January 29th Blog
Saturday night was fun. We went to Café Mangu in Pflugerville with our friends Carol and Skip. Café Mangu, is in my humble opinion, the absolute best Caribbean fare in the Austin area. This place is hands down better than Habana. The flavors are more nuanced, the mojo is to die for, and the food just rocks. You like Lechon Asado (pork shoulder)? It was moist and delicious. I had the Asado de Res which is flank steak marinated in Dijon mustard. WOW! It was sensational. (I couldn’t help dipping each bite in a bit of the mojo sauce as well.) I also can’t get enough of the yucca fritas. And the flan and tres leches were over the top. The Arroz con Pollo is as good as the one at Dona Emilia’s, and that’s quite a compliment. And, if you have a problem with your car, you can drop it off next door to Three Points. Owner Rafael also owns a car repair shop. You are doing yourselves a disservice if you don’t venture out to Café Mangu on 1825 and try this place. The original founder Alex may have departed but the restaurant has not skipped a beat.
Sunday we had a family dinner at Chez Zee. What a lovely and sympathetic waitress we had. Her name was Alice. Cute blond girl who put up with some semi-serious family drama. (My daughter Lauren and I were having a mild disagreement.) I had the bacon burger with a side of sautéed mushrooms. It was very tasty. Everyone one else had the Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta. I like this dish. It has a nice, mellow flavor. Probably could have used a bit more seasoning but still good.
Before that, we went out to see Dreamgirls. What a movie! Jennifer Hudson has got some pipes. And it was nice to see Eddie Murphy stepping of character a bit along with Jamie Foxx. I can’t recall when I’ve enjoyed a musical more than this one. The only problem with the experience was the lame employees at Barton Creek Cinema. My God, if these kids are the future of our country, we are in serious trouble. I asked the girl in the ticket booth if the theatre was crowded. She responded: “What do you mean?” Perhaps if I had phrased it in the form of a TAAS test question she might have broken through with a glimmer of insight. Oh well!
