Buenos Aires? Buenos Dias!

I just ate my words.

I had just told a friend of mine, "Oh... yeah... I really try to not eat red meat unless it's really special... ya know, like a really good steak or a special occasion...". Well, apparently lunch on a Wednesday is now a special occasion.

My book group buddy S.E. gave me several choices for lunch that were written up in Austin Monthly's Food Issue and I gotta tell ya... the lunch menu for Buenos Aires Cafe almost made me speechless. It was hands down my favorite looking menu. The variety and creativity of the sandwiches made my mouth water. Then throw in some empanadas, some salads, plate lunches and housemade desserts... O Dios Mio!, I'm hungry just thinking about it.

We started with a couple of emapanadas, which are made with a sort of puff pastry - interesting choice, very good, and I would get them again. Then we each had salads, they were good, not great, I'd have to try it again though to tell you what I did or didn't like. But hold on to your panqueques (they have those too!), because the Lomito Beef sandwich, voted best sandwich by The Onion, was sublime! How do you say sublime in Spanish?!

Certified Black Angus tenderloin with your choice of chimichurri sauce or Dijon mustard, served on a toasted French baguette ("Marie! The baguettes!" Name that movie!) with cheese or tomatoes (I did the chimichurri and tomatoes). It melted, literally melted, in my mouth. And if that wasn't enough, and by golly don't you think it ought to be?, I had the other half for dinner, cold out of the fridge, while driving (forget I said that) and I think it may have been even better!

I can't wait to go back and try more things. I hope everything else is as good as that dang sandwich.

If it's not, I'll eat my words.

Buenos Aires Cafe

2414 South 1st St.

Austin, Texas 78704

512.441.9000

(another location on East 6th too!)

http://www.buenosairescafe.com/

Trick or Trattoria?

It pains me to write this post, but I feel I have to. Sigh.

So, last Friday, my husband and I decided to have lunch together. I suggested Asti Trattoria (I took him there for his birthday 2 years ago and he loved it). We met there and ordered food and I ordered a glass of wine. The wine ordering part actually went very well. The server brought me two samples to help me decide what to order. The rest, not so much

We were there for and hour and a half and the table looked like the picture above for an hour. My husband ordered a dish that had Monkfish in it and I had the chopped salad with grilled salmon. When our orders finally came out, the server told Ruben that they didn't put enough fish on the plate and that she would bring him some more. Maybe I've been watching too much Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef, but should that have even left the kitchen if it wasn't right? My salad had onions on it, which I had asked to be cut. I sent it back. Normally, I would have just picked the onions out, but we had waited an hour for a salad with onions and a dish with a tiny piece of fish on it. But wait, it gets better. My husband takes a bite of the small piece of fish and makes a face. He said the fish tasted old and definitely overcooked. I take a bite of my salad; bland. I add salt. Yes, I did. Then, finally, one of the staff brings out another plate of fish and apologizes. My husband takes a bite and says that this is what they should have sent out in the first place: fresh, well-cooked fish. We eat quickly so we can get back to work.

Cheetah doesn't like tricks, only treats please.

Asti Trattoria (Tricktoria)

408 C East 43rd Street

Austin, TX 78751

512-451-1218

http://www.astiaustin.com/asti/

Nutty Brown - Update

It's still good.

The Highball

There's a new place down south to wet your whistle. And eat. And sing karaoke. And bowl.

The Highball: I've been twice now - once for a drink and once to bowl...and drink. The Heirloom, The 10 Pin and The Glacier are just a few of the interesting choices. All very good, but I gotta tell ya, I'm cravin' another Heirloom. It's like gazpacho in a glass. Be sure and ask for Alyssa at the bar!

Bowling was fun, the lanes are super cool and the personal ball service is a nice touch. It was alittle warm last night though and they didn't turn on any music until after 6 (we'd been there since 4:30). It's old fashioned-pencil and paper scoring... "I was told there would be no math"! We didn't brave the karaoke rooms - although they are the private kind for those shy extroverts. If there is such a thing.

The onion rings with house-made ketchup were yummy and I thought the BLT Chicken Salad Finger Sandwiches were good - very different - but The Hubby didn't think so. I'm looking forward to trying the entrees. And the rest of the cocktails!

Definitely worth a looky-loo! And I double-dog dare you not to make any Big Lebowski references. It took everything I had not to say, "This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules!" Aw, dang! I just said it!

The Highball

1142 South Lamar Blvd.

Austin, Texas 78704

512.383.8309

http://www.thehighball.com/