Road Diaries: Jacksonville, Florida

El Mofongo

Every so often us Food Junkies go out of town. Not necessarily for the purpose of discovering new and exciting places to eat outside of Texas, but just for the sake of going. And while we're out we need to eat. So we asked ourselves, if we are going to be out anyway why not write about it? Why not look for great little places in whatever town we happen to be in? And thus is born the inaugural edition of Austin Food Junkies: The Road Diaries.

Mofongo with pork

I know you're all probably sitting on the edge your seats, peering intently at the words on your monitor with wide eyes barely an inch from the screen just waiting for the exotic locale to be revealed. Well my friends wait no longer; I was able to visit Jacksonville, Florida. A trip of well over 1,000 miles from Austin and spanning five states, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The trip out was a bit rushed, so we didn't have the chance to stop for anything along the way (that's right, no Cajun or Creole food in Louisiana, maybe next time) save for the usual fast food type stuff, but what awaited us in Jacksonville made skipping those places worthwhile.


There were, of course, the usual fast food and mega-chain type places all around but what I wanted was a bit of the flavor of Jacksonville. I wanted a place that was local to them, but perhaps a bit unusual to an outsider. Well I found exactly what I was looking for in El Mofongo. They serve a mix of Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican food. As soon as I rolled up to this place I had feeling I was going to like it. It had the look and feel from the outside of a welcoming neighborhood cafe and inside I was not disappointed. What drew me to this place initially was the name, El Mofongo.

Tripleta

Mofongo is a dish that I had seen on a cooking show a long time ago and had wanted to try but never did find any place in Austin that serves it (if there is feel free to drop us a line!). Mofongo consists of fried plantains (those banana looking things in the produce section), spices, and various types of magic. All of the ingredients are then placed into a pilon (a giant wooden mortar and pestle) and beaten into submission until the whole mass forms a nice dome. The dome of plantain-y goodness is then fried.You get your choice of meat, I chose the pork. I love pork. It is easily one of my favorite meats and I do not say this lightly, but this was perhaps the best pork I have ever had. Ever. The meat was perfectly tender and moist; it just fell apart in mouth. And the skin....I still have dreams about it. Perfectly crunchy, perfect. It wasn't at all hard or tough; it was crisp and disintegrated quickly on the tongue. I can't wait to get another.

Menu

 On the way out, I had plenty of leftovers but I had gone out alone and several people back the home I was staying in who had not eaten. So I used this as an excuse to order a few more things. I got Tostones (fried green plantains), and a couple of sandwiches. I got the Cuban, after all when you're in a Cuban place in Florida you have to get a Cuban sandwich, and the Triplet. All of these items were great. The bread is made in house and the plantains came served with a delicious mojo, which is a sauce made with garlic, olive oil, and in this case lemon juice.
 
We try to keep our ratings specific to Texas and Austin in particular so we can't give an official rating this time. But if we were to rate them, El Mofongo would be amongst the highest. The staff was friendly and helpful and the food was fantastic. So the next time any of our fellow Junkies are anywhere near Jacksonville be sure to run by this place. The pilgrimage will be worth it.


El Mofongo
6011 103rd st
jacksonville Florida 32210
904-777-4933
Map

Olive & June

Olive and June

Hey there food fanatics! If you are at all in touch with the soft, and delightfully overfed underbelly of Austin, which is to say its food scene then you are doubtlessly acquainted with Chef Shawn Cirkiel. Chef Cirkiel is the proprietor of both Parkside and the Backspace, and now his newest restaurant Olive and June. We were recently treated to a night at Olive and June and had quite a night.

Olive and June is located just off of 35th on Glenview Ave, and serves up some fantastic Italian fare. It's a lovely location with a equally lovely interior consisting of three floors and outside deck seating. We were ushered up to the second floor and given a small table (it was just the two of us after all) near the middle of the room which afforded us the opportunity to observe the rest of the guests and the staff. As one would expect the staff was very friendly eager to assist.

Appetizers

We started with the fried ravioli, and the suppli which is fried saffron risotto and mozzarella. These are now easily two my favorite things. I love ravioli, risotto and most things fried. So when you take two of my favorite things and fry them, you have created a winning dish in my book. The next time I come back I will start with both of these. Also pictured is the Tuna Crudo

Escarole

Next up was the salad, we opted for the escarole. This is served with pancetta and a fried egg. All I had to see was that it came with a fried egg, and the deal was sealed for me. How can you not love a food that makes its own sauce? Our waitress also suggested the pickled beets. If you are a lover of beets, then these are worth a try. An excellent recommendation on the part of our waitress.


We also had the grilled swordfish and the short rib papparedelle. The papparedelle was good, but the real standout for us was the swordfish. This was easily one of the best pieces of fish I've had in a long time. Perfectly cooked and nicely accompanied with lemon, pistachio, capers and mint. This will probably be my go to entree.

Bombolini

To finish we decided on the chocolate zabaglione, but were also given the bombolini (it was the soft opening event after all).  The zabaglione was fantastic and so rich I was glad to have help finishing it. The bombolini were also delicious. Little Tuscan doughnuts served atop house made nutella, with candied orange zest, and orange mascarpone. We washed it all down with a very nice cappuccino.

Ordinarily, we don't feel it's fair to rate a new restaurant based on a soft opening event. After all, the whole point of an event like this is to help work out some of the kinks. But we were able to sample enough of the menu that I feel I can confidently give a rating to Olive and June. And Chef, if you happen to read this please give our complements not only to the kitchen but to the front of the house as well. Customer service is a huge part of an evening out and your wait staff seems to have it down.

Official AFJ rating- 4 Points of the Lone Star.

Four Lone Star Points

Swad

Swad

This week's review takes us to one of my new favorite places for Indian food- Swad Restaurant. Swad is located on the north end of town, in the area of Lamar Blvd and Rundberg Lane. They serve up some the best vegetarian and vegan food in town. What, no meat, you ask. That's right, no meat whatsoever and you will not miss it. Like a couple of other places in town Swad serves food that is commonly associated with the street food sold in India, as opposed to the more traditional restaurant fare that most of us may be acquainted with. The result is food that is not only delicious, but that is rather easy on the wallet as well. Here is some of what we have sampled thus far at Swad-

Samosas, the gold standard of just about any Indian/Pakistani restaurant are their samosas. Samosas consist of a pastry filled with (in most cases anyway) spiced potatoes, onions, and peas. The filling can be either spicy or mild and is wrapped inside of the pastry and then deep fried in vegetable oil until golden brown. The result is a crunchy exterior and spicy, flavorful and soft interior. How does Swad measure up to this standard? Their Samosas are some of the best in town and come served with a sweet and spicy tamarind mint chutney. I usually recommend this to dish anyone not familiar with Indian food. All of the ingredients are familiar to most of us, but the flavor profile is just exotic enough to provide a new experience.

Next we tried the aloo tiki. One important thing to know here is that the word aloo is the word for potato. So any dish that uses this word will contain potatoes. In the case of aloo tiki, you are served two potato patties smothered in a curry (curry is the word for gravy) made with tomato and garbanzo beans and finished off with parsley. The overall flavor reminds me a bit of chili with the garbanzos substituting for the usual pintos or red beans. This dish also comes served with a sweet chutney and fresh onions on the side.

Finally, we tried the Mysore Dosa. A dosa is a type of crepe made with rice and lentil flour. The dosa itself is huge, it has to be a good 12 inches across when folded. This particular crepe is also spiced with ginger. The result is a very tart and aromatic crepe, which complements the spiced potatoes perfectly. The potatoes are mixed with sauteed onion and spiced with turmeric and other spices. Also included is a cup of sambhar, a type of traditional vegetable soup made with lentils and a tomato broth. It is a bit on the spicy side so be careful if you have a sensitive tongue.

Swad is certainly one of the better Indian/Pakistani restaurants in town and comes highly recommended.


AFJ rating: 4 Lone Star Points

Website 
Map
Address:
9515 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753
512-997-7923

Izzoz Tacos

Izzoz Tacos

In the relatively short time since we started this little culinary adventure there is one thing that we have found to be consistently true: most of the best food in town seems to come from the trailers that are sprinkled throughout Austin. I have been asking myself for weeks now why it is that chefs with the ability to turn out such quality would opt for an AirStream over a brick and mortar operation or a job at high-profile and well established restaurant. The only answer I have been able to come up with is: Freedom.


Freedom not just to be your own boss but to create as you see fit. Freedom to make the food that you want to make. And these little trailers are the perfect venue for it. It could be Gourdough's Doughnuts and their giant sized mutant concoctions that make you do a double take. It might be Crepes Mille on S. Congress (they will be the subject of a future review) with their crepes stuffed with all manner of wonderfulness like Chicken Burgundy or Panang Curry. These little places seem to work perfectly because they are based out of a trailer. I can't imagine some of these places working in traditional restaurant setting. I wish them best of luck and continued success. Not only are they delicious and exciting, but they add so much character to our cityscape. They fit perfectly in a town like Austin and I hope that they continue to flourish.


After reading that overly long intro it should come as no surprise that this week's review is about a trailer. A taco trailer in actuality. I think the thing I like most about good Mexican food is its homey feel. The best Mexican food, even if served in a restaurant still has the feel of a home cooked meal. And at some of the better places in town, grandma really is in the kitchen helping to make dinner. I know what you're thinking, A taco trailer? Really? There's practically one on every corner in Austin and most are not that great. Well no worries because the place we went to was Izzoz Tacos, which is now one of my two favorite places for tacos.


Unlike my other favorite place, where grandma actually is in the kitchen, Izzoz is run by a very skilled chef, John Galindo. How does his food stack up to the standard? The first thing that struck me was how true this food was to it's roots. The second thing I noticed was that he is not trying to reinvent the wheel here. He has taken some of my favorite things and added touches that only a chef can, while staying true to the original. Take the Escobar, a Carne Guisada taco for example.

The Escobar

For my money there's really nothing better than a good plate/taco of Carne Guisada, and this taco is as good as any I've ever had. It tastes like it could have come from grandma's kitchen. It's just beef stew served in a tortilla and finished with a little cilantro, onion and tomato. There's no pretense here, it just wants to be a good plate of stew and achieves exactly that. The chef's touch comes in here as it is finished with a little fresh cilantro. John's understanding of Mexican cuisine is apparent because it is only a little cilantro. I don't know how many times I've seen some chef on TV (who thinks that he or she knows Mexican food) absolutely demolish a dish or a salsa by adding a huge amount of cilantro. So to any trained chefs out there: Yes, Mexican food uses cilantro but it's not the only flavor you're going for. It's powerful stuff, take it easy people! Maybe you should all go to Izzoz to see how to use it properly. Speaking of salsa, the Escobar is served with a made fresh daily roasted salsa. How good is the salsa? Chef Galindo told me that on whim, literally hours before it was to start, he decided to enter a recent hot sauce competition. So he quickly made a batch, brought it to the competition and ended up taking second place. In short, it's pretty awesome.

The Vegitarian

Ah, yes the Vegitarian sandwich. It is in my opinion this is one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. I have had tortas (sandwiches) in Monterrey, Mexico and this one stands tall among the best of them. Perfectly fried portabella mushroom, fried avocado with a sherry chipotle vinaigrette. You might be tempted to think that there should be some sort of meat on this sandwich. But let me tell you, this is quite possibly one of the most perfect sandwiches ever created. Everything here works in perfect harmony to create a sandwich that is very well balanced in relation to both flavor and size. If you just can't decide on what you want, this makes a good "go to" kind of meal. It is also served with a large side of fries. The fries are done exactly as they should be done: hand cut, perfectly crispy and lightly salted. They also have a little bit of roasted garlic added to them. Very nice indeed. 

Fried Avocado

Now for something that is near and dear to my heart: the Fried Avocado Taco. I love a deep fried avocado, in fact I made a batch a couple of nights ago. This is one of my favorite tacos of all time. I suppose it's not too traditional but who cares? If you've never had one, then you are depriving yourselves dear friends. A properly fried avocado should just about melt in your mouth like butter, and that is exactly what is accomplished here. The batter used is basically a tempura batter that stays crunchy long after being removed from the oil. The result is a perfect texture of crunchy and soft. The taco itself comes served with arugula, cotijachese and a sherry chipotle sauce. And yet again, these ingredients serve only to highlight the real star of the show, the avocado. Not only is the avocado fried to order, but it is cut to order as well.

John was kind enough to sit and chat with us for a while, which is a good lesson for any current or aspiring restaurant owner. Your customers will love it if you are friendly enough to take a personal interest in them. We found out that, not surprisingly, he has been in the business for quite a while, about fifteen years. His passion for food really shows in the final product. But this comes as no surprise from a person who on his days off is known to show up at his friend's restaurants and help out in their kitchens. Now that's dedication. It's a dedication that shows in the products he turns out.

Take the guacamole, for example. If you order a side of guacamole or if something comes with guacamole it is made to order at Izzoz. Why go to all of that trouble? Because it tastes better that way. In fact the guacamole is exactly as I like it- uncomplicated. It is just avocado, salt, garlic and lime finished with a little tomato. Nothing fancy, just good food. While the tortillas at Izzoz are not made in house, it's about as close as you can get. He orders them from a local tortilla shop called El Milagro, on 6th Street. But these are not the run of the mill tortillas either. He special orders them according to his recipe, and do not contain any preservatives. It's just the basic ingredients which is all you need.
 

So how much weight will your precious wallet lose when stopping by Izzoz? Not very much, actually. Prices start at $2.00 and go up to $6.00. You'll leave Izzoz with a full belly, and a plump wallet.Portions are also nothing to scoff at.


Lastly, in case there is anyone out there thinking, "Man, I'd love to cook like that," he's got you covered. John offers cooking lessons. If you're interested, check the Izzoz website for more information. Now get out there and get yourselves a taco!

-Matt

AFJ Rating- 5 Lone Star Points

Izzoz Tacos Website
Google Maps Location
1207 S. 1st St.
Austin, TX 78704
Hours: 7 Days a week 9AM-9PM

The Flying Carpet

The Flying Carpet

This week the Food Junkies decided to try a trailer offering what they call "Moroccan Burgers." I don't know that I would call them burgers, but they were certainly tasty. We were joined by my close friends, Sean and Laura, for this tasty excursion.

How does one describe Moroccan food? First, in case you don't own a map, Morocco is located on the northwestern corner of Africa, directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. Its inhabitants are the descendants of the people who ruled Spain from about the year 700 AD until 1492 AD. In 1492, other than Columbus sailing an ocean of some color or other, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella finally drove the Muslims from the Spanish land, completing the Reconquista. Sorry, as a history major, I really couldn't resist adding a little background. Morocco was, in ancient times, one of the major centers of the spice trade coming from Asia going to Europe, and its cuisine shows this fact. Moroccan food has great spice and depth of flavor found only in countries where the spice trade made its mark in a big way. Indian and Ethiopia are other examples of "spice trade cuisine," though markedly different from Moroccan food.

The Sleek Vegan

The Flying Carpet serve three different main items:, The Moroccan Burger, The Sleek Vegetarian and The Sleek Vegan. The also offer fries or a salad as a side. We were able to cover everything except the salad, because they did not have any available for sale. Oh well, maybe next time. All of the sandwiches come wrapped in a pita and are served with a sauce they call L'Afrique, a tangy, slightly spicy mayonnaise type sauce. The Moroccan is grilled ground beef, a fried egg and mixed greens all in a homemade tomato sauce. This wrap is very tasty, well spiced and beautiful. The richness of the egg compliments the ground beef well and helps to cut some of the acidity of the tomato sauce. The tomato sauce is made, not surprisingly, with Harissa (pronounced ha-ree-sa). Harissa is a type of chili paste common in North African cuisine. It was nice and spicy without overpowering the dish or setting your mouth aflame. In all, it added a nice, balanced tangy/spicy layer to the wrap.


The Sleek Vegetarian is made with eggplant, fried egg, greens and the same tomato sauce; very flavorful if you like eggplant as much as I do. The Sleek Vegan is the same as the vegetarian, just replace the egg with falafel. Personally, I liked the Vegan better. I thought the addition of falafel added a nice crunchy texture to an otherwise soft dish. One nice thing about this one is that it is a very satisfying wrap. When most people think vegetarian or vegan, they may think of something like a salad out of a bag; which is to say not satisfying and not particularly flavorful. In this case both wraps are quite substantial. The eggplant acts as a nice substitute for meat in this case. Not that it tastes like meat or that you'll mistake it for meat. It adds a nice amount of substance to the wrap, much like a grilled or sauteed portabello mushroom can be used to add substance to a vegetarian sandwich. The result is a very tasty and very satisfying dish. The french fries are well fried, just crunchy enough without being tooth-shatteringly hard. This is a difficult technique to pull off, and one that many places fail at - not The Flying Carpet though. In addition to being salted, the fries also have a little black pepper added to them, which is a nice touch .

The Moroccan

There is one thing I would like to point out that I caught on their website: They use 100% hormone and antibiotic free ground beef that has been vegetarian fed as well as eggs from cage free, vegetarian fed chickens. I know to many people this is not the sort of thing they ever think about, but the difference to the planet and your health is worth it. Cost wise you are looking at $6.50 for the Moroccan or Vegetarian or $6 for the Vegan. Fries are $1.50 for a small basket and drinks are all about $2. All told, you can get a very good dinner for around $10; a great deal, honestly. The Flying Carpet certainly makes a nice addition to to the trailer scene here. I hope to see more ethnic based trailers popping up soon. Maybe an Indian trailer? I'd certainly be okay with that!

General Information:
Website/Menu
Google Maps Location
Hours: Wed-Fri 5:30pm-8:30pm; Sat 12:30pm-3pm, 5pm-8:30pm; Sun 12pm-5pm
Phone: (512) 744-5651



Official AFJ Rating: Two Points

Shandeez Grill

     Ever had Persian food? If not, I'm sure you're wondering what its like. For those unaware: Persian food refers to food from the country of Iran. This is because Iran is what remains of the once mighty Persian Empire, the same folks Alexander conquered on his way to becoming great. Interestingly enough, we have a few great Persian restaurants here in Austin. Today dear friends, we will review one of these great eateries- Shandeez Grill on Anderson Mill Rd. That's right, we do have great food even on the North end of town.

     First a description of Persian cuisine. If you've ever had Greek or Lebanese food, they are somewhat similar. You will find a lot of grilled, delightfully spiced meats, which are often lamb, beef or chicken. Even so, Persian cuisine is slightly different. You don't usually see a large bed of steamed rice with your meal when it comes to Mediterranean food, but in Persian cuisine you get perfectly cooked, well seasoned long-grain basmati - which is the much better looking and slightly more fashionable cousin to your average grain of rice. While a helping of rice might make you think more of Indian food, the flavor profiles between Indian and Persian are vastly different. Indian food, to me, is like Beethoven's fifth symphony - its dark, and loud and full of wonderful and exciting style. Persian food is more like Moonlight Sonata, the gentle and subtle undertones of flavor dance and float in a manner that makes you want to cry with joy, then move on to that next piece of lamb.

     On to the dishes. We tried the Chicken Soltani, a plate of grilled chicken and grilled flank steak served over a bed of buttered basmati. The flavors are superb, just delicate and beautiful. The meats were, of course, cooked to perfection. Tender, juicy and tasty. I had the Joojeh Kebob, a grilled Cornish Game Hen served on a healthy helping of basmati. Both of these dishes were seasoned primarily with saffron, the most expensive spice on earth. How does saffron taste? It tastes like expensive, OK seriously you’ll just have to try it and see. One other small - yet important - detail on these two dishes, is that  both are also served with half of a grilled tomato on the side. The grilled tomato, for those uninitiated, is a marvelous and easily passed over gem. Just when you think nature can't be improved on, someone puts it over a hot grill and nature sings in beautiful, seared agony. It's little additions like these tomatoes that can really spruce up a dish.

     Matt had the Adas Polo, grilled chicken over basmati topped with a sauce made with raisins, cinnamon and lentils. I know what you're thinking; "Raisins? On my savory food? No thanks!" If this is your thought process, I am sorry to inform you that you are wrong. This dish was filled with a wealth of beautiful flavor and texture. The sweet and tart flavor of the raisins, the mild spice of the cinnamon, juicy tender chicken, there is nothing about this meal you shouldn't be begging for. A long-time friend, Devyn, came along and tried the Khorest Gheymeh, a kind of beef stew topped with thin sliced and lightly fried potatoes, onions and split peas. This had a very nice earthy, mildly spicy flavor, a definite winner.

      They also have desserts. Try the baklava, a wonderfully flaky phyllo dough pastry filled with nuts, brown sugar and honey. Not in a pastry mood? Try the Persian ice cream; its an ice cream made with rose water, saffron and cardamom. The ice cream has a wonderful, floral flavor, that's just perfect.

     The impact to your bank account will be about $6 for a salad and between $7 and $14 for a kabob plate or a bowl of stew. The price is truly worth it, as the portions are large and the food is fantastic.  The Austin Food Junkies give Shandeez Grill three points of the Lone Star out of five.

Salaam,

Dave

General information:
Shandeez Website

Map
8863 Anderson Mill Rd., Suite 109
Austin, Texas 78729

Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Friday-Saturday 11:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.
Sunday - CLOSED

AFJ Rating: 3 Lonestar Points 

Recipe Time- Indian Stir Fry

Hey everyone,

I thought I'd share a quick, easy and healthy stir-fry recipe I've been messing with. First, a bit of full disclosure about this recipe: it's something I picked up online in an interview with Suvir Saran. In fact I made what was essentially his version of this recipe plus some extra mixed vegetables (as well as Chicken Tika) for a dinner party not too long ago, and everyone enjoyed it. They enjoyed it so much so that there wasn't any left at the end of the evening. Since then I have had the chance to tinker around with the recipe a bit; here's what I came up with:

• 2 tsp whole cumin
• 1 tbsp whole brown mustard seed
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (sometimes spelled tumeric)
• 6-12 curry leaves, crushed or torn to release their oils.
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 large garlic clove, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 or 3 medium-large zucchini, cubed or sliced into medallions
• vegetable oil - enough to coat the bottom of the pan

1. Add the oil to your pan and turn your heat to medium.

2. As the oil is heating add the cumin, mustard seed, and curry leaves
and stir-fry them in the pan for a minute or two. Take care not to burn the
spices. 

 
3. Next, add the turmeric and allow it to cook for another minute or so, continuing to stir. Cooking the turmeric is an important step because raw turmeric is rather bitter and cooking helps to cut the
bitterness almost completely.

4. Add the ginger, garlic and onions and allow them to cook in the oil,
stirring often, until the the onions start to get soft.

5. Add the zucchini and any other vegetables you may like and add salt
to taste. Increase the heat to high.

6. Stir Fry until the zucchini starts to get soft.

7. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

 

You may find that you have plenty of oil left over. Oil with lots of flavor, to be more specific. So what to do with the left over oil? You might try cubing some chicken and frying it the remaining oil, or possibly fish or even some hard tofu. But if you go for the tofu I'd recommend pressing it out before frying to remove any excess liquid. You'll get better results that way. Tofu can be dried by simply wrapping a block in paper towels and placing it on a plate. Next place another plate on top of the block and on top of the plate try adding a 16 oz can. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes and enough of the liquid should have drained out to allow for proper frying.


Spices:
It is important that you use whole spices rather than ground. Why is it important? One word: texture. The problem is that ground spices will make for a very gritty and unpleasant texture whereas the whole spices will actually add a bit of crunch to the dish. Not to mention that whole spices have a lot more flavor than ground spices. Another thing to remember about whole seeds is that they will pop like popcorn if the heat gets too high. Then you'll have a bunch of seeds coated in boiling oil spreading all over your kitchen. And forearms. And clothing......So be careful.

Turmeric:
Turmeric is a yellow powder often used as a type of pigment. In fact it is what gives yellow mustard it's bright yellow color. This being the case, please keep in mind that it will stain anything and everything it touches (including your pans!) although it will eventually fade. With this in mind you may want to invest in an apron or just wear clothing that you don't mind getting yellow pigment on.

Curry leaves:
These can be a bit tricky to find, as most neighborhood grocery stores do not carry them. I'd recommend going to your local Indian or Pakistani grocery store to get them. And don't worry if you can't find them. The dish will be fine without them. But seriously, buy the curry leaves if you can. The have an aroma approaching a fresh roasted pepper and add a great dimension to this dish. Very, very nice.

Not sure where the nearest Indian store is? Here's couple on the northwest side of Austin:

Apna Bazaar
STE 133-B 8650 Spicewood Springs Rd.
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 249-0202

KP Indian Grocery
1212 West Parmer Lane,
Austin, TX 78727
(512) 833-6222

Culinary Article of the Week: Curry or Masala?

Greetings, Matt here!

In addition to our weekly reviews we will also feature articles that will deal with various topics from the culinary world. I thought for this first post we should talk briefly about a couple of commonly misunderstood and as a result, commonly misused culinary words- curry and masala

Up until a few years ago I felt pretty certain that I knew what curry was. I believed, as almost every westerner believes, that curry is that yellow powder used in Indian food. Masala, on the other hand, I thought was, umm.... some kind of Indian food, maybe? And then it happened. I was perusing the spices at a specialty store, and I saw packages of masala powder next to the curry powder. But they look the same, I thought. Upon closer inspection I saw that they contained very similar ingredients and even had a somewhat similar aroma. I decided right then and there that I had to know more. So after I got back home I immediately fired up my computer and got online to try and find some answers. Today I will share what I found.

You can find any number of recipes that are called 'curry this' or 'masala that,' but nobody ever really defines these terms. So what exactly do these two mysterious words mean? We will start with the simpler of the two - masala. The word masala comes from the Hindi and Urdu languages and can mean spices or ingredients. In modern culinary terms it refers to any number of spice mixes commonly used in the cuisines of the South Asian subcontinent. While all masalas contain at least three different spices, the types and amounts of the spices vary widely depending on the type of masala. This also goes for any western style spice mix or spice rub.

That was simple enough. Now what about curry? Well, this is where things get a bit fuzzy because not only is the word used to refer to curry powder, but it’s also used to refer to Indian food in general. I saw an interview with the preeminent Indian chef, Suvir Saran, in which he discussed what curry means to Indian chefs. It can refer to the leaves of the curry plant, sauces (the word curry is derived from the Tamil word kari which means sauce), or as Chef Saran put it, “that awful powder created by the English that no self-respecting Indian would ever go out buying.” Nicely said Chef, nicely said.

That’s right! Curry powder (which technically is a type of masala) is not only not of Indian origin, it is not even used in traditional Indian cookery. It was simply an attempt by the British to imitate the cuisine of the subcontinent, and who can blame them? So what exactly is curry? The most accurate definitions are probably the leaves of the curry plant and the Tamil word kari, or sauce. These are sauces whose base flavors come from various masalas. Now how about that yellow British powder? Well if you like it, I say keep using it. You’re not hurting anyone if you use it. Just understand that it is not used in true Indian cooking. Ever. For the real thing you’ll have use an authentic masala. I’d recommend starting with Garam Masala. It's one of the more commonly used and commonly available masalas.

Where can you find a good Garam Masala? While many of the larger grocery stores do stock it, your best bet is to find a good Indian store. If you happen to be on the N.W. side of Austin, Apna Bazaar is great place to visit. You are guaranteed to find all manner of masalas, spices and other ingredients there; including the ingredients to make your very own garam masala. Here's their address-

8650 Spicewood Springs Rd
Austin, TX 78759
512-249-0202

Interested in trying your hand at Indian cooking? Here is a good basic recipe for garam masala:

Garam Masala Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cardamom seeds
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 20 cloves (about a teaspoon)
• 1 dried arbol chile stemmed, seeded and crumbled
• 1 (2 1/2-inch) cinnamon stick, broken in 1/2
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all of the seeds, peppercorns, cloves, chile and cinnamon in an 8-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Heat, moving the pan constantly, until you smell the cumin toasting, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture to a plate and spread out to cool for 5 minutes. Once cool, add the toasted mixture and nutmeg into a spice grinder. Process until a fine powder is formed, approximately 1 minute. Use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 1 month. It looks like a lot of work - but it is worth it, especially if you just like doing things the hard way, as I do. For a more detailed discussion of this masala I recommend the Good Eats episode “The Curious Case of Curry.” That’s where I got the above recipe, which is used to make Lamb Tikka. It’s also where I learned how to make a basic Tandoor. Alton Brown is my culinary hero.

Here are a couple of links you may be interested in:

Alton Brown's Lamb Tikka

Interview with Suvir Saran
Indian Food Made Easy - A good site for easy Indian recipes.