eats Archives - Fearless Captivations

Austin Dessert Pop-Up Orders You Should Try

Anita — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 22:48:49 +0000

There are many dessert pop-ups in Austin, and they’re so good!

When I first published this post in 2020, many bakers had started or were growing their businesses because of the extra time at home. Dessert is comfort food, and most of these companies are new endeavors so I easily justified these purchases as supporting a new, local company. But really, I don’t need to justify my dessert-eating. It’s a life-long “research” project.

I found most of these companies on Instagram. Many are order-only and have weekly pick-up times. Some have weekly “drop” times, so look them up to know when and what to order. They may sell out quickly!

Here are 9 dessert pop-ups to put on your list.

Andy K’s Donuts

Made from scratch and oh so beautiful! Every month has a new set of flavors, so you’ll want to try them all! I ordered in October, so my box came with Devil’s Food Cake, Cinnamon Sugar, Maple Frosted, Beet’N and Bloody Cake, Black Cherry and Dark Chocolate, and Caramel Apple Fritter.

Bakecation by Glo

I found Gloria because people were raving about her alfajores, a dulce de leche sandwich cookie found in many South American countries. These light cookies melt in your mouth!

Bom Bakeshop

Mochi donuts are in Austin! Teresa and Anthony are two foodies who are making some delicious desserts! I love the chewy texture of the donuts. Every month features a different set of coordinating flavors. They shared their whole story on Eater Austin, and it’s a good read.

Cookie Wookie Kitchen

Erica of Cookie Wookie Kitchen makes aged cookie dough cookies and other specialty treats like milk tea madeleines and Thai tea cake. I love that she offers unique flavors with ingredients you usually see in an Asian kitchen. My top three cookie flavors are pandan coconut, black sesame cookies and cream, and red bean mochi.

Gourmet Cupcakes by Megan

You know I love cupcakes. And Megan is baking some fantastic ones. I tried the signature banana pudding flavor – vanilla cake, vanilla pudding filling, and cookie buttercream icing topped with vanilla wafers and a banana chip. There is a whole menu of filled cupcakes that you’ll love like bourbon pecan pie, tiramisu, chocolate mint, and more.

HhomDee

Chances are, you don’t know Thai desserts. You’ve probably had sticky rice and mango, but Hhomdee will share new dishes and flavors with you. My favorite things I’ve tried are the pandan chiffon cupcakes and the coconut pandan layer cake.

The Interrupted Baker

The fun of Stacy’s menus is you never know what will be on it! I tried a delicious pineapple bun and cookies ‘n cream cookie, but you’ll also find items like macarons, cookie choux, galettes, and tres leches cake.

Kat’s Hand-Baked

Kat makes cakes and includes flavors like pandan, matcha, passionfruit, and mango. One of my favorite things is her mille crepe cakes!

Local Bread Baker

Olga bakes incredible burnt basque cheesecake that is magical. There are a few different flavors including vanilla, chocolate, and dulce de leche.

So many great treats, right?! There is no shortage of options in Austin and I hope you continue to indulge a little bit!

Have you had any special desserts this year?

If you’re looking for more options, here are some posts to check out:

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The New Grocery Store on the Block is Foxtrot Austin

Anita — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 16:11:00 +0000

With the first three locations opened in Austin this year, Foxtrot is giving locals a fun place for a quick grocery trip. Read this post to learn more about this modern convenience store.

About Foxtrot

Remember when I wrote an ode to bodegas? The arrival of Foxtrot in Austin strengthens my love of cool grocery stores. For areas of town where walking to shops is an option, Foxtrot is a great option. Stop in for a quick snack. Grab a coffee drink in the morning or stay to meet up with friends. Foxtrot seems to be a hip place to do all this while also stocking hip brands. Brands like Jeni’s Ice Cream and Katy Perry’s non-alcoholic drink De Soi are on the shelves along with local Austin brands like Steamies Dumplings and Fika Table. Foxtrot also has its own products, from chips and popcorn to its popular gummy candies.

While Foxtrot is Chicago-based, the two co-founders – Mike LaVitola and Taylor Bloom – actually met and came up with the idea in Austin. They wanted to modernize the convenience store and bring up-and-coming products to the people, which reminds me of Pop Up Grocer. One modernization is focusing on pick-up and delivery. They opened their first store in 2014 and are now in seven cities – Chicago, Dallas, Austin, D.C., Arlington, and Alexandria. That’s 29 stores and counting!

Why Foxtrot

The most important reason to go to Foxtrot is to support local brands on the shelves. Some brands haven’t made it to more mainstream grocery stores yet, so buying their products here can help. Sometimes Foxtrot has a “local” sticker by the product or read the packaging to find “Austin.”

Visiting a new grocery store, especially one hyper-focused on curating its vendors, is fun! I love discovering new products, even Austin brands I haven’t heard about, and indulging in a treat. During the summer, cold drinks have been so welcome!

Austin Products to Buy

Here are some of my favorites you can pick up at Foxtrot:

Babka ATX – mini babka loaves
Bakery Cloud Nine – fresh baked goods like cookies and pop tarts
Bawi – sparkling agua fresca
Fika Table – frozen cardamom buns
Kellie’s Baking Co – edible cookie dough
Kinship – milk tea
Kosmic Kombucha – kombucha
Lick Ice Cream – ice cream
Steamies Dumplings – frozen dumplings
Teddy V Cookies – giant cookies

Foxtrot Austin Locations

We currently have three Foxtrot locations in Austin:

Burnet Road: 4818 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78756
Downtown 2nd Street: 306 W 2nd St, Austin, TX 78701
South 1st: S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704

My favorite location is the South 1st store, the most spacious store of the three. It has the biggest drink cooler and slightly more indoor seating. Both the South 1st and Burnet locations have free, easy parking.

Stop by a Foxtrot and let me know what you think! I hope you find a new product you love.

Foxtrot
https://foxtrotco.com/

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Favorite Food Companies at PREP ATX

Anita — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:59:54 +0000

I attended two complimentary tastings at PREP ATX – a media tasting and our Austin Food Blogger Alliance holiday party. All opinions are my own!

Shared commercial kitchen and ghost kitchen spaces are not new, and in fact, there are many in Austin. PREP ATX opened recently and fosters food-centric businesses on the rise. If you’re looking for the next big food company, this is a great place to look!

Keep reading to learn more about PREP ATX and 14 of its member companies.

What is PREP ATX?

Located in Central East Austin, PREP ATX is the largest commercial kitchen facility in Texas! When you visit, you’ll see an open lobby with a show kitchen space and big windows looking into an expansive kitchen. In the back are hallways of private offices and kitchens, each door labeled with the company name. There are also large walk-in fridges and small meeting rooms.

PREP ATX counts a variety of Austin’s food and beverage makers as members, including restaurants, bakers, caterers, and consumer packaged goods companies. In addition to shared and private kitchen space, business owners also have access to amenities to help them run and grow their business.

The facility also functions as a ghost kitchen for restaurants, meaning you can order pick-up from a few of the companies. Instead of a customer-friendly storefront at each individual business, the facility’s entrance serves as the place to pick up your freshly made order.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re an investor or business owner looking for innovative and upcoming businesses, learn about the ones at PREP ATX.
If you’re a food and beverage maker looking for kitchen space, consider what PREP ATX has to offer.
If you love food, try and support these businesses! Follow them on social media and buy their products.

Businesses to Watch at PREP ATX

Ode to the Neighborhood Bodega + Shopping Austin’s Royal Blue Grocery

Anita — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 13:29:00 +0000

For better or worse, I’ve never lived in an urban area. From stories and observations, it involves a “fun” struggle of circling the block to find a parking spot, carrying bags of groceries up flights of stairs, and don’t even say the word “moving.” But aside from the struggles, I fantasize about walking to a workout studio, meeting up with friends at the neighborhood bar down the block, and encountering a variety of interesting people. This hyperlocal living simplifies life since it narrows your habits to the places you can walk to. And if you’re a foodie, bodegas are gold mines for finding something new to try.

As I walked into Royal Blue Grocery on East 6th, I felt like I was walking into Kim’s Convenience, a show I breezed through the past few months. This store has multiple locations in Austin, all set up to be a corner store or bodega. It’s part grocery store, part convenience store, and part coffee shop. It has a little bit of everything, from grocery items like bananas to prepared foods. As I browsed, the cashiers were talking to customers, catching up as if the conversation was a regular thing.

I know this makes me sound like a kid in a candy shop or a rookie who has never been into a convenience store before. As someone who loads up a shopping cart for nearly an hour at HEB, a huge grocery store, every week, the concept of a bodega is a bit foreign to me. Perhaps the experience is a little different than what I imagine in New York City since in Texas, it’s hard to get by without a car. (Remember my experience at Pop Up Grocer?)

But here are my questions for regular bodega shoppers:

How often do you shop at a bodega?
Do bodega shoppers tend to eat out more often, so “full” grocery trips are unnecessary?
Are things more expensive at a bodega?
Do you frequently buy the same things, i.e. are your favorites always in stock?
Do you frequently buy different things just for the fun of it?

As I sit and ponder these questions, I know I’m probably glorifying the experience a little too much, but have you been in a Royal Blue Grocery?

What I Bought at Royal Blue Grocery

What brought me to Royal Blue Grocery was a local chai brand I found on Instagram. Kimbala bottles chai and coffee and offers chai concentrate to make your own beverages. The chai assamica was great straight from the bottle.

I also tried a few new-to-me products: carnitas seasoning from Siete Foods, Parm Crisps, and a mini Nutella Tahini babka by Babka ATX. This is a good example of the mix of local and national brands you can find at Royal Blue Grocery.

The Siete Foods carnitas seasoning was easy and tasty (slow cook your meat and then add the seasoning). The mini-size babka is great as a snack and I loved the flavor.

Do I recommend you do your weekly grocery trip here instead of HEB? Probably not. But if you need something on the go or if you simply need some inspiration, pop into one of the six Royal Blue Grocery locations downtown or one of the convenience stores in your neighborhood. Chances are, there’s a unique one not too far from you.

If you want to learn more about bodegas, check out this NPR article.

What’s your regular grocery store? Have you ever fallen in love with a grocery store while traveling?

You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

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I Tried 5 Non-Alcoholic Hopped Drinks – Here’s My Favorite

Anita — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 23:54:15 +0000

I’ve been enjoying non-alcoholic hopped drinks lately. They have all the hoppy flavor I love yet none of the after-effects. In this post, I’ll share five of the ones you should try.

Non-alcoholic hopped drinks or non-alcoholic beers have been a growing trend in the last few years. With the popularity of sparkling waters, it makes sense the next beverage would be a sparkling water and beer hybrid! These drinks have the refreshing taste of a cold beer yet the alcohol content of sparkling water.

There are several variations of non-alcoholic hopped drinks, including sparkling water, tea, and soda. As you can guess, tea has added caffeine and soda has added sugar. The goal with these drinks is to provide the delicious hoppy flavor without the booze. I love this idea because the effects of alcohol can be an inconvenience. Now, hoppy flavors can be enjoyed anytime.

Where to Find Non-Alcoholic Hopped Drinks

While non-alcoholic hopped drinks are growing in popularity, grocery stores are not sure where to put them. Someone recommended looking in the sparkling water section of the grocery store, but I usually found these drinks in the alcoholic section. Some stores had separate coolers for non-alcoholic beer or a labeled non-alcoholic section, while one mixed it in with the alcoholic beers.

There are many brands out there and many of them are not widely distributed. Be sure to look at a brand’s website for their distribution list or to buy directly from them.

5 Non-Alcoholic Hopped Drinks to Try

As I was tasting these hopped beverages, I was looking for a full but not overwhelming hops flavor and I discovered I have favorites depending on what type of drink I want to enjoy.

If I want a drink that tastes like an IPA (aka heavier hops), I’ll reach for Run Wild IPA.
For some caffeine, I’ll pick a HopTea.
If I’m needing something light and refreshing, Hop Refresher is my go-to.

Here’s more about each of the five drinks I tried.

Run Wild IPA by Athletic Brewing Company

Athletic Brewing Company was my first taste of non-alcoholic beer more than a year ago when I visited Pop Up Grocer in Austin. The brewery, headquartered in Stratford, CT, is a leading non-alcoholic beer company with a few types of beer. In addition to their award-winning Run Wild IPA, they have beers that are similar to a Mexican lager, a stout, a hazy IPA, and a blonde ale.

Run Wild IPA is for the ultimate hops lover. It packs the pucker with a smooth finish. You’ll be amazed at how they get so much hops flavor in.

Free & Easy NA IPA by Karbach Brewing Company

Karbach Brewing Company is headquartered in Houston, and they joined the Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2016. Love Street and Hopadillo are two of their popular beers, and Free & Easy is their non-alcoholic option.

This drink tastes much like an alcoholic IPA. It’s smooth and has citrus flavors. I didn’t love the strong bitterness at the end but it doesn’t linger.

Hop Refresher by Lagunitas Brewing Company

One of the easiest of these hopped beverages to find, Hop Refresher is a popular choice among non-alcoholic beverage choices. Lagunitas Brewing Company was founded in Northern California and became a part of Heineken in 2015.

Hop Refresher is one of my favorites on this list. It’s bubbly with lots of light, citrus notes, and a refreshing, crisp flavor. I think it’s a crowd-pleaser for anyone.

HopTea by Hoplark

For a caffeinated drink with a hop flavor, HopTea is a great option! Brewed in Boulder, Colorado, HopTea varieties are made with white tea, green tea, black tea, or chamomile. Hoplark now also makes hopped sparkling water with its three main flavors featuring one type of hops – sabro, mosaic, and citra.

I’ve tried a few of the tea varieties and I love that you can taste the tea flavor along with the hops. You’ll notice that there are also varying levels of hops for their tea. The Calm One is chamomile with a little bit of hops while on the other end of the spectrum is The Citra Bomb One with white tea and as much hops as they can pack in.

Whitestone HopWater by Whitestone Brewery

Here’s a local Austin option! Whitestone Brewery in Cedar Park brews sparkling water with a light hop flavor. This is a great alternative for people who love sparkling water. Whitestone HopWater can also be used as a mixer.

This sparkling water is a good way to hop into trying hopped drinks. It’s light and refreshing with a hint of hops.

Have you ever tried a non-alcoholic hopped drink? What’s your favorite?

P.S. Prefer alcoholic drinks? See my Austin brewery guide here.

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Dining and What I Bought at Los Olivos Market

Anita — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 00:17:02 +0000

On our recent Texas Hill Country weekend getaway, we stopped at Los Olivos Market in Buda for lunch. The owner Rebecca invited me to stop by and it turned out to be our favorite part of the trip! (Disclosure: Los Olivos Market graciously provided complimentary food for our lunch.)

Keep reading to see what we ate and what I bought!

Los Olivos Market

The history of the Los Olivos name starts with Rebecca’s grandfather. A family gift of two olive trees inspired the name of the family ranch and later, the business. The market’s first location in Wimberley opened in 2018 and now they’ve opened a new location in Buda in the very cute Buda Mill & Grain Co complex where Sweet Cakes 4 U is also located.

Los Olivos Market hopes to connect visitors with unique and quality Texas ingredients in their food and products on their shelves. It’s a great shop if you’re looking for a gift for a foodie!

While both have dine-in menus, the Los Olivos Market Buda location has expanded dining space and an expanded menu.

Dining at Los Olivos Market

The menu at Los Olivos Market is what will draw you in! The menu was created by Los Olivos’ Director of Operations John and Chef Jose, both of whom used to be part of the culinary team where I work. They’ve done a great job infusing a variety of Texas flavors, traditional and modern.

I started with a Strawberry Passionfruit Wine-a-Rita, a wine slushie, and it was delicious! They also do a wine-a-rita flight if you want to try four of their rotating flavors.

Ok, now the food! Be warned – the portions are big! We over-ordered with three shareables, two sides, and one entree. The menu looked so good though. To be able to try more items, I would forego an entree and share a bunch of dishes. Here’s more about each dish.

Pimento Cheese Hurache – The fried masa is a perfect accompaniment with the pimento cheese. Pimento cheese fans, you’ll love this!

Chicken Karaage – This is one of the most popular dishes and it’s easy to see why. The crispy chicken bites with a sweet chili sauce are a hit!

Barbacoa Doughnuts – This magical creation has amazing sweet corn-jalapeño doughnuts that are topped with barbacoa, chipotle glaze, and cotija. If you love spicy food, you will love this one.

Caesar “Street Corn” – As a fan of Caesar, I loved the flavors of this dish.

Truffle Mac & Cheese with Jamon and Kale – This one was my favorite dish because it was rich and cheesy. Since it has kale, this dish is healthy, right?

Grilled Red Fish Throats – We’re a sucker for fish throats/collars. The meat is tender, thick, and plentiful! These are topped with cilantro glaze. It’s in the family-style entree, so it’s a big dish with six throats.

Looks delicious, right?! I would order any of these dishes again, but next time, I want to save room for the short rib/brisket burger and desserts.

What I Bought at Lost Olivos Market

The Buda market is beautiful! Los Olivos Market thoughtfully curates the list of products they sell and the shelves are full of marinades, jams, oils, salsas, and more.

You have to browse the wine section too! You’ll recognize Texas wines and with over 200 wines on the wall, there’s something that will be perfect for date night or a dinner party.

Los Olivos Market also has a wide variety of products under its brand name. Those are the ones I focused on and I bought three different treats: japaleño stuffed olives, apricot orange pecan honey butter, and strawberry fig preserves.

I also recommend getting a bottle of Special Leaf Tea in their drink fridge. This tea made from olive leaves is from San Antonio and is not widely distributed yet. We got the Pomberry (pomegranate and blueberry) flavor for lunch and we liked it so much, we had to get the original “Keep It Simple” flavor to try.

Details for Your Visit

Thank you for a wonderful experience, Los Olivos Market!

Ambiance: Comfortable, bright
Attire: Casual
Noise Level: Average
Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Only at Wimberley location
Parking: Free parking lot
Dining Options: dine-in, to-go available at Buda

Los Olivos Market
Buda: 306 S Main St Suite 104, Buda, TX 78610
Wimberley: 13904 Ranch Rd 12, Wimberley, TX 78676
https://losolivosmarkets.com/

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Anita Goes to Sweet Cakes 4 U

Anita — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 20:04:00 +0000

I needed to get out of the house. I had just finished my 14th week working from home. Other than daily walks with Kaira, trips to the grocery store, outings to pick up restaurant take-out, and weekly bike rides, I had barely left the house and the days were blending together.

But it wasn’t only about getting out of the house. It was about escaping. It was about going somewhere I hadn’t been to before. And I was doing it for cake. Call it getting out of the house if you want to but it was really my “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” journey.

My friend Janna has been raving about this cake shop for months, maybe even longer. With my affinity for cake, you would think it would be a top priority to try this cake, one that has seemingly formed a loyal and passionate following. Sweet Cakes 4 U is in Buda, 16 miles from Downtown Austin, and since I live in North Austin, it is 28 miles or 36 minutes one way. Yes, that would be a 72-minute trip for cake. I hadn’t made it there yet.

With a Friday off and a craving for cake, I jumped at the opportunity to make the journey. Janna warned me that the shop sells out quickly and sure enough when I arrived before it opened, there were already seven people in line. It was 11 a.m. on a Friday. Granted, they don’t take pre-orders and are only open Thursday through Sunday, but when the main thing you sell is dessert, you’ve got to have some very passionate or curious customers. Needless to say, I was intrigued as I got in line.

Sweet Cakes 4 U, located in the cute bright shops in Downtown Buda, is known for its big slices of cake with three layers of cake and frosting each. They have more than a dozen flavors on their menu that changes every week. If you’re early in line and planning to get a cake for a crowd, you can also snag a whole cake that feeds 6-8 people for $50. Along with the cake slices, the menu features cupcakes, mini cheesecakes, cake balls, brownies, and cookies. Gratefully, they have a mask requirement and a to-go window that allows for quick, one-by-one service without stepping inside the shop.

Because of the bakery’s distance from my house, I made the most of the trip by getting six slices of cake and a cupcake. That might have sounded really casual, so I’ll say it again with more emphasis.

SIX SLICES OF CAKE.

I got slices of triple chocolate, chocolate salted caramel, strawberries and cream, tres leches, carrot, and chocolate with strawberry. Y’all. Each slice probably weighed about an lb. I got a funfetti cupcake for good measure since I have a thing for cupcakes and all.

The process was quick and easy and before long, I was back in my car, carefully tucking all the slices into the cooler I brought because obviously I had to maintain the quality during the long ride home. All except that cupcake. That was devoured immediately as I started to drive away.

On the long drive home, I thought about the significance of having the day off. You see, it was Juneteenth, and our company decided earlier that week to make it a paid holiday. On June 19th, 1865, TWO YEARS after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to bring the news that slaves were now free. I wanted to honor the significance from a distance. Honestly, I wanted to escape. The weeks following more murders of black people and protests throughout the U.S. had proved to begin a painful and emotional movement to confront and break racism in the U.S., a movement that seemed serious about delivering real results. It rightfully dismantled whatever security we, the non-black population, felt in our lives and the ways we ignored racism to keep the peace.

At the same time, what a strange time in the midst of a pandemic that has shattered our views and plans for the future. It’s hard to put into words what this time in life is like. It is frustrating yet simple. It is boring yet full. It is uncomfortable and emotional. It is easy yet lacking. We can see it as an opportunity to slow life down but it has also created grief. Hundreds of my colleagues and thousands in the travel industry are without work. There are negative consequences when you consider the development and safety of children without regular school, the widening gap of poverty, and the overall morale and mental health, just to name a few issues. It’s a lot.

And there, that’s really why I needed this seemingly simple and frivolous journey. I brought home six huge slices of cake, full of hope that they were delicious and they would pick me up and bring me joy. The time spent on this journey gave me the chance to take a break and reflect. It gave me the opportunity to drive from one end of Austin to the other, sending loving thoughts to my friends, colleagues, and the people of Austin along the way.

One by one, I tried a few slices each day and finished them all in a week. (Don’t worry, Will helped.) Strawberries and cream was hands down my favorite flavor. I admit, six slices of cake were ambitious and kind of ridiculous because it really was a lot of cake. It made me chuckle the whole time – loading the slices into my car to seeing the slices in my fridge every time I opened it – about how dedicated to sugar rushes I am.

All I needed was cake (and the hope of dismantling systematic racism and moving forward to the post-COVID life). In all the frustrating and chaotic times of this year, there are a few things I can count on. The first experience at a new bakery, the adventure of trying something new, and the sweetness of delicious cake.

Sweet Cakes 4 U
302 S Main St Suite 101, Buda, Texas 78610
Thursday – Sunday 11 am – 5 pm
No website but they update their Facebook page daily

P.S. Want more adventures? How about making my 100th dive, sleeping in a teepee, or my most relaxing vacation.

You can follow my adventures on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

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What I Bought at Pop Up Grocer in Austin

Anita — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 20:05:00 +0000

Pop Up Grocer is a temporary grocery store in Austin and I visited to see what it’s all about. Read on for all the details.

I don’t love grocery shopping but I do like grocery browsing. There are innumerable products out there. If you want to learn about a new city or country, visit a grocery store when you travel. What do people like to eat? What flavors are traditional? If you want to try something new and add a little adventure into your day, visit a grocery store you’ve never been to before. You’re bound to discover something new.

I’ve been planning this blog series about grocery store snacks for a while because there is a wealth of places in Austin to explore. This series will take me to grocery stores around Austin, some I’ve never been to, and introduce me to new-to-me snacks and things I’ll find there.

I am excited to start the series with something unique and a little unexpected. Pop Up Grocer is here for a short time, but what they offer clearly illustrates why I was excited about this series!

What is Pop Up Grocer?

Pop Up Grocer, a traveling pop-up grocery store, set up shop in Austin for the month of June. It’s known for presenting more than 100 innovative brands. The store, which has popped up in New York City and Los Angeles, is divided into sections by the product category, such as chips, beverages, and pantry.

What I love about Pop Up Grocer is founder Emily Schildt‘s same enthusiasm for grocery browsing. First, the store is thoughtfully designed and minimalistic. From its confetti-covered exterior to its shopping baskets, the store follows the same color scheme. The cohesive branding and orderly display help the products pop.

But, you’re not primarily here to admire the visual merchandising. The products speak for themselves. Looking at the shelves in the store, you can’t help but be enticed by the beautifully-designed packages. It’s a curated experience with shelves of brands that make you stop and consider them. It’s one of the reasons why shopping here was difficult! Should I get one of everything? Also, many of the brands feature alternative ingredients or a more transparent product that tries to be healthier.

The cherry on top is that five percent of Pop Up Grocer in-store profits go to charity and Austin’s profits will be donated to All Together ATX.

Now let’s get to the fun stuff!

What I Bought at Pop Up Grocer

I tried not to touch packages more than I needed to, so I picked most of the things by the package design and reading the front of the package. It was incredibly hard not to get one of everything and I could have spent a long time looking at each brand! But for the sake of my time and budget, I limited myself. Here’s what I bought and what I thought about them.

Athletic Brewing Company

This non-alcoholic beer kind of blew my mind. Imagine all the delicious tastes of beer but none of the effects. It contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. Sometimes you want the refreshing taste of beer but you’ve got things to do. The creators wanted to make a beer for people who also wanted a healthier, active lifestyle. Brilliant! The Run Wild IPA flavor was spot on! One day I want to try their Free Way Double Hop IPA.

Aura Bora

You’ll love the creative flavors of this herbal sparkling water brand. Their lineup includes Lavender Cucumber, Cactus Rose, Peppermint Watermelon, Basil Berry, and Lemongrass Coconut. I picked Cactus Rose and it was full of flavor. Plus their cans are so cute and colorful!

Cleveland Kitchen

Some say the culinary future is in fermented foods. Well, Cleveland Kitchen has you covered. They carry sauerkrauts and dressings. I picked up the Beet Red Kraut, which has red cabbage, beets, and carrots. We added it to salads and they’ve got this hummus recipe I want to try on their website.

Kibo

These chickpea chips are packed with flavor! I got the Mediterranean Herbs flavor and it was an explosion of flavor in every bite. They also have Himalayan Salt and Pico de Gallo flavors.

Pan’s Mushroom Jerky

As it describes in the name, this jerky is made of mushrooms! I love mushrooms, so I was excited to try this. For those who are wary, I had two people try this without telling them the ingredient and they couldn’t say it was mushroom. The flavor and texture are exactly what I expect from jerky and the salt and pepper flavor I got was delicious!

Poppi

Poppi is a prebiotic soda. For anyone who is trying to drink less popular soda, this is a good alternative for you. The soda is marketed as helping gut health and the sodas have better-for-you ingredients like fruit juice. They also have four to five grams of sugar each. The key ingredient in these sodas is apple cider vinegar. I tried the Lime Ginger flavor and it tasted exactly like Sprite.

Raaka Chocolate

The main reason I wanted to visit Pop Up Grocer was for some Raaka Chocolate. I’ve been passionately curious about bean-to-bar chocolate for a few years now and found out Pop Up Grocer carried this Brooklyn chocolate maker. All their chocolate is vegan and free of gluten, soy, and dairy. They’ve got some interesting flavors too. The one with strawberry and coconut is my current favorite.

RIND Snacks

Dried fruit is one of my favorite snacks, so I picked out RIND Snacks. As their name suggests, their snacks include the rind because they want to prevent unnecessary waste and it’s good for you. I tried the Straw-Peary Blend with apples, pears, and strawberries. Yum! They also have blends with not-so-common dried fruits like kiwis and persimmons. Did I mention all fruit is grown and dried in the U.S.?

Wildway

When you’re on the go, these Wildway snack packs are a good boost. They’ve got dried fruits, nuts, and herbs. I got the Pineapple Mojito with dried pineapples, walnuts, dates, cashews, dried mint, dried lime, sea salt, and vanilla bean. It really did remind me of a mojito. Wildway also produces grain-free granola and instant hot oatmeal.

This was a very small sample of the many brands at Pop Up Grocer. You can see all of them here. While Pop Up Grocer is a great way to discover new brands, it’s not the only way you can buy them. Check out a brand’s website to find out how.

Austin Brands to Check Out

We’re pretty lucky in Austin because several of the brands at Pop Up Grocer were born and are more easily accessed here. Knowing this, I didn’t purchase any of the Austin brands, but here’s a list of them if you’re curious.

Afia – Frozen Mediterranean foods like falafel and kibbeh
Bearded Brothers – Organic energy bars
Big Swig – Sparkling water; I love the Ruby Red Grapefruit and Prickly Pear Cucumber flavors
CLEAN Cause – Sparkling Yerba Mate beverages
FitJoy – Grain-free pretzels and protein bars; The cookies and cream protein bars are delicious
GoodPop – Frozen pops with organic and locally sourced ingredients; I love the Cherry Lemonade and Strawberry flavors. Remember my GoodPops popsicle party?
Heart Water – Artisan alkaline rainwater
Siete – Grain-free Mexican-American food like chips and tortillas; I love the Sea Salt chips! Remember my Summer Fiesta?
Vital Proteins – Collagen Bars
Yellowbird Foods – Spicy condiments

Pop Up Grocer Austin Logistics

If you want to visit Pop Up Grocer, it’s here for a few more days. Here’s what you need to know:

Open at 408 W 2nd, Austin, TX 78701 (next to La Condesa) from June 5-28, 2020
No more than four guests allowed in the store at once
You can reserve a private shopping time on their website

Have you tried any of these brands before? What did you think?

Follow the food adventures! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

The post What I Bought at Pop Up Grocer in Austin appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

5 Work-From-Home Lunch Ideas

Anita — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 16:22:00 +0000

In the office, I had been pretty lucky (possibly spoiled) to have access to a work cafeteria. Sure, sometimes the options were limited and questionable (hmm…Salsbury steak), but there was always a fresh salad bar and on occasion, there would be happy surprises like burgers or bread pudding. The best thing was never having to prep or cook my lunch!

Now that I’ve been working from home, I have to give more thought to what I eat for lunch. I’ve found that variety is important! Since I haven’t been leaving the house much, it’s nice to have a good meal, even though it’s steps away from my desk. Eating lunch has become a necessary and refreshing break to bring variety to my day.

I’ve been trying out a bunch of different eats. Here are some of the things I’ve been eating at home for lunch. Maybe it’ll spark some new work from home lunch ideas for you.

Leftovers

The easiest lunch option is leftovers from dinner. A few of my favorites have been spaghetti or our favorite chicken, orzo, artichoke, and olives dish (from the Half-Baked Harvest cookbook I’m cooking through). But, Will typically takes his lunch to work, so there’s usually not enough leftovers unless it was a really big dinner. From this post of what we ate in a month, you can see we don’t usually eat leftovers a lot.

Snack Lunch

Eating a few different snacks can fill me up. This happens when I’m not super hungry, when I don’t have the time or ingredients to make something substantial, or I’m simply being really lazy. Real-life here!

Some of these snack lunches have included adult Lunchables (buttery crackers with slices of cheddar and summer sausage), guacamole/salsa and tortilla chips, cereal, bananas, chips (dill pickle reigns supreme in our house), clementines, and carrots with hummus.

Quick Preparation Eats

When it comes to making lunch, I prefer something that’s easy and can be made in 15 minutes or less. This category includes almond butter and honey sandwiches, fried rice, frozen dumplings, eggs on toast, and stir-fried veggies.

For the first time in a very long time, I put instant ramen and Spam on our grocery list, mostly for nostalgia and it’s also easy to prepare. I put Spam in my fried rice and ramen. In my cookbook challenge cookbook, there’s a 15-minute recipe for garlic butter ramen that was delicious! It involves cooking garlic in butter, mixing in the cooked ramen, and topping it all with a fried egg. The ramen and Spam were not as great as I remembered, hence a can still waiting in the pantry, but they were an easy-to-prepare meal.

Your grocery frozen food aisle is stocked with quick preparation options for lunch. I’ve been trying Cocina54 empanadas and Steamies Dumplings. Both come frozen and are local Austin companies. For the empanadas, I got a combo pack with four flavors: beef, spicy beef, spinach and cheese, and chicken and veggie. You may remember Steamies from my visits to the farmers market. They now sell frozen dumplings from their brick-and-mortar. I love their chicken and shittake dumplings, wontons, and soup dumplings. I also got packs of Wundernuggets, another Austin company to try.

Prepared Meals

There are a lot of options with this one. I know people who meal prep all their lunches for a few hours on Sundays. Kudos to you! Right now, many catering companies, like Vanilla Orchid, and restaurants, like Brentwood Social House and Suerte, have pivoted to providing prepared meals for you to simply warm up at home.

I partnered up with local Austin company Prep To Your Door to try out their meals. They share some of my similar values: organic ingredients sourced from local farms and zero waste with reusable packaging. Plus, with a new menu every week, it’s hard to get bored with lunch, AND the meals are delicious! I don’t usually eat gluten-, meat-, and dairy-free, but the meals are spot-on in flavors, hearty, and creative.

This has been my lunch go-to for the last few weeks, and I’m excited to share because they’ve been a welcome change for tasty and easy meals. Here are some of my favorite meals so far:

Oats – PB&J, Maple Pecan and Peach, and Cacao with Hazelnut Butter
Cobb Salad with Vegan Ranch
Lemon Orzo Soup
Siete Enchiladas
White Bean Kale Soup
Gardener’s Pie
Buddha Bowl
Thai Green Curry
Potato Leek Soup

If you want to try Prep To Your Door, you can use the code “WANDERLUSTANITA20” for $20 off your order. If you try it, let me know your favorite dishes. Thank you, Prep To Your Door, for keeping my lunches fresh, delicious, and fun!

Take-Out

If you can’t tell, I don’t leave my desk a lot. It’s a bad habit of mine in the office and working from home. But I’ve learned it is nice to get out of the house and see other human beings. I also take it as an opportunity to support my local restaurant industry. Here are some of the places I’ve gotten take-out from:

You can see more in my monthly Flavors posts. If you’re looking for more takeout options in Austin, check out this Eater Austin list, this take-out website promoting restaurants without an online presence, and this post from my food blogger friends.

What Are You Eating for Lunch?

I know eating at home has made my diet healthier the past couple of months, despite the plethora of baked goods I’ve been making. The meals I’ve been trying have given me some food for thought for future ideas.

Have you changed up your lunch routine because you’re staying at home? Do you have more or fewer options? Do you have any favorite lunch recipes?

You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

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Best Things to Eat and Drink in Thailand

Anita — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 15:55:20 +0000

Traveling to Thailand? Here are some of the best things you’ll eat and drink there.

Whenever I told people I was heading to Thailand, they more than likely commented about the great food I’d enjoy. Of course, the food was one of the reasons why we went to Thailand. The variety of flavors and the authenticity were what I most looked forward to on our trip. The food we tried did not disappoint! Read on to see what dishes we tried and what you should expect when you visit.

A couple of notes:
-None of the food was overwhelming in spice, which says a lot since my palate can’t handle very spicy food. Even when we would tell the waiter “spicy,” it was still very manageable. We think that most places gave us a tourist level of spice because Thai spice is notoriously intense and we rarely felt the heat. Some restaurants do include spices on the table if you want to make it spicier yourself.
-Most of the restaurants we went to had menus with English translations and photos so we never had an issue ordering.
-Reflecting on what we ate on our trip, I wish we had more time and stomach space to try more! I missed trying one of my favorite Thai dishes – Khao Soi – in Chiang Mai (the origin) and had trouble finding it elsewhere.

Breakfast
When I asked one of our tour guides what Thai people ate for breakfast, he chuckled and explained that they usually make one big batch of food in the morning and eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With the rise of tourism and Western influences, breakfast menus may feature familiar dishes like pancakes and scrambled eggs. They also serve boiled rice soup, which is similar to congee of Chinese culture. Many of our breakfasts were included in our hotel stays, and all except one had buffets. We saw everything from croissants and fresh fruit to fried rice and omelets. We also saw a lot of chicken sausages (hot dogs) for breakfast.

Lunch/Dinner

Pad Thai
While this is probably the most familiar Thai dish for Americans, it is with good reason because it is plentiful in Thailand. We went to one of the oldest and most well-known restaurants for pad thai in Bangkok and the pad thai was incredible! One version was traditional with dried prawns and the other version was baked inside an egg crepe like an omelet. As I learned, traditional pad thai always comes with prawns, not chicken or beef.

Fried Rice
Fried rice is always a safe Asian dish. It’s also hearty and delish. I grew up on fried rice. We saw a lot of pineapple fried rice in Thailand.

Tom Kha Gai – Thai Chicken Coconut Soup
Tom Kha Gai was a dream in Thailand and a perfect representation of the flavors in Thai food. Spicy and sour, this hot soup tingled our senses and always seemed to have the perfect amount of each flavor profile.

Kuay Teow Kua Gai – Fried Noodle with Runny Egg
This local Bangkok dish is hands down one of the best things I ate in Thailand and probably in my life. It’s known as a Thai carbonara. Wide rice noodles are fried in pork fat with marinated boneless chicken. Then a runny egg is placed on top. After topping it with chili flakes and pickled chilies, everything is mixed together. The noodles are crispy, the dish is smoky with a reminisce of the strong wok power, and the runny egg pulls it all together. AMAZING.

Stir-Fried Chicken with Basil / Chicken Satay
This is another “safe” and easy dish to order in Thailand. It usually comes with white rice. I had it on several occasions and it was always satisfying.

Bugs and Frogs
We had a feeling we would encounter edible bugs in Thailand. It happened on our food tour at a street vendor stand and the bugs/frogs were so well fried that they only tasted like a fried thing. The “only” thing we needed to get over was the shape of the thing. I tried frog, cricket, and ant eggs. Boyfriend also tried mealworm, which was the only thing that wasn’t fried all the way and in fact gooey in the middle. And that’s all I need to say about that. It was mostly a bucket list thing!

Traditional Khantoke Dinner
We went to a dinner and a show event where they served traditional Lanna (Northern Thailand) food. The meal was on a traditional tray and the dishes included cabbage, fried chicken, fried pork skin, braised pork, fried onions, and fresh vegetables.

Grilled Prawns
They love their prawns in Thailand. We had them on many occasion, with noodles or rice and on their own.

Spicy Fried Fish
I believe this dish was served tourist-friendly. I was expecting a whole fried fish but it came out as fried fish nuggets. It still tasted incredible and was the perfect amount of spice for me.

Massaman Curry
The massaman curry won me over! This complicated curry has a number of spices, peanuts, coconut milk, and chunks of potato.

Panang Curry
Close behind the massaman curry is the yummy panang curry!

Rotisserie Chicken with Spicy Dipping Sauce
This was a simple yet tasty meal. The chicken was served with rice and spicy sauce.

Som Tum – Green Papaya Salad
Hello, spicy! This was one of the most consistently spicy dishes we ate in Thailand. It’s made with shredded, unripe papaya, dried shrimp, and lots of chili peppers!

Tom Yum Soup
This spicy soup was one of my favorites. It’s made with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, fresh Thai chilies, and fresh lime juice.

Dessert/Sweets

Sticky Rice with Mango
The most well-known Thai dessert was plentiful and for that I was pleased! The fresh mangoes were heavenly. This dessert is made with sticky rice, coconut milk and fresh mangoes. Sometimes the rice is dyed with natural dye from food to make it colorful.

Coconut Rice Dumplings
These coconut and rice flour bites are best eaten piping hot! They are slightly gooey inside with corn.

Crepes
We saw many crepes in Thailand, whether made by street vendors or in restaurants. We tried one that we saw a lot – with Nutella and bananas!

Kanom Sai Sai – Coconut Cream in Banana Leaves
Move over sticky rice with mango! I hadn’t tried this dessert until in Thailand and one bite made me obsessed! It is rice flour in the consistency of gelatin with shredded coconut in the middle. Some people noted that they didn’t like the texture but I was in love with the sweetness!

Sweets at the Mall
We visited two malls in Bangkok and was amazed by the number of food options they had! Desserts galore! The dessert seemed more international with a Thai flair, like a Thai tea cupcake. These were some of the sweets I ogled.

Kanom Buang – Thai Taco Dessert
This classic Thai dessert has a thin, crispy outside and is filled with shredded coconut and egg yolk. You can usually find them for very cheap at street vendors.

Drinks

Smoothies/Juices
Since the heat can be intense in Thailand, fresh fruit smoothies and juices are a good option. We had mango and watermelon.

Green Tea Thai Tea
The green tea is legit in Thailand and the flavor is very strong! I enjoyed this refreshing green tea Thai tea.

Fresh Coconut Juice
Straight from the source!

Beer
The most distributed beers you’ll find are Singha, Chang, and LEO. These are your typical, easy-to-drink beers. I had Chang and LEO and couldn’t tell the difference between them.

Craft Beer
With some searching and luck, we also found craft beers in Thailand! Full Moon Brewworks (out of Phuket) and Chiang Mai Brewing Company distribute in their respective cities. We tried the Cha Tri IPA from Full Moon Brewworks (a collaboration with Australia’s Stockade Brew Co) and Red Truck IPA and Chiang Mai Weizen from Chiang Mai Brewing Company. These were a welcome change from the usual Thai beers! Full Moon Brewworks also has the Chalawan Pale Ale.

We also splurged on dinner at Nahm, one of the world’s 50 best restaurants. See the full experience here.

As you can imagine, this is a small taste of the plethora of dishes you can enjoy in Thailand! I’ve been missing Thai food off and on since returning from our trip. Thankfully, there are lots of options of Thai food in Austin!

Do you like Thai food? What is your favorite dish?

See all my Thailand posts here.

Keep up with me elsewhere! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, or Snapchat (@wanderlustanita). You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

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