The Vitals: recipe: Instant Pot Lamb Dum Biriyani difficulty: medium - lots of spices/ingredients, a fair amount of prep if you're not used to making Indian food on the daily health rating: indulgent. If you do this right with fatty lamb, whole milk yogurt and white basmati rice, you hit a cheat meal 4 sho time: Instant Pot time 6 minutes + natural pressure release. 30 minimum minute marinade time. 1 hour prep.
Much to my chagrin, the wifey scored an Instant Pot during Prime Day last year and I could not be happier to be wrong about getting a new kitchen gadget. The Instant Pot is a fabulous excuse to try time consuming, slow cooked recipes within the context of modern life, i.e. cooking meals on the fly. Since getting an Instant Pot I stopped buying carnitas by the pound at the local Carnicería and ordering Indian takeout. Now it takes a few solid recipes + trial and error for me to full on quit takeout on genres like Indian and Mexican but they are out there. (more…)
The Vitals: the spot: Everson Royce Bar 1936 E. 7th St. LA CA 90021 the eats: Single Burger the bucks: $10 the full nelson: a delectably simple statement on a burger that much like LA will take all your money and leave you wanting more
And this is the moment when Bang for your Burger Buck jumps the shark. (more…)
The Vitals: the spot: Julie's Noodles 8557 Research Blvd #110 Austin TX 75758 the eats: Xiao Long Bao(crab and soup dumpling), Pork Chopped Noodle Soup the bucks: $10 a person will set you up nicely the full nelson: a divey Chinese joint that satisfies the itch for affordable & authentic dough driven cravings
(more…)
The Vitals: the spot: El Norteño Pollos Asados 4925 Craigwood Drive Austin TX 78725 the eats: tacos, carnitas by the pound, chicken and ribs grilled over hardwood charcoal the bucks: $2 a taco, carnitas $10/lb, whole chicken $17, ribs $18 a rack the full nelson: a real deal cheap taco truck that smokes up chicken and ribs + carnitas by the pound
El Norteño Pollos Asados is the kind of Cheap Eats find you want to keep to yourself but you just can't because good food always tastes better when you brag about it. At $2 a taco, you have a legit Cheap Eats find in Austin where far too many tacos are nestling around the $3-$4 mark. Though sized like street tacos, you will find 4 tacos will cover your craving. My instincts told me to graze away at a few of the meaty offerings but one taco stood out by a mile . . . (more…)
The Vitals: the spot: Uroko 1023 Springdale road bldg 1 ste C Austin TX 78721 the eats: handrolls all day! the bucks: $4.50 - $7 per roll, factor about $20-$25 per person for a reasonable meal the full nelson: Quality sushi hand rolls at an almost hand roll only sushi spot
Uroko is a fascinating sushi concept: a high quality hand roll only joint that moonlights as a sushi school on Thursdays and a Omakase(Chef's tasting menu) restaurant by reservation only, on weekends. What this means is if you want to go hard and drop major coin, you have to really mean it. Sushi ain't cheap and if it is . . . that's not a good thing. Don't take short cuts on raw fish a wise ER doctor once said. TBH I didn't actually hear a doctor say that but I'm sure it has been said before. Back to Uroko and Bang for your Sushi Buck: you can waltz into this little "food hall esque" restaurant and for as little as $20 you can walk out full with about 4 hand rolls in your belly, maybe more if you go for the beef tenderloin or the salmon belly, but not by much. But is Uroko as good as a premium sushi spot? Well the answer lies in the chef's pedigree . . . (more…)
The Vitals: the spot: 40 North 900 W. 10th St. Austin TX 78703 the eats: 40 North Burger the bucks: $13.40 the full nelson: a double cheeseburger for grown ups and with a grown up price tag
It might surprise you to learn that Austin TX has a respectable pizza scene, including the likes of Neapolitan, NY style, New Jersey Bar pizzas and Detroit style pies. Within that flurry of pizza know how, 40 North stands out with some very tempting sandwich options like a Porchetta(roasted pork belly) on baguette, a fried chicken sandwich and one damn good and good looking burger. The 40 North burger also commands a somewhat hefty price tag of $13.40. Does it deliver some Bang for your Burger Buck? Read on to find out! (more…)
The Vitals: the spot: Tacos El Gordo 3049 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109 the eats: Cabeza, Al Pastor, Buche, Suadero the bucks: $2.40 - $2.60 per taco the full nelson: celebrated San Diego taco joint serving up Baja California/Tijuana style street tacos in Las Vegas
Vegas baby, Vegas. One expects to come to Las Vegas and drop some coin. The usual M.O. for Sin City taking your money is of course, gambling, though strip clubs and steakhouses seem to fit well with playing $500 hands of Texas Hold 'Em. In the last 20 years Las Vegas has become a foodie destination with world class chefs and their Michelin stars dotting the strip. Hell, I went to a Starbucks and dropped $17 on a coffee, a yogurt, a banana and a bottle of water. But just off the strip is a well celebrated taqueria that is slinging some Bang for your Taco Buck . . . (more…)
The Vitals: the spot: The Collins Quarter 151 Bull Street Savannah GA 31404 the eats: Lamb Burger the bucks: $15 the full nelson: a bougie take on an under appreciated burger genre: the lamb burger
The Vitals: the spot: Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum 1203 W. 6th Street Austin TX the eats: Xiao Long Bao, Chao Shou, really all the dumplings + anything else on the menu you can afford the bucks: $20 a person and you will be stuffed with premium dumplings the full nelson: Top shelf Dim Sum in the heart of Austin TX
(more…)
The Vitals: the spot: Night + Market 2533 Lincoln Blvd Venice CA 90291 the eats: Pretty much whatever you want on the menu - GET THE CLAMS!!! the bucks: Plan on spending about $35 a head on food the full nelson: A hyped Thai spot that satisfies with an respectable level of Bang for your Thai Food Buck
It's not every night that you get to dine with the likes of Sterling K. Brown and Slash(framed pic) but in Los Angeles, anything is possible. Beyond gloating that an old high school comrade is now one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and keeps it real with the old homeys like George Clooney(or so I've heard) I had the pleasure of checking out the much hyped Night + Market and when the dust settled . . . the bill was . . . surprisingly not that bad . . . (more…)
