A Couple of Lunches

Hey, how was your weekend? We were out and about most of the time, so I did not do any cooking. But we had a couple of good restaurant meals. On Saturday we ate lunch at Shady Grove. There was a long wait for a table in the huge outdoor seating area. Jackson amused himself by climbing on some wagon wheels.

Olivia was glad to finally be seated and get a cold drink. Yes, she really did drink from that giant red cup that's almost as big as she is. She loves drinking with a straw.

Tony and I were ready for a cold drink, too. We had a pitcher of Arnold Palmers (half lemonade, half iced tea) spiked with vodka. Not very much vodka, sad to say. But it was probably for the best since it was only 1:00 and I had other things I wanted to get done that day, ha.

I loved this giant tree hanging its branches over us and keeping us from baking in the sun.

I ordered a salad with gingery Thai dressing and half a Hippie Sandwich, which came with thin slices of eggplant, zucchini, red pepper and mushrooms (hold the mozzarella.) It was tasty, if not super filling. The menu said that this sandwich was "award-winning" and I thought it would be a little more substantial.

All in all, a so-so lunch experience. But there were other items on the menu that looked interesting, so we will probably go back sometime and try it again. I love eating outdoors, so the atmosphere was really appealing to me.

On Sunday we grabbed lunch at Elevation Burger. Tony goes there for lunch occasionally, since it's near his office, and he told me I would probably like it. He was not wrong.

The vegan burger was one of the best I've had. It was made from rice, corn, red pepper and other veggies, and it was delicious. It had a light, delicate texture and seemed handmade, not just a reheated Boca burger. The fries were awesome, too. Thin and crispy the way I like them. But the most amazing thing was their pop machine.

Seriously! I've never seen one like it.

There is a touch screen full of drink choices. From a main menu, you pick the kind of pop you want. For example, Diet Coke. And then it gives you all these options to add flavors. My choices were cherry,  orange, vanilla, strawberry, lime, and cherry vanilla. Fun!

Hope you have a good week! My parents are visiting later in the week and they will be staying with us for awhile, so I'm going to be getting the house ready for that. They love to eat out whenever they come to Austin, so I'm sure I will have a lot more restaurant reviews to post soon!