BBQ or Barbecue?

If you live in Texas or ever visited Texas, you have to try the BBQ.

Combination Plate: Sausage, Ribs, Brisket

I went to the original Salt Lick in Driftwood, Texas when I was visiting Austin. It's about 30 minutes southwest of town. I recommend getting there early though because they usually have a long wait. We had to wait approximately 45 minutes, and we arrived around 10:30-11am.

This is probably some of the best BBQ I've never had in Texas, well anywhere actually. The various meats (beef ribs, brisket, sausage) were tender and flavorful, and their bbq sauce had the right balance of sweetness, tanginess, spiciness, and savoriness. It was also nice being able to order a combination platter because I have a hard time just choosing one item. I'm usually not a huge fan of sides, and tend to be really picky about them...especially when it comes to sides served with bbq. Their sides (cole slaw, beans, potato salad) could stand on their own though, and were not overwhelmed by the presence of the actual bbq itself.

Do you call is barbecue or BBQ?

Korean Food

Korean food has become one of my favorite types of Asian food. Everything is always really flavorful, and you can't go wrong with the cute side dishes called banchan that come with your meal.

Galbi/Kalbi with banchan

I went to the Korean Grill in Chinatown Austin for my Korean food fix while I was visiting. I ordered the Galbi/Kalbi (different restaurants spell it differently), which is marinated pork or beef short ribs that come out on a sizzling plate with onions, similar to how fajitas are served at Mexican restaurants. You can really smell the aromas when the plate is making its way to your table.

A fun thing when it comes to Korean food is that most entrees are served with banchan. Banchan are various small appetizers ranging from kimchi, pickled cucumbers, tofu, bean sprouts, daikon, egg omelet roll ups (I'm pretty sure that's not the correct name) etc. Don't be fooled by how small they are, most restaurants will refill them!

 

My favorite out of all of the side dishes are the pickled cucumbers on the bottom right corner of the photo above.

Can I have a bowl of rice with that?

Rice Bowl Cafe opened after I moved from Austin, but I heard many great things about this place from friends that I knew I had to try it when I was in town. The noodles for their noodle soups are made fresh, so they have a distinct chewy texture that's delicious and filling.

Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup

The portions are also very large. I can usually get two meals out of an entree. I ordered the Pork on Rice which has this really flavorful sauce that's perfect with the crispy pork, and comes with one of my favorite Asian veggies, bok choy. And yes, it came with two huge pork fillets!

Pork Chop on Rice

My friend ordered a tofu dish. I believe it was the Bean Curd Homestyle, but I'm not positive. Tofu can be really good if you know how to make it correctly, and Rice Bowl knows exactly how. This dish has a good balance of flavor and spiciness, but it's also light because of the great mix of vegetables. I had to help myself to some of my friend's food. That's what friends are for, right?

Bean Curd Homestyle

There are so many other dishes I want to try in the future. Hopefully I'll have a chance to go back soon.