1601 Guadalupe
476-2743
Pepper grinder rating: 3. (Actually, a 2 pepper grinder, but they get an extra point for a good looking design.)
Men's room rating: 3. (Clean, well lighted, but seems too small for the size of the restaurant. Extra points for the exposed ductwork, which makes it look like something out of Terry Gilliam's Brazil.)
Dwight's comments:
This was recommended to us by my good friend and former partner, Heather Galyon. I don't think we were as impressed by it as she is, though.
Bertram's falls pretty squarely on the upscale side of the dining experience: about $40 per person with salads and appetizers, in addition to the main course. The steamed mussels (in a white wine and butter sauce) were an excellent appetizer, but I felt cheated by the black pepper Parmesan biscuits with crayfish sauce: biscuit would have been a more accurate description. My Caesar salad was competently executed, but I've had better ones elsewhere.
The main courses suffered from two basic problems we've been running into recently:
"I think I'll have the $7 cheesecake."
"Excuse me? A $7 cheesecake?"
"Yes."
"That's cheese and cake, right? They don't put bourbon or nothing in it?"
"Nope."
I wouldn't mind going back again, if someone else was paying (I wonder if they do corporate events.) or if I was trying to impress a date. However, given a choice, I'll take Castle Hill Cafe over Bertram's.
11910 Research
258-1853
Men's room rating: 3.5. (Clean, with some nice touches. Lawrence particularly liked the "Please wait. Your hostess will seat you." sign.)
Dwight's comments:
It was one of those weeks, when we wanted to go somewhere and know exactly what we were getting, and how much of it we'd get. "Comfort food", for want of a better description.
Catfish Parlor does a reasonable job of this, with good service and all-you-can-eat specials (Catfish all the time, popcorn shrimp Monday and Tuesday nights.). They have the sort of style I usually don't like (fake homestyle, complete with decoration by the BMTCRSC, but it works for them: I think because they don't take it too seriously.
It's not fine dining by any standard (and I'm not really a big fan of catfish as a food), but if you want to go someplace predictable (and like a good loose child policy: "Unattended children will be seized and sold to the gypsies."), or pick up dinner for the family on the way home, Catfish Parlor is worth a try.
1817 S. Lamar
441-9789
Men's room rating: 1. (Generally run down, but I didn't see any obvious health hazards. The single toilet (yes, one) is positioned way too close to the wall for sitting comfort.)
Dwight's comments:
Yet another in Austin's long line of bland TexMex places, complete with not-very-hot hot sauce (but decent chips).
I had a completely undistinguished and tasteless chicken breast (stuffed with cheese and bacon). Lawrence took the chance to order the buffalo fajitas, and commented that they could have used more salt and flavoring (perhaps a marinade). The (beef) fajita nachos had the same problem, I thought.
I have yet to find any TexMex place I really like; but, if I want TexMex, Serrano's is a more comfortable and less bland alternative. (I also feel pretty good about Curra's Grill.)
(Editorial note, November 10, 1996: Compadre's is now advertising that they've changed names (to "Cheyenne Cafe and Cantina"), but are still under the same management, with the same food. I haven't been back, but, given that the new advertising seems to place a heavy emphasis on the the strength of their "Turbo Rita", I see no reason to change my views.)
14735 Bratton Lane
251-1606
Men's room rating: 2. (Very nice, but loses a point for being undersized relative to the resteraunt's seating capacity.)
Dwight's comments:
If you look at my "Not a Top Ten List", you'll see I really like Gumbo's. It's the sort of place that does just about everything right: from service to food to the little things like change.
It's also the sort of place you don't want anyone else to know about: I'm afraid it's already too late for that, though. They've expanded once since I've started going there, and the place is still just too small. If you go, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, be prepared for a 30 to 40 minute wait at least. (No reservations.)
I'm partial to the pasta dishes: I don't care much for gumbo in general, but other people I've been with rave about that and the etoufee. (Gumbo's don't skimp on the portions, either.)
It's nice to see this place making a go of it: now, if only they'd expand again...
Additional comments from Ann Anonymous Diner:
Both the crawfish and shrip etoufees are great and very reasonably priced. (Go on a weekday night if you know what is good for you.)
5122 Bee Caves Road
328-9770
Men's room rating: 3. (Average and large enough. The old cigarette ads on the wall are amusing for a few seconds, and I like places that put sections of the daily paper above the urinals. I'm still waiting to hear from Terri about the women's room.)
Dwight's comments:
We went to Shields expecting it to be a pizza place. Yes, they do serve pizza, but we reached the conclusion early on that it isn't a pizza place: it's a sports bar that serves pizza. (I counted three TV sets, all turned on, including one projection screen in the middle of the restaurant.)
The pizza is just okay: the style is very close to Milto's deep dish pizzas, but Milto's does a much better job, I think.
If you live out along Bee Caves, it wouldn't be a bad place to take the children (there's even an outdoor deck where noisy families can exile themselves), or a bad place to watch the sporting event du joir.
As a pizza place, though, Shields is not an essential stop on any dining tour of Austin.
Additional comments from +Rich:
Also, we weren't terribly impressed by Shields pizza, it seemed overpriced, the crust was average and obviously the same thing they served as garlic bread. And while it wasn't too bad while we were there, the atmosphere there has the potential to be absolutely testosterone laden. I like sports and that was still a bit high on video availability.
Additional comments from Ann Anonymous Diner:
No better for lunch than dinner. I work minutes away and NEVER go there. (Well, hardly ever.) They get points for actually showing both Formula 1 and Grand Prix motorcycle racing; seeing as almost nobody in this country watches either one. (Except for me, of course.)
Send e-mail to Dwight Brown (stainles@bga.com).
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