Winner - Have you been paying attention?

That title was actually misleading as no one technically won.

Two people guessed we weren't charged tax for the wine. But did you know, "... let’s talk about the role of the government and how it affects our pricing through taxes, license and fees. Did you know that a restaurant in Texas is not allowed to directly charge tax for alcoholic beverages if they have what is called a mixed beverage permit? This permit is the type purchased from the State by restaurants that serve not only beer and wine, but cocktails as well. Restaurants with this permit are responsible for paying tax on all alcohol (beer, wine and liquor) directly; it cannot be passed along to the customer as a separate fee. Last I checked, Texas has the highest mixed beverage tax in the nation coming in at 14% of sales. No, not the price we pay for the beverage, but the price we sell it for. To put this in perspective if you come in my restaurant and order a $50 bottle of wine, you pay $50 only (no tax), I pay the state of Texas $7.00 from the restaurant. Your local grocery store and package shop are not subject to this tax. They pass it on to you, the consumer, as regular sales tax." Found this on another blog, but it seems well researched and I'm too tired to look it up further as it serves my purposes as is.

One person said that we had not invited her. And while, yes, it is a crime as she is very witty company, that is not the answer.

The last person answered that we only had one bottle of wine. Not exactly the answer I was looking for... but wkamasaki is the big winner!

What I was looking for was referenced in http://dotandcheetaheat.blogspot.com/2010/01/do-you-see-what-i-see.html where the liquor was more than the food!! So inadvertently wkamasaki was right; we did only have one bottle of wine and therefore the alcohol was less than the food. And that is not how I roll.

So wkamasaki... where are we going?!

A Tale of Two (Coastal) Cities

Gaido's marquee

Gulf Shrimp and Deep Sea Scallops Platter

Floyd's marquee

Maybe they will frame my review too!

Crab Bisque

Grilled Stuffed Shrimp

Last week I traveled to Beaumont for work. On my way out of town I stopped at a restaurant called Floyd's because a State Trooper told me to and I'm a good girl. However, this trip reminded me that I that I have another review to write from my Texas City trip. So, let's go back in time...two months ago. Texas City, March 31, 2010. My co-worker and I had just finished driving from Austin to Texas City, checked into our hotel, and were craving seafood (her husband hates seafood so she was really excited). I suggested we drive into Galveston and go to Gaido's. Growing up in Texas, I remember going to the coast on many summer vacations. Whenever we went to Galeveston, we went to Gaido's or one of their sister restaurants (see their website).

If they weren't located on the beach, I would have been slighty embarassed by my shorts and flips flops amongst the white-jacketed waiters and white tablecloths. I had the Gulf Shrimp and Deep Sea Scallops platter and it was delicious. The sauteed mushrooms (can you see it in the pic?) were fantastic. The shrimp and scallops were great too. A good, solid, meal.

Now, let's come back to the current month of May. Last week, Beaumont, Floyd's. I had the CrabBisque and the Grilled Stuffed Shrimp. I LOVED the bisque and it's just fun to say. Bisque. It was not short on the cream or crab at all; lots of big chunks were waiting on the bottom of my cup. I'm not sure why you need to serve rice with such a great cup of bisque, but ok. My shrimp were really good too. It was basically crab cake mixture stuffed into the shrimp and then grilled. The shrimp had some heat and were just a tad too salty by the time I ate the third one.

Did y'all know that Beaumont is humid? Bisque. Bisque. Bisque.

Gaido's

3828 Seawall Blvd

Galveston, TX 77550

1-800-525-0064

http://www.gaidos.com/

Floyd's

2290 I-10 South

Beaumont, TX 77707

409-842-0686

http://www.floydsseafood.com/

Have you been paying attention?

What's wrong with this bill?

I'll buy lunch for the winner. In the event that more than one person gets it right, I will very scientifically select a winner from a hat. I will literally put all the names in a hat and draw. It will probably be a cowboy hat. Or maybe a sombrero if I'm feeling festive.

Winner announced Saturday, May 29th whenever I get around to it.

Going off to Hill's on a Gravy Train

Gravy.

Is there a better word in the English language?

Literally, it means flour and fat blended together to add texture and flavor. Figuratively, it means extra benefits or unexpected gain. It's really a perfect word.

Reminds me of a time in college. (Yes... I actually remember a few things from college.) We were doing a show that called for fried rattle snake meat. So every afternoon, I'd go get a Family Size Tender Meal Deal from Golden Fried Chicken (which we called Goldenmafried. Don't ask me why.). The tenders and potatoes would go on stage, but the vat of gravy stayed in the green room. Where I was. With a spoon. Eating it like soup.

I love gravy.

I also loved the chicken fried steak that little d and I shared at Hill's today. It was one of the best I've ever had - good meat, breading not too heavy, thick gravy. You get your choice of yellow or white gravy. We didn't specify and got yellow. Not sure what makes yellow gravy yellow. (Note to self, Google yellow gravy...) Sides included mashed potatoes (good, not amazing), corn casserole (lots of corn bready stuff, not enough actual corn), tomato pie (is it like quiche? no. is it like pizza? no. is it like an open faced grilled cheese and tomato sandwich? no.) and fries (yummy!). Z had a classic cheese burger (voted one of the best in Austin and I heartily concur) and C had chicken tenders as big as his face. Throw in sweet tea in mason jars and you've got yourself a right nice lunch.

And that makes the rest of the day gravy.

Hill's Cafe

4700 S. Congress Ave.

Austin, Texas

512.851.9300

http://www.hillscafe.com/index.html

In the name of science

Happy Hour last Friday at Peche, lunch today at The Belmont - doing research for my upcoming birthday party!

Peche

It's where Malaga used to be so it feels familiar even though it's decorated totally different. It's now an absinthe bar and they pretty much flat out said you can't order a vodka tonic. Their drink menu is AWESOME and the closest I've seen to the mixology in NYC. If they chipped their own ice, I'd move in. Had the Pork Belly appetizer, because, well, come on! It's PORK BELLY! A little too dry on the outside for me, but was still very tasty. It came with mostarda, which I wish they had explained. I expected mustard and got fruit. Turns out it's like candied fruit in a mustard sauce and it's very, very good. Had a French 75 (gin, lemon and champagne) and an Aviation (gin, lemon, maraschino liqueur and creme de violette), both of which I'd had before, but I was letting Ace (yes, that's his real name) decide. He's a good man. Met just about everyone including the owner. Great, great place.

The Belmont

I'm sure this place looks fabulous at night, but in the daytime it's the tiniest bit worn looking. Not that I'm not holding that against her; I'm the same way. For an appetizer, I had a French 77 (St. Germaine Elderflower liqueur, lemon and champagne). It had lots of ice chips. I love ice chips. Followed it up with a Grilled Portobello and Brie Panini with basil pesto, arugula and roasted peppers and a side salad. All very yummy. Rounded it out with the Bourbon Pecan Cheesecake with raspberry and caramel sauce... sticky, gooey, almost flavorless and topped with what couldn't possible be Cool-Whip, could it?! Very disappointing. For the first time almost ever, when asked "How was it?", I replied, "Weeellll..." and she offered to get me something else. Very sweet, but no need - I don't "need" dessert at all. Then she went and took it off my bill anyway. She also called me "Darlin' " about 100 times. Something a little disconcerting about a girl half your age calling you "darlin' ". Unless I was a man. Which I am not. I drink French 77s.

I may have been comparing apples to oranges. Different times of day, didn't try the same kinds of things, different vibes to begin with. It's not fair to pick a favorite. So much for independent variables, controls and constants. I'd make a lousy scientist.

But hey, if I knew what I was doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

Peche

208 W. 4th St.

Austin, Texas 78701

512.495.9669

http://www.pecheaustin.com/

The Belmont

305 West Sixth Street

Austin, Texas 78701

512.457.0300

http://www.thebelmontaustin.com/