Bringin' it Back

I recently came to to the realization that this blog has veered off course a bit.... I originally created it so that I could keep friends and family in the loop about my move to Texas and to share all that I was getting into. The things I was doing, sights I was seeing, people I was meeting. It started with restaurant reviews, adventurous stories, and (hopefully somewhat) entertaining stories about my life here in Austin. Looking back on the last few months, it appears that I'm more inclined to write the most random blog post instead of focusing on the the things that I'm actually doing.... I mean seriously, cabbage patch dolls? So while I can't promise to not write a totally pointless blog post every once in a while, and it's inevitable that I will continue to share stories about my elderpals, I am going to try to get back in the groove of sharing more of my life here in Austin. This will also encourage me to seek out new adventures and explore more of the city. So to bring me back to my "blog roots", I'll start with the three new places I tried while Nicole, Deirdre, and Tara were in town. Yes, all three involve food.... and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I had visitors in town and Austin has a lot to offer in the food department. Excuses, excuses...

Drum roll please....

Round Rock Donuts: I am not a donut person. I've always been more of a bagel person. My friends from home and I had an activity that we like to call "donuting"... without going into too much detail, it involves "dumpster diving" for boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts that weren't sold throughout the day and proceeding to do various things with them. This might include filling a friend's truck bed with them, selling them to UVa fraternities, gently tossing them at people walking down the university's main strip (the Corner) while shouting, "FREE DONUTS".... and the list goes on. Let's just say we got creative. That's the extent of my love for donuts.... I love the joy that donuts brought to my life between the ages of 18-21. Yes, too old, way too old. But anyways, back to Round Rock Donuts. I had often heard of these since moving to Austin, but it wasn't until Tara saw the donut shop on an episode of Man vs. Food that I knew we had to experience this oh-so-famous treat. We stopped by Round Rock donuts on the way to the outlets and I was blown away. They're known for their ginormous donut, which we of course did not attempt to eat. But the selection we chose was de-lish. I will always be a bagel person, but if I had to eat a donut, Round Rock Donuts would be my donut of choice. I don't know how to describe the goodness of a donut without sounding gluttonous, so I won't try. Just know that they were good.

Bananarchy: What's not to love about a frozen banana dipped in peanut butter and covered in reeses pieces? It helps that they're served out of an actual banana stand, just like the one in Arrested Development.... "there's always money in the banana stand..." It might be one of the best sweet treats I've ever eaten. You can choose to have your banana dipped in chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter (peanut butter being the obvious choice) and then choose from a variety of toppings including cookies, candy, graham crackers, coconut, sprinkles, peanuts, etc. Get your tail to Bananarchy. And call me before you go. Green Mesquite BBQ: I was always a bit leery of this place as it looks like a total dive from the outside... but you know what they say, don't judge a book by it's cover. Or in this case, don't judge BBQ by it's bun. Zing! We were beyond starving as we were looking for a place to grab a bite for lunch after outlet shopping and a quick stop at my work. I had wanted to take them to Crow Bar for barbecue waffle fries (another food post for a different day), but found out it didn't open until 4 pm. Just as we were about to eat our arms out of hunger, we stumbled upon Green Mesquite, and luckily for us there was a parking spot and table calling our names. I wasn't in the barbecue mood, so I dared to try the Green Mesquite Cheese Steak: sliced rib eye, swiss american cheese, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, pico de gallo, and horseradish mayo. Oh. My. Gosh. Hands down, the best sandwich I've had in Austin. I can't wait to take Firas there to try it. It was juicy and spicy and all around good. We were also amused with the slogan on the back of their t-shirts: "Horrifying Vegetarians since 1988". Considering I once belonged to the facebook group, "For Every Animal You Don't Eat, I'll Eat Three", I obviously got a kick out of this. We were so pleased that we landed at Green Mesquite for lunch, and I will definitely be back. I was so excited to try these three Austin hot-spots (or in the case of Bananarchy, cold-spot) with Nicole, Deirdre, and Tara. They provided us with a good time and satisfied stomachs.