Kent Wang

November 18, 2005 Austin Chronicle Fino, Finally by Virginia B. Wood Review of new Mediterranean venture, Fino, by Asti chefs W. Emmett and Lisa Fox. "The menu encompasses influences from around the Mediterranean, featuring dishes from Nice to Morocco, Italy to Athens to Valencia, ably executed by chef Tristan White and his team... Regular dining at Fino is a fine choice. The Foxes' second effort is another definite winner." Austin Chronicle Starlite by Claudia Alarcon Review of Starlite after their recent move to downtown. Seasonal New American cuisine. Now open for lunch, but brunch is no longer offered. "Although on both our visits we waited considerably between ordering and service of the first course, the staff is courteous and knowledgeable, and dining at Starlite continues to be a pleasure." Austin Chronicle T's Cafe by Mick Vann Review of Nigerian cafe in Pflugerville. "We enjoyed the experience and definitely want to return for some of the other dishes, such as Owo (a salt cod stew from the south), Egusi soup (a melon stew), Epuru (a stew with yam, plantain, and chicken), and the elusive Congo meat!" Austin American-Statesman Our favorite soups by Dale Rice Survey of soups from eight Austin restaurants, inculding Eastside Cafe, Asti, Castle Hill, Chez Nous, Sweetish Hill. "Soup here is an afterthought in way too many restaurants, where the cooks are more likely to open a can or reconstitute a packaged mix than make a time-consuming pot from scratch. That's in sharp contrast to the North I grew up in. Soup — often a meal unto itself — was as important as any other dish on the table, something to relish, a bowl of pride." This thread is for food media DIGEST entries. If you want to discuss one of these news items, please start a separate discussion thread.

Was it the 28-ish woman with the curly hair? The thin blonde waitresses are very professional and much more to my liking. Anyway, service varies so much from visit to visit I try to not let it taint my opinion of a restaurant too much. As for attitude, I get the feeling that theabroma is referring to style of cuisine, which I am inclined to agree with. It's definitely not what you would find in Italy. But it's not bad like fusion or watered down for American tastes can be.

Haha, yes. And dieters I suppose, but why you would go to a BBQ joint if you're on a diet is beyond me. Oooh, I was thinking about starting a thread about late night dining in Austin. Magnolia is not worth going to during the day when there are better options, but at 4am, it is one of your better options.

Docsconz, that's amazing! I had no idea CM products are now being carried all over the country. Where else have they been popping up?

This has always been part of the "Whole" shtick that Whole Foods pushes. It annoys and is beginning to sicken me.

Whenever I see a lobster I just want to tickle them to death!

Yes, I'm sure. It was advertised as a new product. You were right about the blood orange + vodka. Thanks for the tip! I stopped in to Whole Foods today, and I have to say that I find their 365 brand tangerine Italian soda to be better than either the CM blood orange or pom. I know this is the CM thread, so sorry for going off-topic. I like the CM organic milk, it tastes identical to Horizon while being a few cents cheaper. Plus, I've read some bad stuff on these forums about Horizon's practices in certain areas. The HEB brand soy milk is also the best, regardless of price. Better than Silk, etc. It has more soy flavor, while the others try to mask it. It may be an acquired taste.

Where is this 'country club bitching' you're talking about? Are you referring to something I've said? If so, please quote it so that I can understand where I have committed this heinous crime of 'country club bitching' so that I can correct myself. Or are you just being dramatic, or maybe you're employing the strawman argument? I am well aware of the value of supporting local farms, but I'm certainly not about to buy inferior products to do that. I'd rather donate my money to a farmers charity instead. To me, the farmers market is like any free-market, in the economic sense, so I pay for value. If they present superior value (quality per cost), I'll pay for it. If not, but I still want to see the growth of Austin agriculture, then I'll just donate that money to a farmers charity.

I believe you mean ivory tower. I baffle you? Nothing I posted has been contradictory. You know it's possible to have an opinion beyond just blanket good or bad, right? As I've been saying all along, great meats, sub-par produce. How is this baffling to you?

I have all of you beat: sashimi! Rinse off the fish, pat dry, slice, eat.

I copied this dish from Vespaio, a local Italian restaurant. Haricots verts, Tregole cheese (similar to Asiago), soppressata

When I was living in Galveston during high school, before I really knew much about food, my friends and I always thought that La Estacion (aka The Station) had the best broncos. Dirt cheap, like $6 and can fill you up for an entire day. I believe the bronco was originally the term another restaurant came up with in Galveston, and then everyone copied it. Maybe... it's been a few years.

I heard about it before. Are the meats the product of their science experiments? That would put me off a bit. Even if they're completely safe, I'd want to know what kinds of experiments were conducted. If it was the "how to produce the most marbled ribeye" experiment, then that would be great. But if it was the "how to grow beef the fastest with no regard for quality" experiment, then I'll pass.

In Galveston, we have the Bronco, a gigantic breakfast taco, about three times the size.

A greasy steering wheel can become very dangerous!

empirical - adj., originating in or based on observation or experience Empirical has nothing to do with graphs or chart. Perhaps that would be implied if I said 'scientific' or 'objective', but of course I did no such thing. Having purchased fish several dozen times, I feel that I can speak rather authoritatively on this subject. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter how quick they are getting their fish -- after all, how do you know, other than what each of the retailers are telling you? -- I just eat it and I can tell whether it's good or not. Here is my final statement on the subject: after purchasing several dozen pounds on several dozen occasions throughout the past nine months, I find retail salmon to be, on the average, inferior to what I have had at restaurants. I have only had noticeably unfresh salmon at a restaurant a few times, once at Kyoto. It is quite possible that shadier restaurants have less qualms about serving sub-par fish, but I tend to avoid those establishments. AndrewK, thanks for the information about labelling. I've never seen CM actually label anywhere that their fish is Grade #1. I'm supposing you mean that they will tell you that it's Grade #1 if you ask, but by not putting it down on paper anywhere do you think they would be able to skirt the laws? I will give the CM fish a shot in the future. Everyone, if I am able to place a special order for sashimi grade fish, would anyone be interested in splitting it with me? I'm mostly interested in hamachi (yellowtail). Quality says minimum order is 10lbs, I think between my friends and I, we can eat 3 lbs. Anyone else interested in the rest? PM me and we'll work out the details.

Well, it happens sometimes. Did you ask for a moist cut? They have a new front of the house staff now, and sometimes they don't bother to ask.

It has been my experience that Quality is slightly fresher than any of the supermarkets. They get shipments straight from the airport while all the supermarkets go through local distribution centers first. I have purchased salmon from Quality several dozen times, when it's good it's about par with any high-end restaurant. When it's not so good, it's well below what you would ever find at a decent sushi establishment. This has been my empirical experience. Yes, CM said it could not be done, WF said they were changing distributors at the time and also could not accomodate. I will check again next time I go. As you and theabroma have suggeseted, the best way would be to befriend the chefs at a restaurant. I live a block away from Musashino, so perhaps I will give it a shot.

It undermines the validity of your argument to accuse others of ignorance and arrogance when you fail to back up your claims with any evidence. I have been going to the market for six months now and the only thing that I can say that is actually better than the supermarkets' are peaches when they were in season. Please name some other produce that are markedly better, as you say. I think you have overestimated the strength of Austin-area agriculture compared to that of other cities. The farmers market in Baltimore is about 20 times in size. Even Farmer's Patch in little ol' College Station offers superior produce at prices that are 30% cheaper. As I said, I like the farmers market a great deal. Good meats, but the produce is lacking.

Braised pork shoulder, right? I had that last time. It's great. Welcome to Austin!

Sunset Valley is the biggest one in town. The produce is neither cheap nor quality. Compared to farmers markets in other cities, it really is quite lacking in that respect. I believe it's because there really is not much agriculture in Central Texas, mostly ranching. The only produce I regularly buy there are Texas oranges and English cucumbers.

I try to forget the bad restaurants that I go to, but a Google seach turned up at least one restaurant that uses 'yummy' on their menu: Solomon's Landing Restaurant Bar and Grill. It better be yummy -- and filled with shark's fin -- if I'm paying $130 for a bowl of soup! Actually, it's a restaurant in Mexico so I guess they're pesos. More egregious self-promotion:

Agreed. Useless adjectives like yummy, scrumptious and delicious have no place either. I'd rather not hear those words from the waiter either. In fact, it's really quite presumptuous.

Austin Chronicle Interior Designers by Claudia Alarcon Fonda San Miguel founders Miguel Ravago and Tom Gilliland, pioneers of interior Mexican cuisine, are publishing Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, written by Austin Chronicle's Virginia B. Wood, as they're celebrating their 30th anniversary. "To cap an amazing anniversary year, Ravago and Gilliland plan another first for Fonda: They will be open on Thanksgiving from noon to 7pm, featuring a Mexican Thanksgiving menu ($38.95), as well as their regular menu." ----- Has anyone gotten the book yet? Thoughts? I was at a potluck the other night with some other foodies and they were buzzing about it.

I'd really like to promote China Palace. My friend's boyfriend's family does own it, but it really is a damn good restaurant that has not received any press. Austin Chronicle has written well of its buffet, but this is just cheap Americanized fare. Their traditional menu rivals that of Din Ho, and I think is certainly superior in quality if not in diversity. I don't think they publicize the availability of the Chinese menu, so the critics are probably not even aware of its existence.