My cousin recently found this amazing little gem of a recipe for Nutella Blondies at TheFoodCharlatan and insisted we make them, now, if you love blondies you should absolutely give it a try! They were really delicious and I haven't ever used much Nutella in my life... I've had it on toast a few times and it was ok, but WOW, this was the first time I really tasted Nutella for what it really is and I was immediatly having visions of delectable swirls of Nutella and cheesecake topping a plate of brownies and decided I had to give it a try. Here are the results, and I have to say they were AMAZING (very modest, aren't I?)! Now, I will admit for all the hard core bakers out there I cheated and used pre-packaged brownie mix, but they were still divine and it simplified the process. I love how the Nutella forms an almost crunchy top crust on the brownies and the cheesecake cuts the over-the-top sweetness a little by adding the cream cheese tang, couple with uber chewy brownies delectable-ness... MMmm

When we lived in Cedar Park we went to the Noble Pig (now renamed to Noble Sandwiches) on RR620 for lunch pretty regularly but haven't been since we moved to South Austin a year ago. We just realized there is a Noble Sandwiches on Burnet close to the triangle so headed up there to check it out. It is just as great as the original and the interior is a beautiful, sleek industrial/cottage feel. I wish I had gotten a picture of the decor, it was really nice.

On to the food, we got a few half sandwiches so we could try a few things We had a Duck Pastrami Ruben sandwich (on bacon bread... excuse me while I wipe the drool off the keyboard), Knuckle Sandwich and the Noble Pig on challah. 

The smoked duck pastrami is extremely tender with a wonderful smokey flavor, and -according to my husband- it is "super tastie-fied." But really, I think the house made pickles and bread really make their sandwiches, it is all fresh made, light, fluffy and flavorful. The level of pride they put into making something generally thought of as being "simple" is really the secret. Everything they serve is fresh and handmade by them, and it is all delicious. 

Check out their menu here!

I have been waiting patiently (or not so patiently!) for the South Austin Ramen Tatsu-Ya since one of the nice waitresses at the North location let it slip a year ago that they were opening one up MUCH closer to me.

I am an Asian soup junkie, and Ramen tops my list of must haves, and I would say Ramen Tatsu-Ya is the most amazing Ramen I've had. I love the stuff. It is like liquid crack. With an egg in it.

So, now that I've already said how crazy I am about this place I was SOO excited when I found out they are doing a soft opening before they are "Open-Open" next week. Probably no need to say, but we were THERE as soon as I knew it was an option. 

The South Austin location was honestly a little classier and I don't think it'll be as noisy as the North location, I love that they took the feel of their North restaurant and took it up a notch design wise. Every one there was so nice and helpful and the food was 100% as amazing as what I've come to expect from Tatsu-Ya. 

I always get the #2 (Tonkotsu Sho-Yu -Tonkotsu broth with special blend of soy sauce, chashu, ajitama egg, menma bamboo, crushed peppercorns, scallions and nori.) with an extra Ajitama (egg) and a spicy bomb

But my husband gets the #1 (Tonkotsu Original - Creamy pork bone soup with chashu, ajitama egg, wood ear mushroom and scallions) with extra chashu pork and the corn bomb.


They are both always amazing. I highly reccomend this spot. It is amazing! Oh, but you probably want to get there early, the North location gets a line around the building starting about 6:15, so try to beat the crowd!

We have been driving by Porter Gastro Pub heading to one restaurant or another several times and always say "we need to check that out!" Well this was the day! It is a very cool vibe and folks had dogs on the patio (I am a sucker for anything dog friendly). The inside was a cool industrial zibe that I loved.

Looking over the menu there were so many great sounding things! We ended up going with the list below and the Pork Belly Slider, Oxtail Croquette and Country Pate were all so flipping great! The Pork Belly Slider is a "small plate" and was only one so we had to share, I really wish we had gotten more because I could have stuffed myself on just that. 

The Oxtail Croquette  was crazy good... I can't explain it... just do it! We talked to the chef and if I remember right he said they braise it crazy long in wine. SOOO tasty

I am a big fan of pate, and their country pate was a really nice pate and I would definitely get it again, but the big WOW for me was the homemade pumpernickel bread. Carb Crack.