like cooking, I stopped at Whole Foods on my way home and found an eggplant parmesan just as you described in their grab-and-go case, and I LOVED it. I've been thinking about how they made it since then. I was pretty much on target, but glad to get confirmation via your post. I look forward to trying it for myself soon.

Thanks for the replies, all. I'm embarrased to say I completely forgot to hunt for this fish this past weekend. I must have seen something shiny and gotten distracted Thanks for the advice on the Asian markets, too. Hadn't thought of that, even though I enjoy shopping at them. Do you have any favorites in Austin? I've been in several around town, but the strong fishy smell that comes from the ones I've visited has usually kept me from buying any of their seafood. Cheers, Shawn (aka Nacho)

Hi All, When I was in Oz (specifically, Sydney) a few years ago, barramundi was served at many restaurants, and I remember being impressed with it. However, I seem to have forgotten exactly what it was that made it so good, so I'm trying to track it down in Austin. I plan on searching this weekend at Quality Seafood and at Central Market to see if they have any. Does anyone know if either of these places carry it, or any other place I should check? Also, has anyone else had barramundi and care to share their thoughts on the fish? Cheers, Nacho

I have not been to Alborz, all though I've been meaning to check it out on the recommendation of a friend. I have been to Ararat, and I really enjoyed it. I second the comment about feeling like you are inside a tent. It's byob, so if you go, take a bottle of wine and they will provide the wine opener and glasses for a nominal fee (this is great when you are with several people and the price of drinks normally might add up). Also, reservations are recommended b/c the place is small.