Taqueria Guadalajara

Tuesday night we ventured back to one of our favorite places to get Mexican food, Taqueria Guadalajara on North Lamar. The food is cheap and always very good. We are usually the only non-Hispanic people eating there. The waitresses speak very little English, if any.

They give you two different types of salsa with your chips, both good. A word of warning though. If they give you one of those squeeze bottles with light green sauce, don’t try it unless you have a fire extinguisher handy. The rice and beans are both excellent; very flavorful.

We usually get the combo plate with a tamale, crispy taco, and enchilada. I decided to try a different combo this time with Carne Guisada and beef fajita meat. Martie had the enchilada combo plate (one each chicken, beef and cheese). It was all very good. One morning we had breakfast there and it was equally good.

When we go to the counter to pay, we have fun picking out a random candy from Mexico. If you are having a hard time finding this place, it is about 1 block south of Rundberg on the east side of the road. Outside by the sidewalk in front is a small storage shed crammed with dolls and piñatas for sale.

Delta's Restaurant

I’m not even going to post the photo I took of my dinner because it would just make my stomach upset all over again. Monday night Martie and I had one of the worst meals of our lives.

We sat down with our laptops late Monday afternoon surfing the net trying to decide on a new place to try that we hadn’t eaten at yet. We found a website mentioning a place called Delta’s Restaurant on Parmer Lane. The Urbanspoon website mentioned this restaurant and of the 40 people that voted, 92% said they liked it. After eating there, I am convinced the people running the restaurant were the ones voting multiple times.

We showed up around 6 PM and the place was empty. That should have been a clue to us. We seemed to be their only victims that evening. We went up to the counter to order and were told that the Beef Kebob with Rice, and the Philly Cheesesteak were their specialties. Martie ordered the cheesesteak and a strawberry milkshake and I ordered the kebob. The first thing to arrive at our table was the shake. We both tried it and it basically tasted like 2% milk and ice blended together. They must have used red food coloring instead of strawberries because neither of us could taste even a hint of strawberry.

On to the main course, our meals arrived. The kebob had a funny texture and flavor. It was some type of ground up mystery meat and was inedible. Even if I would have slathered it in hot sauce, I would not be able to eat it. The rice was overcooked and dry. Martie’s cheesesteak had very little meat chopped up with lots of mayonnaise.

We ended up leaving almost all of our meal on the table when we left. Later that evening my stomach felt like it was trying to claw its way out. I don’t think either of us will be able to drive past Delta’s Restaurant without our stomachs doing flip flops.

Cafe Java, Round Rock

Monday morning we went to one of our favorite breakfast places, Cafe Java in Round Rock. We’ve been to the one in Austin on Metric, but prefer the one in Round Rock. The service and food is considerably better there. The waitstaff are friendly and it’s a fun place to go. They have decent coffee also.

Martie got her usual, Migas with a side of avocado. I ordered a couple of breakfast tacos, as I wasn’t hungry enough for for one of my regular breakfast choices. The breakfast tacos are good, but nothing really special.

Their pancakes and french toast are very good. They also usually have a daily special worth trying. On Sundays they have their version of Eggs Benedict, which are good. Every once in awhile I order Phillip’s Awesome Bacon Cheeseburger Omelet. It has ground beef, bacon, tomatoes, and queso. It is a meal that is sure to clog your arteries, but worth it.

Rail Road Cafe, Bartlett

Last Sunday, we decided to go for a motorcycle ride and ended up at the Rail Road Cafe in Bartlett. On a side note, those are not our bikes in the above photo. I “borrowed” someone’s photo from the internet since I forgot to take one.

We were greeted outside on the sidewalk by a young girl (the cafe owner’s daughter) who asked us where the rest of us were. We were momentarily confused until she told us they were expecting a large group of motorcycle riders from the Austin area and thought we were part of the group. We sat down at a table and the young girl decided she was going to wait on us. I think she was fascinated by us and our bikes. She gave us menus, got our drinks and stood at our table talking to us while we looked at the menu. Martie decided she wanted to try the chicken fried steak, and I was anguishing over whether to try the brisket sandwich or the chili cheese burger. I asked our young waitress her opinion and said they were both really good, and the chili was homemade. I was leaning towards the chili burger when she told me that they were out of chili and brisket. Even though I’m not a huge fan of chicken fried steak, I decided to order it as well.

Our lunch came with a salad and I was happy to note that they don’t use iceberg lettuce. The chicken fried steak was huge. We could have shared one. Neither of us could finish half the food on our plates. It wasn’t the best chicken fried steak I’ve had but still very good. It was moist on the inside and the meat was tender. The gravy was good and had a lot of flavor. The owner stopped by our table and twisted our arms into ordering dessert. It really didn’t take much arm twisting when she told us what our choices were. I ordered the peach cobbler and Martie ordered the German chocolate pie. The cobbler was excellent. Even though I was full from lunch, I would have had no problem eating the whole thing. I did let Martie try a small bite, being the nice person I am. Her pie was really good too. I think I ended up eating most of her pie also.

We will definitely go back there to eat. It was a nice ride up there. Bartlett also has an antique auction on the first Sunday of each month. Make sure if you go you save room for dessert.

Ming's Cafe

I love Ming’s Cafe on Guadalupe. Every time I’ve been there, I’ve had a good meal. Their dumplings are the best I’ve had. Their egg rolls are divine too. When you bite into one of their egg rolls, the vegetables inside of them are “crisp-tender” instead of soft and mushy.

We went to Ming’s yesterday for lunch. We were greeted by the owner, Fai who saw us and took time out to cook our lunch for us himself. Fai is an awesome chef. He makes all his own sauces, and everything is always fresh, or he won’t serve it.

I ordered the General Jow’s Chicken. He makes a special version for me. Instead of battering and frying the chicken, he stir-fries the chicken with lots of veggies and the sauce. Not traditional, but healthier and very delicious. My partner had the Moo Goo Gai Pan, which is what she usually orders. She was very happy to see that he remembered how much she loves garlic and happily munched on the extra bits of garlic slices in her dish. The kid had the Special Low Mein (another of my favs) and the Hot and Sour Soup. We all shared dumplings and Crab Won Tons.

Have I mentioned the dumplings? Well, they deserve mentioning again. They have both chicken and vegetable dumplings, and either are great either pan fried or steamed. I think I could almost drink the dumpling sauce, yum! Other menu favorites are the Coconut Soup, Orange Chicken, and the Curry Shrimp.

Ming’s has a beautiful patio area. Wednesday nights are bike night so you will see motorcycles lined up on the sidewalk in front of it, depending on the weather. It’s my favorite Asian cuisine restaurant and the prices are very reasonable. They always make me feel like family and I know it’s one place I can go and get a consistently great meal.

Abuelo's

Last night my partner and I decided to try Abuelo's Mexican food restaurant at Barton Creek Square Mall. We had been driving around trying to figure out where we wanted to eat, and neither of us had eaten there before.

We were seated right away in a booth against the wall. The backs of the booths are high, so I thought it would be a nice quiet dinner. Our waiter promptly came over and took our drink order. I was teetering on the brink of ordering a margarita, but decided on the tea instead. As soon as he left, I looked around and realized how noisy it was. How did I walk past all those children on the way in and not notice? If I didn't know better, we were actually at Chuck E Cheese. When the child in the booth behind us started to scream and push on the booth, I started thinking maybe I should call the waiter back and order a margarita after all.

We looked at the menu and decided to start out with Abuelo's Dip Sampler trio (Queso Diablo, Chile con Queso, and Avocado Cream). The Queso Diablo was very good, the Chile con Queso good, but the Avocado Cream was just a disappointing and bland guacamole. The house salsa was mild, but flavorful.

On to our main course. I chose the Sonora (beef burrito topped with chili con queso, cheese enchilada, and tamale). My partner chose the Juarez (crispy beef taco, tamale, chicken enchilada, and cheese enchilada). My beef burrito was very good, the cheese enchilada was okay, but the tamale was very bland. The rice and beans were okay. My partner enjoyed her dinner but agreed with me that the tamale was bland.

Meanwhile, the kids screaming all around us and their parents ignoring them was really beginning to annoy us. One kid at a table diagonal to us was throwing things while his parents ignored him. I looked down at the crayon that landed at the next table and wondered if his parents were going to pick it up. Of course not, they left it for the waitstaff to clean up.

Oh well, on to the dessert. We told the waiter when he seated us that it was our first time there so he brought us a complimentary dessert to share. We had the flan, which was okay but not something I would order again. It was more of a cream dessert instead of a custard, which I'm accustomed to.

Overall, the food was okay, but not great. I would not go out of my way to try it again. They have an extensive kids menu, which is probably why they had so many kids there. So, if you are looking for a nice place to have a quiet, romantic evening, this probably isn't the right place.