Sunday, February 17, 2013

TGICFS.

Chicken-fried steak and eggs at Monument Cafe. © Ryan Schierling

There aren't too many old-school diners in Austin proper. The last, best place to get chicken-fried steak and eggs for breakfast was Arkie's Grill over on E. Cesar Chavez, but their temporary closure for remodeling turned permanent, and now the space is slated for a "New Orleans-inspired diner serving classy Texas comfort food with a Louisiana flare." Whenever I hear "classy" and "comfort food" in the same sentence, I default to "overpriced comfort food." I will miss Arkie's, but I guess the world keeps on turning.

We trekked 30 minutes north to Monument Cafe in Georgetown for breakfast, and it was worth the drive. While the four-ounce CFS was a bit slight by typical Texas standards (pounded-out, plate-sized behemoths), it was well-breaded, pleasantly-seasoned and served with delicious cream gravy. Julie's revered Florentine Benedict, a classic, simple dish easily screwed up by crab or diced tomatoes or spicy hollandaise, was so nicely done – and served with proper hash browns – that she nearly wept tears of joy. 

A tender moment
between beef and cream gravy
My fork is content 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The black blood of the gods.

Bolivia Organic Buenavista #1738. © Ryan Schierling
Feed the hungry. Shelter the homeless. Caffeinate the uncaffeinated. 

There are basic human rights in this world – life, liberty, security, available food and water. Last year the United Nations added internet access to the list, but I think coffee is globally, culturally more important than that. Which would cause widespread rioting first – taking away our coffee, or taking away our wi-fi? 

I'm betting on the bean. 

It was tough living in a town that was lousy with badass baristas in every corner coffee shop. You could get the best hand-pulled doppio of your life – as long as you didn't stumble into a Starbucks – any time, anywhere. Seattle is the town that put coffee snobbery on the map

Now, I've never really been one to fawn over a perfect mocha, or gush about how incredible so-and-so's milk foam latte art was (but... El Diablo Coffee Co., very impressive...). Most mornings, I just want a good cup of drip coffee, hot and black, to clear the cobwebs. That's a basic human right. There's a lot of garbage coffee out there, pre-bagged and sitting on grocery store shelves for months, or bulk beans far past their prime in plastic dispensers. 

Fresh coffee is freshly-roasted coffee. It is aromatic and alive, elegant and just a little bit exclusive… typically not grocery-store gotten. It is also a little expensive if you're buying it bulk at your neighborhood coffee shop. I did this for a while, purchasing pounds of dark roasts from far-flung locales, and we eventually relegated those roasts to "weekend only" drinking. There have been times, for frugality, weekday drip was out of a commercial coffee tin. Who knows what was in that pre-ground mix? Coffee beans? Sawdust? Pulverized olive pits? Gun metal shavings? It was merely a caffeine delivery device, and a pretty poor one at that.

But, I realized, it didn't have to be that way. There was also a part of me that wanted to buck the system a little, sidestep the coffee shop klatch, and just roast it myself. Those of you who make your own wine, beer, charcuterie or cheese (all highly noble DIY pursuits, as far as I'm concerned) understand this sentiment completely. Thankfully, coffee roasting in the most basic form is easy, inexpensive and very satisfying.

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