Posted by johngl
Last Sunday (June 21) while dining at Fino, a small group of us decided that we’d hit Garrido’s this weekend. What we didn’t know at the time was that the restaurant located at 360 Nueces was going to get a large favorable write-up in the Austin American Stateman three days later. I thought that getting into the place at 1pm Sunday (June 28) would be next to impossible.
Lucky for us, we met up at the bar and after a few minutes, were led to our table.
Posted by johngl
Desserts aren’t really my thing since I am a meat guy, but when my fig tree decided it was going to fully fruit out this year, what’s a guy to do?
Besides, some friends were getting together to welcome Billo Naravane, winemaker at Rasa Vineyards, back to Austin. I needed something original.
Posted by johngl
Yes, I am trying to get as much mileage as I can out of our vacation photos. Going back to work has this way of making you think you never left. The time off is a distant memory already. I want it back!
With views like this, who wouldn’t?
Posted by johngl
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas has asked me to be on their advisory board!
There was much rejoicing!
I would like to thank the Academy, my most glorious spousal unit, Max, BigDMcC, Brian, and the inventors of the World Wide Web and Internet. None of this would have been possible without them. I drink wine, I eat food, I give advice. It should make for a good fit.
Have a great weekend!
Posted by johngl
About a year and a half ago, I showed y’all how to do some brisket on a basic Weber grill. This time around, I thought I might break out the old Brinkman and do a couple of full-sized briskets on a larger scale smoker since the 4th of July is right around the corner and you may need to feed a lot of people.
Not pretty, but fifteen years of heavy smoking takes a toll
Posted by johngl
The only thing we’d really planned on this trip to Maine was the journey aboard the Stephen Taber. For everything else — whale watching, lodging, dining, etc — we just decided to wing it.
So, coming back into Portland after 4 nights aboard the Taber, we needed a place to stay. I thought staying in the Old Port area would be nice, and conveniently, there was a relatively new Hilton Garden Inn ( 65 Commercial Street ) right in the center of it all.
We did well:
But johngl, what about the restaurant?
Hold on a minute will ya? I’ll get there…
Posted by johngl
Before you get too far into this and if you haven’t done so already, you might want to read through Day 1. Then again, maybe you don’t. Suit yourself.
Day 2 began with a battle on the high seas. The Black Pearl came charging at us through the fog, big guns blazing. With cannon balls flying across the quarter deck, the Captain bravely donned his red shirt (as not to show blood). Lucky for us, his brown pants were in the wash.
Ahem. Sorry. But the day did start out foggy:
Nope, there was nothing wrong with the camera. If you look closely, you should be able to barely make out this lobster boat that was anchored about 15 fathoms off the port bow.
Posted by Keeper Collection
For the past couple of weeks we’ve been eating good food, drinking good wine, and having a GOOD time. The Keeper team just got home from Italy and we have so much to share. We decided that we wanted to divide and conquer the country - North, South, East, and West - to find the freshest foods and best Italian cooking.
Arming ourselves with online cookbooks such as Chef David Bull’s, Bull’s Eye on Food and the Wine and Food Foundation’s Plate and Vine, we were fully prepared to cook some of our favorite recipes in Italy – ya know, just practicing for when we live out our fantasy of traveling when we retire to Italy to spend the rest of our days cooking divine meals and indulging in beautiful Italian wine at sunset in a quaint (yet spectacular) Italian Villa! Part of our team took on the northwest side of Italy, tasting foods in the Italian Riviera and slipping into France. The other part of the team traveled to Northern and Southern Italy and even snuck on over to Innsbruck, Austria. Life’s rough, huh?
Posted by johngl
Many years ago in a life far, far away, I spent an entire summer in Maine. While there, my friends and I made several junkets Down East and ate lobster, scallops, and crab until we grew gills. It was wonderful. The clean ocean air, the granite cliffs, the picturesque fishing villages — great memories.
So, the most glorious spousal unit handed me a bit of a surprise when she decided we should go there — on a kind of non-Father’s Day thank you trip. Not an ordinary vacation, this was to be a multi-day food and wine adventure on a 138 year-old schooner. And the Taber isn’t just any schooner either — she’s never missed a season in her entire history.
The Schooner Stephen Taber
(Original photograph by Captain Brenda G. Thomas)
The whole thing started when we happened to be sitting around one Saturday afternoon…
Posted by johngl
The odds are that you will never make it out to Boothbay Harbor, Maine (pop. 7,000) unless you are avid whale watchers, enjoy wooden sailing vessels, or, more generally, like to go to out-of-the-way places. If you fit into any or all of those persuasions, you simply must stop by the Smiling Moose while you are there.
Posted by johngl
Technically, I am still vacationing. My cell phone is in the off postion. However, I am back in Austin for the recovery phase of the trip. You will hear about my “Great Adventure on the High Seas” ad nauseum in future posts.
Besides going back to work, about the worst thing about returning from a great vacation is that one now needs to think about cooking one’s own food. And grocery shopping. And emptying the cat’s litter box.
Wanting to keep it simple (in the food prep area), I decided I would whip up some classic Fettuccine Alfredo:
Classic Fettuccine Alfredo (along with some chicken)
Posted by johngl
Just to make sure you guys don’t think I have given up the ghost, the most glorious spousal unit and I have been aboard the Stephen Taber.
This was a wine and food cruise that also involved racing the Nathaniel Bowditch:
Stay tuned for lots more coverage!
Posted by johngl
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the good folks over at the Texas Beef Council. They asked me if I wanted to cook some meat.
Twist. My. Arm.
Grilled Top Round Steak with Mango Salsa, Couscous, and Sugar Snap Peas
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A spirited and irreverent journey into the world of food, alcoholic beverages, and the innovative use of construction materials
