The Vitals: the recipe: Traeger Baby Back Ribs Vol. 1 + 2 the smoker: Traeger Ironwood 885 the time: Vol 1: 3+ hours Vol 2: 7.5 hours the full nelson: A masterpiece is a work in progress but my belly is motivated for the finish line

Ok everybody, so you probably know I recently got a Traeger grill. Since moving to Austin, the land of smoked meats, my backyard grilling escapades have been exclusively an open fire affair where I unleash my inner Argentinian Asado. Well, now that I got a grill that excels at smoked meats it became time for me to begin my journey of Traeger Baby Back Ribs. Here comes my exploits aptly titled Volumes 1 and 2. (more…)

Pumpkin Seed Pesto Recipe

When we discovered our son had a peanut allergy, my view of food was forever altered. My old man was a doctor, so I had some knowledge of nutrition, the foods to eat regularly, and those foods to eat sparingly. Yeah, you probably imagine my fondness for the latter. But, food allergies? That is a whole other ball game. No wiggle room there. None at all. With my kid allergic to peanuts, walnuts and pecans, our allergist said to avoid all tree nuts and peanuts. We carry an epi pen at all times. My son has never been to a Thai restaurant. When we travel to foreign countries(back when you could do that before Covid-19) we carry a card that translates his allergies into the language spoken in whatever country we were visiting. Parents with kids who have food allergies adapt and make do, period. As the years have rolled on, my vigilance has turned into a longing for the allergy to just magically go away. Wishful thinking perhaps but there is nothing wrong hope. And there's nothing wrong with finding tasty ways around the allergy. With that let me share a Pumpkin Seed Pesto recipe that is nut free and darn tasty too. (more…)

5 kid friendly recipes for Father's Day 

Father's Day is that day for Dad to be spoiled, preferably by his own brood. Here are 5 kid friendly recipes to do just that for all ages with appropriate adult supervision as needed. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: One Taco Taqueria multiple locations in Austin TX the eats: Al Pastor Gringa, Taquiza de Asada, you will want to work your way through the menu the bucks: $3- $3.50 a taco. (plan on 3) the full nelson: late night street tacos served in the middle of the day and "Karen" friendly ambiance

We live in a world of Karens. And even if we call them out, they aren't going to go anywhere. We can help become better people and a good start is getting them to enjoy street tacos. And I have the perfect gateway taqueria for the Karen in your life: One Taco Taqueria in Austin TX. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Southside Market & BBQ 534 Highway 71 Bastrop, TX the eats: Hot Gut Sausage, spare ribs, pork steak, coleslaw, pinto beans, potato salad the bucks: $15 a head if you're looking for a proper spread by the pound  the full nelson: the oldest bbq in Texas but not the best

Southside Market & BBQ is the oldest barbecue restaurant in Texas. Their sausage is of legend and their history is very much the evolution of Central Texas Barbecue whose primetime star, brisket has popped up at in barbecue joints nationwide over the last few years. Southside Market has been on my bucket list for a long time and as luck would have it, in the age of Covid-19, their Bastrop location has a drive thru so there I went. (more…)

The Vitals: the spot: Peace Bakery & Deli 11220 N. Lamar Blvd Austin TX 78753 the eats: Shawarma plate, falafel plate, hummus, tabouli  the bucks: $7-$14 the full nelson: Middle Eastern eats on par with the best I have had in the Dearborn/Detroit area. Basically as good as it gets w/o needing a passport

It has been way too long since I've posted about a restaurant mostly because of Covid-19 and the fact that Bang for your Burger Buck has evolved into a catch all for recipes and all sorts of food adventures. My last post was for Eid and the hummus recipe I shared there got me thinking about the best Middle Eastern food I have had in Austin. Time to take a bite into Peace Bakery. (more…)

Eid Holiday Dinner recipe

The word "Eid" is derived from the Arabic word feast and is a celebration to the end of a month long dawn to sunset fast. The Eid Holiday Dinner is in reality many meals served throughout the day. My memories of the holiday growing up consisted of visiting home after home and hitting up a spread of edible delights. In my 20, though I didn't partake in the fasting, when I would pop over to my fav Bangladeshi restaurant, the menu served at night during Ramadan was off the chain. I'm talking like 5 times the items served typically served In honor of that I present to you my recipe for an Eid Holiday dinner, broken down course by course. (more…)

Ultimate Breakfast Salsa recipe

Breakfast salsa is my bold declaration that salsa just ain't for tacos. The tastiest healthy sauce ever does wonders on eggs. It was a culinary epiphany I didn't make until a trip to Mexico in my 20s and soon discovered that any request for hot sauce, even on a very gringo plate of bacon, eggs and toast, would be met with a bowl of salsa. And I have been reaching for salsa at breakfast ever since. Up until now I have been content reaching for a jar of leftover homemade salsa for breakfast. But on this particular day I was all out and found myself forced to make a batch that morning. Lo and behold I would end up making the Ultimate Breakfast Salsa. (more…)

Tomato Arbol Salsa recipe

Tomato Arbol salsa is that red salsa sitting at the far end of the salsa bar that screams spicy. A simple blend of tomato, onion and fiery Arbol chile peppers come together to give you the red kick that is so essential to a steak taco. It seems so simple but believe me it will give your taco night a swift kick of heat. (more…)

Jalapeño Serrano salsa recipe

Jalapeño Serrano salsa found me a couple years ago when shooting the pilot for Cheap Eats. At a taqueria in Minneapolis, this creamy green salsa was served over Al Pastor tacos. It was powerfully spicy and instantly addicting; a salsa like no other I had never come across before. Then I moved to Austin and the stuff was everywhere. Commonly referred to as Salsa Doña because it is a fixture at Austin's Tacodeli, this green salsa is worth obsessing about. I know I have, which is why I started to make it at home. It's fantastic on breakfast tacos, carnitas, al pastor and steak tacos. You're gonna want to make this salsa part of your taco night program. Trust me. This is what you will need. (more…)