Dwight's comments:
I was on a dive trip (to West Texas: no, really.) this week, so...no conspiracy.
Previously visited: May 10, 1997.
13450 N. Hwy 183
335-5115
Dwight's comments:
I wish I had more to say about Reale's, but good food and good service are tougher to write about than the bad versions.
The thin crust pizza is still, in my opinion, the best in Austin: the staff is efficient and thoughtful: Mr. Reale himself still comes out to check on you.
Reale's only problem, as far as I can see, is that they're too good: the possibility exists that they may turn into another Gumbo's. And then where would we be?
Lawrence's comments:
On an ugly day when Austin was shrouded in haze from Mexican fires, Reale's outside dining area was full when we left. Why? It's that good.
Reale's is our favorite thin crust pizza place (with Mangia getting the nod for thick with their stuffed pizza), and a strong contender for best Italian place as well. The pizza was excellent (as usual), as was the garlic cheese bread appetizer. The salad was merely adequate, but it's hard to make a really outstanding salad. The waiter did a reasonable job of bussing our ever expanding party, even if he did stumble on Ann Anonymous Diner's beer order (Ann: What beers do you have? Wait: All of them! Ann: Guiness? Wait: Well, not that one...). All of us were too full for desert.
Reale's has only a few minor drawbacks: they're fairly far up 183, the tables are packed too close together, they offer limited soft drink refills, and I'd like their "large" pizza to be larger. Still, if you're looking for excellent pizza and Italian food in a family-run restaurant atmosphere, Reale's has yet to disappoint us.
2015 Manor Road
478-4857
Dwight's comments:
Decent food, spotty service.
The big bang for the bucks here appears to be the sampler platter: assorted curries that will easily feed 2+ people for about $25.
The calamari and jerk wings are also good, though the portion of wings could be larger. My chicken dish, on the other hand, was just average: I blame myself for not ordering one of the jerked main courses, though.
As for the service...they started out slow (it seemed like it took forever to get drinks), but picked up about halfway through the meal. The waitstaff also gets bonus points for dynamically readjusting things as our party grew. However, when it was time to pay the check, things slowed to a crawl again, for no obvious reason.
Calabash is worth keeping an eye on: right now, they're giving Shaggy's a good run for the money. Once the staff gets their act fully together, this could be the Jamaican place to beat.
Lawrence's comments:
Nestled in East Austin at the intersection of 26th and Manor road, Calabash serves up some interesting Caribbean cuisine to a reggae soundtrack. The jerk chicken skewers I had were quite good, as were the Johnny Cakes I had as a side dish. I was impressed with the variety of Calypso hot sauces available on the table, but the faint of heart may disagree. The salad dressing was also very tasty, though I didn't care much for the salad (especially the peanuts it went on). The sampler platter A. T. and Lori got offered a huge portion of food for two, but if your tastes don't run to curry you're out of luck. And my tropical cheesecake was quite satisfying, though not as adventurous as the name implies. Both the jerk hot wings and the calamari were quite satisfactory, though each should have come in larger portions (especially the jerk hot wings, since Shaggy's offers at least twice the number at about the same price). However, I can't recommend the Jamaican pineapple soda I had as a lark. It was OK, but a 2 liter bottle of BPI pineapple soda is better and cheaper (if you can find it).
The biggest drawback to Calabash was the service, which is best described as "laid back." Though attentive when they were at our table, both the waitstaff and the kitchen seemed to be running on Jamaican time, and it took us a long time to get our deserts and to pay the bill (even after we had gotten it).
Though Calabash sounds (at least to me) more Middle Eastern or North African than Jamaican (Casbah, Casablanca), they do offer a wider range of dishes (albeit more expensive ones) than Shaggy's. If you're not in a hurry, Calabash provides a nice spot to chill out and eat some good food.
407 Greystone Drive
(On the west side of the Mopac access road between Anderson and Far West)
343-9307
Men's room rating: did not rate.
Dwight's comments:
Slightly better than average Chinese, at somewhat higher than average prices.
The Szechuan Spicy Duck is worthy of note, as main dishes go: however, the hot and sour soup and fried dumplings are not much better than average.
The service is competent, and the view of Austin from the dining room is extraordinary. But I expect more from a place in this price range: I feel like I'm paying for the view and the interior design, instead of the food.
As it is, my main motivation for eating at Chinatown is that I can walk to it from my apartment: other than that, they have little to offer me.
Lawrence's comments:
I can remember when Chinatown was the best Chinese restaurant (possibly the best restaurant period) in Austin. Unfortunately, that was over a decade ago. Since then they've been undergoing a long, slow decline. (And the hideously overpriced sushi bar downstairs probably hasn't helped their focus.) The waitstaff still seems very detail oriented, but it's more of the persnickety, rule-driven variety than the absolute commitment to customer service that used to mark them at their height, as though they were observing arcane rituals whose meaning had been lost in antiquity. They seemed to be driven by the same "sweep unnecessary items off the table" obsession that we experienced at Cafe Mozart, albeit in a much less virulent and obnoxious form. As the evening progressed and no fellow SDCers joined us, the extra place setting were apologetically swept away, as though it made them nervous to leave them there.
The food was good, but not outstanding. The pu pu platter was tasty, as were the dumplings (though Dwight, more the dumpling connoisseur than I, found the wrappers too thick), but neither was better than about a dozen other Chinese area offerings. The wonton soup seemed a tad thicker than in most places, but falls woefully short of the high standards set by the late, lamented Asian Restaurant. The competent but unexceptional trend continued with our entrees, though Dwight's duck seemed more exciting than my Thai shrimp, which was on the decidedly wimpy side. However, I must note that my entree was far better than the most disappointing meal I received there (some four years or so back), when I ordered beef peppercorn, and received a dish with beef, mild green peppers, and baby earns of corn...
Though the prices are a little stiff, Chinatown is not a bad place to eat (especially if you want a nice view). However, there are at least two superior Chinese restaurants (Tien Hong and Suzi's China Grill) within five-minute driving range. Chinatown is still a good step or two above your average stripmall Chinese restaurant, but they used to be so much better.
Dwight's comments:
I was on another trip (to New Mexico: no, I didn't do any diving there.) this week, so...no conspiracy. Again.
Return to the main Saturday Dining Conspiracy page.
See the logs for June of 1998.
See the logs for April of 1998.