A Visit to the Ol' South

I consider myself lucky because I get the chance to travel to new and old places quite often. From a "blog" perspective, I enjoy that this allows me to keep my blog somewhat universal and not just Dallas-centric. From a personal perspective, it gives me the chance to explore new cities. My latest trip took me to Atlanta, Georgia for the first time. I wasn't there just for food and I didn't have any specific restaurants that I wanted to try so badly that I needed to start a countdown (in case you didn't catch the reference I have 3o days left until DiFara's Pizza). However, I was delighted to find that Atlanta has a fantastic culinary scene.

Unlike when I travel with Carl, the cause for this trip was not to eat. Rather, this trip was for a group of college girlfriends scattered across the country to get together and catch up. In typical fashion, during one of our meals we started talking about the next meal. My friend Barrie, who is temporarily located in Atlanta, assured us there were about seven different reservations around Atlanta for us because she couldn't quite pick a restaurant. Luckily, our native Atlantan friend Lila made the restaurant suggestion of the trip! Lila suggested that we try a restaurant called JCT- which is a trendy twist on southern style home cooking. After a brief iphone version of the menu, all 5 of us did the impossible- we decided unanimously to make a reservation at JCT for that evening. Boy am I glad we did!

JCT is located in an adorable shopping center next to a train junction, hence the name "JCT". The interior of the restaurant was hip and full of well-dressed patrons who all looked ready for a night on the town.

JCT is known for their truffle fries and their fried chicken which is served until they run out. Immediately upon sitting down, we asked the waitress if any fried chicken was still available. She ran to the kitchen and promptly told us there were three servings left, which meant if we wanted those servings of fried chicken we had to make game time decisions and place our orders immediately.

First out were the truffle fries and a goat cheese dish. Surprisingly, I'm a fabbie foodie who cannot stomach the strong flavor of goat cheese so I didn't participate in that appetizer. From what I heard, it did not disappoint. However, I must admit that the truffle fries were simply incredible. There was enough truffle oil on the fries to give them the full "truffle" taste without being too overwhelming. The fries were topped with freshly grated parmesan which seemed to permeate through the entire pile of fries and complimented the truffle taste perfectly. For my main dish, I had a piece of trout wrapped in bacon and served atop four potato dumplings. I tasted the dumplings before the fish and knew immediately that I didn't order wrong! The potato dumplings quite literally melted in my mouth. My reaction to the delicious dumplings must have been rather animated! Before I even tasted the trout, I had to divvy up one of the dumplings amongst the table. When I finally tasted the bacon wrapped trout I was not disappointed. I never would have known, but bacon and trout are a match made in heaven! Granted, I love bacon, but it wasn't the signature flavor of the dish. The natural flavor of the fresh fish shone through the bacon nicely. Regardless of the fact that I did force several of my friends to taste my dish, I had absolutely no problem cleaning my plate!

I also tasted several of the other dishes around the table. I was sandwiched between two friends who ordered the fried chicken which came with homemade style macaroni and cheese. The skin of the chicken was incredibly crispy and surprisingly not greasy at all. I have to admit that I was a bit undewhelmed by the macaroni and cheese which was incredibly creamy, but not very cheesy. My friend Barrie, who claims that shrimp and grits are her absolute favorite dish, ate every bite of hers and proclaimed how delicious it was. Coming from a girl who has indeed had her fair share of the dish, a compliment such as that is confirmation of how excellent the meal was!

Every one of us left the restaurant comfortably full and happy. I'm sure being surrounded by my best friends who I don't get to see everyday helped make the meal enjoyable, but JCT was definitely one of the best meals I have had in a long time. It gave me, a native Texan, a true taste of the traditional cooking of the deep south with a trendy twist! The next time you're in Atlanta, be sure to make time between visiting the aquarium and the World of Coke to make a reservation at JCT.

This little piggy went to (City, Smitty's, Black's, Chisolm Trail, and Kreuz's) market!

Our mission: hit up the best barbeque joints in Lockhart and Luling Texas, focusing on the "big 3"- pork ribs, sausage, and of course brisket. We selected five barbeque joints with the goal of simply tasting each of the three pieces of meat at every restaurant. After tasting the big three at each barbeque joint we would select the winner. This is no small feat. For those of you not from Texas, Tennessee, Kansas, or any "barbeque state" you must realize that every piece of meat smoked at these eateries is a sense of pride. Each restaurant has it's loyal fans who swear by the meat prepared there. These places have been making their meat the same way for decades and they all must be doing something right because from 11:30am when we started to 3:30pm when we finished, we stood in long lines at every one of the barbeque joints we visited! In order to decide which of the five places really was the best, we brought along score sheets. We ranked the Q on appearance, tenderness, and overall taste with an additional section to vote on the "ambiance" of the barbeque restaurant. Each was ranked out of 10, and we doubled the rank of taste because that is, of course, the most important. The five barbeque places we visited were: City Market, Smitty's, Black's, Chisolm Trail, and Kreuz Market.

At our first destination, City Market in Luling, TX, we pulled up to an old building on what looked like "Main" street in any small town circa 1950. We were greeted by signs urging us to vote for "Amber, Jenny, and Billy Jean" for Watermelon Thump Queen. Apparently Luling is known for their watermelon, a fruit which the entire city celebrates with an annual "watermelon thump". What exactly is a "watermelon thump"? I'm still not sure, but apparently the occasion calls for a queen! However, that's a post for another day.

Upon entering City Market, the smell puts you on sensory overload. The smoke from the firewood, blended with the smoked meats hits you like a ton of tasty bricks! Immediately the stomach growling went from almost non-existent to off the charts. Each hungry customer passes the register and takes their place in a long line outside of a swinging door. On the other side of the swinging door is a huge smoker with 4 or 5 guys dishing up however much of whatever meat you want! The "smoking room" is about 25 degrees warmer than the dining area. G-d bless the men who work in the smoking room because if they don't end up with some sort of terrible smoke-induced illness in their later years, than some sort of a barbeque god is truly looking out for them! After getting a quarter pound of brisket, a sausage link, and 3 pork ribs we were ready to taste. Let me state the obvious here, when you haven't had breakfast and you're sitting in what smells like the meat Mecca of the world, it's hard to take just a "taste". The brisket had a perfectly formed smoke ring and quite literally melted in your mouth. The sausage had a delicious snap. And although the meat inside was a bit more "crumbly" than most sausages I've tasted, the overall sausage was perfect. It was slightly too greasy, but then again that's what makes things good! The pork ribs didn't quite fall off the bone, but they were anything but tough. At each picnic table there is sauce, but it's was not necessary for any of the three! As a matter of fact, the Hill Country bbq joints prefer you eat the meat without the sauce and after tasting it I get it. If the meat is prepared correctly, the natural flavors are released and sauce just isn't necessary. My dad and Carl probably went a bit overboard here with their "tastes" but when a man is hungry who am I to tell them they can't eat!

Our next stops are all located five minutes down the road in Lockhart, TX. Smitty's was the first Lockhart joint we tasted. The food here is served the same way- market style. The long dark hallway leading up to the even darker flaming meat smoking room at Smitty's was truly reminiscent of a scene out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The serving room at Smitty's is larger and hotter than at City Market, with open fires in the corners of the dark room. In the Texas heat, it was almost unbearable. It was so hot that I left the meat ordering to the men. My mom and I proceeded to the air conditioned dining area. The dining area is a huge brightly lit cafeteria style room with long tables running up and down the room. With so many people eating here, it was a fight to find a table. We chose four seats in the furthest corner of the room and we had to holler and wave our hands for Carl and my dad, who was dripping with sweat from the meat room, to find us. The first thing I tasted at Smitty's was the best. Their pork rib was hands down one of the best pork ribs I have ever tasted in my entire barbeque eating life. The meat literally fell off the bone before I could even get it to my mouth, and once it was in my mouth it started to melt immediately. The rib had a natural flavor that surpassed any additional flavor that a barbeque sauce could have added. The rest of the food left a lot to be desired... The sausage was, in my opinion, so dry that it was inedible. The brisket wasn't much better. Knowing that we had three more barbeque eateries left, I felt that I shouldn't continue to waste anymore room in my stomach by going back for a second bite so I left the dry sausage and dry brisket for the busboy to to take to the nearest dumpster.

Our next two stops, Black's and Chisolm Trail, were significantly lower quality than the previous two. The ribs at Black's looked almost plastic. If I were to place a rib from Black's next to a rib from Smitty's it would look like day and night. The rib was larger, stiffer and subsequently nearly impossible to rip off the bone. Now I realize I may sound a bit unfair, seeing as how I just stated that Smitty's had the best rib I've ever tasted in my entire life. But, if there is a "worst rib" category, I fear Black's may have succeeded in taking it! The sausage hardly tasted like sausage, and the brisket was as dry and tasteless as the rib. However, our trip to Black's is marked fondly by the experience of getting to meet Mr. and Mrs. Black. As the four of us are sitting at our table remarking at how terrible this barbeque is, we see an old man and woman walk out of the back door into the dining area. The chattering throughout the room led us to the realization that they were Mr. and Mrs. Black. Like local celebrities, they sauntered up and down the restaurant shaking the hands of their loyal patrons. Being the out of towners that we were, we ran up to Mr. Black and asked if we could take a picture with him! I must admit, I'm not from Lockhart, and if I ever return I will most certainly not be eating at Black's, but when we met Mr. Black I felt like I was meeting one of the Beatles! We snapped a picture with him and lied through our teeth as we told him how wonderful his barbeque was, then we hit the road to Chisolm Trail Barbeque.

Compared to Black's, Chisolm Trail was great! However, that's still not saying much. My mom was excited about the prospect of tasting their fried catfish which they boast on a large sign outside of the restaurant. Of course, they only serve that once a week, and today wasn't the lucky day. Unlike the other three places, the meat is served to you in the same room as you dine. Customers go down the aisle and choose what they want before paying at the register and then choosing a table in the same room. Unlike Black's, the owner of Chisolm Trail was behind the line cutting meat and schmoozing with his customers. He looked like any normal employee you'd expect to see cutting the meat, dressed in a grease stained t-shirt with a smile on his face. Chisolm Trail proved to be the cheapest of the three, with our total more than $10 less than the other places. However, the food reflected the prices. I thought all of the meat was dry. The sausage was not nearly as delicious as the sausage from City Market, but ranked well above the sausage from Black's and Smitty's. It didn't melt in my mouth, and it wasn't bursting with flavor, but it was definitely edible. If I didn't have the other three restaurants behind me to compare it to, I would've considered it good sausage, albeit greasy! I do realize it's unfair for me to be comparing Chisolm Trail and Black's to the other places of barbeque legend like Smitty's and Kreuz Market. However, we needed to taste all of the barbeque restaurants we could muster in order to make sure we understood why Kreuz Market and Smitty's were constantly ranked the top barbeque places in Texas.

After Chisolm Trail, our stomachs were nearly defeated. We had hit a meat wall and we were all fading fast. It crossed our minds to call off our craziness and vow to visit Kreuz market on another weekend, but we knew the likelihood of returning to Lockhart in the near future was slim to none so we dug down within ourselves and drove down the road to our final destination. Kreuz is the most famous of all the barbeque places we visited. Smitty's is followed by a close second, but Kreuz Market is consistently ranked among publications near and far as one of the best barbeque joints in the state of Texas and it's clear to me now why! Kreuz was home to the longest line of the day. Around 3:00pm we were well past regular lunch hour, and way too early for the dinner hour. The line was over 30 minutes long, somewhat like a line at DisneyWorld. Kreuz market is cleaner and more efficient than the others. At the end of the long line customers are escorted through a door into the meat room which has three servers who give customers whatever amount and type of meat they request. Once the meat is served, customers are escorted to the large dining room of picnic tables and booths where they proceed to pay at the checkout. The process is slow, but only because there are hundreds of others waiting to pay for their meat in front of you! The sausage at Kreuz was delicious. It wasn't too greasy, nor too crumbly. It had a wonderful consistency and left a slight tingle of spice in my mouth after eating it, just like a perfect sausage should! The brisket seemed to follow suit. There was a perfect smoke ring on the brisket which is like a little certification of authenticity. The brisket is tender and naturally flavorful. The pork ribs were equally as delicious. The rib was fall off the bone, melt in your mouth delicious. All of the meat was eaten without sauce, and was full of it's own natural juices and flavors When eaten together they all complimented one another, like a small meat party! Sauce at Kreuz Market is like a four letter word. The meat doesn't need the sauce. Even an unsophisticated palette can tell that the meat here doesn't need anything to dress it up, it's perfect as-is!

At the end of our day, after tallying our scores, we unanimously ranked Luling's City Market as our number one choice, followed closely by Kreuz market. I still wonder if our off the chart hunger and barbeque excitement led us to rank City Market the highest, but I can assure you, a trip there is most definitely not a waste of your time because it is damn good! If you're going to venture out to Lockhart and Luling Texas, I don't suggest attempting what we did. Five different barbeque places in one day is truly tough. I haven't had a strong craving for barbeque since, and I doubt I will soon. However, we talked with some really wonderful locals that day, and we formed memories we won't soon forget!

Carl and me in front of City market

Our first ribs of the day

The meat room at City Market

The dining area at Smitty's

Meeting Mr. Black

Meat Overload at Chisolm Trail

Kreuz Market

Dim Sum? Dim Yum!

After a visit to San Francisco's Coit Tower to take in 360 degree views of the city, my travel companion Carl and I found ourselves in the middle of San Francisco's Chinatown. San Francisco's Chinatown, which is one of the oldest and largest in America, is full of tiny produce stands and food stalls with the most peculiar items (some with a rather odious smell). We weren't in Chinatown just for fun, we were on a mission. Our mission was to find a sit-down Dim Sum restaurant serving the Chinese brunch fair in the traditional style so that I could experience it for the first time. After we found the place we were looking for to be a carry-out only restaurant we did what any travel guide would tell you to do- we asked a local! She directed us to a phenomenal sit-down Dim Sum restaurant called Gold Mountain restaurant (located at 644 Broadway). When we walked through the door we were reassured we chose the right place after a quick once over revealed we were the only caucasians in the entire place!

The waiter escorted us to two available seats in the back of the restaurant near the kitchen. This was prime seating to catch the servers right as they exited the kitchen with steaming hot fresh dishes. For those of you unfamiliar with Dim Sum, it's similar to a Chinese equivalent to tapas. Servers circulate the restaurant with small portions served off of rolling carts. They yell out (in this case in Chinese) the name of the dish they're carrying on their cart. If the dish suits your tastebuds you accept. If not, you decline!

Our first selection was sticky rice served in a banana leaf. This rice was unlike anything I've had before. As soon as we pealed open the banana leaf there was a perfect portion of the stickiest rice I've ever consumed. Complimented with bits of succulent beef, the rice melted in my mouth. Shortly after the rice, I started to experience sensory overload. Before I knew it, it seemed like ten servers had approached our table with everything from shrimp dumplings to sweet red bean sesame balls. All of which they assured me was "very good very good". With all the options coming my way, all the smells wafting through the air, and all the laughter from those around us, I didn't know which dishes to take and which to decline! With help from Carl, I was able regroup and navigate carefully through the selections and avoid things that were too unfamiliar to me to taste, like duck feet and cow's blood.

Among the options we did try were shrimp dumplings, shrimp potstickers, beef noodles, shrimp tofu, red bean and brown bean sweet balls, and pork bun. My absolute favorite were the shrimp dumplings. The dumplings were just slightly larger than a golf ball and the shrimp inside was cooked to perfection! Carl's favorite was the pork bun. The bun was fluffy white bread shaped in a square. When I bit into the bun I was met with the pleasant barbeque taste of pork. I also enjoyed the sesame balls with red bean paste. The sesame dough is really sticky and on the inside is a small red ball of red bean paste. It's a sweeter dish, which provides and nice contrast to the saltiness of the other dishes.

I loved the entire Dim Sum experience. Next time I'm in San Francisco, maybe I'll have the courage to try one of the more obscure dishes, but for my first time it was everything I'd hoped and more!

Some of our half-eaten Dim Sum dishes

A server with the traditional Dim Sum cart.

San Francisco Treats!

I love to travel, and I'm lucky enough to be find myself traveling to different cities quite often. What better way to explore a new city than experiencing their culinary treasures? I just returned from San Francisco where I spent my Labor Day weekend. I think one would be hard-pressed to find many cities that cater to the tastebuds like San Francisco does! With an assorted mix of restaurants ranging from the ordinary (like Chinese food) to the obscure (such as Burmese food), San Francisco quite literally has it all. At the heart of the organic foods movement, this city does not shy away from fresh homegrown produce and locally crafted wines. While walking up and down the hills of this city, it was not unusual to see lines forming halfway down the block for restaurants. These lines were reminiscent of the line that forms outside of Magnolia Bakery in New York City. My next few posts will be dedicated to some of the fantastic food I found in San Francisco. Try to keep your mouth watering at bay while enjoying the following posts.

Pizza Heaven???

It's been described many ways- from "pizza heaven" to "the best pizza you'll ever eat" to "oh my gosh I wish I could rewind the last 30 minutes of my life and eat that all over again". I'm talking about DiFara's pizza in Brooklyn, New York. Since I currently reside in Dallas, TX it's not like I can just hop on the nearest train and head 30 minutes down the track to try this stuff. So, naturally, I'm going to do the next best thing- plan a trip around this mythical pizza! Ok, so I'm not planning a trip specifically for DiFara's. I'm going to Philly for Thanksgiving. Aside from the cheesesteaks at Pat's and Geno's, I'm most looking forward to driving to Brooklyn (a borough which I have never visited), and partaking in the DiFara experience so I can know once and for all if this pizza really is the stuff dreams are made of. So it's with this post that I'm telling the turkey to move over, because the fabbie foodie Thanksgiving experience I'm really looking forward to is DiFara's pizza!

Fabbie Foodie Bargains

I'm a fabbie foodie on a budget. I love good food at gourmet restaurants, but usually can't afford it. Every once in a while my foodie counterpart and I like to pretend we can afford to eat at the expensive restaurants that boast unique menus with fresh twists on the "traditional". On special occasions we will splurge, leaving me paying off credit card bills for quite some time after the fabulous meal. Our bookcases are overflowing with Zagat guides rating the top restaurants in town. We wait months for a legitimate excuse to splurge on the "28" downtown. Yet, come August, we always feel some foodie relief. August is when restaurant week comes around! This year, as soon as the dates for restaurant week were announced, we jumped at the chance to make reservations at some of Dallas' most notorious restaurants.

For fabbie foodies who don't know about restaurant week, I highly suggest taking advantage of the $35 prixe fixe three course meals. If your city is anything like Dallas, restaurant "week" really turns into restaurant "month" with several of the restaurants taking advantage of the inflated crowds stepping into their doors for up to three weeks. Just be aware that with restaurant week, you're not always guaranteed to get the best that the restaurant has to offer. Sometimes you have to weed through a few mediocre menus to find true foodie bliss. As someone who has frequented more than a few restaurant week restaurants, I've been impressed with a lot of the food I've gotten to taste.

Just the other evening, my fabbie foodie boyfriend and I got a coveted reservation at the world renowned Mansion on Turtle Creek, one of Dallas' only 5-star restaurants (http://www.mansiononturtlecreek.com/dine1.cfm) . We were both wowed by the beauty of the dining room with a stunning view of the gorgeous patio. We weren't disappointed by our meals either. The fact that our new neighbor turns out to be one of the managers at the restaurant...well, was just icing on the cake! My boyfriend dined on a veal breast with corn and bean succotash that he claims was like "butter"- he didn't even need a knife to cut it. I dined on sweet corn ravioli with shrimp bolognese sauce. I've had many takes on ravioli in my life, and this one may have taken the cake. The corn in the ravioli was perfectly sweet and the shrimp bolognese sauce complimented the ravioli perfectly. There was a perfect "shrimp" taste that shone through the sauce just enough to make the flavors come alive in my mouth!

The Mansion also boasts top-notch signature cocktails. At $15 a pop, these cocktails are anything but cheap! Since the manager turned out to be our next-door-neighbor, we were treated to two delicious cocktails. There is something to be said about a good signature cocktail, and these were both delicious! If it weren't for restaurant week, our 3 course meal (and cocktails) would have set us back several hundred dollars. However, because it was restaurant week we didn't even scratch the $100 mark and were able to truly taste the creativity and innovation that make the Mansion at Turtle Creek worthy of it's 5-star rating. For a Fabbie Foodie on a budget like myself, that's one hell of a deal!

What is a Fabbie Foodie?

FabbieFoodie is a blog for food lovers of all kinds. Fabulous food isn't always found at five star restaurants, it's everywhere! This blog is dedicated to documenting fabulous food finds, food ideas, hidden food gems, foodie bargains, and foodie splurges that will satiate the appetites of fabbie foodies everywhere!