We recently celebrated the annual anniversary of Kenny’s 29th birthday. Few things say “man-grub” like hot dogs, so I thought lunch at Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer in downtown Austin might be a fun excursion.

Well, the food was an adventure…

After all, in what alternate universe would you expect Hill Country gourmet to shack up with Windy City street fare on a single menu? However, Frank makes it work.

Snooty artisan sausages made in-house and 100% Vienna beef hot dogs shipped in from Chicago are paired with creative and traditional toppings to deliver big tastes.

A nice selection of Texas grown-up brews, and my personal favorite – the sweet sudsy local Maine Root Beer- are all on draft to wash down every bite.

And I’m not even gonna talk about the whoopie pie…

Who am I kidding? Of course I’m going to mention the whoopie pie – rounds of chocolate cake sandwiching the richest cream in the world – whoooooopie!

If the food warmed my stomach at Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer, the people won my heart.

The owner made time stand still during the busy lunch rush. It’s as though he blacked out the rest of the room and shone the spotlight of his attention on Kenny and me. He easily chatted with us while we waited for a table.

Why? Because he heard we were first-time guests.

A few weeks later we planned to introduce our friends to Frank.

“It’s closed for Sunday dinner!” we realized as we stood disappointed at the door peering in to the dark restaurant.  The two remaining employees saw us, opened the door and invited us in.

“Cathy! Look at all this gorgeous salvaged wood!” Our friend Bill, a fine craftsman, exclaimed about the interior of Frank.

And that was just enough to get the employees talking. They poured a round of Maine Root Beer on the house, hung out with us for about 25 minutes and showed us all the behind-the-scenes care that went into Frank’s interior design and menu. Then they sent us off with a list of their other favorite restaurants in town to try instead.

Wow! We came hungry and left as friends.

So while the humble hot dog may be out-of-this-world at Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer, the people are sure to make you feel right at home.

Important Info:

Location: Corner of 4th and Colorado, Austin, TX

Website: http://www.hotdogscoldbeer.com/ The photo above is just a teaser of the many enticing pics on the Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer website.

Note: Closed for Sunday dinner. Vegetarian options available.

Today, Titus and I visited the Austin Farmers’ Market.

Originally I planned to meet up with a complete group of strangers from my church. However, I didn’t decide until late yesterday to definitely participate, and the RSVP list didn’t look very promising that anyone else was going. This morning I was running too late to catch up with them, if they did attend.

But after reading the market’s website, I wanted to take Titus even if it was just the two of us.

I will first tell you my disappointment. Austin is a really cool, seemingly large, happening city. It has a reputation for good food, and people are very health conscious and green here. I guess I expected a HUGE market, something on the scale of my experiences at the markets in Dallas or Seattle.

The Austin market is not that. It was reasonably sized with maybe 50-100 vendors offering their produce and other goods in two nice little rows of white tents.

Once I recalibrated my expectations, adjusted to the HEAT and put some sunscreen on Titus, I decided I would just enjoy the market for what it was.

I must tell you about my son. He really doesn’t like hats. His immediate reaction is to pull the hat off his head and beam at me with the pride of his accomplishment. But with the late morning sun burning his head of blonde curls, I knew he needed a hat.

“No, no, Titus. Leave your hat on. Mommy wants you to be safe.” I warned.

Hands on head he looked up at me. Then he took his hands off his head and left the hat on.

“Wow! Good job Titus!”

We leisurely strolled the rows of vendors. The expected produce was available, but other offerings included organic meats, Gulf shrimp, artisan breads and pastas, and specialty goat cheeses. Several vendors sold ready-to-eat food. I saw incredible pastries, taco stands and a curry stall. Organic and local seemed to be the common thread between the vendors.

In her online invitation, the girl who organized the church group outing suggested the savory pastries called salgadinhos at Rio’s Brazilian stall. After looking at their choices, I decided she was onto something.

I really did have a hard time picking. Nearly all the pastries were a dough similar to pie-crust baked into a half-moon shaped stuffed pocket. The filling choices included shrimp, hearts of palm, spinach, and cinnamon bananas. I opted for the cheesy zucchini and sweet potato pocket.

“Do you take debit card?” I asked the owner. I’d seen online that the market accepted cards.

“No, sorry.” he replied. He went on to explain, “You’ll want to go to the information booth. They let you use your card to buy market bucks.”

Worked for me. After a quick exchange at the information booth, I was back for my purchase. While waiting in line, I saw the lady in front of me put a sauce on her pastry.

“What is that?” I asked her. When it comes to food, I’m not shy to talk to strangers. I want to know what my options are!

“This is their original sauce.” she explained. “It’s great.”

By this time, the vendor joined in our conversation. “We have three sauces. The mild is made from coconut and pineapple, the medium from mango and the original is our spiciest.”

I gave him my order and asked for his recommendation on the sauce.

“Do you like hot foods?” he asked.

“Um…” I hesitated, “Yes, but I don’t want a fire in my mouth.”

“Go for the medium.”

Mango on sweet potato and zucchini? I was a little nervous, but I took his advice.

The pastry was perfect. The shell was delicate, the filling was very cheesy and kind of spicy, and the sauce had a great kick to it, with a hint of sweet, I guess from the mango. However, I did not actually taste mango, which is what made me nervous. Well done Rio’s!

While we ate, Titus and I sat under the shade of a tent and listened to a local musician play her guitar and sing. Very cool.

On our way out, I stopped for a cold draft Maine Root Beer. Very sweet. Very yummy. It was a perfect refreshment to beat the heat of the near-noon sun.

I also stopped at the Go Local Austin Card booth. For ten bucks this little card would buy me discounts and freebies when I shop at participating local establishments. The best part? If I purchased the card today at that booth, the Go Local workers would sing to me.

“Any Beetles song of your choice!” the man holding the guitar promised.

I laughed.

For $10 that experience would almost be worth it. Almost.

Maybe next time.