http://www.facebook.com/hopdoddy Austin, TX
http://www.hopdoddy.com
We thought we would hit a steakhouse for dinner in Austin two years
ago. When we realized the prices for said "steak and taters", I
suggested we find a good burger joint, instead. I don't remember what
led us to Hopdoddy, but what a find!!!
We did not understand why
they would not let us in. Bouncers for a restaurant? Nope. The line
to place orders ended just inside the door. We learned that we were
lucky! Other times the line wraps around the outside of the building!
The order counter is in the back of the restaurant. The WAY back! We
waited in line along the busy and friendly bar counter, only to be
zig-zagged to yet another line that continued to the rear of the
restaurant! Clearly Hopdoddy is something special.
Remember,
too: this is Austin. This is a foodie town. These people have many
options for amazing food. For Austin to wait in line for delicious food
is saying something!
Now I will go weird. Austin? Texas? BEEF,
right?! The beef of their burgers is fantastic, but in the 24 months
between my first and second visit, do you know what I remember? The big
jelly-roll pans they serve their food on? The great fries? The kooky
topping combinations? The great service? Yes, there are those to
remember... But what stands out are the amazing hamburger BUNS! Made
on-site, they are at once soft and toothy. The yeasty perfume still
fragrances my memories! Never have I had such a delicious bun.
Now,
a comedic moment. We didn't speak for probably the first 15 minutes
of our dinner once the food arrived at our table! We were entranced.
Transported. Don't get me wrong.... We like our food. We consider
ourselves Foodies. More gourmand than gourmet, but we appreciate food.
We were so taken by the food we forgot to speak! That has never
happened before or since!
What we ate for both our first and
second visits? I don't remember. Seriously. Bad form, I know! I take
that back. I had a goat cheese salad to start this past visit, and it
was beautiful! Oh my. Nuf said. (Sorry, Roy. This was a good goat!)
Hopdoddy
is a permanent fixture on the SpatulaCity.net Austin Restaurant List (yes,
we do have a list) for all future visits. We heard they have other
locations: Dallas and Scottsdale, too! Lucky spuds. Sigh.
Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom!
(Five enthusiastic Noms out of five!!!)
http://www.facebook.com/vertskebap Austin, TX
http://www.vertskebap.com
Steve likes a good gyro. Austin would know a good gyro. I sought out a
good gyro place to surprise him. But as you read, I was looking in
Austin, so the place I found was fun, tasty, and fresh.
I
started with Yelp, and soon found Verts. Bee Cave, TX wasn't too far
away since I was near the Hill Country - scouring Goodwill stores in
Austin (but that is for another post) so...
A very friendly
(we're in the south, y'all) patron in front of me could see me craning
my neck to figure out how to order. He quickly explained the process,
and told me that he ate there at least three to five times a week! I
liken Verts to the gyro version of Chipotle. Clean, fun, fresh gyros,
with a vegan version to boot.
The guys that started Verts are
Germans who went through the MBA program in Austin. With all the great
food and the quantity of Food Trucks around town, they thought they
would serve up food they loved and missed: Berlin-style gyros that are
super popular as street food. They started serving out of a Smartcar,
and have quickly expanded. There are several brick and mortar
locations, and more to come.
Although I am super sensitive to
salt, and Verts can be salty, this is also on my permanent Austin Food
List. We are going to have to make our vacations longer to get in our
favorites AND make new finds. What a delightful First World problem.
Four Noms out of five.
(Sorry... Took off one for the quantity of salt.)
http://www.patrick-janes.com Cary, NC
https://www.facebook.com/PatrickJanesPizzaBar
Attended their Australia Day celebration (Australia Day marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Sydney Cove, New South Wales). Also in attendance were the NC Tigers - your local Australian Rules Football team:
To celebrate, they had a special menu with some traditional Aussie favorites. We ordered a meat pie, but they ran through their first batch so quickly, there were not any ready. We got a sausage roll instead. Here's a picture of our sausage roll:
or, what's left of it... we were told that it wasn't a traditional preparation, but what to we know, it was noms!
Anita got the Goat & Pecan salad:
For the main course, we got a Shakin Bacon pizza:
We finished our meal off with a lamington (a dessert of Australian origin. It consists of squares of sponge cake coated first in a layer of traditionally chocolate sauce, then in coconut) -- no picture -- newbie mistake.
If you are a traditional pizza lover, this may not be your place, but it's fresh, clean, and a different take on pizza.
