Chuy's

Like many things, it seems that Austinites either like Chuy's or they don't. I fall into the latter category. I've lived in Austin since 1994, and I probably haven't been inside a Chuy's (and there are now several, even outside of Texas!) one since 1997. I just never thought it was all that great, and life's too short to eat bad food! So imagine my conundrum, when an old colleague is visiting town, several of us are slated to get together for a reunion, and all he wants is a Chuy's strawberry margarita. After all, they can't get good Tex Mex in Minnesota! (Sorry, John!) What's a highly opinionated food *reviewer* to do? Go in with an open mind. Yes, even me. And you know what? It really wasn't bad.

There were going to be seven of us, meeting at 6:30 on Sunday. I met the first couple of people in the bar/waiting area, and they already had a round of chips, salsa, and queso going. The tortilla chips are your standard thin, crispy chips, the salsa is also fairly staid, as is the queso. Once our whole group was there, we got moved to a round table in one of the dining rooms. The only downside is that it's LOUD. The decor is a bit garish, with faux car parts and parrots on the walls and ceiling. Our waiter came and got our drink order; they had just run out of Negro Modelo beer, which was the only beer on the list that really interested me, so I opted for sangria.

I thought a combo plate would be the best way to try a couple of dishes, so I went with the #4, a chicken enchilada with queso, and a ground sirloin-stuffed chile relleno with ranchero sauce. Basically, you get your choices of enchilada and relleno. I asked our server for his opinion on which sauce to get on the enchilada, and he patiently walked me through the options (the menu also has good explanations). When we got the check, I learned his name was Clayton, and he was great. More on that in a sec.

The chile relleno was really good! The beef was seasoned well, it was a nice layer of fried-crispiness that was NOT a bit greasy, and the ranchero sauce, while mild (as advertised) complimented it all very well. I would eat this again. Now the chicken inside the enchilada was nice large pieces of white meat. The queso however, was kind of dried and rubbery. I think this plate sat under the lights for a few minutes, because the refried beans too, had a bit of a skin on them. In retrospect, I should have ordered the enchilada with one of the green chile sauces on it; they claim on their menu to be fairly spicy though, and I still wanted to taste my food, so I went with the processed cheese queso. No bueno.

Other people's food looked pretty tasty too. I believe this plate is the #2, Elvis Presley Memorial Combo, with three different types of enchiladas, and covered in the boom-boom sauce, which I believe is a creamy version of the green chile. Other dishes at our table included the Elvis Green Chile Fried Chicken, with a batter made from potato chips and the Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom, which are chicken enchiladas with the boom-boom sauce.

For the place being fairly packed on a Sunday evening, our food came out relatively quickly. Our waiter would swing by every now and then, checking on drinks, clearing the chip baskets to help make more room on the table, and was just really a friendly, patient, guy. The kicker for me was he automatically split our checks without us even asking. Good call, Clayton! So now when one of my close friend's craves Chuy's tortilla soup (which apparently many people rave about), I won't be so quick to shoot it down. This meal had some pros and cons, but probably the best pro was it opened my mind! :)

Tino's Greek Cafe

Whoops! I almost to forgot to write about this place..... and unfortunately, it was just THAT memorable! About ten days ago, three of us were getting together for lunch, and we needed someplace near Brodie and William Cannon, so Tino's was suggested. It's a little further south at Slaughter, at the northeast corner of the intersection.

There were no printed menus that I could see, just the chalkboard, which I found a bit hard to read. You go to the counter to order, and they serve it up in front of you, cafeteria style. One of my friends had said the gyro meat was good, so I decided to get that as part of the the combo plate. I asked the man working the line which sides were the best, and he shrugs his shoulders and says they're all good. Okay....so not really helpful. So by looking at the food (shoulda taken a picture), I choose the spanakopita, falafel patty, and meatball; and I had my choice of soup or salad, so I opted for the chicken lemon soup.

The soup wasn't bad, it definitely had some lemon flavor to it, and rather small bits of chicken. Would have probably enjoyed it more if it weren't 100 degrees outside! (But I picked it rather than the salad, because that was iceberg, under ripe tomatoes, and cucumbers, as seen in the plate below on the left.)  The gyro meat is a combination of lamb and beef (I wasn't sure, so I just called them to ask as I sat here writing this up), and was really quite good, especially with their nice, soft, pita bread. (One friend comes here to buy their pita, as opposed to going to Phoenicia Bakery, and I can see why.) The meat was tender and moist, with very good flavor. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the meal. The spanakopita (spinach and feta wrapped in phyllo dough -- the triangle in the lower right of the picture) was decent; not quite crispy enough for my liking, but not as soggy as it could be given that it had been sitting under the heat lights. The falafel patty was totally limp, no crunch to it at all, as you would expect to find, and the meatball really didn't have much taste to it, nor did it's tomato sauce. I tried a bite of my friends' hummus and baba ghanouj, both of which were decent, but nothing to write home about.

It also concerned me that they were storing paint cans next to the soda dispenser. In food safety and sanitation rules, that's a big no-no. Also, the bottled cleaner they were using to wipe down the tables had a very strong chemical odor to it, and while I guess it's good they were being liberal with it's application, one of my friend's is 30+ weeks pregnant, and there was a mother with a newborn at the table next to us. The smell from the cleaner drove us out.

So if you venture over to Tino's, and there are a couple locations around town, go for the gyro meat and pita, but skip the rest. Oh, and maybe get it to go.

Bits and Bites

As I am sure many of you have seen online, there is a small business grant opportunity via Chase Bank and Living Social. Today's the last day to vote! I know I have already submitted votes for Sugar Mama's Bakery, Cocoa Puro, and Salt and Time who I believe have all reached the minimum voting requirements to get to the next round. One more -- Austin Slow Burn -- please vote for them today!!! Click on Mission Small Business, log in, and then enter Austin, TX as your search criteria. (I've been unsuccessful in searching by business name on this site, not just for ASB, but for others too.) Jump to page 38, and you should see Austin Slow Burn, and hit vote! Jill & Kevin Lewis have become friends of mine, and their products if you aren't familiar are truly fantastic! Best darn queso in the world! No joke!

Exciting neighborhood news! The original location of the Soup Peddler at the southeast corner of South 1st and Mary, is now offering a walk up window with soup and Juicebox selections! I may walk over and get a shake once I finish this post!

And on the national restaurant scene, Eater has named sushi chef Angela Majko of Uchiko one of their Eater Young Guns for 2012. The one time I sat at the sushi bar at Uchiko, Angela was our chef, and frankly, she kicked ass! My friend and I were so impressed with how well she multi-tasked, and could put together tastes that would please us. Congrats!


Upcoming openings...
Have more lives than a cat, it looks like Celis Brewery is going to return to the Austin area. {They seem to have two Facebook pages....Celis Beer and Celis Brewery, the latter being the more current, with mention of their return.} Daughter of (now deceased) founder Pierre, Christine Celis has reclaimed (bought?) back the family name, though there's no word yet on when or where the brewing will occur.


The restaurant group behind Austin Java is going to transform the downtown spot at City Hall into a Texas/Cajun themed eatery, with live music as well. They're working with the man behind Austin City Limits (which is now conveniently across the street), Terry Lickona, who undoubtedly will plan the music. Currently in planning stages, there's no timetable yet for the conversion.


Temporarily closed is Mirabelle, who apparently are revamping their entire concept. Hope they do in fact reopen.

Wonder when (if?) Mercury Pizza will reopen?

Fresas Chicken al Carbon

Fresas Chicken al Carbon is the latest venture from chef Larry McGuire and the Lambert's, Perla's, Elizabeth Street Cafe people. Located in an old coffee house drive through, nee photo processing spot (remember back when we had to take our film to be developed?), just north of Shoal Creek Saloon on Lamar Blvd., between 9th and 10th Streets. They have taken pollo asado (grilled chickens, like at El Pollo Rico) and kicked them up to a new level using chickens from Peeler Farms, where they are pastured raised without meds. The foodie grapevine was reporting good things about Fresas, so it was time to go check it out myself.

Monday lunch, a friend and I headed over. We missed the turn for the drive-thru, but there were a couple parking spots in front for to-go orders. And fortunately, there are some umbrellas for shade and fans for air circulation as you wait. Fresas offers two varieties of grilled chicken, achiote citrus and oregano black pepper. You buy either a half or whole chicken, and both options come with rice, beans, grilled onions, tortillas, and salsa. They also offer tortas, which in this case are sandwiches on bolillo rolls, various sides, and even beer and wine to go. I loved the wood counter at the walk up window.

I got the achiote citrus chicken (half a chicken), as well as a side of the Mexican street corn, and my friend picked the gringa torta, made with chicken salad. As there really isn't a place there to sit and eat, coupled by the fact the temperature was already well into the 90s, we went back to my house to feast. When we unpacked the bag, I was happy to see that nothing is packaged in styrofoam. The chicken, along with grilled onions and jalapenos, is double-wrapped in brown butcher paper. My initial thought when I saw it was that it came out of an Indian tandoori oven, given it's red color, and then realized that was from the achiote. {Achiote paste is made from ground annatto seeds, an ingredient often found in interior Mexican cooking; while it doesn't impart a ton of flavor, the color clearly leaves it's mark!} It smelled heavenly!

What's here on my plate is only a portion of the food! This $14 half chicken meal fed me for three meals. The beans were really nice and creamy, and the rice very fluffy. The corn was extremely good too; you basically get a whole ear that's been cut into three pieces to fit in a to go box. Really my only complaint about the entire meal was with the corn. They didn't remove the corn silks, so you go to take a bite, and there's what looks like black hairs or cat fur staring you down. Oh yeah, and the chicken itself was moist, tender, with a mild orange-citrus flavor. Definitely finger lickin' good!

The torta was really tasty too; the roll is a touch crispy on the outside, but soft inside. The chicken salad was very fresh, as were the radishes and sprouts. Fresas is also making ice cream, available by the pint. Our summertime weather is not always conducive to transporting ice cream, so it would be great to see some Mexican-inspired cookies available, or heck, even a brownie! Just a touch of something sweet to finish off this lovely meal. I can't wait to go back and try the other chicken!

El Alma

The corner of Dawson (South 5th) and Barton Springs has been a revolving door for restaurants for a number of years. Most recently, it was an outpost of El Chile, and it appeared to be doing well. Then, it seemed without warning, El Chile closed last June, but rebranded itself with a new executive chef, Alma Alcocer, formerly of Jeffrey's.  I attended a tasting they hosted, but haven't been able to get back for a full meal. This time, happy hour, and their half-price antojitos (appetizers) beckoned, so I still need to go for a main meal!

During daily happy hour, they've got specials on margaritas, sangria, and Lone Star beers. I was more than happy to sip on a sangria while waiting for my friend to arrive! The corn tortilla chips were nice and light, and the green sauce with tomatillo, avocado and lime was particularly tasty!

To snack on, I picked the emapanadas and the queso blanco y rojo. The corn masa empanandas are filled with mushrooms and cheese, and must have achiote paste in the masa to give them their orange color. The salsa was called picosa (different than the one that was with the chips), and it had a nice light, roasted flavor. The queso was really good! Great consistency (no crappy cheese by-products!), and nice bits of rajas (sauteed poblano pepper strips) and onions. It's served with tostados, or, yesterdays flour tortillas that are cut and fried. I love how thick they are, but several were very greasy. 

My friend had the ceviche clasico, prepared with black drum. She offered me a bite, which for some reason I turned down at the time. She loved it, and I missed out!

I have heard the duck rellenos are delicious, but they will have to wait until another time! Hopefully, El Alma has the right recipe for success at this corner spot.