recent austin sandwich finds

even in just the short time this blog has been in operation, new sandwich offerings have popped up in this fine city.

here are some new ones to keep in mind:

1. Odd Duck Farm to Trailer: 1219 S. Lamar, open 6-10pm.
Odd Duck is a new local food trailer that serves a menu that rotates daily.  Odd Duck, located on S. Lamar next to Gordough’s donuts and Brevita coffee, offers sandwiches, quesadillas, soups, and other lunchtime staples with the freshest farmer’s market ingredients. They also have a wood-burning stove inside the trailer. Living on the edge.

2. DeFresh Mode: corner of S. Lamar and Manchaca, open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 2-9 p.m. Sundays.
DeFresh Mode isn’t new per say, but the vegetarian sandwich stand has been closed/relocated from its former home near Zilker Park. A link to the menu here, but our picks include the Avocado Dream sandwich with an Agave-sweetened iced tea.

3. Trailer Perk, 1602 E. Sixth St., open late-night weekend hours and breakfast/lunch weekdays.
Little information is available on this new 6th St. food trailer, but rumer has it they’re serving coffee, sandwiches and pastries.

4. Old School BBQ & Grill, 3001 E. Cesar Chavez, Mon. 11am-3pm, Tues.-Sat. 12-6pm.
Served out of an old school bus parked alongside MLK and Clifford Ave., Thrillist describes the Old School BBQ & Grill set-up as “an actual old school bus rigged with a full commissary kitchen and a two-chamber meat smoker welded right into the bus-frame.” Our picks? The bbq ‘wiches, served on freshly baked buns from Sweetish Hill Bakery. Yum!

looking for food inspiration?

As the semester draws to a close, I wanted to share some of my favorite food blogs on the Internet since the team here at austin eats sandwiches will be going our separate ways for the holiday break.

No matter your plans for the break, look to these blogs for some great food photography, recipe and entertaining ideas and just plain inspriation.

1.The Homesick Texan
Hands down one of my favorite food blogs on the web. I’m trying to remember how I found this blog but once I did, my life was changed forever. A Texan now living in New York, Lisa Fain blogs regularly about her favorite southern/Texan family recipes, the best places to find Texan food and drinks in the city and always finds a clever, nostalgic way to weave in that fantastic Texan culture throughout it all.

I made her Dr. Pepper Peanut Brittle (Dr. Pepper and Peanuts? Yes, please!) once and it was awesome! Go easy on the cayenne, though – we used the full amount she called for and the brittle had quite the bite.

2. The Gluten-Free Girl
This may seem like a left-field choice but you’d be really surprised to find out how many of your friends and loved ones out there have to live gluten-free lives. I have several friends that have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and watching them accommodate their lifestyles is very inspiring. The Gluten-Free Girl takes some really great photos of her recipes and does a wonderful job of blogging about life in general.

3. Serious Eats
If you’re looking to join a serious community of foodies online, check out SeriousEats. The site boasts a comprehensive recipe collection as well as an easy-to-use forum. Pilfer for recipes, ask for suggestions and join one of the dozens of conversations revolving around cooking, kitchens and holiday entertaining.

Well, this shall be my last post for a while, my dears. It has been such a pleasure sharing the sandwich love with all of you here and I hope you’ll continue to share your favorite spots and recipes with me and the rest of the crew.

Happy holidays!

all about Bite Mi

Bite Mi on the Drag

Bite Mi, the sandwich shop on the drag (Guadalupe & 21st), serves the traditional Vietnamese sandwiches – Banh Mi’s.  This is, of course, similar to Lulu B’s off Lamar.  I went to Bite Mi today looking for a totally new sandwich experience.  I have never had bahn mi before, nor had I heard any reviews about this new restaurant.  So, I headed down with a couple friends and fell in love with bahn mi.

Bite Mi opened October this year, when owner and manager Thuan Luc thought there needed to be an affordable Vietnamese sandwich place close to campus for students.  This is a little interview I conducted with Luc — don’t mind my sick little voice.  He was very friendly and works the register most days.  It’s definitely a small, local operation.  Go support them.

(I was panning the restaurant before recording, not forgetting the camera was rolling)
Here are the sandwiches we ordered: the chicken, the BBQ pork and the combination (respectively).

Our bahn mis: mine, chicken; Alex's, BBQ pork; Kristine's, Combo.

Here is a closer up image of mine.

We all came to the consensus that these sandwiches deserved a 4/5.  Great tasting and incredibly inexpensive — the prices ranged from $3-$4.

Each sandwich comes with ingredients like French Pate, pickled carrots, jalapeños, light mayonnaise, a little soy sauce, cilantro, and onions all in a French baguette…  The vegetables offset the strong meat taste to create a great median.

The bánh mì sandwich stems from the French countryside “salad sandwich” which consists of lettuces, tomatoes and sometimes vegetables as well asdressing served on a baguette. The sandwich is a product of French colonialism in Indochina, combining ingredients from the French (baguettes, pateand mayonnaise) with native Vietnamese ingredients like cilantro, hot peppers, fish sauce and pickled carrots.  (via Wikipedia)

The small space got pretty filled mid-meal, when a large group came in.  I guess everybody else at U.T. has caught onto the craze as well.

While Bite Mi does not have a Web site yet, but for now check them out on Yelp.  (It has mixed reviews, but I had a great experience there.)

review: whole foods sandwiches

My roommate and I spent a nice mid-morning walking around Town Lake Lady Bird Lake and decided to make it a perfectly Austin-y day and head straight to Whole Foods.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Everybody knows Whole Foods is delicious but did you also know their sandwiches are the best? Well, they are incredibly delectable and I would like to share to you a little sandwichy delight for your dreary Monday.

Since we had been walking the trail, I thought it was only right I try the “Town Lake” sandwich.

quality iphone shot.

This sandwich went beyond all expectations and I don’t think it was because I had a super huge appetite from walking. It was seriously incredible. It is served on Italian flat bread which was doughy and soft and perfect. Inside my Town Lake, was portobello mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, basil pesto, parmesan, a little lemon juice, and pine nuts.

ok it doesn't look great but i promise !

Now, normally I don’t even like mushrooms. That’s a lie. I like them when they are raw but for some reason the texture of cooked mushrooms is usually too much for me. Too much rubbery, that is. So I have no idea why this sandwich appealed to me but I’m so glad I tried it.

I had it warmed up which was awesome since I was freeezing ! The tomatoes in it were just the right sweetness and acidity which went absolutely perfectly with the rich, creamy goat cheese. If you haven’t tried goat cheese, go do it now. It is so tasty !! And actually lower in fat, calories and cholesterol than a lot of similar creamy cow cheeses (like cream cheese). The basil pesto was phenomenal. I destroyed one half of this sandwich (of course) and saved the rest for later.

And Whole Foods generally gets a bad reputation for being expensive and I admit, I can’t afford to regularly shop here. But my sandwich was fairly reasonably priced – I would say about average for most delicious sandwiches – $6.49 (why not $6.50 right ?)

So if you have never tried a Whole Foods sandwich, please go !

fast sandwiches

Tiffany here to discuss the art of the fast sandwich. I guess that means fast food sandwich, but fast food doesn’t always mean McDonald’s or Taco Bell, it can simply mean food that is grabbed on the go. Hence, “fast.” Anyway, here in Austin, we have plenty of options when it comes to the fast sandwich; it is just hard to discern between the impeccable and the lame.  I have a few sandwiches listed here and so many more to experience.

Lately, it has been so cold the thought of putting any effort to eat has been such a turn-off. Thus began a steady stream of grab-and-go eating in my bed, while multi-tasking with homework.

1. Pita Pit

Chicken Breast Pita with Tomato Basil soup

The great thing about Pita Pit, besides the fact that it is so conveniently located on the Drag, is that it’s a little different than your average sandwich; it’s a pita-wich!  If you have been there, you know the drill, but if you haven’t, let me explain.  It’s an assembly line style sandwich place where you can pick the toppings to your selected meat (or vegetarian) of choice.  I always get a chicken breast, because it is cheap, simple and delicious.  I like to put hummus, cheese, black olives, mushrooms, tzatziki dressing, salt and pepper into the mix.  I would give Pita Pit a 4/5.

2. Which Wich

Delicious Chicken Parm with black olives, mushrooms and more...

My selections on my Wich bag

Which Wich, located on the drag, has also always been a yummy and convenient choice for on-the-go.  Their method is a little different.  You grab a (selected meat of veggie choice) bag upon entrance, where you can mark off exactly what you want in your Wich from a wide array of options.  Take a look at mine.  I almost always go with something chicken, and I love adding mushrooms, olives, cheese and spices to everything — you’ll learn.  The sandwiches tend to vary here.  Sometimes I think I am eating the food of the gods, while other times I feel like the flavor fell flat.  I would give Which Wich a 4/5.

3. Arby’s

Roast Turkey Ranch and Bacon Sandwich

Loaded Potato Bites

Now let’s get to the real fast food. This is very left field for me, because I hardly ever eat Arby’s, but that’s what food blogging is kind of about right? Anyway, Arby’s is definitely classified as fast food in sort of more negative terms. I have enjoyed it a lot in the past, but it would never be my first choice for food, let alone sandwiches. However, I thought it was worth a shot. Closer to central Austin, there are two that I know of – South Lamar (4411 South Lamar Boulevard) and Burnet Road (5400 Burnet Road). Check it out on the map. You can also check out their menu online; I got the Roast Turkey Ranch and Bacon. Honestly, it was just a normal sandwich, not awful not amazing. I give it a 2.75/5.

That’s not all.  Here is a short list of my suggested sandwich stops for a quick one (in no particular order)–
1. 7/11 (trust me they are great)
2. Quiznos
3. Subway
4. Potbelly’s
5. Thundercloud
6. Chick-fil-a