Crabby Jacks! - New Orleans

 New Orleans is known for it's creole food. Unfortunately I was too busy celebrating Mardi Gras to really go to the better food joints. Although I did have some excellent Gumbo at a corner super market run by an Asian couple! So what to eat as my last meal before I leave New Orleans... I tried to find a reasonably priced place that wasn't too far. I couldn't find a good creole place near by but I did find a local po' boy sandwich place near by called Crabby Jacks.

The place is known as a local spot and can get really crowded during lunch time. I got there right before the rush and ordered the roasted duck po' boy per recommendations on yelp.  The sandwich was pretty big but not very good! The duck was gamey and was not very big on flavor. Perhaps I have gotten spoiled from all the delicious duck dishes I used to get at the Thai places near my house. A lot of people seemed to have ordered some fried deliciousness for their po boy... Oh well just goes to show you that you can't always trust those yelp reviews.

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New Orleans! - Monday and Fat Tuesday!

The funny thing is that I didn't realize that I would be in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras. It was at Hueco while watching the end of the Super Bowl at a restaurant after a good day of climbing that I realized that Mardi Gras was going to align perfectly with my trip. I couldn't let that coincidence go to waste.
I was lucky that my friend's cousin Sidd agreed to host me for few nights!

Sidd and his friend Stacey after a long day of walking

Monday night parade!

We barely made it to see the end of the night parade and it seemed that the whole town was there to see the parade. It was a great fun vibe. Next was Bourbon St...

A glimpse into the packed mad house of the Bourbon St. experience.

Bourbon St is probably what most tourist think of when they think of Mardi Gras. The street is packed with people with beads being thrown form the balconies. There is a lot of drunkenness a fair amount of people flashing and general sense of drunken state of partying. To get plastic bead necklaces most of the time you DO NOT need to flash your breasts or do anything too embarrassing. Just make eye contact and give a big "woo hoo~!" and wave your arms. If they want you to do anything you don't want to just walk away, there are plenty of more beads just a few steps away.

A Jazz club whose name I forget...

Besides the Mardi Gras craziness there are plenty of good live music spots you can check out.

My beads! Didn't do anything too embarrassing for them... I think...

 Day Time Parade! Snagged me a Zulu Coconut!

My favorite part of Mardi Gras was actually all the cool costumes I saw! People go all out for their costumes! And the general mood of happiness and celebration was amazing too! It truly is an awesome whole town kind of party.

Crazy Fun Costumes!

The Best photo I have that shows the vibe, the energy of the streets.

Live street music, and yup, the girl on the left is playing the saw!

The Drum Cart! 3 set of drums, 1 bbq grill and one platform for a drunken satyr! Awesome!

My only problem with Mardi Gras was that it was so much fun you forget to enjoy the other goodies that the city offers. If you have a chance to go to Mardi Gras definitely go. It is a lot of fun! Oh and if you want some Mardi Gras beads, I'm coming back with a bag full :o)

Dallas! Family and Aquarium!

The drive up to Dallas was pretty interesting. I knew I was going to be driving next to snow covered roads but I wasn't expecting to do so in Texas! Apparently I missed an epic snow storm by few days!

Ummm... Dallas?

I was not planning to do any climbing in Dallas, although there are quite a few gyms in the area, including a converted silo that boast the claim of tallest indoor climbing wall in North America. Instead since I was visiting my cousin in Dallas I decided to treat it as a long rest days. Everybody on my trip has been nice and friendly but there was a comfort that can only come from staying with good friends or family. They fed me well, I rested plenty, watched the Olympics and even got to go to the aquarium!

My cousin and his wife in front of the Dallas Aquarium

The one thing to know about the Dallas Aquarium is, well... It's more of a zoo/aquarium hybrid. There is probably more space dedicated to birds than the fishes.

Is that a monkey in my aquarium?

You first enter into a green house of sorts that is filled with birds and monkeys that are free to roam around. It's pretty cool. You feel like you are in a safari, you are constantly looking around to spot the various birds and monkeys.

My Cousin and Me 

Ducks and Water Falls

 

Funky looking bird you can feed!

 Flamingos

 Bats!

The aquarium portion wasn't the biggest or the most extensive but it was fun an varied. You get to see the sharks, jellyfishes, funky looking seahorses and even a manatee!

 

Shark Tunnel!

Funky Fish with the Glassy Eyes

Sea Turtles, Gigantic Fishes and Manatees!

 

Jellyfish

 

Seahorse!

I think the place could be a tad cheaper but it was a good time for all! If you are looking for something to do in Austin definitely put the aquarium on your list.

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Snow's BBQ - Best BBQ in Texas?

I was talking to my friend Chris over the phone when he mentioned that the supposedly best BBQ in Texas was located near Austin. After some research I found out that Snow's BBQ in Lexington, TX was selected by the Texas Monthly as the best BBQ in Texas in 2008. There are a lot of good BBQs in Texas so that's a pretty bold claim. I decided to check it out.

Snow's BBQ

My journey to Snow's started in 7am in the morning. Why so early you ask? It's because Snow's BBQ in only open on Sat. from 8am till the meat is gone. The brisket has been known to run out at as soon as 10am! To make sure I get my meat I got an early start. The hour long drive was fairly uneventful besides the thick fog and my GPS freaking out when it thought I was driving on nothing... But I made it!

Mmmm... Meat...

I got there around 8:45AM and there was already a line and after I stood in line the line got even longer! I ordered my meat by pound but you can choose the plates, which comes with sides.

My Meaty Breakfast

I ended up ordering approximately .5lb of brisket, 1 sausage link, 1/4lb of pork ribs, 1/4lb of pork, coleslaw and red beans. The red beans are complimentary and can be picked up from a vat on the side. The first thing I tried was the brisket. My first bite was delicious. Besides the layer of fat on the outside a lot of fat seems to have been melted in to the meat itself. I found the fattier pieces of the brisket better than the leaner ones. The leaner sections seemed a tad dry. I think I prefer the brisket without the BBQ sauce. The sauce is sweet with a slight tanginess. The sausage was pretty tasty but nothing too amazing. The ribs were good but I think I preferred the Salt Lick's ribs. The pork slices also were good but nothing too amazing. The beans were a tad too salty for my taste but was a good break between the fatty meats.

So was it the best BBQ in Texas? Well, yes and no. The briskets were the best I have tasted in recent memory but everything else was good but not the best. Would I recommend you make a pilgrimage just for Snow's BBQ? I would say so only if you are around the 1hr-ish area.

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Austin Bouldering! Well... Indoor Bouldering - Austin Rock Gym North

I was hoping to be bouldering outdoors but the weather was not willing to cooperate. It was generally cold and rainy. I decided I still want to get some climbing in so I decided to go to the Austin Rock Gym. There are two gyms. The South gym is meant more for rope climbs and the north gym is meant more for bouldering. So I headed out to the North gym for a day of bouldering.

Austin Rock Gym North

When you are on N Lamar St look for the a toner store. The sign for the toner store is more visible. When you get in to the complex make a left and keep going till you see the gym.
The staff at the gym was very friendly and helpful but the gym itself was... well...

Signs of wear and tear...

The gym seemed to be a bit run down. Unlike the pristine pictures from their website <link> everything was falling apart. The padded floor was tearing and the foam from below was scattered all over the gym. Not a huge deal but still, after seeing the website photos it seemed almost like false advertising. And that's not all.

When I first went to their website one of the things that really intrigued me was the really tall over hanging wall. It showed that the landing was protected with a padded wall that ran almost parallel to the climbing wall (5th picture from the top on their site). Seemed like a real cool unique feature that I have not seen at too many gyms. But the reality was a bit disappointing to say the least...

The Padded Wall?

The wall was completely torn apart! I asked the guy who was working at the gym if they were going through a renovation and he told me that they weren't. Bummer. The top area of the middle boulder was also a complete mess too.
So how about the climbs? The climbs were o.k. There seemed to be a huge gap between the V3 and the V4 climbs. V3s being really easy and the V4s being a lot harder. A lot of the routes seemed to have some very odd sequences too.
I would not recommend climbing at this gym if you can find any other climbing options. Maybe the South gym is better maintained but I did not have time to go to both. A day pass will get you into both gyms.

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Austin - Salt Lick BBQ, Driftwood

My morning started out with a bit of a bummer. My car battery was dead! Thankfully my parents graciously got me a AAA membership right before I left. The AAA guy was originally from San Diego and was very friendly. Just remember that if you need your batteries completely replaced the AAA guy is convenient but it will end up costing you a bit more.
Once I was mobile once more I started my journey to Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood.

Welcome to the Salt Lick BBQ

There are 2 Salt Lick BBQ locations but people insisted that I should go to the original Driftwood location. If you are in the southern Austin Area the drive should not be too bad. The sign can be easy to miss so keep your eyes open for it. I even had a GPS and I missed it and had to turn around.

The Pit!

Once you come inside the structure you are greeted with a view of the BBQ Pit. It is an awesome sight of meats galore. If you ask nicely they will let you come into the the cooking area to see the pit.
Now for the main show. The BBQ! I got the combo pack. The combo was $9.95 with beef briskets, sausages and pork ribs. The meal also came with beans, potato salad and coleslaw and some bread.

The delicious combo plate!

The Pork Ribs were pretty good. The Ribs had a sweetness even without the sauce. It reminded me a little of Chinese style pork. The Briskets were tasty with just enough fat to add flavor without being too fatty. The sausages were my least favorite of the bunch but still good. All the sides were pretty solid. The BBQ sauce itself was fairly tangy. The waiter saw me abusing the hot sauce and brought me some chipotle bbq sauce. I thought it was a good sauce but I think I prefer the normal sauce just a tad more.

I'm not sure why but I like posting the aftermath photos :o)

As you can see I ate everything up. I was fairly full but I saw the freshly baked pecan pies. As some people might know I'm a sucker for the pecan pies. When I got my pecan pie it was still warm and was topped off with a vanilla ice cream. The pie was very good! The pecans were baked with an almost caramelized cover. I was so stuffed but it was worth it!
I highly recommend Slat Licks BBQ, Driftwood! And if you are particularly hungry they have all you can eat specials for 14.95 on Mon~Friday till 4pm. That's a steal!

Austin - Kerbey Lane Cafe South

After a long day of driving to get to Austin I finally had a chance to get dinner! My couch surfing host Brina told me to go check out a local favorite called Kerbey Lane Cafe.
When I walked in it didn't seem that different than other cafes. The menu was a mix of Tex Mex and standard Diner food. As I often do when I get to a new restaurant, especially one where I have no previous knowledge of. The waiter was very friendly and recommended the Pear and Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich. The description goes,

It sounded awesome and it tasted even better! This is usually where I would insert the picture of the food but in my hunger delirium I ate it before I could get a photo! But let me tell you it was one of the best grilled cheese I ever had! The best one I ever had was definitely the one that Hot Knives served at the Grilled Cheese Invitationals. But that was a ridiculous grilled cheese with cave aged cheese grilled by the Grilled Cheese Masters. But besides that I think this was the best I ever had. The sweetness of the pear went very well with the saltiness of the cheese and the bacon. The kicker was the garlic basil aioli that added the garlicy flavor without being too over powering. Delicious! The home fries that came on the side was not bad but was nothing too special. The sad thing is this grilled cheese was listed on the menu as a seasonal menu! If you are in the area go eat one now! You won't regret it. Two thumbs way up for Kerbey Lane Cafe! 

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