NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 21:41:42 EDT Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 20:42:37 -0500 Xref: alexander.INS.CWRU.Edu austin.food:4864 Hey all: Last Friday, my best friend and I went on a little food extravaganza... I have sufficiently recovered enough to tell you about it. We started the evening off with dinner at Hudson's on the Bend. When several people heard we were going, everyone commented on the awesome food and the high price. Not to worry, my friend was paying and I had my passbook card - so it was two for one (I was really impressed that they took it on a Friday night). Neither of us had ever been there, but we loved driving up and seeing all the fresh and growing herbs. The gardens are a wonderful conversation starter - lottsa herbs (even a garden on the roof of a storage shed) and edible flowers. Inside was a little tight - many tables in a small space. The restaurant is an old house, and it is very 'cozy'. Anyway - we started the evening with chilled asparagus in blood orange vinaigrette. Wonderful, flavorful, garnished with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Lovely appetizer. Next, I had the beef tenderloin medallions with roasted lobster. It was done perfectly just a little bit more done than rare (not quite medium rare tho). I wasn't even asked how I liked it so I assume that this is the way it is done if you don't offer it up to the server. It was served with ancho sauce and goat cheese sauce. The whole thing was wonderful. The flavors were just right - the meat was tender and juicy. The lobster was dry - but I have never had smoked lobster and don't know if it should have been or not. My meal was accompanied by ancho mashed potatoes (a little much after the ancho sauce on the beef), corn and jalapeno pudding (similar to 'dressing' but very flavorful and tasty), and grilled zucchini. My friend had the shrimp, lobster and scallop crepes with crabmeat cream sauce. Her dinner was incredible. A flavor explosion! I can't even tell you what were the ingredients that were so vibrant, but it was definitely a pleasant dinner. I had the chocolate raspberry torte - very smooth and creamy with plenty of raspberry and semi sweet chocolate. My dinner companion had the creme brulee - garnished with blueberries and strawberries - very nice. She had decaf and I had a cappuccino - both very good. I hardly ever drink iced tea - but did here. Very fresh.. had it with lime instead of lemon. Drinks were kept full, wait staff was young but well trained. All in all, dinner was absolutely out of this world! Hudson's is known for its wild game - we were not that adventurous - in fact - it was difficult to find something that DIDN'T have anything wild in it (boar, antelope, venison, rabbit, rattlesnake) - but we were persistent and able to come away feeling full and pampered. I enjoyed my dinner so much that I suggested it to my mother-in-law while she visited Sunday. So we took 9 people up there - it was hit and miss that night . Mine was awesome - several people did not appreciate the smoked flavor that seemed to be a part of every meat. My husband did not even appreciate the lobster - said it had that smoked flavor. He tried the antelope and said it tasted like road kill (wonder how he knows what road kill tastes like?!?!) He generally likes good food - but out of the 9 of us, only three of us truly enjoyed our meal. Too bad for the rest of em - I was one that loved it. I had the same thing - with the exception of the chilled dill cucumber soup with crabmeat. There was not one piece of shell/cartilage in the crabmeat. I highly recommend Hudson's. Pricey but unique and very very pleasant. Later I will tell you about our breakfast at Four Seasons the next day!!!
Austin, TX