Long-Time Hut’s Location on 6th Street Has a New Occupant: Sammie’s Italian

Posted by on Apr 29, 2021 in Downtown, Italian, Openings

Our last visit to Hut’s, one of Austin’s true icons, was memorable. We did our usual Buddy Holly burger along with fries and the gigantic onion rings and of course the essential strawberry shakes. We took some silly photos with me holding the rings like ski goggles, recalled all the great time’s we’d had there […]

How Austin’s Most Popular Sunday Brunches Have Faired During the Pandemic

Posted by on Mar 18, 2021 in Brunch

Austin has always been a Sunday brunch kinda town. While some of our most popular and iconic spots took a hit in the past year, The Four Seasons and Fonda San Miguel are back up and running. Things might’ve changed a bit relative to what Sunday brunchers had been used to, but the quality of […]

The Gulf Water Is Cold: Time For Oysters

Posted by on Feb 3, 2021 in Cajun, Seafood

I have always absolutely loved cold water oysters (Malpeques et al.) But those large and succulent Gulf oysters have also been high on my list, particularly when the water temperature is below 60 degrees. Well, the water temp is pretty cold right now and that means it’s time for a trip to Pacific Star Restaurant & […]

Chicken Padano New to the Menu at The Pizza Cave

Posted by on Feb 3, 2021 in Dripping Springs, Italian

I’ve never been a huge fan of marinara sauce over any type of pasta. Perhaps I’d make an exception for the amazing sauce at Rao’s in New York (and Las Vegas), but I tend to opt for the lighter sauces such as those in linguine with clam sauce. So I’m glad to see that The […]

Finally, Abby Jane Bakeshop Opens in Dripping Springs

Posted by on Jan 18, 2021 in Bakery, Dripping Springs, Openings

When I was a kid growing up outside of New Haven, Connecticut, my dad would always wake me early on Saturday mornings and and say “Come on kiddo, we’re going to LA.” No one in my immediate family had ever been within 3,000 miles of Los Angeles then, so my fathers’ early morning verbiage was […]

Pizza Cave on 290 West Gives Christmas Inspired Gifts to Customers: Tempting New Menu Additions

Posted by on Dec 23, 2020 in Dripping Springs, Italian, Pizza

One thing I really like about Joe Cave and his eponymous The Pizza Cave restaurant is that they’re constantly innovating. We recently wrote about his introducing piadas (or piadinas as they say in Italy). Now he’s adding slow-cooked, dry-rubbed pork ribs for pork hoagies and piadas, which will also to be used as a new topping […]

Chinese Food for Christmas Dinner. Why the Heck Not? Chinatown Is Open!

Posted by on Dec 7, 2020 in Chinese, Holiday Dining

As Christmas approaches, even in this time of COVID-19, people are still thinking of a nice, safe place to dine. So go see my friend Ronald Cheng at Chinatown. No turkey and stuffing perhaps, but the best Chinese food in the city and they are open Christmas day! Start with some crab Rangoon, pork potstickers […]

Rob Finds a Great Breakfast at Grandmother’s Kitchen in Woodland Park, Colorado

Posted by on Nov 13, 2020 in Breakfast, Travel

We’ve often lamented about the inadequacies of the Austin breakfast restaurant scene. So on a brief trip to see our daughter and her husband in Woodlank Park, Colorado, (elevation 8,435 ft), my radar suddenly started pinging and there, like a beacon in the primordial mist, was a cozy spot called Grandmother’s Kitchen. I walked in to take […]

Bombay Bistro Disappoints on Repeat Outing

Posted by on Oct 16, 2020 in Indian, Reviews, Takeout

The Bombay Bistro has always been a family favorite from its days on Jollyville to its current location in Brodie Oaks off of South Lamar. After a disappointing take out experience several months ago we decided to give it another try. Alas, there was no discernible improvement. The vegetable samosas, which had always been moist and tasty, […]

Things Are Looking up at Homespun Kitchen & Bar

Posted by on Oct 6, 2020 in Casual, Dripping Springs, Neighborhood Favs

I’m a big believer in chatting up restaurant patrons to get a sense of what dishes really resonate, so meet Haley and Heather. They are Homespun regulars. I asked what their favorite dishes were and without pause they both mentioned the salmon. Turns out they were right! I tried it seared with fresh asparagus and […]

P Terry’s Founders Patrick and Kathy Terry Have Elevated Their Austin Stores Into the Must Visit Category and Are Now Eying Houston

Posted by on Sep 24, 2020 in Austin Originals, Backstories, Burgers & More

As a young man in Abilene working for the legendary Mack Eplen, Patrick Terry caught the burger bug and throughout his matriculation at UT Austin and later at a large Dallas advertising agency he never once lost sight of his goal of opening a great burger joint. Like so many former UT alums he returned […]

Our Readers Weigh in on the Best Steaks in Austin: The Winner? III Forks

Posted by on Sep 8, 2020 in Best Of, Downtown, Steaks

We’ve been polling our readers periodically about restaurants for their favorite foods in Austin. Normally the results come back in on kind of a bell shaped curve with most scores falling within two standard deviations of the mean. But in the case of Best place for steaks, the bell-shaped curve was blown to bits! Hands […]

Supporting Local Owner Operated Restaurants Is Easy When They Serve Food Like Homespun Kitchen & Bar

Posted by on Sep 6, 2020 in Casual, Dripping Springs

I’ve always been a proponent of owner operated restaurants; the places where the owners are there to welcome you (like Katz’s) where their enthusiasm is tangible, where their imprint can be seen on virtually every facet of the menu, where there are always a significant number of “regulars,” and where the food is almost always […]

French Brasserie Le Vacher Opens on 290 West Near Dripping Springs

Posted by on Aug 30, 2020 in Dripping Springs, French, Openings

I do enjoy French food in both its casual and more sophisticated modalities. The newly opened Le Vacher promises a bit of both.  Chef and owner Jacob Euler has crafted what appears to be a most  appealing menu and though he’s opened his new place at a difficult time, I have a feeling that Le […]

Why the Old Maxim “Location Means Everything” Doesn’t Mean Much to the Owners of Hays City Store

Posted by on Jul 7, 2020 in Casual, Cocktails, Sports Bars

Tamra and Travis Tindol own a bustling restaurant/cafe out in Driftwood called Hays City Store & Ice House. We kind of stumbled across it over the weekend as we took a drive for the purpose of not going completely berserk after weeks of being cooped up in our house. I put my mask on and […]

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