tom in austin's Profile
parkside - meh?
If you have a seriously bad experience that is genuinely incomprehensible (e.g. waiting 90 minutes in an empty restaurant) you should probably reach out to Shawn Cirkiel directly online. He is extremely approachable and genuinely cares about the details.
I like how they do the marrow at Parkside, so delicious and buttery.
Foiled by Fonda San Miguel again.
Uchi has a cooked escolar dish that is out of this world, as well as the hamachi nabe bowl that (while overpriced) is absolutely craveworthy.
Crispy Tacos?
Another vote for Angie's carnitas tacos, the most amazing facesplosion disaster you're likely to lunch in Austin. Yum. Make it a 4500 calorie meal by quaffing an Angie's frozen lemonade with your meal. (Scrumptiouschef's predilections are inscrutable but ineffably wise.)
Bachelor party in Austin
I recommend Parkside. Take the roof, enjoy the view. Great food, good drinks, fun place.
parkside - meh?
EBeater, here is a Parkside battle plan: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/704474#5581630
Three things: first, Parkside is erratic, although nowhere near as erratic as (for example) Wink, Perla, Justine's, Congress, etc. I'd say that Uchi, Uchiko, and Barley Swine are the only joints in Austin that punch it in more reliably and are in a similar modernist trope.
Second, FWIW, I like the gnocchi. Subtle dish, divides many diners.
Lastly, the cocktails, desserts, and crowds were all major strengths for Parkside, but I've noticed a significant decline in cocktail awesomeness, and a minor decline in dessert awesomeness. The crowd issues have intensified over the last couple years and now getting sat promptly on Thu-Fri-Sat nights requires a reservation or some luck. (Doesn't help that Tom and Padme both tweeted favorably about the joint when they were here for Top Chef.)
Good luck, and I hope you come back to Austin for more eating. If you ever run aground again, give me a ring and I'll curate a mind-blowing Austin chowventure for you. There is no French Laundry or El Bulli here, and our town misses much in the way of fresh seafood, but it still has plenty to offer.
Korean Fried Chicken / Somunanjib / Rockin Rice / BBGo
Has anyone else noticed a drop off in the quality of the fried chicken over the last couple months? Love this place, sad to see that happen if I'm right, and will happily ignore my anecdotal evidence if I'm wrong per the Chow forum.
Love this place, love the owners, love the BYOB, but I need amazing Korean fried chicken. Is any other place in town doing anything similar?
Line at Franklin BBQ
I'm with you. I love making brisket, carnitas, or whole beef tenderloin for a throng of hungry greeks, and I feel that the best I've ever done is better than I've had at Franklin, but my average is far below. Considering the challenges inherent, I'm pretty impressed by what they do.
Line at Franklin BBQ
Sqwertz, you'd find that in my posting history, I have never done what you just described. I'm not a fanboy and have been extremely critical of Franklin's (possibly manufactured) scarcity. I'm annoyed by their inability to scale, and I have to deploy non-conventional methods to acquire the food on a workday. Obnoxious, no doubt.
However: consistency is what Franklin does. Aaron is a scientist and the product is ridiculously reliable. I've had better at Snow's, but the average for Franklin is higher. For brisket, peak score in Texas (and the world) goes to Snow's, highest average score goes to Franklin. I eat at JMueller's every couple weeks, definitely an office favorite, and their brisket is wildly erratic by comparison. I've had transcendent brisket there as well as dry, tough brisket; this experience is much more in line with your normal adventures to Black's, Smitty's, Kruez, Cooper's, City Market, etc. We live in a golden age now, where JMueller, Stiles Switch, and Franklin have almost completely eliminated my need for frequent trips to Lockhart, Luling, Lexington, and Llano. (Hey, those all start with L's. Wha?!)
Lastly, it is inherently fallacious to assert that some critiques are valid and others invalid purely based on their direction. "You're going after a golden calf, expect the zealots to rush you!" is a valid concern, but it is balanced by the glut of people who are annoyed by the Franklin purchasing experience and the perceived "hipness" of the joint. Call it a wash and address this from the only perspective that matters: how does it taste?
Line at Franklin BBQ
elpaninaro, I lived in Midland for a while and have visited often after leaving. I'm really curious which BBQ place you're talking about.
Is Lupe Tortilla Open?
He has entered into the revered pantheon of the ascended beyond to join Twill and MPH, but at least I can read his awesome blog.
Is Lupe Tortilla Open?
Re: "Not very toothsome"... Now I'm confused. What is the definition of toothsome? Isn't it "of delicious or appetizing appearance, flavour, or smell" or something similar? If so, I'd say (on a good day) Habanero delivers a better appearance, flavor, and nose than any fajitas in Austin? This is what the usage of mesquite helps assure, right? Superior aroma and flavor. The only place they go wrong sometimes is the toughness, yeah?
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toothsome
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/toothsome
Synonyms & related words:
palatable
appetizing
comestible
eatable
edible
tasty
delectable
pleasant-tasting
scrumptious
yummy
delicious
luscious
tasty
Is Lupe Tortilla Open?
Habanero Cafe's fajitas are unctuous and toothsome, long on flavor, fired over mesquite. Tougher than the picture-perfect tenderness of the Southeast Texan fajita trope, but dancing with yumminess. On a good day, they're probably the best in Austin. However, they play the game straight, dealing in a piece of beef that can be quite tough. On a bad day, I wouldn't recommend the place to folks with dentures.
Is Lupe Tortilla Open?
I concur. This is ridiculous. Habanero is half the price; is Lupe Tortilla really twice as good?
Is Lupe Tortilla Open?
Addlepated, Thyme, can you recommend some spots for an Austinite making a SA journey?
Killer week in Austin for Newbie
You've slotted Contigo at lunchtime. Contigo is mostly outdoors, delicious, and some of the best cocktails in Austin. Go in the evening when things are cooling off and enjoy the small plates w/ copious drinks.
I don't know what to bump... I haven't done Lenoir, and my last visit to Olivia was shaky, but the rest of your nighttime picks are solid. (Which food trucks are on your roadmap for the last night? Plenty of really bad ones you'll want to avoid. I wish that spontaneity could be more reliably rewarded!)
Clay Pit
How many ages hence shall this our lofty scene be acted over in states unborn and accents yet unknown?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/570475#4175121
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/403190
Austin Burger Smackdown!
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm referring, of course, to my own inability to create an ordinal list of the best burger joints in Austin.
In 2009, I set out to wrap my head around the Austin burger scene. I did that, much to the chagrin of my cardiologist, and felt content for all of seven seconds. Entropy! Shenanigans! Up-and-comers! Variability! Shifts of my own preference! Can there be a burger dogma? No, the world is not static, and the burger landscape is constantly evolving. My list from 2009 became obvious nonsense almost the moment I finalized it.
I reiterate my initial question: what is your list of the best burger places in Austin? As of today, in order of preference, and give a descriptive sentence (or more) why for each. Bonus points if you include the approximate date of your last visit; recency is a key data point.
Thank you for your efforts, fellow 'hounds!
Tex-Mex Catering: Matt's, Chuy's, Santa-Rita...Maudies?
Given the type of Tex-Mex restaurant you're listing, my advice would be one of the following locations. Take w/ a major grain of salt, as obviously catering is not the same as dining in, and I've never catered from any of these locations. I've put them vaguely in order of my personal preference for their take on Tex-Mex. They are not in order of personal preference overall. For completeness sake, I've also included all the candidates you named. (Note: if you're wanting other Mexican styles, I'd order them differently.)
* Habanero Cafe
* Angie's
* El Meson on Burleson
* Curra's
* Rosita's Al Pastor
* Sazon
* Pappasito's
* El Chile
* Jorge's
* Enchiladas Y Mas
* Matt's El Rancho
* Mi Madre's
* Chuy's
* Polvo's
* Maudie's
* Santa Rita
* Taco Cabana
* El Mercado
* Serrano's
* Tres Amigos
* El Arroyo
I'm sure I'm missing many, and I purposely left out trailers/tiny places that I don't think could accommodate an order like yours.
Hungry for Fajitas
Habanero Cafe at Oltorf and 1st has the best fajitas in Austin, at lest as far as I can tell.
http://habanerocafe.com/menu.html
RIP Red House Pizza
Classic: http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2011/11/7/Sometimes-The-News-Hits-Hard-Red-House-Pizza-Now-Open-For-Lunch-Plus-They-Threaten-Delivery
Followup: http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/1/30/The-Long-East-Austin-Nightmare-Is-Over-Red-House-Pizza-Is-Closed
Good Breakfast tacos WAY south.
La Flor on 1st near Stassney is fantastic. Mi Ranchito on William Cannon & Pleasant Valley is (on a good day) the best carnitas in Austin. Ashely's Tacos on Manchaca and Stassney is slightly above mediocre, passable in a pinch. Arandas 2 is on Stassney, decent. El Pollo Rico on 1st and Stassney isn't terrible. Casa Garcia, La Posada, Maria's, Jalisco's, and Maudie's are all mediocre at best.
Opening: Lucy's Fried Chicken
I just like the chicken, and even that is erratic. Everything else I've had has been so-so. I've tried most the menu except the oysters. (I love oysters, but these seem overpriced.)
If they can sort their consistency out, tweak their menu a little, and fix their deviled eggs (which, on paper, sound great, but in reality are lame), this place could be great. We badly need a good fried chicken place in Austin.
Braise...oh my...
I visited Braise's website and it makes no mention of the executive chef Parind Vora. I'm guessing he checked out completely -- has his hands full preparing the return of Jezebel and his new triple-restaurant concept. http://austin.eater.com/archives/2011/07/07/parind-voras-restaurant-jezebel-returning-summer-2012.php
I'm a big fan of Parind's cooking, and he has remarkable pride in his work, so I wouldn't be surprised if he has informally disavowed Braise.
Bacon
Five visits so far, still trying to figure it out.
The eponymous bacon on the menu is pretty good, but I've had better. Big, chewy chunks, sometimes more like jerky. I make sure I order a side of bacon every time I visit, as it is their namesake. Not worth the price as of yet, I'll keep trying.
The best item for me has been their biscuits & gravy, which is solid, but not great. This is the only thing I can recommend on the entire menu thus far, but they do biscuits & gravy much better just down the street at Counter Cafe.
Their breakfast tacos have been completely forgettable. The menu claims the tortillas are fresh. If this is true, the day I ordered they must have been out and resorting to blatantly store-bought and pre-made. Or possibly I'm going insane.
Their diner options (eggs, toast) have been diner-grade at best. Still haven't done their fried chicken, that'll be my next thing, be it chicken and waffles or just strips.
The place sort of reminds me of Hank's Garage -- on paper this place should be really great. Every visit is OK at best, usually mediocre, and always peppered with little, obvious food missteps (store-bought tortillas, etc.) that sort of make it hard to give yourself over to the chow experience.
End of the day, not recommended. Hope they figure it out. Let me know if you discover something great on the menu that I should try.
Korean Fried Chicken / Somunanjib / Rockin Rice / BBGo
Not to derail the thread, but this is what Austin is missing, as far as I know. Let me know if you have a good Austin option: http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/locations/us-houston-hotpot-tx-77057/
Korean Fried Chicken / Somunanjib / Rockin Rice / BBGo
sqwertz, I really like this place and go every few weeks.
The pork neck bone soup is really good; I prefer it to nearby Misung's variant, which is also delicious. It is ridiculously expensive, but the leftovers hold up well for making awesome rice dishes at home.
I like their fried chicken, dolsot bibimbap, barbecued beef, the pork soup, almost everything here, really. Their prices can be high and the service is erratic (sometimes extremely friendly, other times indifferent), but the food keeps me coming back. The place is byob, and you can even buy soju next door.
Heading to Fredricksburg & Want Recommendations
I love Hill Top, never miss it on a visit, and have been going for a decade. Chowerati be warned: the food is only OK. This place is more about atmosphere. Really nice, you should go, and don't go for the food.
