Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Potpourri

17 Apr 2007

Dining Out For Life

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Potpourri

If you haven’t done so already, please make your reservations for Dining Out For Life on April 26th (a list of participating restaurants can be found on the website). When you dine at one of the participating restaurants on this evening, a third of the food bill is donated to Action AIDS—a non-profit organization committed to serving people living with AIDS in the Philadelphia area.

I am a buddy volunteer at Action AIDS and will serving as an Ambassador along with The Astronomer at Mercato BYOB, so come say hi if you’re in the neighborhood!

Good Works + Good Eats = Perfection.

Restaurant Review

16 Apr 2007

The Salt Lick – Austin

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April 11, 2007
Cuisine: BBQ

Austin-Bergstorm International Airport
3600 Presidential Blvd, Austin, TX 78719

Phone: none
Website: http://www.saltlickbbq.com/

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Brisket and Sausage Platter – Coleslaw, Potato Salad, Beans, and Bread ($9.95)

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The original Salt Lick restaurant is located 30 miles outside of Austin in Driftwood, Texas. Since I was in Austin for business rather than pleasure, I had to settle for the satellite location in the airport. Hey, I’ll take what I can get.

My brother was in Austin a month ago and highly recommended that I try The Salt Lick. He proclaimed it to be the best brisket and sausage he had ever had. My friend Esme, an Austin native, also recommended that I check the eatery out.

I stepped off the plane and immediately headed to The Salt Lick for some highly anticipated BBQ. With the glowing recommendation from my brother, I ordered the Brisket and Sausage Platter, which came with coleslaw, potato salad, beans, and white bread.

The sausage and brisket were both good, but I liked the sausage a little more because of the spices. The brisket was tender and had a little trim of fat that I definitely didn’t remove. The best thing about The Salt Lick is their unique sauce, which is mustard and vinegar based rather than ketchup. Mmm! While the meat rated high, the sides were unfortunately lacking. The beans, coleslaw, and potato salad were all tasteless; although I must commend The Salt Lick for steering clear of mayonnaise.

The Salt Lick was a good introduction to Central Texas BBQ, but made me miss the wonderful sides in Birmingham, Alabama.

Restaurant Review

15 Apr 2007

DiNic’s Roast Pork and Beef – Philadelphia

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April 7, 2007
Cuisine: Sandwiches, Italian

Reading Terminal Market, 12th & Filbert
Philadelphia, PA

Phone: 215-923-6175
Website: none

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Roast Pork Sandwich with Greens and Provolone ($6.75)

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The Astronomer and I woke up extra early on Saturday morning (before noon!) to guarantee a Roast Pork Sandwich at DiNic’s. The last time we were here they ran out of their most popular sandwich, so we had to take special precautions this time around.

A plain sandwich is priced at $5.50, but we requested provolone cheese and “greens” for $1.25 extra. The bread was as good as I remembered; sturdy yet giving, like all good Italian bread. The cheese was intensely fragrant and flavorful. I love DiNic’s provolone because it tastes nothing like the supermarket provolone commonly dished out. The garlicky sautéed greens added some much needed color and meshed well with the other contents in the sandwich. The Astronomer was hesitant about the greens at first, but found them surprisingly appealing. Everything about the sandwich was top-notch except for the roast pork. I found the meat bland and kind of dry, which was such a let down after great experiences with DiNic’s roast beef and brisket sandwiches. Even the drippings drizzled atop the sandwich didn’t save the day.

However, in The Astronomer’s opinion, the day did not need to be saved. Despite being noticeably inferior to the roast beef sandwich enjoyed earlier, he still found the roast pork sandwich to be delicious, and would order it again if they happened to be out of roast beef.