Tag Archives: review

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.

Happy Birthday & TastingBuds Year In Review

We almost didn’t realize it until someone asked how long the blog has been around, but the TastingBuds Blog is over a year old! To celebrate we’ll recap some of our favorite posts, photos, and favorite moments from the past year!

Thanks to all of our readers for visiting the blog and we’re grateful for the friendships we’ve made on the Internet and in real life as well.

Click through to celebrate with us!

Elevation Burger Blogger Event

elevation burger - giant 10 patty burger

Being a huge fan of many bad-for-you foods, I was pumped when I heard about the Elevation Burger Food Blogger event. After all, don’t most all of us get a craving for a big, juicy burger once in a while? (Granted we don’t always want a giant 10 patty burger like the one pictured above – this one was just a prop for photo purposes).

In the increasingly crowded Austin burger scene, new burger joints are popping up all over the place next to established favorites. With all of these choices, how do Elevation’s burgers stack up? (bad pun I know…)

Click here to see what we thought and for more gratuitous burger photos

Random Wine of the Week – Mulderbosch

Mulderbosch500
Buying wine doesn’t have to be a confusing experience. You can find great, inexpensive, everyday wines anywhere. This post is the first in a series designed to help those of you new to wine (and even experienced oenophiles) learn which wines you like and which ones you don’t. I’m calling it Random Wine of the Week, because I will (and hopefully you will too) select, drink, and review a random wine every week.

What I mean by random is that I will visit my local wine merchant (supermarket, liquor store, wine boutique, etc…) and select a wine based on factors that have nothing to do with the wine itself. For example, this week I have chosen a pink wine starting with the letter M. Next week, I’ll choose a bubbly starting with the letter S. The following week, maybe I’ll try a red wine with a tree on the label.  And so on. I’ll keep the price range on all of these wines to less than $15.

Then entire point of this activity is to experiment and taste new wines. I would highly recommend that you start your own wine journal to capture the information from the label and your opinions of the wine.

So go on, invite some friends over, pick out some random wines, and enjoy!

Click here to see my selection for Random Wine of the Week

Fried Chicken Fast Fooding – Bojangles, a Southern classic

When I found out that I was going to spend a weekend in Charleston, South Carolina a strange craving suddenly manifested itself in my belly. It was a craving that had been dormant for almost ten years, but upon the mere mention of the Carolinas it sprang back to life instantly. It was an urge to eat fried chicken, not just any chicken, but possibly the best fast food fried chicken I have ever had.

That urge, it turns out, was for Bojangles’.

For some strange reason, this awesome fast food chain is only in the South, and only in certain parts of the south… mostly North and South Carolina. I used to eat it growing up in Tennessee and in Atlanta but by the time I was in junior high, all of the Bojangles in Atlanta had disappeared, so we had to drive to North Carolina to get any. Then I moved to Texas where there are no Bojangles at all – so until this past weekend, I had not gotten my Bojangles on in nearly a decade.

First thing I did was leave the airport and head straight for the nearest one. Was it as good as I remembered? Heck Yes! The chicken is moist and flavorful, and the spices used in the batter are amazing. The skin is crispy and delicious. Still the best fast food chicken I’ve ever had.

What makes Bojangles so good then? Apparently they never freeze their chicken and they freshly batter the chicken in store. Also, everything is fresh (they have a no biscuit over 20 minutes old rule). I strongly recommend getting the dark meat (the leg and thigh combo is awesome)… made the mistake of getting the chicken breast on my second trip there last weekend… don’t do it! Nothing beats some fried dark chicken meat.

The sides are amazing too. For sides, no question about it… get the mac and cheese and the dirty rice (which is infused with ground meat, pepper, and chili flakes). A lot of people like their fries too, which I agree are good as well. A lot of people make a big deal about their sweet tea, but I just think it’s OK… a little too sweet for me. Also, the biscuits are probably the best of any of the fast food chicken chains as well!

So, if you are ever in the Deep South and you are hungry for some chicken… by all means – go to Bojangles! You won’t regret it. I Hope you enjoyed this review and if you want to learn more, check out the Bojangles’ website at www.bojangles.com

Happy Fast Fooding!
-Peter

All photos courtesy of Peter Tsai Photography