BBQ, Beer & Other Bits

Figuratively speaking, today is my Monday.  Womp womp woommmmp.  However, I did have a great "weekend" the past two days.  Monday night I made delicious chicken pot pies as per Jason's request, but I was just as excited to make and devour those little bowls o' fatty goodness.  I got the recipe from Ms. Ina  Garten herself (via the Food Network's website).  If you enjoy comfort food heaven as much as I do, you've got to try this recipe.  Beware - it requires a TON of butter and some heavy cream, but if you absolutely must be a health-nut I'm sure you can make some substitutions.  Whilst stuffing our faces, Jason was sweet and let me melt over one of my favorite movies, Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.  It's a real heartbreaker.  I mean that in the most literal sense possible.  It's a REAL heartbreaker. It will make a tear or two (or many) fall from your eyes, but I just love the honesty of it.  Plus, I just have a thing for depressing films with hot actors.

I spent the first part of Tuesday alone, indulging myself by sleeping in until 9 a.m. and catching a few episodes of Law & Order: SVU before heading over to the gym to partake in some unfamiliar bodily pain.  After the sweat storm wore off, I decided to indulge myself a little more by treating my taste buds and tummy to the magical wonder of Torchy's Tacos.  I got a green chile pork taco and a fried avocado taco (the absolute best) with a tall, beautiful glass bottle of Topo Chico to wash it all down.  After that, I drove home, freshened up, waited for Jason to get home from work and then we headed out for dinner and drinks.  Long story short, we ended up at Whip In, a convenient store/beer mart/local & independent beer bar/wine bar/music venue/Indian cafe (aka: the most awesome place in South Austin).  I tried a delicious cider new to me called Original Sin Hard Cider that was quite to my liking.  They even had this beer from a new local brewery in North Austin called Twisted X that was jalapeno-infused...very strange.

Wednesday we knew we wanted to go to Franklin Barbecue over on the east side because of all the rave reviews it has gotten from our friends and various publications.  It's been called the best BBQ in Texas, maybe even the U.S.  But the thing is they open at 11 a.m. and close when they run out, which is typically around 1 p.m. so a nice little line starts to develop outside the door as early as 9 a.m. every morning on the days they're open.  We got there at about 10 a.m., and the line wasn't too crazy yet so we were feeling pretty good about ourselves.  Once they opened the doors at 11, we waited about 40 more minutes before getting our food which was what we were expecting.  Let me tell you, it was SO very worth the wait.  The brisket was fabulously lean and tender and didn't require any sauce whatsoever.  You know it's serious when the queen of condiments and sauces here is telling you you don't need any!  Mmm mmm mmm.  Post food comas and nap time, we ended our night with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which was very entertaining- a bit long, but just as good as the original.

Here are some photos from my weekend.  Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, and for those of you about to begin your actual weekend, I envy you to the ends of the earth.