Freedmen's

During a recent trip to Austin, I had the opportunity to go to dinner with my father-in-law.  He had recently moved to Austin for work and has dined at many restaurants in the area.  One of his favorites is a fairly new barbecue joint and bar called Freedmen's.  In a barbecue-rich city, I had to wonder just how this place compared to the other highly regarded joints in the city.  The building itself has a rich history and a very "Austin" feel inside the building and in the adjoining beer garden.  It was very crowded for a Monday, so we chose to sit at the bar rather than wait for a table to become available.

Due to the crowd and heat, we took a seat inside at the bar

For appetizers, they had three dollar brisket tacos and brisket tamales.  Since I couldn't decide which I wanted to try, I got one of each.  The brisket taco came with two thick slices of brisket, onions, cheese, and jalapeños.  One bite into this taco, was all it took for me to come to the conclusion that this was going to be an excellent dining experience.  The brisket was perfectly smoked, with a great bark and was very moist.  The tamale had chopped brisket and was very good, but had a little too much masa for my taste.

Amazing Brisket Taco

Brisket Tamale

For my meal, I chose the "Holy Trinity Plate" of brisket, sausage, and pork ribs.  The brisket was of the same quality that was in the taco and the sausage was flavorful and had a nice kick to it.  As good as the brisket was, the pork ribs were the best I have ever had.  They had a nice bark, were seasoned heavily with cracked ground pepper, and came off the bone easily.  To make this meal even better, the beans I ordered were seasoned with cilantro and pieces of the same sausage I mentioned above.  Generally beans are not that different from one restaurant to the next, but these were absolutely phenomenal.  At this point in the meal, I had reached barbecue nirvana.  I was full and thinking I would be hard pressed to find a more completely perfect barbecue meal.

The Holy Trinity Plate (Brisket, Pork Ribs, and Sausage)

Before were were able to ask for the check, the bartender who was waiting on us recommended the Smoked Banana Pudding for dessert. Being the kind soul that I am, I didn't want to reject his recommendation, so I ordered the dessert. I am not sure how one "smokes" banana pudding, but it was delicious and actually had a smoky taste and smell.

Smoked Banana Pudding

Since this place is fairly new, Freedmen's did not make the list of Texas Monthly's Top 50 Barbecue Joints.  I have no doubt that they will make it next time if they continue to turn out such amazing food.  This was one of the best meals I have had in months and I can't wait to take my wife.  The service was spectacular as well.  I give Freedmen's a 5 on my 5-point scale.  I was able to eat at several other highly rated barbecue joints while I was in Austin, but this place stood out more than the other stops.  Hopefully they will continue to have barbecue of the quality I experienced there.

Freedmen's
http://www.freedmensbar.com/
2402 San Gabriel St.
Austin, TX
Livin The Good Life Rating = 5

Norma's Cafe

Norma's Cafe Frisco

This past week, Norma's Cafe opened a location in Frisco.  This restaurant has two locations in Dallas and is very popular with the residents of the city.  Norma's is heavily praised for their "home cooking" and their pies.  When we got out of church on Sunday, we made a quick jaunt down to Frisco to see what the buzz was about.

The little one was worn out after church

When we arrived, it was extremely crowded and we were told that it would be a 30 minute wait.  Since we drove all the way to Frisco, we decided to wait for a table anyway.  While waiting to be seated, I was way too close to the pie display case and it was all I could do not to dig into a piece of pie while I waited.  Luckily, we were actually seated after only 15 minutes of standing around.  The inside of the diner paid homage to "old Frisco" and had a classic diner motif.  After taking our drink orders, they delivered a basket full of delicious corn bread and hot rolls.  While chowing down on hot rolls and corn bread,  the smells coming from the kitchen were promising good things to come.

Yummy rolls and corn bread

Although they were still serving breakfast, I elected to eat lunch while my wife chose breakfast.  I got the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, corn, and black eyed peas.  The chicken fried steak was top notch, but it was a little on the small side.  The mashed potatoes and black eyed peas were the best I have had in some time, but he corn was very average.  My wife was disappointed with her breakfast of scrambled eggs, grits, bacon, and biscuits.  She didn't have a complaint about the taste, but said that her food was cold.  So needless to say, she wasn't as pleased with the meal as I was.  

Fantastic CFS

My wife chose breakfast for lunch.

After finishing my meal, I had to try to the pie.  I ordered the chocolate pie and it was served with a huge layer of meringue on top.  It looked delicious and tasted as good as it looked.  It was the perfect end to the meal.

Finishing off with some chocolate pie.

Although the location in a strip mall did not give it a classic diner feel, the service and food more than made up for this fact.  I really liked the chicken fried steak and thought it was the best CFS I have ever had in Frisco.  Yes, it was even better than Babe's CFS or the one at The Depot.  I anticipate a return visit in the near future, because I am already singing the praises of this place to my co-workers.

Norma's Cafe 
http://www.normascafe.com
Livin the Good Life Rating= 3

Bread Winners

This past weekend, my mother came to visit and watch my oldest daughter perform in her first dance recital.  After picking her up from Love Field, we met my wife and kids for breakfast.  Our breakfast destination of choice on this day was Bread Winners in Plano.  Bread Winners is a place where we used to dine several times a year, but hadn't visited recently.  It had been well over a year since our last visit, and we decided that was way too long.  In addition to the Plano location, they also have three locations in Dallas.  One of the reasons we like this place so much is because they have excellent house coffee and a nice selection of breakfast breads that are given to each table while guests await their orders.

Enjoying some patio dining with my mom.

Complimentary selection of breakfast breads

There are several breakfast items that I really like at Bread Winners, but two of my favorites are the breakfast burrito and the chicken fried steak and eggs.  The breakfast burrito is affectionately called the "big as yo face" burrito by my wife and easily ways over a pound.  That is a lot of eggs, potatoes, chorizo, and cheese rolled in a tortilla.  This menu item is not for the faint of heart or people who suffer from IBS.  Since I wasn't terribly hungry, I chose the Farmhouse tacos and breakfast potatoes.  The farmhouse tacos are made with eggs, cheddar cheese, potatoes, onions, and jalapeno bacon.  It was heavy on the cheese and was absolutely delicious, but the breakfast potatoes were not as good as the usually were.  My wife got the migas and my mother got the basic breakfast.  Both really enjoyed their meals as well.

Farmhouse Tacos

Migas

Although most of the places I review on this blog are places I am trying for the first time, it is also nice to visit old favorites as well.  I have never had a bad meal at Bread Winners, and this visit was no exception.  We had a very nice morning to eat on the patio and the service was great.  I give Bread Winners a 4 on my 5-point scale.  We will not wait another year before our next visit!

Bread Winners
http://www.breadwinnerscafe.com/
Livin the Good Life Rating =4

Eno's Pizza Tavern

Add caption

On a beautiful Sunday morning, my family and I decided to take a trip down to the Bishop Arts District again and try a place we have wanted to try for a while.  We arrived around 11:45 and the area was already packed, so we had to park on side street and hoof it.  Our culinary destination today was Eno’s Pizza Tavern.  Several of our friends have recommended this place, so we were eager to try the pizza.

Upstairs dining area

After walking about a half mile in the heat, I was anxious to sit down in some air conditioning.  When we arrived the hostess said we could take a seat anywhere, so my oldest daughter requested we sit upstairs.  As I looked up at the steep staircase and remembered the long walk, I immediately knew that I would not be doing any cardio workouts when we returned home.

My youngest enjoying our view of Bishop Ave.

We finally sat down at a table that had a window and a great view of Bishop Ave.  After having a few glasses of water and re-hydrating, I was able to browse the menu.  For starters we ordered the roasted bread with gastro butter and I ordered the soup du jour, which was baked potato.  The bread and butter were absolutely phenomenal.  It was a large order and I could not stop eating this bread.  The baked potato soup was pretty average and served in a tall cup with a shallow soup spoon, which made it hard to eat.

The roasted bread was a hit. 

The baked potato soup....not so much.

For pizzas, my wife chose the Moma’s Pie, which had tomato, herbs, olive oil, and basil.  I ordered the iPie and added the grass-fed beef and some Benton’s ham.  My pizza was delicious and perfectly cooked.  The only thing I had to complain about was the Benton’s ham was a little too salty for my taste.  I somehow ended up eating my whole 14-inch pizza, despite the fact I had already had soup and a loaf of bread.  My wife said her pizza was great as well.

Moma's Pizza

1/2 beef and 1/2 Benton's ham

Eno’s definitely lived up to expectations and we will add it to our restaurant rotation.  It is a fun place to take kids, but would also be an enjoyable place to go eat with friends.   In addition to great pizza, they had several pasta dishes that looked good and I will definitely be trying those on the next trip.

Eno’s Pizza Tavern

http://enospizza.com/

Livin the Good Life Rating=4