Breakfast Taco Shootout

Taqueria Morelos

3100 S. Hwy 183

Austin, TX  78744

(512) 386-7863

EastSide Tacos

4602 Tanney St.

Austin, TX 78721-2526

When I take the bus, I end up walking up 17th Street from San Jacinto up to Brazos, where I can get into the back of the William B. Travis Building, where I work.  Back more at the end of summer, there were two competing taco trucks on 17th Street.  Now, don't think big food truck, these were both pickup trucks selling tacos.

Now, my breakfast taco preference is for egg, bacon and cheese, but neither had that, so I had to get potato, egg and bacon.  Morelos didn't have any cheese, and Eastside had cheese on the side, but I didn't get any.

Size and Price

Morelos was the larger of the two tacos and it was $1.50.  Eastside, smaller and $1.75.

Presentation

East Side had bags, and red sauce.  They also had a big sign that stood up out of the back of the pickup bed.  Morelos has a sign on the door of the truck.

Taste

I tried them first without sauce.  Morelos was really more like eating a potato taco.  That was the overwhelming flavor.  It wasn't bad, but you could barely taste the egg or bacon.

The Eastside taco was smaller because there was less potato.  There was more egg. but not enough bacon.   The sauce was good.  I was not offered cheese, which was offered to the gentleman in front of me.  So, they lose a point for customer service.  The taco was a little tasteless.  I could barely taste the potatoes and there is something the tiniest bit off about the eggs, not necessarily bad, just a little funky.  It might be the tortilla, but I cannot tell.  This slightly funky flavor mixed with the egg is the major flavor, and there isn't enough bacon.  I also noticed that the bacon is a little pink, which suggests that it wasn't cooked enough. 

When I was eating the Morelos taco, I thought that the Eastside Taco had to be better, but then as I ate the Eastside taco I wasn't so sure.  But....I cannot really recommend either of them.

Deviled Eggs

Okay, I've been gone for a while because I haven't felt like cooking, or writing. ...but, I'm back.

About 15 years ago, I was working for a State Agency where the office had a lot of potluck lunches, and I got tired of bringing store bought cookies, or kicking in on someone getting some fried chicken. I wanted something that I could make with my own hands that others would love...and of course that I would love too.

There are two things that I always wanted to like, but that I rarely like the way other people make it, deviled eggs and potato salad. I have yet to find anyone who makes potato salad without onions, and deviled eggs with pickle relish make me weep from sadness. My wife suggested that I use her recipe for deviled eggs, because it did not include pickle relish (this despite the fact that my wife likes pickle relish). The problem came when I asked for the recipe, because she didn't have one. She liked to wing it. Well, I decided to give it a try and it turns out I am pretty good at it. So, here is the mugshot of my line up of ingredients.

And here is the cast list:

• Mayonnaise
• Mustard - two kinds in tonight's show
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Vinegar - in this case a new player, Rice Vinegar standing in for plain White Vinegar
• Tabasco
• Salt
• Pepper

Each of the players brings something to mix.

• Mayonnaise - Creaminess
• Mustard - Spice
• Worcestershire Sauce - Savory Tang
• Vinegar - Tart bite
• Tabasco - a little heat
• Salt and Pepper - rounding out the ensemble

Obviously, the eggs get cut and the halves get placed into the neat egg trays that my wife found and you will see below.  Each egg tray holds 20, so I have an extra container for the leftovers.  I usually mangle a few eggs while peeling or cutting and I use these for testing, with my wife and son as my taste testers...well, those I don't try myself.

I used about a cup of Mayonnaise because I started off with 28 eggs, meaning 56 finished deviled eggs.  Mustard comes next, then a healthy splash of Worcestershire and a smaller splash of Vinegar.  A few drops of tabasco is all you need, and salt and pepper to taste.  After the first tasting, I added a bit more salt, and a little mustard.  Next I added a bit more Worcestershire Sauce and a little more Vinegar.  That got it about right.

I use a fork, and I don't worry about getting things completely smooth.  I start with the Mayonnaise and Mustard and then start mashing.  Other ingredients hit the pot and the mixing/mashing continues.  By the time I declare it ready, it is usually fairly smooth, but never perfectly smooth.

Now, for the delivery.  Getting that mash of egg yolk and ingredients into the eggs could be a messy job, but once again my wife came to my rescue.

Yes, that's a cookie press.  My wife had one, and it loads up fairly easily and makes a pleasant design on top of each egg.  It usually takes filling it two or three times to finish all the eggs and then they look like this.

A little paprika as a garnish works nicely, and sometimes, I even use a slice of olive, though never for all of them, since I don't like olives.

Well, that's it.  The moral of today's story, is that you can make things that you don't like into things that you do like.  Just be creative, and hold the onions...or the pickle relish in case.  One of these days I have to try making potato salad, and then I really will hold the onions.

Central Market Trip

Central Market

4001 N. Lamar Blvd.

Austin, TX 78756

(512) 206-1000

I love Central Market.  I don't get down there very often because it is rather expensive, but I love the selection.  Today I was looking for something a bit French, something to remind me of things that I used to buy 30 years ago when I spent two years in France.

Strangely enough, I ended up with nearly as many English things as French things, but oh well.

Cheese

I love any store with a wall of cheese.  Okay, maybe it's not a wall, but there is a good twenty feet of cheese, on two sets of shelves, surrounding a central island that included more cheese.  If you love cheese like I do, then this is one of the Austin Meccas.  Cheeses from all over the world, and lots of them.  So, here is what I got.

• Red Dragon
  English Cheddar Cheese with Wholegrain Mustard & Ale from Somerdale

This is a wonderful cheese.  It isn't too strong, but the mustard seeds give it a distinctive flavor.  You can melt this over a burger and you won't need to put any mustard on it.  It is whole mustard grains, so there is also an occasional, but wonderful crunch in the cheese.  My personal preference is just to eat this cheese, no burgers, no crackers, just cheese.

• Clawson Dairy Stilton

I am not a big fan of blue cheese, but I have always wanted to try Stilton, since watching the show Chef. 

"Stilton is Cheese 1.  Everyone knows that."  -Chef Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry)

It was good, very blue-y, but not so strong that I turned away immediately.  I ate a few little bits and left the rest for my wife.

• Life in Provence
  Camembert

I remember going into grocers in France and seeing a wall of Camembert, not just a wall of cheese, but a wall of Camembert.  I remember one Super Marché with a staggering amount of Camembert.  Dozens of brands, and dozens of each of those brands.  You pulled off the little wooden box and put a thumb gently to the middle of the cheese to judge how hard it is.  The softer the cheese, the stronger the taste.  My general tendency was to buy a hard mild cheese and then let it ripen in the fridge.  A week later that cheese would be oh so runny and smell strongly of wet diapers.  Only someone who has tried a ripe Camembert can understand the wonders of the taste that goes with that diaper smell.

Central Market only had two brands.  I would have been disappointed, but they were both from France.  Finances got the best of me.  I bought the cheaper Camembert, but it turned out okay.  I remember buying Camembert in France and I rarely bought the most expensive brand then either.

• Black Pepper Paté de Campagne
  Central Market Deli

I have always preferred Paté de Campagne to the more common Paté de Foie.  I prefer the texture and the taste.  This paté has a layer of peppercorns on the top, but there aren't many mixed into the paté.  This makes the paté itself quite mild, with a nice kick, if you want it.  I was very happy with my choice.

I wish I could have found a better loaf of bread to go with my treats, but the Central Market Baguette wasn't bad.  They have a large selection of breads, but nothing really seemed to catch my fancy today.  Bread is the best accompaniment to Camembert and Pate.  A smallish baguette, no more than two inches across, works well.  You cut the baguette into slices half an inch thick and spread cheese or paté on each one.

A wonderful treat, and something more common to the gourmet than the gourmand.

The Great Austin Burger Hunt - Top Notch

Top Notch Hamburgers

7525 Burnet Road

Austin, TX 78757

(512) 452-2181

Top Notch Hamburgers came highly recommended, and I finally got a chance to try it out.  The location on Burnet Road has a well worn 50s feel to it.  I look back to a time just before I was born, and I imagine a lot of places that looked just like Top Notch Hamburgers.  Some of them became the big chains of today, McDonalds, A&W, Whataburger.  Others either didn't expand into chains, or they may have for a time and then collapsed back into one location.  I imagine this as the history of Top Notch Hamburgers.

Top Notch Hamburgers has old style order screens, and you park under an awning.  I should have taken a picture.  I don't think the style of the menus has been updated since the 60s, though the prices certainly have.  Now, don't take that to mean that Top Notch Hamburgers are over priced...well, at least not by much.  Then again, I am old enough to think everyone's burgers are overpriced.

I ordered a Cheeseburger (#3) and Fries.  Because they are not a big chain and really aren't trying to compete with the big chains, Top Notch doesn't do combos.  You order everything a la carte.  They offer tomatoes, onions, pickles and lettuce on their burgers, standard, so of course, I asked them to leave off the tomatoes, onions and pickles.  It seemed to take rather a long time, but still not as long as Whataburger.

Oddly enough, I am going to start with the Fries.  The person who spoke so highly of the burgers did not have good things to say about the fries.  In fact, he orders Onion Rings with his burger.  The fries were forgettable.  They weren't bad, but after trying them, I doubt I would ever order them again.  They do not add to the experience.  They were dry, and slightly overcooked.  They had a little bit of crunch to them, but it was not a snappy, smart crunch, more like a tired crunch, if that makes any sense.  I cannot recommend them.

On the other hand, the burger was quite good.  My one complaint was that it wasn't very big, but knowing about the fries, next time I will skip the fries and get a double cheeseburger.  The bun wasn't anything special, but it was fresh and slightly toasted.  The meat is charbroiled and quite tasty.  If you like Burger King, then you should try Top Notch, it has the same charbroiled flavor, but at Top Notch it tastes like it was just cooked, not pre-cooked.  The lettuce was shredded and crunchy.

Of course, lettuce can be a problem on a burger, because it wilts so fast.  When ordering a burger for my reviews, I am careful if I order it to go.  I try to pull the burger out immediately, so that I can experience the lettuce before it wilts.

So, the Top Notch burger is a good burger.  It wasn't the biggest burger I have ever had, and it left me a little hungry.  The price is on a par with Fast Food chain big burgers, and what it lacks in size, it makes up for in taste.  I can definitely recommend Top Notch Hamburgers.

Hold the Onions

Oh look, another food blog.

Like the world needs more of those.  I've been blogging for a few years now, and I noticed that many of my posts concerned food.  Enough so that I decided to start this new blog which will only be about food.

I thought about it for several months, and my food related blog post ideas piled up.  You'll see that I will be posting rather often here at the start.  I just hope that I don't let my other blog go fallow.

Now, there are a few things you should know, here at the start. 

• I live in Austin, Texas, and I don't travel much, so if I review restaurants, they will almost always be in the Austin Area.

• I don't make a lot of money.  Why is that important?  Because you won't see many, possible even as few as zero, reviews of fancy restaurants. 

So, why "Hold the Onions"?  Well, that's simple.  I don't like them.  Now, I should explain more, because It isn't really onion flavor that I dislike.  It's the texture.  Okay, sometimes it is the flavor, but only when it is unusually strong.  Onions in quiche is something I cannot abide, but mostly because of someone who filled a quiche with so many onions that even the egg tasted like onion.

But, that is a story for another time.

For now, you should know that I love to eat, and I enjoy writing about it.  I am not a gourmet, but a gourmand.  And yes, I spent time in France, and I speak the language fluently, and I know the difference.  I love to eat, and not little bits of nothing on huge plates, but big slabs of pizza, on a napkin.  I'd rather eat barbeque than chateaubriand.

But, two big things that I brought back from France is a love of good bread, and good cheese (I'd have added the wine, except I don't drink)  and I'll be proving it in the weeks ahead.