RAK Week 4

A week of blessings: both planned and unplanned options for Random Acts of Kindness.

My neighbor knocked on my door late one afternoon asking for $20 to get her through.

I'm typically a skeptic, especially when asking directly for cash, but her stopping by allowed me the chance to talk with her (we're usually passing each other on our way to other things) and it gave me the chance to learn and know her story.

The Blood Center offered me an orchid plant, since they'd had some recently donated to them, at the end of my platelet donation. It was pretty neat to have a blessing in return this time.

I've missed chances to donate to friends' causes because I felt I needed to do more than I really could. A terrible excuse. I didn't have much, but this week, I did help a friend get a little closer to her goal.

https://www.austinovertheedge.com/Linda/aboutme.cfm

My "H" (Habesha)

It was important to have some creative or unique cuisine on my list and I truly lucked out with a Groupon option for Ethiopian food a short drive from work!

Habesha, Ethiopian cuisine around the corner from one of my old neighborhoods, was both pleasantly delicious and fun to eat -- no silverware!! A few things to expect:

(1) Wash your hands; because...
(2) when dining family style, everyone is served dishes over injera: a spongey "pancake" perfect for soaking up meal juice as well as served for each person on the side to takes the place of utensils. A staple to the meal.
(3) Give yourself enough time to do a coffee ceremony - not really an option for a normal lunchtime.

Myself and two coworkers ordered 2 vegetarian (Gomen Watt [collards on left] and Shiro Wot/Tegabino Shiro [on right]) and a lamb dish Yebeg Fitfit [foreground]. The small salad we each had had a unique addition: jalapeno! 

My only complaint was the lamb was served in chunks with bone which made it hard to eat with hands/pick over it with teeth. The Tegabino Shiro, we all agreed, was the standout favorite by far. http://www.habesha-austin.com/

My "G" (Garbo's)

My boss kept talking about this food truck and I am so glad it went on my list...

A simple menu -- you come here to get serious with some lobster roll and/or chowder. They also have a daily homemade side. Garbo's does two different styles of their lobster roll:
Maine - your traditional roll, served cold over tender bibb lettuce after being tossed in a mayo-celery-scallion-spiced-lemoney deliciousness OR
Connecticut - straight chunks of lobster with a brushing of lemon-tarragon butter

You can probably tell from the description that I opted for the Maine roll. I tacked on the side of the day  as well which was a ginger coleslaw.

WOW!

In some cases, the trailers can be a bit pricier than I think they should be. You will most certainly get your money's worth with this truck. I honestly have -zero- complaints, the huge chunks of lobster meat were perfectly cooked and dressed with what is probably a super-secret mayo bound to make them a huge favorite in Austin (high five on the perfect hint of lemon - no need IMHO to use the included wedge).

The bun even (a friend of mine made the same comment) was light, soft, and buttery and thank goodness not a dense rock that would have ruined this roll completely! The slaw as well was solid but unique with a great touch of ginger.

I'm crossing my fingers their brick-&-mortar will be opening soon up in my area. Until then, you can track their weekly location at http://garboslobsteratx.com/

RAK Week 3

My mailman is such a sweet person I thought I'd leave a small treat one day for him.

I love getting mail. It's like a surprise (even if it is junk mail mostly) so to return the surprises he leaves and his sweet spirit every time I see him I baked up some bite-sized peanut butter chocolate chip cookies :)

The fun thing about RAK is sometimes it touches more than 1 person and sometimes you get to see the result (they were both kind enough to write a quick Thank You)