Mandola's Italian Market

Hot gooey cheese and tomato sauce smothering fresh hand made pasta cooked to perfection alongside chewy soft crunchy bread... What could be better on a rainy day? Which is why I chose to check out Mandola's Italian Market last night with my wonderful father companion. My scale did not like my decision this morning especially since I had queso and crawfish and potatoes smothered in cheese on Sunday, but I regret nothing! Gotta enjoy life right?

Mandola's is a family owned restaurant started by Damian and Trina Mandola. There are currently 3 locations in Austin, one of which is run by the Mandola's twin sons Dominic and Damian Jr. Mandola. The passion and love that the family puts into their work is obvious. 

The restaurant is also a cafe and market selling breads and various different Italian cooking staples. The cafe has coffee and espresso, amazing looking pastries and gorgeous looking gelato. The smell of garlic and tomatoes lingers in the restaurant making your mouth water. 

Usually me and my dad spend a good 5 minutes or so going back and forth saying "what do you want?" "I don't know, what do you want?" not really wanting to order something the other doesn't want to try. However, this time my dad was certain. Meat lovers pizza and Lasagna! So that's what we got! Along with bruschetta, my choice. 

At Mandola's you stand in line behind a counter, order your food, then sit down wherever you want with a little number and they'll bring your food to you. Very convenient and easy, and with the tons of employees running around, you'll be sure to be served promptly. 

The bruschetta came out along with a basket of complementary bread, ciabatta bread I thinkkk or focaccia, im not sure im no expert. The bruschetta was delicious though! Crunchy garlic toasted bread topped with halved and whole cherry tomatoes. So simple but when done right so delicious.

Next came out the pizza and lasagna! The pizza really surprised me. I'm not a big fan of meatballs or hamburger meat on my pizza, and from the size of the meatballs on this pizza I was a little iffy, but I was wrong. These meatballs were REAL meatballs, like you would actually put in pasta, and they were GOOD! Perfectly seasoned, and it really didn't overpower the rest of the pizza. The pizza oven they make the pizza in gives the crust a nice crunchy crust and cooks it to perfection. Not too much cheese, not too much meat, just good. 

Now for the best thing we ordered, the lasagna! Lasagna can be tricky to master sometimes, you gotta have the right amount of sauce, the right amount of cheese, a good pasta, and cook it right. Mandola's does just that. Right away you can taste the freshness of the pasta dough, it tastes homemade and it's great! The sauce is sweet and tangy and the cheese compliments it perfectly. The ricotta filling in between each layer is absolutely heavenly.... Seriously, this competes with my momma's lasagna. Ok, my mom's not Italian only been to Italy once, but it's my mom's and she make's a damn good lasagna. Nothing tastes better than fresh ingredients and handmade homemade pasta dough. Store bought just does not cut it. 

If you couldn't tell I liked the place. The food was great, the atmosphere charming and cute, the only thing I would change is to make it a little more adult friendly and a little less kid friendly. I know I know, a lot of people like that it's kid friendly, but when I go out to eat I don't like being surrounded by a bunch of kids screaming and running all over the place. But I urge you all to try this place out and be reminded how good Italian food can be.

Blue Dahlia Bistro

I'm late I know I know, not that anyone really reads these anyway... But! I have a good excuse so don't judge just yet! We went to dinner on Tuesday and I was exhausted that night, just go to bed at 9 o'clock tired I don't even know why, then Wednesday was my birthday, woot woot 17, which you will see in the belowe picture of me and my boyfriend, I look so weird, but he bought me a cookie cake, how sweet! And delicious! Plus my brother bought me a chocolate raspberry mousse cake, so heavenly, and my mom's making me a German Chocolate cake this weekend plus a birthday dinner. I think i'm getting fat.... Anyways, on Thursday I had classes, one of which got cancelled so being the smart person I am I went ahead and took the Department exam for English 1, which I passed! So guess who's done with English for the year! Ah i'm so excited, now I just have to finish TX Government and i'm done with school for summer! Two more weeks baby! And finally here it is Friday afternoon with nothing to do as of right now. Later i'm making shrimp and grits one of my specialties so a very exciting Friday for sure!

Now for the review. Blue Dahlia Bistro... Let me start by saying my dad wasn't too enthusiastic about coming to this place, just because of the location. Here's the story, my dad used to work for the Texas lottery back in the day, so he would have to go to convenience stores and liquor stores and do whatever business with the people. There's a little liquor store on East 11 that he had to go one day, it was in the afternoon, and he parks his car and starts walking towards the store. A white man then comes out of the store with a gun screaming "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" My dad tries to explain that he worked for the lottery and was just doing his job. The guy then tells him "Don't you ever come here in the afternoon. You make this your first stop, you come in the morning then you leave!" The guy then has to back my dad up to his car while pointing his gun at a bunch of gangsters walk out of the liquor store towards my dad. Yeah... I'd be iffy about going back too. Now though, where East 11th used to be ghetto, it's now the residence of places such as Blue Dahlia Bistro, Franklin Barbeque, and a little yoga shop. New buildings have transformed this place from a ghetto, to a nice little hipster corner. 

Blue Dahlia fits in perfectly. It looks like a French bistro, with a patio in the front and in the back. The front is covered in plants and flowers, and when you walk in it's dimly lit with a pastry counter filled with delicious treats you want to just attack right there. The back patio is all concealed by a fence and is beautifully decorated with plants and flowers as well. The atmosphere really made you think you were somewhere other than Austin. The wait staff were very friendly and attentive as well. I give them a good grade for that.

I had already looked up the menu online so I was pretty sure what I wanted before I even got there. Truffled Duck Mousse Pate with Cornichons, Coq Au Vin Blanc, and Duck Cassoulet stew. Unfortunately I didn't see the duck stew on the menu at the restaurant, so instead of that we got Mussels Dijon. 

Mmmm Duck Mousse Pate with Cornichons... Last week had been my first taste of any kind of pate, so you can see I got addicted. This here, was amazing... Better than the Pork Pate I had had before. It was stronger and creamier, and just melt in your mouth amazingly good. I could eat just that and be happy. 

The Mussels Dijon. A giant bowl overflowing with delicious mussels in a creamy white wine sauce with bread completely surrounding the whole thing... What's not to love? Second time having mussels ever in my life, and i'll be honest, the other time I had it was better. But, still very very tasty and definitely satisfies the craving for mussels. 

First time having Coq Au Vin Blanc chicken. Maybe I had my expectations higher, but I was expecting a little more. Maybe if I had had this on a cold day it would taste better, but on a 90 degree day in Texas, ehh. It was still delicious and cooked just right, but it reminded me of just chicken soup without the noodles. Which is totally cool with me because I really don't like noodles in soup too much. Very good, but I think i'll stick to the pate next time! 

So there you go folks! Sorry I was late once again! Do check out Blue Dahlia Bistro because it IS a very nice very relaxing restaurant, and I hear the brunch menu is amazing, I shall try that next time!

Bistrot Mirabelle

Another Tuesday another night out! Sorry for my lack of posting, I didn't get around to posting my review of Mesa Ranch, but I will after this one! 

Tonight's culinary adventure was french cuisine at Bistrot Mirabelle on Mesa Dr. At my last job, a co-worker had told me he worked at this restaurant as well, and finally I managed to check it out. I'd read rather good reviews from Urban Spoon and Yelp, and after looking at the menu online I was very excited to come here, everything sounded good! 

We walked in and were given a very welcoming greeting, seated and quickly we had our drinks. The staff were all very attentive and friendly, knowledgeable about the menu and ready to answer any questions. I always drink a lot of water throughout my meal, so the staff being able to keep up with filling my glass about 7 times throughout is always a good thing! 

I'm always excited to try new things, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to try that i'd never had before, I mussels or duck liver pate. In the end we decided on the mussels as an appetizer and was not disappointed! They came in a bowl in a white wine butter cream sauce and topped with french fries. Definitely a great introduction to mussels for me! The french fries, while not the best, were hot and crispy and very very good! The mussels reminded me somewhat of escargot, the same consistency and texture, and I was very pleasantly surprised with how good they were. What really made the dish though was the sauce! Creamy and buttery but light and delicious. Perfect with mussels and oh so good for dipping bread in! I could've eaten the sauce and bread all night it was so good!

 For entree's we ordered the Tuesday special, the Choux Farcis, cabbage rolls with ground pork and beef in a tomato butter sauce and served with their whipped potatoes. Very very delicious! Perfectly cooked, the mashed potatoes, while nothing special, were still very good and went perfectly with the sauce.

The other entree we ordered was the Friday special, Lobster Pot Pie. Due to a large amount of lobster they had they decided to serve it today as well as on Friday. Puff pastry envelopes the Lobster stew to make a puff of heaven! The pastry is delicious, the stew was creamy and the lobster was perfectly cooked. Lemme tell you, this is definitely worth the price. The amount of lobster you get in this is amazing! Huge chunks of lobster fill the bowl making sure you don't feel ripped off.

Worth the price any time! The quality of the food and service is great. Great food a cozy atmosphere. Simple and sophisticated.