Vietnamese Cuisine in Austin

After a shopping spree at the Arboretum on the weekend, I ended up going to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Austin to grab takeout. Sagiang (on Jollyville Road close to the Oak Knoll light) is my favorite for various reasons - primarily the Tofu that is grilled to perfection and moist on the inside. Top that with lemon grass sauce and spicy toppings, and it's the perfect little dish to be paired with either Vermicelli or Rice. Of course, the same dish comes with their sweeter house special sauce and curry sauce as well. (Always ask of the sauces have fish in them, if you are a pure-er vegetarian :)). They have the usual Phos and other things, but I almost always get the Grilled Tofu with Lemon Grass Sauce on Rice Vermicelli (sorry I can't remember the Vietnamese name and Sagiang unfortunately does not have a website). The other reason I like this place are the two brothers (? or is it father and son) who run the place and are actually quite nice, sometimes even funny. The younger one is usually very amused that every single time I go there, my total comes up to 8.88. "8.88 lucky number..." he keeps saying happily. In case you're wondering, that includes the price of my favorite dish plus coconut water... yes it's that cheap!

The Sagiang folks' attitude is unlike the folks at Sunflower Cafe (by Peyton Gin and 183 South in the little complex by Target), the other really good Vietnamese restaurant in Austin. The people who run that place always strike me as being too busy, too efficient to be warm. They aren't mean or rude or anything, but still... for a hole-in-the-wall, they don't really have a hole-in-the-wall attitude. Of course this hole-in-the-wall does way more business than you would've expected. And you only need to eat there to know why. I've tried many different things at Sunflower, but my top picks are the Claypot (with Tofu) and the Vietnamese crepes... yumm!

Live in South Austin? Try Hao Hao. Nice owners. And probably the best Phos I've had in Austin (can't say the same about their other dishes).... and their quality of food is always very good. Note - always ask about the broth used to make Phos. Hao Hao's broth is vegetarian too, if you order a veggie or tofu Pho, but not all Vietnamese places do that.

And as for the classic vietnamese sandwiches on baguettes, Rahul, Arun and the others have been talking about Bahn Mis for so long now, that I really need to try one for myself. More of that later...

When in Frisco...

...(and I mean the more boring Frisco - Frisco, Texas)... don't forget to explore the area for good food options because the more you look, the more you'll get!

Frisco's claim to fame in my mind was just Ikea. But little did I know that for the last eight years this place had become a tech hub of sorts. It even has tech street names (very inventive - like "Internet blvd" and "Technology drive" LOL)... and buildings numbered after router numbers (talk about geeks!) It also has the Dr. Pepper MLB baseball arena and a number of mid-sized as well as some big name companies housed in wannabe-modern, rather short buildings that have rather odd stone and metal sculptures all over (and I really mean "all over the place").

Given all that, obviously a number of great restaurant options have sprung up and managed to thrive here, apparently.

For our first lunch, my client was kind enough to take me to a more veggie-friendly place i.e. the greek buffet restaurant Fadi's http://www.fadiscuisine.com/. I believe it's a chain, though. The quality of food however was great and the choices staggering. It's also a little confusing as to how you order and what that means for choices you get on your plate, but we went with the flow. I ended up with the veggie sampler, a plate full of their yummy salads (not lettuce-intensive at all LOL) and 2 sides - a fried cauliflower dish and some yummy rice. Like other greek buffet places, you can grab as much pita bread as you want and head to the counter to order other things like Falafel or Gyros. My veggie sampler plate with 2 sides though was more than filling though. Two thumbs up for this vegetarian lunch option!

Dinner was a non-event. I kept researching all the local food options (and believe me there are many) but work forced me to stay stuck in my hotel room and I ended up ordering room service - blah!
But if you are ever in Frisco and want some decent dinner choices then per my research, here are some options:

• Luigi's Pizza (reviews claim they are the only pizza place around that can come close to being called New York style pizza)
• Chaucer's Sushi and Grill (my client couldn't stop raving about them, so it may be worth a try)
• Italian restaurants and pizza places - Oddly enough the place is full of non-chain Italian restaurants and hole-in-the-wall pizza places. Some with good reviews online. I am guessing they are worth a try!

As for the much hyped about Gloria's for Tex-Mex or South American fare, I would never go back there as a vegetarian! My client took me there for lunch the next day, but apart from the chips I wasn't impressed with anything else!

Dear Chef at Gloria's: Veggie food isn't about spinach and an overload of cheese you know. And it wouldn't hurt to provide a corn tamale option as well on the menu! Gloria's needs to learn from Austin's various Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants to make truly tasty vegetarian food and provide many options as well....

Yummy Friday

The perfect way to spend a Friday evening after a tiring week at work? Have a friend with good cooking skills cook a simple but yummy meal for you;) And in this case, our friend Arun decided to cook up a delicious 3-course meal, despite his own hectic work week!

First Course: Appetizer par excellence - He loaded up some avocado slices, diced mango pieces, a teensy dollop of cream cheese and the littlest swoosh of tomato ketchup on a fat little rice cracker... (check out the pictures)... and it was heavenly! I had to stop myself from eating it, so i could leave room for the next course (which is why we were really there).


Second Course: Tandoori Wraps - He only made some delicious vegetarian ones i.e. with paneer. Per Arun, he marinated the paneer for a few hours in a mix of few Indian masalas, garlic, yogurt, etc and then cooked in a saute pan (at least in my mind's version of it). He also made some fresh coriander/cilantro chutney and bought some Malaysian parathas (!) from the Indian store for their size and thickness. How to serve it? Once the parathas are ready - fill it up with the paneer, some veggies such as onions, add a drizzle of chutney and fold and eat the roll!

Third Course: This one was a complete surprise because he kept saying "I cut up fruits..." so we just assumed it was fruit salad... but instead, he managed to whip up some delicious lychees-n-cream. All you need is peeled lychees and some fat-free cream - mix, chill, and serve!(The Taiwanese Lychees you get at HEB aren't as plump and delicious as the ones you get in the Asian markets in Austin). Genius!

I hate them veggies

That's right. I am a vegetarian and super picky about my veggies. Not picky as in "smell each vegetable at the grocery store before bagging it" (although I should probably do that). But picky as in, "what's the point of zucchini, squash, steamed carrots and cucumbers thick-cut with skin on"? Also what's the point of that pretty mint leaf on my sorbet at the fancy restaurant? I am just going to set it aside anyway. Carrot cake? No thank-you. As for spinach in my pasta, urgggggggh. (Spinach cooked Indian style - that I love.)

I've been rightly labeled as a picky eater and I am not going to deny it. And as I set aside leaf after pretty grean leaf during each course of my three-course meal at a girl's dinner at Aquarelle recently, one of my friends kept pointing out how I set aside the most nutritious parts of my meal.

As for salads, I detest chowing down (like a cow) on romaine lettuce, kale and all those sharp tasting leaves. That's why it irritates me when the first thing a Maitre D' at a restaurant tells me is, "Oh we have a few salads to choose from..." The two places (thus far) where I've discovered good salads are Gumbo's and Sullivan's (love the iceberg wedge).

But I have now found some yummy ways to make my salads at home more fun and interesting. I usually throw in some nectarine slices and a bunch of nuts into a cole slaw mix (of veggies), and spritz it with a Raispberry Vinagrette salad spritzer. Add a bread crouton or two on top, some multi-colored tomatoes, and serve in a wide wine glass for effect;) Makes it fun!

Max's Wine Dive - Austin

An old friend is leaving to get an MBA at INSEAD in France, so we met for a farewell Happy Hour at Max's Wine Dive. My first impression of the place? It's snooty, dressy, Austin's latest happening happy hour and dinner spot, and has umm... fried... everything? It has clashingly southern style food for a modernistic wine place, in my opinion.

Let's see, what does a vegetarian eat at a southern style wine dive from the limited selection on the happy hour food menu?

Given that our table ordered 1-2 plates of everything, I ended up seeing and smelling everything and asking the others if the "drunk bread" had prosciutto in it, or the Mac-n-Cheese had bacon bits.

I ended up chowing down on the vegetarian Mac-and-Cheese (not too yellowy, and with a little gourmet touch to it) and the Tres Frites (again fried vegetables with a buttermilk dip to dunk in) that was tres average! As for the giant marinated Portabello Mushroom that came on a beautifully decorated plate, it was well, wierd to eat... (like shrivelled elephant skin? kills your appetite right there after piquing your interest at the wierdness of the plate).

The highlights of the evening? The wines (weren't too shabby) and the bread that I kept stealing off the sliders... In the end, one of our friends pushed the entire plate of 3 sliders in front of me and forced me to take the top bun off all of them... funny! But hey, how can a hungry vegetarian resist such surprisingly good bread?!

K.I.S.S

KISS = Keep it simple! (not sure what the last S stands for LOL)

I learnt that through my amazing culinary experiences in Rome, Florence and Chianti. The food is simple, basic, and beyond delicious!

So if you are hunkering after a simple Italian vegetarian meal that is also quick to fix up, then here are a few tips/ideas:
1) Stock up on good pasta sauce - I usually make my own sauces, and dislike the ones at HEB or Central Market/Whole Foods. One of Vikram's cousins though put me on to Rao's. You can't find them at HEB, but Whole Foods carries them and so does Mandola's (Austin) in the the triangle (in the store part of it). This pasta sauce is truly simple and actually tasty. One other brand I've liked for my flat-bread pizzas (yes) is Central Market's "Organics" pasta sauces. Not too shabby...

2) Stock up on the pasta - I prefer penne and spaghetti to everything else. And I also prefer my reds to whites, as they are healthier! (I am talking of pasta sauces, not wines;) ) And I only buy wheat pastas - healthy and delish. I just realized thanks to a Top Chef Master's episode, you also get quinoa-based pasta at Whole Foods, if you really look (for those with gluten intolerance issues). Note to self - must try it sometime, but watchout for the lumpiness while boiling it.

3) Buy some fresh veggies and some marinated veggies (HEB has a medittarenean pickled veggies counter). Marinated veggies lend a great flavor to any pasta/pizza. I especially love artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes.

4) Pasta cooking dos and don'ts: Make pasta like you usually do, but be sure not to drown it in sauce. Basic pasta in Italy had just the right amount of sauce and some veggies. While cooking the pasta, don't cook it all the way through in boiling water.Cook it Al Dente. When the pasta is cooked al dente, there should be a slight resistance in the center when the pasta is chewed. To me, there was more than a "slight" resistence in all the pastas in Italy. That way, it soaks up and cooks in the sauce even as you are eating it. I find a lot of the pastas in the US are either too lumpy, overcooked and mushy, or drowning in sauce and you can almost taste the canned tomatoes!

5) Flat-bread pizza: And if you are craving a flat-bread pizza - buy some Naan from HEB, chop up bell peppers, tomatoes and some paneer and mix them. Layer the naan with Pasta sauce first (not the Boboli pizza sauce please!!) and add the veggies and paneer on top. I rarely like cheese on my pizzas, and the paneer is good enough dairy intake, if you choose to add it. Sometimes, I buy Le Vache Qui Rit Lite (cheese) and first spread it on the Naan, and then layer it with pasta sauce. If you are in the mood for "spicy" - shake a few generous helpings of chilli flakes. If you want to go the fusion-food route, then marinate the veggies and paneer mixture for 10 minutes in Indian masalas, such as paneer tikka masala. Gives it a spicy-hot flavor.


6) Salad: And finally, buy some good fresh Mozarella (I love Mandola's mozarella cheese as well as the Il Villagio brand you get in HEB), tomatoes and a pepper mill (if you don't have one). Chop the tomatoes and mozarella (either dices or in big round slices - per your preference), layer them/mingle them, grate some pepper on it and drizzle with EVOO for a great and simple salad. I tried a Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing I bought from HEB once but hated the final flavors. Try making your own at home, will be way better!

Bringing Asia to College Station

Craving Thai/Chinese food in CLL (College Station)?

My two most favorite restaurants were the Thai place - Nipa Hot and the authentic Chinese restaurant - Jin's.

I reviewed Nipa Hot as a restaurant for Rediff once and as soon as I can find the review, will scan and post it here. Nipa Hot's spice levels were way too exaggerated even for our Indian palettes back then (when we were still new to the US, and had a higher spice tolerance). I remember some knuckle-headed desis decided to try the highest spice level as part of a bet, and they cried through it, but finished it - and ended up with diarrhea the next day! Quite honestly, I am not sure if Nipa Hot still exists, although here is a link to their location with phone number and other details: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&resnum=0&safe=on&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Nipa+Hot,+College+Station&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&view=text&latlng=7537041406668450751

As for Jin's - all you need to do is try one of their Tofu dishes and you will know why I said, "authentic". Of course, Jin's back then was a small-ish restaurant by Northgate... but I've heard they've expanded quite a bit now.

In 2006 my parents were in the US, so I took Vikram and them to College Station and we sat on the Northgate benches - eating sandwiches from New York Sub and Chinese Food from Jin's. Vikram loved Jin's of course and thought even the chicken tasted more like the one we had in Paris - non American, and more "authentic".

http://www.jinscafe.com/ (I just looked at the menu and they have Indian food on it? I can't vouch for that part of their menu, though).

I think there is one more Thai restaurant around the main campus area, this one is called Thai Taste... not too sure though. Might be worth a google search. Of course, it wasn't anything great.

I believe a Pei-Wei has now opened there as well, but when you have an option like Jin's, why bother with a chain that serves average food at best?

Happy Asian-food eating in CLL!

It's Texas Ya'll

I landed in College Station in Texas in 2001. Fresh off the boat from Mumbai. Sniffing the US air for the first time. Jet-lagged. Excited.

And I had the (reverse) culture shock of a lifetime. Places shutdown early, there were no tall buildings, if you said the F-word (even in talking to your friends in public), wide-eyed Texan girls would turn to stare at you like you had committed a crime... was this place for real? I went from big bustling megalopolis to rural USA! Welcome to College Station, Texas - home of Texas A&M University. (Ranked as politically the most conservative in recent studies.)

So my next worry was about food. While I was more than prepared to fend for myself by cooking on my own (a typical graduate student thing if you are from an International country), I still loved eating out and exploring food options, so the thought of not being able to do that in College Station worried me in those initial days.

Needless to say, two years and a Master's degree later, I had explored food and more food in this rural college town and had no bad experiences. Well maybe the one time when I ate at Chilli's for the first time and told them to get me a bean burger, but after I bit into it, I realized it was a beef (aargggh) patty!

College Station isn't half as bad as I made it out to me in the beginning of this post, especially because a lot of immigrants from Asia choose to live there after retirement due to real estate prices and the easy lifestyle, many of them opening up restaurants with quite authentic tasting food.

Some of my best memories include eating at Dr. Grewal's parties when Dr. Grewal and some other grad students who were excellent cooks, made some really good Indian food. Dr. Grewal was a professor at A&M and his wife Amerika (Latina) was the Graduate Student Advisor for our MIS program in the B-school. So some of us lucky grad desi students who worked with either of them got invited to the parties and what parties they were! Great Indian food, Indian movies on their big-screen (wait - make that "big-ass" screen) TV, etc.

Over the course of the next few posts, I'll try to talk about how I ate my veggie way through College Station, Texas and enjoyed every bit of it too from the hot, hot, Thai-Phillipino food, to some very authentic Chinese food and not to mention, home-style cooked piping hot Indian food.