Lawrence was out of town this week. (I could tell you where, but then I'd have to kill you.)
Average Tex-Mex. The combo plates are pretty good for the price, but there's nothing distinctive about the food. If someone invites me, I'll go back, but I probably wouldn't go on my own.
Though a favorite of co-conspirators Karl and Penny Rehn, I ended up being less impressed with Flores than they seemed to be. Despite their admonishments, the chicken fajitas seemed no better than a dozen other TexMex offerings, and the nachos seemed uninspired. However, the service was excellent and extremely fast (perhaps because they didn't seem terribly busy). Maybe we caught the kitchen on an off night, but so far Flores has left me with no strong impressions.
I think I've found the Formosa secret: order off the whiteboard, instead of the menu.
The whiteboard lists the daily specials, which appear to be based on what kind of stuff they've gotten from their suppliers.
I had a sauteed crawfish dish (yes, sauteed crawfish in a Chinese place), which I thought was very nice (if a touch heavy on the bell peppers and jalapenos: people who like those probably would have been in heaven).
Worth a try, if you're hungry for both seafood and something Asian.
A good variety of fish chinese fish dishes, albeit it more expensive than your average Chinese restaurant. (One note, guys: a bunch of chopped-up vegtables do not a salsa make.) Worth trying if you like Chinese seafood.
One of Austin's semi-hidden treasures. (Hint: they're on Oltorf, not west of Krakatoa.) Java Noodles offers a good bang for the buck: the most expensive item on the menu (fried fish fillet) is $9.95, and most of the menu items are $6.95 or less.
Of course, cheap isn't enough: if it was, I'd have opened that all-you-can-eat steamed rice and water restaurant by now. Fortunately, the prices are matched by reasonable portion sizes and skill in the kitchen.
I've been partial to the sate ayam (grilled chicken on skewers with peanut sauce) and the sate babi (the same with pork), both of which are the best I've had in Austin. I'm also fond of the dendeg balado: marinated beef, deep fried, and served in a spicy red sauce with onion. The rendang daging padang (beef cooked with coconut milk and spices) is also a nice dish, but with a very intense flavor. (I think Martin Yan prepares this in one of the shows in his current series: airing on KLRU at 4:00 PM on Saturday.)
Java Noodles' biggest flaws: no real individual soups (which is a failing shared with most non-Chinese Asian places), and weak appetizers. The shrimp roll is better than the description ("breaded shrimp rolled with bread") sounds, but is still not that great.
These are minor flaws, though: I highly recommend Java Noodles if you want something more exotic than usual, or if you want to eat cheap (and have something more substantial than pho).
No, it's not a coffee house. The Java in the name refers to the Indonesian island, not the hot caffinated beverage. (Or the programming language, for that matter.)
What Java Noodles does offer is pretty good, and pretty cheap, food. The chicken ragout appatizer was very tasty, as was my curried beef entree. The Asian food it seems closest to is Thai food without peppers (if you can imagine it). Despite that, what Java noodles serves up is neither terribly exotic or unremittingly bland, and it seems well worth a future visit.
The only puzzle was that, despite the name, most of the menu choices seemed to be served with rice. Oh those inscrutable Indonesians...
Return to the main Saturday Dining Conspiracy page.