15.09.08: Baked sea bass, and fish taco

She recovered from Thai food poisoning just enough by Monday evening to heat up the sea bass she'd cooked the night before - sorta like an extra-fancy ready meal, just pop the foil packet in the oven! Stuffed with lemon thyme and rosemary, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepa, She had roasted it over a scattering of chopped preserved lemon in foil.

SHE SAYS: I hate to waste food, esp something as nice as a whole sea bass. I don't think I enjoyed this as much as I would have had I still not been feeling a bit iffy. The fish was very lemony, flaky, fresh and firm, all good - but I had to take it slow and didn't exactly finish. I do think this works better baked with fresh lemons than with preserved - they were perhaps too strong with all the lemony notes already supplied by lemon thyme and rosemary.

HE SAYS: For my last night in Austin I decided to retrace my steps and head back to Cafe Magnolia, a 24 hr hipster diner. I had been there for lunch but figured it was worth returning for a spot of dinner so I could have an excuse to blog about it. Seems like it is not just any diner; it's more of an Austin institution going by the lines out the door.

I ordered the fish taco, and with it came the side salad, including julienned carrots. The dressing I chose was Ranch as it does not exist in England as a flavour, concept or state of mind. Saltine crackers, another nice touch, also graced the plate.
This fish taco was not exactly what I expected; I was half expecting the fish to be more deep fried and breadcrumb coated. This version was more healthy in a way, grilled fish with no coating. It was still good, plenty of red cabbage, lime and tarter sauce pulling it all together. the serving was large and I felt pretty satisfied with my choice this time. To drink I had the obligatory iced tea, I asked for shweet tea and they gave me a look, like "you are not from here, are you". The atmosphere was buzzy and the wait staff are chatty and friendly but I wonder what it's like at 3 in the morning?