A Barbeque Trailer in the Middle of Nowhere, otherwise known as Roan's Prairie

You know the saying.  The further away from civilization, the better the barbeque.  I was driving back to Austin from Huntsville, TX when this little gem was spotted.  It was a trailer at a four way stop in Roan's Prairie, TX.  The last documented statistic I could find from the year 2000 stated that the population of Roan's Prairie was 56.  Given the small population and trailer set up, I had to try them.  Here it is.  The trailer in all its glory.  I was asked what I did for a living as I wasn't one of the regulars that drove by this stop.  I told him, and they were surprised.  Yes, really, I'm an adjunct professor.  They claimed that I looked like I was 18 years old.  There was no way, according to the trailer-keeper, that I was old enough to teach.  I'm plenty old!  The menu is pretty inexpensive.  I was about to get a three meat plate, chopped bbq sandwich, and a dessert for less than $20.  This trailer is not fancy. Mmmmm.......... the delicious smoked meat.  It is true.  The smaller the town, the tastier the bbq.  This homemade pecan pie was also wonderfully simple and easy.  Sometimes desserts just don't need muss and fuss.  If you're ever driving through Roan's Prairie, stop on by and grab some meat.

Naan and Pie: Two new fabulous food finds.

I don't typically post about products, but here's two very different products that are absolutely amazing.  Naan and Pie.  They have nothing to do with each other besides the fact that I recently discovered  them.  For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to make a mutton bryiani.  I went to Madina Market to pick up some mutton (goat), and I wandered around the store to find some naan to serve with the bryiani.  I asked the store manager (he's the one behind the cash registered every time I visit) which brand was his favorite, and he immediately pointed to a bin right in front of the checkout counter.  The brand is Sher-e-Punjab made in Canada.  I don't believe there is a website for the company.  Upon his advice, I purchased two packages of the naan, zaatar green, a samosa, and a chicken roti.  The samosas there are only $1, and while they aren't my very favorite, they suffice.  The chicken roti rolls ($2) are absolutely amazing.  Roasted chicken is rolled in roti bread along with mint chutney and silvered onions.  Best lunch you will get for $2.

I served the naan along with zaatar green and olive oil on Thanksgiving Day, and it was a hit.  The naan can be microwaved or toasted. and either way, it is the best naan I have ever had.  I hate to say it, but this premade naan is better than even homemade.  Below was a photograph of the naan and bowl of zaatar green. I only like the WHOLE WHEAT naan from this brand.  I tried the garlic and the original, and they were just meh. 

The inside of the naan is light and fluffy.  The outside is perfectly toasted and golden brown.  Words cannot do justice the texture of the naan.  It is fantastic, and pre-made nonetheless.  I currently have three bags of naan in my freezer now.  To serve, I pop it into my toaster over for one dark toast cycle.  Serve with hummus, olive oil, or zattar green.  I get mine at Madina Market at Rundberg and Lamar in North Austin.  It may be available at other markets as well.  If you buy some, pick up a few for me.  Also, have a samosa or chicken roll up.

This chocolate is the second delicious item that has really impressed me.  It isn't something that you can buy off the shelf like naan; it is the chocolate pie from Monument Cafe.  I recently received one of these pies courtesy of Monument Cafe.  I put it into the fridge without really giving it much though.  Later that night, my sister came over for dinner so we broke out the pie.  This is no ordinary pie. The chocolate filling is thicker than a chocolate mousse, and not too sweet.  The crust is literally candied walnuts.  We had this pie with 512 Brewing Pecan Porter, and it is amazing.  At the next dessert and beer pairing, I will serve this pie with Pecan Porter.

These $20 pies at Monument Cafe are a cheap ticket to heaven. 48 hours advanced notice for the pies (because I will eat them all).  Thank you to Monument Cafe for the delicious treat.

Where's your face @WalnutCafe? #bbc10

Saturday morning, @hopsafari/@windaddict and I took a little stroll down to Walnut Cafe.  He read on Yelp that they had a blueberry cornbead, and that was enough to get us moving.  Needless to say, there were many other interesting aspects of Walnut Cafe.  One of the first things that I noticed were all the photos of faces.  There were faces everywhere. 

On the walls, on the menus, on their car out back were photos of customers. All of their materials were printed with photos of their customers.  I absolutely love, love, love this community building strategy.  There's no website for people to sign up and to post there comments.  This was a community of loyal customers. 

Check out all those smiling faces.  I happened to meet the owners of Walnut Cafe.  They have a photo day in which customers can come in to get their photo taken.  You joined the community "board" by showing up and getting your photo taken.  The photos are later used on the menu and other advertising.  Apparently, customers really want to be on the menu, and they are annoyed when their photo doesn't make it.  That is a pretty awesome situation for a restaurant.  When you have people who want to be the face of your brand, you're doing a pretty damn good job. 

Oh, and @hopsafari had a Walnut Latte.  Yum. 

The quiche was pretty fantastic.  Tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and cheese melted together into a hearty and tasty breakfast.  The breakfast potatoes were wonderfully seasoned and spicy. 

@Hopsafari had the eggs marcos (eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese) with breakfast potatoes and blueberry cornbread.  I loved the eggs marcos.  It reminded me of putting cream cheese on eggs when I was in undergrad.  The cornbread was also wonderfully tasty.  It was solid in structure, simple in flavor, and comforting. 

Really appreciating your customer.  This one comes to Walnut Cafe every single day.  He gets to be the face of their restaurant. 

Another shot of the customer heavy menu.  I want to be on the menu. 

Not only are the customers on the menus, they are the vehicles.  I'm starting to feel that this restaurant isn't for the food (however, tasty), but really for the community. 

And the pies are award winning.  I love this concept. 

More happy customers on the car. 

In addition to the two Walnut Cafe locations, they also have a brand new food truck. 

Here I am, in the Walnut Cafe truck. 

In addition to having an awesome customer community, the food truck community in Boulder is unique.  All the food trucks have a name and identity separate from the food.  Walnut Creek truck's name is Dinah.  The StrEat's truck name is Tina.  Hear that, Austin?  Name your food trucks.  They need to have an identity, and their own community.  I love to anthorphomize objects, and giving a food truck a name and identity is perfect. 

Another shot of the brand spanking new truck. 

Are you a Village Virgin? Old Fashioned Word of Mouth and Old Fashioned Food. #bbc10

If the brunch spots @HopSafari (also @windaddict) and I visited are any indication of the food community in Boulder, this place is hopping.  Village Coffee was an awesome experience for us, but more than that, the word of mouth strategy was new, fun, and refreshing.  I checked into Village Coffee on Gowalla, and I saw a little tag that said to make sure to tell the staff that it is our first visit.  So I did.  First time Village Coffee visitors are called Village Virgins.  The restaurant calls out the Virgins, literally.  The staff yells "EXCUSE ME, EVERYONE! WE HAVE A VILLAGE VIRGIN!"  Everyone in the restaurant cheers, and then resumes their meal.  The virgins aren't scoffed at or picked on.  They are applauded with a warm welcome.  What a better way to welcome newbies? Whoever brought the Village Virgins gets a stamp on their Village V-card.  Bring in three virgins and you get a free half order of French toast.  After six virgins, you get a free pancake.  After eight virgins, you get any free breakfast.  After ten virgins, you get a free shirt.  This is a genius plan.  This isn't just rewarding customers who visit frequently, but it rewards customers who bring in new customers.  This is word of mouth, offline, and I absolutely love it.  I'll also note that there is a sign up at Village Coffee with a sign saying that they had a Facebook.  The sign also says that they are crawling into the 21st century.  That just goes to show that you don't need a fancy social media strategy to use word of mouth.  I love the unpretentiousness and simple, down to Earth atmosphere. One of the staff at Village Coffee snaps a photo for us.  The chicken fried steak, eggs, and hash browns.   The egg burrito with green chile pork stew.  Delicious!