Texas Road Trip & Food Tour

This weekend, I went for a little business trip to cover some homes for Houzz.com. And since the timing was so close to my wedding anniversary, I grabbed Jack, my darling husband, and brought him along! We spent two days and one night eating our hearts out through San Antonio, Austin and Georgetown, TX. It was marvelous. And I was also able to visit two very cool homes, which I'll share later in the month via Houzz.com. Take notes - all three of the restaurants we visited are worth going back to.

City: Georgetown, TX

Location: cutest Old Town Square in Texas

Restaurant: Gumbo's

Lunch Menu:

Mimosa

Fireman's Four (great Texas beer)

Fried Catfish Po'Boy with mashed sweet potatoes

Grilled Tilapia with parmesan-crusted asparagus

strawberry cheesecake

Gumbo's had a great Louisiana style atmosphere and Motown music in the background. It was the perfect place to take refuge from the muggy day and enjoy a beer and some kicky food. My favorite thing was the mashed sweet potatoes that came with Jack's catfish Po'Boy. It was off the hook, made with some kind of pork fat or something heinous that I would never eat in another context. Take my word for it - just order the sweet potato stuff and don't ask what's in it.

Old town movie theater marquee.

The side of an old Georgetown public building.

Town square centerpiece.

Alley.

Gumbo's restaurant on the square.

City: Austin, TX

Location: South Lamar

Restaurant: Olivia

Dinner Menu:

Soup and Salad...

a glass each of Domaine de Fontsainte Rose

Broccolini salad - house lonzino, almond, truffle, red onion, fried egg, brioche

Corn Soup - craw fish toast, blue basil pesto, garden herbs

Shared wine and apetizers...

A bottle of Hecht & Bannier's Minevois '10 - a grenache, syrah mix

Mussels - leek, jalapeno, beer broth, smoked ham hock

Oxtail Risotto (I can't remember all the amazing stuff in this risotto)

Shared entree...

Petite Filet - parsnip, marscarpone, bacon, red chard, Malabar spinach, grilled fig, sherry veal demi

Shared desserts...

Creme Brulee - sea salt, fresh berries

Peaches and Cream - peach semifreddo and sorbet, malted milk candy, roasted white chocolate

Coffee with cream (jack) and champagne (me, because why not?)

We wanted to go someplace special for our anniversary dinner, so Jack found Olivia at Fearless Critic, one of our favorite restaurant finding sites. This meal was quite possibly the best food I've ever eaten. Seriously. It was beautiful to look at, extraordinary to taste and the whole evening was elevated in a way that made me feel like I was a part of something artful and transcendent. The food at Olivia is all locally sourced and some of it grown in their own vegetable garden, which eaters are welcome to browse at the back of the restaurant. They also have a dozen or more hens that lay fresh eggs for the kitchen. Service was warm and knowledgable and as our waiter said, "I could talk about this food all day long." I will definitely be going back as often as I can afford. The meal was pricey, but worth every penny. Oh and whatever you decide to eat - please please please someone order the Oxtail Risotto because its so good it will make you cry.

Broccolini Salad

That's right, my man drinks rose.

The menu.

Mussels.

View from our North Austin hotel room.

City: San Antonio, TX

Location: Rover Walk

Restaurant: Boudro's

Lunch Menu:

Frozen Prickly Pear Margarita

Guacamole and tortilla chips for two made table-side

Pulled Pork Sandwich with picked slaw (Jack)

Blackened Ahi Tuna Salad (me)

Coconut Flan with Caramel Sauce

It's hard to find food on San Antonio's famous River Walk that isn't super touristy. Let's just say there's a lot of corporate food down there. Boudro's is a happy exception. This little Texas Bistro is tucked into a womb-like cave with a small river side patio and serves up delicious gumbo, Tex-mex, and soul food. The prickly pear margarita was awesome and I recommend you try it out. I know what you're thinking... frozen?  Yes. Frozen. Drink it and you'll see. The guacamole was fresh and made right at our table by our chatty, adorable, red-headed waitress. Everything about this place says 'sit down, enjoy yourself and take it easy'. It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

My man on the river walk.

Prickly pear margarita.