Seafood – Austin Food Journal

Poached Fish with Green Stuff and White Stuff

Dover Sole poached in Vermouth with a Shallots Butter Reduction. Peas (green), Potatoes (white). I had to make the potatoes twice. I started the first batch and realized I didn’t have enough butter to finish them. I tried another fat: olive oil. Nope. Just not the same. A quick run to the grocery store: potatoes, […]

Old Uncle Sandy Pants

If you see a mass of us taking up rusty spatula’s in anger, fear not. You are not the target. Unless you are Anthony Bourdain. The highest paid food blogger in the world. If you weren’t watching, tonight was the season opener for …

Snapper Enchiladas and the Case of the Missing Worm

Gulf Coast Snapper, Grilled Local Corn (suspiciously early in the season and suspiciously worm free), diced tomatoes with Cheddar and Tomatillo Salsa. The filling is bright, flavorful and straightforward to make: pan-seared fish fillets, grilled corn til it is almost done and dice the tomatoes. The salsa is raw: combine eight or ten tomatillos in a Cuisinart with a cup of diced white onion, three garlic cloves (peeled) and salt to taste. Assemble the rolls, sauce the plate, sprinkle with cheddar and place under a broiler til the cheese gets melty (it’s a scientific term). Splash some sour cream on top and crown with a grilled lime. Is it just me or does that sauce look like hair gel from the 1990’s?

The Texas Coast Is A Miracle

Dear Austin Restaurants: Stop Hoarding Seafood. The prices don’t need to go up yet. Just when Austinites are leaning toward better eating habits, cloudy economic forces push us back to the McNugget lifestyle.

The Tuna Sale You Missed

Don’t know if you saw this, but Central Market just had Big Eye Tuna on sale for $9.99 a pound. That’s like $400,000,000 off the normal price (approximate). I didn’t write about the sale because I am selfish. The most dangerous situation a person can get in is standing between me and tuna.

Things I Have Learned About THCWFF

The majestic spectacle that is the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival has just come to an end. It capped off the Sunday Fair like a soggy exclamation point stuck in the Driftwood mud. The Fair seemed to lean more towards the wine end of things, with the Friday night Stars across Texas being more of the local restaurant scene.

My highlights from all the festivities were the ceviche from La Condesa, mussels from Uchi, meeting Dr. Kracker, Annie’s chocolate caramel dessert and the guy from Pine Ridge winery who hit on my wife.
Knowing what I know now, next year, the Stars event (even with the $ premium) will be my main target. Although watching snappily dressed women fall face first into mud-soaked straw can amuse me for hours, I’ll stick closer to town.