Kay's Cafe (Bastrop)

Well we took y’alls advice and had dinner at Kay’s Café last week, and we were pleasantly surprised with a home cooked meal and incredibly friendly service. We’ll be back visiting Kay sometime in the near future! We’d driven past Kay’s many times, so we knew exactly where to go and find them. From the outside we had expected a large cafeteria style restaurant, so imagine our surprise when we first walked in! They share the building with Twister Cheer Company, and the actual dining room has a total of maybe 10 tables…but we’ve experienced many “holes in the wall” and I wouldn’t exactly put Kay’s in that category.  We ordered Pot Roast, and a stuffed Burger. Both had amazing flavor and tasted like something Mom had just made for dinner. I felt as though my roast was a little dry, but they served it with gravy and that had an amazing flavor and solved the moisture problem right away. The hamburger was actually quite incredible. It was juicy, and cooked well. It was stuffed with Cheddar Cheese and had the perfect balance of crunch with their fresh and ripe veggies piled mountain high on top. We also ordered dessert, actually 3 of them to take and try at home. We ordered the Peach Pecan Cobbler, the Banana Bread, and the Berry Cheesecake. I will say that I had wished the desserts had been freshly made. Ours had been made a day or two previously and then refrigerated and you could definitely tell. The Peach Pecan cobbler tasted really great and had a great texture, but unfortunately the cheesecake had separated and was inedible. Aside from desert however, we really enjoyed our time. We sat next to a table of about 8 adults who obviously frequent the spot, and Kay’s has a real crowd of fans in Bastrop. We could definitely see why when we were served…the staff is incredibly friendly and there is real love in their dining room, reminds me of visiting an old Aunt’s house, or with a friend’s mom. I can’t wait to go back and try their meatloaf!

Cindy's Downtown

After hearing all the hub bub about Cindy’s Downtown this week, we decided to try it out for lunch this last Thursday afternoon. We had a pleasant enough time, and were greeted by enthusiastic owners and employees, all very excited about their new menu. I love spending time downtown, and Cindy’s is on a beautiful corner on Main Street. It’s actually a fun little spot to hang out and watch the passerby’s on a beautiful afternoon. This time my husband and I brought my brother in law, Brett along. He’s just moved here from California, so we thought we’d wrangle him in so we could try one more dish! ;]] Cindy’s is a Bar/Grill, with things like burgers and sandwiches on their menu. So we tried to go for some bar type menu items. We ordered onion rings to start out with, which are popular amongst most of our readers. They raved about their burger so Brett ordered a Baja Burger, Brandon (the hubby) ordered Macho Nachos, and I wanted to see what their lighter items were like so I tried the Raspberry Chipotle Chicken Wrap. The food was fresh, tasty, and they had GREAT prices!

First, the onion rings. Talk about sinfully delicious! They were crisp, and fried well. Not too greasy and the onion was perfectly tender on the inside. And you know sometimes when you bite into an onion ring, and the whole thing comes out?? Not these, you took a bite and that’s what you got…a BITE! We LOVED them, actually I had to snap a photo of the last three FAST because they were gone in minutes. They really were amazing, so thank you to our readers who raved about those rings. I ADORE a good onion ring.

Now let’s talk about our lunch...After hearing so much about their burger my Brother in Law decided to tackle the Baja Burger. Right away we noticed the bright, crisp vegetables and it was plated beautifully. The burger tasted good, and the fresh produce gave the burger a nice crunch. We did notice that the burger was a little more on the well done side, and we tend to order ours medium, but I don’t think we were asked what temperature we preferred either. As for the Macho Nachos, the chicken was cooked very well and again we appreciated the fresh tomatoes, and guacamole. They came out spilling out over a white plate, just the way nachos should be. We did notice the guacamole to be a bit salty, and I’m a big believer in freshly fried tortilla chips, but we were amazed at the portion sizes of both the burger AND nachos, especially for the prices. The burger was only $9.50 and came with fries, the nachos were only $9.00 so two thirds of our bill was already under $20.00

I had the Raspberry Chipotle Chicken Wrap, in hopes for a fresh and lighter lunch. I enjoyed the texture and temperature of my food. All of our plates arrived fresh and hot. The chicken was cooked very well, not underdone and still moist. Again, we REALLY enjoyed and appreciated the fresh and crisp produce. If I had any suggestions for the wrap I would say that the raspberry chipotle sauce was tasty, however I didn’t really taste the “chipotle” part. I was looking forward to a bit of a kick, and didn’t really get it. Another suggestion would be to work a bit on the presentation for this one. Below you’ll see a picture (on the left) of how it arrived to the table, and on the right a picture after I made one small adjustment. The picture on the right really is blurry, but in the second photo you can see all the beautiful color that the fresh veggies provide, and I think it makes a big difference. A lighter toast on the wrap (like with a Panini press) may also help, not only with the visual but also the texture of the tortilla. We were still amazed at the prices though, as my wrap cost $8.00 which brought our bill for 3 to under $35.00. (Not including tip).

To “wrap” up, (lol ;]]) we were pleased with the cleanliness of the restaurant, the friendly staff and owners, and the atmosphere they have pulled together at Cindy’s Downtown. It’s a beautiful building and a great place to stop for a drink while shopping down Main Street. We’re completely thrilled that they’ve updated their menu, and that they offer a fresh items at a fair price. However, if they stretch a little further and go that extra little mile on the “little things” I believe they could turn into a great downtown hotspot!

Hunan Tiger (Cedar Creek, Tx)

We have been on the hunt for amazing Asian food since we moved here, and recently we've been on a bit of a Vietnamese Food kick. A couple of weeks ago, our search landed us at Little Thailand (a hole in the wall off the 71, but that's another story!) and on the way there I spotted this little treasure, Hunan Tiger. It's located off of HWY 71, right before you hit The Colony. It's hidden in a small outdated shopping center, and if it weren't for their bright yellow CHINESE/VIETNAMESE DELIVERY sign I wouldn't have seen it. Anyway, today we were in the mood for some Pho so we thought we'd give it a shot. All I can say is, OH MY are we glad we did.

The first thing I noticed when we walked in was how extremely clean it was. If you         know anything about dining in Bastrop, you know that even some of our best restaurants can be dirty and outdated. It looked like the owners took pride in their establishment, and although the walls were adorned with the rolling hills of Tuscany (this used to be a pizza kitchen, I think) the seats were not torn, there was no grungy old carpet, and it was kept up very nicely.

Since this was our first outing at Hunan Tiger, we decided to order as many different types of dishes as we could. We tend to WAY over order, but for us dining is an experience and we really do order to eat just a little bit of everything! We began with two appetizers, the first (unassumingly enough) was their Appetizer platter. This came with beef skewers, crab ragoons, fried shrimp, an egg roll, and chicken wings. It was served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. The second (an absolute MUST for the Varn family) Chicken Dumplings...or DUNKLINGS as my four year old daughter calls them. These were also served with a dipping sauce, however I'm not sure what they called it. Right away we were blown away with the presentation of the food. Our platter came to us on this beautiful Vietnamese decorated dish, with a mini fire pit right in the middle. It was quite the sight to see, and we LOVE food that serves as entertainment! Each and every portion of our platter was delicious. Everything perfectly cooked, beautifully displayed, and served steaming hot. The second appetizer, the Dunklings ;]] were nothing to scoff at either. They knew just how to cook them (not just boiled but pan fried), and are on our top list of best Chicken Dumplings ever!

[caption id="attachment_10" align="alignright" width="584"] Appetizer Platter[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_13" align="alignright" width="225"] Bun GA Nuong[/caption]

Lastly, came our entrees. I may have forgotten
to mention that we did bring our two children along with us. Some may think we're crazy, walking into a restaurant with a 4 year old and a 2 year old in tow, but they love food as much as we do and it helps keep the house a little cleaner! Anyway, they had Broccoli Beef, and Shrimp and beef which were both delicious and again perfectly cooked...however I want to talk about the ADULT food! The Hubby ordered his Beef Pho that he was dying for, and I ordered the Bun GA Nuong (or vermicelli with grilled chicken). The Pho was served with all the trappings, lemon, thai basil, and bamboo shoots. It was TO DIE FOR!! Don't EVER drive to Austin for PHO again! Seriously, it was amazing!! Mine, the Bun GA Nuong was mouthwatering. It was served with a fish oil sauce, which you drizzle on top, I added some soy sauce and I'll say it was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. I can't believe we didn't find this restaurant any sooner.

[caption id="attachment_11" align="alignright" width="584"] Beef Pho[/caption]

Anyway, next time you're in the mood for some Asian food, GOOD Asian food, go take a little drive just out of town to Hunan Tiger. The Chinese Buffet's in town really are a travesty, and now there's NO REASON to drive 45 minutes to find some amazing Vietnamese/Chinese food. It was a great experience, and family friendly! During our meal here is when we officially decided to start a food review blog. At the close of our meal I opened a telling fortune. We can't even tell you how excited we are to have them in town, and are so honored to publish our first blog all about Hunan Tiger! They've only been around for 7 months, but we hope they stay for a lifetime!

Welcome!

Welcome to our Food Review Blog, we're so excited you came to visit! My name is Lindsay, and my Husband Brandon and I are big time foodies originally from California. We moved to Bastrop, Tx about three years ago, and although it's taken us a little time to adjust to the culture shock we have really grown to love Bastrop, and are very happy to be raising a family here. Now, I said we were foodies but let me say it again...WE ARE FOODIES! We love to cook, we love to eat, and we love everything about food. I also said we were from California, and actually we lived in Pasadena together before moving here, and my husband was born and raised there. Because of that we've been exposed to some of the most amazing restaurants in the country, and can be a little particular when it comes to our food. We're eager to try anything new in town, and have traveled off the beaten path in search for a little gem here and there. It's taken us about 3 years to find some of the best kept secrets in our little area, and now, we want to share our experiences (good or bad) with you! We hope that we can inspire to try something different, and explore your own backyard a little. Maybe we'll steer you in a new direction, and hopefully we can curb you from some bad experiences too! Now without further adieu...come check out our blog!