Tuesday, October 6, 2009

El Greco. Spanish (Greek?) for The Greco.

I never got into Greek food until about 2 years ago. I'm not sure what took so long. Judging by how fast I eat it, neither can my body. I've tried Tino's (both North and South) and the Athenian Grill (on 6th), but El Greco is on a different playing field. It's located on campus near Mangia. In fact, you can park in the same garage that you would for Mangia. (Free! holla!) I've tried the chicken souvlaki, the rack of lambs, and the lamb chops. They are ALL amazing. I can never stray from my staple sides, hummus and greco peas. The little old lady, who I believe is the owner, is there most of the time I go there, and she's really cool. She'll come up to our table and ask how our food is, and then tell us a story. She always tries to tempt me with one of her desserts, homemade by her, and every time I can never find the room. My mission is to get a salad next time I go, so I can finally try one. I'm going out on a limb here, especially since I've only tried 2 other Greek restaurants in Austin (more elsewhere), but in my opinion, this is the best Greek food in the city.

Moo Moo's

Moo Moo's is a little food stand that popped up on Lamar a couple of months ago. When I first drove by, the owners (?) were setting up picnic tables and advertising their grand opening, which was incidentally the next day. The thing that caught my eye was their food stand. It was painted like a cow. And the name and concept were pretty cool too: Moo Moo's Mini Burgers. For the sophisticates, it's sliders. :) S o, a couple weeks later, I decided to give it a try. Their menu has a high-school theme, featuring Junior Varsity and Varsity sliders. As you would expect, JV burgers, such as "The Freshman" and "All-American" have basic toppings, like ketchup, pickles and american cheese, while the Varsity burgers feature toppings for more sophisticated taste buds, like avocado, grilled onions and chipotle mayo. There's also the "Lunch Lady," which is a custom burger with any topping(s) you want. The origins of this burger stem from an incident with a reviewer. Moo Moo's got the reviewer's order wrong twice, and felt so bad about it that they named a burger in her honor. Pretty cool story :) I opted for a "Prom Queen," which comes with avocado, bacon, swiss cheese and chipotle mayo. Tanner got "The Bully," which is THREE patties topped with cheddar cheese, jalapenos, bbq sauce and grilled onions. YUM!! The burgers are a decent size for sliders. The buns were a little sweet, which was unique, but nice. And let me tell you, these are man burgers. I was full after the first one (they serve two with the meal). The meat was so rich, that I swore they used sausage in their patties. I asked the cook, and he told me it was just a 70/30 ground beef mix. The drink selection was good: Mexican coke, Jarrito's Orange Soda, Maine Root Beer, Dublin Dr. Pepper and water. I've also heard their shakes are tasty, but I didn't try one. (Next time!) I wasn't too crazy about their fries, too greasy and limp. But, overall this little food stand was really awesome. Definitely worth hitting up on your lunch break.