Lost with a Compass in hand...: Southern Food

One of the comments I get a lot is - Is all you are doing eating over there? Because you only put up photos of food!! Well I am doing other things, but I have to say Texas has the most INCREDIBLE choice of food I have ever seen anywhere in the world.

Now I have travelled extensively over Europe, lived in the UK, through south east Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and a few more. I would say all those countries have great food, but to be honest the variety...Texas kicks their skinny ass's!!

The big thing Australian's think is that everyone eats McDonalds and fast food here all the time, drink huge slurpees, drive huge trucks with Burger King wrappers strewn everywhere throughout, and just get morbidly obese whilst wiping grease and mustard of their face. We can thank the media for their portrayal of a small proportion of the population. So here are a few things I have noticed:

Texans call Australian entrees, appetisers
Australians call the main meal, main course. Texans will call this entrees. I know right, confusing as fuck.
Portion sizes in Australia are much more realistic to keeping within a healthy amount. In Texas portion sizes are ENORMOUS. To give you an idea our main sizes at home are more equivalent to their appetisers/entrees.
The benefit however of having ENORMOUS portion sizes is that, there is always a lot of left overs to feed you lunch and dinner the next day.
AND YOU ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE YOUR LEFTOVERS HOME!!!! AND NO-ONE DIES OR SUES THE RESTAURANT!!! OUTRAGEOUS
Even with drinks the sizing is huge. America it is not necessary whatsoever to have such large sizes. And on that note, the free refill option. STOP IT. Do what Australia does, you drink what you pay for. So you buy a Sprite - guess what, you paid for one,you get one. No going back up to the machine and continuously refilling. You want another glass - buy that fucker. Just and idea to assist with over indulgence unnecessarily and helping obesity with that sugar devil.
Margaritas on the other hand should be free refill. We are adults god dam it, and we are more fun when we are drunk.
Coffee....Oh dear....how can you get food soooo right and coffee soooo wrong...As an addict of the brown bean, I need me coffee daily and at regular intervals. Americans do not know how to make coffee. You hunt around thoroughly, like a geocaching nightmare to find the 2 shops in town that have actually sent their staff to Barista school and they know how to make coffee. This however is few and far between and needless to say I am on first name basis with Blacksmith on Weistheimer in Montrose.
Texas extensive multi-culturalism and proximity to Latin America means their food is diverse, spicy, fresh, delicious, and cheap. Texas is seriously a foodies paradise. You can get anything you want, whenever you want. Its your choice - eat McDonalds or Burger King, or enjoy the vast amount of options that are going to be way better for you and and your body will love you for it.

So in honour of some of the food Ive experienced in Houston, here is a sample of bought and home cooked..

Girl Scout cookies really do exist!! And they aren't too bad. Pricey but ok. $4 a box

So if you get the chance to buy some, I would definitely recommend the Caramel deLites :)

$8 for Pho

$8 frozen margarita, guac, chips and salsa

Fajitas...going for a healthier option with minimal carbs. $12

Wholefoods...sort of like Coles and Woolworths. They have this salad bar in the deli section..Its about 5 metres long by 1.5 wide - HUGE. So they have this, then a warm section with vegetables, and curries etc, a raw section and then cold meats and other stuff. Promoting healthy eating and portion control

Blacksmiths I love you...

Ok Italian restaurants are a little harder to find..and I must admit that Texans do not do Italian as well as we do at home..but still ok

Soft tacos with beef, coriander, and jalapenos..Sort of like a tapas size, but you get 6 for $6

Beef brisket I have fallen in love with. Smoked meat for 24 hours, falls off the knife and melts in your mouth. That is Jalapeño corn bread which automatically comes with it..Eat half and leave the rest. Seriously cannot get enough of this

Diner meal. Scrambled eggs and hash browns. What I love about their hash browns here are they are just grated potato cooked on the grill. No deep frying, no excessive oil, just rather healthy plain old potatoes with some salt and pepper. Comes with 2 pieces of toast and unlimited coffee - $9

Ok at Docs around the corner they do $5 meals every night. Wednesdays are sliders and these little morsels of gorgeousness in your mouth are heaven. Plane old cheeseburger here, and below buffalo chicken with crumbled blue cheese. Perfect size to feed you but not overfill..