One of the few convenience stores in downtown Austin [Ben Lim]

Where to Eat: Cheese, Oysters, and (No)odles

Eating during SXSW is a bit tricky. Long lines and crowds can lead to a dinner of Cheez-Its, a granola bar, and a Frosty (mmmm). Fortunately, we arrived in Austin early to attend the interactive—and much less crowded—portion of the fest.

Our first meal was at the hotel TGI Friday’s, where the broccoli-cheddar soup and half a “club sandwich” (it’s served on an untoasted roll) with avocado met our needs. The soup had a robust cheesy flavor and the sandwich was mediocre ingredient-wise, but the combination really hit it. Grade: C+. Radisson Hotel & Suites, 111 E. Cesar Chavez St. → At Roux, a spacious “Cajun bistro” with memorably odd wall art, we sampled stuffed oysters, a peppercorn-crusted ribeye with fixins, and shrimp in brandy cream sauce—one of the best meals of the trip. (Read about the co–best meal in Part 2.) Grade: B. 214 E. 6th St. → The stark, empty, and depressing Mongolian Grille offered possibly the saddest, least appetizing collection of raw ingredients that has ever existed on a buffet line. The noodles, which they confiscated after realizing they weren’t supposed to be set out during lunch, were merely spaghetti and linguini. Around 20 different types of watered-down sauces—green curry, Asian blend, barely-white coconut milk, and so on—rounded out the selections. Grade: F.

Next: Bodegas Don’t Exist (a.k.a. Nodegas) & ATM Tips

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Meese? Cafe Zaiya, a Midtown lunch destination, sells a formidable array of cute desserts (not to mention cream puffs and fondant au chocolat at its a Beard Papa outpost). Our testers, Elizabeth and Karolina, tried a few of these: mango, raspberry, and chocolate mousse topped with assorted fruit and more chocolate. Here’s what they said. → More Meatloafing

Here, a frank exchange between two friends about bedding. Commenters, please add your thoughts about memory foam.

WARNING: light adult content

PATTY: where can i find a decent mattress pad
RON: what’s your idea of decent
k-mart or bb&b really
PATTY: bbb is expensive isn’t it?
i thought c21 would have some but theirs sucked
RON: do you want memory foam?
i would try overstock.com for memory foam
brad pitt swears by it
a standard firm mattress topped with 3″ of memory foam
it’s the pitt-rest
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The weekend is here! Sorry about our meager posting lately, but we’re still reeling from the New Year’s Eve theft incident. I’m waiting to buy a new computer until the iMacs get a little bump. Macrumors.com just told me that “new Penryn based iMacs would be seen next Tuesday, continuing Apple’s pattern of weekly announcements since Macworld.” Fuck you, thieves! Seriously, you are scum and I hate you.

As I washed my jeans the other night, I wondered how often other people wash theirs. I go as long as possible until they no longer fit properly. With my current jeans that’s probably around five wears, but then I’ll wear them a few more times until they look unfashionably loose in the bottom and I feel frumpy and I’m forced to hit the ‘mat. So I texted a bunch of my denim-wearing good friends and here’s how they replied: → More Meatloafing

You are a unique and beautiful snowflake.

• Our good friends over at Lunchboxr have started a Flickr group. When you add your photos to the group, your lovely lunch appears on the Lunchboxr home page. See, there’s my grilled cheese sandwich from yesterday. Fun!
• Snow is pretty, but wind and rain? No thanks! Get yourself a Nubrella, the revolutionary umbrella that won’t flip inside-out.
• Jesse L. Martin announces departure from Law & Order; the world cries. So much for my JLM–Jeremy Sisto sandwich. (But he’ll be playing Marvin Gaye in the upcoming biopic, so the world cries again, but the tears are made of joy, not sadness.) [Variety]

Add it to your Netflix queue this instant. Point Break, the 1991 Swayze/Reeves vehicle, is apparently really awesome.

RHCPfan*: I am traveling back in time with Blood Sugar Sex Magic
Meatloafing: give it away

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Sometimes I like to get fancy with ginger-infused syrups and mint leaves and stuff, but sometimes a basic punch is in order. If the weather is getting you down, throw yourself a party and enjoy a cup of this traditional and heartwarming punch.

Ingredients

• 2 liters 7-Up or a mixture of 7-Up and ginger ale (we prefer Canada Dry)
• 1 32-oz bottle pomegranate juice (hella cheap at your local C-Town or Food Dimensions) or cranberry juice
• 1 tub lime or rainbow sherbet

Directions

Combine chilled beverages in a cute glass punch bowl. Using a soup or ice cream scoop, gently plop half the sherbet atop the mixture. Add the rest of the sherbet when amount in punch dwindles.

This is my other mom’s recipe for cornbread. It’s airy and substantial all at once. I added seeded, chopped jalapenos (2 large ones) and about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese (could’ve used more…). Susan also likes adding nuts or dried fruit. I prefer a savoury cornbread, but to each her own. Anyway, it’s delicious, and best paired with Mollie’s Famous Chili, the recipe for which lives in my head and will be available soon.

CORRECTION: The recipe also calls for 2 teaspoons of baking powder. We apologize for the inconvenience. → More Meatloafing

Better than a random Midtown deli, worse than Burger Joint. It’s literally a good burger. Lunchboxr has the full report including my post-meal IM review. Here’s an excerpt:

Ben: mollie, please sum up your goodburger experience in a sentence or two.
Mollie: i was hoping for hand-cut fries. the meat itself was cooked as specified (medium-rare), but i had to remove the condiments and salt the patty.

[Lunchboxr]