Dan Parrot and crew still have the Old School Bar & Grill on 6th St. (at the site of the Paradise Cafe), and that’s doing quite well I’m told. The food is excellent and it’s got more of a downtown late-night vibe to it. A woman posted on my page that she showed up for lunch the day after they closed, and she said there were dozens of people there. Isn’t that Murphy’s Law at its worst?

Cho, who began his career with Midori Sushi on Research almost ten years ago, knows how to put together the necessary components of a great Japanese meal, be it raw or cooked. Now with his brother as his partner he’s probably giving Mizu, which moved to much larger digs up 620, reason to look back and wonder if the move was such a good idea.

I hear that business has been brisk and I will report first hand when I dine there next week. To check out the menu, go to chosushi.com.

 
Full Menu Coming Soon

Prices and selection vary by location

Please call your Rudy’s for exact pricing and menu.

MEAT BY THE HALF POUND

I’ve gotta take my hat off to this man. A lot of lesser operators would have been defeated by the demise of El Dorado. Not Craig. There is no quit in this guy. He is plowing into this new venture like a 30-year old and he’s already lined up some serious partners. He lost his beloved wife some years ago and you can see the love in his eyes when he talks about her. I think he’s doing this as much for her as for himself and his son.

So just when you thought Craig Gatewood was about to ride off into the hospitality sunset, well guess again pards. I’ll fill you in when his new place is ready to open. This man is an Austin restaurant icon and I wish him nothing but the best.

Same thought for Dr. Foo Swasdee, the founder of Satay, arguably Austin’s oldest Thai restaurant. After a number of setbacks that would have left the average restaurant owner vowing to go into real estate, Foo said the hell with that and started Get Sum Dim Sum on Lamar. The place did well but not quite well enough. So now she’s moved Get Sum to Satay for Saturday and Sunday dim sum. She’s negotiating for a lease downtown with better parking, and still produces and imports her zesty Thai sauces.

I have seen this woman go through more adversity than one could think humanly possible. Yet when I talked to her today, she was her usual bubble of enthusiasm, talking a mile a minute about her plans. I hope she reinvents Get Sum at the new location and goes back to making Satay a full-time Thai joint (because it’s excellent). And then, just for fun, she bought a coffee shop in South Austin. I’m getting out of breath just listening to her.

These two local icons apparently just don’t know when to quit. And good for them. Do not go gently into that restaurant night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. (Apologies to Dylan Thomas). And these people are living proof that it ain’t over, well, till it’s over! Good luck to both of them.

Jack Allen’s Kitchen

Since their opening in Oak Hill a couple of years ago, Jack Gillmore (former exec chef at Z’Tejas) and partner Tom Hamm have turned what had been a repository for failed restaurants into a stunningly successful dining destination. Start with the smashed guacamole with pumpkin seeds, the delightful soups, the uber-good mac and cheese, the catfish, the deep fried beef ribs, the fish tacos, the burgers; well, I could go on. But there’s a reason this place is on a wait most nights.

Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill

When Chuck Smith and Larry Perdido left Saba Blue Water Cafe and opened Moonshine at the site of the former Emelia’s on Red River at 3rd, there were a lot of doubters. But not for long! I think the Shrimp Corn Dog was what got immediate attention. Then the Flat iron steak and the Meatloaf. And Perdido’s infamous Res Velvet Cake! Are you kidding me?This place is an homage to all the foods that make you you want to smile and say, “aahhh!” Their recent opening of Hopdoddy on S. Congress is a burger-driven extension of the Moonshine brand. And they follow the same MO.

Hoover’s Cooking

Hoover Alexander is one of the nicest guys in the Austin restaurant industry. He’s also the dean of southern-style comfort food and an immensely talented chef. His Hoover’s cooking on Manor is a legendary comfort food spot. He has the best smothered pork chops in the area, serves up a killer muffaletta and his ribs and other “que” are oozing flavor. Not to mention his delightful and award-winning mac and cheese which draws, amazingly, from my Hungarian-born grandma’s (and a killer chef in her own right) recipe. You see it’s about a little sour cream. Hoover continues to wow me with his innovation and the love of his craft. Great breakfasts as well: the “hoe” cakes are to die for.

Barley Swine

While the argument could be made that this spot should fall into our fine dining category, I don’t think talented young chef Bryce Gillmore would disagree that he dishes up some serious comfort foods. This guy makes Brussel Sprouts magical (now that’s a tall order) and his Pork Bellies and Pig’s feet are comforting wonders to behold. Great microbrews abound here as well and the place, while tiny, crackles with the sounds of happy diners.

Zed’s

Located in the Tech-Ridge center in restaurant starved north Austin, Zed’s used Moonshine and Jack Allen’s as their inspiration. They made a wise choice. The comfort food at this aesthetically pleasing spot off Yager Lane and IH-35 simply rocks. They have a signature chicken pot pie (amazingly creamy) that may be the best in the city, and the St. Louis Ribs are great. Great center cut pork chops as well and some scrumptious homemade desserts. It’s also got a lively bar scene and a management team that “gets” it.

Joe’s Bakery

Tex mex may be perhaps the ultimate comfort food. What could be more soothing than a cheese enchilada or a great order of nachos or chile con queso? Joe’s Bakery on E.7th has all of these plus the most astonishing Huevos Rancheras around. This is a breakfast built around wonderful homemade ranchera sauce and flour-coated grilled bacon and uber fresh corn tortillas. The result is simply to die for. Flavors that are absolutely amazing with layers of cascading goodness and a taste profile that’s off the charts. I don’t really get the bakery part of Joe’s (lots of multi-colored doughy confections that all pretty much taste alike) but the restaurant part simply blows me away.

24 Diner

Do you like wonderful waffles, incredibly mellow corned beef hash, and a boatload of palate pleasing and comforting dishes? Then the round-the-click 24 diner on. N. Lamar is for you. This place connects on so many levels that it makes the old fashioned notion of the greasy spoon diner seem like a distant memory. This is chef driven fare with a nod to simplicity: a killer egg sandwich, a luscious BLT, meatloaf that raises the bar on this American classic. And they may have the best home fries in the city. You can also sample a plethora of innovative and delicious milkshakes. And best of all, if the cravings or munchies hit you at 2:30am, well, the doors are always open.

Max’s Wine Dive

If for no other reason, Max’s, at 3rd and San Jacinto, makes our list for their wonderful revival of that good, old southern classic, bone-in fried chicken. Amazingly, the dish that was once a staple at virtually every restaurant in the south, had all but disappeared from restaurant menus in Austin in favor of boneless chicken fried chicken breasts. I like chicken fried chicken but I LOVE real fried chicken. And Max’s figured out how to serve it in an upscale setting with great wines and champagnes. You must also try the 1942 Corn Dog, another comfort classic that chef J.P. Lacoste has recently added. And Max’s is now doing comfort-style blue plate daily lunch specials (shrimp and grits, for example). Hooray for them, and us!

Hyde Park Bar and Grill

Bick Brown and his great crew at both Hyde Park locations have been serving up generous helpings of comfort fare long before it came back into fashion. The legendary Hyde Park fries are the best in the city and the Pimento and Cheese sandwich is irresistible. And not to be outdone, Brown brought in fried-chicken master Tony Heller (late of Tony’s Southern Comfort) to add his take to the menu on Mondays and Tuesdays. And what about the fried artichoke hearts, the dumplings and the always wonderfully gooey fried egg sandwich? Hyde Park is comfort food with a capital C.

The Evangeline Cafe

If, like me, you crave all things reminiscent of the Atchafalya swamp in Louisiana, i.e., Cajun fare, then you must visit the Evangeline Cafe on Brodie. Beginning with the mouth-watering Oysters Contraband and moving on to the Seafood gumbo, the Crawfish Etouffee, the Gold Band Creole, and the sumptuous Crawfish Macque Choux, Evangeline is a rollicking romp through one of the most comfort-driven cuisines ever created. Curtis Clarke is a genial host and the tiny little restaurant he has created pleases on many levels. Even the burgers are terrific here, not to mention the more traditional Po’ Boys.

Bubbling Under the Top Ten

Cafe Blue
El Patio
Iron Cactus
The Draft Pick
219 West
Dog and Duck Pub
Cover 3
Upper Decks
Hopdoddy
Carrob’s Cafe
The Oasis (not the old one)