Icky generic plastic TexMex. Avoid.
The last time I went to La Palapa was about 1993, when they had an all-you-can-eat fajita buffet on Saturday nights. When we came back for our recent visit, we found...an all you can eat fajita buffet on Saturday nights. Admirable consistency, I suppose.
The beef fajitas are acceptable but average, while the chicken seems slightly better than average. It was nice that you could get tacos and enchiladas (chicken and beef) along with the usual beans and rice at the buffet, but they were aggressively average. Extra points, however, for shredded white cheese at the fixings bar. Service was actually quite good, and they seemed well-staffed.
Unfortunately, the nachos have taken a precipitous dive in quality, with that yellow nacho cheese goo covering the TexMex nachos instead of real cheese. Also, the hot sauce is wimpy.
Competent TexMex and a good value for the money, but I still prefer Arturo's just up the street.
A middling good Asian place, with reasonable prices and decent service.
Vastly superior to the last tenant in this space.
Since I've always like Chinese spareribs, I liked the idea of Chinese BBQ. The reality is a mixed bag.
The cooking process seems to be fairly similar to the Texas style BBQ we know and love, with the typical sweetish Chinese BBQ sauce (good, though not as good as that at Pao's Mandarin House). However, instead of setting it on your plate as is, they chop it up with cleavers (bones and all) and lay it on your plate in slices. This results in the need to fish bones and tendons out of your mouth. I got the sampler plate, and the pork was very good, the duck merely good (I think the duck at Pao's is better), and the chicken merely adequate. Rightly or wrongly, the pan-fried noodles we got as an appetizer seemed to be "not cooked enough" crunchy rather than fried crunchy.
The prices are quite reasonable, if not quite as downright cheap as Pho Cong Ly next door. Except for a short period of time when we were unable to snag the waitsaff for drink refills and rice, service was attentive. Also, if you want to eat here on Saturday, it's easy to get a seat at 6 PM, but by 7 PM the place was packed with a nearly all Asian clientele (which is probably a good sign).
Though it still seems a bit odd, and wouldn't break my top ten list for a BBQ place, the food seemed good enough to give them another try at some point in the future.
Decent enough fried catfish. My major complaint is that's pretty much all they have. (I think there is a fried shrimp plate, too.) I'll eat fried catfish, but it isn't something I seek out, and I actually prefer it in combo with other seafood.
Springhill also seems a bit expensive, compared to the Catfish Parlor, and the catfish isn't that much better.
I can't say that Springhill is worth the drive from Austin, unless you're already in the neighborhood with Andrew "Dirty Harry" Wimsatt.
I think I'm getting tired of fried catfish.
The catfish served at Springhill is better (and cheaper) than that served at the Captain's Oyster Bar, but maybe a hair behind that served at the Catfish Parlour. Far be it for me to decry culinary traditions, but I'd like to see more imagination in the way fried catfish is prepared. (Maybe using more spices before the cornmeal batter?) The fries were good, as were the fried mozzarella sticks. The chicken wings were OK, but (you can see this coming, can't you) weren't nearly hot enough (or hot at all, for that matter).
Service was OK considering the size of the party, and decor inside is of the Country Stuff Up On The Wall and Neon Beer Sign variety. Worth a stop if you're in the area (say, shooting at Cook's) or don't want to drive to the Catfish Parlour, but even in the same general area I prefer Castaways.
One of Austin's largest and longest tenured TexMex places. The rap on Matt's is that it hasn't been the same since it moved (or since Matt's health went into decline). I have my doubts about this: after all, many of the people who say this are still mourning Armadillo World Headquarters as well.
It is fair to say, though, that (much like El Patio) Matt's food is TexMex comfort food: fairly non-threatening renditions of classic dishes, perfect for visiting relatives. The hot sauce is really weak, but the combo plates offer a pretty good bang/buck ratio.
And a tip of the SDC's Hatlo hat to visiting unindicted co-conspirators Cheryl Eberhart and Allan Gerlat (my aunt and uncle) for services to the conspiracy above and beyond the call of duty.
Matt's El Rancho has been a landmark in Austin for a long time. By and large, they seem dependable but uninspiring. The service was quite good, especially for a huge restaurant like this, and drink, chip, and salsa (bland, alas) refills were all very prompt. The food, however, seemed competent, generic TexMex. The various plate combination plates provide good value for the money, but the fajitas are overpriced. All in all, you could do worse for Mexican food in South Austin. But you could also do better.
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