Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Polvo's North

Polvo's is officially one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Austin. I'm talking about the North location, I've never been to the one on 1st Street, but I hope they do things just as good. We had been to this spot twice for dinner but never tried their breakfast. So when Easter weekend rolled in and we wanted to avoid all the busy brunch spots. Polvo's was the place to go.
14735 Bratton Ln, Austin, TX.
One thing I really dig about Polvo's is the free chips and salsa bar. Now, I heard the 1st street location charges for their chips and salsa, but I'm not sure, so don't quote me. They have 3 fresh homemade salsas (regular, roasted, and verde) available at the bar. Try them all and find your favorite. We checked out the menu and were happy to see plenty of Mexican breakfast staples, and some new ones as well. Everything from migas to huevos rancheros. I decided to be a little adventurous and tried something that caught my eye. The trash can plate. Sounds a little funky, but everything in it sounded great to me. Two scrambled eggs mixed with bacon, ham, potatoes, cheese, pico de gallo, spinach, sausage, mushrooms, chipotle, machacado, and chorizo! Served with a side of refried beans and homemade potatoes. Now that's a breakfast fit for a king.....or should I say Rey! I had everything in that, sans the mushrooms. You all know I don't do fungi! Lisa decided on her all time favorite, the migas. For those who don't know, it's scrambled eggs with corn tortilla chips topped with cheese. Good stuff!
Trashcan Plate
Migas
Our waiter was attentive and kept our iced teas topped off. I also decided to order on of my favorite drinks, the michelada. After awhile our waiter arrived with our steaming hot plates and we commenced to chow down. My plate was a pretty interesting, a mix of different flavors and textures that collided with every bite. I'm not sure I would ever order this plate again, but I know they know what they are doing at Polvo's. Lisa's plate was top notch. Cooked properly with lots of gooey cheesy goodness and crispy chips all in the mix. And their homemade potatoes cooked in a flavorful tomato sauce is just like my abuelita made when I was growing up. Polvo's also makes their own tortillas, and they do an awesome job!

Michelada
Overall, Polvo's is a big WINNER! I would definitely recommend it for all your real Mexican food cravings! I am a fan and I will continue going back.






Monday, April 9, 2012

Eastside Cafe

Last week we visited East Side Cafe which is located on Manor Rd just east of I-35. This is one spot we had been dying to try out! We tried last week but left due to the one hour wait! The waitress suggested we make reservations ahead of time. And so we did.

2113 Manor Road, Austin, TX.
East Side Cafe is a beautiful little restaurant that is housed inside an old wooden framed home. I love these type of places which are common to Austin. I was born and raised in South Texas, and this is something I'd never seen until I moved here. I LOVE it! Anyhow, we arrived at 1pm just in time for our reservations. I noticed a few groups waiting to be seated. We went to the hostess and we were jumped right to our table. Sorry guys! We were seated and began browsing the brunch menu. The menu covers everything a proper brunch should offer. Egg dishes, salads, sandwiches, as well as a variety of entrees. Very diverse and something for everyone. I was in egg mode, so my eyes zeroed in on the Eggs Florentine. Which is two poached eggs and creamy spinach sauce on English muffins, topped with hollandaise sauce. It is served with a side of homefries and a blueberry bran muffin. Lisa decided on something on the sweet side, and went with the Blueberry Blintzes, which is crepes sweetened with ricotta and cream cheese, topped with blueberry sauce and sour cream. YUM! That is served with a side of bacon or cheese grits. She chose the bacon.

Eggs Benedict
Blueberry Blintzes
As we waited for our food, we admired our surroundings. Guys, you can definitely score high points by bringing a first date, (OR girlfriend or wife) to a spot like this. And ladies, this is definitely a cute place you and your girlfriends can meet for brunch or lunch, or for your next mother-daughter outing. Anyway, our food arrived and it looked amazing. It was plated well and had a great presentation. My Eggs benedict were some of the best I've had, and i'm a sucker for some good homefries and these were on point! However, I have to say the best part of our experience was Lisa's order of Blueberry Blitzes. They were obviously made in house and hand crafted very well! The cheeses and the blueberry sauce complimented each other just right. What an explosion of flavors!

Overall, East Side Cafe is a must! I was super impressed with their food and left with a big smile on my face. We will definitely be back for more.






Saturday, April 7, 2012

Bess Bistro

This week we decide to hit 6th St. Not for drinks and a hangover, but for a delicious brunch. We decided to visit Sandra Bullock's Bess Bistro, a cute little gem that features awesome south-meets-Europe dishes. It is housed in the basement of an old apartment building on the corner of San Antonio and 6th Street.

500 W. 6th St. Austin, TX
photo: intrigueimports.wordpress.com
Brunch at Bess is served Sundays from 10:30 am-2:30 pm. We got there around 1:00 pm and were surprised to see the place was half empty with no wait. Yes! We were quickly seated and began browsing through the brunch menu .  The options are simple, yet very impressive. Duck sausage and eggs, Croque monsieur, and shrimp and buscuits are some of the more fancy offerings. But hey, I'm the Brunching Bloke and I like to keep things nice and simple. Nothing fancy about my brunching game! So after browsing a bit, Lisa and I were ready to order. I decided on Bess Benedict, which is english muffins with pork, poached egg, and truffle hollandaise sauce. Lisa went with the good old fallback, the Texas waffle, which is served with pecan honey butter. No sides were included with our dishes. 

Bess Benedict
Texas Waffle
We waited a little longer than usual for our food to arrive, but I imagined the chef in the back personally preparing our dishes with love and care. Who knows. Either way, our food finally arrived and looked very pleasing to the eye. But would it be amazing to our taste buds? The answer is Yes! My Bess benedict was awesome with juicy pieces of pork belly and  perfectly cooked poached eggs. And I'm really not a fan of truffles, but the truffle hollandaise sauce was super delicious! Lisa's Texas waffle was really good as well. Good and simple. It's really hard to mess up a waffle, and the pecan butter complimented it well.

Overall, Bess Bistro is definitely worth a visit. The service was good, the food was top notch and high quality, and you can say you went Sandra Bullock's place. 

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Hey guys, do you know of an awesome brunch spot I should check out in Austin? Let me know here or write on my Facebook wall. Thanks!

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