Austin restaurant suggestions for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

How did you like Fogo? We were there xmas eve.

legadillo in Austin

Sagra

This is kind of an old thread, but we had such a truly awful meal at Sagra last night, I wanted to post somewhere. The service was good, the people were nice. There were seven of us and we were a little cramped up, but it's a cute place.

And then the food came. If it hadn't been xmas eve and we hadn't wanted to make our hostess happy, I think everybody would have sent back their dinners. If this sounds familiar, then you've read my post on citysearch: macceroni al forno that was elbows swimming in tepid cream covered with dry bread crumbs; butternut-squash lasagna that tasted like bad pumpkin pie (might have been ok as a small carby side dish); calamari that was like fish gum; linguini with clam sauce that was actually nauseating. I had the seven-seas special that was ok until we dug into the salmon at the center. It was so overdone it was chewy. The desserts were fine. The wine was nice. I wouldn't go back.

legadillo in Austin

Best steakhouse?

We moved near Mesa Ranch last year and have been there three times. The service is lovely, the room is pleasant, there's even cowboy entertainment, but the food was just not worth the price, and I gave it three chances. It's so close to my house, I really wanted to like it.

I'd rather go downtown to Austin Land and Cattle. The best in town is Cool River, imo, but that's a chain.

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Maggiano's

Hi--I'm using you to vent. We went to Buca di Beppo in Austin last night (they sent me a $10 coupon and I'd never heard of it). Absolutely awful! We get this ersatz Disneyland-type tour of the kitchen on our way to a table. The whole place was empty, but they sat us in a room with a sqwalling baby. The Caesar salad dressing was very vinegary and the croutons were plywood. The beers were $7.75 a pint and my forgettable Pinot Noir $8 a glass, and then they forgot to give us our leftovers box. I'll never set foot in there again.

Thank you. If this is posting wrongly somehow, I apologize.

legadillo in Chains

What's good at Central Market?

There's an armenian string cheese there tied in a knot with black sesame seeds. It's worth looking for, and I've never seen it elsewhere. Same for Jaime's salsas (from the restaurant on Red River) in the cooler. Nobody else carries it that I know of.

legadillo in Austin

There Can Be Only One:Your Single Favorite Taco In Austin.

Do breakfast tacos count? El Arroyo on 5th, coming from a morning swim at Barton Springs: 2 chorizos, please: $3 (used to be a buck apiece), a salsa for each. Eat them on top of my parking garage facing the Texas capitol with a napkin tucked in my collar and NPR on the radio. They're usually good and hot, just the right egg/meat/cheese ratio, the salsa is cool and fresh. I do that before work about twice a month.

legadillo in Austin

Soups in Austin

Rare beef pho at Kim Phung. It has a licorice-y anise flavor they do in no other pho joint in town. Won ton at PF Chang's.

Anybody remember Azuma, the sushi place in northwest Austin that went out of business about 10 years ago? They had a miso fish broth with bits of tofu in the bottom that was a religious experience.

legadillo in Austin

BBQ-THE REAL DEAL?

I like County Line best, too, even better than Kruez (BLASPHEMY!). I get the Big Daddy (beef ribs), have them wrap half of it to go before it even gets to the table (two meals for $17), ask for a big bag of dog bones from the kitchen (for my dogs--really), and leave a generous tip for all the extra work. My husband likes pork ribs, but pork cannot take the all-day cooking. They are never as good at a restaurant as they are from my backyard grill. Beef ribs. The Big Daddy. That's the ticket.

legadillo in Austin