Road Trip!

I had the week off of work (yay!) and decided to take a road trip down to Austin. Tori is living in Austin and going to graduate school at UT, so I wanted to see her new digs. My cousin Maggie, who works for the New York Times, was going to be down there visiting family. So I figured it would be the perfect time to visit! It was great to get to see my sister, cousins, grandmother, aunt and uncle! Michael had to stay home and work, though. :(
Some restaurants we visited:
Z Tejas - This restaurant was great! There were a lot of southwestern inspired seafood and chicken dishes. I ordered the Jerked Chicken Salad and loved it. It was very spicy, and I loooove spicy food! www.ztejas.com
South Congress Cafe - My cousin Maggie and I just wandered in here while shopping. I got a Southwest Chicken salad, which was a special that day and it was very very good! The atmosphere was very nice and we sat by the window, which made for good people-watching. www.southcongresscafe.com
Shady Grove - This is one of my favorite restaurants in Austin, it has that great laid-back "Austin" atmosphere. I got the Green Chile Black Bean Burrito with grilled chicken. Another yummy and spicy meal! www.theshadygrove.com
Central Market Cafe - This is always a great spot for a quick (or long) lunch on the patio. I wish there was one in Dallas! I tried the Turkey and Fontina Panini and it was delicious. www.centralmarket.com
Amy's Ice Cream - No trip to Austin is complete without a visit to Amy's! We stopped at the walk-up booth on South Congress. I got Mexican vanilla with rainbow sprinkles and I'm already craving more. www.amysicecream.com
Places we shopped:
South Congress - This is an area that has been somewhat revitalized for shopping and eating. There are all kinds of funky antiques and thrift shops. There is some good info on this site: http://www.allensboots.com/site/page/pg6074-pn_South_Congress.html
Barton Creek Square Mall - http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=223

Happy Birthday, Tori!

Congratulation on turning 23! ;)
To celebrate my little sister's birthday, we went to another family favorite: McCormick and Schmick's at Northpark. (http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/) We love going there because they will print up special menus for you if you let them know ahead of time that you are celebrating something.
I got grilled Alaskan halibut with lemon butter, mashed potatoes and grilled carrots and asparagus. It was so delicious, I had never had halibut before but I loved the flakiness. (Last time we were there I ordered swordfish and was so surprised about the texture! It was like eating a steak.) My salad was seasonal greens with candied walnuts, blue cheese, and some kind of citrusy vinaigrette. I also tried a little bit of my mom's grilled rainbow trout, it came with a wonderful chive butter. My dad got Texas fried catfish and french fries. Tori got Oscar steak and said it was very good. For dessert I had a bite of the twice baked apple pie and cinnamon ice cream (so good!) and my family also raved about the key lime pie. I was too stuffed to eat much else for dessert, but next time I have to try the Rocky Road brownie sundae.