I've had so many bad Mexican food experiences recently that it's tempting to reduce reviews to a "Bad Mexican Food Checklist".
Tasteless food? Check.
Lazy service? Check, but that doesn't nearly describe my outrage at the way Andrew "Electric Washboard" Wimsatt was treated.
Wimpy hot sauce? Half a check: it sure wasn't Pace, but I still didn't like it that much: a bit too much acid, perhaps.
Why, in a city this close to, and this influenced by, Mexico and Mexican culture, are the most exciting food developments generally...Asian? Should we turn East Austin into our own Chinatown? The Yellow Pages ad says, "Same owner and location since 1963." Maybe that's the problem: maybe prosperity is killing Mexican food in Austin. Perhaps, as the founders grow old and die off, the family business is being passed on to people who don't actually want to run it: or do want to run it, but lack the talent.
Then again, maybe I just don't like Mexican food.
Bad Mexican Food Karma. I don't know why, but we have it in spades. Every new TexMex restaurant we try seems to be mediocre, and every old favorite we revisit seems to have changed names and/or gone downhill, and our return trip to El Azteca (originally visited before we started keeping these pages) has merely continued this lamentable trend.
I'll start off with the only thing that really stood out at El Azteca: the hot sauce. Though far from the best I've had, it did have some bite and a more noticeably generous portion of cilantro than found in most restaurant salsas, giving it a distinctive tang.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
The nachos were indistinguishable from those served at a hundred other TexMex joints. The chipolte pork entree I had was good, but the tacos Dwight and I split were mediocre at best.
The real downfall, however, was the service. When Andrew "Trenchcoat Mafia" Wimsatt showed up late, it took several minutes for our waitress to get back to our table and give him a menu. When next she came back and Andrew said he was ready to order she said "Give me a minute, I have to serve these plates before they get cold." OK, fine. However, she took not one minute, but five or ten. By the time she finally managed to get back to our table, Dwight and I had already finished our meals and Andrew was so discouraged he decided to eat elsewhere. This might be a little more forgivable if the restaurant was busy or understaffed, but it wasn't. In fact, the owner and her family seemed to be gabbing at the table next to the door some ten feet away. Our waitress also forgot to give me extra rice instead of beans for my entree. The sherbet dessert was a nice touch, but it was too little, too late.
Our search for extraordinary TexMex continues...
Yeah, baby, yeah!
Reale's is pretty close to "as good as it gets" for Italian food in Austin: Mama Mia's has a slight edge in variety and quality of food, but loses points for quality of service.
Please note that Reale's is closed on Sunday, and make your dinner plans accordingly.
I really don't have much new to say about Reale's that I haven't said in previous visits. The cheese garlic bread appetizers were excellent, as usual, and the calimari was quite good. The salad was adequate, but, like most places, it seems to be and afterthought. Service was good, and it didn't seem as crowded as usual.
However, I don't think the Veal Saltimbocca is as compelling as some of their other dishes, and the fettucini alfredo that came with it seemed blander than usual. I'll chalk this up to an off night. I would also like to see a wider range of dessert offerings. But one off night won't keep me from coming back.
As I understand it, one of the latest waves in dining is "avant-garde Indian" food. The Clay Pit seems to be Austin's entry in this genre. I'm happy to report that the food seems to be the priority here, not the "avant-garde".
I was quite impressed with the curried mussels appetizer. Hint: order some na'an with this. You'll need it for the sauce. Without the na'an, I found myself tempted to plunge my face into the bowl: only the censorious gaze of +Rich and Terri stopped me.
My main course, the tandori mixed grill, was cooked to pefection, and the na'an was quite good as well.
Drawbacks? Well, with the large number of lamb dishes on the menu, I was somewhat surprised that there was no keema na'an. If you're looking for Northern Indian dishes (such as dosas), go to Sarovar. Also, Clay Pit's prices are several dollars higher than other Indian places in Austin: I personally think this is offset by the quality of food and service, but you should be aware of this. Finally, parking (other than metered spaces) is a bit limited: this may not be a major problem on the weekend.
I think we have a new winner for Best Indian Food in Austin.
Taking over the cavernous digs formerly occupied by the overpriced and unlamented Bertram's, the Clay Pit offers Indian food as good or better than Sarovar with (at least this trip) much better service.
We started out with three different appetizers. The beef pakorras were very good and, though large, I think there should have been more than two on the plate. The curry mussels were also good, and the portions adequate for the price (though again, not nearly as generous as the mussel portions served at Carabbas or Louie's 106). However, I found the curry crab cakes disappointing. The Caesar salad was a bit better than average.
For my entree I had the lamb, and wasn't disappointed. It was very tender and quite savory, and the mango chutney sauce that came with it was great. The na'an was good, but not noticeably better than Sarovar. I wish I had had room for more than a bite of the mango cheesecake.
The service was very good, and several times our waiter brought me a new glass of Dr Pepper before I asked for it.
Drawbacks: The prices are a touch higher than other Indian restaurants, and the dish selection isn't broad as Sarovar's. Parking may be a problem for weekday lunches, but it was easy to find a space on Saturday. Finally, the pappadaums weren't quite crisp enough.
East Side Cafe seems to think that it competes with places like Cafe Josie, Castle Hill Cafe, or Mirabelle. This is an unfortunate delusion.
There was very little memorable about this meal, as far as I was concerned, with the exception of my main course: a beef tenderloin in "ancho BBQ sauce". This was memorable mostly because the sauce had no hint of ancho or barbecue in it: as a matter of fact, it was difficult to distinguish from A-1 Sauce.
East Side's main bragging point seems to be their large garden. I'm sure that the garden is very nice. But fresh ingredients mean nothing if you don't treat them with respect.
Though we were told there were no dinner reservations available at 6:00 (so we made them for 5:30 instead), there were still empty tables when we left. We were seated outside, but the shade, overhead fans and the natural breeze made for pleasant, temperate surroundings.
Appatizer choices were very limited. The shrimp quesidillas were too runny, but were otherwise acceptable, though not outstanding, and I have to raise an eyebrow at the practice of charging for chips and salsa, even if we did get unlimited refills. The salsa was maybe one notch above average, but still way too wimpy.
For my main entree I opted for salmon over linguini in a lime pesto sauce, a combination which is probably best described as "interesting." I don't think the lime pesto sauce quite works with pasta, and there was darn little salmon on top. However, the garlic mashed potatoes on the side were good, if not the best I've had. The berry buckle cake tasted a bit too much of cognac for my tastes, and I wished I had opted for the white chocolate cheesecake Dwight ordered instead. Service was fairly good, and drink refills reasonably prompt.
All in all, my feelings are rather ambivalent. I get the impression that most of my disappointment was with the particular dishes I ordered rather than problems in the kitchen. But nothing about the East Side Cafe is so compelling that I want to rush back, nor is it in the same league as Cafe Josie or Castle Hill in the fine dining continuum.
Jazz seems to cater to the same crowd of enthusiastic drinkers that keeps places like Iron Cactus going. Somewhat shockingly, though, Jazz turns out tolerable food at reasonable prices.
The various blackened fish dishes are fairly well executed versions of the old standby. The onion rings and "popcorn shrimp" are well done. I do find fruit-filled beignets a bit odd, but I'm sure some people think well of the idea.
Jazz isn't superb. But you're not going to find better Cajun downtown (at least, until the new Gumbo's opens: and I'm not considering the Boiling Pot as Cajun per se) and probably not for less than $20 a person.
Jazz has one strike against it from the get-go: it's located in the heart of Sixth street, so parking can be a problem. However, by going at 6 PM on a Saturday when UT was out of session, we were seated within moments.
The free bread and garlic butter Jazz puts out is adequate, but wouldn't make my top ten list. However, the appetizers proved better, as both the onion rings and the Cajun popcorn shrimp used appropriately light and tasty batters (Chuck Zoch: "Now I know what onion rings are supposed to taste like.") My gumbo was also good, though not as good as Gumbo's version, and I thought the $3.95 price for a cup was a little steep (but all their other prices seemed pretty reasonable).
For my main entree I opted for the "blackened fish," which turned out to be snapper, over a bed of dirty rice. Though far from the best blackened fish I've had, it proved entirely satisfactory, especially covered with the drawn butter sauce served on the side. For dessert I had a fruit-filled beignet. Though quite good it was more like a fried pie than the light crust beignets served up at the Cafe du Monde.
Bottom Line: Jazz isn't as good as Gumbo's or Pappadeaux's (at least judging from the last time I ate at Gumbo's; I haven't eaten there since they moved and raised their prices). However, if you're looking for good Cajun food at a reasonable price, Jazz fits the bill.
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