Sound Bites: Fresa's World Cup Chicken

You guys. Fresa's has a special chicken offering just for the World Cup - a fragrantly garlicky number made with a marinade of malaguetta peppers and served with feijoada (a stew made with beans, beef and pork), the fluffiest coconut rice, and tortillas. Go now, before it disappears from the menu. So. Good.

Fresa's Brazilia Chicken special

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Sound Bites: Fries at Goodall's

When I first moved to Austin in 1993, I lived in a co-op a stone's throw from what is now Hotel Ella. At the time, the majestic building housed a chemical dependency center; in 2003, it became Mansion at Judges' Hill, and this year, it got a facelift and re-opened as Hotel Ella. Hotel Ella houses a restaurant called Goodall's Kitchen & Bar that I've been wanting to try, so we wandered down here on Friday to check it out.

We had just come from a party that had involved a margarita or three and maybe a little too much queso, so dinner was out of the question, but I couldn't resist an order of their Goodall's Fries off the bar menu.

The fries were served piping hot in a tiny fry basket, with a side of celery seed aioli, and tossed with brussels sprouts. "Tossed with brussels sprouts?" you say - to which I reply, "Why hasn't somebody thought of this before?" Brussels sprouts are having a "moment," and I'm so glad for it. More, please.

The fries were super crispy and resplendent with garlic, possibly the most garlicky fries I've ever tasted (i.e., wake-up-the-next-morning-tasting-garlic garlicky). We couldn't get enough of them. If these fries say anything about the rest of the menu, I have high hopes for this great new Austin hot spot.

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Sound Bites: Sarah's Kale Chips

If you'll pardon a little introspection, I feel like I'm getting a little bogged down (blogged down?), here. Part of the problem is that I tend to fill my schedule until it's bursting at the seams, so writing the long, very detailed posts that I'm prone to just isn't happening. Food Photo Friday helped bust that pattern loose a little, but then I got too caught up in finding photos that were worthy. So I'm going to experiment with a new series called "Sound Bites," for when I just have a little something to say (and/or a little time to write).

What better subject for the first of the series than a company whose slogan is "Bite me"? I discovered Sarah's Kale Chips when I won a box of them from a contest that The Austin Bodyworker threw during SXSW. I make kale chips at home fairly frequently, so I wasn't expecting these to be anything different. But they very much were. My homemade kale chips are very light and ethereal - like eating crispy kale air. Sarah's kale chips have some substance to them. They're heartier, if you can really use that word to describe a kale chip. And sometimes when you're snacking, you need that.

The box I got in the contest was Sarah's sour cream and onion flavor. I know what you're thinking: "Sour cream and onion kale chips?!?"  That's what I was thinking, too. But the flavor is just right - not at all fakey, and just the thing to make the chips taste more like a snack and less like a health food. The list of ingredients includes cashews, dates, garlic, miso, apple cider vinegar, chives, sea salt, and pepper - so there's no actual sour cream, and vegans can enjoy them, too! I'll have to admit; I don't think I would ever have thought to add those things to kale (particularly the cashews, which I suspect are a big part of what "grounds" the texture of these chips). But the end result certainly works - so well that I feel quite sure I could devour an entire box at one sitting. 

Sarah also offers a vegan cheese flavor, which I can't wait to try. Also, if you live in Austin, her website says you can pick up your chips to avoid shipping costs and get a free hug! What are you waiting for? 

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