Drakula and The Melting Pot: A Tale of two dining experiences.

So today’s blog is not going to be that relevant unless you live in Austin, because well it is a restaurant review. I don’t often do these, but this weekend I went to two new places: The Melting Pot and Drakula.

Friday night was the Melting Pot, located (pardon my French) way the hell up north on 183. I’m not even sure it was still Travis County. Chris’s company Christmas dinner was being held here and honestly I was excited to finally meet these people and put names to faces. We had our own little room so we could all get Fondue crazy and get to know each other. Let me say that I don’t like going to restaurants with strangers where things are served family style. Like where you all have to share. Not because I am afraid of germs, because you are always afraid to eat as much as you really want for fear of not leaving enough for the person sitting next to you. Same reaon I don't like PF Changs. Since there are communal hot cheese bowls involved in Fondue this was the case. Lots of little squares of bread and some various veggies to dip.

Second course we had to cook our own meat. You heard me, cook yourself. I for one don’t even put the frozen pizza in the oven around my house, let along come face to face with raw gelatinous chicken breasts. I was afraid I was going to get Salmonella or Ecoli. Sure there are hot boiling pots that you cook the meat in, but there is no timer and the room was dark so how do I know if I got everything cooked all the way. What a deal this restaurant has, they don’t have to cook. They serve everything raw and you pay $30 a person to do all the work. Actually the whole experience was pretty fun, I ended up getting plenty to eat and no food poisoning from undercooked meat ensued. Plus I got to chat with all of Chris’s co-workers who all turned out to be super nice.

Saturday afternoon Chris had the wild urge to go toot around town. This is usually something I love to do and he hates. Since he is at the office all week and I am home working all week on Saturdays I love the idea of going around to little shops and such and Chris since he is never home wants to lie on the couch or work in the yard. Since he had been working from home lately too he decided we were going to run errands around town. We went to Barnes and Nobles so he could blow a gift certificate and looked at books and magazines. Did a little couch shopping on furniture row: leather or cloth that is the question. Also went by our friend Chris Hernandez’s work where he was giving away pieces of art. He did an exhibit where he painted different atomic bomb explosion scenarios for everyday of the year (ya so he did 365 of them) and I got 9 awesome looking dates I am going to frame and hang. SO ANYWAY ABOUT THE FOOD… Chris decided we were going to go and try Romanian food at this place again way north called Drakula.

When we pulled up and the chalk sign out front said the daily specials involved cabbage, I was a little trepadacious. The interior was well, not good. The place is in a strip mall and the decorations are sparse. The techno Romanian music inside about drove me to drink. Before we ordered I noticed there was a review on the wall from Texas Monthly so I went with their recommendation of the stuffed cabbage with polenta. I tried to smile as we waited and be pleasant but I was actually really hungry and firmly convinced our food was going to suck (no pun intended). When our sweet little waitress came out to bring me my lunch it was a huge plate with sectional goodness. Going around the plate there were three perfect scoops of polenta, 4 stuffed cabbages logs that looked like spring rolls, 3 rosettes of sour cream, some sausages that were curled up on the ends and a pile of I guess string cabbage in the center. I took a bite bracing myself and low and behold – I liked it. I mean really liked it. Not something I would usually order or think to eat, but it was delicious. Chris ordered the stuffed bell pepper and sadly his was not as good, so I shared with him. If you are ever at the Capital City Comedy Club on 183 and the hunger pangs strike, go over to Drakula it’s in the same shopping center.