I really wanted to like Wild Ginger. The previous Chinese places in that space have been simply awful, and we could use a good one in the neighborhood. I had lunch there once before, and it was a generally positive experience (even if the place was empty). Sadly, dinner was a different story.
The place was clearly understaffed: the service was almost glacial, some stuff never showed up, tea glasses went dry...we got there and were seated right at 6 PM. We finally managed to pay the bill and leave around 7:50 PM. That's nearly two hours for a party of six. I don't mind "slow food" but this was unnecessarily slow food: some members of our party got their food 30 to 45 minutes ahead of others, and had nearly finished dinner by the time the other entrees showed up.
The food itself? The appetizers are standard issue. The hot and sour soup is good. I liked my roast duck, which was served with a dark ginger sauce, well enough: but as I ate it, I kept thinking that it would have been much better had it been served hot, instead of at room temperature.
This isn't the worst service we've ever had at a restaurant. But it was pretty bad. I can't recommend Wild Ginger until I see some evidence that they've resolved this problem.
The people who run Wild Ginger are evidently the same ones who used to run Formosa, which we had had generally positive experiences with. The good news is that the food at Wild Ginger is reasonably good (though the appetizers were only adequate, the won ton soup is nothing special, and the "sampler" platter doesn't give you nearly enough bang for the buck). The bad news is that, for a restaurant 2.5 times the size of Formosa, they're woefully understaffed, with one competent owner/manager and an obvious trainee attempting to bus some 30 tables. Drink refills languished, mistakes were made on orders, and my entree arrived a good ten minutes after most of the rest of the party's.
And once the entree arrived? My red snapper in garlic brandy sauce was actually pretty good, and the portions pretty generous, except for the fact that I didn't taste any brandy or much garlic. And they never brought my eggroll.
Frankly, this is the worst service I've had at an Asian Restaurant since our ill-fated visit to Classic Thai. The service wasn't that bad, and we may have just caught them on an off night, but the food wasn't good enough to make me want to rush back.
I have nothing new to say about Red Lobster, except:
What can I say? I like crab legs, and Red Lobster does a good job with them. Also, the fries are tasty, the appetizers are generally good (but what's the deal with "calamari and vegetables"? Why can't we get just calamari?), and the Bananas Foster Cheesecake was among the best cheesecake I've had in recent memory. Also, unlike many Austin restaurants, Red Lobster seems fully staffed.
As far as seafood chain restaurants go, I think Red Lobster does a much better job than Landry's.
Hey, this isn't too bad.
The appetizer selection is somewhat limited if you're not a big vegetable fan, but the hummus is pretty good. I agree with Lawrence: though I polished off the order, the dolmeh had a kind of sour and not very pleasing aftertaste. (I don't think it was vodka, though: maybe yogurt?) Next time, I'll probably try either the most-o-mousir ("yogurt and shallot dip") or the kashk-o-bademjan ("baked eggplant with a topping of kashk (dry yogurt), mint, sauteed onions, walnuts and garlic").
The bread is quite good: I'd like to know if they make it on-site. Their garden salad is quite large, worth the $5 in my opinion.
I had the "chicken and ground beef" combination plate: one large skewer each of wonderfully tender, juicy chicken (I think it was almost all breast meat) and excellent ground beef, served with basmati rice. For $12, this was a pretty substantial meal: you also get chopped fresh herbs and "Persian cheese" (very interesting, sort of like a cream cheese but with a sharper taste: maybe a goat's milk cheese?) as well as the bread with this meal. You could probably get by without a salad or appetizer if you're a person of normal appetite. The combination plates are also among the more expensive menu items at $10 - $15: the stews run $9 - $10, the chicken dishes $10 - $11, and the lamb and beef dishes $8 - $13. (Unfortunately, they only have one lamb dish (stewed lamb shanks), and it is served with lima beans. A lamb kabob (ground or otherwise) would be a nice addition.)
Good service, too. I like this place a lot better than I did the previous occupants. I also prefer it, as a dining experience, to Ararat, or Sarovar, or even the World Beat Cafe, if I'm in an exotic mood.
My experience at Alborz, a Persian restaurant (and a better one than Ararat), was mixed but generally positive, and it makes much better use of the space than Pavoratti's. The entrees are pretty good, but the choice of appetizers seems rather paltry. In particular, the vast majority seem to consist of the same sorts of "lots of ground up stuff in bowls" that I noted at Ararat. Yeah, the hummus is fine for dipping the bread (which is actually pretty good, similar to plain naan, though one or two pieces were a bit too dry), but I'd like something to sink my teeth into, and all the appetizers seem to be vegetable-based. Also, the dolmehs just didn't taste right, seeming too tart and bitter, almost as if they were soaked in vodka before cooking. Whatever it was, I can't recommend them.
The garden salad was also a mixed bag. You get a fair amount of salad (though at $5 it's a bit on the stiff end, and it's not in the same league as Ruth's Chris) with a number of ingredients (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.), but too much of the white iceberg lettuce stems were used rather than the outer leaves for my taste. A bit more aggressive trimming is probably in order here (and possibly some croutons and/or bacon bits).
For the entree I had the Soltani Combination Beef Kebob, which includes both sliced steak and seasoned ground beef. Both were quite tasty, and were served with a generous helping of basmati rice. Though the meat portions weren't overly generous, at $13 this priced just right. Between it, the salad and the bread, I was quite full by the time I finished it, so I didn't try dessert. (I had the waiter explain the desserts, and most seemed to have some sort of nut or the other in them. A hint, guys: If you're going to put things like Zoolbia and Faloodeh on your menu, you should probably explain on the same menu exactly what they are.) I do regret that the only lamb entree on the menu was described as stewed rather than broiled.
Service was uniformly excellent, with quick and cheerful drink and bread refills. I took the fact that a Persian family was seated next to us as a good sign (except for the fact that said family included Screaming Baby (Regular Issue, One Each) in it's midst). I'd still like to see some meatier appetizers, but despite that I'd certainly be willing to make a return visit.
Clyde's Birthday Frequently Asked Questions.
See the logs for February of 2002.