Devouring the Meaty Heart of Texas, Part 2

After a couple of days in Austin, you find that you are never hungry. As in, your body is never saying "please feed me, I require sustenance." In fact, it's almost continually whimpering "please, make it stop" from the first meal to the moment you step on to the plane home. And yet, somehow, we manage to find ever crazier justifications for eating quantities that would make older generations weep. The food in Austin is good, in some cases scarily good. So it's not a major leap to then say "how about having two main courses?" That actually happened. Twice.

Random truck selling Po'boys in downtown

While attending the conference last year, one of our great little discoveries was a beaten up old BBQ shack just across from the convention centre called the Ironworks. It's hardly what you'd call the best BBQ in town, but it's right next door and so every lunchtime a gargantuan queue of game developers forms within seconds of the last session of the morning talks. Since then, it's become a bit of a regular thing for us, with some crazed members of my team ending up there on three(!) occasions that week.

The thing in particular that I love about the place is the fantastically brusk attitude of the staff, which is so diametrically opposed to the standard friendly service you normally encounter in the US. Perhaps it's because it reminds me of home that I like it so much. The food is chopped and served quickly, and if you dally when you finally get to the food counter, the guy with the big knife starts to get antsy. And you don't want that. That's not the best bit though. God help you and all your offspring if you get to the cashier and you mess around. The cashier, a steely prison-warden of man behind grease-steamed spectacles, glares at your food while punching the buttons on the till like the fat kid in school. Show up, pay, move the hell on. Do not waste his time. The greatest thing to witness at the Ironworks is people skipping through the queue to go and ask the cashier a question. These people are noobs, in the common parlance, and they will get the smackdown. I know, I've been there. If you don't have a tray with food on it, the Cashier only has one response for you: "Get in the queue." Want to book a table? Get in the queue. Want some takeaway? Get in the queue. Need an ambulance? Get in the queue. I love it, particularly because you just know what's coming when some fresh-faced woman heads straight past the queue to the cashier trying to sweet-talk a table for her friends. Know what happens? She gets in the damn queue.

A standard lunch in Austin. For two (ish).

And while I've said that the food is far from the best in Austin, it is still pretty damn good as far as a lunch goes. You can get the sampler plate, as per usual with joints like this, but after several trips we've discovered that you're much better off getting a couple of pounds of brisket and sausage, and sharing it with someone. Or not, if you happen to be American. Or Samoan. You also order sides in volume, which is an awesome quirk. Want some potato salad? Want a pint of potato salad? How about a gallon of chilli? A quart of coleslaw? You know you want to. As a colleague remarked, "I could get used to this." You could, although you would end up the size of a Smart car.

These guys put on a hell of a show, every week.

Austin also has a fantastic live music scene, and in true American fashion often declares itself "The Live Music Capital of the World". Now I'm not touching that particular statement with a bargepole, but if you're in Austin then you owe it to yourself to check out a live show. I was fortunate enough last year to be introduced to a brilliant local band, the Spazmatics, who play at the Cedar St bar every Wednesday. They have played every Wednesday night for at least four years, according to my friend. They are a zany 80's tribute band, who put on an absolutely brilliant show filled to the brim with classic tunes. And yes, they play Journey. Now, no doubt their success is due in part to playing a venue that is basically heaving with drunk people, but they are also a well-oiled machine performance wise. There is a twist, however. If you google them, you will discover that they are what's called a franchise band. Not familiar with the term? Neither was I, until I saw these guys. Basically, there is a Spazmatics in every single major city in the USA. And they all do exactly the same act, but they are different guys in each one. The concept is franchised to musicians around the country, who then exectute it flawlessly. When I first learned about this, my mind was blown - surely such an entertaining act wasn't just one in a line of manufactured styrofoam casts of a single concept? I'm hardly one to get misty eyed about the romantic notion of a musician and their art in the age of Rebecca Black and Crazy Frog, but there was still something slightly unsettling about it. So I was curious about how they would fare the second time around, knowing this dark secret. And you know what? They were absolutely fantastic. Colleagues who were there for the first time were blown away, and the band killed it with exactly the same gusto and feverish enthusiasm that they had last year. The one thing I do know however, is that I don't want to see any of the other Spazmatics now. These guys are the one for me.

Before we left Austin, we also made one more new discovery: The Hula Hut. The Hula Hut is cool little tex-mex place down along the river. On the plane over from Dallas the guy sat next to me had recommended it, and Dave had also suggested it as a worthy adventure, so it seemed like a well-vouched place to visit. The place feels like a mashup between Meatballs and True Blood, all tacky hawaiian decor with faerie lights and cute waitresses. They also have a big dining hall outside, which sits above the water and is definitely the place to be when the weather's nice. This is where one particularly brave colleague of mine suggested having two mains (a feat that was then repeated by others). As a note, when an American waitress says "that's quite a lot of food", for god's sake listen to the woman. As it turned out both mains were conquered in the end, but not without inflicting massive damage on the participants. The Shiner Bock beef fajitas were delicious and succulent, and the burritos were suitably massive. They also have potentially the king of all dips: a warm queso cheese dip with chunks of chilli, tomato and guacamole plonked on top. It was heavy duty, but delicious. Among less civilized company, this dip could start a fight. Of all the things we tried however, my absolute standout was the Crispy Shrimp Tacos. I'd never had these before, and they were absolutely amazing, so it was by good fortune that a friend had actually sent me a recipe for them.

Thankfully frozen shrimp are easily obtainable and not too expensive, so it's worth giving this a try. If you enjoy mexican food but can't face any more meat, much like myself after a trip to Austin, then look no further.

Crispy Shrimp Tacos with Peach Salsa
Author: Kristina Wiley
For the Peach Salsa:
6 peaches, peeled pitted and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium sized red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
1 cup loosley packed coriander, chopped
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 limes, juiced
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Shrimp:
12-16 ounces peeled and de-veined shrimp, tails removed (about 30 small shrimp)
3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne (or more if you like extra spice)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
canola oil for frying (enough to cover the bottom of a large skillet)
additional salt

Additionally:
10 small flour tortillas
lettuce, shredded
sour cream
additional cilantro

Instructions

Mix together all of the peach salsa ingredients and set aside until ready to use.

Rinse the shrimp with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Now you want to set up an assembly line so you are ready to go! Mix the flour, salt, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne, and black pepper together in a pie plate. In a second dish, place the beaten eggs. Then, have a 3rd clean baking sheet ready / tray.

In a large frying pan, heat oil (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) over medium high heat. Use the bubble test to see if the oil is hot enough: stick the tip of a toothpick or chopstick into the oil. If bubbles slowly form, you are good to go. If bubbles appear suddenly and bubble violently, the oil is too hot. Get a tray ready by stacking a few paper towels on it.

Dredge the shrimp in the flour (shake excess), then the egg wash, then BACK into the flour and coat well. Gently shake the excess off and place on the clean tray. Repeat with remaining shrimp until all are coated with the flour.

Cook shrimp in 2-3 batches (depending on the size of your skillet). You want them to cook in one even layer making sure you don’t over-crowd or overlap the shrimp. The shrimp take roughly 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Cut one in half to make sure the shrimp are cooked all the way through (You do not want any clear/translucent left – you want it to be opaque and pink/white in color!). NOTE: You don’t want to OVER cook them either, so pull them off after 1 1/2 minutes (on each side) and check them.

Sprinkle shrimp with a touch of salt and set aside. Repeat with remaining shrimp until all are cooked.

To assemble: On each tortilla, sprinkle a little shredded lettuce and top with 3-4 shrimp. Spoon a tablespoon or two of the peach salsa followed by a dollop of sour cream. Top with a sprinkle of coriander. Serve with fresh lime wedges to squeeze over the top, this really brings it to life.