13450 N. Hwy 183
335-5115
Men's room rating: 2.5. (The usual, "too small for the size of the place" defect.)
Dwight's comments:
A pretty good thin crust pizza, with a not-too-chunky sauce. I like this pizza much better than Frank and Angie's or Nikki's.
The mussels and garlic bread weren't bad, either (though I don't care that much for mussels in a marinara sauce), and I liked the friendly service (though the waiter failed the test of getting Lawrence's drink order right).
I have to concur with Lawrence: we should have tried Reale's after Big Night, and I still want to go back and try their non-pizza offerings.
(Reale's is the only other place I've found (besides Mama Mia's Ristorante Italiano) that serves tortellini carbonara.)
Lawrence's comments:
Better than expected. Reale's probably has the best thin-crust pizza in town, beating out previous favorite Nikki's.
They're generous with their toppings, the garlic cheese bread was the best I've had (very cheesy and not dried out), and the mussels were quite good and interestingly prepared.
This is the sort of place the manager/owner comes around, puts their hand on your shoulder, and says: "Hey! Everything alright here? All right, all right!"
This is the place we should have eaten after watching Big Night.
5770 N. Mopac Expressway
467-9295
Men's room rating: 3. (A typical clean one-hole fast-food joint men's room.)
Dwight's comments:
Mexican fast food, served in a slightly nicer atmosphere than Taco Bell or Taco Cabana.
The ingredients seem slightly fresher, and the food tastes slightly better, but, other than that, a fast-food chain of startling pointlessness.
The idea of going back fills me with an almost Sarteian ennui.
Lawrence's comments:
OK but overpriced TexMex served cafeteria style. Since this place is only a couple of minutes driving distance from both Serrano's and Armando's Tanquieria #2, I don't see why anyone would eat there. Only redeeming quality is a better-than-average hot sauce and plenty of cut peppers at the fixings bar.
5819 Burnet Road
459-6279
Men's room rating: did not rate.
Dwight's comments:
This is the sort of place you'd like if you have fond memories of The Stallion or other legendary Austin dining establishments. It's like stepping back into Austin history.
Sadly, I have no desire to step back into Austin history when I eat: all I care about is how good the food is. (And I'm really sick of seeing those Cactus Pryor ads on KLRU. Yeah, I bet he hung out a lot at the Armadillo World Headquarters, listening to Shiva's Headband and dropping acid.)
Lawrence is fond of the Nighthawk's steaks, for some reason, and I didn't hear any complaints from him or Andrew "Fled Austin One Step Ahead Of the Mob" Wimsatt about theirs.
I thought my meal (a terriaki chicken breast and fries) was about equal to what you'd get at Denny's or Coco's, on the other hand.
The Frisco serves comfort food, perhaps one-half step above the various chain comfort food places. If you like that sort of thing, you could do much worse: it just isn't my cup of tea.
Lawrence's comments:
Though warned away from here by a couple of people, I found the Frisco to be a pleasant suprise. The steak was quite good (albeit not up to the standard the old Nighthawk at 290 and I-35 used to serve), and the elderly waitstaff friendly and attentive. We even got an extra order of onion rings free due to a kitchen mixup. All in all, the experience is rather like wandering into a timewarp into what Austin might have been like back in the 1950s.
I should also note that do a pretty good job with breakfast as well.
3010 West Anderson Lane
454-7333
Men's room rating: 3. (Up to standard: clean and comfortable. I was a little disturbed, though, by the number of Marilyn Monroe photos on the wall. I'm not sure I want to be surrounded by that while I empty my bladder.)
Dwight's comments:
Why do I like Serrano's? Let me count the ways:
Lawrence's comments:
Though in the same location and looking much the same, this is actually a new building since the old one burned down. I'm happy to say that the quality seems to have remained consistant.
Not my favorite Mexican food place, but a sturdy and dependable standby.
(Nostalgia Note: Dwight and I not only ate at Serrano's in the old building, but also once ate at Cafe Tortuga's, the Carribbian resteraunt that used to occupy the same spot before they closed up and Serrano's moved in.)
2400 East Oltorf
462-3535
Men's room rating: 2. (About the right size, but badly run down and in need of cleaning.)
Dwight's comments:
The good points about Wan Fu: they're open late (until 2 A.M.), our friend RoadRich really liked the music they were playing while we were there, and the service was okay. (They did manage to get Lawrence's drink order right, which was good for a bonus point, but they lost points by delaying the refill he requested.)
It's too bad that the food isn't better: the fried dumplings seemed undercooked and tasted too much of vegetables (My gold standard for fried dumplings, by the way, remains Tien Hong.), the spicy tangy shrimp had little tang or spice, the appetizer platter seemed heavy and greasy, and the hot-and-sour-soup was just average.
I've been to Wan Fu quite a few times (it's near the office, which makes it nice for lunch or dinner sometimes), and I really want to like them. Looking at the menu, though, they appear to have put a lot of effort into revisions and reinterpetations of traditional dishes. That's a nice idea, if it's matched with skill in the kitchen.
I wish Wan Fu would work more on basics (like proper frying), and save the cooking adventures until they got that down.
Lawrence's comments:
Actually, I thought my Chef's Special Beef both tasty and composed of generous portions. Though not up in Tien Hong or Pao's Mandarin House's league, it's worth a try, especially late at night.
Send e-mail to Dwight Brown (stainles@bga.com).
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See the logs for December of 1996.
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