Tino's Greek Cafe

This place is incredible. The food was absolutely delicious!

I had the build you own lunch plate with a combination of gyro meat and chicken. You can choose either a soup or salad and then three sides. I chose the salad, it was quite small but Greek style and delicious. They give you a pretty sizable portion of meat and then a piece of pita bread. There are several sides to choose from. I chose hummus, tabbouleh and spanakopita. Everything was incredible. The meats were well seasoned and juicy. The pita bread was soft and thick and flavorful. The tabbouleh was delicious, the hummus was nice and creamy, the spanakopita were all flaky and baked to perfection. The olives on the Greek salad had pits! That's so rare now a days!

I would recommend it to anyone any day. Take note that it is a lot of food, I ate my whole plate but I probably should have taken some home with me, it left me quite full. Over all I would love to go back here anyday. Next time though I think I'll try either just the chicken wrap or the Greek salad with chicken, or maybe split a lunch plate with someone? Yum!

Pancakes: Yum yum!

Today as I made my pancakes I wanted to try something a little new... but I didn't have much to work with, but this is what I ended up doing, and they were delicious!

2 cups Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Buttermilk pancake mix
1/3 cup sweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 packet instant oatmeal
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

According to the recipe analyzer on Calorie Count each pancake (this made 11 pancakes for me) has 112 calories... that seems low, I think. But maybe not. Either way, they have 6 g of protein each and 2 g of fiber! They were delicious. That Hodgson Mill pancake mix is the best I've ever found. No added sugar, whole wheat, light and fluffy but super healthy and hearty. I've tried their buckwheat pancake mix also which I really liked but some people I made them for thought they were too heavy.

Is this really what people eat?

A can of classic coke
Goldfish
A sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise (about a tablespoon of it), a few leaves of iceberg lettuce and two pieces of processed ham (with most of the lettuce picked out and the crust not eaten!)

Really? Is it because it's cheaper? Easier? Or because things like whole grain bread and fruit are... boring? Unfamiliar? Strange flavors?

And she's stick thin... how?

Recommendation for Vietnamese vs. Greek

Tam Deli & Cafe vs. Tino's Greek Cafe

We're going to go to one of them for lunch on Saturday, we'll see what we're craving.

They were both recommended to me by people I work with. I've never really eaten Vietnamese food but I have had really good Greek food so I'm curious to try both!

Dinner, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner-- a lot of eating out

Dinner 2/13
The Woodland on South Congress

• The place has a really nice vibe, it does have a full bar and the side with the bar on it is extremely loud, which is where we got seated. When we left we saw there was seating on the other side of the restaurant which was probably much quieter. The menu isn't too extensive, it's your classic American with a modern twist kind of food. They served warm rolls with butter before out food came. I ordered the Woodland salad with chicken added (for $6). It was small for a dinner salad. It had cooked beets, ricotta salata, mixed greens, sunflower sprouts and seeds. All over it was nothing special. The chicken was just plain grilled with no flavor of it's own. I wouldn't go back there for the food, maybe for the bar and atmosphere. Amy had the reuben, it was better than the one from 34th Street Cafe and even gave the one from New World Deli a run for its money but I didn't like the bread, had a licorice flavor to it which I think is due to... fennel seed? Not 100% sure but if it weren't for the bread it would've been amazing. Amy loved it. It came with a side of really delicious potato salad. She also ordered a drink call the Eudora. It tasted very strongly of bourbon which I don't like so just the smell of it made me cringe. The cocktail menu is very different with flavors like cucumber, elderflower and grapefruit. But like I said they have a full bar so I'm sure they can make any drink upon request.
  

Big Top Candy Shop on South Congress

• This place seems like a dream come true. An old fashioned candy and soda shop. I tried my first piece of salt water taffy, nothing special. Amy had a piece of chocolate covered bacon which she loved, I thought it was okay. But what I HAVE to hate on are the truffles. We were really excited to have a small truffle. I got the Black Forest and she got a Dark Chocoalte Macadamia Nut truffle. They were TERRIBLE! The Black Forest wreaked of artificial cherry flavoring and it was SO sweet it was nauseating. Amy's also tasted artificial and ridiculously sweet. It was so disappointing and just downright inedible, and that's say a lot for chocolate! Why is it so hard to find people who use real ingredients instead of just artificially flavored extracts? Who don't make everything sickeningly sweet?
  

Breakfast 2/14
Austin Bakehouse on Manchaca and Stassney

• This place is a little gem of a restaurant which I found on austin.citysearch.com when looking for breakfast places. We took forever to order because we couldn't decide on what to get! We finally ended up sharing the eggs benedict, one pancake, a slice of french toast and a side of refried beans and home fries. It sounds like a lot, and it was a lot of variation, but each part wasn't overly sized. This was my first taste of eggs benedict so I had nothing to compare it to, I thought it was okay. My egg was cooked perfectly and the canadian bacon was delicious but there was hardly any hollandaise on it and that was disappointing. Amy was disappointed by it and said she wouldn't order it again. The french toast wasn't very good either, we thought it needed some cinnamon or some other seasoning. The bread is made in house which is nice but the french toast itself didn't taste like much of anything. The refried beans were delcious, clearly seasoned or cooked with bacon or bacon fat, you can taste it, which makes it even more delicious. Definitely worth ordering again. The home fries had sauteed onions mixed in which added so much flavor and with an extra sprinkling of salt they were perfect. But the piece de resistance of the meal was the pancake. We got the apple cinnamon pecan pancake and, hold your breath, it was better than Kerbey Lane's pancakes! There were literally real pieces of apples and pecans in the pancake. You could tast the cinnamon and they are made with half whole wheat flour. They were flavorful and light and absolutely perfect. Over all it's a really cute place where it's obvious that most of the customers are regulars familiar with the waiters. It's a really chill, relaxed environment. And pretty cheap too, all that food came to about $12 each with tip (and we had some french toast left over)! For pancakes, I'll definitely be going back!
  

Lunch 2/14
FoodHeads on 34th Street

• Wow. I ordered the half Chicken and Eggplant sandwich with half Greek salad. And wow. Firstly, the greek salad was the best I've ever had. Greens, cucumber, olives, crutons, feta cheese, tomatoes, red onion, delicious dressing, not too tangy, not too much -- just perfect. It was incredible. The sandwich though was the best part. Grilled chicken, eggplant, basil pesto, blackberry balsamic vinaigrette and goat cheese (enough to put me into goat cheese heaven!) all on multigrain bread. It was absolutely incredible. Not only was the food amazing but the place is SO adorable. They brew Republic of Tea, they have fresh flowers all over the place, it's so homey and cosy and adorable. I also shared an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (my favorite kind!), the flavor was delicious but it was crunchy instead of chewy, I prefer them chewy. They're baked fresh from scratch with all real ingredients - butter, sugar, eggs - yum! All their other ingredients are fresh also. No frozen meat, no frozen egg patties. Real eggs used all around. Their bread is delivered fresh daily from Mandolo's (at the Triangle on 45th and Guadalupe). In sum, go here, try it, it's delicious! Adorable and all real, natural food. Ditch the food chains and go to Food Heads!
  

Dinner 2/14
Bess on West 6th

• Wow. This place was incredible! West 6th street, super swanky. The place has a great upscale but down to earth vibe. My friends and I went there Valentine's night and all the tables were booked but we walked in hoping for luck and, what do you know, we sat immediately at the bar and got served! Even better than sitting at a table! Our bartender/waitress Summer was awesome. Knowledgeable, super sweet. Amy and I began by sharing the cheese plate which came with wine soaked goat cheese, two types of blue cheese, manchego, and brie, crackers, grapes and prosciutto wrapped almond stuffed dates (oh my god!). It was an incredible beginning to the evening. Superseded only by our main entree: Steak Frites. I hadn't had steak frites in a long time (essentially a tenderloin and fries). And this one brought back all the right memories. The tenderloin was cooked medium, it was absolute perfection. The fries were thin cut, not greasy at all. It all came with a demi-glace which we poured over the fries... we were basically licking the plate. I cannot even put into words here how incredible everything was. The service, the ambiance, the food, the quality. The food was absolutely incredible. Flavorful... just perfection. I would without a doubt recommend this place and go back here in a heartbeat to try their other dishes. Yes, it is Sandra Bullock's restaurant and, yes, she was sitting in the corner eating dinner. She is there regularly, down to earth, just minding her own business. It was awesome. What an incredible evening!
• Cocktails: Made with real fruit? What an idea! (I didn't drink all these myself!)
  
• Vespa - Kind of sweet and mellow, really nice. Made with pear vodka, gin, peach juice...
  
• Lagniappe - Needed to add a bit more raspberry puree to it because it was too strong for my tastes, but then it was delicious. At the bottom of my glass were all my crushed raspberries! Yum yum! Made with raspberries, lime, basil... vodka? or gin I think?
  
• Rockstar Martini
  
• Redlight Martini - Think this was the one which was just pomegranate juice and vodka, it was surprisingly delicious, the best cocktail of the night!
  
• Something with mango? Literally had mango puree coming up the straw, which was awesome, but it was made with bourbon, which I don't like.
  

Smoothie yum-yum!

So I've been reading/hearing about how grapefruit and grapefruit juice when eaten/drunk before a meal can speed up your metabolism and aid in weight loss? I'm not sure if that's true, but hey, it can't hurt, right? And I love grapefruit already so I don't even have to go out of my way! Yesterday at the grocery store, to use in my smoothies, I bought Simply Grapefruit juice. Interestingly, it has 90 calories per serving and 19g of sugar versus the other shelf stable types which have about 130 calories and 29-32g of sugar per serving. Both claim to have 100% fruit juice so I'm not sure where that difference comes from...

Anyway, this morning I made a surprisingly delicious smoothie (I was scared the grapefruit juice would be very harsh and sour):

2/3 cup grapefruit juice
1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk
4 large frozen unsweetened strawberries
1/2 medium banana frozen
2 teaspoons vanilla whey protein powder

Blend it all in the blender, the longer you blend the more air it will incorporate and the greater it will be in volume. Gives the illusion of more juice and makes you fuller! Some books I have recommend that you blend for 10 minutes. I think that's a bit much, maybe if I walked away from it I could do it but I'd probably push the sound out of my head and forget about it! Today I blended it for about 3 minutes. It was already substantially thickened and greater in volume.

About 200 calories!

Egg bake lunch

So last night to eat along with cod I made a vegetable medley just by cooking on the stove top

1 onion sliced
1 red bell pepper sliced
A little less than 8 oz mushrooms sliced
2 zucchini sliced

Some salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar until everything was nice and soft (add the zucchini last to make sure it doesn't over cook!)

Anyway, there was plenty left over so today for lunch I decided to use it in a nice egg bake type of thing. I'd say this is about 4 good sized servings

6 eggs
about 1 cup of the mix above
about 1/2 cup loosely packed spinach, roughly chopped
2 roma tomatoes diced
about 2 ounces deli turkey (or any kind of meat/bean you want to add) roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
2% reduced fat shredded cheese

Whisk the eggs and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Pour it all into a casserole dish and put it in the over at 350F for about 45 minutes. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup cheese on top and leave it in the oven just until melted and slightly browned.

We ate it with refried pinto beans, sliced avocado and half a slice of rosemary sourdough bread from Whole Foods.

For the refried pinto beans just drain and rinse 2 cans of pinto beans to reduce the sodium. Add about 2 cups fresh water and the beans into the food processor and pulse just until the beans have broken up. Add to a pot on the stove top over high heat and when it comes to a boil reduce to low heat and let simmer, stirring, until thickened substantially, about 20-30 minutes. You don't need to constantly stir, just stir every once in a while to ensure the bottom is not sticking. If you'd like, to add more flavor, you can saute some onion and garlic before adding the bean mixture to the pan.

Donut pizza chocolate -- a "bad" day

So before coming to work this morning Amy and I went to have breakfast. We were going to go to Kerbey Lane but I had heard about this place on Rio Grande and 29th called Texas French Bread so we decided to try it out. The breakfast menu online sounded yummy so we were excited.

Unfortunately, it was a big disappointment. They open at 7 am, we got there are 7:20 and their cook was running late so we couldn't order any of the plates we wanted (eggs with toast, etc.) instead I got a currant scone and Amy got a chocolate croissant. The scone looked a little dry so I drizzled some honey on it. I also got some tea.

First of all, the texture of the scone was delicious. Slightly crumbly but moist. But the batter itself was quite sweet and with the honey it was too much. Also, the service was terrible. The lady at the front seemed like this was the last thing in the world she wanted to be doing, like she had such more important things to do than to serve us. Plus, the atmosphere of the place was just kind of drab, not warm and inviting to make you want to sit there for hours and have a conversation, maybe that's the point. We might give it another try when we can get there and have breakfast off the menu instead of just a pastry.

At work on Fridays they always have breakfast which up until now I have easily been able to escape, but today I gave in to a donut. A cake donut with white frosting and coconut. It was... I don't know why I ate it. I'm not even that big of a donut fan, with all their sugar and white flour. And oh my god was it sugary. I have like a headache now from the sweet scone and the honey and the sugary donut.

Donuts just don't taste good, they just taste like fat and sugar. Gross.

For lunch we went to Home Slice on South Congress. Shared the Greek Salad and got a medium margherita pizza -- it was all absolutely delicious. Pretty thin crust, a little greasy, but the fresh mozzarella and basil were incredible. Yum! Definitely some of the best pizza I've had.

Clearly (ironically) I broke my 28 day breakthrough today. Like, pretty badly too. Tomorrow is a new day and as a fitness instructor once said very wisely, "When you're thinking of giving in, recommit!" And so I will.

28 days of...

February has 28 days, the perfect length of time to commit yourself to something which will make you a better person. Something you've always wanted to do? Flossing everyday? Praying? Cooking?

Mine is eating no added sugar for 28 days. Honey and maple syrup allowed only rarely.

5 days down, so far so good.

You should try it, even if it's during another month. What if you picked something to do each month? Force yourself to do something for you. A month of sex? A month of reading before bed? The possibilities are endless.

A day in the life of (my) food

8:00 AM: 1/2 cup 1 % cottage cheese with about 1/4 cup blueberries and a sprinkling of stevia. A whole wheat english muffin with all natural crunchy peanut butter. Cup darjeeling tea with one tablespoon half and half. -- about 400 calories

12:30 PM: Sandwich made with 2 slices Alvarado Bakery essential flaxseed bread, slice reduced fat jarlsberg cheese, two slices deli ham, one slice tomato, some mixed greens. About 10 baby carrots. One tangelo. -- about 330 calories

4:15 PM: Slice Alvarado Bakery essential flaxseed bread with 1 tablespoon all natural smooth peanut butter. Smoothie made with 1 cup unsweetened soymilk, 1 frozen banana, 2 teaspoons vanilla whey protein powder, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, half packet stevia. -- about 350 calories

7:30 PM: Home baked chicken breast spiced with curry, paprika; 3/4 cup black-eyed peas (canned, drained, rinsed) slightly mashed and mixed in with the chicken, a little bit of water, sliced olives and about 1 clove of minced garlic; about 1 cup broccoli florets. -- about 400 calories

8:30 PM: Two squares of 85% Lindt chocolate. -- about 120 calories

10:30 PM: Mott's Healthy Harvest Blueberry Delight: no sugar added blueberry applesauce -- 50 calories

About 1650 calories total for the day. Usually I try to stick to 1500 calories, that's my aim, but I worked out twice today so, no harm done.

Tomorrow I'm having breakfast at Kerbey Lane! Oh, and chicken with coleslaw tonight ended up not happening because something else came up but it's been pushed to Tuesday night!

34th Street Cafe

Saturday Amy and I went to lunch at 34th Street Cafe. If you've never been, what are you waiting for?! GO!

I had their salad of the day which had field greens, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cheese, red onion, avocado... and a poblano ranch dressing. Served with freshly baked bread.

We also tried their tomato basil soup - it was the best I've ever had, much better than La Madeleine's.

Amy got the Reuben, I thought it was too strong on the Dijon mustard, I'm not a mustard fan though, she liked it. But New World Deli's is better.

I also finally tried Kyoto on Congress and 2nd. The Godzilla roll was my favorite but the longhorn was amazing too. Their nigiri was amazing. But their calamari was really bad, unfortunately.

One place we recently discovered on Lavaca and 4th is called Saba they have a happy hour Monday through Friday from 4-7. Most of their appetizers are $5 and their specialty drinks are half price. This is one place I will go to again and again and again. The food is incredible, from their calamari to ceviche to quesadillas to fried shrimp to mu shu pork to spinach artichoke dip... the list goes on. Not to mention their drinks, like the Rum Runner I had. Great food, great prices and a wonderful atmosphere. Awesome.

And last but not least, I finally tried my first oyster the other day. We went to McCormick and Shmicks for dinner (before deciding it was too crowded and going to Saba instead). While we were waiting around for a table, the man behind the oyster counter offered us an oyster for free. I was kind of nervous and creeped out but I took the oyster, with lemon squeezed on it and kind of sucked it into my mouth with the help of my teeth. And I bit into it. It was super salty and just kind of fresh like the sea. Not as slimey as I thought it'd be. It was good, not amazing, but surprisingly good. Maybe they'll grown on me. :) So exciting!

Lasagna

Sunday night I got the craziest craving for lasagna. Unfortunately I left it in the oven just a touch too long and it was a tad dry, but the flavor was amazing.

I used an 8 in x 8 in baking dish.

About 1/2 a package of whole wheat lasagna pasta
Part skim ricotta cheese
91% lean organic ground beef
Part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
3 carrots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
8 ounce package sliced mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 package spinach
Wine
Worcestershire sauce
Salt/pepper
Organic tomato basil pasta sauce

As far as I can remember those were the ingredients I used. I should really start writing things down as I go.

First you need to boil the pasta because they don't make whole wheat pasta the kind you can just put in the oven.

Saute, over medium-high heat the onion, garlic, red bell pepper, carrot. Add the meat and brown. Add salt, pepper. Add mushrooms and spinach and saute until the spinach is wilted. Add the pasta sauce (homemade if you have it, I didn't.). Add some wine and Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Prepare the ricotta cheese by adding some salt and pepper to it.

And then you layer!

Meat sauce, pasta, ricotta cheese, repeat! And top it off with a nice layer of mozzarella cheese.

Oven at 350F for... 30 minutes? I left it in for 45 minutes and I think 30 would have been perfect.

Yum.

I left all the vegetables pretty big to make a chunky, textured meat sauce. If you don't like it that way, just chop everything up really small so that you just get the flavor.

Thursday night: Oven-fried chicken with coleslaw!