smitty's in lockhart

Spent another long week working in Austin. Friday after we finished our morning meetings, we had a bit of time (well, six hours to be precise) before our flight home. To kill a few hours, Susanne and I decided to take a little food adventure to a small town about 20 miles south of the airport called Lockhart.

Several internet sources said there is really great 'cue in Lockhart (referred to as the "BBQ Capitol of Texas") and the foodies online highly recommended a place called Smitty's. We followed our noses to some of the best barbecue we've ever tasted (and Susanne lives in North Carolina, so that's saying something).

First thing we saw in the parking lot was this smoke stack.

If it weren't for the sweltering Texas weather, we could have lingered outside and just smelled the other-worldly smoky goodness coming from that chimney and been satisfied. But we walked in, and just inside the door on the right was this:It was a balmy 104 outside, and dang was this fire screamin' hot. I don't know how these people survive this job.

Maybe the promise of unbelievably tasty bbq keeps them going in the sweltering heat. You order in the pit room and the meat is pulled out of the pits and carved on the spot. Our food was piled onto a stack of butcher paper, which we were informed was our "plate". We carried our big pile of meat in the paper with the edges crimped like a sling. We sat down in the adjacent eatin' room (dining room just doesn't fit this situation) and dug in (with our hands, of course). Doesn't that look delicious?

Well, it may not be glamorous but it was some of the best stuff I've ever eaten. Amazingly tender melt-in-your-mouth richness. We ordered ribs, sausage and brisket and it was all spectacular. The food was surely boosted by the unique ambiance, which is not to be missed if you are ever in Austin. I'll probably be back there at the end of August and I'm definitely making time to return to Smitty's.

uchi

Phew! That was a long week. I spent it working in Austin. Well, mostly working anyway. We did manage to eat some good meals and the best one was at Uchi. We had a to wait a while for a table, but it was worth it. Not being professionals at sushi or Japanese cuisine, we needed some help from our waiter to choose. Here are a few photos. They are a bit grainy since I didn't want to use my flash in the middle of the restaurant.

On the left was tuna and on the right was salmon. It was delicious, but just the beginning.

Our waiter brought us this dish on the house. It was so good. It had smoked yellowtail with yucca chips, asian pear, marcona almonds and a few other things. Yum.

We each sampled bites of each others' entrees and every plate was outstanding. I ordered a wagyu beef short rib dish that was unbelievably good. Then I finished my meal with a peanut butter semifreddo served with pear sorbet. Oh my.

I'm headed back to Austin this week and we've already planned a return trip to Uchi. Amazing food.

cherry clafouti

The grocery store had fresh sweet cherries on sale this week and of course I couldn't resist picking up a bag. Well, I discovered that the girls are just not fans of fresh cherries (especially when strawberries are an option). So what to do with a pound of fresh cherries?? I found this recipe for cherry clafoutis and decided to try it out.

The dish is something like a dutch baby with cherries studded throughout. I liked the addition of almond flavor (achieved by adding a glug of amaretto). The custardy pancake-like base was a good vehicle for the slightly tart, softened cherries. I think most people would eat this for breakfast, but we enjoyed it as a light dessert tonight.

strawberry payload

Since the strawberries in our garden aren't ripe yet, yesterday we went out to the strawberry farm to do some picking. The weather was perfect and it wasn't very busy on a Wednesday afternoon. We managed to haul in about seven quarts/eight pounds, which I thought was impressive given the short attention span of this child:

She got her fill early and then started to sprint up and down the rows. At this point, Mira and I knew our window of opportunity was closing.

After paying for our bounty, we had a little picnic of pb & fluff / pb & j in the back of the car.

We will be gorging on these babies for a few days.

down to business

A few nights ago halfway through dinner, Abby left the table saying, "I need to get to work" as she walked off. We waited a few minutes to see if she would return. When she didn't come back, we found her in my office obviously quite busy. When we walked in, she immediately shushed us, said she was busy working and "be quiet!" She had some important problems to solve, so we left her to her tasks.

I'm pretty sure this is a violation of my company's corporate policy on technology asset use, so let's keep this one on the down low.

hair care

The past week or so Mira has been really concerned with her hair. Every morning, the first thing she asks is if I'll help her brush it. Today, she was brushing out her hair herself and noticed that it was sticking out a bit in the back. While she attempted to slick down her unruly locks, I was busy doing something else. A few minutes later, she says,

"Mommy, can you help me brush my back hair?"

I then burst out laughing and she stood there looking confused.

a solid plan

Abby wanted to get herself some chocolate milk ("bunny milk," she says because of the rabbit on the box). She decided that a step stool would help her reach it since it is stored on an upper shelf in the pantry. But she hit a snag when trying to open the pantry door. I had to snap a photo.