NXNW Restaurant & Brewery

Every few weeks, P and I like to go out and grab a few drinks and some (well-priced) appetizers.  I think everyone gets like that...work a week that feels like it will never end and when it finally does...well, you feel as if you deserve a reward! Our favorite happy hour place of all time is:

*image courtesy of videocityguide.com

NXNW Restaurant & Brewery is unique in that all the beers served on the menu are brewed on location.  Pretty neat right?  On top of that, their food selection is varied so that you can "bar" food and "restaurant" food.  The greatest part?  Their happy hour is 7 days a week from 4pm-7pm.  Are you in love yet?

P enjoys the hoppiest beer on the menu, the Pyjingo Pale Ale, while I enjoy the lighter crisp Northern Light.  We love the perfectly cooked calamari paired with the marinara and dijon side sauces and the wings are always a home run.  The green beans aren't on the happy hour menu but they should be because they are DELICIOUS in the indescribable way that only simple yet well-cooked dishes can be sometimes. 

Here is another picture to make your mouth water...

Definitely come by and try NXNW's happy hour out.  I can guarantee you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who does it as well and as cost efficiently as they do.

Cheers!

NXNW Restaurant & Brewery

10010 Capital of TX Hwy N
Austin, TX 78759

PHONE & FAX NUMBERS :

Telephone: (512) 467-6969
Fax: (512) 345-1233

Beef and Barley Soup Recipe

So after eating Central Market's delicious beef and barley soup, we got inspired to try making our own.  This soup was P's little baby so I was enlisted to compose the recipe....oh and to chop the veggies ;)

P's Beef & Barley Soup

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs of lean chuck beef
• 8 large carrots
• 1 medium red onion
• 8 cloves garlic
• 13 white button mushrooms
• 2 cups of uncooked raw barley
• 1 ltr of low sodium beef broth
• 1 bottle of pale ale beer
• 6 tbsps olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsps of cayenne
• 2 tsps of paprika

Prep

-Cut the lean chuck beef into 1” cubes

-Skin carrots and cut into 1/2” thick medallions

-Peel and finely dice garlic

-Cut mushrooms into thick slices

-Cut onion into thin long slivers

Directions

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil under medium high heat.  When oil is hot, add the meat and quickly sear.  After 3-4 minutes remove the meat and juices into a separate bowl and set aside (meat does not need to be fully cooked).  

Using the same pot, add two tablespoons of olive oil and toss in carrots.  Cook the carrots for roughly 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season lightly with sea salt.  Place the carrots and any juices into the same bowl as meat.

Keeping the pot under medium high heat, add the onions and few dashes of sea salt.  Allow the onions to caramelize for 3-4 minutes and add in minced garlic.  Allow the garlic and onions to cook for an additional minute and then add the mushrooms.  Stir mixture thoroughly to allow for the mushrooms to absorb the oil and juices.  After approximately 2 minutes, add the beef and carrots along with 1 bottle of the pale ale of your choice.

Add paprika, cayenne and generous amount of freshly ground pepper.  Stir contents thoroughly and allow to simmer under low heat for 3 hours.

Once barley is cooked to your liking, strain the barley and quickly rinse with cold water to remove excess starch.  Allow to drain.

After barley is completely drained, set aside.  Add to the soup after it has simmered for 3 hours.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Enjoy!

A Saturday Spent @ Central Market [Austin]

*image courtesy of centralmarket.com

After walking the trail around Town Lake for what seemed like hours, we decided to feed ourselves at Austin's Central Market.  

I have to tell you...today Central Market really outdid itself.  Everything was delicious!  Can you guess what we ate?

All of the food was so delicious!  The item that took the prize?  

Definitely the beef and barley soup.  We were so impressed with the soup because each spoonful had huge bites of beef and mushroom.  The soup base was nicely seasoned moreso than any other high-end supermarket soup we've ever sampled [Whole Foods included].  

I think it's safe to say we had a food coma shortly thereafter. ;)

Central Market [North Lamar]

4001 North Lamar Blvd.

Suite 100

(512) 206-1000

Gumbo's @ Westlake

This is a restaurant that touts the combination of Louisiana up-scale dining and down home Creole goodness.  We decided to check out their Westlake location [1 of 5 locations] and were pleasantly surprised  by their level of service and cozy ambience.

P ordered the gumbo for an appetizer while I went big with their luscious shrimp cocktail.

Our consensus?

P thought the gumbo had a nice dark roux that had a nice flavor that wasn't overpowering.  I enjoyed the large juicy shrimp and appreciated how they were firm and not overcooked.  Oh and we definitely can't forget the delicious flakey baguettes with real butter that we gorged ourselves on.

Overall we felt like this was a great place to drop in to have a quality lunch/dinner with quick and impeccable service.  Do drop in and try them out.

Gumbo's @ Westlake

3600 N. Capital of Texas Highway 

Bldg D

Austin, TX 78746

512-328-4446