As the temperature rise in Austin, so does my desire for smoothies! Several weeks ago, I was talking smoothies with my friend, Kristina. I told her that I didn’t want to buy an expensive blender, but that my hand-held immersion blender wasn’t cutting it. I said that I had a Margaritaville margarita machine that was collecting dust and wondered if I could use that. Kristina said, Of course!
It’s been smooth smoothie sailing since then!
Blueberry Pomengranate Spinach Smoothie
Ingredients:
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
3/4 cup coconut milk (or whatever milk you prefer)
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1 six ounce container of Chobani pomegranate yogurt (I used fat free.)
handful of spinach leaves
Combine in your margarita machine blender and enjoy!
Makes one large serving or 2 small servings.
After moving to Austin in March of last year, I was very overwhelmed with the vast options of restaurants in Austin. One resource that I kept returning to was the Austin Food Blogger Alliance City Guide.
I’m thrilled to be participating in the City Guide this year instead of sitting on the sidelines. When I learned that writing about brunch spots was an option, I was raring to go! Austinites love their brunch!! There are many brunch options in Austin. This list includes ones that I personally recommend or have yet to try, but have heard good things about.
South Congress Ave Brunch Spots:
South Congress Cafe
If you mention brunch in Austin, the odds are very likely that South Congress Cafe will be on of the first restaurants considered. Come early as it’s very popular. Or just relax with a Bloody Mary or Mimosa while waiting. I’ve always had excellent service here.
What to try: Carrot Cake French toast (if you don’t want that for your whole meal, you can order one slice to share)
Their specials are usually excellent too. I remember having lemon & goat cheese pancakes the last time that I went that were very good.
South Congress Cafe
1600 South Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
Monday – Friday, 10 am to 10 pm
Saturday – Sunday, 9 am to 10 pm
Magnolia Cafe
Magnolia Cafe is a 24/7 restaurant and a bit of an institution in the town. It’s always busy, but I’ve never had to wait for more than 10 minutes. Service is fast and the food is solid. You are a bit cramped close to other tables, which is fun if you like to eavesdrop on others’ conversations. 
This isn’t a leisurely brunch spot, in & out!
Magnolia Cafe (2nd location near Lake Austin as well)
1920 S. Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78704
The Woodland
1716 S. Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704
Monday – Friday, 5:00–10:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday, 10:30 am – 10:00 pm
Perla’s
Perla’s is more pricy than some other options, but I really enjoy the patio there. I find myself sitting a little straighter when I’m there, which is a good thing. If it’s a drinking brunch, go for an oyster shooter while you’re there.
Perla’s
1400 S. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78704
Lunch: Monday – Friday, 11:30 am – 3 pm
Dinner: 7 Days, 5:30 pm – Close
Brunch: Saturday – Sunday, 11 am – 2:30 pm
Bar: 7 Days, 3 pm – Close
Snack Bar
1224 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
Weekdays 11 am – 11 pm
Weekends 9 am – 11 pm
South 1st Street Brunch Spots:
Bouldin Creek Cafe
Joe’s Smokin’ Omelet: Spinach, onion, and cheddar-jack cheese, topped with chipotle-pecan pesto.
El Tipico: 2 scrambled eggs served with a potato hash cake, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, salsa and warm tortillas
Bouldin Creek is a vegetarian cafe on South 1st Street. I didn’t realize that it was there for the longest time. And then I was a bit nervous that it was too “granola-y” for me. But I recently had brunch at Bouldin Creek with Suzanna. We both really enjoyed our food. The Joe’s Smokin’ Omelet was very good!! I recommend putting that chipotle-pecan pesto on everything!!
Bouldin Creek Cafe
1900 South First
Austin, Texas 78704
Monday – Friday, 7am to midnight
Saturday – Sunday, 8am to midnight
Elizabeth Street Cafe
1501 S. First Street
Austin, Texas 78704
every day, 8 am – late
Freddie’s Place
I’ve yet to go to Freddie’s yet, but just learned this week that they have a 50 item Bloody Mary & Maria bar/buffet on the weekends from 11 am – 4 pm. I heard it was great with tons of options to make your own drink to your level of spiciness—lots of spicy for me!! Anyone want to meet me there on Sunday? 
Freddie’s Place
703 S 1st St
Austin, TX 78704
every day, 7 – 10:30 pm
Polvo’s
2004 S 1st St
Austin, TX 78704
every day, 7 – 11 pm
South Lamar Brunch Spots:
Kerbey Lane Cafe
Kerbey Lane Cafe is very popular with multiple locations in Austin. It’s a real crowd pleaser. I took my Dad and aunts & uncles there for brunch over Christmas. Everyone really loved it. It’s a good option for out of town guests that have a variety of tastes.
Kerbey Lane Cafe (there’s also a SW location on W William Cannon)
3003 South Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78704
OPEN 24/7
Red’s Porch
3508 S. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78704
Sunday – Friday, 11 am – Midnight
Saturday, 11 am – 1 am
Olivia
Olivia is another brunch spot that’s still on my list to try. I have heard excellent things though. Kristin has been there and oh man, that burger looks awesome!
Olivia Benedict: red wine braised beef, poached farm eggs, hollandaise, biscuit
**Olivia pictures used with permission from Mad Betty.
Olivia
2043 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704
Sunday – Thursday, 5:30 pm – 10 pm
Friday – Saturday, 5:30 pm – 11 pm
BRUNCH Saturday – Sunday, 10 am – 2:30 pm
Slaughter Lane/Circle C Brunch Spots:
Satellite Bistro & Bar
5900 Slaughter Lane #400
Austin, TX 78749
Monday – Thursday, 4:30 pm – 9 pm
Friday – Saturday, 11 am – 10 pm
Sunday, 10 am – 9 pm
Galaxy Cafe (multiple locations)
9911 Brodie Lane
Austin, Texas 78748
every day, 7 am – 10 pm
Maudie’s (multiple locations)
9911 Brodie Lane
Austin, TX 78748
Sunday – Thursday, 8 am – 9:30 pm
Friday – Saturday, 8 am – 10:30 pm
Downtown Brunch Spots:
Haddington’s ***edited March 2013–Haddington’s is now closed
I’ve been to Haddington’s for brunch several times. This isn’t very brunch-y, but man oh man, they make a great Moscow Mule! No Mimosa or Bloody Mary for me when I go here…Moscow Mule all the way!
I believe they may have altered the menu recently, but I have had the pretzel bread egg sandwich, angel food cake french toast, donuts with espresso dipping sauce, gouda & apple omelet, and the fried chicken eggs benedict. I recommend the fried chicken eggs benedict.
Haddington’s
601 W 6th St
Austin, TX 78701
Bar – daily, 4 pm – 11:30 pm
Dinner:
Sunday – Thursday, 5 – 10 pm
Friday – Saturday, 5 – 11 pm
Brunch:
Saturday – Sunday, 11 am – 4 pm
Frank
A hot dog & beer place for brunch? Yes, yes, yes!! Just ask Melissa. She sold me on the place.
I really enjoy the coffee at Frank. Cocktail-wise, the Kentucky Peach (Maker’s Mark, fresh basil and peach, house-made lemonade, rocks) is perfect.
Frank
407 Colorado St
Austin, TX 78701
Monday – Tuesday:
Open at 7 am; Breakfast 8 am – 11 am
Lunch and Dinner, 11 am – 10 pm
Late Night and Bar, 10 pm – Midnight
Wednesday – Saturday:
Open at 7 am; Breakfast 8 am – 11 am
Lunch and Dinner, 11 am – 10 pm
Late Night and Bar, 10 pm – 2 am
Sunday:
Brunch 10 – 3 pm
Brunch For Drunks Limited Menu 3 – 5 pm
Dinner 5 pm – 10 pm
Late Night and Bar, 10 pm – Midnight
Bess Bistro on Pecan
500 West 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701
Lunch: Monday – Friday: 11 am – 3 pm
Dinner: Monday – Thursday: 5 – 10:30 pm, Friday – Saturday: 5 – 11 pm, Sunday: 5 – 10 pm
Brunch: Sunday, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm
*Recommended items: shrimp & grits & a carafe of Mimosas
Walton’s Fancy and Staple
609 West 6th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Monday – Saturday, 7am – 7pm
Sunday, 8am – 4pm
Annie’s Cafe & Bar
I’d recently walked by Annie’s on my way to Swift’s Attic. I peaked in and it looked really cute. I was able to do brunch research there this past weekend with my friend, Brandi. We split Mimosas and enjoyed the vibe there.
I ordered the eggs benedict (which is often my go-to brunch item): poached eggs, English muffin, prosciutto, Hollandaise, served with potatoes. Brandi went with the caprese sandwich: fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, pesto, house-made focaccia, served with a salad. Brandi enjoyed it so much that she went back on Wednesday to enjoy 1/2 price wine night.
Annie’s
319 Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78701
Monday 7:30 am – 3pm
Tuesday – Thursday 7:30 am – 10pm
Friday 7:30 am – 12 am
Saturday 8:30 am – 12 am
Sunday 9:30 am – 2:30 pm
Stubb’s BBQ (Gospel Brunch)
801 Red River
Austin, TX 78701
RESTAURANT: Monday – Thursday, 11 am – 10 pm
Friday – Saturday, 11 am – 11 pm
Sunday, 11 am – 9 pm
GOSPEL BRUNCH: Sunday only; seatings at 11 AM and 1 PM. Reservations strongly recommended
More brunch/breakfast related Austin posts to check out:
2013 Austin Guide Coffee post from Stella Cooks
2013 Austin City Guide North Austin Brunches post from A Taste of Koko
2013 Austin City Guide Gluten-Free Breakfast/Brunches post from ATX Gluten-Free
2013 Austin City Guide Breakfast Tacos from Sarah Eats Austin
2012 Austin City Guide Brunch post from Austin Urban Gardens
Other honorable mentions for brunch/breakfast spots (in no particular order):
Russian House (downtown–I believe they just recently added a brunch option)
Swift’s Attic (downtown–they just added brunch in Feb 2013)
Moonshine (downtown, brunch buffet–come hungry, leave stuffed)
Trudy’s (South I-35, great Tex-Mex breakfast options or waffles/pancakes)
Jack Allen’s (Oak Hill)
Curra’s Grill (Oltorf & Congress, get the huevos motulenos)
Threadgill’s (Riverside)
My generous aunt Ann recently gave me several of her cookbooks. It was a win-win situation. She wanted less clutter in her house. I wanted more clutter. Wait, no that’s not right. Ah well, it’s hard to resist free cookbooks!
She later asked me which cookbook I dove into first.
Uh…the cookie cookbook, OF COURSE!
Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
Recipe from Nestle’s Best-Ever Cookies cookbook
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 egg
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
sifted powdered sugar
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large 15 x 10 inch jelly-roll pan. Set pan aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set bowl aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. Beat in the bananas and egg. Gradually beat in your flour mixture.
Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread batter into your prepared jelly-roll pan.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.
Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle cooled bars with powdered sugar.
These bars are not overly sweet. I enjoyed three a bar for breakfast. Add a smear of peanut butter on top and a glass a milk…fast breakfast of champions.
I’d fallen off the smoothie wagon for awhile. It’s been all about eggs for me in the mornings. But now that summer is here, my love of the breakfast smoothie has been re-energized!
Also, I recently bought a Margaritaville blender. And to justify the cost, I knew that I would be making more than just margaritas in it. :)
Raspberry Banana Smoothie
Recipe from The Chew
Ingredients:
1 1/2 – 2 cups raspberries
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 – 1 cup ice
Almond milk, to thin, if needed
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients into your blender. Blend until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add some almond milk.
Makes 2 small smoothies or 1 large smoothie.
1. It’s been raining here in Austin. I know we need the rain. Be grateful for it. But my apartment complex decided to dump a bunch of sand in the parking lot right before the rain. To help soak up the oil spotches from cars, I guess?? Cut to this sand + rain + oil creating a slippery mess in the parking lot! Cut to Julie eating it in the parking lot & falling…hands full of grocery bags. UGH! At least no one saw me. Someone witnessing your fall is way worse than actually falling.
2. My new favorite smoothie….Banana Biscoff Smoothie.
3. My new favorite breakfast…Runny eggs over asparagus.
4. My new favorite ready-to-drink cocktail….Skinnygirl’s White Cranberry Cosmo. SO GOOD!!
5. Are you watching Girls on HBO?
This show seems to rile people up. People hate it….or love it….or love to dissect it. It’s a hot button issue for some reason. I happen to LOVE the show. I relate to it….or rather my earlier 20 year old self related to it. It’s awkward and real. I went through some of those experiences, self-deprecating thoughts and emotions. The show literally makes me cringe as I’m transported back in time. I love the show though because I know that I come out on the other side stronger and wiser!
Okay, I’m done.
Last week, I ventured out to get my Texas car tags and driver’s license. It’s not fun. No one wants to do it. But I have quite a bit of free time, so I decided to knock it off the to-do list.
The car tags part was easy breezy! I was in and out in less than 30 minutes. Although the lady said that Texas requires back and front tags. I looked at the front bumper of my Nissan Sentra. I swear there is not spot for a front tag!!! I looked at several other Nissan in my apartment parking lot and they didn’t have front tags either. So, I’m not worrying about it.
I ventured over to the driver’s license office on Lamar right after that. I was immediately told that I needed my birth certificate or passport. No problem…I just came on a whim, so left and came back the next day.
The next day there were approximately 1 billion more people at the DMV. Yikes! They made an announcement that the new South Austin DMV office had ZERO people waiting in line, so I left to go there. Since it’s a new office though, my GPS didn’t recognize the location. But, I wasn’t paying attention that my stupid dang Garmin picked a different address for me.
And me being new to town, just aimlessly followed my GPS…….to Round Rock!!! Um hi, Round Rock, TX and South Austin are polar opposites. Argh!
I finally made it to the South Austin DMV and got in right away.
Then came the dreaded eye test. (Insert ominous music here.) I had detached retinas and eye surgery on both my eyes in 5th grade. I just really can not see well out of my right eye.
I read the left section of numbers right away. And the middle section of numbers was fine too. But then when I had to read the right section of numbers….a total blur-fest. I was basically guessing….and blinking a million times to try to get a millisecond of clarity.
I finally got them all but one number. 3? 8? 6? I started to panic! Is she going to fail me? Will she take away my Kansas license too?
I was all flustered and sweaty by now. So of course, the lens was all foggy. I sheepishly asked her for a tissue to clean off the lens.
The DMV lady loudly sighed and said….It’s a 9!!!
Crisis averted. Texas driver’s license approved.
To celebrate, let’s have a breakfast panini.
Banana Panini
Recipe from Everyday Food magazine, March 2012
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Nutella
8 slices thick bread, such as brioche
3 bananas, thinly sliced
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Serves 4
* I just eyeballed it to make myself one sandwich for breakfast though.
Instructions:
Spread 1 tablespoon Nutella on 4 bread slices. Layer with bananas and top with remaining bread.
In a grill pan (I used my beloved Griddler), melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Cook 2 sandwiches until bread is toasted and Nutella is melted, about 3-5 minutes.
Repeat for remaining sandwiches.
Serve warm.
Do you leave your Christmas decorations up through New Years? Or do you take them down right after Christmas?
I’m in the “leave them up!” camp. I think of the Christmas season lasting from the day after Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.
Although, it is a little depressing staring a tree with no presents under it.
And mostly, this decoration debate is a way to justify why there is a reindeer in my waffle picture. I made these waffles weeks ago and didn’t blog about them before Christmas.
Oops!! I swear, keeping to a blog schedule and some semblance of consistency with blogging needs to be my New Year’s resolution.
And maybe making waffles every weekend should be a resolution. That sounds like a great one!!
This waffle recipe is a copy cat recipe from Waffle House’s pecan waffles. They are the BEST waffles that I’ve made to date!!!
Pecan Waffles
Recipe from Food Network Magazine–Dec 2011
Ingredients:
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted & cooled
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans onto a cookie sheet. Bake about 5 to 7 minutes until toasted. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, buttermilk, and vanilla.
Stir the egg mixture, melted butter, and melted shortening into the dry mixture. Stir just until combined.
Preheat a waffle iron. Brush heated waffle iron with some melted butter. Ladle about 1/2 cup of batter onto your waffle iron. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the toasted pecans onto the batter.
Cook until golden brown. Repeat until all of your waffles are cooked.
Serve immediately with butter and syrup.
Did you know that Jonathan Lipnicki is 21 years old now?
Who the heck is Jonathan Lipnicki?
The human head weighs 8 pounds.
Oh…..that kid from Jerry Maguire!
There was a story about him NOW on Yahoo. The human head may weigh 8 pounds, but I’m more interested in that SIX PACK!! What?!?!
The secret to his rockin’ abs??
Banana Muffins
Okay, that’s totally not true. But it worked as a segue!!
Banana Muffins
Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3-4 ripe mashed bananas
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, add the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat together to mix. Stir in the mashed bananas to your wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir just until blended.
Line your muffin tins with paper liners. Divide the batter into the liners. Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Test for doneness with a toothpick to see that no crumbs are attached. Transfer muffins to a wire rack and cool slightly.
Makes about 15-18 muffins. Serve warm or cooled. Serve for breakfast or dessert.
I prefer my banana muffins for breakfast, before I hit the gym to work on my own 6 pack abs! Or before I sit in front of a computer for 10 hours. One or the other I’m sure.
Happy Halloween!!!
I snuck in by the skin of my teeth on this one. I couldn’t really use this skull plate on November 1st. That’d be a bit odd, right? So the procrastinator in me just waited until Halloween night.
Speaking of Halloween night, I thought about watching episodes of American Horror Story tonight. But that show is just too scary to watch at night! I can only watch it at high noon!! Oh oh oh….and Dylan McDermott…so hot!! Can you believe he’s 50!?!?! Ridiculous!
I couldn’t decide whether these should be pumpkin muffins or pumpkin cupcakes. The glaze versus frosting seemed like muffins to me. I took them to my parents’ house on Sunday. My sister-in-law said if you eat one before noon, call them muffins. And if you eat one after lunch time, call them cupcakes. She’s a smartie! And after both of my brothers asked if they could eat them before lunch, I went with muffins.
Pumpkin Muffins with Brown Butter Glaze
Recipe from Bake Me Blush
Yields 15 muffins
Ingredients:
For the muffins:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
For the glaze:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoon milk
Instructions:
To make the muffins:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray. Dust with flour. Tap off the excess. Set tins aside.
In a small saucepan, melt your butter over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until your butter turns golden brown. Skim the foam from top if needed. Pour the melted brown butter into a bowl to stop the cooking and allow it to cool.
In a bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
In another bowl, whisk together your pumpkin, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and melted brown butter.
Add your flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Whisk until just combined.
Divide batter among your muffin tins. Bake your muffins for 10 minutes. Rotate your pans. Bake your muffins another 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Place your muffins on a wire rack while you immediately make the glaze.
To make the glaze:
In a small saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat. Stir occasionally, until golden brown in color. Remove melted butter from heat and pour into a bowl.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milked to your browned butter. Stir until smooth. Add another tablespoon milk if necessary. You want a thin enough consistency that you can dip the muffins into the glaze.
Immediately dip the top of each muffin into the glaze while the muffins are still warm. Let the glaze set before serving.
Enjoy!
Hello October. I’ve missed you!
To celebrate your return, I had my new favorite oatmeal combination for breakfast.
Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal with almond milk, a dash of pumpkin pie pie and a spoonful of pumpkin.
Heat and add a spoonful of chunky peanut butter.
Love!
For lunch recently, I’ve been recreating my favorite sandwich from Jason’s Deli….the Turkey Reuben.
An open-faced sandwich on beer bread…that I made with the Pumpkin Wheat beer I recently bought. The beer bread is topped with mustard, deli shaved chicken (I didn’t have turkey), pepper jack cheese, and sauerkraut. Delicious!
The most important part of October 1st is being able to break out all of my Halloween decorations.
In going through my decorations, I found my black wig from last year.
I was Snookie from Jersey Shore.
Some of my favorite Halloween decorations:
Beaded spider web coasters
Spider web cereal bowls
Pumpkin tumblers
Happy Halloween decorating!
