Happy Celebratory Birthday Catfish!

Yeah, we're trying not to fall off the face of the earth, we're just not doing a very good job.  Husbear's working his magic for a new movie, and I'm spending my days reading the standardized essays churned out by Texas 16-year-olds.  The job is simultaneously hilarious and depressing, and had I not signed eleventeen nondisclosure agreements, I'd be filling your ears with some real doozies.

But I can't. 

So... perhaps I can appease you with some food?

Sunday was Husbear's birthday!  Yay!  29!  And still adorable!

The man wanted catfish for his birthday.  More specifically, he wanted a whole catfish.  Fried.  And served in the Vietnamese style, like the elephant ear fish we had in the Mekong, see here.

We'd heard long ago that Le Soleil will happily put on this kind of spread for you, so we called a couple of friends and drove over.

Sorry about the seafood overload, Adam.

We had to order something besides the catfish, so why not try out their Bo luc lac, also known as shaking or shaken or shaky beef?

This has to be some of the tenderest beef I've ever eaten.  We don't really eat much beef in this household, but I did see Husbear's eyes light up over this dish.  Perhaps we'll be seeing a home version?  Or maybe we'll just be ordering it a lot at Le Soleil?

The expertly stir-fried beef came with a side lime and pepper dipping sauce, which nicely cut through the meat's richness.  I've had that dip at lesser restaurants and not understood what the fuss is, but with this beef it was just perfect.

Next came the grilled pork, which I insisted on.  Theirs is the best version of the Viet staple I've had in town. 

And plates of noodles and herbs and rice paper started to hit the table in preparation for the catfish.

The pork was perfect and savory and grilled and delicious.  It's a given that when we're at this restaurant, we have to order some version of this pork.

When the catfish came, we all just stared for a moment.  I should mention that the catfish is listed on the menu with five different prices, and this is the size smack in the middle.  Our waitress's recommendation.   (By the way, is it just that I'm reading the  essays of grammar-deprived 16 year olds, or does "waitress's" look strange to you, too?  I had to go look it up.)

I was reminded of  the hilarity that would ensue in Italy when we asked vendors for enough blank (beef, mussels, pasta) for two people, which is how we ended up with this four-pound steak.

The catfish was... big.  Large.  A fitting centerpiece for a birthday meal.

Few things are more entertaining to eat than fish served in this way.  Wet a piece of rice-paper, then pile up the center with some combination of fish, unidentifiable herbs of your choice, marinated daikon and carrot, bean sprouts, and rice noodles.  I'm pretty sure that some of that pork and beef found its way into a few rolls, too - though not this fine specimen of Husbear's.

I would think it would be pretty difficult to fry a fish of that size in a home kitchen, unless you're like my husband's family.  They maintain large setups specifically for frying fish outdoors, though usually the fish is redfish and it's in much smaller pieces.

Hey, that's why we have restaurants.

Somehow, in between all the conversation and catching up and mid-day drinking, a lot of eating got done, and most of the catfish disappeared.

Dude, I was just as surprised as you are.

And like that wasn't enough?  Husbear brought cake!  Specifically, a Grand Marnier crepe cake he'd been up until 2:30 in the morning preparing.  That man can make a serious bunch of crepes - he did work brunch prep for several months, after all.  He's also a master egg poacher.

The cake was delicious, but was better the next day with a caramel sauce.  Ahem.

Such a fun birthday lunch!  Great company, overlarge quantities of great food, what's not to love?

Things took a small turn towards the odd on our way back to the house - I think I'll blame the seventeen pounds of catfish we ate for the hallucination we had on the way home.  Really, an alpaca (or llama?)  in a trailer?  On the highway?

We were so full, actually we didn't eat dinner.  Instead of eating dinner that night, we went out to Vino Vino with the lovely Electric Blues and her lady, and then to the Will wrap party.  Yup, we got to go even though Husbear's not on the movie anymore!  Open bar and a photo booths, this one with an array of hilarious headgear.  I'm pretty sure I'm not going to show you those photos.

Le Soleil is, as always, at 9616 N. Lamar in Austin.  512.821.0396.

Comments

[Gastronomer]

Happy belated birthday! That was one sweet birthday spread. I will request a Grand Marnier crepe cake (with caramel sauce) for my next birthday.

[Su-Lin]

Oh dang! Happy Birthday again! Now that looks like a feast.

Vietnamese food sounds like the perfect birthday food (since over here in London, the good stuff is way in the east and I'm in the west and too lazy to cross the city except for perhaps once a year).

[maryn]

Holy dog, that was *lunch*? I am in awe.

[Girlie]

Thanks for the birthday wishes - I'll pass them along!

Gastronomer, that can definitely be arranged. Can we trade you a streetfood tour of HCMC, or is that getting a little greedy?

Su-Lin, I'd certainly recommend it - it was so much fun! All the great Viet restaurants here are clustered in one part of town, too.

Maryn, it was! At least it was our only meal of the day, or that would have been even more excessive. :-p

[Paolo]

You have good taste.

Marrying an Aries, I mean...

auuuuguuuuuriiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[auntie]

I WANT TO SEE THE photo booth pictures with the assorted hats !!! PLEASE !!!!!

[Gastronomer]

TOTALLY fair trade. One street food tour for one crepe cake! When you guys coming back to 'Nam?

[Girlie]

Grazie mille, Paolaccio! Are arieses (arii?) and taurii supposed to get along well?

Auntie... eee! I'll see about scanning them. Husbear is wearing a cowboy hat with yellow string pigtails. Ahem.

Gastronomer, it's a deal! Unfortunately, we have no idea when we'll be back. I'd love to be there right now. :-(

[Paolo]

I can say, with experience, that it's a very good match.

[adam]

good stuff. hopefully soon we'll be meeting up for the fried rabbit ear/hungarian pig tail feast.

[Girlie]

Yes indeed! Some weekend soon, we shall make this happen.

You got a recipe on those pig tails?