Girls trip to Texas.......got food and wine? First Day ~

I had been playing around online before my California trip and had decided that I wanted to go to Texas.
I had seen that Becker Vineyard was doing a luncheon that intrigued me.

I made mention of my plan to my best friend Chrisie (my pea) and she asked who I was going with...."myself"..."did you want to go?"
Her response ...."Uh...hell yes!"  A girls trip was planned.











See you later Arizona.....Hello Austin, Texas!!



We left Arizona Thursday morning and arrived into Austin, Texas in the early afternoon.  We got off the plane to go get our bags and then off to get our rental car.  I loved the guitar display at baggage claim. After we got our bags (woohoo ~ they didn't go to Nashville!!) we went and got the car ~ off to find it and hit the road!  Hello humidity!
GPS set.......here we go!

Chrisie allowed me to plan the dining for the trip as she had researched the flights, hotel and rental car.
(ILY ~pea!)

We were passing through Austin to go to Fredricksburg, so I didn't want anything way off the beaten path.
My search lead me to Bess Bistro on 6th and Pecan.

Not familiar with the area, we almost drove right past it.
We pulled into the parking lot but saw it was for The Austin Wine Merchant and there were signs that indicated that if we parked there we would be towed......we opted to drive around.



We found metered parking on the street.  LOL ~so you put your money or credit card into the meter vending machine and it spits out a sticker for you to put on the inside of your windshield. (when we were done with lunch, ours was on the floor ~ lol)

We walked into Bess Bistro and loved it right away.  It's very charming, I'd say chateau looking with the brick work, fire place and the decor but it's not stuffy, has a wonderful ambiance.

I love the architecture and the fact the architecture and the decor compliment each other ~inside and out.  The white bricks with the wood and glass chandeliers gives it a chic inviting look.  Makes you want to relax and enjoy your meal.



We were seated in one of the booths, but it felt more like we had our own dining room.  It's very cozy and very comfortable.

Our server came by with the menu and we ordered our ice teas.  I think we sat there for almost 10 minutes just taking it all in before we looked at the menu ~ because she came by twice to ask if we had any questions. ~ lol (sorry Kim!)

We finally looked at the menu and placed our order. Everything sounded SO good, it was a bit tough to decide on what to have!



Meet our AWESOME server Kim!  She is a rockstar ~ so patient... especially with all the questions I asked!

No really, she made our dining experience wonderful.

We decided to order two a "morsels" (apps), an entree and a side.  Kim placed our "morsels" order first and then put in our entree with the side.

When Kim came back with our "morsels" we were thrilled and hungry!





Our fried green tomatoes ~ oh..it was yummy~ topped with house-made farmer's cheese and shrimp ceviche with a pickled red pepper and plated on top of a spicy aoli-like sauce.

Now, you have to get each component in every bite other wise you'll think it's lacking a bit of seasoning. (cause that's what I did ~didn't get the sauce in the first bite and thought it could use salt)

But when you get everything together in one bite ~ WOW!!!  Makes all the difference in the world.

LOL ~ totally just had a Ratatouille movie moment!

Our deep friend artichokes ~ OMG!!! HEAVEN!!  I have NEVER in my life had deep fried artichokes and it was AWESOME!! 

I don't know how the Chef does it but it was NOT GREASY!!  It was light, tender, light crunch on the breading and was SO delicious.
(as I wipe the drool off as I'm typing)

I can tell you this much ~ there was not a artichoke left on the plate and I think if we were given the opportunity, the plate would have been licked clean.....it was that good!

In between the appetizer and the entree, I walked around to check the place out.  When you first walk in it kinda feels like a diner style place, but when you turn the corner to the main dining room ~that feeling leaves you.  You feel more like you're in a great dining hall.

There is certainly plenty of seating in the main dining area and there is five of the booth like area that we sat in. (which I loved!!)

Did I mention that they have happy hour on their appetizers Monday - Friday from 230pm-630pm??
What's not to love about that!!

This would be a perfect place to have a bridal shower, baby shower, birthday party or just grab a couple of friends and try different stuff.

For our entree, we decided that we wanted to split a croque monsieur which we turned into a croque madame by adding a fried egg on it.

The ham and the mornay (cheese - usually half gruyere and parmesan)  was SO good!  The only thing left on this plate was a few bits of fries.  I can't even imagine either one of us finishing this if we hadn't have split it.

Loved the Chefs presentation on everything ~ having a good/great presentation makes all the difference in the world and you can tell that the Chef has passion in what he or she does.

And of course we had to finish the meal off with dessert!

With seven desserts to choose from, we had to decide by process of elimination.  Aaaahhhhh!!!

And so.... we decided on the beignets with the fresh berry compote and bittersweet chocolate sauce.

The beignets were very, very good.....the berry compote had the perfect sweetness with out it being overly sweet and the chocolate sauce tasted pretty darn close to Nutella!  YUM!!!






With our tummies happy, we sat for a bit to figure out our next plan of action.

We decided that we wanted to get some fruit, water and a few other things to snack on for the road and for the trip in general.

I figured out where there was a Whole Foods close to Bess Bistro.  So we asked Kim for our check so we could get going.






Before we left Chrisie told me we had to go upstairs, that I was just gonna love it.  She was right.

You go up the staircase and there's a beautiful covered patio with ceiling fans and comfortable seating with a view of the city.

It's pretty awesome!






Trip to Whole Foods done, we were ready to hit the road to Fredricksburg.  What we didn't expect was the icky traffic we ran into leaving Austin.

And to make things more comical, somehow, the GPS wasn't getting a satellite signal.  Thank goodness for smart phones!!  Follow the blue dot!!  ~ lol.

We drove what seems forever and we were concerned that we were going the wrong way.  But then...22 miles to Fredricksburg!! Woohoo!!





We arrived at our hotel around 730~ish.  We got to our room and got settled in.  Now, where to go for dinner....

I had a couple of places on our list to try.  I learned one thing...Fredricksburg kinda shuts down after 900pm, at least for dinner.  We decided to go to the Fredricksburg Brewing Company.

We went down stairs and asked the front desk if we could walk there and Brad told us we could and it wasn't that far. He gave us a map and a walking we went.

We found our way to the Brewing Company without any problems.

We were seated right away.  Looking at the menu I noticed some German dishes like a couple of schnitzel dishes, reuben sandwich and bratwurst sandwich.

Of course first things first.....we ordered a cocktail.  I wasn't quite sure what I wanted since I'm not a huge beer drinker so, our server Stephanie suggested a sampler.

Chrisie got the Black Cat IPA and I got the 4oz sampler of the Not So Dumb Blonde.

I liked it!  I then graduated to a full size...lol

















This is our server Stephanie from Chicago.  She was great!  (thank you again for waiting on us ~ I know we came in pretty close to closing)

We placed our dinner order with Stephanie and after doing so I walked around and took some pictures.

There's a biergarten in the very back of the restaurant that is perfect to watch sporting events, have reunions or just hang with some friends.




Walking out of the biergarten I noticed some jugs on a mantel.  When we asked Stephanie about them, she told us that they were to put beer in that you wanted to purchase to take home in.













When Stephanie brought my dinner to me, I thought I was gonna pass out from shock.  Wholy crap!!
My dinner was HUGE!!!

I got the chicken fried steak with country gravy with a side of steamed veggies and mashed potatoes.  I did a pretty good job on my dinner considering how big it was.

The seasoning on the veggies was good, the mashed potato was velvety and the gravy was very creamy and yummy!

For dessert Chrisie and I split a peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream.  For sure homemade and not store bought and it was delicious!





We had noticed driving from Austin to Fredricksburg that the closer we got to Fredricksburg we saw signs for peach stands. So I wondered about the peach deal.

Turns out that the Fredricksburg-Stonewall area in Texas has become known as the Peach Capital of Texas.

Benjamin Lester Enderle is known as the Father of the Hill Country Peach Industry.  He was Gillespie County Surveyor, a math and science teacher at Fredrickburg High School when he planted 5 peach trees and began selling the fruit in 1921.

I also learned that Fredricksburg was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Fredrick of Prussia.






Since it was only 8pm in Arizona and 10pm in Texas, we weren't really tired or ready to wander back to the hotel.

We asked Stephanie for suggestions on where we could go ~ though choices were slim.  She mentioned a few places that really didn't sound up our alley but then mention Lincoln St..

We had seen that on our way to the Brewing Company. So we knew exactly where that was.

We walked into the shop from the patio.  They have a really large patio with a fire place and plenty of seating.






We immediately loved the ambiance and the store.  It kinda had the Friend's coffee shop feel "Central Perk" which I loved.  Comfortable and inviting.

We knew that we wanted wine but not sure what kind or if we wanted a bottle, so we wandered the store a bit to help us decide.

They had quite the selection of wines so we were having difficulties deciding what we wanted.

We decided to ask the guy who was behind the counter. Meet Danny ~ the guy that pours wine.
( I think he's the owner but he would never say)
But he was super cool and SO helpful!

We told Danny what each of our likes were and he made some recommendations.

Based on what Chrisie told Danny her preference was with reds ~ he recommended the Jezebel Pinot noir from Oregon.




For me ~ I usually lean towards Merlots and Malbecs but for whatever reason I was wanting a rose.

Danny had several and a couple I even recognized but he asked me if he could make a recommendation.  How could I refuse?!

Danny suggested the Casal Garcia Rose Vinho Verde from Portugal.  I must have made a face (like "are you sure about this"), because Danny did a small pour to see if I liked it.




There was no liking it ~ LOVED IT!!!  It was refreshing, light, fruity and smooth.

With our wines in hand we wandered out to the patio to sit and relax.  There was a nice light breeze that made it a really great evening to be out.

We noticed the longer we sat there, the more people were starting to come out.

A group of friends arrived and occupied the table next to us.  They were pretty funny.




Seems there were doing a guys road trip.  They were kickin back enjoying their cigars and drinking wine.

Chrisie and I sat there and laughed at their conversation (though we were trying really hard not to!!)  And we thought we gals were bad....OMG!!!  you guys are just as bad.. lol

It was all good though.  They were really nice and felt bad that they invaded our space and poured us some of their wine - which was really good.

It was a Flora Springs Cabernet from Napa.

It was pushing close to 1200am and though it was only 10pm home in AZ, we figured we better head back to the hotel since we had a big day the next day.

We bought a bottle of wine to take back with us to the hotel and thanked Danny for his suggestion and service.

After a relaxing time at Lincoln St and a nice stroll back to the hotel....not sure which of us fell asleep first.  But we were looking forward to Friday.



                           Wine is bottled poetry.   ~ Robert Louis Stevenson 

Let me extend an olive branch.....

My friend Paige, during one of our food outings mentioned that she wanted to go to Queen Creek Olive Mill.  I was like "Uh...ok.  What for?"  She laughed at me and then started to tell me what she knew about the place.  She told me that it's an olive mill that has an olive orchard and has a tour, wine tastings and food.  SOLD!!

Those of you that have read my previous blogs know that I just recently started liking olives.  I'm still not a HUGE fan.....BUT....I have found a few that I like.  Still working my way through figuring out which ones I like...lol



We drove what seems forever out in the middle of nowhere (or so it seemed) to finally arrive at Queen Creek Olive Mill.  Paige and I were the first two to arrive and then Karen.

At the entrance they have a cute fresh herb garden. They use the herbs from their garden for dishes on the menu at their restaurant del Piero ~ which has Tuscan inspired food.

The three of us walked-in to kinda get the lay of the land, if you will.  The first thing we noticed was they had a wine tasting taking place.  So we wandered over to check it out.

To the left, they were featuring South American and local wines. And to the right, they were featuring Italian and Spanish wines.

The tasting was complimentary and they had some really nice wines that they were featuring.

The best ones that I like from the local and South American selection was the Ritual Sauvignon Blanc, Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec and the Queen Creek Peach sparkling grape wine.












From the Italian and Spain selection of wines I liked

was the Ugarte Cosecha and the Dogajolo Toscano.















By the time we were half way through the wine tasting ,Chrisie (my pea) and Jo-girl arrived. Woohoo!! Girls are all here!!  Let the fun times begin!  Was so excited that my pea and Jo-girl were able to come out for this.  I usually do things with Paige and my friend Sherry or with Chrisie and Jo-girl so was nice that all of us were able to spend a day together.  (Sherry sadly was unable to join us :(  ....)  Next time girl!

The girls had about 15 minutes before we started our olive tour, enough for a couple of tasting of wines.

I'm not sure how the others felt or what they expected but for me ~ the tour was not what I expected.  I envisioned more an orchard/vineyard tour~being showed the different species and trees ~BUT ~ it was fun and very informational.

We started underneath an olive tree.  We learned that Queen Creek Olive Mill has about 100 trees where the store and tasting takes place and there is an orchard across the field that has over 2000 trees and more are planted each year.

We learned that the trees are drip irrigated and that the trees do not require pesticides since there are no issues with olive flies or olive tree molds.

Two important facts about producing high quality olive oil are the harvest date and the varietal character.

Depending on which stage the fruit is harvested can completely change the flavor ~ green stage (early harvest) or purple stage (late harvest).

Olives harvested and pressed in their green stage will have a grassy, bitter and peppery taste, where the purple stage will be buttery and fruity.






The ideal harvest time is very short ~ only a two to three week window.

The important factors to a high quality EVOO is
1) never use fallen olives
2) olives are pressed within 24hrs of harvest and they only harvest what they intended to press and no more
3) does not use heat or solvents ~ cold press baby!
4) the "free acidity" of the oleic oil (or acid) must be .8% or lower to be called Extra Virgin Olive Oil. (EVOO)





This very scary contraption (called a hammer mill) is what grinds the olives, crushing the pits, seeds and skin into a paste (otherwise know as "poo" ~lol...not kidding)

The paste is then blended very slowly, this process is called malaxation ~ it allows the small oil drops to combine and turn into bigger ones.

The next steps are to gently extract the oil from the olive. A centrifugal decanter spins the olive paste at a high speed to separate the heavier parts and water from the oil.




Then it's on to decanting.  The oil is transferred to an oxygen-free stainless steel storage decanter with a cone shaped bottom that allows the oil and water to naturally separate.

Once all that is complete it's time for the Master Blender to put his signature on the blend.  When that's complete the mixture is then placed in a stainless steel oxygen-free tank, where it is stored and kept fresh until it needs to be bottled.



Once the tour was over we were given four different olives to sample ~ Maytag Blue Cheese, Mesquite Smoked Almond, Vermouth Garlic and lastly Jalapeno Mexican Lime.

 

My favorite was the blue cheese and the smoked almond.  The garlic one was alight and the jalapeno one was a bit too salty for my taste. But was awesome to try things I've never tried before.

After the tour we were ready to grab a bite to eat and then do some shopping.  Now a tough choice...what to have for lunch!  SO many options to choose from!

So, a tip for those of you who have never been out to Queen Creek Olive Mill before, especially if you go with a group of friend or families.  You need to have one person that camps out for a place to sit, while the rest of the group go order food, otherwise you may not be able to sit together.

Prime seating of course is inside with the air conditioning.
There is quite a bit of seating inside.


There are places to sit outside on the patio but there aren't ceiling fans, so unless there is a light breeze or unless you go in the early spring or in the fall....you may want to sit inside.

There are also picnic tables where you can enjoy sitting under an olive tree and have lunch.


I did see a few people with blankets that were sitting under the tree enjoying their lunch and the wine from the wine tasting.

There was a light breeze the day we went so we opted to sit on the patio and enjoy our lunch.

Another tip - you can order breakfast until 200pm.  This makes figuring out what you want to eat that much more difficult!!!

After Paige and Karen ordered their lunch and got their lunch, they went to find seating for us on the patio.

Then the rest of us placed our lunch order and found the other two after we received our order.

I think we were all pretty hungry due to the semi-silence at the table until we had taken in a few bites.  And we all seemed to enjoy our food.

Paige ordered the Italian chopped salad with a vinaigrette dressing to go with her bruschetta board of ~ burnt mozzarella and pesto, caramelized red onion and fig tapenade with shaved parmesan and a caprese.





























Jo-girl had the Sevi Sandwich ~ a tequila-lime marinated chicken salad with red onion, capers, cranberries pecans, fresh herbs, greens and Mexican lime EVOO, aiolo on a ciabatta.





Chrisie had the del Piero antipasto plate ~ a variety of grilled veggies, artisan cheese, cured meats, marcona almonds, del Piero olive mix, dark chocolate and grilled ciabatta bread.

Karen had the side greek salad, with a bruschetta board ~   burnt mozzarella, mascarpone and peach caponatina tapenade and a caprese.

Jo-girl and I had a wonderful fruity sangria.  Don't let the small glass fool you, cause this little fruity drink packs a pretty good punch.  :)

       
I had the Sicilian panini frittata ~ sweet Sicilian pork sausage with an egg frittata and provolone cheese that was accompanied with a side of fresh fruit and Italian seasoned smashed potato.

Yes peeps, I said smashed ~not mashed and it was the best smashed potato I've had!

I also had a bruschetta board ~ chardonnay herb mascarpone and green apple, mascarpone and peach caponatina tapenade and a caprese.

And to finish out the meal ~ cannoli - chocolate, hazelnut and pistachio, drizzled in chocolate.  

Yes, these girls are not afraid of carbs.....well....we don't make a habit of it but we don't avoid it either!!!

Now that we were all happy and fed, time to shop!!  WARNING!!!!  You could go broke shopping here.  

But first you may want to get some coffee to help get you out of the food coma you may be in. ~ lol.

There are so many different flavors of olive oils to choose from like ~ bacon, vanilla bean, chili, Mexican lime and blood orange to name just a few.

There's a tasting station that has all the different oils and dipping sauce for you to sample so you can choose what you like.

You can also sample and purchase different types of dipping oils and balsamic vinegars.

If making martini's are more your style or bloody mary's ~ you can choose from spicy beans, parmesan romano stuffed olives, oregano feta stuffed olives and wasabi ginger sake stuffed olives to name just a few.

Herbs, spices, tapenade, pasta, crackers, bread and the list goes on and on.... Oh...did I mention that the bread is baked fresh on site and brought out as soon as they are done baking.  Mmmm...nothing like fresh baked bread! 

There's a station that has the various olives, beans and other goodies you can try, so you can figure out which one or ones you like.

They have various gift boxes and sampler gift boxes for the chef in your life or heck for you!

Food isn't the only thing you'll find here.  You'll also find olive oil body products.  You'll find something for just about everyone in your life.

The one thing that I liked is they also have a rack of complimentary recipes to go with the oils so you can learn how to cook with them.

So if you're a passionate cook, a connoisseur or a novice, there is surely something you can find to inspire you.

I was inspired by their Lemon Chicken with Rosemary and their Penne alla Vodka recipe.

My splurge from Queen Creek Olive Mill ~ 

dipping oil, meyer lemon olive oil, peach sparkling grape wine and a couple of french baguettes.

Sadly, I have not made the lemon chicken with rosemary yet but will let you know how it turns out when I do.  I had to get ready for my trip to Texas!

The girls and I can't wait to go back in the fall for their Hallowine Festival in October.

I leave you with some olive tidbits.....

Did you know :

Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil

Greece is the world's largest producer of extra-virgin olive oil

Christopher Columbus introduced olive oil to the Americas in 1492.

Hippocrates called olive oil "the great therapeutic."

and lastly, the olive tree is native to the Mediterranean, where olive oil has been an important part of life for a thousand years.

If music be the food of love, play on.  ~ William Shakespeare