Today was the day I’ve been dreading for months.  We had to say goodbye to Piper, the most perfect, adorable black Labrador Retriever that ever lived.  I never thought I would have to put my own dog down.  It’s just one of those things you don’t want to face so you avoid talking about it or thinking about it until your own dog has to tell you it’s time.  Piper’s little heart gave out and she had no more fight left in her.  She gave us many years of pure joy, love and happiness.  Here are a few pics to remember good ol’ Piper Diaper Woo Baby Woo Hoo.

Lettuce Pray.

Dear God, thank you so much for giving us Labrador Retrievers.  I’m still not sure what you intended with Poodles or even cats but you definitely had a plan with Labs.  What a brilliant species.  Amen.

Piper, in case you’re reading Foodgarbl in heaven, I love you baby girl.  I had to walk away from your lifeless body today and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.  You were the perfect dog for me and for our family and you never let us down.  Thank you for pooping on command on the high school lawn.  It really made me feel better.  Thank you for barking when we said “Bill Clinton.”  It was a funny joke at the time and old people got a big kick out of it.  Thank you for being the On Video mascot.  I’m sorry we made you rip up all those boxes but the warehouse guy was lazy and you did a better job anyway.  Thank you for making Mamaw so happy.  She loved you to pieces and it was obvious you loved her right back.  She might go full Alzheimer’s on us but I don’t think she can ever forget you.  Thank you very much for helping train Enzo.  I know you weren’t ready for me to bring home another puppy and I think you never let go of that resentment but because of you, I have a curb trained Vizsla who carries my shoes around and bites my arm when I get home.  Enzo loved you more than you’ll ever know.  I came home today after leaving you and he smelled me all over and sensed that I was sad and officially took over in your role.  He’s got big shoes to fill, Pip.  Lastly, thank you for hanging on as long as you did.  I know it wasn’t easy but you gave us 14 strong years and we loved you every single day.  You made it as easy as possible for us to say goodbye and yet it was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.  Please say hi to my Gramps up there.  He was allergic to you on Earth but I think now you guys can be whoa-di’s.  He’ll take you on walks if you help him with the crossword puzzle.  Piper, I can’t tell you enough how happy you made me.  We are all going to miss the heck out of you.  Dad’s having a pretty rough time so send him some love k?  See you on the flip side.

If my first garbl of overeating didn’t encourage you to go to Austin, allow this garbl to convince you.  One of the best meals I’ve had in Austin, ever, was at Justine’s Brasserie recently.  Though it is located in a sketchier part of Austin on East 5th, you wouldn’t know it by the hipster clientele or the very welcoming lightbulb strung courtyard.

We had to wait about 15 minutes for a table even though we waited patiently across from empty tables the entire time.  I think they were just trying to position us in the corner because Jason was wearing his Hugasaurus Rex shirt.  See the guy in the pink shirt in the picture below?  We ended up sitting at the table next to him and his date.  His white iphone went off the ENTIRE (#$)@# MEAL.  That is, until we had enough and my brother said, “excuse me are you going to answer that?  Because my friend Jason here in the Hugasaurus Rex shirt is on call and we keep thinking that a critical network circuit is down.”  Then he went into some tirade about how he was a lobbyist and these $(#*)@$# Republicans keep calling him and they’re not gonna get what they want if he has anything to say about it.  He certainly wasn’t saying anything about it.  Also, he was on a date.  Granted, she looked like his mom but still.

A fliptard lobbyist wasn’t going to ruin our meal.  Huggy Rex ordered the French onion soup.  When in Rome…or wait…when in Austin…wear a thong.  What?  I’m hungry.  This soup was retarded.  Retarded good, that is.  Best ever.

Tonnish ordered the asparagus soup which was ridiculous.  Ridiculously awesome that is.

I’ve never had mussels before.  I KNOW!  So drunk!  Sarree.  But I saw them on the menu and I went all out.  HOLY CHOPSTICK MOTHER OF PEARL WAFFLE IRON WHAT HAVE I BEEN ORDERING ALL OF MY LIFE?!?!  The broth had more flavor than a VH1 rapper dating show.  It was seriously one of the top 5 meals I’ve ever had in my life.  Maybe I should get out more but seriously this was so good.

Huggy Rex was still licking the French Onion soup bowl when they brought out his heart shaped steak frites.  It’s that extra touch of forming the steak into a heart that makes Justine’s so special.  H-Rex raved about his steak and said it’s probably the best he’s ever had.  Coming from an Oklahoma boy who grew up chasing cattle cattle cattle and skinning buffalo to stay warm in the winter, what are we talking about?

Our travel guide T-Hum opted for the pork chop.  It’s a good thing that pork chop was so good.  My brother has been known to regurgitate on command and the iphone lobbyist could have had his night ruined but the pork chop was too good to waste.  Justine’s is a hidden French gem and is the perfect place to go off the beaten path in Austin.  The wait staff was friendly, the glasses remained full, the food was amazing and the ambience was caj.  As if that wasn’t enough, they post the negative reviews on their website as a threat  - just try not to come here and enjoy it.

The next day we went to Kerby Lane Cafe and the food was not eventful but the two UT football players sharing a bench were adorable.

After Kerby Lane Cafe, we drove around town looking for Krap Kars.  FOUND ‘EM!  $5?  That’s pretty high for a krap kar.  No wonder Huggy Rex was all “WHY?!”

Never to go more than 15 minutes w/o something to eat, we hightailed it over to Holy Cacao for a frozen hot chocolate.  SO FLIPPIN GOOD.

Holy CacAEO is located in the South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery alongside Torchy’s Tacos.  It’s pretty much a one stop shop for all of your high caloric needs.

Even trailer parks are trendy in Austin.  You won’t even find white trash there.  Well, maybe a little but they mostly recycle.

Oh South Austin Trailer Park, you so fancy.

Austin, TX is Woof Friendly just about everywhere, including the trailer park.  Paws up dawg!  This concludes our trip to the coolest city in Texas (sorry Marfa).  We’ll see you soon!  Next weekend?  Seriously, we’re free.  Pleez?  Kthksbye.

Our Austin adventures continued.  Rather than waste electricity, we took the almighty powerful road pwning gas guzzling Chevy Avalanche to brunch in downtown Austin at La Condesa.  Are electric vehicles the wave of the future?  Or is this going to be like that Segway fad that was so awesome that the inventor rolled off a cliff?

When the sign says walk, do so over to La Condesa for a Mexican brunchiesta.

Start with the guacamole.  Ask for it crazy and you’ll get watermelon, pomegranate seeds and feta on top.  Served with four salsa samplers.

You thought jalapenos were the only way to kick guacamole up a notch?  Think again.

Do yourself a huge favor and order one of their many varieties of aguas frescas made in house with seasonal flavors.  This stuff will make you want to punch Diet Coke chemicals in the face it’s so good.

What looks like a potential fire hazard is actually a crafty lighting design.

Huevos Rancheros.  Ranch Balls en ingles.  Will make you feel like you swallowed a bowling ball but it was delicious.

Huevos Condesa.  Condescending Balls en ingles.  You will feel like you swallowed a 3 pack of tennis balls but it was also delicious.

Molletes de Atun.  Tuna mullet en ingles.  Listed under the ensalades portion of the menu so I was expecting a salad for $14 with seared ahi tuna, arugula and salsa veracruz.  Instead I got a seared tuna aioli open faced torta with a side of six minute egg salsa.  Misleading on the menu but very yummy nonetheless.  Had a saffron aioli but would have enjoyed a wasabi aioli instead.  Aioli snob alert!  LOL!

Oh hey look it’s those trendy Segway things.  If these are still in use, maybe electric cars will last after all.  I mean if cliff diving doesn’t scare you then plugging a car into the wall shouldn’t either right?

I love leg tattoos, cracked out hippies in thongs, vegetarian chili, hipster bikes, Hello Kitty jorts, Town Lake trail and everything else about Austin.  The city is amazing.  If you haven’t been there, go there.  And be sure to drink a lot of water Kobayashi style because you’re going to need a stretched out stomach.

Jayschun and I recently made the southbound 35 trek to go visit my brudder, Tonnish.  He has the coolest life ever.  We are mad jelly so sometimes we tag along so we can play toos.  Tonnish hadn’t seen us in a long time so he had a ton of places lined up on his Crackberry agenda.  First up, Odd Duck Trailer.  This adorable little food trailer is a slice of outdoor picnic style gourmet heaven.

It was hotter than a Mazda 626 transmission after a trip to the grocery store so we cooled off with some Texas Tea.  All natural, no preservatives – like my squid sauce.

It took awhile to get our food but you don’t want to rush greatness.  Check out the pulled pork sandwich on a baguette with onions and peppers oh my!  Ballin out of ferkin control.

Odd Duck serves small plates so we ordered a couple to share since this was dinner 1 of 3 (primero if you will).  To accompany our pulled pork baguette we tried the tomato spiced melon feta salad.  Put down your fork!  Bring out the shovel!  I don’t even like tomatoes and I ate this salad like it was candy crack.

ONE WORD: PORK BELLY SLIDER.  It was the shiz.  My name is Sara Montoya.  You killed my pig.  Prepare to die.  Oh my pig is now this delicious sammy?  K nevermind thksbye.

Dinero segundo (2nd dinner for those that don’t speak Fatty) was a hop skip and a jump over to another trailer called El Naranjo.  They are actually in the midst of renovating an old house for a retail location but I don’t know why when they can dish out badass food from this lil cart on wheels.

One look at the Specials Board and I was drooling.  Okay let’s be honest, I have a drooling problem anyways but I had to have this soup.

The patio was darling and oh so cozy.

Look at this soup!  It tasted even bamfer than it looks.  It honestly tasted like spiced cantaloupe soup.  I just had to spellcheck cantaloupe.  I want to recreate this in my high powered blender.  It is so wonderfully fresh and flavorful that I could have had 3 bowls.  Too bad I had to save room for a taco and 3rd dinner.

I’ve been to enough taco trucks now to know quality meat and seasonings.  El Naranjo ranks right up there at the top.  Fresh corn tortillas, perfectly seasoned pork, fresh cilantro and onion and a squeeze of lime.  Oh and their sauce ain’t half bad either.  At this point my tummy was like what are you doing to me?  And I was all hey stomach why don’t you quit whining like a little baby?

How come William Sonoma doesn’t have meat spits available for wedding registries?  I guess Jason and I will have to register at Doner Kebap Restaurant Supply.

3rd dinner was luckily right around the corner from El Naranjo.  G’raj Mahal is an outdoor Indian trailer eatery with Moroccan style tents to eat under.

We started with the spiced potato and pea samosas served with mint and tamarind chutneys.  These were pretty good but were a bit heavy to start off with after already consuming what most people would consume in 2 meals.

There is something about fried food that just sits in your stomach and won’t go anywhere.  It’s like the Dirk Nowitzki of food.  You get up by a couple bowls of soup and then bam you’re tied up again.

We really should have stopped eating at this point but that’s not what champions do.  So we ordered some Baingan Bartha (pureed eggplant simmered in spices served with peas) and some Madrasi (curry).  I didn’t tell my brother at the time but I’ve had better Baingan Bartha.  It was good but I was not blown away.

The rice was plain jane.  I didn’t even write home about it. Didn’t have a stamp anyhow.

Same with the madrasi.  Maybe Indian food shouldn’t come from a trailer?   Or maybe after 2 dinners in a row the 3rd dinner no matter how great won’t taste as awesome?

Wait, you ordered dessert?  Um, yes.  Duh.  Two in fact. Indian beignets (fluffy donuts with spiced sugar) and some kulfi (homemade cardamom ice cream).  You can’t call a beignet Indian.  This was a fried donut with powdered sugar on top.  Good?  Yes.  You try and screw up a fried donut with powdered sugar.  Amazing?  No.  I’d take a Gourdough’s Donut over these any day.

The kulfi ice cream tasted way too much like whipped cream.  The chopped pistachios on top were a delicious addition but the consistency of the ice cream was whack and not dope.  I’d go back to G’raj Mahal for another shot but I probably won’t eat twice before going.

Have I reminded you that all of these meals were within the span of a few hours?  My stummy hurted.  But you can’t kick off an Austin trip w/o a trip to Amy’s Ice Cream.  WORTH EVERY CALORIE!!!!  DERP!

What?  You don’t get excited about toilet paper?

As a professional food blogger I must first admit something…I know the owners of Tiramisu Italian Restaurant.  I know I know, I’m a giant frickin deal and I bet you’re even wondering “Sara PLEASE tell us you’re running for President in 2016?”  And I probably will run but right now I just want to focus on my overeating k?  Let’s get down to Italiangarbl bidness.

First, the negatives:

You can’t draw on the tables.  I associate Italian restaurants with crayons and paper tablecloths.  Tiramisu is more upscale and I actually felt guilty when I accidentally flung marinara sauce at Jason.

There was music playing in the background but it was barely noticeable.  Now, this is actually a plus in most situations but for a restaurant starting out that doesn’t quite have a crowd every night, a little Hall & Oates is nice to avoid awkward silence.  And trust me, there was plenty of awkward silence.  After dating for nearly 5 years what else is there to talk about you know?  Robots?  Covered it.  David Hasselhoff comeback?  Donezoes.  Venus flytraps and how they work?  Googled at the table.  See?  Awkward.

There was no dessert tray when you walk in.  With a name like Tiramisu which implies bakery more than restaurant, the first thing I want to see when I walk in is a plastic rendition of tonight’s mascarpone lady finger espresso special.

Now, the positives (the food):

We started with the calamari because nothing says celebration like fried squid.  The sauce was delicious.  I wanted to bust out in a Little Mermaid song it was so good.

As if the marinara sauce and winning the NBA Championship wasn’t enough, they brought out FREE garlic rolls!  They looked so delicate and perfect, almost fake even.  I expected them to be garlic doughy heaven but they just tasted like your average rolls with garlic butter brushed on top.  This was actually a good thing because I didn’t want to fill up on bread.

Next course?  All entrees come with a small salad.  Fresh lettuce, fresh onion, fresh tomatoes and DJ Jazzy Fresh Italian drizzle.  I actually would have preferred a balsamic dressing because Italian is so oily but that’s just a personal thang.  It was a deliciously crisp salad.

For our main entrees, I ordered the chicken piccata and Chokelahoma Joe ordered the chicken parmigiana.  Everything is bigger in Texas and Tiramisu entrees can prove it.  We had to get half of them wrapped up because we are weak and lack discipline and could not finish.

The piccata sauce was very lemony just like I like it and had HUGE artichoke hearts!  My only complaint was that the chicken was breaded.  But apparently I’m drunk because I just googled piccata recipes and apparently it’s common to bread the chicken.  The last time I had it was at Campisi’s and it was grilled.  I prefer grilled but Tiramisu’s rendition is a runner-up fo sho.  The chicken parmigiana was delicious as well and included the same fresh tomato sauce that we loved with the calamari.

I’m such a Garbl FAIL by not saving room for the signature Tiramisu dessert but I do have to fit in a wedding dress at some point in the next 5 years (still haven’t set a date FTW!).  I promise next time I’ll start with dessert and do jumping jacks between courses if need be.

You don’t expect a good, classy neighborhood Italian restaurant to pop up between a Christmas store and a donut van but there it is – Tiramisu Italian Restaurant – destined for glory.

You all must go try this place not only to make my friends kagillionaires but to reward yourself with a lovely Italian meal after a hard day at a stupid job.  If anyone wants to go back with me, I have a VIP member card and get 15% off future purchases through November.  Oh and did I mention I know the owners?

Let’s get to the big news first as I’m sure you’re all on pins and needles.  I got a job!!!  Picture this: five minute commute, no dress code, working with a bunch of monkeys.  HOW COULD I NOT TAKE IT?!?!

Enzo and Riley were stoked about the news as you can see from their big smiles.  They look cute don’t they?  Don’t let the adorableness fool you.  Because of these clowns I now have the legs of a 90-yr-old (no offense, Grandma) from running so much.

The good news is, a run with the mutts results in extended nap times.

To celebrate my big life changing event, JayJay took me to dinner at the new Twisted Root Burger Co at the Shops at Legacy.

Excellent signage.

I went with a turkey burger and some goat cheese with a side order of sweet potato chips.  The turkey burger does not have a lot of flavor but whatever goat cheese they use is SO SOFT, CREAMY AND AWESOMEGARBL!  It totally takes over the taste of the burger and I love it.  The sweet potato chips were a sugary disaster.  I swear the Twisted Root in Deep Ellum doesn’t put sugar on their chips and if they do it must have been very subtle but these were doused with it and way too sweet.  I wish they had sweet potato fries (hello, there’s a fry revolution going on, catch up!).

JayJay the Network Engineering Wonder had a Western Burger topped with bacon, cheese, onion rings and jalapenos with a side of straight cut fries.  This guy knows how to order.  The onion rings were awesome.  So were the fries.  The fries were seasoned with something awesome that wasn’t sugar.  How novel.

If you’re feeling saucy, they offer homemade sauces to top your burgers with or for dipping your fried sides.  Like Arby’s!  But different.

Let’s talk ambiance.  We sat on the patio across from Gordon Biersch and RA Sushi and next to Cafe Istanbul because we thought it would be fun to count the number of Affliction shirts we could spot.  The patio felt more like a deck and had huge trees with hanging tree ornaments including a monkey trap.

I need this for my desk at work.

If you want some awesome people watching, hang out by RA Sushi.  There is no better entertainment than watching cougars go after fauxhawked d-nozzles over appletini’s.  How do you think I got Jason?

The Twisted Root boys once again went all out with decoration.  There are signs everywhere instructing you where to go and what to do but be careful as they can be tricky.  The door says “push” but it has a handle so you should probably “pull.”  They seem to mix some Dick’s Last Resort attitude with a twist of southern charm.  It works for ‘em.  I’ll definitely go back to Twisted Root but I won’t get the sweet potato chips and I will make sure someone else opens the doors.

Because of this stinkin chair, I got a craving for dessert and Paciugo just happened to be right across the street.

We both ordered up a double of sea salted caramel gelato because we like to be cutesy and match.

The first few bites hit the spot.  Then it all started to melt…FAST.  And they give you a toddler spoon to eat it with so I couldn’t gulp it down fast enough before it melted.  Waaaaahhhhh.  It’s probably a good thing though because that milk hit my stomach like a ton of bricks.  Have I told you guys I’m lactose intolerant?  It’s pretty cool.  My mom says there are pills I can take but when I constantly complain about stomach aches I feel important.  So, who’s up for ice cream later?

I ran into a former co-worker today on my walk with the dogs.  He was dressed in a business suit and on his way to a budget meeting – two things that didn’t happen at our last job.  Though we didn’t have to dress up and didn’t have budget meetings, both of us quit within weeks of each other because we couldn’t take it no mo.  We both talked about having those days where we kind of regretted leaving but then we have many more days where we are so glad we got the heck outta dodge.  I really do miss my co-workers though.

I miss my little cubicle overlooking the gorgeous traffic jams of downtown Dallas.

I miss shocking co-workers when I made it in before 9am.

I miss making it rain at my desk (don’t hate the playa).

I miss going to Albertson’s on my long lunch break to order confusing custom cakes to celebrate life events of co-workers.  Guess how many times I had to spell “Fidurple” for the cake lady?

I miss the pranks I pulled daily on the guy that sat behind me.  He ended up quitting too but while he was there I got him with bubble wrap behind his chair when he wheeled back, air canister spray to the head while on the phone with a client and calling him 127 times after he left so he had 127 missed calls when he got to work the next day…including the dreaded voicemail light.

I miss getting surprised with flowers at work.  They were always different and beautiful and colorful and they brought life to an otherwise dreadful existence.  I’M KIDDING IT WASN’T THAT BAD!  But kind of.

I miss having random challenges like a cupcake throwdown.  I won with these jalapeno cupcake beauties.  I beat a guy who candied his own ginger and made two different kinds of ganache.  We’re in Texas, buddy.  Don’t mess with the state fruit: the jalapeno.

I miss going to important meetings with critical thinking and high level stats.

Man oh man do I miss lazy cake.  One of my bestest whoa-di co-workers, Serene, made this stuff and it rocked my world.  I’m drooling just looking at the foil.

I miss Asian Club.  If you only knew how hysterical this moment was when I took this picture.  I laughed the entire hour and 45 minute commute home.  This young girl was really there for Asian Club and I asked if we could take her picture and without hesitation she threw up the deuces.

I miss watching tornadoes take out parts of Dallas.  And by take out parts of Dallas I mean knock over a couple benches and traffic cones.  Danger!  Get on the flo!  By the way, when I took this picture the sirens and building alarm had been going off for 20 minutes telling us we were unsafe and needed to get away from the windows and take shelter.  I do what I want!

I miss my Quality hat.  I really did a good job when I had that hat on.  Ask my boss.

I miss pretend kicking people out the door when they quit.

I think the reason I’ve had such a hard time figuring out what I want to do next is because I am having a hard time letting go of the good times.  It was really like a breakup with an abusive boyfriend.  The boyfriend showered me with gifts but he also made me nervous and stay up late to give him reports.  His friends were cool though.

I have to remind myself that the job was just simply not right for me.  It was stressing me out beyond belief.  I actually broke out in hives at one point and took this picture because I was kind of in shock.  I never had hives before so I googled “stomach rash” and thought I was dying before I realized it was stress related.

I wrote this post to try to help me get the motivation to move on with my life.  I have to accept the fact that I made a difficult decision for the better and now I need to tackle my future, whatever that may be.  I feel rull bad too because I haven’t even been back to have lunch with my bestest buddies.  I’ve kind of pushed them away because I figured I needed to “move on.”  But moving on doesn’t mean de-friending people.  I’m dumb.  Please whoa-di’s, forgive me.  And please America, hire me.

Riley is typically the bone hoarder and will prance around Enzo like Sammy after breaking up with Ronnie.  Yesterday, however, the tables turned.  Enzo saw the opportunity to steal Riley’s bone and went for it.  Then he got up on the Ottoman Empire and wasn’t sure what to do with his new treasure.

It must have passed the sniff test because he bit in.

Then he was just showing off.

And ooooh Riley was mad.

While Enzo celebrated and Riley pouted, I made dinner.  To start, a simple salad of iceberg lettuce, carrots, onion and goat cheese.

For the main course I threw together the simplest shrimp ‘n grits ever.  In one pot I threw together some instant grits.  In a cast iron skillet I cooked some turkey bacon, removed it, then threw some garlic and pre-cooked shrimp in there to heat up.  I combined all of that in a bowl with some sharp cheddar and voila!  It was healthy because I used turkey bacon instead of real bacon.  At least that’s what I would tell my probation officer if I was on food probation.

Do you want to hear the saddest story ever?  My fiance had never had an artichoke until last night.  The end.

Seeing that he was a newbie, I offered three dipping sauces for the artichoke leaves: wasabi aioli, lemon juice and melted butter.  He liked the mayo the best.

We ate al fresco because we like to live on the edge.  Oh and we enjoy spying on our neighbors.

Dessert was a double secret surprise!  Jason’s co-worker gave everyone bags of Easter candy so he brought some home to share.  He actually told me I looked ridiculously thin and that he was worried that I would waste away to nothing so I should eat the whole bag.  He didn’t say any of that but in my head I was thinking it.  Riley tried to get her paws on some but I threatened her with the Pedi Paws and she backed away.

We got a recommendation from Jason’s co-worker to try out Z Grill for dinner.  He said it’s the best legit Pakistani food in town.  Please go to their website right now.  Even if you don’t plan on eating there, go to their website and check out the awesomeness.  Someone created that.  There is so much untapped talent out there it’s ridiculous.  Anyways, what confused me about Z Grill was that they advertise Philly Cheesesteaks and Steak Burgers on their windows and menu.  That’s all part of the allure though.

We ordered a plate of Chicken Biryani.  Underneath that pile of rice is hidden chicken still on the bone.  It was like an early Easter Egg Hunt only the eggs already hatched into chicken legs!  It was good but the other dish we got put it to shame.

The Chicken Kahari is the reason you need to go to Z Grill.  This Pakistani curry dish with tomatoes, onions and garlic was some of the best I’ve ever had.

The entrees came with plain naan but we like to go crazy wild so we ordered some garlic naan as well.

The garlic naan had bits of garlic cooked into it and was chewy doughy perfection.  If you’re on a first date, definitely order this.  It will determine whether you can see any good qualities past hideous breath.

The Clean Plate Club had a vote and it turns out I was elected President of Domination.

Do you prefer Indian or Pakistani food?  Can you tell the difference?  I kind of think it would be funny to start World War III over a plate of curry   LOL j/k.  Srsly don’t fight.  It’s just food.  You’re right, Pakistani food is better.

Note: Went back to Z Grill today for lunch buffet.  We hit the end of it so there wasn’t a lot of food left but it was still good.  Next time I am ordering off the menu though.  And it might just be a Philly Cheesesteak.

When we were leaving Little Gus Cafe a few weekends ago, we spotted an Indian joint that we decided we needed to try.  Indian Flavours serves Gujarati Thali.  Gujahuh?  Let me explain.  Gujarati refers to western Indian food (where it is mostly vegetarian) and Thali is a selection of different dishes usually served in round bowls on a tray.  Yelp reviewers said it was some of the best Gujarati food in D/FW.  When I want Gujarati, I want the best.  Plus, if you’re thirsty, you can get water next door!  Win/win.

I should go ahead and tell you that if you are like me (not Indian)(not vegetarian)(socially awkward) then you should probably study the menu beforehand so you don’t look like a total FOB nerdlet when ordering.

Jasmati and I rolled with two combo’s and a side order of onion pakora.  I also got a mango lassi to wash it down.

The mango lassi was very refreshing as some of the items were pretty dang spicy.  They give you a cup of buttermilk to help alleviate the burn but I would rather drink a case of Four Loko.

We enjoyed everything on our platter except this pickle experiment.  I’m not sure how they pickle in India but it might involve battery acid?  Windex?  Buttermilk?  It was like solid vinegar and I’ont like that.

Below was some sort of yogurty junk I presume also to help put out the fire.  It wasn’t something I wanted in a half gallon jug with a big spoon while I watched the Bachelor.

The hush puppy biscuit was really good.  Not sure what was in it.  I’m an awesome food critic huh?  To the right of the biscuit was a delicious rice pudding mixture.  Perfect to end the meal with.  Except I started with it.

The cauliflower/pea mixture and lentil surprise were the two spicy culprits.  I think the family and the chef were probably watching us from the kitchen laughing at how we reacted to each part of the Thali.

Each Thali is served with some papadum and roti for dipping.  Luckily we also got plastic silverware too.  Although bread spoons are more fun.

The soup (dal?) was pretty good too.

Our most favorite part of the meal was the onion pakora with cilantro chutney dipping sauce.  The breading was very light and delicious and perfectly seasoned.  To be honest, I totally would have enjoyed the onion rings without the chutney but it did add a bonus flavor.

Jason’s combo came with a roti pancake with candied butter of some sort.  The bread itself was pretty bland but when you took a bite with the sweet rock candy on top it was delicious.  How do they think of these things?!?!

Overall impression of Indian Flavours?  I would definitely go again but I would order something other than the combo platter.  Probably get a couple sabji’s, pakora’s, bhaji’s, a dahi wada and maybe a lilva kachori (if I’m in the mood).  Unfortunately for Indian Flavours, we discovered Z Grill (Pakistani) right down the street and we LOVED IT.  Review to come.