Kent Wang

That's a very good point, Steven. I'll be sure to change how I refer to the cuisine in the future.

I went to Astier this summer (photos on Flickr). I thought it was a superb meal.

My girlfriend, two friends, and I will be in town from the 7th to the 11th. Are any of the sno-cone places open in January?

Thanks, I'll probably check out the Best Stop. How about more sit-down restaurants?

Lola might be moving to a bigger space. Statesman article

When and why did drinking on the job take its decline? Or on the flip side, how glorious were the days of drinking on the job? You see a lot of old movies where a person goes into somebody's office and is first offered a drink

Death & Co uses primarily Herradura Blanco in their shaken drinks and El Tosoro Reposado in stirred drinks. They have the best tequila cocktail section of any menu I've ever seen, so I would certainly trust their expertise.

I will be driving to New Orleans (and back) from Austin later this week and was wondering if there were any stops worth making along I-10, especially for Cajun and other foods that you can't get in New Orleans itself. See also: I-20 across Louisiana

Vegetable fungus, aka cordyceps. I had this in Hong Kong, quite tasty, an interesting texture.

Andy, where do you buy this 1883 orgeat?

I see that Danny at PDT uses a metal graduated jigger. What is it exactly and how does it compare to the OXO? The OXO does have the unique benefit of being able to see the measurement from the top.

What's a good port or sherry to buy for mixing, that's not too expensive? Say, around $30/750mL?

They should have restaurants that serve these kinds of sandwiches. Maybe they already exist?

Good work, Peter. I was in Berlin for a few weeks this summer. I was on a budget and found that the most delicious cheap meal was to go to KaDeWe (their super grocery) and buy bread, charcuterie, and cheese and make my own sandwich. I can't remember what each brand of charcuterie and cheese was but I assure you it was all top-notch stuff. Salami and cheese sandwich Liverwurst and cheese sandwich. I think the cheese was an epoisses, which combined nicely with the liverwurst into a single creamy mess of heaven. Pate, cheese (camembert?), tongue sandwich

Perhaps one of the most pretentious menu designs, from Stories Fine Dining Establishment at The Hyatt Lost Pines Resort near Austin. Highlights include prices spelled out in words ("Forty-Two") and the headings "Chapter One" and "Chapter Two". PDF menu. Fearless Critic review of Hyatt Lost Pines.

I think the question we're all dying to know is: how does its taste differ from normal chicken?

Do you mean with a chop that has sections of both loin and tenderloin, the latter being darker?

Went with a more fall-oriented menu: Maple Old Fashioned Eggnog (fresh) Mulled Cider Buona Noce (cognac infused with walnut, chartreuse, Averna) Fish House Punch Celine (a Celine Fizz (gin, St. Germain, lemon, grapefruit, orange bitters, egg) minus the egg) Hors d'oeuvres: Cured salmon and cheese on crackers Mini pumpkin pies

Many of the instant ramen brands I see in the US have more than 50% of your daily values of fat. (They usually label it as 25% but claim that there are two servings per package -- who the hell eats only half a package?) Where is this fat coming from? Do they fry the noodles?

The second edition of the Fearless Critic Austin Restaurant Guide just came out on 28 November. It is available from Amazon and a number of local stores including BookPeople, Cissi's Market, Spec's and Whole Foods. I've written a number of reviews for the book, mostly for Chinese and Southern cuisine restaurants, and had a hand in the ratings for most of the other restaurants. I truthfully believe that this is the best source for information on Austin restaurants, by far. None of the newspapers like Austin Chronicle and The Statesman are reliable, as nearly all their reviews are gushingly positive. There are of course online sources like eGullet and Chowhound but it's often difficult to wade through the threads and you never know which poster is knowledgeable or not. Certainly internet forums have their place and I will continue posting here, but I think this book will be useful even to restaurant-goers that keep up-to-date with the forums. The updated website is being overhauled and will be launched in just a few days. But here's a copy of the top ten, for your perusal and discussion: Restaurant, Food rating, Feel rating 1. Uchi, 9.8, 8.5 2. The Driskill Grill, 9.5, 9.6 3. Louie Mueller BBQ, 9.4, 8.7 4. City Market, 9.4, 8.4 5. Mulberry, 9.3, 8.6 6. Vespaio Enoteca, 9.3, 8.5 7. Smitty’s Market, 9.3, 8.2 8. Lamberts, 9.2, 9.6 9. Fino, 9.2, 9.2 10. Nubian Queen Lola’s, 9.2, 9.0

I have been using Brussels sprout stalks as Christmas "trees" for the last few years.

Yes, please.

The New Yorker has a long article about Snow's, mostly geared towards non-Texans. It actually says very little about the food but I found this interesting:

Please explain the twirling in greater detail. I only twirl a little bit, maybe one revolution. The long noodles that I can't fit in my mouth I bite off -- is that a faux pas? This is the Chinese style.

Howdy all. I apologize for my absence from this forum lately as I have been busy with other food endeavors. With that aside, let us discuss the food neighborhoods in Austin. I feel that the East Side is truly the best neighborhood for food. Of course the East Side is big, so let's say more specifically the area around I-35 and 11th St -- perhaps we can call it the Near East Side. I live in the little known Swede Hill neighborhood which is centered on Swede Hill Park. It is bound by I-35 to the west, MLK to the north, Comal to the east, and 12th to the south. Within walking distance I have: Sam's BBQ Galloway's Nubian Queen Lola's Victory Grill Gene's Poboys and Deli All those other restaurants on 11th like Primizie, Blue Dahlia All the restaurants on Manor like El Chile, Hoover's, Vivo As you can see, the nearby places are all heavy on Southern cuisine, which is reflective of the character of the neighborhood. Within biking distance I also have all the restaurants downtown and the Mexican places scattered all over the East Side such as Abarrotes Mexicanos. The food options was a major reason why I chose to move here. It's also fairly cheap. One downside is the crime as 12th & Chicon, an open drug market, is a few blocks from here. The Swede Hill neighborhood itself is quiet nice and nearly all the houses are in good condition, but there's no question that you do see some of the shadier characters on their way to or from 12th & Chicon walking through the neighborhood. Other areas I would consider living in: Downtown - There's a ton of restaurants there but few are actually good. The ones I can think of are Mulberry, Lamberts, Casino El Camino, The Driskill Grill, Peche. South Austin (78704) - You have Vespaio, Home Slice and Southside Pizza, and a bunch of middling restaurants on South Congress. Central Market area. I go there about every other day so even if the restaurants around there are not great, Central Market alone would make it worthwhile. Of the above, I believe the East Side is the most affordable.