What I Ate: August 28, 2010 (Nubian Queen Lola's)

Dinner: We finally made it to Nubian Queen Lola's (1815 Rosewood Avenue, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 474-5652‎). We had gone twice before, but both times she was closed. The food wasn't perfect (I would say it was good, not great) but the experience was worth it and I'll definitely go back. We started with a same cup of jambalaya. (We wanted to try the gumbo, but she didn't have any today. She suggested the jambalaya but we could eat that plus the two entrees we wanted, so she got us a cup of it.) The jambalaya was very flavorful and I could have made a meal of it. It was a bit salty, but that wasn't a problem if eaten the the sweet cornbread.

Tina had the crawfish éttoufée which I found to be a little too spicy and too salty for me.

I had the fried chicken wings dinner which was wonderfully fried, but much, much too salty. The seasoning was very flavorful, so if the salt was toned down a bit, this would be a great fried chicken.

What people have to know about Nubian Queen Lola's when they go is that there's not much seating (only three tables which seat about 16 total, so don't be surprised to share a table with total strangers), only one person (Lola takes your order, pours your drinks, cooks the food, and brings it to you… unless her young daughter helps out), the schedule is a bit erratic (her posted hours are at her website, but sometimes she opens up late - like today when we showed up 30 minutes after opening to find her closed and heading out to the grocery store - and sometimes she closes up early - when patronage is low), and much of what she does is geared towards serving the homeless (on Sundays she's closed to feed the homeless, any of the trinkets she sells that lines the walls of the restuarant go towards helping the homeless, and along with your meal you can donate additional meals to the homeless). All this together makes a visit to Nubian Queen Lola's pretty special (as long as you're not in a rush and willing to go with the flow) and be sure to donate a few meals to the homeless while you're there.

Breakfast: I ate a toasted Cinnamon Crunch bagel.

Late Night: I had an everything bagel topped with whipped cream cheese and smoked sockeye salmon which I ate open-faced (to double the toppings I get to eat).