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In A Nutshell – December 2019

December was fairly low key with a quick trip to Dallas for a cheer competition (where the girls cleaned house!) as well as a trip to the DC area which saw a BBQ run to, wait for it, Richmond, VA. Sure, it might be surprising to find great Texas BBQ in Virginia but, trust me, you need to keep this on your radar. Anyway, here’s my favorite posts from December 2019.

Original Market Diner – Dallas, TX

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Did you know playing around with llamas can really work up a hunger? 🦙🦙🦙🦙🦙🦙🦙 After taking @kyrenabeana to @shangrillama_castle to hang out with some llamas we popped over to Dallas for some lunch. Not sure how the Original Market Diner made it on my list, or when, but it looked like a great option to get some good food. Since this is an old fashioned diner in Texas I went with the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and baked mac and cheese. This may be funny to some of you but I much prefer brown gravy on my potatoes and white gravy on my chicken fried steak so I love going to a place that has both! Our server, Ms. Bobbe, was awesome and really made the whole experience that much better so stop in and check them out if you're in the area for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

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Kalimotxo – Austin, TX

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Do you know what a pintxo is? – A lot of places and people have been calling it a "Basque style tapas" but that's not entirely accurate. Pintxos, unlike tapas, are single person bites typically on a piece of bread that's been skewered by a toothpick. Tapas are meant to be shared while pintxos are too small to share and now that that's out of the way lemme show you @kalimotxo_atx, the new pintxo bar in downtown Austin! – First off, the porrón, this is a special vessel that encourages communal drinking while eating with friends and family. It originated in the Catalonia region and spread to other parts of Spain. If you try it, be sure to work towards that full extension of your arm! – Then we have the delicious goat cheese and piquillos which are similar in flavor to a red bell pepper but not as crunchy as a bell pepper. You can get these in a jar at grocery stores and are great for making small stuffed peppers. On the next plate we have the torta gallega, a goat cheese piquillo, tortilla espagnola, and ensalada rusa. Next up was the mussels escabèche served with smokey potato chips (not pictured). Followed by the pan con tomat, or tomato bread. This is a common appetizer all over Spain and is quite enjoyable especially since the bread on this dish is from the excellent bread making brains of @emmerandrye. Then there's the Spanish chorizo and egg which was so freaking flavorful. I love Spanish chorizo so much…Moving to the octopus talo pintxo which is a small puffy talo (like a corn tortilla) topped with grilled octopus pieces. Then rounding out the pintxos and conservas we have a couple small plates such as the skirt steak and "patatas a lo pobre" or poor man's potatoes as well as the Spanish staple jamón ibérico. Then finally there's me, always hamming it up, just before talking the first photo in this carousel! – All in all, Kalimotxo is a pretty fun spot to grab a few snacks and a porrón to share with friends before a full dinner at the soon-to-be-open @hestia_austin. It embodies the spirit of pintxos quite well and I'm happy for that. Shout-out to @randegbert and @esler3 for taking care of @atxcocktails and I, it was a blast chatting with y'all!

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Miller’s Smokehouse – Belton, TX

Red Ash Italia – Austin, TX

Tonic at Quigley’s Bar – Washington, D.C.

ZZQ – Richmond, VA

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Great Texas style craft barbecue in Virginia!? – You're damn right! This spot ended up on my map somehow, possibly from when @2msmokehouse visited recently… Or maybe when @bbqsnob did a write up on them, but I'm glad I got a chance to visit. I gotta say, @zzqrva would be competing shoulder to shoulder with the top names in Texas BBQ for the Top 50 list. Went with brisket, ribs, hot gut sausage, and turkey with a side of jalapeno mac and cheese and potato salad. They pack all the sausage in house and, I'll be honest, it's some of the best sausage I've had in a bit. If you find yourself in Richmond, VA make a point to visit them and get blown away like @kyrenabeana and I were!

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La Mezzaluna Cafe – Charles Town, WV

Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew – Austin, TX

Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ – Austin, TX

Cocktail of the Month:
Roosevelt Room – Austin, TX

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