Ashforth's Profile
RIP part 4
A moment of silence for Red Robin and Marie Calendars in Sunset Valley.
Yeah, that's long enough.
Here's hoping that some better places open in those locations!
My favorite things from Central Market
The store-baked ginger cookies sold in the bakery. They are not ginger snaps, they're big, dense, chewy cookies full of rich, zingy ginger flavor and coated on top with chunky, crunchy sugar crystals. They are fabulous.
Lunch in Austin
I have to say that this post made me sad. Several of the recommendations were just lukewarm, and the overall viewpoint seemed to me to be that except for a few fine dining places the restaurants in Austin are mundane, just ok, pretty decent, or good but not great. Allrighty, maybe my taste in food is simply mundane, but I think there a lot of places in Austin to get great food, even at lunchtime. As a food lover in Austin, I feel fortunate. YMMV.
Lunch in Austin
A few suggestions:
Zocalo
Nau's Enfield Drug (CHEESEBURGER!)
Roaring Fork
Din Ho
El Azteca
El Chile
Need an Asian Restraunt Suggestion
I would not classify Sunflower as "fine dining" under any circumstances. Their food is great, but the atmosphere is on the Din Ho level, in my opinion, and more than once I have had an entire meal with nary a refill of the water glass. I've only eaten at La Soliel once, but as I recall it was far too casual to be escribed as fine dining, but the food was good.
Emeril's Gulf Coast Fish House
I posted a few weeks ago asking for recommendations for a good dinner place in Biloxi/Gulfport and Emerils wasn't mentioned in the replies; maybe that is an indicator of the poor level of attention or interest that led to the impending closure. However, it is where we ended up and we had a lovely meal. The restaurant is beautiful, and the service was very good.
The complimentary cornbread and rolls were outstanding. I had the "Five Day Duck" and it was the most succulent yet not greasy duck I have ever eaten. One of my group ordered a steak cooked medium and it came out very well done. The waiter immediately whisked it away and brought her a cocktail while a properly cooked steak was quickly prepared. An embarrasing mistake for this caliber of restaurant, but handled well.
The banana cream pie was incredibly delicious. It was dense and rich and the crust added the perfect crunchy element.
The location may have been detrimental to the restaurant. My companions felt the casino at the hotel was a little on the rough side. It sure would be nice if Emeril could move the operation to a better location. In the meantime, I do hope those who can get there before this place closes, do.
Looking for a Good Dinner in Biloxi
I'll be visiting Beau Rivage in April and want to treat my group of four to a nice dinner. Last time we were there we went to Ruth's Chris and had excellent meals, so it is a contender, but I would like to try a different place, and something locally owned would be nice. I checked out the Mary Mahoney's online menu and it is intriguing.
All suggestions are welcome. The price range is pretty open and we like all kinds of food (except one who doesnt like seafood, but a seafood place is fine as long as there are other options available).
Ruby's Barbecue on 29th Street
Couple of weeks ago I got a sausage sandwich and sides of pinto beans and greens. The sides are always spicy and I like them for that, but this time the beans were too hot, really, to be as enjoyable as usual. And I like spicy food. The greens also seemed a little hotter than usual, but it could have been the effect of the beans.
The sausage was very good (I think it is Southside Elgin) and nicely prepared, juicy but not greasy and the sandwich has a pretty generous portion for a reasonable price.
Wedding in Austin
Yes, the Bridal Extravaganza is, um, let's say a unique experience. I'm glad you went, though, because it's hard to beat having that many vendors in one place. Enjoy your selection process! Tastings are so fun.
Wedding in Austin
I work at a local wedding venue and have seen a lot of caterers. There are many good choices in Austin. If you aren't having a wedding coordinator, an important consideration in your caterer is having one who knows how to run the event. Three caterers whose work and food (of course) have impressed me are Gourmet Gals & Guys, Austin Catering, and Emily's Catering. I think all three have sample menus on their websites.
How far off is your wedding? There is a Bridal Extravaganza on January 9 and 10, a great place to sample wedding cake and check out a ton of vendors.
Help me find a cookbook for an unadventurous cooking novice...
Believe it or not, I would recommend a Rachael Ray cookbook - one of the "Thirty Minute Meal" ones. I think there are several of them, so you can peruse them and see which one has recipes your friend and his wife may enjoy.
"Rach" works my nerves like a screaming toddler, but I liked her show in the early days and I think her approach that cooking need not be intimidating, complicated or time-consuming and her use of fresh ingredients combine for good starter lessons.
Chinese Restaurant Open On Christmas In Austin
I'm confused by the title vesus the post! Are you planning to have Chinese food or were you overruled by your partner? Or will you be dining separately? (kidding)
Sour Cherries
I don't know nothin' bout sour cherries, but I got some fablous black cherries at Central Market yesterday for $3.99/lb. They were big, juicy, sweet, and intensely cherry-y. They also went south overnight, so it was lucky we had eaten most of them. Refrigeration is apparently important.
New Paggi House?
I went with a group of nine for brunch at Paggi House today and left with no dount that it is now my favorite restaurant in Austin. The table was set up as a large square so all of us could see and talk to each other, our server Kelly was attentive and personable, and the food was delicious. As was mentioned in other posts and consistent with my previous visit, the service was not rushed, but not lax. When we made the reservation we told them that we were a family celebrating three birthdays and a college graduation, and after the entrees, Kelly told us that the restaurant had something for us and brought out a big dessert sampler plate with three desserts. Then he brought a $20 gift card for each celebrant. I have never had a restaurant do anything like that. I was blown away by the generosity of this gesture.
Tom made the rounds to each table while we were there and adjusted the volume of the music and the thermostat (we were in the "cold corner" of the restaurant).
This is a beautiful place with fine service and fine food (and free valet parking!). I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.
bday celebration for group of 20
You might consider Jasper's. It has some nice private rooms and when I was there on a Friday night, business looked slow, so you probably wouldn't have trouble booking one. The food we had there was very good.
Meryl Streep as Julia Child
For anyone in Austin, the Alamo Drafthouse on S. Lamar is doing 'Dinner and a Movie' with Julie & Julia on August 11, serving a five course dinner. The menu isn't posted on their website yet. My sister is taking me as my birthday gift, and I can't wait!
Need help in selecting high quality frozen appetizers
Not trying to tell you what to do, but think about this: eight passed appetizers are a whole, whole lot of work. Appetizer stations promote mingling. They are your friends when throwing a party. If you have two stationary appetizers on different tables in diferent parts of the room and pass four, you should be in good shape.
I don't have Trader Joe's and haven't tried the frozen appetizers at Whole Foods, so I can't help you there.
New Paggi House?
Went to Paggi House tonight for the first time and it was wonderful. Four of us shared appetizers, then had salads and dessert. The apps were all delicious.
Carpaccio was melt-in-your-mouth tender with big beef but not too strong of a flavor.
Cheese plate had small portions of six cheeses and the honeycomb perfectly complemented the blue cheese (could have used more toast)
Bruschetta featured a generous amount of cheese to spread on and a small crock of roasted cherry tomatoes that were still juicy and perfectly fresh tasting.
Tenderloin brochette was tender and had a real pow! of flavor and was accompanied by a delicious sauce and peppery arugula salad
Crab cakes had big lucious chunks of crab and were well seasoned. They were fab despite the presence of red pepper (boo!)
The arugula salad with roasted beets was good but not a knockout. The heirloom tomato salad looked fanstastic but I didn't taste it.
Desserts:
Strawberry shortcake's berries were delightful, but as a whole it wasn't a standout and the peach sorbet that accompanied it didn't compliment it well, to my taste.
Bread pudding was delicious and came with berries. We got vanilla ice cream instead of espresso ice cream. I'd like to have it again with the "right" ice cream, even though the vanilla was fine.
Peach melba was also wonderful, the peaches were perfect and the almond cake was light and delicious
German chocolate tartlette was a triumph, with a thick, dark ganache and sweet, salty deep caramel ice cream.
The service was excellent, warm and friendly, attentive but not pushy. It far exceeded the service I had at Trio (yep, still bitter about Trio). This was one of the best dining experiences I have had in Austin, hands down. I'm looking forward to going back for Sunday brunch! And for dinner.
Note to the person who asked about handicapped access: They have an elevator, but it's broken (apparently despite numerous attempts at repair). One of my group has physical limitations; she made it up the stairs to get in, but needed an easier way out. She was graciously escorted out a back entrance that has no stairs - it does entail a street pick up or drop off. So call ahead and I'm sure they will accommodate your needs.
Substitute for Trader Joe's in Austin?
I'm curious, are you referring to the prepared foods in the cold case as being full of fillers, artificial flavoring and artificial coloring? Other than the soup, can you give some examples?
I don't think the prepared foods at CM are "health food," but they seem to me to be fairly straightforward, as in they are what they say they are.
Terraburger Is Open (Sort Of)
Well, Terraburger appears to be really open. I swung by at about 1:00 this afternoon to see about getting a burger and the drive-through line was out into the street and their little parking lot was full. They have what looks like a nice playground/outdoor seating area. They're going to need more parking, not sure how they will manage that.
So I left and went over to Panera at Stonelake Blvd and Capitol of Texas (which I had spotted for the first time this weekend) and got an okay sandwich.
Later I went to Any's in the Arboretum for ice cream (I have a point, y'all, just bear with me) and saw that the Five Guys store is going in right next door to Amy's. This is another place that I foresee having awful parking. I hardly ever go over there even though I live close by because the parking is such a PITA.
Anyway, the Five Guys signage is up on the building, but the windows were covered with white paper. Hard to judge the progress of the work that way! I didn't see any kind of sign that indicated when it might open.
Soup Dumplings?
I just turned on the TV while reading this thread to find Tony Bourdain in Shanghai, eating soup dumplings! Amazing coincidence. It definitely made me want to try them.
new (food-centric) happy hour choices?
Try Malaga for tapas happy hour. Good HH prices and overall good food, I like the options available with having "little dishes."
Cafe Martinique or Dune?
Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see your post a month ago! I would have heartily recommendd Cafe Martinique, where we had the best meals and best service I have ever experienced. I looked at the online meu and it isn't exactly the same as when we went last December, but the standouts at that time were the delightful amuses bouche, corn ravioli appetizer, pork chop and duck entrees, and incredible pineapple doughnut dessert. We didn't try Dune, I'm sure it is fab as well.
Which did you choose? What did you have?
Austin food adventures
I am also very fond of some of the sides at Ruby's, in particular the non-mayo coleslaw (snappy and spicy) and the greens, which also have a slow heat that sneaks up on you as you eat them (even though they are a little sweeter than I would prefer, maybe they have a little molasses or something? I just like straight-up savory greens). Last week I had the (bbq?) beans for the first time and they were spectacular - well seasoned, spicy (ok, I realize there is a trend here) and so delicious that I actually drank the broth from the take-out container. What I would have given for a slab of cornbread at that moment!
Uchi, Ranch 616, Bess Bistro, Belmont, and Vespaio (bar)
the good news is that rlg, a visitor to our fair city, enjoyed both of those places a lot.
Elevation Burger - Arboretum Area
A few people have reviewed this new spot in other threads, but I thought it would be nice for it to have its own (I'm pretty sure it doesn't have one and the search function isn't working, so here we go).
I stopped in for the first time last night at about 8:00. I had eaten dinner and was craving some ice cream. It was warm inside and they had a sign up about having problems with the A/C - a bad break for a place with a brand new buildout and an outdoor temperatures approaching 100 degrees. There weren't many customers inside, but there were at least eight employees sort of milling around behind the counter. They looked confused, and I noticed that when one of them delivered an order to a table, she didn't bring the fries. She ambled back to get them and meandered back to the table. Not very confidence-inspiring. Maybe it was a mass training session, but no one appeared to be in charge.
I got a chocolate malt with bananas and strawberries, and it took a little while for it to get made. I used the time to watch the staffers try to figure out what they should be doing and peruse the menu and prices. Yes, this place is pricy. $2.50 is a lot for an order of fries, with no alternative for a smaller serving. $5.99 is a lot for the recommended "regular" burger. Maybe if they de-staffed a little, they could afford to lower the prices a tad...
I thought it looked like the young lady making the malt was whipping it to death, but it was handed to me thick and very tasty. The fruit was completely disintegrated but I could taste it. At about $4, it was reasonably priced for the size and quality.
I'll go back to try the burgers and fries. I don't eat those very often anyway, and I don't mind paying a higher price than typical fast food joints if the quality and taste merit it.
Spicy Bulgogi at Burger Tex?
I haven't tried it, but a friend who is a devout carnivore (but not an adventurous eater) LOVES the Bulgogi at Burger Tex.
Lunch on the way from the airport to Downtown
singlemalt, that is an excellent suggesiton. El Chile is where I would go on Manor. There are also Vivo, Eastside Cafe (a charming and unique place) and, yes, Hoovers. I do not care for Hoovers, but plenty of other people love it.
I also like Ruby's BBQ, rlh. Try the coleslaw (NOT the mayo version, the vinegar one) which is crunchy, tart and a little spicy-hot. I recently had their sausage sandwich and thought the sausage was delish.
Good burger in Arboretum area
How were the fries at Elevation Burger? I'm curious, as according to the Elevation Burger website, they are fried in olive oil.
