Category Archives: Reviews

Magic Bullet NutriBullet Blender/Mixer – Long Term Review

The NutriBullet has been a key part of my kitchen gadget collection for the past year.

Eating a nutritious breakfast in the morning can be challenging at times, especially when you are trying to wrangle 2 young kids out the door in time for school. I originally purchased a NutriBullet blender in January of 2016 to help me with my resolution to eat “healthy” every morning. What I discovered throughout the year is that the NutriBullet is an indispensable part of any well stocked kitchen.

Continue reading about the Nutribullet

Buying an induction burner: 12 things you need to know

What are induction stoves? Some might argue that they’re the best thing since sliced bread, myself included.

Induction burners (also known as induction hobs in the UK) use a magnetic coil to excite electrons in any magnetic pot or pan, which leads to heating food quickly, efficiently, and with a great deal of digital control.

What’s so great about induction stoves? What do you need to know before you start using one? Here are 12 things I’ve learned after using them (and loving them) for over a year.

Read more about fast and efficient induction stoves in the full post

Instant Pot Review: Are they worth it? Your important questions answered!

Is a pressure cooker worth it? And what are the pros and cons of an electric pressure cooker? I too once wondered these things before falling in love with my Instant Pot pressure cooker.

It’s undeniable that the cooking world has evolved and home cooks have benefited, thanks to modern technology. At my house, the kitchen is packed full of time-saving kitchen gadgets, and the pressure cooker is probably my favorite one. I’ll tell you why …

Pressure cookers: A fast-cooking secret weapon in the kitchen

There are so many foods that are easier to cook in the Instant pot. For example, this electric pressure cooker can cut cooking time on stews and broths down from 8 hours to just one. An Instant Pot also makes it simple to have tough cuts of meat falling off the bone in no time. Cooking dried beans an Instant pot can save you hours of time as well.

Read more about electric pressure cookers

Best Burgers in Austin (You’ve Never Heard Of)

Austin has no shortage of quality hamburger joints, and what Texan doesn’t like a big beefy burger?

While most everyone knows about great Austin hamburger spots like P Terry’s, Hopdoddy, Mighty Fine, Counter Cafe, Black Sheep Lodge, & Burger Tex (many of which made the Texas Monthly list of the top 50 burgers in Texas), there are other great spots that are off most people’s radar.

Click here to learn about two hidden gems in Austin

5 New Restaurants in Austin, Texas – A Pictorial Roundup (May 25th, 2012)

It’s a great time to live in Austin for foodies. It seems that every few days, a new restaurant is opening up somewhere in the city.  A couple of years ago it was easy to know about all of the restaurant openings around town, but now it’s almost impossible to keep up.

Now that Austin has become the place to move to for many (including entrepreneurs and restaurateurs) it feels like the city has hit a tipping point where the food scene is changing in profound ways as new flavors and cuisines are introduced.

Whether at a new sit down restaurant or trailer or food truck, Austinites have more food options than ever.

Click here to to read about 5 new restaurants for 2012 in Austin, Texas

Austin Guide to Korean Food – Korean Restaurants in Austin

Updated on Oct 22nd 2013 to include new places (Rockin Rice, Hanabi, Ichiban) and closures (Shilla).

For a city of its size, Austin is an unlikely destination for Korean food. However, when you consider that Samsung, the largest Korean company and one of the leading electronics manufacturers in the world, has a huge factory here that’s staffed by many Korean nationals, it comes as no surprise that there are an abundance of Korean businesses in Austin.

Korean food in Austin is located mostly in the central part of town on Lamar Blvd, although some markets and restaurants are located up north closer to Samsung (which is located on East Parmer Lane near I-35). There are a few Korean fusion restaurants and mobile food trucks downtown, but for the really authentic stuff you have to look north of 51st Street.

Click through to read the complete guide to Korean food in Austin

Great Food Documentaries To Get You Thinking

Food Documentaries on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon

Ever since I cut the cord on cable TV about a year ago, I’ve been enjoying Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Instant Watch for their wide selection of movies, TV shows, and more recently, their wealth of documentaries about food and the food industry.

As foodies, we tend to have a niche within the food world that we are drawn towards. Some foodies love pigging out on BBQ, some enjoy the finer foods in life, some are all about eating local, while other foodies are about vegetarian or gluten free living.

While we might know a lot about our particular area, I find it fascinating to learn about other foodies’ interests and deepen my knowledge on a particular food subject.

Read about the 3 documentaries by clicking here

Haddingtons – A New Austin Foodie Destination

Haddington's Menu and Logo

Last week, fellow Tasting Bud Peter and I attended a small gathering at the recently open Haddingtons (Link to Menu), new restaurant in downtown Austin. Prior to the event, I looked at the restaurant website, which described it as “an American tavern with rustic cuisine”, bringing to mind hearty, season-inspired meals and a beer selection rivaling the best pubs in town. They had not yet posted a menu (see full menu below), so I was excited to see what Chef Zack Northcutt had created.

Click here to read more about Haddingtons

Second Bar and Kitchen Review

The day after Christmas is usually devoid of any food activity. After eating my way through the holidays, it is usually on this day that I vow to “eat better” or some other kind of nonsense. Unfortunately, this thinking was short lived as the @tastingbuds twitter stream was flooded with tweets about opening night at Second Bar + Kitchen(Link to Menu), David Bull’s latest creation. Click here to read the full review.