Retro Bizzaro - Snack Cakes Worth Eating!

I wrote a Yelp review recently about my belief that much of what moves us as adults is seeded in our brains (and our taste buds) during our childhood years. Of course, there are tons of foods that I love now that I never ate as a child; but there's still no denying that I have an affinity for certain things - Asian food, for example - that seems disproportionate to the thing itself. Or perhaps another example might be more telling...Cheetos, perhaps?

Along these lines, I have fond memories of eating snack cakes while growing up. "Delights" like Ho Ho's, Twinkies, and Hostess Cupcakes were favorites of mine as a kid. I also had this bizarre ritual that involved Dolly Madison butterscotch Zingers while I was an undergraduate student; nothing ever tasted better during a 2:00 a.m. study break than a package of those babies.

Fast forward fifteen...plus...years (ahem). A new voice appeared on Twitter - a woman with a highly infectious personality named Amanda Joyner who, along with her husband, Mike (who is also the pastry chef at local foodie favorites FINO and Asti), is launching a new line of snack cakes under the name Retro Bizzaro. But these aren't just any snack cakes. They use local, fresh, sustainable, organic ingredients and a giant dose of love to make fabulously delicious, relatively healthy gems that you won't feel badly about eating. And, as their Facebook page hilariously proclaims, "Unlike other snack cakes, we won't survive the nuclear holocaust."

After several failed attempts to pick up some of their treats (currently available at the HOPE Farmer's Market and the Truck Farm Farmer's Market), I finally picked some up on Sunday.

Mike selling their treats at the HOPE Market. Sadly, Amanda's shining personality wasn't there that day, but you can meet her through some of her fun video blogging on their website.


Part of my stash, which already needs replenishing.


A Bella Luna - inspired by Moon Pies - wonderful, perfectly-chewy cookies sandwiching a marshmallow filling, then dipped in chocolate.


Bella Luna side view. Don't you just want to get in bed with this thing?


A Snickie. Snickerdoodle-inspired, but much, much better. I was completely taken by surprise at how much I LOVED these light, super cinnamony cakes.


The inner workings of a Snickie. Note the cinnamon cream goodness.


A coffee cream Black Hole - dark, moist chocolate coffee cake filled with sweet coffee cream.


A peek inside. Look at how moist their cake is!


What Black Hole?

Retro Bizzaro's menu changes for each market, and also includes things like homemade candy bars, bacon jam (yes, bacon jam!), Bubbles (jam-filled tarts), and, just in time for Easter, I've seen them tweeting about making a homemade version of Peeps (and there was even talk about a chorizo and caramel version!). So if your kids - or, uh, you - need a bit of a snack cake fix, hurry out and snag some Retro Bizzaro treats now. At just $2 apiece as of this writing, Retro Bizzaro's goodies are budget-friendly without sacrificing one bit on quality, flavor, or that elusive feel-good factor. Buy local! They do.

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More Trailer Treasure: Odd Duck Farm to Trailer

I've been hearing rave reviews from all sides about the recently-arrived Odd Duck Farm to Trailer. Yelpers love it; my foodie friends on Twitter love it - it was high time to go.

I finally trundled over there for lunch today with my friend Mike, who was gracious enough to relent when I asked to change our previously-agreed-upon lunch venue at the last second. I think all the food bloggers had the same idea this week; we ran into Marshall from Eat This Lens there, I heard that Peter of Tasting Buds had been there too, and after I returned to the office, I saw several other food bloggers on Twitter arranging a meeting there tomorrow. Open the floodgates!

Odd Duck is at 1219 S. Lamar Boulevard;
it shares space with trailer brethren Gourdoughs and Austin Brevita.

Odd Duck Farm to Trailer is the brainchild of Bryce Gilmore, whose restaurant experience includes stints at Z Tejas Grill, Wink, and Moonshine, as well as a number of establishments outside the Austin area. Bryce also probably had some cooking juju in his genes, as he happens to also be the son of Jack Gilmore (the founding chef of Z Tejas, who just opened his own brand new venture, Jack Allen's Kitchen).

Whatever the source of his skills, they are certainly in fine form here. Everything we sampled from the menu was delicious, and Bryce's focus on locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients guarantees that everything is fresh and good for your soul, too.

Portions here are on the small side, so I'd suggest ordering at least a couple of things per person. For the two of us, we ordered two sliders, a salad, a soup, and an order of polenta, and it was just about perfect.

We started with a cup of cauliflower soup ($3) and a grilled romaine salad ($5). The salad was, in a word, groundbreaking. I've never had grilled romaine before, and was completely taken by the wonderful smoky flavor that it imparted to mere lettuce. The goat ricotta was incredibly creamy, and the farm egg was poached just right and oozing with freshness. My only complaint was that the only utensils they gave us to eat this salad with were plastic soup spoons. Laughably inadequate. We ended up just picking up the lettuce with our hands.


Grilled romaine salad with goat ricotta and a poached farm egg.

The soup was also wonderful, although less innovative. At first I thought it was a hair on the bland side, but as we got deeper into the bowl, it got more flavorful. Maybe it just needed a tiny bit of a stir.


Cauliflower Soup.

Next up was an order of polenta with turnips, mushrooms and pulled duck leg, topped with a soft duck egg ($6). Again, wow. This man can cook an egg. And the polenta was smooth as silk and made a delightful base for the smoky duck, the earthy mushrooms, and the soft turnips.



Finally, we each devoured one of these wonderful sliders ($5) - filled with coffee porter braised pork, paprika roasted carrots, and some sort of delightfully garlicky sauce that I think was an aioli. Insert snarfing noises here.



The entire meal for both of us set us back just $23 including two bottles of ice cold Topo Chico. This may sound like it's on the high side for trailer dining, but trust me - it is well worth every penny.

Menu changes daily and is diligently updated on their website, so if you're going with a picky eater or somebody with dietary restrictions, check it out here first. If they decide not to join you, give me a call.

Odd Duck Farm to Trailer
1219 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704

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La Boîte - a Container of Deliciousness

The recent proliferation of mobile and mobile-ish food purveyors around town has sparked a lot of discussion amongst Austinites about whether trailer dining is just a passing fad or an ingenious (and lasting) way for worthy restauranteurs to launch eateries in a relatively inexpensive manner. A few of my early outings suggested that perhaps some folks were capitalizing on the novelty of it all to sell mediocre foodstuffs at a ridiculous markup. However, a few trailers have popped up along the way that restored my faith in the Airstream - notably, Sushi-a-Go-Go (which is on my "to blog about" list) and Crepes Mille, and I've been hearing raves from reliable sources about Odd Duck Farm to Trailer and East Side Kings.

As a result, I'm optimistically open-minded about such things, these days. This morning, that optimism paid off. I had an early errand at the courthouse that was finished quickly, so I thought I'd pick up some treats on the way to the office. I passed by a couple of obvious choices - Sweetish Hill and Whole Foods - racking my brain for something new, when La Boîte popped into my head. La Boîte ("the box" in French) had been garnering some great reviews on Yelp, so I was excited to check it out.

As I pulled up to the place, I was immediately taken by its lovely aesthetic. La Boîte is built from a reused shipping container, but the design geniuses behind this venture have managed to somehow make that look good. It all looks very intentional and well-thought-out; there's even a lovely sitting area outside with a modern-looking canopy surrounded by several strategically-placed planters.

As with so many things I photograph, it looks better in real life.

I was caffeine-less at that point, so I completely neglected to photograph the interior. Or maybe I was just distracted by the pretty pastries. The selection wasn't huge at 9:15ish a.m., but I managed to snag two kinds of croissants (almond and butter - which one of the co-owners, Dan, assured me were "the best you can get outside of Paris") and two varieties of brioche (sausage and chocolate). Eight pastries set me back less than $20 before gratuity.

Hungry vultures were waiting at my office, so I only managed to photograph and try the almond croissant and the chocolate brioche. Both were absolutely outstanding.

I tasted the almond croissant first. At first bite, I had one of those moments of being transported to another plane by sheer virtue of the deliciousness exploding in my mouth. I literally had to close my eyes to block out other stimulus so I could properly savor it. The exterior was laden with slivered almonds and had the crispy texture of pastry that is coated with just a hint of carmelized sugar...the interior was buttery-moist and fragrant with the scent of almond extract. Pure heaven. I had every intention of just tasting a small bite, but I kept going back in the kitchen to cut off additional chunks.


Go ahead. Lean over to your screen and take a whiff of this beauty.


Watch that powdered sugar, though.


Many-layered goodness.

I had purchased three of the almond croissants, so I was sorely tempted to keep cutting off bites of those and pass on the chocolate brioche altogether. It couldn't possibly be as good. But, ONLY because I am a good blogger and wanted to report on my findings, I took a bite.





And whoa. I don't know what kind of chocolate they put in these, but it is fantastic - very intense and totally deserving of eating plain, which I don't say lightly. Chocolate is a very serious matter.

La Boîte also offers a small selection of sandwiches at lunch, which I need to go back and try as soon as humanly possible (there is a photo of one along with a terrific writeup of La Boîte by Natanya of Fête and Feast here. And to satisfy your environmentally-conscious side (you are an Austinite, after all!), La Boîte serves primarily local and sustainable products, including Owl Tree Coffee.

Further proof that thinking outside La Boîte can lead to unconventionally wonderful results.

La Boîte Café
1700 S. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78704

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