An Aussie geek stuck in Texas

To celebrate Megan getting her first professional architecture job after getting her degree we went out to dinner at Mark’s American Cuisine last night, I had been there once before for lunch with work so I knew it was good but they take things to a whole other level with dinner! If you want both great service and fanrtastic food then Mark’s can’t be beaten!

We were promptly seated, asked what we would like to drink, champagne of course to celebrate and then they let us soak in the atmosphere within th gorgeous building that used to be a church without forcing menu’s on us to detract from the moment as lets face it as soon as you get a menu you become a little dinner hermit and if anything only make small talk about what you are going to order so not ahving the menu’s there was a nice change!

Then we got the menu’s and the wine list, decided on a nice 2002 Zinfandel and promptly had that presented and poured for us, we also got a great description of the chef’s specials with the server obviously intimately knowing the dishes, which is something I always like to see in a restaurant, there is nothing worse than asking something about the menu and having your server have to go ask someone. Dinner was amazing and just after they served it the server again demonstrated his knowledge by describing each part of the meal (I know this might sound a little intrusive but it wasn’t at all and was actually quite refreshing). Dinner was followed by an even better dessert and all in all it was a great evening so I highly recommend Mark’s!

Is it just me or is cling wrap just about the most evil thing ever invented? It would be so nice to be able to tear off a piece nice and cleanly, even if it was just once I would savour that moment for the rest of my life!

Oh and don’t get me started on how ordinary cling wrap no longer actually clings forcing you to buy the new, improved cling wrap that is opaque so you can’t see the food clearly and has a weird texture to it, that stuff is just horrid!

It seems most places around here begin shutting down at 1:00pm and when 1:30pm rolls around you’re going to have a hard time finding somewhere to get a decent lunch, there are only so many burgers one can eat from Otto’s, which is one of the few places that is open late.

What is the deal with that? I often get caught up in some coding or troubleshooting at work in the morning and don’t want to have to force myself to break just so I can get to a place before it closes. Are Texans just early eaters or what? I can remember going to lunch at like 2 or 3pm quite often back in Sydney without any problems, good luck trying to do that in Houston!

I just got back from a trip to Canada as I had to go up to Calgary for an interview for my Visa with the US Consulate and this time around seeing how it wasn’t just after Christmas The Flying Emu was open and what a relief that was!

For those that don’t know The Flying Emu is the best (if not only) place in North America that sells a variety of beers that us Aussies actually drink including the classic VB (Victoria Bitter), Cascade Premium Lager, Carlton Cold and Tooheys Extra Dry, along with selling Meat Pies plus chicko rolls! Now if only they had Tim Tams for dessert they would have the whole Aussie experience down pat!

The decor has a lot of Australian memorabilia as well (I will post some photo’s soon) with a personal favourite being the big boxing kangaroo Australian flag and all the staff there are super friendly so that is an added bonus! The music isn’t bad either on Thursday night they had an up and coming singer, Amy someone who was quite good, then on Friday night they had a jam session that attracted some good talent, including a fellow Aussie.

So if you are ever in Calgary be sure to check them out and let them know that you heard about The Flying Emu from Jason the guy that was there in June drinking all the VB he could possibly drink.

Has anyone else ever noticed how just about every Subway sandwich tastes the same no matter what fillings you have and how all pop tarts taste the same regardless of the flavour?