On Saturday night, after the tequila tasting, we headed in to Austin. Dinner was scheduled in town for 8:30 but a bunch of us went in early to look around. Once our shuttle dropped us off near 6th Street, people went in different directions; Wendy, Val (one of Wendy's co-workers), Val's sister Lauren (Val's +1 for the trip), and I ended up at Kung Fu Saloon where we had drinks and played Jenga, skeeball, and Connect Four, because that's what you do at Kung Fu Saloon.
 |
there appeared to be a trend of writing on the Jenga pieces,
so I added my 2 cents. |
Dinner on Saturday night was at Fixe which serves "elevated Southern cuisine." As much as I love fried chicken and such, Southern food is not what I would have chosen for dinner that night (or any night) but 1) when in Texas... b) it was spectacular food, and iii) I think I consumed more food that night than during any entire week this month.
We started with bone marrow toast which I wasn't going to try because I've had bone marrow before and it's just too... too...
anatomical for me. But what came out was so pretty that I had to try a bite. It was very complex, and included bits of caviar, onion marmalade, and several other flavors, but I do think I can safely skip any dish with bone marrow in the future.
 |
| bone marrow toast |
Next came the crispy beef tendon, which I also planned to skip because... really? beef tendon? If I'm squeamish about bone marrow, how am I going to eat beef tendon? But they came out looking too delicious to resist, which they were; I ate several but I didn't feel good about it.
 |
| this is what happens to a cow tendon when it's deep fried. Who knew? |
And then came the most delicious biscuits I've ever had, followed by creamy grits with kale and soft-boiled egg, deviled eggs with trout roe and pickled cabbage, and some incredible twice-fried boneless chicken thighs that were spicy and spectacular. And all of that was before we even got to our entrees. I must note here though, to indicate just how good those biscuits were, when Emily, one of Wendy's co-workers was asked by the server what she wanted for her entree, she replied, "another order of biscuits, please."
 |
| grits, a perfect soft-boiled egg, kale, and romesco sauce |
It was a totally reasonable request. I ordered the NY strip steak which was served with creamed collards in a sort of au gratin fashion, but by the time I got it, I was so full that I only had a few bites (it was delicious) and took the rest to go. You might think that meant I had no room for dessert, but you'd be wrong. I ordered the chocolate truffle cake which was served on a bed of salted pretzel and toffee crumbs, and even though I was terribly stuffed, it was worth force-feeding myself half of that, since Wendy, thank god, ate the other half.
Wendy and I and most of the gang managed to roll ourselves back into the shuttle after dinner, while others went out to hit the scene on 6th Street. We got back to the resort around midnight with barely enough energy to heave ourselves into bed.
I wish I could say I skipped breakfast on Sunday morning... I can't, but I did go to the gym in the morning before eating again.
