My Dealer, Texas Coffee Techs

1/8/2012

3 Comments

 
For those of you that know me, you know I am a coffee snob of sorts.  For some this is kind of hard to believe since I didn't even start drinking coffee until I was 30.  I even remember my first cup of coffee. The scene was Las Vegas, I was sitting at a black jack table with my BFF Staci and I was TIRED!!  Staci suggested that I have a cup of coffee to which I replied "YUCK!"  Then she said she could fix it to where I would like it.  We ordered two cups of coffee and LOTS of sugar packets from our waitress.  When we received our coffee Staci doctored it up for me:  4 oz coffee + 5 sugar packets.  I'm not joking.  That is how I started drinking coffee.  Seriously.  Back in the day when I would order from Starbucks I would order a Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte, with 10 pumps of vanilla.  True Story!  (For those of you that don't know, the normal for that drink is 4 pumps.)   So, over the years my love for coffee has grown and my taste buds have matured.  I now love a French Press - straight; no milk, no sugar, no nothing.  I love plain no sugar added cappuccinos and lattes & I love the process of making them all.  I prefer not to drink 'drip' coffee, you lose so much in a drip - the crema is nonexistent in drip coffee and the flavor is to bitter for this girl. 

About a year ago our Coffee Machine, AKA, The Beast started acting up so we had to take her in for repairs. That is when we found Texas Coffee Techs.  This little out of the way place where they repair coffee machines and SO MUCH MORE!  They roast beans daily, they sell coffee by the 1/2 pound or pound, and they are a little coffee shop.  Their staff is extremely friendly and will give history lesson if coffee if you would like.  Mallory is my favorite employee, she is very knowledgeable and she makes a MEAN French Press! 
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Malory making a French Press for my enjoyment.
Texas Coffee Techs is a little hard to find if you don't know what you are looking for.  Here are good directions on how to get there.  Once you think you are there look for this little sign sitting out front.
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A wall of coffee to choose from. Don't worry, Malory will help you figure out what coffee is best for you AND you can try it before you buy it! How great is that?!
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A view of the store as you walk in the front door.
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Need a espresso machine? No worries, they have plenty to choose from.
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A little help yourself coffee bar
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Old school
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They have a Tuk-tuk! How fun is that?!?! For just a moment I thought I was in Thailand. :o)
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Their ourdoor seating area....Very Austin!
The next time you find yourself in Austin needing a cup of Joe, head over and see the friendly folks at Texas Coffee Techs, you won't be disappointed! 
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Date Night at The Range

1/28/2011

4 Comments

 
Date night....ahhh, two of my favorite words when combined together.  Hubby and I haven't had nearly enough date nights since moving to Texas.  People looking in from the outside might dispute what I just said BUT I didn't say we don't go out.  I said we don't have 'date nights'.  There is a BIG difference.  Even though we go out together A LOT, what we have been doing is not dating.  We go to functions and events, places that are somewhat 'required', where if we don't go it doesn't look good.  Sometimes these functions are lots of fun, but again, they are not 'dates'.  It is business.

So, when this past Saturday rolled around and I realized we didn't have anything on the calendar I suggested we go out on a date, and NOT to a movie (I don't consider movies date nights either). We both knew where we wanted to go ~ The Range in Salado, Texas.   The last time we ate at The Range was back in September of 2006 where we celebrated our 12th Anniversary and right before Hubby deployed to Iraq for 15 months.  Now after 4 years and 2 moves  I can't believe it took us 9 months (the amount of time we have been back in TX) to go back to The Range.  What were we thinking?  I know we won’t wait that long before our next visit to The Range.  I LOVED this place then and I LOVE this place now. So my suggestion for you is this: If you find yourself looking for a good place to take your honey here in Central Texas, don't hesitate to make that drive to Salado.  You will not be disappointed!  It is "Elegant dining with a quaint country flair!"  With that being said, elegant dining equals a bit on the pricy side (but worth every penny), so make sure you check out their menu (here) before you go.  Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to have a reservation.  Now, here is a peak at my drink and our entrees:
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Lemon-Ginger Martini
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Sea bass cooked to perfection - crispy on the edges and as soft as butter in the middle. Absolutely perfect. And that sauce....oh baby!
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Quail - so moist and tender.
4 Comments

Date Night in Central Texas - Dead Fish Grill

5/24/2010

6 Comments

 
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After much research and many ideas from friends on facebook, I decided to take Hubby to Dead Fish Grill on Lake Belton for dinner & live music.   Dead Fish Grill....really?  I thought I had the name wrong.  I wonder why on earth a restaurant would name their establishment 'DEAD FISH GRILL', but I decided to go with it and give them a try. 


So Belton is kind of a hike, it took us 25 minutes to get to Dead Fish Grill from Fort Hood, but when a girl wants live music with her dinner in Central Texas, she needs to travel (I only found 2 restaurants in CT with live music, one in Belton, one in Temple).  Upon arrival we ran into a few folks that had just come back from a reenactment of the Civil War.  When I ask them if I could take a picture with them they were all for it and even suggested this pose: 
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We had to wait 30 minutes for a table so Hubby and I headed to the 'lounge' area for cocktails and to listen to the band play. 
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Once seated our view was beautiful!
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As we ate dinner we watched the sunset over lake, where Hubby professed his undying love for me, then we took a private boat to a cute little island...
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OK, whatever...no professing of love, no private boats, unless you count the one that was hanging out down below with the drunk girl doing a dance for everyone at the restaurant.  Oh, and our table was nice except for all the kids that were staked out right behind us and the teenager that kept dropping the F-bomb.  Hey, and check out my martini....
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Now I ask what kind of glass is that for a martini.   Also, I didn't notice before I took this picture, but there was a hair on my lemon!  Aughhh.  I sent it back...I tried to drink the new one, but kept gagging because I was afraid they really didn't make a new one for me and just replaced the lemon.

The food however was much better than I expected!  I actually liked it! And I felt the pricing was right on target for we ordered.  I got the Baja Fish Tacos....
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Hubby got the Cajun Crawfish & Shrimp...
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I have some seriously mixed feelings about this place.  Let's break it down –

The good:
good company (Hubby is always good company!)
nice view
good food
good prices
live music
good mojitos (from Hubby)

The bad:slow service (waited 45 minutes for entree)
hair on lemon!  YUCK!
bad service (never received our appetizer & only saw our waitress 3 times)
I can't really count the irritating people, that had nothing to do with the restaurant.

Would I go back?  Believe it or not, yes I will most likely give them another try.  Next time I will only order beer out of a bottle, and pray we get a better server.
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