TRIO Breakfast

After a loooong holiday season that involved my apartment getting broken into, a trip to very cold upstate New York and a missed connection that very nearly required a night spent at O'Hare (thankfully, we were able to get on the stand-by list and make it onto a plane just a few hours after our missed plane left) and some really cold days, things are finally settling back to normal in Austin.

On a recent Saturday morning, the man and I ventured over to TRIO at the Four Seasons for breakfast. Having not been to TRIO before, we both thought breakfast was a fitting introduction to the swanky restaurant.

We were immediately seated, and a waiter brought coffee right away. The coffee was fresh, very hot and strong, and served with heavy cream. Yum.

The menu presented lots of delicious-sounding choices, and waiters carried plates of great-looking food like waffles, eggs and fresh fruit, but I knew what I wanted: TRIO's famous pancakes.

I got the Trio, one banana-blueberry, one gingerbread and one oatmeal-pecan pancake with warm maple syrup, caramelized bananas and candied pecans. Do you see these things? They're the fluffiest, tallest pancakes I've ever seen.

Fluffy, pancakes goodness

And they were fantastic - soft, chewy and piping hot. Of the three, my favorite was the oatmeal-pecan pancake. The soft crunch of the pecans was wonderful with the moist chewiness of the pancake. My least favorite was the gingerbread, but I'm not a big gingerbread fan anyway. In fact, I'm not sure why I got a gingerbread pancake at all.

I was tempted to get an order of their griddled hash browns, too. I love fried potatoes (who doesn't?), and they were hard to pass up, but in the end, I'm glad I did. I couldn't finish my pancakes, and I don't know how I would have dealt with a plate of probably delicious potatoes and a full belly.

The man got the Farmers Market Breakfast, with two eggs, a corn cake with blackberry sauce, a yellow tomato with chevre and herbs and a bowl of grits (subbing grits for the sausage). I tasted all but the eggs, and while the tomato was a little underripe and crunchy, the grits were heaven - luxuriously creamy and covered with sharp Cheddar cheese.

Farmers Market Breakfast

I'm already planning a return trip to TRIO, hopefully this time for lunch or dinner. Or maybe their happy hour, a great deal with half-price bar appetizers.

TRIO at the Four Seasons
98 San Jacinto Blvd

Flip Happy

It took me two years to get to Flip Happy. I've lived near the crepe trailer for that long before I finally stopped by one Saturday morning.

The long line snaked back in between the parked cars, and I considered going back another time, but I decided to stick it out.

Decisions, decisions

The friendly Flip Happy cash register informs you of what's to come.

I had the Tarragon Mushroom crepe, stuffed with fresh mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and chevre. The slightly eggy crepe was tender and held up well against the fillings. I was really amused that almost everyone eating crepes on the picnic benches picked them up and ate them like burritos. Thinking when in Rome (h/t Ron Burgundy), I followed suit.

Tarragon Mushroom and Spinach Feta crepes

The man had the Spinach and Feta crepe, and reported it to be delicious.

Probably against our better judgment after eating filling savory crepes, we decided to split a dessert crepe. The Lemon Curd crepe was sweet and tart and dressed with freshly cooked blueberries. Very tasty.

Lemony blueberry-y goodness

I've since been back 3 or so more times. They keep funny hours, so check their website before heading over.

Flip Happy Crepes
400 Josephine Street
Austin, TX 78704