What I Ate: September 12, 2009 (Manna Korean Restaurant, Domino's Pizza)

Lunch: Tina and I headed up to Manna Korean Restaurant (6808 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 323-0635) in the back of the Han Yang Market. Tina ordered bibimbap (rice bowl with various vegetables, pork, and a fried egg).

I had kimchi jjigae (kimchi soup with tofu and rice flour cakes) which was very flavorful, but turned out to be a bit too sour for me. Also, it didn't have any pork in it (as I had expected from the menu posted on the wall). This wasn't completely surprising as the other jjigae they had on the menu had the meat crossed out.

I then ordered galbi (Asian pear marinated short ribs - grilled). The galbi was the only dish we had that I thought was subpar. It was still tasty, and the meat was not tough, but the texture of the outside of the meat was a bit off. It wasn't dry - it was covered with a little layer of mushy meat stuff - like it had been cooked on a pan that wasn't hot enough to brown the meat and the juices were cooking around the meat causing little meat bits to slough off and stick to the short ribs. That's as best as I can describe what it seemed like to me.

The banchan (side dishes) there are self-serve and what little they had available - ggakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and baechu kimchi (cabbage kimchi) - and mu saengchae (radish cut into strips with sweet vinegar) - well well prepared. Kongnamul (boiled mung bean sprouts with sesame oil) was brought out to the service area later and that was very good as well.

Dinner: I was lazy, so I ordered Domino's Pizza. I've never had their "Brooklyn-style" which is a little thicker than their thin-crust and thinner than the traditional crust, so I decided to order the pizza with that type of crust. I had a half Cali Chicken Bacon Ranch and half ExtravaganZZa Feast. I think the Brooklyn-style also means they cut fewer slices so the slices are larger and you can pick them up and fold them easier as well. I have fond memories of Domino's from college and of all the pizza chains in my area Domino's is the one that agrees with me the most - but I'll be happy once we move and I'll have a few more options when I feel like pizza.