Category: U.S.

Total Miles Traveled: 21,655

After a few weeks in Houston, we visited Ommy and Dudley, Lisa’s parents, in Encinitas, north of San Diego, just in time for several birthdays – Ommy and Dudley both have July birthdays and then of course, there was July 4th. Here’s Ommy with her birthday cake!

We went to the Del Mar Fair to see the fireworks (above) where I got a chance to use my new camera remote control.  It lets you capture interesting images (some call it painting with light) – the one below is a bungee ride, where a pod goes up and down between the two poles and rotates.  You can’t see the pod here, only the lights on the pod itself at various times in the ride.

We also celebrated with Kim, Kraig and their kids, where we tried out the Argentine empanadas recipe we learned in Buenos Aires.  Here’s the filling… mmmm…

Here are the kids rolling out the dough:

And after they wrapped up the filling, here’s the final product.  They actually tasted pretty good despite removing a lot of fat from the recipe.  Makes us kind of wonder how bad the empanadas we had in Argentina were.  heh heh.

And the trip to San Diego would not be complete without the requisite puppy photos.  Mambo’s tearing up a sing-a-long birthday card for Ommy – one of his favorite activities.

And here’s Cha Cha posing for a pic

Total Miles Traveled: 20,355

After having dinner with our friend Bryan at Perla’s on South Congress in Austin, we headed out the next day to check out Lake Travis (above) and had lunch at Iguana Grill.  We could see this place getting busy, especially with the bands that play there on weekends. There are lots of beautiful houses out there on Lake Travis.  We saw several water skiers and jet skis so we can imagine it’s a great weekend destination.

The Texas Hill Country and the Texas Wine Trail

The Texas Hill Country is a name given to the area west of Austin and San Antonio, characterized by rolling hills and a more laid back, small town, country way of living (or at least that was our impression).

One of the attractions in the area is wine.  Yes, wine.  You probably didn’t know this, but there are 24 wineries in the central Texas region, producing all kinds of varietals.   Here’s a look at the Windrose winery a few miles out of Fredericksburg.

So, what was our impression of Texas wines?  Well, we only tried four places (Windrose, Becker, Torre di Pietra, and Grape Creek), but we still STRONGLY prefer California wines, probably because we’re used to them and prefer their taste.  While the reds didn’t suit our taste, the whites are not half bad.   Maybe some white varietals do better in that climate?  Maybe it was just really hot and the cold whites cooled us down?  We don’t know for sure.

If we were to pick one winery that we liked the best, it would probably be Grape Creek Vineyards.  They’re the oldest winery in the area, having been there for over 20 years, and their whites tasted the best in our opinion.

The River Road Ranch Resort, Fredericksburg, Texas

One of the best surprises in the Texas Hill Country was the River Road Ranch Resort – the B&B we stayed in for a night.  We found out about the place through Tripadvisor and we’re glad we booked with them (if you want to book, try contacting them directly to save on 3rd party booking fees).

The proprietors have transformed their land in to what looks like an old western town, complete with gas station, general store, feed store, and grain silo.  There are antiques abound and the whole place looks like you’re on a movie set or on some ride at Disneyland.  Very well done!

Here’s our room for the night – the “Feed Mill” on the right.

And here’s what it looks like on the inside – old fashioned, but with modern amenities like a flat screen TV, sound system, A/C, microwaves, a two person hot tub!, etc.

Lisa liked this sign in the kitchen -so we  had to take a picture… the only thing is, I’m not rich. Doh.

Here’s an old school ice box which is now storage for cleaning supplies and an old telephone attached to the wall.

Here are some shots from the owner’s workshop.  He loves antiques and restoring old cars and other things.

There’s a lot of clutter everywhere, but it all just “works” to create the atmosphere.  Some of the stuff is actually usable though – here’s the wood shop:

We wouldn’t be in Texas if you didn’t see a Texas longhorn cow roaming around:

In fact, the owners have rescued a lot of animals which are all domesticated and roam the grounds freely.  So, it’s sort of a petting zoo in addition to B&B – would be great for kids to visit.  Here’s Lisa feeding the “mama llama”.

Here’s the dog named “Boots” who followed us around everywhere on the ranch.  She was the runt of the litter who was rescued by the owners.

Here’s the baby llama named Mae:

A few lambs…

… and donkeys that came up to the cart, nudging me for food…

A horse named “Patches”:

Tony made some friends while riding around in the cart …

Fredericksburg

Downtown Fredericksburg is lined with restaurants and antique and art shops – great for those who are looking for rustic or kitcsh home furnishings.

We stopped at Rathskeller for lunch – it’s a restaurant in the basement of an old converted hospital.

Outside of town, there were peach stands alongside the road everywhere.  If you’re here in summer, you have to pick up some fresh peaches – delicious.

So, that was our trip to the Texas Hill Country.  We returned back to Houston for a few more days, and then we’re off to San Diego to visit Lisa’s folks.

Here’s the link to see all the photos from the trip:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/tony-chen/sets/72157624410816586/show/

Total Miles Traveled: 20,017

San Antonio is best known (at least to Tony) for the Alamo (pictured above), site of a historic battle for freedom from Mexico, and the River Walk (below), which is a planned commercial area in downtown featuring a canal lined with restaurants, bars, shops, hotels, apartments and nicely landscaped shady areas.

Check this out, a restaurant called “Dolores del Rio”, translated “Pains of the River”, featuring Italian food, jazz music… hmmm… and belly dancing?   Such an odd combination we almost have to go next time we’re in town.

It’s really a nice relaxing place to visit for an afternoon.  We grabbed a Corona by the river while watching people stroll by.

Next, we head to Austin where we meet up with our friend Bryan and then check out Lake Travis before heading out to the Texas Hill Country for Texas wines and some R&R.

Total Miles Traveled: 19,958

So what do you do when you’re in Texas?  You go find a BBQ joint where the ribs taste so good they make you want to slap yo mama.  We decided to combine BBQ with a trip to explore San Antonio, Austin, and the Texas Hill Country west of Austin in a small town called Fredericksburg (more on these areas in future posts).

According to my brother and friends, the best BBQ places in central Texas are an hour outside of Austin, so we decided to hit one of the options on our way out to San Antonio – Luling City Market in Luling, Texas.

When you walk in to this place, you know it’s the real deal.   It’s simple inside, with basic tables and booths, and dimly lit with fluorescent lighting.  It’s not about the decor here, because you don’t need any – it already has ambiance, between the local clientele and the Texas twang you overhear.

To get your meat, you go to the smoker room in the back where the guys pictured below sell you pork ribs, beef brisket by the pound, and smoked sausage by the link.  You can also get your pickles, pickled jalapeno, pickled banana pepper, and sliced white bread back here.

Here’s another view of the smoker room – gotta love that wood and the tub of homemade barbecue sauce!

The guys were nice enough to show us the smoker with sausages inside:

When you get your meat at Luling City Market, they serve it to you on thick brown paper (like the kind you lay down when you’re painting inside the house) which is both your plate and tray.  You cinch up the sides and carry it to your table.  Then you go up to the front to get your sides, like potato salad and their tangy barbecue sauce, and then you chow down with your fingers (no utensils allowed, unless you get a side!).

Here we have a “before” picture, with pork ribs, beef brisket, and a sausage:

… annnnnd the “after” picture chomping on a pickle.  Yeah, kinda gross, eh?  Sorry, but had to share.

Overall, we’d recommend the pork ribs wholeheartedly – crispy, tangy, with meat that falls off the bone.  The brisket was a little dry – we still haven’t met a brisket we’ve liked.  And the sausage was good, but after having Argentinean chorizo, we still prefer the latter!

Next, we head over to San Antonio to check out the River Walk!

(photo credit: clouddragon)

Total Miles Traveled: 19,818

But Houston ain’t bad – it’s home sweet home for Tony.  And crawfish are in season – Lisa’s had a craving, so we hit up Ragin Cajun for some boiled crawfish, jambalaya and fries:

Just have to point this out, but I wish I could find “Slap Ya Mama” spice mix pictured below – it was goooood…

After raving about Ragin Cajun to Tony’s Dad, he set up another crawfish feast at his friend’s place called “Catch of the Day”, a drive-thru bank repurposed in to crawfish/seafood joint with a bar.

Their specialty is a spicy garlic sauce and wooo-eeeee!  It will light you up, especially the corn.

Another highlight on our Houston visit is Tony’s dog Max, an 11 year-old dachshund who is quite the character.  Here, Lisa scratches his itch and he can barely stand up!

And Max is also proud of his ability to hold a tune.  Note how he sings from side to side for all to hear.  😉

Finally, Houston is where we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary!

We can’t believe it’s been a year since we’ve been married! We celebrated at Mark’s, a restaurant housed in an old church and also one of Houston’s best.

Up next, we visit Luling City Market for some of the best BBQ in Texas, visit San Antonio and Austin, and then Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country.  Stay tuned!

Beijos to Vanessa and Marina for hosting and feeding us as we make our way south to San Diego – the new apartment is beautiful and the food was fantastic!   Lisa finished up her last day at Disney after 6 years of service and she leaves with great memories, residual fairy dust, and hopes to return some day!

We caught up with a few old MIT Sloan business school buddies at Incanto, a restaurant where Chris Cosentino, of “The Next Iron Chef”, is the executive chef.   The restaurant features offal cuisine, dishes like lamb neck or heart and calf brains.   Very tasty food indeed, though it may be a bit too adventuresome for some!