23.10.08: The Salt Lick, Austin, TX

Her BBQ Combo Plate: ribs, smoked sausage, potato salad, coleslaw and baked bnz.
His: ditto, but with beef brisket (not pictured)

We took a sundown drive thru Hill Country and swerved sharply into The Salt Lick, which all two of you may remember from His trip a month ago. Smoke, sauce and the subtleties of pork rule the roost here, y'all, where chicken is considered a side dish.

HE SAYS: Part of the charm of The Salt Lick is the drive, so it was a shame that the sun had already set as we drove up and down the magnificent rolling hills. The GPS also had a little trouble finding the exact address, so it was a good thing I'd done the journey only a month previous.

When we got there, parked, sat down, and ordered, all was forgotten as a behemoth of meaty treats once again got my mouth a-watering. I chose the variety platter, and in the course of only about half an hour (start to finish) managed to wolf down giant BBQ ribs, brisket, and succulent sausage before my stomach could tell how much I had consumed. Understandably, I was stuffed to the rafters, and at this point feel like I no longer have to eat another thing on this trip - I'm set.

Accompaniments: pickles, regular and chipotle BBQ sauces, superfluous white bread

SHE SAYS: Got 'The Plate' of ribs and sausage, slathered in a thin sweet sauce that had a tinge of five-spice - much more to my liking than the vinegary Memphis style o' stuff, or the think ketchupy sludge of supermarket offerings. Oh my, was this smokey pile o' meat good!

For interplay of smoke and sweet, these ribs can't be beat. Only Houston's Danish-style babybacks score higher for tenderness. The sausage was a tip-o-the-tongue delight - you just don't get even reg'lar smoked sausage in London, and this was no ordinary stuffed skin: subtle, no spice or herb, just the fine-tuned smokey savour.

Potato salad and bnz were not commentworthy, clearly just for show. But the coleslaw was a nice surprise: light and with no vinegar hint, but with a v. un-Texas touch: toasted sesame seeds. Fab little bursts of roastiness over good, clean crunchiness. She approved mightily. Pickle was an excellent palate cleanser, bead was not necessar, and oh! thankfully, the iced tea was plain, not sweet, jsut the referesher you need.

It was, all in all, more restrained than I expected in taste sensations, tho' not at all in portions - all of which adds up to infinitely moreish!

14.09.08: Polenta, and pho

SHE SAYS: I prepared a gorgeous meal of baked fish with herbs, and roast beets with avo, plus the aformentioned polenta with corn kernels - BUT, halfway through the cooking came down with bad tummy cramps and, erm, lots of visits to the loo. Amidst all the turbulence, the polenta was the only thing that even remotely appealed. It did its job as sickie food, s'all I can say. Except: I'm fairy certain this is the result of last nite's Thai terror - apparently food poisoning can manifest in your gut up to 48 hours later in most cases.

HE SAYS: Having indulged in some heavy meals of late I was looking for something a little lighter and I found it at Kim Fung, a little out of the way Chinese place at the end of a dark strip mall and another recommendation (thanks Blair).

Unfortunately I got all flustered and ordered the wrong thing, I was there to sample this thang called PHO, so when asked what I wanted after having just sat down I requested the very first PHO item on the menu, consisting of rare pieces of steak, brisket, tendon and tripe??? I know, I know it sounds disgusting, and the tripe was a white chewy fatty substance and really gross, also the tendon tasted as nice as it sounds - not good. The broth was pretty tasty though and I did my best to navigate the bowl's murky waters, searching and eating everything but the aforementioned nasty bits. I emptied out the accompanying plate of mint, lime, bean sprouts and also green peppers which added a little bit of aromatic wonderfulness to the meal, except the green peppers were extremely hot and having bit into one I proceeded to guzzle down a whole glass of water before fishing out the remaining green devils and throwing them out the pool.

After such a to-do I ended up quite enjoying my first PHO. The meal came to less then the price of an M&S sandwich. So, while I cursed the choice I'd made I marvelled at the value, of the food and also my judgment.