Last week/weekend updates

So last week I went to dinner at Cuba Libre on Colorado near 4th St. with some friends for dinners and drinks. www.cubalibreaustin.com We ordered a round of drinks that were on special for only $5 (The Bay of Pigs - which is their take of a Bloody Mary, The Key Lime - which is like key lime pie in a glass, The Bird of Pear-adise which contained Grey Goose disarrono and lemon juice). All of the drinks were well prepared and were very tasty. We decided to throw in a few appetizers as well since we had a coupon from Restaurant.com and ended up with two orders of their fried calamari with buttermilk ranch and marinara sauces as well as one order of the plaintain chips with pineapple mint mojo and chipotle ranch sauces. The calamari was lightly fried and were the tentacle and ring variety and not the finger-type and the plaintains were sliced longitudinally so that you had long, crispy chips to dip.

Both of these appetizers were popular and served fresh and hot so they were not long for this world with six hungry patrons. Lastly, we also ordered some potstickers since they were out of their bacon wrapped jalapenos. The potstickers were chicken filled and served with a sesame soy sauce. There were only four potstickers on the plate so I would suggest ordering the other appetizers that offered more bang for your buck. They were good but very fleeting.

For dinner four of the six attending ordered the Caribbean Pork Tenderloin that was described on the menu as being served over garlic mashed potatoes, garnished with a smoky mango sauce and julienned vegetables. As you can see from the photo below

That is an accurate description. The julienne vegetables were squash and zucchini. Now of course you know that I had to deconstruct - ie. untouch all my food. I would have preferred the sauce on the side as well but forgot to ask. The pork tenderloin was very moist and tender - in fact fork tender so no knife was needed. The smoky mango sauce was a wee bit sweet for my taste but it still complemented the savoryness of the pork and the mashed potatoes were delicious. Fluffy but still with some heft to them. They had just a hint of garlic - I would have preferred even more garlic flavor since I love garlic overall very delicious. For $14 this dish was a good deal.

One of the other diners ordered the Cuban Sandwich and that came out very hot and quite a plate of food. The sandwich had roasted pork, sliced ham, swiss cheese, pickles, and dijon mustard. It was served pressed (pannini style) and grilled. There were a few tostones (squashed fried unripe plaintains) on the plate as well. This is what it looked like:

For only $11 this was a bargain meal and as you can see, the sandwich is enormous. The last dish that was ordered was the Portobella and Mushroom Crab entree that was served over garlic mashed potatoes topped with a creamy crab and manchego cheese. This dish smelled heavenly and looked very creamy and decadent. It was consumed toute suite and although I did get a photo of it, the photo did not do it justice nor come out very well. Trust me when I say that I wish that it looked quite delectable and judging by how quickly it disappeared, worth checking out for yourself if you like the combination of ingredients.

We ended the meal with a dessert - the tres leches cake. It was described as a creamy-styled cake moistened with three sweet creams topped with whipped cream and boy did it live up to that description! It was very rich and creamy and moist and gooey and had some red sauce drizzled over the top. I had one bite and that was all that I needed. I am not a big dessert person and we were all stuffed by the end of the meal but it was a nice ending to a great night.

Now, at the end of the week I mentioned in my last post that I was going to try out Max's Wine Dive. www.maxswinedive.com I met another friend at 5:30 PM Friday night at Max's and the joint was beginning to fill up. The interior is dark and cozy with some booths and tables mixed up. We dove right into their Happy Hour specials w/ half-prized plates. There are a set number of plates that they serve at the full plate size but at half the price and we decided to go with Nacho Mama's Oysters (half dozen), Cabrito, Killer Calamari, and Portobella Carpaccio. Along with a glass (or two or four) of the 2007 Sagelands Riesling, Washington that was described as slightly sweet framed by vivid acidity...classic aromas of peach, apricot, citrus and honey balanced with mineral and floral notes we were good to go. The wine was only $4.50 a glass and the sweetness balanced out some of the spiciness that was found in our food.

The Cabrito was served with homemade corn tortillas that smelled divine when it arrived at the table with the habanero relish. The dish was described as 'Succulent braised and pulled local goat in a rich and spicy curry glaze with habanero onion relish,Chef Pito’s fresh corn tortillas, micro cilantro and mint' and it fully lived up to that description.

The Killer calamari was again the combination of rings and tentacles and was served with two dipping sauces - a spicy kimchee and sweet and tangy mango mint. I didn't care for the mango mint but the kimchee sauce was great! It had a nice kick to it and was very savory/salty - which is what I absolutely love.

My absolute favorite dish however was the Nacho Mama's Oysters. These Gulf Coast oysters were served on aioli and fried wontons wrappers, topped with habanero salsa and cilantro. This my friends was a foo-gasm. I food orgasm in my mouth. The crispy wonton chip with the creamy aioli plus the tender-but-crispy-on-the-outside oyster topped with the salsa and cilantro was a fireworks of flavor in the kisser. Yummers! I would have/could have finished off another dozen. The combination and contrasts in flavors and textures were ingenious! I am definitely going back to their Happy Hour just to order a dozen of these next time...and I might share...maybe...

The last dish that we sampled this evening was the Portobella Carpaccio which was marinated, roasted and pounded portabella mushroom, seared Texas chevre, baby organic arugula, pesto, white balsamic reduction and toasted pine nuts. This dish was divine as well! I love me a well-marinated mushroom and the crunchy toasted pine nuts were a nice addition. It almost looked too pretty to eat but we attacked it with verve and it was also decimated.

Overall, the experience at Max's was great. Although the noise level was pretty high inside due to the stained concrete floors and brick walls, I thought that the ambiance was wonderful. The servers were well-informed of the dishes and were attentive but not overly attentive. We had five glasses of wine and these dishes all for about $35/person.

I'd definitely return to try some of the other plates that we didn't get to such as the Gator Bites, the Tres Fritos which is cornmeal-crusted local fried green tomatoes, fried sour dill pickles, and Max’s own fried house-pickled jalapenos – comes with a side of creamy buttermilk for dipping. Doesn't that sound delicious!? And on their dinner menu they also have Shrimp and Grits which I have had a hankering for since I ordered some from the Soup Peddler months ago and recently saw on the Food Network with Bobby Flay's Throwdown.

I hear that their Fried Chicken is also worth trying out and on Sunday they have Sunday Brunch that lasts all day (11 AM - 9 PM!) so you can come and get All-You-Can-Eat Fried Chicken and Waffles for $25 and that includes all-you-can drink Mimosa's as well!

Now lastly, I just wanted to share one last photo with you of the breakfast that I had on Sunday morning at what is now my local favorite joint - Cafe Java - that is just down the street from me on Metric Blvd. It's a great little place that has a lot of heart and love. Their motto is Your Neighborhood Bistro and I have had many a great breakfast/brunch here. I had "The Java": 2 eggs, 2 bacon, hash browns, white or wheat toast & coffee or tea for under $6 before heading to my blood donation appointment.

Check them out if you are in the area. They have blackboard daily specials every day and their coffee is pretty good to boot - not that I have had it since I don't drink coffee - but I hear that is good. http://www.cafejava.info/

So that concludes my updates on the last week. There are always new places to try and enjoy and I am looking forward to sharing and posting about Lulu B's (my favorite Vietnamese food trailer), Perla's Oysters and Seafood, Chedd's Gourmet Grilled Cheese, Frank, as well as many others in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!