Evan, Vince and I made a walk to 3 Starbucks before we found one that was a stand alone and had the city mug! Yay! Good thing they were all close to our hotel room and within walking distance.
Right after, Evan found a local coffee shop for us to get a cup of coffee. It ended up being located in a hotel too actually. There are a lot of hotels right in the heart of downtown Austin with lots of outdoorsy restaurants connecting to the hotels.
Boy I love my morning cup of hot latte.
We walked to Houndstooth Coffee.
I got the hot Vanilla latte with whole milk. It was good and full of fatty sustenance. I decided that I only like my lattes when it is done with whole milk because it is more full than even the 2%.
Mazagran. Cool frothy coconut and lime espresso beverage. This was Vince’s coffee and he liked it. Hint of coconut and sour with lime. Ew for me haha.
After we made our own coffee run, we met back at the hotel. My bridesmaids surprised me with a decorated balloon arch and sign with the friends theme! They even got us friends theme tank tops for hiking and also goodie bags for everyone! Thank you Marian and Truckie for making me feel so special! I’m so happy I get to experience this once in my life!
Afterwards we went bouldering at Austin Bouldering Project for a few hours to check out an Austin climbing gym. Most of us climbed and had fun! My sister sent one of her red projects so now I owe her a boba haha!
A short walk away, we went to grab a quick bite at a Japanese cafe called Sa-Ten Cafe. We each only got a tiny bite to hold us over before our early 530pm dinner because none of us had breakfast.
Anchovy garlic toast. Anchovy garlic oil, mozzarella. I got tricked! I thought there would be actual anchovies on it like the anchovy pizzas back home but it is just sprinkled with anchovy garlic oil. I couldn’t even smell or taste the anchovy. Other than that the cheese japanese toast was savory and satisfying.
Sriracha smoked salmon. Sriracha Mayo, mozzarella, green onion, dried seaweed. This toast was toasted with cheese and salmon so the cheese was melted and the salmon was a bit crisp on top. Cut into 4 pieces with 4 pieces of salmon.
Shishito peppers. Served with oyster Mayo and lemon slice. Ordered this because Vince loves shishito peppers. The oyster Mayo sauce that it came with was so creamy and savory and good!
After we got back to the hotel and freshened up, we walked a few blocks to our early dinner reservation. I am so glad Vince decided that we should get a hotel right in the middle of downtown city so that everyone was walking distance. Less than a mile away. Just a few blocks. How nice!
Have you guys ever watched Top Chef? She won Season 10 in 2013. I remember watching her and she was my favorite from episode 1 to win! During research I accidentally found out one of her restaurants were in Austin. Vince was all for it even though he didn’t watch Too Chef. Arlo Grey by Kristen Kish. The decor of her restaurant was so airy, casual and cute with a lot hanging plants.
FIRST LIGHT. rhum, luxardo, grapefruit, lime, bitters. Vince chose this drink which had a light grapefruit taste to it.
SUNDOWN COBBLER. vodka, fruits rouges, prosecco, fresh berries, citrus. My drink was like a refreshing and clear dessert cocktail with a slice of strawberry and raspberry on top.
TEA THYME. gin, lemon, green tea, honey, mint thyme. This drink looks better than it looks. I didn’t like it as much as others did.
We decided to order one of everything on her menu to share and try.
GARDEN
AG GRILLED SOURDOUGH BREAD. crushed green olive, TX olive oil, charred scallion, red vinegar, aleppo, feta. Sour dough bread was good and airy. I really liked the feta spread. The bread had a nice crunch on the outside.
TEXAS TOMATO SALAD. avocado, caramelized garlic & lime vinaigrette, sunflower seeds. The avocado cream in the middle was everyone’s favorite! Light and smooth.
TEXAS GREENS & PEACH SALAD. point reyes, minus 8 vinegar, almond granola. This salad was also appreciated. The presentation for all the salads were colorful and pretty. I think I can do without ordering salad next time though.
BURRATA. cucumber, nigella seed, dill, grilled sourdough. BURRATA was refreshing and fresh. Everyone enjoyed this cheese.
POACHED FRENCH FINGERLING POTATOES. iberico ham, chamomile butter, pickled green tomato, honey crisp apple. Potatoes were cooked nicely and I liked the small salt surprises from the ham.
GRAINS & PASTA
FRIED STEAMED BUNS. egg dip, grilled shishito, roasted maitake mushroom, pepitas. The buns were very crispy. The toppings were very creamy from the sauce but didn’t taste heavy at the same time.
MALFALDINI. champignon sauce, pearl onion, parmesan. This was like a pasta dish. I’m glad we ordered two of these because everyone loved it!
TORN PASTA “PRIMAVERA.” eggplant, summer squash, sweet onion, pecorino. Okay so there is eggplant in here, which I stealthily avoided because I don’t like eggplant. The summer squash was soft and good otherwise.
CRISPY RICE. saffron aioli, crab, bacon, cucumber, cilantro. Presentation of crispy rice was fun. My sister really liked the crunchiness from the rice. The saffron aioli gave it a nice moist flavor.
8 OZ ACORNSEEKERS IBERICO PORK LOIN. grilled watermelon, house-made chorizo, hazelnut, radicchio. Pork was so good! Whoever thought of salted watermelon to compliment the pork so perfectly. It worked!
BROWN BUTTER ROASTED HALIBUT. white bean puree, mexican marigold, calabaza squash, brioche crumble. This was everyone’s favorite! The halibut was so tender and flaky and moist. The white bean purée that it sat on was creamy and smoothie.
LEMON MASCARPONE TART. TX strawberry, pistachio, puffed rice. This was an interesting dessert. The presentation was creative. The tart was good and crunchy.
LIME SORBET. Yuzu espuma, aloe, pink peppercorn. I’m not a big fan of sour or tart desserts so this was a meh for me.
AG BLACK FOREST CAKE. caramel espuma, caramelized white chocolate, cherry, cocoa nib tuile. Now I loveeee this dessert! I actually am not a big fan of black forest cake at all but this version of it was so decadent and sweet.
After dinner we played assassin from gossip girl on the old streets of 6th street organized by little trookie. She even brought black crime signs for us to take mug shots and wear around our neck. She played two important clips from gossip girl for everyone to watch. First was the instructions and the second was a part of the game being played.
We dressed in all black and played after dinner. It was so fun! Some people doubted how fun it would be and it was super fun. We wanted to play again! Our safe zone was Pour Choices because we were bribed a free cocktail per person if we went in. What a good idea trookie! In the end, Patrick was the winner!
We then went to Bull and the Bowl in new 6th street afterwards and everyone got the chance to ride the bull! It was surprisingly so fun yet so hard! 🙂 everyone had a blast.
We stayed at this bar the longest, probably a good few hours before we scootered to THE ONION for the second time! I got the jalapeño and cheese pizza and it was delicious!!!!!!
