Today, for lunch, I got to go to a fancy, chi chi place in Austin, an “authentic” Italian restaurant called Sienna. It’s one of those five star type places that serves all kinds of weird things-you know, stuff like quail and roasted boar. (Nobody I know eats “roast boar” and, I’m pretty sure, if they did, they’d call it “sausage.”) I had a demitasse of espresso, which was wonderful, following by a fettuccine lunch special which was “cheesy.” The pasta was great (homemade) but the sauce actually had too much cheese for my liking. Next time I’ll try the pomodoro, since plain tomatoes promise to be less “cheesy” (in the literal sense.) Still wasn’t a bad lunch, everything was fresh and all homemade tasking, which is great. I love homemade pasta.
The restaurant was very good and it did remind me a bit of Italy. It’s kind of a neat building, Sienna is, all stone, just off of Highway 360 and 2222 in central/west Austin. The prices are kind of high so I’ll probably never get to go there again (always kind of nice when somebody else foots the bill-even nicer when the place they select is someplace you can’t usually afford.) It’s very authentic inside too, all stone and brick, with lots of Italian style decor and wrought iron. I love wrought iron, even though, it’s not especially nice in a restaurant, since you can’t eat it and all. Still, adds a nice, “swirly metallic” touch to the joint.
In other, um, sort of kind of food-related news, my favorite slogan from Hawaii had to be one produced by the Kona Brewing Company. “A Mountain of Brew from the Mountain that Spews.”
Now that, my friends, is a mouth-full. And, it goes without saying really but, probably not “authentic Italian” in any way, shape, or wrought iron at all. (Although, I do now have to wonder…what is it about me visiting places with volcanoes? Is it the good coffee or just the spew?)
Until next time…
