Category Archives: Food

Food

Asian Buns in Austin – “East Side King” Shangri-La Trailer – Full Menu Preview

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The Austin chefs featured on “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” for bringing delicious Japanese inspired foods to the local trailer scene are at it again – opening their 3rd East Side King trailer in 2 years. While all 3 East Side King trailer locations feature Asian inspired menus, each location serves up slightly different cuisine.

The Liberty and Grackle ESK locations feature larger portions that likely require utensils, but the new Shangri-La location is all about the Bao, which are small, portable Asian Buns that are perfect for eating with your hands.

To learn more about the new East Side King Restaurant Click here

Food

Rice Bowl Cafe – Best Taiwanese Food in Austin

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My parents are both from Taiwan. I grew up listening to post WWII stories from the mother country – you know the ones about working hard on the farm, walking barefoot to school, and barely having enough to eat. That last point is very important – because they didn’t have much food when they were children, my parents appreciate food and view it much more fondly than your average Joe. I have a feeling that most people in Taiwan have a reverence for food in the same way my parents do.

So where can you find authentic Taiwanese food in Austin where they care about food quality as much as they do “back home”? My favorite Taiwanese place in Austin is Rice Bowl Cafe, where you can get a little taste of the “motherland” here in the Live Music Capital of the World.

To read more about Rice Bowl Cafe – Taiwanese Food in Austin, Texas click here

Drinks, Events, Food, Reviews

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

Food, Weird

Bizarre Asian Food in Austin – 10 Ways to Eat the Weird

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Stir Fried Silkworms at the Korean Restaurant Together in Austin, Texas

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of eating bizarre foods, and I’ll go out of my way to eat something just to say that I’ve had a taste of the weird. I’ve eaten strange stuff like crickets here in Texas, snake meat / venom / blood in Taiwan, and donkey in China. I ate blood sausage and beaver carpaccio in Argentina, and turtle in Cambodia. While I’m not quite as adventurous (or rich) as Andrew Zimmerman, I can hold my own when it comes to eating Bizarre Foods.

Most savvy Austinites know where to find Mexican bizarre foods like menudo, beef tongue, and deep fried pork intestines (check out El Taquito) so I’ll skip over those and focus on weird Asian delights, where I have some expertise.

Click through to read more about Asian delicacies in Austin, Texas

Drinks, Food, Reviews

Second Bar and Kitchen Review

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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.

Food, Weird

Eat Bamboo Like a Panda: Sustainable Produce From Your Backyard

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It’s nearly impossible to hang around foodies these days without hearing the words organic, sustainable, or some form of the word local (locally sourced, buying local, locavore). Well, today I’m going to propose a new type of backyard crop that’s all of these things – you might even have some in your backyard already.

Most people know that bamboo grows like a weed in hot climates like the ones found in Texas, so there’s no need for fertilizers or pesticides to get it to grow (containing it might be another issue). What many people don’t know however, is that bamboo is an excellent and delicious food source.

While we can’t eat bamboo straight-up like pandas do, billions of people around the world (mostly outside of the United States) find boiled, freshly sprouted bamboo shoots to be delicious (see the recipe at the end of this post).

Click here to learn more about growing and eating bamboo, and my parents’ farming adventures

Events, Food

Gypsy Picnic 2010 – Great Idea, Lots of Room for Improvement

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November 6th, 2010 marked the date of Austin’s first Gypsy Picnic, an event that was billed as an eclectic day of food, music, and fun. Austinites were certainly excited about the event – the Austin-American Statesman estimates that 15,000 people attended the event and at the time of publication, Gypsy Picnic had 8,099 Likes on it’s Facebook page.

However, as is the case with many Austin Festivals, Gypsy Picnic’s first year was not without its challenges.

Click through to read about our harrowing tale of waiting… and waiting… and waiting…

Events, Food

Sugar Mama’s 2nd Anniversary Party Photos

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South Austin foodie favorite, Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop, just celebrated their 2nd birthday with another huge backyard party! My how time flies – it feels like just a few months back we celebrated their 1st birthday party in style with a crazy pie eating contest!

Even though there was no pie eating contest this year, we had something even better… CUPCAKE CANNON! That’s right… there was the shooting of pastry product out of a large bazooka-like contraption for prizes.

Click through to see more photos from the party and to learn more about the cupcake cannon

Food

Uchi Omakase Tasting Menu Photo Essay

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When it comes to Japanese food in Austin, Uchi is the one restaurant is always mentioned and universally praised by foodies. For my 30th birthday, I decided to head to the nationally acclaimed restaurant to celebrate and find out what all the hype was about.

I wasn’t disappointed one bit. Having been to Uchiko and really liking the food there, I have to say that Uchi feels a even notch or two more refined.

Here’s a quick photo essay that depicts the Uchi 5 course Omakase tasting menu, which our waiter described as “the greatest hits” of Uchi’s menu. I enjoyed my Uchi experience immensely and hope you enjoy the photos.

Click through to see more photos from Uchi

Food, Interviews

Competitive Eating Champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut Interview with the TastingBuds + Austin Ice Cream Festival

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Number one ranked competitive eater in the world, multiple food eating record holder, and destroyer of 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut graced us with his presence at the Austin Ice Cream festival this year. Why exactly was he in town? To take on a whole team of 5 other eaters at once to see who could eat the most ice cream in 5 minutes!

How did he do? We’ll get to that later, but the look on his competitor’s face above might provide a clue.

Click through to read our interview with Joey Chestnut!