food

Teevee doesn't get a lot of my attention. But somehow, I stumbled upon a show I liked on the Travel Channel. It's called, Man V. Food. I only watched it because the episode was to be about the host's foray into Austin, TX eateries. I know a little sumpin' sumpin' about Austin, Texas eateries, myself, having lived there for about five years, over two separate stretches. I loves me some Austin food.

The great thing about a great food town (and Austin is truly the Nirvana of great food towns, trust me), is that you can be an absolute authority like me, and never even scratch the surface.

This show was an excellent case-in-point. The thrust of the show is that the hero/host is out to eat. And, not just eat, but overeat...with gusto. Gotta love that. So, how likely is it that host Adam Richman's Austin experience overlaps my own favorites? You'd think, knowing my love for "getting piggy wid it" the chances would be quite good, right? Au contraire, mon frere!

Adam makes three stops while in AusTex, none of which have ever had me darken their door: Round Rock Donuts (where they market the "Texas Donut" which weighs 2 lbs. each), the Salt Lick BBQ (where they show you how to do it, which they should've kept secret, 'cause I'm gonna do it), and Juan-In-A-Million, where he tries to set the record for most (1 lb. each) breakfast tacos eaten in one sitting. I won't spoil it for you, whether he makes it to the record (which is seven), in case you want to maintain the suspense for yourself.

Some of my personal favorites are Threadgill's (try the King Ranch Chicken), Guero's (also, a scene from Tarantino's Death Proof was filmed here), Mangia (Chicago-style pizza), Nutty Brown (also with a great outside bar/deck/dance-floor/stage), Stubb's (great outdoor arena out back can host over a thousand music fans!...Stubb's marinades are the real thing, too), Rudy's (their slogan is "Worst BBQ in Texas"...get the extra-moist...they'll let you sample it at the counter), Opal Divine's (Maggie'e favorite, they're dog-friendly on the deck), and the Texas Chili Parlor (where you can help buffer all those great Texas Republican legislators from the local limp-wristers).

Austin used to be a great place to live, until all the people went there. Now, it's just too damn crowded. Don't bother getting in any kind of hurry when you go there, the roads are packed with dipshits all trying to test your patience. And don't try to plan "something else" behind your culinary highlights. If you've taken the appropriate time to appreciate the meal, you're going to be too full and it'll be too late to do anything else. Unless it's to the Broken Spoke for 2-steppin', or Antone's for some Blues, or a stroll around Zilker Park, or bat watching, or Mac at Lucky's on Thursdays, or The Continental just about anytime, or...oh well.

OOOH! I just learned, as I was collecting links for above, that Mangia is shipping their pies Nationwide! Be right back...