SE corner of 183 and Duval
338-0799
Men's room rating: 1.5.
Dwight's comments:
Austin has long needed a good Thai place in the North Austin/183 area. (The vastly overrated Satay and the horror that is Bangkok Cuisine don't count.)
Just when I was giving up hope, the shining beacon of Thai Orchid rose out of the deep mists of legend. Some say it's a Thai Kitchen spin-off: some say it's a refuge for Thai Kitchen defectors. The truth is out there, but it doesn't matter: either way, Thai Orchid is a worthy contender.
I benchmarked them with my standard set of dishes: the pad thai was almost indistinguishable from Thai Kitchen's high standard. The fried chicken dumplings, while slightly smaller and differently packaged, also lived up to expectations, as did the service: helpful, but not in the way.
Thai Orchid did stumble slightly, though, with my main course, the panang: a red curry and coconut milk chicken dish. The problem in this case was an excess of salt, overwhelming even the curry flavor. I suspect the kitchen is still settling down a bit. (I think they've only been open for three months or so.)
In the end, I plan to continue my Thursday ritual of dining at the Guadalupe Thai Kitchen: Thai Orchid isn't quite that good.
But I'm comforted knowing a place that has the potential of Thai Orchid is located in a location this convenient to me.
(12/15/97: I'm not comforted any more. Thai Orchid has been replaced with another Chinese place. Damn, they ran a swell eatery.)
Lawrence's comments:
This was a pleasant find, a Thai restaurant nearly as good as Thai Kitchen out on 183. The Tom Yum soup was as good as any I've had, and my beef dish (a string of unfamiliar syllables, and they didn't seem to have any take home menus) was both delicious and just about has hot as I like it. My only complaint was that there aren't enough fried dumplings (four) to a plate.
I'm quite pleased by the burgeoning growth of Thai restaurants in Austin. Even without counting Thai Kitchen's multiple locations, there are now more Thai than French restaurants in the Greater Austin Area (and considering the portion sizes and prices of French food here, a good thing, too). I'd rank Thai Orchid second among Austin Thai restaurants, just behind the Guadalupe Thai Kitchen and just ahead of Thai Garden.
2414 South First Street (near Oltorf)
441-4878
Men's room rating: 1.5.
Dwight's comments:
Good, hearty, cheap Mexican food in a place that looks like a dump.
The combination platters are a pretty good value for the money.
Also worth noting: you can buy real (glass bottle, imported from Mexico) Coke to go with your meal.
Lawrence's comments:
Some critics have asserted that all the best Mexican restaurants in Austin are south of the river or east of I-35, and El Borrego de Oro argues in favor of the proposition.
A neighborhood hole in the wall situated across from a police station on South 1st, El Borrego de Oro isn't going to win any awards for fine decoration or spacious dining, but the food was quite good and very cheap. Though the nachos looked to be nothing special, the turned out to be delicious (albeit not quite as good (or in as generous portions) as Curra's), though it is advisable to eat them quickly, before the chips loose their structural integrity. As with Arturo's Taqueria on Cameron, they use fattier (and thus tastier) beef for their fajitas than most "upscale" restaurants. Appetizer, drinks, and meal came out to about $10 each. They also seem to do a booming takeout business. The only drawback was a large jukebox that (unprompted) blasted out a random tejano tune every twenty minutes or so.
If you like your food cheap, your fajitas tasty, and your surroundings funky, you could do a lot worse than dropping by El Borrego de Oro.
7858 Shoal Creek Blvd. (at the SW intersection of Shoal Creek and Anderson)
302-4600
Dwight's comments:
My previous dining experiences at Suzi's South Lamar location were all negative, so I didn't have high expectations when we decided to give the north location a try.
Fortunately, Suzi's North presented a moderately more pleasant dining experience than I expected. I was impressed with the multiple types of steamed and fried dumplings available, so we wound up ordering several plates and sharing. Of those, the seafood dumplings were probably the best: all of them were decently prepared, but not up to the level of Tien Hong. I also rather liked the hot-and-sour seafood soup, but found it slightly overpriced.
The main courses were also decently prepared, but not outstanding.
I would put Suzi's North in the same class as Chinatown, as far as Chinese places go: the price range is about the same, and the quality of food at both is below my first rank. However, while Chinatown has been in decline, Suzi's star seems ascendant.
Perhaps with a different chef, or some other changes in the kitchen, Suzi's North may yet join my first rank.
Lawrence's comments:
Though Dwight had groused about bad dining experiences at the Suzi's Chinese Kitchen down south, the meal at Suzi's China Grill (just a few minutes drive from our apartment) proved to be pleasant. The interior decoration was very tastefully done, a clean, airy, upscale Chinese restaurant along the lines of Chinatown (but much better lit). Unless you already knew, you wouldn't be able to tell this spot used to be a CoCos. (The first question my sister asked, as we drove up, was "Did this used to be a Cocos or something?" ==Dwight)
The meal started out well, with several types of dumpling appatizers and crab rangoons we ordered turning out to be quite tasty. Likewise, my bowl of wonton soup was good and a little heartier than usual, though not nearly as packed or delicious as the now-defunct Asian Restaurant used to make, and at $3.95 was a bit on the expensive side. For my main dish I had the Firecracker Prawns, and though quite palatable, I was disappointed on a couple of points: the shrimp-to-other-stuff ratio seemed a bit low considering the price, and the dish wasn't nearly as hot and spicy as its description on the menu (or my request). If you're going to promise spicy, you should deliver, and this dish doesn't.
For dessert I had the raspberry cheesecake, which was adequate but not outstanding (it could have come out of the freezer case at Sam's) and definitely on the small side. Still, I must admit that it's nice to be able to get cheesecake and other desserts at a Chinese restaurant (no purist I).
The service was generally good, and the meal quite satisfactory. However, if you're not looking for atmosphere, both Pao's and Tien Hong are better and cheaper.
6266 Hwy. 290 West (on that stretch between Mopac and where 290 and 71 split off in Oak Hill)
(512) 891-9980
Men's room rating: 2.5.
Dwight's comments:
Highly yuppified pizza, with as wide an assortment of toppings as I've ever seen.
A wide selection, however, does not automatically mean good, and I found the taste of the pizza I had somewhat off. It may just have been the toppings, but I don't think so: the sauce itself seemd too chunky and too tomatoey for my taste.
I did enjoy the crab salad, and the interior design, but I won't rush back any time soon.
Lawrence's comments:
There are several things that recommend Austin Pizza Garden. First, the old building they're situated in is both roomy and well air-conditioned. Second, the service was good and our waitress kept my bottomless glass of Dr. Pepper well filled. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they have the widest variety of pizza toppings I've ever seen (including such unusual items as T-bone steak strips, Albacore tuna and goat cheese).
Though tempted by the T-bone strips, I opted for a Tchoupitoulas, a Cajun pizza that wasn't bad but wasn't terribly spicy either. However, I think their large is a bit small for the price, the crust was nothing special (too crispy), and, at least on the Tchoupitoulas , the meat toppings (shrimp and Andouille sausage) were on the skimpy side, though this didn't seem a problem with a fellow diner's BBQ pizza.
If I was in the area I wouldn't mind trying one of their other pizzas, but nothing about Austin Pizza Garden threatened to displace Mangia's and Reale's from my favorites list.
Send e-mail to Dwight Brown (stainles@bga.com).
Return to the main Saturday Dining Conspiracy page.
See the logs for August of 1997.
See the logs for June of 1997.