3435 Greystone
345-7423
Dwight's comments:
As Lawrence put it, "Now I know why we go there every couple of years: so we can remind ourselves why we don't go there more often."
The Mesa Hills Cafe is within walking distance of my apartment, and has a 1/2 price burger special on Saturday nights: that's about all that can be said for it.
Even though it wasn't crowded that night (I guess the weather kept everyone in.) the service was indifferent (I got the feeling they were short of wait staff because of the weather; but they sure seemed to have enough staff to give the few other customers much more attention than they gave us.) and the food was...mediocre. They have some unusual menu items, but they couldn't even seem to get a simple burger right: I wouldn't trust them with anything more complicated.
Frankly, it seems to be a "bar food" sort of place; but even in that category, Waterloo does a better burger.
Additional comments from Ann Anonymous Diner:
A stripmall burger place for republican housewifes who don't know any better. Yuk.
16018 Hamilton Pool Rd.
263-9875
Dwight's comments:
This isn't a bad steak place, and the prices are reasonable. I like the atmosphere much better than the Outback's: it feels very...European hunting lodge. (Whatever you do, don't talk about the war.)
The service was okay as well. On the other hand, this is pretty far out to drive from where we live, and I can't justify doing it on a regular basis for the quality of food they serve.
Alpinhof is a good mid-range dining choice, and someplace I'd take family members (or other people) that I wanted to impress with a scenic drive. It'd also make a nice couples spot.
As far as the food goes, however, I didn't feel it had much to recommend it over Outback: and for high-end steak, Ruth's Chris remains our gold standard.
Additional comments from Ann Anonymous Diner:
I liked the food, and most of the decor was fine, but the concrete walls made me feel like I was eating in Hitler's bunker. ("No shortage of cream in the bunker!")
800 Brazos St.
482-8100
Dwight's comments:
The Chinese food here is as good as any I've had in Austin, and the prices were surprisingly reasonable. I had been led to believe (from the location, and word on the street) that Pao's was expensive; it looks like, with careful ordering of specials, you could get out for $10 or less on a weeknight (without drinks).
The service was excellent, approaching fawning. I think we were waited on by two different waiters at the same time, as well as the head waiter (owner? manager? Couldn't tell for sure, but it seemed possible he was one or all of the above.) Discussing the differences between the HP48SX and HP48GX handheld computers with one of the waiters added a fittingly surreal touch to the dining experience.
I'd say Pao's blows away China on the Avenue and Chinatown (which I think has gone downhill in the past couple of years), and gives Tien Hong (my gold standard) a run for the money. I also want to go back and try dim sum, to see how it compares to Shanghai (our standard for dim sum - no, we haven't tried the Rainbow yet, and that's next on my list.).
Editorial note: The phone book and the Austin WWW Restaurant Guides both show this as "Pao's Mandrin House". I've chosen to go with the spelling on their card.
(Added editorial note, revised May 26, 1997: We did try the North Rainbow for dim sum and dinner: the dim sum we thought was as good as Shanghai's. However,
(1) Shanghai has changed names (several times now) and wasn't serving dim sum the last time we checked.
(2) The North Rainbow closed and has been replaced by a place called Mong Kok: we haven't tried dim sum there yet.)
Life is suffering. Pao's remains consistant, though: I've been eating there about once every two weeks, and have yet to have a bad experience. And they have some good specials if you get there before 7.)
Dwight's comments:
We took a break for a week because Lawrence was doing the Turkey City Writer's Workshop thing, followed by the Turkey City Writer's Workshop party.
So, no dining conspiracy unless you count Lawrence's Chili From Hell. Since I hate chili, I'm not counting it.
Send e-mail to Dwight Brown (stainles@bga.com).
Return to the main Saturday Dining Conspiracy page.
See the logs for March of 1996.