Tacolandia VS Taco Libre

In a previous post I talked about my glorious adventure at Taco Libre. The first, all taco all the time, festival held in downtown Dallas. Tacolandia is the Dallas Observer answer to Taco Libre. I realize the easiest way to go about this is to compare and contrast the two, because essentially they're the same event with a slightly different name.

Tacolandia took place at the Dallas City Hall Plaza, which is a nice, basically concrete, area of land with a small green patch and some random sculptures. My team (my brother, his girlfriend and my boyfriend) and I arrived about 10 minutes before the gates opened. I learned from Taco Libre to get there a little early unless you want to wait for an hour. Gates opened, we were given some boxes to hold our tacos and a voting chip and were free to eat. And when I say free to eat, I mean that in every sense of the term. It was free to eat. The cost of food was in the cost of your ticket.

So close to the entrance. I want to eat TACOS!

They had 28 vendors serving their version of a taco. Wait, let me correct that statement. They scheduled to have 28 different vendors but I know some didn't show up like Torchy's Tacos. I'm disappointed in you Torchy's. I love you so much and to see you willingly ignore an obligation you agreed to made me feel like your mother. Shaking my head in shame and sadness.

Most were street tacos and like I've said before, there are only so many meat, onion, cilantro tacos you can eat before you get bored. But there were some variations.

Velvet Taco wins for most unique with a Chicken Tikka Taco. An Indian-inspired taco with basmati rice and Thai basil. My brother and his girlfriend voted them to be the best taco based on sheer creativity.

Val's Cheesecakes, whom I actively follow on Instagram, created a taco cheesecake. Yep, taco...cheesecake. I'll wait for that to sink in. It is exactly what it sounds like. Taco flavored cheesecake. Against my better judgement I tried it and my gut was right. Cheesecakes are meant to be sweet not savory. It was too weird for me and I can't say I was a fan. But I'll try a cheesecake one of these days.

I had more than one salmon taco, on accident. It was about 80 degrees that day and salmon was just not something I wanted to eat. That's like asking for food poisoning. Kozy Kitchen was one of those salmon tacos, which I had one bite of and threw out because I refused to waste precious stomach space on tacos I didn't want to eat. One or Done. One bite or I finish it. No middle ground. They also had a buffalo taco, which was fine but not great. Another one bite wonder.

Biggest disappointment

Taco Diner had a chicken and waffle taco. Freaking CHICKEN AND WAFFLE taco. When I first walked by they didn't have any ready and when they finally did the line was ridiculous so I missed out on it's wonder. But props for the idea. I was actually extremely disappointed that I missed out of that taco above all others. I was so curious of this taco that when I recently went to Taco Diner I ordered it and was not thrilled. In the below picture the chicken at Tacolandia was obviously fired to a crispy goodness. At Taco Diner the chicken was breaded in an egg batter like tempura and that was a mistake. The batter didn't hold up well enough to the sauce and the maple syrup. You lost the texture, which an egg batter already doesn't offer much of, rather quickly. Fried chicken Taco Diner, or none at all.

Photo credit to Taco Diner

Lazaranda had my favorite taco of the day. It was a pulled pork taco but the sauce was just this side of salsa and the pickled veggies were on point. Plus, they put the cheese on the bottom AND they threw that on the flat top so it melted and just started to crisp up. I ate one, loved it, waited in line for 10 minutes to both give them my vote, along with the boyfriend, and eat another.

Check out that glorious winner! Well my personal winner.

Besides the food, Tacolandia also took things a little further for its patrons. There was a DJ pumping out some tunes. They had the only grass area set up with bags, massive beer pong, horseshoes, just some fun lawn games. There were some photo-opt areas throughout plus an actual photo-booth area hidden among the taco vendors. They also had people doing Sugar Skull face paintings, which actually looked legit. Those people did a good job. The only thing you  needed to pay for inside the event was drinks. But all drinks. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike.

My personal take-away: 

If Tacolandia and Taco Libre got together and had a baby, that baby would be "The Best Damn Taco Festival in Texas" (I'm claiming that name).

Taco Libre did great with publicizing the event. It was packed. Again, had to wait an hour to get in and the event sold out. Tacolandia was not so packed (which isn't really a downside as a customer but as a coordinator not exactly what you want). It was out on social media but I don't feel like it was as much as it could be. Taco Libre paid for social media ads, either got local food bloggers to advertise on their social sites or were out there enough that bloggers just went ahead and promoted it themselves. Leading up to Taco Libre I couldn't escape it. Tacolandia was really only promoted in the Dallas Observer. I did see an occasional flyer here or there, but I didn't see anywhere near as much of it on Insta nor did I see much on Facebook. It was there, but not as predominate as it could be.

Taco Libre had bands. Granted they were more Mexican bands and that's not really my thing, but live music is nice. Tacolandia had a DJ. He did music. But no one really cared.

Tacolandia was 21+. No damn kids ALLOWED! That was the best. No kids running around, no strollers, no crying. I was so happy to not have to deal with children under my feet while navigating tacos. I'm focused. I'm in the zone. My taco zone does not include me making sure that I don't murder your children. 

Tacolandia was smart to include the cost of food in the ticket. And the ticket prices weren't outrageous either. I got my tickets on sale for National Taco Day, they were 40% off, so that knocked the cost down to $15/ticket. $15 for all you can eat tacos is a deal to me. Hell, $25 still isn't that bad for all you can eat tacos. Taco Libre had it that you had to buy tickets, then buy tacos, and buy beer. It was a mess of money. Here, I didn't have to pick and choose with tacos I ate because I didn't want to spend $100 on tacos alone.

Tacolandia was in the "fall", which in Texas still means summer. That was nice. The weather that weekend was in the 80s. It wasn't blistering hot like Taco Libre was. The outdoor space offered a variety of locations to sit when Taco Libre offered only the grass and, fingers crossed, you didn't get stepped on. Now, to be fair, Taco Libre's location was visually more appealing, taking place in a park, but Tacolandia was more...user friendly.

This is how "The Best Damn Taco Festival in Texas" needs to work. Cost of food included in the ticket, more advertising on social media, done on or around National Taco Day (puts your solidly in early fall, plus give it more of a "national" reason which could up the attendance rate), keep the outdoor activities and keep the music.

Put that taco in your box and eat it!

Basic Brunches does ACL

Two weekends ago was Austin City Limits weekend 2. It was also the weekend leading into my birthday which is clearly a much bigger deal. So my birthday present to myself was a trip to ACL with Caitlin. This was my first music festival outside of 35 Denton, which really isn't much of a music festival. I hate people, I hate crowds, I hate drunk people and I don't particularly like live music because you run such a high chance of the band being awful live. But this ACL had about 12 bands that I wanted to see, so this was going to be a weekend of me working on some personal issues for the experience. $250 dollars to see Foo Fighters, Florence and the Machine, Drake, Halsey, Hozier and then some seemed worth it.

Total Weekend 2 Line-Up. Look at all the bands!

Friday Day 1:

Originally, we planned to leave Thursday night, but things changed and we decided to leave bright and early Friday morning. I mean on the road, bagels in hand, starting at 7 AM. I will admit, it was the best drive I've ever experienced. We were early enough to beat the Dallas traffic and just late enough to miss the Austin traffic. Three hours flat to get there. 

We arrived at her friend's house, who were graciously letting us stay in their guest room for free, a little after 10 AM. We changed, packed the backpack, figured out where the shuttles were picking up and hit the road. The shuttles pick up at Guadeloupe and 4th and we parked at Guadeloupe and 15th. About a mile away. We decided that the best thing to do was to eat as much as possible before we got to ACL to limit the amount of money we spent in the gates. So we walked a mile in the opposite direction to Torchy's Tacos. Delicious Torchy's Tacos. 

Trailer Park and Green Chili Pork - Missionary Style

I got the Trailer Park, classic, and the Green Chili Pork - Missionary Style. What is missionary style? If you look on the depths of the internet you could probably find Torchy's secret menu. Missionary style is a flour tortilla, cheese, fried corn tortilla, green chili pork, pickled onions, guac, and cilantro. It's massive, it's enough to eat on it's own, and it's the best.

After porking out we walked back to the starting point and then to the buses. So basically, before ACL even started we walked a 5K. These shuttles are the best, you don't have to worry about parking or traffic near the event and they run constantly. If you go, unless you are within walking distance of the park, take the buses!

ACL here I come.

Day one bands of interest were Nate Ruess from FUN, Billy Idol, Brand New, Gary Clark Jr., and Foo Fighters. Nate Ruess did a lot of covers, but he was good. Billy Idol was amazing, best show of Friday. Only down side is Billy is getting old. Brand New was a band of Caitlin's angst-ridden teenage years and she was very disappointed in them. Gary Clark Jr. was superb, he's a brassy blues/jazz player, not really music I listen to on the reg but I would listen to him. He might work his way onto a playlist or two. Foo Fighters were OK. I'm sure other people thought they were amazing, I personally was disappointed. They were more metal-screaming than their regular radio sound. Also, Dave Grohl wouldn't stop talking. I came here to hear you sing not listen to you talk. About 30 minutes into their set we left. We were also exhausted considering the fact we had been going for 14 hours at this point. So we headed back to the house and crashed.

Billy Idol - White Wedding!

Our best Billy Idol faces

The only thing we ate at ACL were these queso waffle fries from one of the stands. I should have been paying more attention from where I got them, but I was looking at price, what food I was getting and the line. Those were the decisions that played into anything I ate within those fences.

In the morning, I'm making waffle fries!

These were $9, enough to share, and the shortest line so they won. They were adequate. Very salty. The queso was pure cheese-liquid gold as it should be and the fries were slightly crisp with the fluffy inside expected of waffle fries. The "pico" on top was chopped up unripened tomatoes and onion. It was almost too tart and sweet and I ended up pushing most of that off to the side. Basically we ate them, didn't hate oursevles nor the food, and weren't hungry again. They did what I needed them to do.

Saturday Day 2:

We learned some lessons from the day before. 1. Get a blanket, we were sitting on my jacket all day. 2. Give less fucks about appearance. 3. Find a spot between two stages and never leave it. We hit Target and got ourselves a kickass How To Train Your Dragon blanket and some protein bars we snuck in because no outside food or drinks. Although you can bring in empty water bottles, there are free water filling stations throughout the grounds. Down side is the water is warm. So if you want cold water, either bring in a frozen, unopened water bottle (allowed) or get ready to spend $2 on a cold can of water. Or skip the water altogether and spend $8 on beer. 

To be fair it was basically 100 degrees outside.

Saturday was packed. So many people. Literally a sea of people at all times. Thankfully, most of the bands we wanted to see switched between two stages right next to each other, so we didn't have to move much. We started with Father John Misty, who actually interrupted his set to yell at a guy that was leaving his show. Look Father John, you don't know that guy's life. How 'bout you leave him alone. Sturgill Simpson, good at what he does, I don't like country music so it wasn't my thing. Twenty Ont Pilots. Although I know I heard them, I remember nothing of their show. Either heat stroke set in for that hour, or they weren't that great.Walk the Moon which were surprisingly wonderful. They put on an entertaining show, especially since they started their set with the opening song from the Lion King. Modest Mouse. This was annoying. Nothing to do with Modest Mouse, but I was more focused on the throngs of people that felt it was 100% OK to literally step over my body like I wasn't sitting on this blanket for the last 4 hours.

Seriously people. You suck. 

TV on the Radio. Again, don't remember. Bassnectar. Funny story, when we were getting on the shuttles to go home the night before we thought for a brief moment that the guy in front of us projectile vomited everywhere but it ended up just being some overly shaken-up carbonated water. We ended up coincidentally following the guy on our way to the car. Eventually, we were joking that we were following him and he told us that he got extra tickets to VIP Bassnectar and to find him and he'd give them to us. Yeah, sure, I'll be able to find you, random guy, in a crowd of God only knows how many. So no, we didn't get VIP tickets to Bassnectar but it would have probably been cool.

All of the lights all of the lights!

Last, and least, Drake. He. Was. Awful. Awful! Such a disappointment. Most of what we stayed for was just his tracks playing and him not doing much of anything. He occasionally rapped, but mainly he just walked around the stage yelling "AUSTIN!" and posing. That was it. Also, whomever was in-charge of his sound system needs to get fired because you couldn't really hear him as well as the other bands that were playing.

I should be able to hear him from this far back. I did for Foo Fighters.

Sunday Day 3:

This was our last day. It was expected to be the hottest day. It also had the most bands that I was interested in seeing. So this was the day. We started off at Kerby Lane, because it's not a trip to Austin without a trip to Kerby Lane. I ordered the Crispy Chicken Benedict which is a biscuit, crispy chicken, poached egg, hollandaise sauce, green chili sauce and citrus-marinated onions. I didn't care for the onions but I did care for everything else. 

Not pictured: potatoes, bacon, fruit. I ate it all. 

We got to ACL, final day, and they were brutal at checking bags for some reason. I mean, "dump all the contents of your bag on this table and if I find anything you can't have I'm going to throw it in this box" brutal. And that's where the remainder of our protein bars lived. In the trash box. What a waste. We found our spot, this time in front of a bunch of chairs and tents to limit the amount of foot traffic that would come our way and got ready to listen to bands all day.

Amason, Lord Huron, Halsey, Ben Howard, Of Monsters and Men, Hozier, and last but not least Florence and the Machine. Most of the bands on Sunday were amazing. Halsey was one I was excited for but she cut her set list 20 minutes short and that pissed me off. I know you had songs to fill that 20 minutes because you only sang 2 songs that I know. That was bullshit Halsey. Ben Howard's band was great but he was not. He needed to move away from the mic and annunciation more. Hozier was the surprising underdog. I actually ended up really enjoying his music, it's a little eclectic, and he put on a phenomenal show. I was pleasantly surprised. Florence and the Machine was AMAZING! Of course she would be. It was a sad sad moment when we had to leave. We needed to drive back that night so we wanted to be on the road by 10:30 PM which meant we needed to leave at 9:30 PM to get in line for the shuttle and walk back to the car.

Kill me.

All-in-all it was a fantastic time. It was long, hot, and exhausting but fun. From Friday to Sunday the amount of fucks I gave went to zero about how cute I looked. I went from wearing full makeup and cute outfit to trucker hat, sports bra, shorts undone and rolled down and walking around like "Yep Austin. This is me. Enjoy it!" Would I go through another ACL again? Probably not, unless it was just an amazing lineup like this one. But I agree that everyone should experience a music festival at least once.

The Best Breakfasts of Denton

School is back and in full swing. For some of you that means college. Whether you're new to your campus or maybe you just don't explore your college town, I am here to help. Well, specifically I'm here to help Dentonites, both old and new.

I attended the University of North Texas for college, majored in Advertising and Marketing. I spent 3 years living there, plus the 2 additional years of me basically being there almost every weekend because the S.O. is finishing up school still. Between the two of us, plus some additional Denton-based friends, I feel I can help you in your foodie problems.

In what will be a small series of posts I will let you in on some of the best places to eat in Denton. Wait, disclaimer, "in my opinion". You might try these places and think that they suck, that's fine, at least you tried. There are some places on this list I don't personally recommend but other people do. So, again, here are some of the "best places" to eat in Denton:

Let's start the show with the most important meal of the day. Breakfast.

Denton does not have a big, breakfast-based, subsection of restaurants. I think it's because it's a college town and most people aren't up till 11:00 anyways. There are some gems in there though, especially for the weekend.

Seven Mile Cafe:

Seven Mile Cafe is located off Congress street. Originally, it was a small house that was converted into a restaurant that also had a massive, kinda storage unit looking, coffee cafe right next door. Recently they switched the locations. The tiny house is now the coffee cafe and the bigger location is the restaurant. Logically it makes sense. There is always a wait at Seven Mile if you show up after 9:00 AM, in this larger location they can fit twice the amount of people. The downside is that the larger location is a giant box that has no sound absorption so it's loud, and the old coffee bar, which is still there, takes up a lot of real estate in the center of the room.

French Vanilla Cappuccino 

The prices are just a little high. Not high enough to stop you from going but, for Denton, it makes you think twice sometimes. Most dishes are priced in the $10-15 range. That and tacking on a $5 mimosa and your breakfast is already at $20. Go with another person and now you're at $40. The food though is good, but more importantly, it's consistent. I've rarely been disappointed except when I got their loaded potatoes. It was basically a large ramekin filled with hash browns and cheese, and, if I was lucky, I found a small piece of chorizo or bell pepper. That dish just lacks texture. It was boring. It was fine, nothing was wrong with it, it was just boring. I recommend their french toast, or their huevos rancheros.

Look at that French Toast. Yum yum, delicious.

Old West:

Old West is a staple in the Denton community. Everybody goes here. Literally everybody. This is the place that the post-church crowd hits. High traffic times are between 9:00 - 10:30 AM. If you show up in that time frame expect to wait at least 20 minutes. The place is small. More than once I've been at the outsider table that's located against the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen prep area. You don't want to sit there, but you will sit there because the food is massive and delicious. Pancakes as big as your head. I get the panhandlers which are biscuits and gravy topped with potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheese and a variety of meats and vegetables of your choosing. I usually get spinach, bell peppers and chorizo with pepper jack cheese. I never liked biscuits and gravy until I had them slathered in additional ingredients and now I'm all about it.

Look at all that food! You can't even see the biscuits!

Royal's Bagels:

Home of the "Best Cinnamon Roll in Texas" Royal's Bagels is located off University. It's a great pop-in/pop-out joint. Bagels, bagel sandwiches, and cinnamon rolls. I love bagels like the natural born New Yorker I am. It's in my blood to love them. Although I doubt the bagels themselves are made in house they make all the sandwiches to order.

Gooey cheese and crispy bacon. Is there anything better?

The cinnamon rolls are made in house. They are rather large and you can get them covered in extra frosting, which you probably should.

Never turn down extra frosting.

This is where I eat when I just want to grab something and go. I always get an everything bagel with eggs, bacon and cheese. I've dabbled in their cream cheese bagel options, opting for one that was peanut butter fluff and bananas. I think monkey was in the name. It was good, but there was a lot of cream cheese which isn't always my thing. It was a sloppy mess, spilling out the sides every time I took a bite. I'm sure that's how it's supposed to happen but I'll pass.

Loco Cafe:

Loco Cafe is the hippest of trendy joints out in Lil D Town. Been there once, wasn't a fan, but you might be. It's a place where you order at the counter and then go find your table. If you order a drink like specialty coffee you  have to retrieve it from the coffee bar, which I didn't like. They also gave me a hot coffee when I clearly ordered the iced coffee, which also rubbed me the wrong way. I honestly don't remember what I ate so that should tell you that the food, to me, is probably mediocre at best. Give it a shot. I might have been having an off day but I'm not about to go again.

Cups and Crepes:

This is a place off Fry. I've literally tried to eat there twice and have YET to eat there. First time I drove over and it was clearly open but there is no parking on the street. So you're only option is to park in the driveway (because this too is an old house converted into a restaurant) where you have a 100% chance of getting blocked in. So nope, drove somewhere else.

Second time I tried to eat there I walked because it's that close to where I stay. Get there and place looks busted, mind you it's only been a week or two from the first attempt. Doesn't look open and there is a sign on the door that reads "Closed for Summer". Um... you were open just the other week. Plus summer is over, school is back. Be open. Apparently the SO told me that he's heard bad things about this place. That they're kinda all over the board and you never know when they're open. I just wanted to include this so you know it's probably not a place you want to eat. But if you're lucky enough to get inside the doors let me know what you think.

Frank Underground

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending my first ever Frank Underground dinner. If you don't know of Frank Underground, it's an "underground restaurant" that was created by MasterChef season two finalists Jennie Kelley and Ben Star. Together they take you on a themed culinary journey. Although they never try to recreate a theme they will never recreate a dish. My dinner, "Brunch After Dark" was a theme they had done once before and brought it back because of the response to that particular dinner.

To sign up for Frank you need to visit the website and get on their mailing list. Once you're on there they will send out an email (usually once a month or once every two months) listing the theme for the dinner and the dates. From there you respond if you're interested and can make any of the times listed. After that you pray that luck is on your side because seats are given lottery style. I also encourage you to follow them on Facebook. On occasion they post last minute cancellations and on social media, but it's a first come first serve basis.

The dinner is held in a secret location that is not disclosed to you until the night before/day of your dinner. You sit, along with about 20 strangers, around a communal table crafted of reclaimed wood that Ben made himself. Throughout all the courses Jennie and Ben give you background on the ingredients and the inspiration about the dishes. At the end of the day... sorry night... you will be there for about 3 hours. Three hours of pure food heaven. At Frank they believe in frank food. Just basic ingredients turned into something fabulous.

Upon arrival you have to buzz up to the apartment, and if your name is not on that list you are not getting up. They check your name at the front door and at the apartment door. Just in case in the 2 minutes it takes you to get up to the elevator you're no longer yourself. The staff (yep staff) will take your purse (or coats but this is July in Texas, the fact I wore flannel baffled my mom but I looked hella good) and give you a cocktail, our's being champagne, and allow you to mingle. They will not start dinner until everyone has arrived. They encourage you to not be fashionably late.

Before dinner even started I had taken down 4 glasses of champagne. To be fair, it was the tiny, serving appropriate sized glasses. If I were pouring it would be a wine glass and it would be full. Once everyone arrived we were invited to sit. You are encouraged to make friends with your seat neighbors, which you will whether you want to or not. I was for it. Don't get me wrong. New friends = Yay!

My new dinner friends. Two of which were Frank veterans having attended around 10 dinners.

Once everyone was seated dinner started with an amuse-bouche.

Amuse-bouche:

Buttermilk cheddar biscuit - Foie Gras - Housemade heirloom tomato jam.

Let me explain what an amuse-bouche is, in case you've never heard of that term. An amuse-bouche is a single, bite sized hors d'oeuvre. It's usually served on a spoon but this one had potential to be messy so it was served on a plate.

I've never had foie gras and I still couldn't tell you want that tasted like. I didn't try it on it's own because liver. But this was a humanely obtained duck (?) liver. The biscuit was homemade with Vermont sharp cheddar cheese. What I was most cautious of trying, besides the liver, was the tomato jam. I'm very finicky with tomatoes. I used to eat them like apples when I was younger and then I got over them. Now I have to be in the mood for them. And honestly, I might start off in the mood and half way through my food be over them and pick them out. This jam was mixed with thyme which helped with the balance of flavors. It wasn't too sweet which one would assume tomato jam to become. At the end of my three bites I was very ready to get into this meal.

First Course:

Black bean huilacoche puree - Uncle Ron's heirloom squash - Chorizo - 63.5° egg (specifically) - Salsa Verde - Pickled vegetables

I know your first questions is, "What the hell is huilacoche and how do I say that?"

Huitlacoche (wee-tlah-KOH-cheh), AKA "corn smut", is a fungus that grows naturally on corn. It is a delicacy in Mexico while here in America we will just destroy the whole crop. The fungus itself sells for a higher rate than actual corn. It is perfectly safe to eat.

So in the bottom you have the black bean huilacoche puree. Mixed in are bite sized chucks of Jennie's uncle's squash. On top you will find chorizo, the 63.5° egg, salsa verde, pickled radishes and onion and cilantro as a garnish. This dish was fanominal.The black bean puree tasted like refried beans but was perfectly smooth. The chorizo added just the perfect amount of spice while the pickled vegetables added a slight sour note. Cliantro and the salsa verde rounded out the Mexican inspired flavor profile. It is mind blowing in its simplicity. Honestly though it could be a bowl of cilantro and I would be happy. I love that herb. It's disgusting how much I love cilantro.

Let's talk about eggs for a minute. I'm sure you're wondering, as I did, why specifically 63.5°?  Eggs want to cook at 145° F. Fact. Well assuming fact, this is what I was told at dinner. We cook our eggs too high. Here they cook the eggs for an hour sous-vide style. That means they put the egg in an air tight plastic bag and put that bag in a water bath and let it cook. Sous-vide is also great from quick marinades. It forces the marinade into the meat because it has no where else to go. The more you know right? When you cook the egg in this style the white and the yellow are the same consistency. If I had the patience to cook eggs for an hour, sous-vide style, I still probably wouldn't because I would never be that patient.

Second Course: 

Frittata - Ibercio ham - Smoked mozzarella - Asparagus salad

This is an Italian-based dish. Although, the ham comes from southern Spain and only southern Spain. The pigs, which this specific ham is from, are foragers. They eat acorns and wild flowers. No one feeds them. Once the pigs are fat or whatever they need to be they are salted and hung in a cellar for 1+ years. Obviously the curing of the meat happens once Babe is no longer with us. The technique these farmers use essentially make prosciutto. This specific ham was aged 2 years and goes for $180-200/lbs.

I put my fork into the ramekin and had a hard time getting it to come apart so at that point I wasn't too impressed with this dish. Then I put it in my mouth and took back every negative thought I had. That ham though. I have very rarely said the words "Oh my God" while eating but this time I did. I almost put the fork down. I didn't want to be distracted from eating. I didn't feel the need to rush into my second bite. But no because $200 ham. I have never had anything like that before and I most likely will never experience that again. That'll do pig. That'll do.

Third Course:

Watermelon sorbet - House-distilled peach moonshine - Mint

Once you are on the guest list for a dinner at Frank they send you an email with all your instructions and also your menu. You are free to look at it or not. Some people don't because they want to be surprised. I love surprises but I also love getting excited about what I was going to eat so I looked. Of all the dishes listed this was the one I was most excited to try. I love watermelon. That's one of the reasons I love summer. So much watermelon so little time.

Moonshine. The booze of the Prohibition era. Moonshine must be consumed within one week of distillation or it is no longer moonshine. Moonshine is also highly illegal and extremely strong. I obviously did not have moonshine (wink wink).

The watermelon sorbet is made with just frozen watermelon juice. It was a subtle flavor. The moonshine was strong but I didn't get peach. I got booze. I ended up mixing the sorbet with the moonshine resting on the bottom of the glass and taking it like a shot. I also removed the mint. I thought there was too much mint and I know that was the consensuses among my new friends on my side of the table. I also just don't like mint outside of mint chocolate chip ice cream or a mojito. But like I said, the people sitting around me agreed. We decided that basil would be a better herb. Or salt. Either in the form of some granules atop the sorbet or salting the rim.

Fourth Course: 

Crouque- madame - Laraland farms smoked red wattle ham - House-made sourdough - Gruyere - Sunny duck egg - Caviar - Green Salad. 

This was considered the main course. Again, a dish I've never experienced before. Crouque- madame. A crouque-madame is like an open-faced sandwich. It's bread, ham, cheese, and optional sauce. Our sauce was replaced with the egg. What's the difference between a crouque-madame and a crouque-monsieur? No idea. I tried to Google it and it gave me the same definition. So my guess is the monsieur is an actual sandwich. Someone, please feel free to enlighten me on the difference.

I was not a fan of this dish and I'll tell you why. The sourdough was a little too crusty which made it difficult to cut. I was literally throwing my food all over the table, at one point my lap, because I couldn't get through the crust. It was incredibly frustrating. Maybe it was the wild yeast. Wild yeast takes longer to rise. The first rise takes 24-48 hours and the second rise takes 3-6 hours. I doubt it was the yeast, that's a cop-out. I even just got in that dish after a little while and picked it up with my hands. Naturally after covering it with the caviar that was falling off because if I'm going to eat caviar I might as well get that shit all over it. I've had caviar on it's own before and was not a fan. Mixed with more food it's not as bad. After the hand attempt also failed me I ended up giving away what was left of my food. Like I said, the people around you become your best friends. Already willing to eat after you. No cooties at this table.

Fifth Course:

"Dessert Benedict" - Candied bacon waffle - Cantaloupe ice cream - Zabaglione

You know how fruit salads are always cantaloupe and honey dew and you're disappointed? Not here. The only way I want to eat cantaloupe is in ice cream form from now on. One scoop is all you need. The color of the zabaglione (which is an Italian whipped custard) was very yellow. Questionably yellow. It received its color from tumaric but it was really throwing me off. Yellow is not an appetizing color for food. At least to myself. But it was delicious nonetheless. At the bottom was the bacon waffle. Cause bacon waffle. You can't go wrong with bacon waffle. It was little bits of bacon so it wasn't overpowering at all. I only really got crunch from the bacon more than bacon flavor.

Drinks:

Home-made blood orange grapefruit mimosa

The mimosa was mouthwatering. I feel that carafes needed to be on the table. They didn't really, the servers walked around and re-filled your glasses often. But still, carafe wouldn't have upset me or anyone I was sitting with.

Rose

The rose came with the main course. I know I drank it but at this point I was kinda boozed up and a little overwhelmed by taste to really remember it. I know that in looking for a wine pairing for the dish they tired 8 different wines. PS- I would love to be apart of these tastings beforehand. I like wine.

Turkish coffee 

Turkish coffee. I don't drink coffee. When I was younger my mom had coffee in a water bottle in the fridge. I mistook it for soda and chugged it and regretted it instantaneously. Since then I just never wanted to drink it. It brings back bad memories. There are few exceptions to this statement. 1. I'm dying and need caffeine to get me through the day. 2. It's this Spanish espresso on of my Directors at work makes. 3. Turkish coffee.

It's slightly sweetened so you don't need to add sugar but they do offer it at the table. Apparently, in Greece they use Turkish coffee grounds to read your future. We were not in Greece, nor was anyone of Greek decent so no readings for us.

At the end of our three hour dinner I was done. This brunch dinner was some of the best food I've ever eaten. No brunch nor meal will ever compare. I might as well stop eating altogether. From now on I am eating for nourishment and not enjoyment. That's partially a joke. I love food. But really this meal is in direct competition for best meal of my life thus far, and I think it wins. When Jennie and Ben came around at the end asking everyone what they thought I told them "Anorexia starts tomorrow. Might as well end on a high note."

They also ask everyone what their favorite dish was. I told them mine were the two dishes where the main component was something in my every day life I hate.

I don't like beans (although I'm warming up to them) but that black bean puree was the best dish of the evening. It was so humble in it's origin and ingredients. So perfectly balanced.

Also I hate cantaloupe. But like I said, ice cream form and I'm sold.

After dinner was said and done my mother and I cornered Ben and asked for MasterChef secrets. Which I got. I know all the behind the scenes goodies. I'm on to you Fox and MasterChef. On to you.

I encourage you to sign up for Frank. It's hard to get in but when you do it's worth it. One thing I was told by Frank frequenters is to let them know you are open for any night as opposed to a singular night. I suggest creeping the Facebook if you don't get picked and snag last minute seats. It's an experience and it's one to remember.

Thank you Jennie and Ben for a wonderful dinner and a most kismet evening. Brunch After Dark was obviously meant to be in my life. I appreciate all the hard work that you put into putting that dinner on and want to emphasis just one last time how absolutely, without a doubt, fabulous the food was.

International Basic Brunch: Fable Kitchen

I know what you're thinking. "She was in Vancouver two months ago. Why is she just now posting about this?" Well, the answer is, I was waiting on the pictures that were not mine. I just got them this week. So I can finally write about my International Basic Brunch and hope I remember everything.

Let me introduce you to Fable Kitchen. Fable is a Farm-to-Table (get it?) restaurant opened by Trevor Bird, a former contestant on Top Chef Canada. Everything, and I do mean everything, is made from scratch in this restaurant. To be fair, Canada takes more pride in the quality and preparation of their food so most places are from scratch or farm to table. Every place is delicious. Eat in Vancouver. But back to the point, Fable has an open air kitchen located right at the front of the restaurant. Right when you walk in you're practically in the kitchen. Get your apron and help expedite some food.

The Sunday we went to Fable was for International Basic Brunch. It was written into the game plan once Basic Brunches became a thing. Also, brunch. Duh.

Brunch because mimosas

The food here seems simple, but in that simplicity it is very confusing. I got the scrambled eggs. Or so I thought.

Do you see the eggs? No? That's because they are snuggled all comfy like in that little jar. Do you need a closer look?

See... eggs. More than just eggs too. The eggs themselves also have sauteed spinach and bacon and parmesan cream. Yep. You read that right. Parmesan CREAM! I would have purchased a can of that delectable cream and take it home and put that shit on everything!! All the things. It also came with toast and homemade jam, and a potato hash-brown/square with whatever that cream spread was. Eaten, but not shown, was the side of bacon. But when I say "side of bacon" I actually mean the 1/2" thick SLAB of pure pork belly that came with an apple puree. Because if bacon isn't good enough as is, let's make it bigger and add puree with it.

Here's an aerial view 

Everything about my dish was amazing. Actually, having to relive this meal while I write this makes me want to go back and eat it again. 

Mindee and Adriana both got the French Toast. Oh sorry, I mean they each got a half loaf of bread that was made into french toast. 

Not even exaggerating. It was half the size of the plate and 3 inches high. And it's topped with mascarpone, because more cheese, and candied walnuts. Adriana also tacked on a side of house made sausage that came with a black pepper jam (which is shown but in the background). 

International Basic Brunch was a huge success. Here is something I mentioned before though about Canadian Brunches... they fill up ridiculously fast. Two places I called that morning basically laughed at me when I asked about getting in. Fable told me if I got there when they opened I could probably get in with no wait. We did. We got there within 5 minutes of them opening and were seated immediately. What you can't tell is the restaurant is very small.. sorry "cozy".  Before we even ordered our food they had no more tables left. Another thing is no one in Canada will rush you. At all. No one will make you feel like you need to leave so they can get a new table in. So eating practically anywhere will take you two hours. WILL TAKE YOU TWO HOURS. If you are sitting at a table and it's not McDonald's you will be there for a long time. Did I stress that enough? Eating is meant to be a time to relax and talk with your friends and enjoy your food. The way food deserves to be enjoyed and the way we should always enjoy it. 

Taco Libre!

What is the best food on the planet? I'll give you 5 seconds to think about that just kidding it's tacos. Tacos, the most perfect vesicle to transport delicious meat and toppings into your mouth for consumption. Why are tacos great?

1. Various types of filling. You have beef, chicken, fish, barbacoa, carne asada, pork. Really anything you want as a filling is doable. Hell, there are even choco-tacos that are ice cream sundaes in a taco shell.

2. You can also top them with anything. Classic cheese and salsa, mango salsa, slaw. The combinations of fillings to toppings is essentially endless.

3. If you eat your taco over other taco shells you automatically get a new taco. I like to use my chips as a nacho, scoop the fallings onto the chip and use the salsa or the queso as a binder. Taco nachos. 
(You're welcome)

So when Taco Libre was announced for last weekend I was all over that. Endless tacos amidst beer and music for an entire afternoon into the evening? Why would I say no to that? Alex and I bought our tickets ahead of time. It was the smartest decision ever because 1. We had our tickets and 2. If you bought them online and got the early bird tickets they were $10 cheaper long as you were inside the doors by 5 PM. I do love saving money.

Alex and I got there around 4 PM because traffic was awful and find out so was the line for Taco Libre. It was wrapping around the park. To be fair, it was a small park, but still.

That was just the people in front of us, there were people behind us and it wrapped around at the corner.

During our almost hour wait in line we found out the event sold out. Like I said, we already had our tickets so it was great news for us. We assumed the line would move along quicker after that announcement but no, everyone else in line also had tickets. Seriously, we were almost in line for an hour.

Naturally, if it's sold out that means the event itself was packed, and it was. They had various taco shops along one side of the park and the lines were about 15 mins waits a piece. Booze was closer to a 20 min wait. 

Hurry up to wait

We got out first tacos at Revolver Taco Lounge.  I was starving at this point so I ordered 2 crispy tacos and 2 barbacoa tacos. For those of you that don't know, barbacoa is goat. It's actually really good. If done well it's like beef. From what I could understand the cripsy tacos were filled with meat, of some kind, deep fried, then given to us in bags with a slaw and marinade mix that we were supposed to shake. The barbacoa tacos were like typical street taco style, add your cilantro and onions and whatever sauce.

TACOS!

After that we walked around a little bit to try to find alcohol. Well, not find it, it was around, but find a line that wouldn't take forever. Heat stroke was not on my to-do list for the day. After we were refreshed with beer I wanted to try at least one more taco joint while there so we got some more tacos at Urban Taco. 

I got an al pastor taco and some type of chicken taco. Of the two, the chicken taco was better. The chicken was seasoned well and was moist. The al pastor taco was a little chewier than I would have preferred. We enjoyed our tacos and beer while hanging out in front of the stage while listening to Pinata Protest. They are a band from San Antonio and they actually had fans in the audience that knew the songs so I take it they are somewhat popular. 

At the end of the day the biggest complaint I had, and various other people, was it ended up being bigger than expected. That's obviously not a bad thing. You want events to be popular, that's the whole point. But for the location is was small with long waits. The other "complaint" would be that every station was street tacos. I love street tacos, I understand they are easy, but when you're just getting 14 restaurants with their variations of street tacos you're not going to find much actual variety. Also, it was hot, but that's Texas. 

We ended up leaving after an hour or so. The plan was to head over to the Reunion Tower Lawn Party but that changed last minute, which was fine. I didn't need to spend more money. If they end up doing Taco Libre again, which they should it's a great idea, it needs to be in a bigger location. Variety in food options should be suggested to the restaurants. Also, more weird guys dressed like this...