Travelin' Tuesdays

We love to travel and we love to eat.  Every Tuesday, as long as my memory holds up, I will reminisce about some of the memorable food we have eaten while on our travels.

Conch Fritters and Gazpacho at Top of the Baths

In 1999, I had planned to spend a week aboard the tall ship Sir Francis Drake cruising the British Virgin Islands.   A week before I was due to arrive, a late season hurricane sank the Sir Francis Drake.  I was heartbroken.  I was the lone member of my family that had not sailed the Drake.   Since my airfare was already paid for, I called down to the BVI and booked the week at Rhymer’s on Cane Garden Bay for a whopping $24 a night. 

One of the day trips I took during my stay was to The Baths on the island of Virgin Gorda.  The Baths is a set of beaches highlighted by huge granite boulders and rocks that form grottos and caves.  Along with sunbathing on the gorgeous beaches, you can swim and snorkel among the rocks.  To get to the beaches, you must climb stairs down a steep incline and hike through the boulders.

At the top is a restaurant appropriately named  Top of the Baths.   It was here that I took a lunch break.  Trying to keep lunch light after a morning of sunning and swimming, I ordered conch fritters and a bowl of gazpacho. 

Conch fritters are a must have if you are visiting the Caribbean.  These were some of the best.   Being from Texas, I was used to gazpacho that was full of chunks of tomatoes, cucumbers, celery and bell pepper.  They prepared their gazpacho by pureeing it and adding a dollop of sour cream.  The taste and consistency was perfect.

After 12 years, my lunch at the Top of the Baths is the only meal I remember from the trip.  It was that memorable.

The Worldly Adventures of Senor Froggy

Part I - The Beginning

Back in the fall of 1995, my Sister Becky took her daughter Kimmie to Dallas to experience the State Fair of Texas.  Kimmie won a small stuffed frog playing a game on the midway.  When they got back to Austin, she accidently left the frog at Mom’s.  Without saying a word, Mom hid the frog in a spot where Kimmie would be sure to run across it.  For months, the frog showed up in the most interesting places – on top of the china cabinet, in a potted plant, in the bathroom, in the kitchen – without either of them saying a word.  Kimmie would find it and move it, Mom would find it and move it.  It was fun to see where Senor Froggy would end up next.

In April of the following year, I took a week-long trip to Atlanta to check on my house, visit friends and spend some time watching the newly crowned world champion Atlanta Braves.  Back then, we took most of our pictures with disposable 35 mm cameras.  Before I left , Mom told me to take her camera to use up of some of the shots.  On a whim, I decided to take the frog with me.

Senor Froggy and I attended 3 Braves games during the week.  I’m talking Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Steve Avery, Javy Lopez, Ryan Klesko and David Justice – to name of few of the great players.  We had a grand time.  When I got back to Austin, I gave the camera back to Mom without saying a word.  I had not finished up the film in the camera.  I then hid the frog in an unlikely spot in the house as if he never left.

The film did not get developed until Mom and Dad returned from a trip to San Francisco in October.  I could hardly wait to see Mom’s reaction to the pictures of the frog in the stands at Fulton County Stadium.   She was grinning when she handed the pictures to me.  I got to my Atlanta pictures, giggling.  Then my giggles turned to shock.  There was a picture of the frog sitting on a table at Scoma’s in San Francisco.  One of my all time favorite restaurants!  I was so miffed.  Mom really got me.

Thus began the travels of Senor Froggy.  Fifteen years later he is still at it.  In fact, he has visited more places in the world than I have.

(More about Scoma's in a later post)

Road Trip

This afternoon, Becky and I will be taking a chartered bus to College Station to cheer on the University of Texas women’s basketball team as they take on the 5^th ranked Texas A&M Aggies.  The last two weeks have been a bit rough for the Longhorns, losing to Missouri, top ranked Baylor and the 15^th ranked Oklahoma Sooners.  Despite their losses and a few mistakes, they played well.  Tonight’s game will be a challenge but I believe that if they limit their turnovers, hit their free throws and stay focused they have the talent to win. 

I love watching the Aggie women play, though I will be very happy when senior Danielle Adams graduates this year.  I’m sure I will be rooting for her next year when she is on some team in the WNBA, but not this year.  And I absolutely adore Coach Gary Blair.  He is down to earth and very, very funny.  He’s the type of person you want to hug whenever you see him.  Last year, prior to tip-off, he hit the stands and passed out candy to each and every section of the arena, thanking fans for coming to the game.  He even stopped and talked to us Longhorns.  How many coaches do that?

Food wise, I don’t think the arena fare will be anything to write about.  Instead, Becky and I will be picking up sandwiches from ThunderCloud Subs here in Austin to eat on the bus.

Go Horns!

Travelin' Tuesdays

We love to travel and we love to eat.  Every Tuesday, as long as my memory holds up, I will reminisce about some of the memorable food we have eaten while on our travels.

The Best Fried Chicken...Ever!

In 2005, Becky and I were planning an October road trip to Florida.  Needless to say, 2005 was a busy hurricane season.   Instead, we headed west to visit the Grand Canyon , Zion National Park and then head over to Bryce Canyon.  The trip was that and much more.  When we take road trips, we like to plan as little as possible staying open for new, unexpected adventures.

While driving through New Mexico, we took a side trip to visit El Morro National Monument.  The highlight of El Morro is Inscription Rock, a sandstone promontory full of Native American petroglyphs and the signatures of  17^th through 20^th century  Spanish and American travelers carved into the rock.  It was impressive and well worth the extra time to visit.

After our stop at Inscription Rock, we continued west on the back roads planning to hook back up with the Interstate at the Petrified Forest in Arizona.   It was early afternoon and we were starving.   On the map, there were several towns listed where we were sure we could find a place to eat.  Wrong! 

When we finally reached the Zuni Pueblo, we stopped at the Information Center to find out what there was to see in the area and to find food.  We were starving!   We asked the woman in the center what was available in town.  She pointed to an opened takeout box of fried chicken and told us that the only place to eat was at the Halona Plaza.   She gave us directions and we headed on over. 

To our surprise, the Halona Plaza was a grocery store, an old grocery store.  The store has been owned and operated by the same family since 1910.  The previous owners built the store in 1866.  Towards the back of the store was a counter where we ordered our fried chicken.  As we waited for our food, we watched the man behind the counter make fresh red chile sauce in a blender. 

The weather was hot, it was windy, and it was dusty.    We sat on the curb outside the store and ate our chicken dipping it in the just made red chile sauce.  And I swear it was the best fried chicken I have ever eaten.  Becky concurs.  To this day, we can still feel the heat and the wind and we can still taste the chicken dipped in the red chile sauce. 

China Sea

Whenever one of us has a cold or the weather is cold and rainy, we go to China Sea on Far West Boulevard for some of their medicinal Combination Sizzling Rice Soup.  Tonight, we have both - it is a very wet 49 degrees outside and Becky has a cold.  The sizzling rice soup was the perfect remedy for both. 

Though the menu lists the soup as for two, it would easily serve four.  It combines chicken, beef, and shrimp with the freshest of vegetables in one of the best chicken stocks we have tasted in Austin.   And as the name says, there is crunchy, sizzling rice floating on top.

Apparently, this choice of a cure is not our secret alone.  Our wait person told us that the sizzling rice soup has been one of the most ordered menu items today. 

Are You Going to Eat That?

If we were to write a family autobiography, we would have to call it “Are You Going to Eat That?”   So many of our family traditions and memories revolve around food and eating.   Whether it be birthdays, holidays, dining out, even our travels,  we love to eat and we love to share what we eat.  Expandable forks and spoons are a necessity.  Plates are passed around the table, portions are shared.  Nothing on the table is sacred.  Mi plato es su plato and vice versa.