Pluckers (183 & Burnet Road,
Austin, TX) – May 2017
We came here for
my yearly birthday meal as being part of the Pluckers club. There wasn’t much of a wait for tables that
afternoon, but we decided to sit at the bar because the service there is
generally better. There was a delay in
having our order put in, so we ended up being stuck behind a large table near
us. The appetizer of chips and queso we
ordered (which was enough to carry us through the longer-than-normal wait) was
taken off the bill as an apology. That
was nice, because our server offered this because he released what
happened. We hadn’t asked for
anything. This is an example of what
makes this Pluckers top-notch, as I’ve always gotten good customer service from
when I first started going there back in 2003.
My birthday meal
was my favorite Monster Basket of boneless wings with waffle fries and
honey-mustard dressing. Every bite was
delicious. I ate half of my food because
it was so filling, but that also gave me the chance to have the left-overs the
next day for lunch. This location was the
first Pluckers I went to, and of all the locations in Austin, it is the best in
my book.
BBQ 512 (183 & McNeil Road,
Austin, TX) – May 2017
I was looking for
a quick lunch, and this was near where I was doing my errands, so I decided to
step in a give it a try. The interior
was clean, but not very impressive. The
lighting was kind of dark, and it had an almost cave-like feel to it. I got the turkey sandwich with a side of
potato salad. The potato salad had so
much mayo on it, it was the consistency of soup. The turkey was okay, but the bun looked like
it had been sat on. The BBQ sauce which
had been poured on it was very watery, and didn’t have much flavor to it. The meal was less than $10. It wasn’t bad, but it was not filling nor was
it satisfying. Spend the extra money and
go the extra distance and go to Rudy’s.
That’s what I should’ve done, but at least I could say I tried a new
place.
Maudie’s Milagaro (Davenport
Village, Route 360, Austin, TX) – May 2017
This is my special
location, and I’ve gone here for my birthday meal every year for nearly a
decade. While they don’t normally take
reservations, we called ahead just to make sure there was a place secured for
us. Due to the humidity, we sat inside
where it was noisier. My fiancée got the
chicken tacos, which she said were very watery.
I got my Josie’s Enchiladas, which were cheese enchiladas covered in
queso. They were cooked well, but the
portion was smaller than it had been since the last time I was here. The plate still came steaming hot, so their
warm gooey goodness was what I wanted.
This location is out of our way to go, so that’s why it’s been my
once-a-year place. The area that it’s
located in doesn’t change, so there’s decent parking, and a varied menu for
those who want to try Austin’s best Tex-Mex food.
Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ (Highway
183, Austin, TX) – May 2017
I wanted some
good local BBQ that was quick and close by for lunch, and only one place came
to mind. After a poor BBQ experience at
another place, I came to Rudy’s to have a real experience. I’ve gone here for years, so I “know the
drill” when ‘m called to deliver my order.
Half-pound of turkey, new potatoes, and banana pudding, please. There’s so many other great things on the
menu I could have, but that’s what I went with this time. My food was sliced right in front of me, and
delivered up quick. Once combined with
the wonderful Rudy’s sauce, it was slice after slice of BBQ heaven. This has been an Austin establishment for BBQ
for many years, and consistently provides both great food and great service.
Brick House (Highway 183 &
Duval Road, Austin, TX) – May 2017
We’d driven past
this place for a while and just assumed it was just another tavern that served
nothing deep-fried bar food. My fiancée
heard that it was a good place to get a burger, so we decided to check it out. We read a couple reviews on TripAdvisor first
which confirmed this was more of a “pub,” meaning that a wider selection of
food was available. The visit did not
disappoint in any way. The interior was
spacious, which the “dining area” separated from the “bar area,” and the TV’s
scattered about were not cranked up to an obscene volume (as most sports bars
are). Everything was clean, and there
was a good mix of patrons present. There
a good selection of both beer and wine, which was nice that we both could have
a drink.
My fiancée got a
side salad as an appetizer, and it was a very good size (larger than what we
expected). I got the mozzarella bricks,
which were worth every bit of the $9.
The coating was not fried batter or breading, so nothing took away from
the cheesy goodness. For our main
course, we went (of course) for the burgers.
She got the Kobe and I had the cheese burger. Both were cooked to our request, and were
juicy without being greasy. The fries
which came on the side were good too.
The food here was fabulous.
Our server was
Nick, who was very attentive, and answered some questions we had about the menu
and when the busy times were. Thank you,
Nick, for helping make our first experience here a great one. One thing we did notice, the parking in this
area has greatly improved and expanded from when my fiancée went to the “shack”
this used to be. Previously the parking
in this area had been a nightmare, but now there were enough spaces for the
patrons of both this establishment and the one next door.
P.F. Chang’s (Jollyville Road,
Austin, TX) – May 2017
It had been years
since either of us had been here. My
recalled not being able to park because this was “valet only,” and my fiancée
remembered the tiny parking lot because it was “valet only.” We like the P.F. Chang’s food we get in the
store, and since we lost our favorite locally-owned Asian restaurant, we
decided to give this a try again. First
things we noticed was that it was no longer a “valet” place, and the parking
lot had expanded greatly. There were
actually places to park which didn’t require putting your car on top of
another.
We arrived just
as the dinner rush was clearing out, and we didn’t have to wait long for our
table. The interior was spacious, and
the tables a little closer together than they should be. There weren’t any soft surfaces to absorb the
noise, but it wasn’t too bad. Our server
was very prompt, and attentive (thank you, Rhianna).
We started off
with the chicken lettuce wrap as an appetizer.
It was decent, but not stellar. My fiancée got the orange peel chicken, and I
the kung pao chicken. Both dishes were
very meaty and delicious, and the portions weren’t too bad. Since this is right down the road for us, and
there are few good Asian restaurants, we plan on coming back here, even if it
is a national chain.
Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline (Lakeline
Blvd, Austin, TX) – May 2017
I had a rare day
off in the middle of the week, and used it to treat myself for my birthday to a
showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy 2.”
I’m an Alamo Victory member, and had been issued a “free ticket” for my
birthday, but their website doesn’t allow it to be redeemed online. I found that kind of defeated the purpose of
having to choose your seat and showing online, if I had to redeem it at the box
office and hope I can get seated in a showing that I want. The person at the front desk didn’t have any
information about the redemption process, and simply suggested I call their
customer service line. I’d already paid
for my ticket, and it would’ve been nice to make the birthday ticket
retroactive to what I’d already paid for.
The movie was
okay, but nowhere as good as the previous.
I ordered a milkshake to have with the movie, and that was far better
than the movie. The person in the seat
next to me had a light-up watch which he kept turning on during the movie,
which was very distracting. I noted that
on my order card, and my server did nothing about it. Once I reported the situation, I didn’t see
my server again until my bill was dropped off.
Upon exiting, I
looked for a manager to report that to, as well as to ask about how I could
redeem my Victory ticket, but the only person present was the single person at
the box office who was dealing with a long line of people. For the past week I have tried calling
Alamo’s customer service line, and after clicking through the menu options to
get to where I can leave a message, I get a recording that the voice mail was
full. After attempting to reach them all
week, I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that my concern won’t be
addressed, nor my questions answered. I
do have to say when Alamo was at Lake Creek, the service and the atmosphere
were much better, and friendlier. Going
to Lakeline location now has the same corporate uncaring feel as the other theatres
in the area.
Taco Bell (Great Hills Trail, Austin, TX) – May
2017
We rarely eat at
national chains, and it’s been years since either my fiancée or I had been to a
fast-food joint, but over the weekend we just had a craving for Taco Bell. We agreed, as far as fast-food places go,
that Taco Bell is one of the better offerings.
Our guilty pleasure haul included the seven-layer burrito, nachos bell
grande, chicken quesadilla, cheesy potato burrito, and three soft tacos. We did the drive-thru, so we didn’t go
inside. Although the drive-thru took a
little longer than normal because of the person ahead of us, our food was still
tasty, even though it wasn’t warm by the time it was handed to us. We just microwaved it to give some heat, thus
we were able to enjoy this.
Brio (Arboretum, Austin, TX) – May 2017
This is a place
we go to on a regular basis, and we like to try different things on the
menu. We ordered the crab cakes dish and
chicken limone. Both dishes came out
within a reasonable time, and the food was delicious. Our server Madelynn was very nice. What more can you say about a place which
continues to be great.
Mimi’s Café (Arbor Walk, Austin, TX)
– June 2017
In all honesty,
when we went out to dinner this night, we were in the mood for Mexican food,
but there was an hour wait at the place next door. My fiancée and I had both (on separate
occasions) been to other Mimi’s locations, so we knew this would be an
acceptable substitute. The interior was
clean, although there were a few tears on some of the seats. What we mainly noticed when we walked in at
how empty this place was at the height of the dinner hour. The few patrons in the place all had silver
hair, except for the 40-ish couple hiding in an alcove by the bar (which had
all the markings of a meeting they didn’t want either of their spouses to know
about). We were surprised the location
didn’t have more patrons in it. Our
server was Keenan, and he was excellent.
We started off with the spinach artichoke dip, which was much larger
than we’d expected. For the main
courses, we had the French dip and the turkey dinner. Portions were huge for both plates, and
everything was hot and fresh. The meat
was tender. We could’ve used a bit more
gravy on the turkey, but really that was the only quibble we had about the
meal. The wine selection there also
wasn’t bad. Thank you for saving our
evening dinner plans!
Manuel’s (Jollyville Road, Austin, TX) – June
2017
We were in the
mood for enchiladas, and since this was a place we liked to go to, it made
perfect sense to get them here. My
fiancée went for the pork variety with the Verde sauce, but I decided to go off
menu a bit. My favorite dish is cheese
enchiladas covered in queso, and our server Parker said he could make that
happen. And since we’d started out with
an appetizer of queso, there was some cheese heaven going on.
Normally we’re
coming on time where there could be a lot of other patrons, so we’d gotten in
the habit of making a reservation ahead of time. This night, we timed it right as there was no
wait and hardly anyone there for dinner.
As usual, the place was always clean, the food good, and service
friendly.
Thai Cuisine (Parmer Lane, Austin, TX) – June
2017
With the closing
of our favorite Thai place on Anderson Lane, and the turn-for-the-worse our
second favorite place on 620 took, we were desperate to find a
replacement. We did, and this is the
place. Thai Cuisine is located in the
corner of a strip mall, so it could be easily overlooked. When we entered, we didn’t see a lot of
patrons, but the interior was nicely done.
It had an air of authenticity about, which gave us a good feeling.
There were so
many great things on the menu to try, and we got a number of them. The egg rolls appetizers were okay, but the
chicken satay was excellent. For our
main courses, we ordered pad kra prow, pad thai, and the sesame beef. With all the dishes, the meat was tender, and
the vegetables were crunchy. We also
enjoyed how the side of rice came in heart-shapes. Everything was delicious, and the staff was
very friendly. Paired with a good wine
selection, we’ve found our new best-place for Thai food!
Caspian Grill (Oak Knoll, Austin, TX) – June
2017
We like to try
new cuisines, and my fiancée had never had Persian food before. I had, so I had a level of expectation when
we decided to give this place a try.
Located in a strip mall on the southbound access road of 183, this place
is easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there.
As soon as we opened the door, our senses were greeted by a wonderful
aroma. The interior was nicely
decorated, and the tables placed so to maximize the space without making the
cozy environment feel crowded.
We started with
an appetizer of the Mediterranean flat bread, which was extremely tasty. My fiancée ordered the makh soos, and I got
the chicken kabob. Each came on a plate
with some saffron-covered rice and a side salad. The presentation was great, and the food was
excellent. Every bite was
delicious. This lived up to my
expectations. The wine selection was
also good, and the staff was extremely friendly (and checked on us
frequently). Great food at reasonable
prices with great service, what more can you ask for. This is a place we’ll be coming back to
again!
Texican (Lakeline Blvd, Austin, TX)
– July 2017
For years this
had been one of my favorite places to go for Tex-Mex food (and it was nice
because it was close to the house). We
came here for a late lunch, and the place was hardly full, so we were able to
get seated quickly. But then, we sat and
sat, and were ignored by the servers going by.
We hadn’t even been brought water.
We noticed a couple who came in about five minutes after us were seated,
and immediately given water by their server.
Since it was obvious that we weren’t going to get served sitting at the
table, we adjourned to the bar area where the staff couldn’t ignore us. After we placed our order, we noted a couple
other patrons coming up to the bar to get drinks because they said their server
had disappeared on them.
I ordered my
usual cheese El Paso enchiladas, and my fiancée ordered the taco salad with
chicken. My dish came out wrong, and
needed to be sent back to be redone. The
taco salad my fiancée received had hardly any chicken on it; what was there
would’ve filled a single enchilada. The nachos
in the taco salad were soggy, like they’d been sitting out for a long time, so
the dish wasn’t very edible. When my
enchiladas did return, they had half the amount of cheese in them than they
normally do. This was supposed to be a
nice meal at my favorite place, but neither of the dishes were very good. And there was no management present to
mention this too. The hostess acted kind
of scattered when this mentioned to her, it didn’t even registered what we’d
said. So we still paid full price for
meals that weren’t satisfactory without any apology for the situation.
For years this
had been one of my favorite places to go (since 2007), but the quality of both
the food and server has dropped dramatically, it greatly concerns me. Add to the fact there was no management
present to handle these issues, I don’t know if this was a one-off situation or
this is becoming like other Austin establishments to provide service that
wasn’t good.
Outback (Highway 183, Austin, TX) –
July 2017
We were in the
mood to get a good steak, and previous experience has shown us that Outback is
a decent place to get it. The website
said tables were available, but we still had a wait a few minutes to be seated
in order for one to be prepared for us.
That really wasn’t a quibble, as much as it was unexpected. Our server, Kennedy, was very good, and kept
checking on us (as we were tucked away in the corner).
We ordered the
filet mignon and prime rib, and both came out exactly as we’d asked, and in a
proper amount of time. The potato sides
and salad appetizers were also very good, and prepared correctly. We finished the evening off with getting a
piece of caramel cheesecake (to go), which was also delicious. We don’t tend to go to national chains, but
this is one of the exceptions because of the quality of the food and the
excellent service we received.
Mesa Rosa (Anderson Mill Road,
Austin, TX) – July 2017
This was one of
the first restaurants I found when I moved to Austin back in 2002, and it has
been a place I’ve frequented over the years.
Now that I was living back on this side of town again, it was time to
re-experience it to see if it was a good as I remembered. I’d been away for about three years, and looked
forward to a good experience. It was
well rewarded.
We’d arrived on a
mid-week evening, so there wasn’t too many other patrons present, and the
service was a little slow. But once we
placed our orders, our food came out quick, and correct on the first try (as
what I remembered). My fiancée got the
chicken chimichanga, which was filled with properly-seasoned meat that wasn’t
too greasy or overly-spicy. I got my
usual traditional cheese enchiladas (no beans, extra rice), which were
over-flowing with melted cheese at the proper temperature.
I was happy that
this place has continued to live up to my memories and expectations, and we
plan on returning here again. My fiancée
noted she was glad that she found a Tex-Mex place which she liked.
Mesa Rosa (RR 620, Cedar Park, TX)
– July 2017
My fiancée wanted
to give this location a try, based on the good experience we had the location
closer to our house. There was plenty of
parking and no wait to be seated, although we were seated in the bar area which
was much hotter than other sections of the restaurant (which we noted when
heading over to the restrooms). By then,
it was too late to ask to be reseated.
Our server was
great and kept our beverages refilled.
My fiancée got the same chimichanga she’d gotten at the other location,
which she noted had more flavor than the previous one. I got the burrito al carbon, which was
stuffed with chicken, green peppers, and onions, and topped with the spicy
green sauce. Extremely good, and very
filling. We’d also started with an
appetizer of queso which was great.
Between the two
locations we’ve been to of this Austin-based establishment, we figure this
locale would be our main-stay, even though it was further for us to go.
Gino’s Italian Cuisine (Lake Creek
Blvd, Cedar Park, TX) – August 2017
We met friends
here, as they recommended it because they’d “never gotten a bad meal
here.” I’ve eaten at the original
location in Round Rock, so I knew what to expect on the menu. This location was in a strip mall, which doesn’t
look very big from the outside, but it ended up being extremely spacious
inside. There weren’t many patrons when
we arrived, but it filled up not long after that. Even when it was full, the noise level was
good, and the people at our table never had any difficulty in hearing each
other. The interior was clean with good
décor, as were the restrooms.
For appetizers we
got the sautéed veggies and the garlic bread.
The bread was soft, and the garlic taste was subtle. The veggies were crisp and delicious. For the main courses, we got the veal
caprese, chicken marsala, a calzone filled with bacon and shrooms, and I had my
chicken parmigiana. The meats were
decent, and the breading wasn’t very thick.
I thought the piece of meat could’ve had a little more volume, but that
was my only quibble with it. The flavors
were good, and the sauces were well-done.
We were so stuffed, we had no room for dessert. As this had a good selection of wines, this
is a place we plan on coming back to.
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