Here in Austin, we have a strong Food Truck/Trailer thing going on and one of the newest locations is the Longhorn Food Court near the UT campus. And that is where you will find...
Yummy Bowl
610 West MLK
(512) 436-4319
I had the Shanghai Pan Fried Chicken Dumplings and Sesame Chicken. Now, that is a lot of food for one person, and technically the Dumplings are an Appetizer and should probably be shared.
First, something about the service. It isn't real fast, and when you are standing outside in 100 degree weather that can be a small problem. The food is worth the wait, so it really isn't a problem, but don't expect it to be as fast as McDonalds.
Chinese Dumplings are generally steamed, and then in the case of Pan Fried Dumplings, they are thrown into the pan for a bit of frying. Steaming dough can give it a somewhat soggy texture, and that was the one problem with these Dumplings from the Yummy Bowl. Now, it probably didn't help that I carried them back to work before eating them, but there you have it. It was not a fatal flaw and was really the only negative thing about the dumplings. They were very tasty. They include a dipping sauce with the dumplings, and watch out, it is hot. I cut the sauce with a bit of Soy Sauce, and it was excellent. I have also seen this type of dumpling called a Pot Sticker.
Now, on to the Sesame Chicken. I am a big fan of Sesame Chicken, as readers of these pages will already know, and Yummy Bowl is not going to make my favorites list. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The chicken was served on top of a layer of broccoli, which was unfortunate, as all the sauce drained off of the chicken. I don't really like broccoli and definitely not with Sesame Chicken, and this broccoli did not look at all appetizing. Even considering what drained down into the broccoli, there was not enough sauce, but the sauce was tasty enough, not spectacular, but good.
The chicken itself was chewy, and towards the bottom of the pile of chicken there was a block of chicken pieces stuck together. They were tough to separate and the areas between the pieces were not cooked very well. It was served with white rice, which was good, but nothing to write a blog about.
Looking back at this review, I see that I have said a lot of negative things, and that is unfortunate, because the meal wasn't bad. Maybe I am being too hard on them because I see a lot of potential in what they make. It was good. It could have been better with a few changes that have nothing to do with flavor.
I am definitely going to give them another chance, but maybe after things cool down...in October or so.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Tablet Dilemma
I would like to consider myself an expert on tablets, but most would find that laughable. I own a tablet, in fact you may not believe this, but I am writing on one now.
Okay, it was a long shot. Few people will remember that old commercial.
I want to be an expert on tablets, but most of what I learn comes from Gizmodo. I don’t have the money to indulge my passion (any of them), and I don’t have a job that lets me get free models to review. I do work in IT, but in an environment where we spend more time keeping aging systems running than on integrating cutting edge systems.
But, I do think about tablets a lot…and reading about them wherever can. Gizmodo often comes across as an Applefanboy reunion. Like so many others, they want the iPad to be everything that Steve Jobs says it is, the revolutionary device that changes everything. Yes, they have drunk the Kool-Aid and come to kneel in the Fruit Church.
So, naturally you get a huge argument when you stand forth and declare the truth…
It’s nothing but an iPhone with a really big screen.
Now, I am not disputing that it is more than an iPhone, but it is more than an iPhone in one dimension only…size.
Nor, am I disputing that size matters. There are many functions on a smart phone that fall somewhere between annoying and impossible, and most of those functions will rise up the scale when your screen is 4 times larger. Difficult things become a joy and impossible things become doable.
The true lesson of the iPad is simple.
Most people don’t need all that computing power.
Of course, actually the iPad only accelerated our acceptance of this lesson. Netbooks had already shown us that most of the time we don’t need all the power of a modern PC. The iPad has destroyed the Netbooks market on one factor…simplicity. Simplicity will always trump complexity, especially when it bears the holy symbol of the Fruit Church.
But, to get back to the dilemma, is it enough?
Is it enough that a Tablet does the same things as your phone, and very little more? It obviously wasn’t enough for tablets to put the power of a PC into a more portable form factor. In case you haven’t noticed, UMPCs (Windows Tablets) never sold very well. The iPad has sold more units in its short life than all models of Windows Tablets combined, and that goes back quite a few years.
Now it should be remembered the iPad, as well as Android tablets have some advantages over Windows Tablets, like boot up time and battery life. Those give these new tablets an advantage that the old Windows Tablets cannot overcome with added versatility and power.
I think that a tablet should be more than a really big phone. App Developers are working hard at making the iPad and Android tablets more than big phones, but is that enough?
I don’t think so. I think that the OEMs need to consider the middle ground, the spot between the ultimate portability of the smart phone and the ultimate computing power of the PC. The modern portable PC is the first step down, providing most of the computing power in a mostly portable form factor. I say mostly portable because some of the desktop replacement models can give you a hernia, but the ultra portables, like the MacBook Air or the Dell Latitude E4200, make portability a priority and sacrifice power.
The tablet seems to fit right in between, but so far they are all glorified smartphones or handicapped PCs. Maybe someone can find the true middle ground.
Okay, it was a long shot. Few people will remember that old commercial.
I want to be an expert on tablets, but most of what I learn comes from Gizmodo. I don’t have the money to indulge my passion (any of them), and I don’t have a job that lets me get free models to review. I do work in IT, but in an environment where we spend more time keeping aging systems running than on integrating cutting edge systems.
But, I do think about tablets a lot…and reading about them wherever can. Gizmodo often comes across as an Applefanboy reunion. Like so many others, they want the iPad to be everything that Steve Jobs says it is, the revolutionary device that changes everything. Yes, they have drunk the Kool-Aid and come to kneel in the Fruit Church.
So, naturally you get a huge argument when you stand forth and declare the truth…
It’s nothing but an iPhone with a really big screen.
Now, I am not disputing that it is more than an iPhone, but it is more than an iPhone in one dimension only…size.
Nor, am I disputing that size matters. There are many functions on a smart phone that fall somewhere between annoying and impossible, and most of those functions will rise up the scale when your screen is 4 times larger. Difficult things become a joy and impossible things become doable.
The true lesson of the iPad is simple.
Most people don’t need all that computing power.
Of course, actually the iPad only accelerated our acceptance of this lesson. Netbooks had already shown us that most of the time we don’t need all the power of a modern PC. The iPad has destroyed the Netbooks market on one factor…simplicity. Simplicity will always trump complexity, especially when it bears the holy symbol of the Fruit Church.
But, to get back to the dilemma, is it enough?
Is it enough that a Tablet does the same things as your phone, and very little more? It obviously wasn’t enough for tablets to put the power of a PC into a more portable form factor. In case you haven’t noticed, UMPCs (Windows Tablets) never sold very well. The iPad has sold more units in its short life than all models of Windows Tablets combined, and that goes back quite a few years.
Now it should be remembered the iPad, as well as Android tablets have some advantages over Windows Tablets, like boot up time and battery life. Those give these new tablets an advantage that the old Windows Tablets cannot overcome with added versatility and power.
I think that a tablet should be more than a really big phone. App Developers are working hard at making the iPad and Android tablets more than big phones, but is that enough?
I don’t think so. I think that the OEMs need to consider the middle ground, the spot between the ultimate portability of the smart phone and the ultimate computing power of the PC. The modern portable PC is the first step down, providing most of the computing power in a mostly portable form factor. I say mostly portable because some of the desktop replacement models can give you a hernia, but the ultra portables, like the MacBook Air or the Dell Latitude E4200, make portability a priority and sacrifice power.
The tablet seems to fit right in between, but so far they are all glorified smartphones or handicapped PCs. Maybe someone can find the true middle ground.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
A Picky Gourmand
So, do any of you know what it means? Yes, it does have a relationship to the word gourmet, and a point to Gryffindor.
Gourmand does mean someone who likes to eat, just like gourmet, but it is what and how much that separates the gourmand from the gourmet. The gourmet wants perfectly prepared dishes, sometime with delicate and subtle flavors. Small portions are not a problem, because you are supposed to savor the flavors.
There is nothing delicate or subtle about what the gourmand wants.
The gourmet wants the perfect filet mignon. The gourmand wants a big greasy delicious burger. The gourmet wants a delicate boulognese over hand made pasta. The gourmand wants a big pizza.
It isn't that the gourmand is willing to put up with less taste in order to fill his belly, oh no. The gourmand may have a bit of the glutton in him, and at times gourmand has been translated to glutton, but it isn't just about over indulging. Let me say that again. Gourmand isn't JUST about over indulging. It may certainly include it, but that is not all it is.
The gourmand likes to eat. The gourmet likes fine food. The gourmand likes simple food, and lots of it. The gourmand does not like bad food though. The gourmand does not find his favorite meal at McDonalds. The gourmand might however start a quest to find the best burger in his home town.
Yes, that was a shameless plug for The Great Austin Burger Hunt, as seen on these pages.
I spent some time in France, a very long time ago. I enjoyed the food there, and then came back to the land of McDonalds and Taco Bell. I brought back with me a love of good bread and good cheese. I watch lots of cooking shows where they prepare meals I probably wouldn't eat. Why? Because I am a picky eater. The list of things I don't like has grown a little shorter over the years, but it is still long.
Onions
Mushrooms
Most Fish
Any Seafood that isn't fish
Cauliflower
Zuchini
That is only the start of the list. It took me years to find something on a Chinese menu that I liked (Sesame Chicken), because it seemed like everything had broccoli, or tofu, or something else I didn't like.
I am a gourmand. I cannot afford fancy restaurants and high priced wines. Well, to be honest, I don't even like wine. I love pizza, but not just anything will do. Oh, I'll eat it, but it isn't what I would choose all other things being equal. I like a good crusty French bread, and I hate Wonder bread...well, except occasionally for toast. I love good cheese, and I won't touch Kraft singles. I love a good pizza, or a burger, or a big plate of Sesame Chicken. A mirepoix (celery, onions and carrots) seems like a waste of carrots (cooked celery is on the list too).
I can be opinionated about food, and I like to cook, but my way. I spend time redacting recipes to see how things taste with onion powder, instead of real onions (it's a texture thing). I will pay a little more for good cheese, or a good bread, but you cannot give me plastic cheese...anything that has to have the word "Food" after the word "Cheese" and I do not want to see the word "Processed" before it. Pasturized Processed Cheese Food is an offense against nature, and if Dante was writing today, there would be a special place in Hell for those who created it.
I think it is time for me to find a good strong cheese, a crusty loaf of bread, and maybe some real salami, preferably dry...but I will still wash it down with a Coke Zero.
Gourmand does mean someone who likes to eat, just like gourmet, but it is what and how much that separates the gourmand from the gourmet. The gourmet wants perfectly prepared dishes, sometime with delicate and subtle flavors. Small portions are not a problem, because you are supposed to savor the flavors.
There is nothing delicate or subtle about what the gourmand wants.
The gourmet wants the perfect filet mignon. The gourmand wants a big greasy delicious burger. The gourmet wants a delicate boulognese over hand made pasta. The gourmand wants a big pizza.
It isn't that the gourmand is willing to put up with less taste in order to fill his belly, oh no. The gourmand may have a bit of the glutton in him, and at times gourmand has been translated to glutton, but it isn't just about over indulging. Let me say that again. Gourmand isn't JUST about over indulging. It may certainly include it, but that is not all it is.
The gourmand likes to eat. The gourmet likes fine food. The gourmand likes simple food, and lots of it. The gourmand does not like bad food though. The gourmand does not find his favorite meal at McDonalds. The gourmand might however start a quest to find the best burger in his home town.
Yes, that was a shameless plug for The Great Austin Burger Hunt, as seen on these pages.
I spent some time in France, a very long time ago. I enjoyed the food there, and then came back to the land of McDonalds and Taco Bell. I brought back with me a love of good bread and good cheese. I watch lots of cooking shows where they prepare meals I probably wouldn't eat. Why? Because I am a picky eater. The list of things I don't like has grown a little shorter over the years, but it is still long.
Onions
Mushrooms
Most Fish
Any Seafood that isn't fish
Cauliflower
Zuchini
That is only the start of the list. It took me years to find something on a Chinese menu that I liked (Sesame Chicken), because it seemed like everything had broccoli, or tofu, or something else I didn't like.
I am a gourmand. I cannot afford fancy restaurants and high priced wines. Well, to be honest, I don't even like wine. I love pizza, but not just anything will do. Oh, I'll eat it, but it isn't what I would choose all other things being equal. I like a good crusty French bread, and I hate Wonder bread...well, except occasionally for toast. I love good cheese, and I won't touch Kraft singles. I love a good pizza, or a burger, or a big plate of Sesame Chicken. A mirepoix (celery, onions and carrots) seems like a waste of carrots (cooked celery is on the list too).
I can be opinionated about food, and I like to cook, but my way. I spend time redacting recipes to see how things taste with onion powder, instead of real onions (it's a texture thing). I will pay a little more for good cheese, or a good bread, but you cannot give me plastic cheese...anything that has to have the word "Food" after the word "Cheese" and I do not want to see the word "Processed" before it. Pasturized Processed Cheese Food is an offense against nature, and if Dante was writing today, there would be a special place in Hell for those who created it.
I think it is time for me to find a good strong cheese, a crusty loaf of bread, and maybe some real salami, preferably dry...but I will still wash it down with a Coke Zero.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)