Clare vs. Food!

It’s been over a month since my last foodie post, and man have I missed it! I’ve been dying to have something or somewhere fun to write about, and finally I do! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

My Man v. Food Tour of Austin

As you probably know, or at least could guess, I love the Food Network and The Travel Channel. Together, these two channels combine everything I love in life- food and anything about it, and traveling. There is a new show on the Travel Channel called Man v. Food, and if you haven’t seen it, let me paint a picture for you: The host, who may I say has the greatest job in the world, travels city to city taking on America’s different eating challenges. An 8 lb burger? Sure! An 11 lb meat lovers pizza?! No problem! The hottest chilis in the world? Done! This guy is like a human elephant who just heaves food into his stomach for pleasure (well, and money). However, I greatly enjoy watching his discomfort on tv, and also seeing which eating spots he deems credible for the Food Network.
On a recent roadtrip around Central Texas, I took a “Man v Food” tour of Austin. Now, I’d been to The Salt Lick BBQ before, but had never been to Juan in a Million or Round Rock Donuts, so of course I had to check those out… and hit The Salt Lick again!

First stop: The Salt Lick BBQ, Driftwood, TX

To come upon this magnificent barbeque pit by chance isn’t possible. Not only do you have to make it to Austin, but then you must travel the backroads southwest of town, and wind down Hill Country roads to finally pull into the driveway of Paradise. This place is what you call a destination. Upon first entering the restaurant, you’ll see one of the only open barbeque pits left in the state of Texas. That in and of itself is amazing. Piles and piles of smoked brisket, ribs, turkey, and sausage smoked 16-24 hours to perfection.. you’ll never see anything like it. Check it out:

Being a huge fan of brisket, and knowing that Texas is famous for perfecting this cut of meat, I go for the sliced brisket sandwich- only $7.95. Well.. this sandwich arrives at my table and is larger than 2 Big Macs from McDonalds. It probably has over ½ lb of brisket on it, and it on a homemade LARGE roll topped with sesame seeds. I slather on the bbq sauce and pickles, and dig in.
Now, this is the 3rd time that I’ve had this sandwich, and I always come back to it because of its deliciousness and enormity. It’s probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever put in my mouth. And, being of sound mind and body, I finish it all and clear my plate. I’m full until tomorrow morning.

Second Stop: Juan in a Million, Austin, TX
This morning, I wake up in my hotel room in Austin and everyone is hungry. I don’t want the standard hotel food buffet breakfast, and don’t really want the IHOP that’s next door. I have a fabulous idea, so I just throw it out there- why don’t we go to Juan in a Million and try their breakfast tacos? I saw it on Food Network so it must be good! Knowing that my mom doesn’t really care for Mexican food, I’m not sure she’ll go for it, but she says yes! We are all a little hesitant in driving the 2 miles down to Cesar Chavez St, as this street isn’t in the greatest part of town, but surely the FN wouldn’t steer us wrong. We drive past the blocks and blocks of dirty front yards, abandoned and trashed houses, and all the Taqueiras you could think of. Finally, we come upon a building with bars on the windows with a line out the door! We’ve reached our destination!
Luckily the line was for takeout, so we didn’t have to wait to be seated. This place was packed, and boy is it a big place. I didn’t even need to see the menu to know what I wanted to order. I wanted the breakfast tacos that the Man v. Food host did the challenge on. He had to eat EIGHT PLATES of tacos in order to beat the Juan in a Million record. He failed miserably, only making it to 4 ½ plates, so I knew I probably could barely eat one! Here's Adam after he lost:
My dad and my husband ordered the same, and my mom got a tiny little bean taco, as she was trying to be ‘healthy’. The food came quickly, and I immediately could see why Adam couldn’t eat 8 plates of this. THIS WAS A LOT OF FOOD!
A blend of potatoes, cheese, eggs, and bacon were atop 3 flour tortillas on the plate, and were served with a side of salsa. The breakfast was heavenly (my mom ended up eating my last taco because she, of course, was still hungry after her bean taco) and the bill for the 4 of us to eat breakfast was less than $25. Can’t beat it!!

Time to head out of town..

Third and final stop: Round Rock Donuts, Round Rock, TX

After we had all stuffed ourselves with breakfast tacos, we went back to the hotel to check out, and headed north on 35. We were all so full, but were going to be passing through Round Rock, and I absolutely couldn’t pass through without a stop at Round Rock Donuts. I just HAD to see this donut I’d see on Man v. Food. It was huge.. the biggest donut I’d ever seen! So, amidst some sighs I heard from the rest of the car, we stopped. The line was out the door, and all of the benches in the front were full! We went inside, and for such a large looking building, the shop wasn’t very big. We stood in line, and as we did so I was looking in the displays for the donut I’d seen on tv.. but I couldn’t find it. I was really hoping that it wasn’t a pre-order, limited time offer thing. We decided to just order regular donuts since we didn’t see the large one, but I went ahead and asked if they had any large ones anyways, and THEY DID! JACKPOT! She brought out a tray of the donuts, and I was in awe. I said, “Put the rest of the donuts back.. we’ll take the large one and split it”. Look at the size of this donut!

Well, it had just come out of the fryer and still had hot glaze. The inside was warm and doughy, and the glaze was sweet and stuck to your fingers. The donut batter was orange, and this is what Round Rock Donuts is known for- their orange yeast glazed donuts. Hands down, best donut I’ve ever had. And I didn’t care that I was full.. I was very satisfied :) Now we could go back to Dallas.

So until my next foodie culinary adventure, keep it tasty!