The Shed has been around only a short time, but it’s quickly become a favorite eating spot. The Shed is located by Rabbit’s lounge at the intersection of Chicon and 6th street. The eatery, built by friends on a flat bed trailer, is a great example of American ingenuity and determined entrepreneurship.

Austin Daze samples “The Shed” from AMFM STUDIOS LLC on Vimeo.

While you can’t throw a stone in Austin without hitting a BBQ joint, you’d have to throw one pretty far to hit the Mississippi kind. On March 17th, aim that stone east of i35 and you’ll be lucky enough to experience not just any Mississippi BBQ, but the best Mississippi BBQ in the country. The Shed is coming to Austin.

THE SHED WAS BORN IN OCEAN SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI….

It’s 2001. A young Brad Orrinson had a thing for dumpster diving. The highlight of his week was the “night before trash day.” He also had a thing for BBQ. The two came together one night knee deep in “hardwood flooring” when Brad had an epiphany: build a pick-up only spot for great BBQ using the stuff he had found. He recruited his sister Brooke and the two started cooking, smoking, and timing meat until they got it just right. Brad perfected the secret Shed Rub. The sauce was sent from heaven by a man named Poppa Jack, who had been doing some perfecting on his own, working that magic flavor for the past 25 years. With sauce and meat in place it was time to build. Brad built the first Shed, all 300 square feet of it, with his dumpster treasures. It was an instant hit. The family, brother Brett, mom Linda, and dad Craig, jumped on board to help out. Music came next extending the establishment’s official name to The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint. The Shed’s famous BBQ has since been featured on the Travel Channel’s Rib Paradise, Food Networks’ Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and their Bama Que. They were recently the winner of the Regis and Kelly’s nationwide ultimate hometown Grill Off and were named Best Pulled Pork Sandwich in America by The National BBQ News Magazine. Today the Shed is 4,000 square feet (95% of which is recycled material) with 5 other sister establishments in MS, LA, AL and FL.

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There’s a new joint on South Lamar that deserves a few words in its favor: Red’s Porch
Imagine, if you will, a restaurant that is equal parts Z Tejas, Threadgills, with a bit of Torchy’s Tacos thrown in for good measure. And most everything on the menu for $9.95 or less! A multi-story, extremely spacious joint that overlooks the Barton Springs Greenbelt. Serves a wide selection of beers. Has multiple television for sports viewing. Kitschy 50′s style. Even has a renovated Airstream trailer outside for private parties or alternate seating. All sounds good, right?
Well bottom line for me is the groceries and on this day I was served a smorgasbord of items to get a general feel for taste and vibe. Big thumbs up!! Across the board, the food tastes like you are eating at someone’s home who knows their way around the kitchen. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll be the first to admit there have been times in my life where I’ve bordered on obsession in my demand for purity of essence and perfection in craft. The way I see it, if you’re gonna do something, be the best, or let someone else take the reins and get the hell out of the way! This article chronicles one of those times…
It was with this singular raison de etre I went on a quest recently to find the ultimate apple fritter in Austin. A ridiculous, Quixotic quest, some might say, but ever since having my first bite of a truly great apple fritter in the mid 60’s @ Shipley’s Donuts in Alexandria, Louisiana (1801 Lee St., (318) 443-9543), I’ve tried many along my highway of life, and none have ever come close to that delicacy, the exception being Big O’s Donuts in Cookeville, Tennessee (209 N Jefferson Ave (931) 528-2120), and a close runner up, Yum Yum Donuts in North Hollywood, California (11699 Magnolia Blvd. (818) 760-9054). Having grown weary of hoping against hope that the ones I’ve chosen along the way would match the taste, texture and aesthetic quality of that first great fritter (except for the above, they all failed… miserably), it became clear such a quest would quantifiably render moot being dissatisfied with yet another cheap imitation in this, my recent city of choice, Austin, Texas.
The apple fritter is a rather unique looking critter. Some mistakenly call it a bear claw. They might look like cousins but that is where the similarities end. After repeated encounters, you, too, will not make the mistake of wondering, “bear claw?” or “apple fritter?” ever again. But for now, like a primer of sorts, out of all the photos I scoured on the Net this pic retains all the visual aesthetics of what a great fritter should resemble: (http://www.gwiv.com/GNROldFashioned2.jpg) Hold that image.
A great fritter should barely fit in the palm of your hand, be fried to a turn, a bit crunchy around the edges, a moist cake filled with chunks and flavor of real apple, slathered in melted butter and creamy sugar. When you finally have that great one, there aren’t any substitutes. EVER! And that is why I’m here, today, dear reader, saving you years of fruitless search and countless dollars wasted, your taste buds angry at your endless misinformed choices.
For three months I would hit about 2 places a week, as making a daily diet of these would be a tragic mistake in culinary intake. Those on a diet or have clogged artery issues can stop reading NOW.
Many were just poor excuses in execution, showing me the cook really didn’t give two shits about the whole shebang; punching the clock, collecting a paycheck only. Or there were the industrialized machine made horrors scattered about, slightly looking the part, but woefully lacking in delivery. And then there were some who tried to add their touch on the classic apple fritter, all with interesting but mostly disastrous results. In particular, a local establishment -who shall remain nameless- tried to “bake” the fritter, which only turned it into a gooey mess that fell further apart with each bite. Oh my my…
But, when all was said and done, having eaten enough apple fritters in a three month period to bring down a decent sized humanus walkus erectus, we definitely found ourselves a hands down winner, with only one in the runner up category. And I mean hands down!!
The envelope please (insert drum roll….. brrrrrrrrr) and the winner is…
River City Donuts
1945 W William Cannon Dr.
(512) 445-5779
This shop is run by some Indonesian women whom have the art of apple fritter frying down to a proverbial science. Each bite a work of culinary nirvana! Me and Bela, my four-legged companion (RIP), became regulars in due course and every time I hit the drive-in window those women already had a fritter and several donut holes bagged for us, a smile on their faces, happy days are here again! Not sure where they got the recipe, but these ladies are firmly on top of their game in the apple fritter department. Sweet, sweet people, too.
(Note: don’t make the mistake of substituting River City Donuts on Research. I did. That location is owned and operated by someone who has no affiliation whatsoever with the William Cannon location. Word to the wise.)
Runner up is…
Mrs. Johnson’s Donuts
(www.mjbakery.com)
4909 Airport Blvd.
(512) 452-4750
Even though tasty, this long standing donut institution has several aesthetic twists that deviate from the classic style (point deduction). Kudos though to their great hours of operation and a very friendly Indian staff. Don’t miss the blueberry old-fashioned!
So there you have it, folks. Never had an apple fritter? Do yourself a favor, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, go straight to River City. If you have sampled a so-so one and wondered what all the fuss is about? Again… River City. If you are like me, and are driven to find the bestest and yummiest of the most righteous and get down? …River City.
Hunker down. Get you one. Oh yeah, snag a carton of milk while you’re at it. You’ll thank me for that, a more perfect combo yet to be invented.

Over here at the Daze we are still fighting the economic downturn one restaurant (and one meal) at a time. Here are some more places to spend the money we no longer have and some legitimate reasons to do so…In San Francisco.

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Stephen W. McGuire [ausmcguire8@aol.com]
South Austin’s Penny University

One of the dubious gifts of Africa and Arabia given the fair hairs of Europe is coffee. Surely worse than syphilis and tobacco which later erupted from the New World, the coffee bean was first chewed in Ethiopia for its stimulating effect before it migrated to Arabia. Here folks roasted out the bitterness and brewed a palatable beverage. By the time it came to Europe, it was leaving a trail of fear and loathing every bit over the top as the one still left by marijuana: The Catholic Church once considered banning the stuff because of its connection to Islam.  But in 1600 Pope Clement VIII deigned to sip, and declared coffee “…so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.” A more stunning and speedy display of moral relativism is hard to find. Read the rest of this entry »

Trailer Vittles – Pt. 4 – Lulu B’s, A Tale of Requited Love

This is a simple story. This is a story of love requited, a love of a culture, and a willingness to share it with others. This requited love eventually begets a child. Lulu B’s is its name. Famished denizens of South Austin, who find themselves in a perpetual search for the unexpected, are once again, the beneficiaries of such a profound love, and Magnus is here to tell you the story…

Laura Bayer was born unto Thao, her Vietnamese mother. Raised in Southern California amidst a very prevalent Asian population, Laura was indoctrinated at an early age into the finer aspects of Vietnamese cooking. It didn’t hurt that, in Laura’s words, “Thao is a great cook, and when she wasn’t in the kitchen, she’d take me to all these great local mom and pop joints. All those incredible taste sensations over the years left a lasting impression.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Burger Situation:
An M.O. Entreaty

Okay, here’s the deal… my life has been spent in the pursuit of excellence on many levels, not the least of which is gastronomic splendiferousness. Today is no exception. However, today I’m in search of something specific, something arguably ambiguous, yet, in my mind, very specific. Today, my quest is simple. I must find the most get down burger in Austin (or surrounding areas), and nothing less will do!
In my checkerboard, brawlcrawling existence I’ve sampled some of -what I consider-the best burgs to ever pass between two lips. Read the rest of this entry »

A Pie By Any Other Name: An Eight-Act Play (cont’d)
by: Magnus Opus

Act 5: “Back in the Saddle”

In the beginning of this pizza passion play I’d mentioned secretly yearning to be a food critic all my life, and trust me, I DO love my job here at The Daze. But what has increasingly become more important to me than sampling some get down fare and writing about it is the fact I get to meet some truly unique and special people who have all made tremendous sacrifices and shown courage in the face of adversity to make their dreams real. Read the rest of this entry »

Rare is the discovery of a truly authentic French restaurant between these shores. I’ve tried a few and most have been Americanized. Unfortunately, for those seeking authenticity, this is far from acceptable. But I’d been hearing rumblings about this French restaurant here in Austin. Folks were swearing that this place, Chez Nous, was a righteous, get down joint. The real deal neal! So in keeping with my being your global gastronomic tour guide, dear reader, I continue to find restaurants here in town whose food is authentic, foods that inspired me during my global trek.
Chez Nous, huh? Well, I’ll see about that! So, one night last week I set out to see just what all this fuss was about. So I headed over to…. Read the rest of this entry »

Give Me That Old Time Religion-

To have an icon of serious Austin history and lore right under my nose and not knowing about it made me feel a bit like a doofus. About midway through my interview with Ruby’s co-owner, Pat Mares, that devastating realization came home to roost. Big time.
Austin continues to be the proverbial onion. Even though I already knew much about the town after religiously visiting for many a year, since moving here I keep peeling back layer after layer of just incredible, mind-blowing stuff this fantastic city has to offer. And Ruby’s B.B.Q. certainly qualifies. Consider me here to sing their praises! Albeit belatedly…
I know when it comes to barbeque a thousand different people will give you a thousand different takes on what they think is the best. I know I certainly have my favorites. Read the rest of this entry »