Technically, this is a Pepper Shooter from Hog Island Deli, consisting of a marinated cherry pepper stuffed with prosciutto and sharp provolone.
Realistically, this is just too Goatse-esque to be truly comfortable to gnaw on it. (Please do not look up Goatse if you are my aunt.)
I got this telephone call tonight from Rep. Lamar Smith. He was having some virtual town hall meeting via telephone, and he called a couple hundred constituents from his district. If we wanted to ask a question, we could press zero. Mildly curious, I listened to the whole thing, which was pretty boring and featured the usual mighty trilogy of talking points (Middle East, health care, immigration) with very little in the way of answers.
The highlight of the call HAD to be the lady who was railing about immigration and said that we needed more border walls, because (I swear I am not making this up) the Chinese wall worked so well up until the point that Ronald Reagan said, “Mr. Kruschev, tear down this wall!”
After Rep. Smith regained his composure (he giggled for quite a while) he explained that the Berlin wall was to keep people in, not keep people out.
Also, I couldn’t quite make out what Wayne’s Worldian word one guy said when he was talking about Rep. Smith’s kids and how it seemed like just yesterday that they were off to Camp Iwannabeaman(?). Caller, if you’re out there, what the hell were you saying?
The rut is in full swing for the Austin whitetail deer population, and nowhere is it more evident than in West Lake Hills. In the last week I’ve seen an 8 point buck in my front flowerbed, menacing me (and the puppy) through the front door window. Earlier today we saw a blonde woman jogging down the street, closely followed by a loping 6 pointer. I wonder just what sort of ‘tail’ he thought he was chasing. I wonder if she knew she was being menaced by a horny ungulate.
Be careful out there. The stupid lovesick bucks will cross roads in the middle of the day if they think they’re gonna get some. They’re especially dumb this time of year and somewhat territorial. Don’t be this guy. Or this one.
We paid a load of money to get off our septic tank and onto West Lake Hills’ sewer service. We were pretty shocked when we started getting our bills every month – right now we’re paying $80/month for sewer ONLY, not counting water. Today our bill had a notice that the city council has raised rates because they’re losing $24,000 a month on the sewer service (it’s been seriously mismanaged from the start) and residential rates are going up an average of 50%.
Screw that. We’re calling to find out what it’s going to take to get back on septic. We don’t need to be paying $1400+ a year on sewer service. I’ve regretted the move ever since we made it, for many reasons – not the least of which is that the sewer service depends on power, so if our lights go out, our toilets won’t flush. Something about a grinder pump.
My neighbors just cut my favorite tree down. It turned the most amazing colors in the fall. It had just started to lose its deep green.
You’d never guess who they hired to do it. Too bad that flyer campaign works.
Restaurants we’ve been to lately:
Dirty Martin’s Kum-Bak Place. Still excellent after all these years. The back room now has three, count ’em, three window air conditioners, so it’s frigid in there, yet still smells funky. Their sirloin sandwich is to die for. Cheese tots are a must. The kids (after complaining about the temperature and the smell) asked when we’re going back. Go.
Evita’s Botanitas. Before even bringing menus, the waitress brought us water, chips with 6 different kinds of salsas, and little cups of (complimentary) queso for the girls. The kids inhaled their food. I got the mole enchiladas and do believe it’s the best mole I’ve ever had. Previously I got gorditas there and they were similarly rad. Hub was happy with his al pastor. Go.
Taqueria Arandas. Delish Jalisco-style food. Hub digs the al pastor. Kids dig the enchiladas. I always seem to end up with the carne asada (they cook it with nopalitos, yum). Excellent horchata. Cheap. Good. Go.
Dot’s Place. (Note: Dot’s place is on Windermere, not Orchid. They burned down and moved a couple of years ago.) Simply put: you must go. They serve cafeteria-style soul food. $7.50 gets you a meat and two sides, and they’re enormous portions. $.30 for a roll or a piece of heavenly cornbread. The beef tips are excellent. The sweet potatoes might make you cry. The kids got the lasagna and loved it (child plate is $5). They’re open for dinner on Thursday and Friday from 5:30-8:30; else they’re just open for lunch. Go.
I live in a little suburb of Austin that’s in the middle of a nasty, nasty election campaign for city council. On one side are the people who’ve been on the council for a while. On the other side are newcomers who want to see a change. We get daily junk in the mailbox from each side, denigrating the other, but this is really beyond the pale. I can’t figure out if this is on the level or whether it was sent by the opposing side. Neither scenario would surprise me.
The “Amy” referenced is Amy Simmons, of Amy’s Ice Cream fame. She lives a couple of blocks away.
Flabbergasted.
Hub and I went to the Backstage Steakhouse for dinner tonight, and we were completely blown away. We started with the Jalapeno Corn Cake with Crawfish and Gorgonzola with a Mustard and Red Chile Sauce – the corn cake itself had a nice crunchy texture to it, and the crawfish was nicely spiced. Then we followed up with the Spinach Salad with Poached Pears, Walnut-Crusted Goat Cheese and Raspberry Port Vinaigrette – my only complaint here was that the dressing was very sweet and needed a little salt to balance it out. For an entree, I had a pan-fried tilapia served over rice and under a crab salad, topped with a jalapeno bacon lime butter sauce. I could not get over how good this was, and I’m not usually one for fish dishes. The tilapia was piping hot and such a nice mouth contrast to the cold crab, corn, and gorgonzola salad atop it. Hub got a ribeye and asked for it rare, and happily it was cooked correctly. The meat itself was very flavorful. The best part is that they’re relatively modestly priced, and the happy news is that they have kid entrees, too, so I imagine we’ll go back with the girls since it’s not terribly quiet inside the restaurant.
I hesitate to recommend this place because if people knew how good it is, there would be no getting in, but some stuff is just too excellent not to share.