Category: Food & Drink

Mmm, crawfish!

On our way home this weekend, we stopped in a small town called Eagle Lake when we passed a meat market that was boiling up some crawfish. Maxwell’s Meat Market cooks them up on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays when they’re in season. We indulged. The crawfish were big and perfectly seasoned. Purty dang good! I got my fix for a while.

A free Friday.

We attended a session at our car dealership today to get some one-on-one time with a “delivery specialist” who explained to our old-people selves how our new car worked. So much technology, so little time….

After that we dropped in to the backyard at Celis Brewery, and then explored the Whole Foods near our house. It has been “near our house” for going on 10 years, but today we actually went inside and discovered the awesome in-store bar and eatery options. What a concept!

We are slowly catching up with the rest of y’all in the 21st century – be patient, we’re getting there.

Two more parks.

We drove straight to Colorado on the way north, about a 15-hour drive, and stayed with Julie in Denver for a night. Then we headed to Gene and Jo’s for two nights. We made a side trip to Estes Park as well. The family get-together was very special.

On the way back south we had another nice visit with Julie.

Dinner and desserts with Julie in Denver.

Then we broke up the long trip home into a couple of days including stops at two national parks.

Great Sand Dunes National Park – snow on the dunes
White Sands National Park – a truly unique place

We stayed in Ft. Davis for a night with a reservation to attend one of the McDonald Observatory’s star parties. The skies were not cooperative for viewing at the observatory, but we had fun.

McDonald Observatory socked in with clouds.

We left Ft Davis on Wednesday well before dawn, and on the drive up to I-10, I noticed that the clouds parted, opening up a clear, starry sky. So we pulled over in the middle of pitch-dark range land with coyotes howling all around and enjoyed a full-sky view of the Milky Way.

We enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then resumed our drive. A few minutes later the skies were filled in with thick clouds again. It was a treat to get that brief moment of star gazing.

A successful road trip, but it’s always nice to get back home.

Flying by.

Wow, that was fast. January and February flew by – only 8 months til Halloween. 🎃

After the brief ice age a few weeks ago, our temps are in the 80s here. Seems strange when the latest arctic front is hitting another part of the country. But I’ll enjoy it because we’ll be back in the 100s in no time.

Speaking of ice storms, our wall of broken tree limbs were thankfully hauled away this week. I can see the street again!

I’ve been craving fish tacos for a week. Last night the universe aligned and I finally made a batch. They’re so delicious. Here’s a link to the recipe I start with. Or you can just google ‘best fish tacos’ and it’s the top result. They’re that good. The sauce is amazing. And the cotija cheese makes them muy auténtico. I like to use mixed corn/flour tortillas, which Doray turned me on to years ago. They’re sold by H‑E‑B here in Texas as Mixla tortillas. They tend to hold together better than plain corn tortillas.

Yum. See, now you are craving them.

Pretty darn good.

Monte is experimenting with pizza dough again – which I am all in for. Friday night he whipped up a few doughs. I made one of our favorite toppings, a mixture of sausage, portobello mushrooms, onions, garlic, and rosemary. We used some locally produced venison sausage that Kurt gave Monte. And it was delicious!

I used garlic infused olive oil for the “sauce.” Topped with the pre-made sausage and mushroom mixed topping. Added some grated Asiago cheese after it came out of the oven. So good! The crusts get an A+.

Hanging at Donn’s.

Last week we stopped in at one of our favorite music spots in town, Donn’s Depot. Danny Britt and friends were playing. We sat in the back dining room and visited with friends while we listened to the music. We don’t go often enough, but I sure hope this place never goes away. A jewel of old Austin.

The Christmas ornaments are always slow to come down at Donn’s. It makes for good ambiance, though.

Danny Britt playing for the crowd, as viewed from the back room

New Year.

Well, I’ve been delinquent again. But I’m dropping in with belated Happy New Year wishes before the end of January.

I may have been posting less frequently here for two reasons… I’ve been keeping myself busy with lots of other activities, and in all honesty, I have not had very interesting adventures to share lately. Maybe it’s a post-pandemic lull. Maybe it will pass. I’ll see if I can’t step things up – interesting or not.

Monte and I ventured out to the marina yesterday for a few boat-keeping duties. On the way home, we stopped in at Infamous Brewery to listen to some music and grabbed a couple beers, fresh shucked oysters, and boiled shrimp while we were there. Pretty good!

The Wiz.

We ventured out tonight to see a friend return to the stage. Mike is a sailor, former B-Docker, and drummer in the band FatDog. They played at Infamous Brewery tonight. Kurt and Barbara joined us. It was nice to see him and Connie again.

The beer menu at Infamous is much improved since I was there last; more variety. I enjoyed a nice pilsner and a lager.

I have to give Infamous points for their very eclectic restroom art, best I’ve ever seen. 🙂

Pickup party.

Every three months we take a drive through the Texas hill country to pick up our wine club package. The May pickup party was lovely. The weather was beautiful. The nibblies were delicious. We made a few other stops and enjoyed a really lovely day.

Best burger evah.

Every burger and hot dog on the water is the best one EVAH. Tonight is our first overnight on the boat this year. We enjoyed burgers, vino, and the company of old friends.

Cheers!

New Place.

I ventured down south this week to check out The Austin Winery’s tasting room. It is on St. Elmo off South Congress. It’s surrounded by lots of other spots to visit, a food truck, outdoor patio, and a big, open warehouse space inside. Pick a tasting trio of wines, a glass, or a bottle, and nice nibblies.

It’s a nice spot to enjoy happy hour. Check ‘em out!

Hey, Pilgrim.

We celebrated Thanksgiving a day early here at the chez, since Julie works tomorrow. Monte grilled up another awesome bird. The sides were fantastic. The pie was wholesome. Time together was really nice.

Enjoy the day!

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