Hoover's Cooking

Entrance into Hoover's Cooking
(Photo by: myself)

Let’s start this week with a little background information about myself. Being born and raised in the great state of Texas, I consider myself a southern girl. I make sure to say “yes mam” or “no sir” to anyone I meet, I fully expect a man to hold the door open for me, and I love to stuff my face with some good southern comfort food. So when I heard about a joint in Austin that was serving up traditional southern favorites, I knew I had to get me some.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you Hoover’s Cooking. Located at 2002 Manor Road, this local favorite has been cooking up southern-style meals for more than 15 years. The front of their menu reads, “Serving up honest-to-goodness good cooking,” and it couldn’t be more accurate. Accompanying me this week were 9 of my equally-as-hungry teammates, who were more than eager in helping me experiment in a new brunch location. What better way to get an opinion of the menu than 10 hungry girls with 10 different pallets? Let the games begin.

My mouth-watering breakfast tacos
(Photo by: me)

FOOD: How do you know if you’re really dining at a southern-style restaurant? Well, open the menu and if you see entrees like, shrimp ‘ n grits, chicken & cakes and fried catfish etouffée, you know you’re at the right place. Everything from Hoover’s is made from scratch, a point that they pride themselves on. I ordered the bacon and egg breakfast tacos, which will have to be broken down by specifics because they were THAT good. First, the tortillas were steamed and soft. Second, the bacon was crisp and mixed perfectly with the eggs. Third was the optional side of either home fries, cheddar garlic grits, grits, or fruit. Being the southern girl that I am, I went with the grits. These grits came heavily peppered, just a warning incase you don’t enjoy a little pepper in your food. Apart from their breakfast tacos, pancake options included buttermilk, sweet potato, and their “hoe cakes,” which is a real country favorite that includes flour and cornmeal in the batter. Another signature ingredient on their menu is Hoover’s sausage, which is a spicier and more flavorful alternative to their original sausage. I will conclude by saying that all 10 girls at my table were satisfied. No one left the restaurant hungry and all us agreed we’d come back another Sunday for more.
 

Hoover's inside dining area
(photo by: me)

ATMOSPHERE: Walking into Hoover’s, you’ll find a simply decorated interior with local artwork hanging on the walls. I appreciate their simplicity. To me, this reads, “our food is so good that we don’t need fancy-shmancy decoration to prove it.” Our waiter was kind and patient, which I know can be difficult when dealing with 10 hyper, hungry and indecisive young ladies.

Two varieties of Hoover's margaritas
(photo by: me)

DRINKS: Otherwise known at Hoover’s as “hair of the dog,” breakfast drinks included mimosas, bloody marys, and their signature ‘rita. I ordered the frozen signature ‘rita, and felt satisfied with the tequila-to-margarita ratio. Each frozen margarita put me back 6 dollars, which seemed a little high in my opinion. Granted they were delicious, but I still feel that around 4 dollars would’ve been a fair price.

COST: All in all, Hoover’s is bang for your buck. Not one of us spent over $15 and we all left feeling full and satisfied. The only warning I give you is that getting more than one drink will cost you. It pains me to say that the drinks are a bit overpriced, only because they use fresh squeezed orange juice in their mimosas and pack a major punch in their margaritas. Let’s put it this way: If you’re a college kid on a budget, limit yourself to one drink with your meal and no one’s wallet will take a beating. The food is well-made, well-priced, and well worth the trip.

Chez Zee

The front entrance of Chez Zee (photo by: yours truly)

This past week, my Austin brunch excursion led me to the family-friendly American bistro, Chez Zee. Their presence in almost every search for the best Austin brunch was hard to ignore. Being the food fanatic that I am, I was shocked at myself for not hearing about Chez Zee sooner. Hungry and determined, I set out to try this award-winning restaurant for myself. Joining me for brunch this week were my aunt and uncle, who happen to be two of the best food critics I know and maybe the only other people who love food as much as I do. After traveling the globe, they have developed a discerning taste for great cuisine and lucky for me, take the time to visit Austin every once and while to visit their favorite niece (wink wink).

After finding out I was writing a food blog, our waiter suggested the manager come over and give us a little background history of how Chez Zee came to be. The manager, John, informed us that the restaurant used to be called Chez Fred, meaning “house of Fred,” until the present owner Sharon Watkins bought it in 1989 and renamed it Chez Zee,” meaning “your house.” He explained that Chez Zee is the French version of the phrase, “mi casa, su casa,” or “my house is your house.” Sharon poured her entire life savings in the restaurant and never looked back. Fourteen years and countless awards later, I think it’s safe to say that Sharon has done a successful job in turning Chez Zee into a landmark Austin restaurant.

As y’all know, I base all my brunching experiences on four main criteria: food, atmosphere, drinks and cost. Let’s get started.

FOOD: As the proud owner of a stomach that serves as a bottomless pit, I was pleased to see that Chez Zee’s brunch menu contained an overwhelming amount of breakfast and lunch items to choose from. In the mood for eggs benedict?  You’ll be choosing from a list of 10 unique and delicious styles. Is it pancakes you want? Gingerbread? Blueberry? Buttermilk? They’ve got it all. It starts getting really exciting when you move to the french toast. Chez Zee is actually known for their crème brulee french toast, which I learned became the restaurant’s signature dish after the owner, Sharon Watkins, watched Matt Lauer make it on NBC’s “Today Show.” Chez Zee’s french toast is made with thick-sliced challah bread, soaked in a crème brulee sauce overnight, then cooked and topped with whipped cream, strawberries and a Myer’s rum sauce. As the French would say, bon appetite!

Chez Zee's famous creme brulee
french toast (photo by: me)

Take a second to wipe the drool from your chin.

pork belly benedict
(photo by: my hungry self)

We ordered the dish as an appetizer, demolished it in about 2 minutes and practically licked the plate before they took it away. For the main course, I ordered the pork belly benedict that was featured on the specials menu. On a quick side note, this was my first time eating pork belly. After finishing the dish, I can proudly say that I am an avid pork belly fan. My aunt decided on the crab cake benedict while my uncle chose the chicken and waffles. All three of us cleaned our plates. As an added bonus, my dish came with a side of homemade applesauce that was warm and delicious.

ATMOSPHERE: Walking into Chez Zee was like walking into a big, cozy cottage covered in lights. We happened to be dining there on St. Patrick’s Day, so I’m not sure if the multitude of lights dangling from the ceilings were hung in honor of the holiday or there year round. Nonetheless, it made for a festive dining experience and a fun way to keep children entertained. We were sat at our table and quickly greeted by an upbeat waiter named James. James was both friendly and attentive, making sure our coffee was always hot and water glasses were always full. It was actually his idea that the manager come over and give us a quick background lesson on how Chez Zee came to be. Both James and his manager were polite and helpful.

Chez Zee's fabulously lit up interior
(photo by: me)

About halfway through our meal, a friendly man walked up to our table. He introduced himself as Brad Henderson, the restaurant’s magician. He began performing a trick on me involving a mysteriously disappearing silver dollar. His lighthearted humor and magic tricks made for a hit with us, as well as the many families with young children scattered around the restaurant.  

A live pianist seated near the front of the restaurant played throughout our meal. As nice as this was, in my opinion the piano was a bit loud at times mixed in with the already lively chatter coming from the other patrons.

DRINKS: Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to give the best advice this week in the drinks category. Being on a collegiate swim team, we voluntarily partake in a dry season before our championship meets start rolling in. This means no alcoholic beverages. So being in the middle of our dry season, I was confined to water and coffee for my morning at Chez Zee, sigh. I did see that the drinks menu included staple brunch boozes such as mimosas, bloody marys, margaritas and screwdrivers.

COST: I’m giving you a heads up now that the drinks just mentioned are not cheap. One mimosa costs $4.95, which is a bit higher than some of the drink specials you can find at other brunches around Austin. Neither I nor my aunt or uncle ordered drinks, resulting in a bill that could have been much pricier. My uncle graciously paid for our entire meal and when I asked him his opinion on the overall price, he replied that it was “on the upper end of fair.” I take this to mean that although the meal was certainly not cheap, it was well worth it for the how much we enjoyed the food.

Chez Zee is located at 5406 Balcones Dr.,  Austin, TX 78731. 

Tacos and Tequila: TNT

Tacos and Tequila: TNT

Front entrance of TnT
(photo: TnT Tacos and Tequlia Facebook)

I was raised to believe that the average person’s Sunday should consist of two things: relaxation and food.  What better way to enjoy these two entities by combining them into one activity? Thus, the birth of “brunch.” By simply merging the words “breakfast” and “lunch,” a trend was created that has shaped the lives of millions. Since moving to Austin in 2010, I’ve made it my own mission to research the best brunches this city has to offer and try them out for myself. After stuffing myself with food, I base my experience on four main criteria:

•         Food
•         Atmosphere
•         Drinks
•         Cost

My most recent brunching excursion led to me to a restaurant ranked sixth on Yelp.com’s search for the best brunch in Austin, Texas. Tacos and Tequila, or otherwise known as TNT, sits snuggly on the corner of 5th and Pressler St., Austin, Texas. My roommates and I decided to pay TNT a visit a few Sundays ago.

Buffet set up in front of open kitchen
(photo: TnT Tacos and Tequila Facebook)

FOOD: Tacos and Tequila’s brunch is buffet style and includes several made-to-order chef stations. The buffet is set up all along a bar area that gives you a direct view into the kitchen. I found the order of the buffet to be very interesting. To the far left, which many consider the start of the buffet line, was an array of desserts. Here you could find anything from chocolate cake, to flan, to ice cream and churros. I guess TNT truly believes that life is short, eat dessert first. The rest of the buffet line included heaping trays of chicken and cheese enchiladas, belgian waffles, migas and eggs benedict. My personal favorite stop in the line was a carved to order brisket station with homemade tortillas. After four platefuls of delicious food, my stomach was content. Their perfect combination of food that satisfies both your lunch and breakfast cravings earned top ratings in my book.                                                                                 

Interior dining area of TnT
(photo: TnT Tacos and Tequila Facebook)

ATMOSPHERE: Floor-to-ceiling windows help to make the stylish interior of TNT fully visible to the outside world. Inside the restaurant, the centerpiece of the room is the the rectangular-shaped bar, which features hundreds of bottles of alcohol being held in shelves suspended from the ceiling. The decoration was modern with eclectic light fixtures, lime green walls, and black and white chairs.  In my opinion, the coolest part of the restaurant was the open kitchen. I enjoy watching my food being prepared and seeing all that goes into the chaos and magic of a restaurant kitchen. There were two projection screens on the back wall of the restaurant. During the course of our meal, a series of odd videos played up on the screen that didn’t seem to match the music that was coming over the speakers. I found myself so distracted by the video that I sometimes missed the conversation going on at my table. 

DRINKS: Mimosas and champagne were included in the brunch. Yes, I repeat, mimosas and champagne were INCLUDED in the brunch. Now before you get too excited, let me warn you that a tiny asterisk at the bottom of the menu reads, “two drink maximum on champagne drinks.” Luckily, my roommates and I had a waiter who didn’t seem to be aware of this rule. We all enjoyed at least three mimosas each. Unfortunately others I’ve spoken to who have also dined at Tacos and Tequila for brunch have not been so lucky. Let’s conclude that the majority of the time, the two drink champagne rule stands. If you’re going to say champagne drinks included, don’t get our hopes up.  

COST: Tacos and Tequila brunch costs $18.95 a person. Kids ages 6-10 are $6.95, and ages 5 and under are free. All and all, I definitely think the price is worth the experience. All you can eat quality meal for under twenty bucks? I consider that one heck of a bargain.