Elizabeth Street Cafe

Although my Mother's Day was low-key, the rest of the weekend was quite exciting! First, Tony and I went to see one of our favorite bands, Titus Andronicus, on Friday night.

They were awesome and totally babysitter-worthy!

Then, on Saturday, we visited the AMOA-Arthouse to see an exhibit that I felt would appeal to the kids, Pinaree Sanpitak's Temporary Insanity. Her beanbag chair-esque sculptures filled the second-floor gallery. We walked among them.

As we made our way through, the sculptures began interacting with us. They wiggled, bounced, hummed, and gurgled. Jackson and Olivia wondered what was inside them and why they were communicating with us. Olivia guessed that perhaps they were dinosaur eggs and the baby dinosaurs were trying to hatch.

Finally, we had lunch at my new favorite Austin restaurant, Elizabeth Street Cafe. It's adorable, like a French cafe (not that I've been to France, but I imagine). The small dining space is light and open and airy. The decor is super-cute, with lot of attention to detail. 

I ordered a jasmine green iced tea. I love its strong floral flavor. Also, I want a set of those water glasses!

My lemongrass tofu and mushroom bahn mi was perfection. I loved the contrast between the crisp, cool cucumber, radish, and carrots, and the hot sauteed tofu and mushrooms. The crusty French bread was wonderful, too, which is not surprising since Elizabeth St. is also a boulangerie (French bakery.)

Tony had the tofu and mushroom bun, a deconstructed vermicelli noodle bowl with cucumbers, carrots, basil, jalapenos, and vegan fish sauce. I have to try this next time!

Jackson also ordered a noodle bowl, a kid-sized version with tofu. He is always excited to get to use chopsticks.

Olivia had a little bowl of mixed berries, banana, granola, and yogurt, sprinkled with mint.

I had to order a dessert, knowing it would be gorgeous. I went with the strawberry napoleon, served with guava jam and edible flowers. Almost too pretty to eat!

While Tony and I shared the pastry, Jackson and Olivia munched on chocolate-rose macarons. I must learn to make macarons, I simply must. A thin layer of buttercream is sandwiched between two almond cookies that are crispy and chewy at the same time, and practically melt in your mouth.

We ordered a couple more macarons to take home, and our sweet server brought them in a tiny pink and white takeout carton. See what I mean about the attention to detail, and the cuteness?

Must return soon!