You may have noticed (er, hopefully?) A-Tooch has been absent for a while. That’s because she just completed two back-to-back trips to the good ol’ south — stopping in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and Austin, TX for South by Southwest!
My girlfriends and I roadtripped down to New Orleans, and en route dropped into Birmingham, AL, where the massive BBQ food eating commenced. It seems as though they like to bake their mac n’ cheese with heavy cream in the south… While not exactly dietary it is awesomely delicious. Besides, what’s a vacation without packing on a few pounds? 
The first of many beef brisket platters with some delicious mac n’ cheese and cole slaw.
In New Orleans, we dropped into Acme Oyster House, where the wait was already out the door just a half hour after their opening. Really basic menu but pretty good. Tried some craw puppies as an appetizer which were (of course) fried and came with some awesome dipping sauce that consisted of maybe tartar and butter? Then I went with standard fare — 1/2 shrimp po’ boy and cup of chicken and andouille sausage. What I most love about the po’ boys down south is the fresh bread which when done right, is buttered too.
At the suggestion of many, we took a brunch detour one day to Mother’s — a New Orleans establishment serving the standard po boys, red beans and rice, and more. The food was pretty tasty but more importantly, we couldn’t get our paws off the dang biscuits. Baked fresh and served with a glop of butter and fresh berry jam these things are what the south is made of. Even when we were so stuffed we thought we’d die, my friend S and I went back to finish the biscuits like we would never see food again. Foodie determination.
Fast forward to Austin, TX — a new location for me but probably one I’ll be back to visit. First stop? BBQ food naturally, at Iron Works BBQ. More no-frills (am I starting to see a trend here?) dining. The BBQ platters are no-joke cheap and served with an interesting combination of potato salad, baked beans, a slice of white bread and a LOT of sliced raw onions and pickles…
And finally, the sweet ending on my trip came at Gourdough’s, a place so unique and decadent even Tony Bourdain called it out (starting about the 4:13 mark). The product that comes out of this place is seriously unreal – giant donuts with more toppings than you could imagine. I got the Granny’s Pie — caramel, pecans, bananas and graham cracker, all atop a frosted donut. Are you serious?!
3 Comments
This is perfect – I’m planning a friend’s bachelorette in Austin (and have never been there). Any good brunch places you’d recommend?!
That donut looks amazing. I want to lick the picture.
Nothing beats fried craw fish. Seriously…it’s sent from God. I wish we could have it in Boston.
Unfortunately I only had one morning open to brunch it up… but Moonshine was delicious! http://www.moonshinegrill.com/menus/moonshine_brunch.pdf