Café Con Monica

Austin Eats: Cinco

I love food. If you have been following me for awhile then you know that. Combine my love of food and exploring where I live and BAM we got a post about great places to eat in Austin!

You can see my other Austin Eats posts here.

This week I am sharing two more great places we have tried!

Thai food is my jam. If you let me, I will eat Thai food almost daily ( and I did when I lived there) Therefore, I am on a quest to find the best Thai food in Austin. Chicago had so many great options and I had my favorites so I need to find one here!

Titaya’s Thai Cuisine

Top right to bottom: Hung Lay Bun, Som Tum, Pad Kra Prao w/chicken

I heard about this place when getting my nails done my first month in Austin. The girl was from Thailand and recommended Titayas as a good Thai place that was actually owned by Thai people. Any place that has a good Papaya salad (Som Tum) makes me a happy camper and this place did not disappoint! The wait wasn’t too bad and it smelled wonderful the whole time we waited!

Lucy’s Fried Chicken

Left to right: Fried Chicken Boudin Balls, Fried chicken, Smoked Potato salad and Lucha, Diablo and Texan Oysters

You ever just have a craving for fried chicken? That is how we ended up at Lucys. I have quite a few places saved in Austin so whenever I have a craving I check to see if I have a place saved that has it first! We liked the vibe at Lucys, the fried chicken was super crispy and not oily which is great. I wasn’t a huge fan of the oysters but AJS liked them. I prefer my oysters with just some horseradish and lemon.

So there you have two new Austin places to try!! If you are ever in the area feel free to reach out and I can give you some recommendations for places to visit and foods to eat!!

Don’t forget to check out my new Instagram! Or you can follow me on Twitter,  Pinterest or Bloglovin

Great Places to Eat in Austin: Part Quatro!

I love food. If you have been following me for awhile then you know that. Combine my love of food and exploring where I live and BAM we got a post about great places to eat in Austin!

You can see my other Posts about places to eat in Austin here.

This week I am sharing two new places we tried that really enjoyed!

I am rarely in the mood for Italian outside home. Being lactose intolerant kind of kills the buzz when you know that half the plates will be smothered in some kind of dairy plus I legit am just a spaghetti and meatball person. Anyway, I wanted Italian. So we looked at our Google Maps lists and found I had saved just the place!

Red Ash Italia 

Left to right: Hot & Crispy Country Italian Bread, Bruschetta of Wood Roasted, Wood Roasted Meatballs, Roast Pork & Veal Ravioli and Rigatoni alla Campagnola

We actually got there relatively early and ended up just making it for Happy Hour which meant that all the Apps were $9 and the small pasta plates were $8. Turned out to be one of our cheapest meals plus it delicious and the atmosphere was so cute! Check out this back wall

Gloria’s Latin Cuisine

We live right across the street from The Domain which is a big outdoor mall with lots of restaurants/bars/shopping. So it isn’t unusual for us to wander over in search of a food when we don’t feel like driving. We wandered into this place for brunch on a random Sunday before running errands.

Left to right: Brisket Sope, Brisket Tostones Stack & Plantanos maduros

They had $2 mimosas and $3 bloody marys….and they were delicious!! I had a Mango Mimosa and a bloody and I think AJS got like 3 Bloodys. I thought the food was good, not amazing but definitely a good choice for latin food near where I live. I’d go back for those drink specials though!

So there you have two new Austin places to try!! If you are ever in the area feel free to reach out and I can give you some recommendations for places to visit and foods to eat!!

Don’t forget to check out my new Instagram! Or you can follow me on Twitter,  Pinterest or Bloglovin

Holiday Cookies: Andes Mint Cookies

As we come up on Christmas and all the parties, gift exchanges and cookie sharing that will take place this week I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes. 
These cookies are a HUGE hit in my family! I keep them special by only making them for Christmas no matter how many times I am asked to make them the rest of the year. They have also become part of my own personal Xmas tradition. 

If you love Chocolate and Mint then these cookies are great! You can make the dough the night before and they are also great to make with help since it is always good to have someone mixing the mint while you bake more! 

Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients:   (makes 3 dozen cookies)

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar 
  • 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2 Tbs Water
  • 1 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt 
  • 1 Package Andes Mints (2 if you use the whole mint)

1. In a large saucepan melt butter, sugar and water. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. (If you have melted chocolate before you know you have to pay close attention).

2. Remove from the heat and keep stirring until chocolate completely melts. Pour into a big bowl and let it cool off slightly. 

3. Using a mixer(med/high speed) beat in eggs one at a time into chocolate mixture. Using a lower speed add the dry ingredients until completely blended. 

4. Chill dough at least 1 hour. (This dough keeps well in the fridge for a few days if you want to make it ahead of time. If longer than about 2-3 days just freeze) 

5. When you’re ready to bake preheat oven to 350…Roll dough into balls(I use about a small spoonful) but you can use like a melon baller or small ice cream scoop.

6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. 

7. While the cookies are baking or even while the dough is chilling you can unwrap the mints. You can decide here if you want to use a whole mint or half(depends on the size of your cookies). 

8. Right after you bring cookies out of the oven put 1/2 a mint on top(or whole), give it about 30 seconds and use either the back of a spoon or knife and spread the mint around. I think they look best if you can see the green a bit so try not too mix too much. *be sure to let them completely cool and the mint topping harden before you package them or it will be a mess. 

I love love Chocolate & mint together so these are top of the list for me.

Do you have any Christmas cookies you like to make? 

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