Last Weekend In Austin, Part 2

Today started early. I hit Austin's East Side once again. This time it was breakfast at Juan In A Million.

You're looking at the Don Juan -- El Taco Grande. All that egg, potato, bacon, and tortilla goodness for $3.80. Crazy good. I looked around at one point and it seemed that everyone was just as ravenous as me, tables of people just tearing into their food. This place knew how to dish it out.

I was able to ride the rest of the day on this mound of food. At around 7pm, I headed down to Odd Duck before they were SOLD OUT again. I would not be denied twice.


Good thing. The place was packed. There was a 30-minute wait just for my single Pork Belly Slider, but it was so worth it. I was amazed at the portion of pork; there had to be at least 6oz at least. And they were cooking over a real oak fire in that funky little trailer.


When it was finally delivered to me by the smoking brunette with the RAMONES shirt barely covering her, I jammed it into my face so fast, and was so fully transported into immediate food ecstasy, that I forgot to shoot a picture of it. Just as well. I pulled these pics off the web and they're better than what I got. I was too busy trying to be subtle.

After, I hopped in the car and headed back over to 6th yet again and went to East Side King for more pork belly, this time called Poor Qui's Buns (Porky's, get it?). These guys come highly recommended from nearly everyone I've met here. What a funky spot.

First you enter this random bar.


Then you have to get past the biggest bouncer I've seen in a long time. (I did not snap a photo of him, no way.)

Then make your way through the bar.


Through the back door.


Then into the back yard where all the people are hanging out drinking beer and eating amazing Asian street food for cheap. (You can't see them because I waited for the perfect shot of the truck with no one in the way.)


Poor Qui's Buns was a delicious compliment to what I'd just had at Odd Duck. I loved the Asian flavors -- roasted pork belly nestled in pillowy steamed buns, drizzled with Hoisin sauce, and stuffed with homemade cucumber kimchee and green onion. $7. Incredible.

My only complaint was that the buns looked like styro-foam and, while tasty, were not very photogenic. But who cares.

Back early tonight. Lots of packing to do before leaving tomorrow morning. Like I said before, I'm really going to miss it here. Austin was very good to me during what could easily have been a rough time. Thank you, Austin.

. . .

By the way, I was very surprised by the price range in the S&P on Friday. While it ended up being an inside day, it was definitely not what I expected.

Instead I traded gold for the first time since I bought some in 2008, along with silver, platinum, and palladium. And even with a hedge that I put on soon after, I wished I'd stuck to the S&P. I'll have to pull over and check in from the road with my mifi card when the futures open on Sunday. A fall in the futures would be painful until the options open the next morning. Not something I want to have on my mind while driving.