Austin

Take It Slow

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John and I visited Uchi, a famous sushi restaurant and the fanciest feast either of us have indulged in, on Sunday evening. (Note: Not for a college budget…unless someone in your party has a computer science internship, in which case let them pay.) If you’re wondering, the food was incredible. I don’t even remember what exactly we tried, but I don’t think you could go wrong with a single item on the menu. That said, I think restaurant eating experiences are 50% actual food deliciousness and 50% experience.

note: this photograph is not my own

When our server introduced himself, he recommended that we take it easy. Look at the menu, choose some items to try, but don’t pressure yourself to order everything at once. Leave some time between courses. Enjoy yourselves.

Guys, 10/10 for Uchi experience based on that piece of prolific advice alone. I have never felt so relaxed at a fancy restaurant. I’m talking stimulating conversation with my boyfriend while sitting in the middle of the fanciest restaurant of all time and not worrying about how long I’m taking the table for (2.5 hours haha) or how much I’m consuming in comparison to John.

Moreover, I think I need that advice for life in general. For some people, I think it comes naturally, but for me living in the moment is something that must be forced. I am so forward thinking that I miss a million little moments in life. Usually it doesn’t matter, but I think the whole experience would be a little more enjoyable that way.

My new mantra: live every day like you’re eating at Uchi.

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Take It Slow

It’s Friday!

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I’m getting super excited for the weekend ahead with John in Austin! We have a lot on our potential to-do list, and I’ll be sure to share our reviews as we come along.

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I arrived in Austin last night and John and after spending some time reuniting, we headed to the famous Salt Lick for dinner. I can’t say I am a barbecue expert because I haven’t eaten at more than five or six barbecue places in my lifetime, but WOW the Salt Lick blew it out of the park.

Sorry I didn’t get any pictures of the food–I was far too excited about eating. We got a brisket plate and a pulled pork plate and were definitely expecting the former to be tastier, but the pulled pork knocked it out of the park. It was incredibly flavorful and not dry at all. Despite my argument that we wouldn’t be able to finish (John was right. We finished.), we added a side of sweet potato fries to our order. Once again, knocked it out of the park, Salt Lick.

After dinner, we watched the sun set off of the roof of John’s apartment and grabbed a slice of pie from the gluten free bakery near the UT Austin campus (John has celiac). It’s been great so far to escape Louisville’s humidity and if I haven’t already said it, I am so excited for the weekend ahead.

I hope you have a great weekend! Until next time!

It’s Friday!

On Texas

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I used to be a Texas hater. The politics, the Bible belt, the state narcissism. It was all a huge turnoff. Then I started dating someone who wanted to go to college in Texas (and still thought he was crazy). Then I went to Texas in February.

John + Allison in Texas in February. See how happy I look?!
John + Allison in Texas in February. See how happy I look?!

Living in Boston has taught me a lot about myself. First, I thought I would love living in a place where everyone agreed with me on all political issues. Growing up in Kentucky, I was ready to flee the legislative grips of Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul; however, I quickly realized that the flip side had its own downsides. I’m frustrated when citizens with conservative viewpoints are written off as inhuman or worthless, and I have found that without having contact with people who think differently than you do, it’s really easy to dehumanize them in your mind. Primarily, this comes in the form of assuming all Republicans are idiots. I’ll admit I occasionally let myself slip into this mindset, but I try to remember at all times that Republicans are humans, too, with different experiences and backgrounds than my own to form their opinions from. Their opinions should not be valued any less than my own.

The Northeast has also led me to realize that I love tacos, barbecue, and an amazing restaurant scene (read: Texas). Boston is an awesome city for many things and reasons, but food is not one of them. Texas has food on lock. I’ll make a separate post sometime about my favorite Houston eats and you’ll likely hear about my favorite Austin eats over the next week while I’m visiting, but I feel like people who are not from the south don’t quite understand what delicious food tastes like. Or maybe no matter how much I love to hate the south, I will always have a little bit of it with me in my tastebuds.

Final awesome part of Texas? The weather in winter. Picture this: Leaving Boston hours before a huge snowstorm hits and landing in 65-degree Houston before enjoying a weekend of sunshine and 75-degree weather. I get the winter blues like crazy and being able to go anywhere that has awesome weather in February is an absolute dream.

Brace yourselves to hear even more reasons why I’ve learned to love Texas over the next week while I visit John in Austin. Until next time!

On Texas