Steiner!

Posted on October 14, 2022 by dwightbrown

Menchie’s in Steiner Ranch is closing.

Ordinarily, I would not post about this, as it is a chain yogurt place that I don’t hang out at.

However, one of our local throwaway papers did an interview with the owners, and it is kind of a greatest hits compilation.

Reasons for closing:

  • Can’t get help, especially during the weekdays.
  • The owners want to spend more time with their family their other two locations.
  • Unable to get a break on the rent.
  • The landlords suck. “We have other locations with 10x more car traffic and 3x more foot traffic and rent here is the same price.”
  • More on that theme: their location did good business when there was a restaurant across the street. But the landlords can’t keep a restaurant in that space. I can attest to this: in my time here, I think I’ve seen at least four come and go.
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More local closings.

Posted on September 27, 2022 by dwightbrown

By way of my mother:

Vincent’s on the Lake, which took over the old Carlos and Charlie’s spot…on the lake.

They blame “Economic conditions and low water levels“. Mom and I ate there about six weeks ago, and I think their real problem was: the food was just not good. It really felt more like a bar that had a nice view of the lake, and the food wasn’t even a second thought.

(Mom gave it six weeks when we ate there, and she was pretty much right on target.)

Also closed: Crema, in South Austin. Another place we had breakfast at: Mom liked to go there when she was in the neighborhood, and they did serve good food. But it was a bit off the beaten path for us. In this case, the closure is being blamed on “the rent is too damn high” and “the lease is too damn long”.

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Barbecue Law!

Posted on August 24, 2022 by dwightbrown

La Barbecue is a popular Austin joint. It is in the Texas Monthly Top 50, though not in the Top 10.

The owner and manager of La Barbecue have been criminally indicted.

[Leanne] Mueller and [Allison] Clem are each charged with two counts of fraudulent securing of document execution.

What does that mean? Here’s how the Statesman explains it. La Barbecue didn’t have worker’s comp insurance, and hadn’t had it since November of 2014. Sometime in July of 2016, one of their employees was hurt “while operating a piece of kitchen equipment”. It sounds like the injuries were pretty serious: I’ll get into that in a minute.

Four days later, Clem contacted Paychex Insurance to get workers’ compensation coverage, something the restaurant had been without since November 2014.
Clem did not disclose her employee’s injuries to the agent but asked that the new policy be backdated to July 1, 2016, three weeks before the employee was hurt, the Texas Department of Insurance reported.

This kind of strikes me as equivalent to being in a car accident, then calling your insurance agent to get backdated coverage. I would call this “insurance fraud”. But: I am not a lawyer.

“It is perfectly legal to obtain a backdated policy in Texas,” said the women’s attorney, Brian Roark.

Which may be true. But it is legal to obtain a backdated policy, then make a claim against that policy for an accident that happened while coverage was not in place?

Mueller then submitted a signed application for coverage, claiming the business had no previous losses, and the policy was approved by Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. of America, the department said.

According to the article, Travelers paid out “$350,000 in medical and indemnity benefits”. In addition, “The insurance company is also responsible for lifetime care of the injured employee.”

“The insurance company determined early on that they didn’t believe they should have to pay for the claim, yet continued to pay for it anyway,” Roark said. “Regardless of the insurance company’s determination, La Barbecue, Leanne Mueller and Allison Clem believed they were acting in good faith at all times when they signed the application that had been provided to them by the insurance agent. All the monies paid for the employee were paid to the employee or directly for his medical expenses and not to La Barbecue, Leanne Mueller or Allison Clem. We believe once a jury hears the facts, that La Barbecue, Leanne Mueller and Allison Clem will be exonerated.”

If they are convicted, supposedly the two can be made to pay restitution “up to double the amount Travelers already paid to the injured worker in benefits”.

I’d hate to lose a good barbecue joint (though I’ve never had a chance to eat at La Barbecue). But I think this goes to show at least one thing: it’s just ignorant not to have worker’s comp insurance.

(More from eater.com. Crossposted to WCD.)

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Russian to a conclusion.

Posted on August 22, 2022 by dwightbrown

By way of Eater Austin: House is closed.

But seriously, this was the place formerly known as “Russian House” downtown. They changed their name to “House” earlier this year because Ukraine.

We never had an SDC there, but FotB Rich, my mother, and I had a very good Easter brunch there one year. I still have photos from that, but I need to clear them with Rich before I post them…

Based on what I can tell from the article, it sounds like there were problems with the building (and possibly with the management). They are supposedly looking for a new location, but they’ve also dumped a lot of decor and equipment…

Edited to add: Well, Rich gave me his blessing, so…

I wonder what happened to the bear. I also wonder what happened to this:

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Like Sandeez through the hour glass…

Posted on August 11, 2022 by dwightbrown

Sandeez Hamburger Hut in Lakeway is closing.

We never had an SDC there, but my people and I had been picking up burgers from them since we immigrated to Lakeway. They made a decent burger – not great, but a welcome change when we got tired of Whataburger.

I don’t see any clear reason being given for the closure. If I had to guess, I’d say it is probably “can’t get staff”, maybe combined with “supply chain issues” along with the ever popular “owner wants to retire” and “land out here is too valuable for a burger joint”. Did I miss any entries on the bingo card?

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Two quick random notes.

Posted on July 7, 2022 by dwightbrown

1. The Z’Tejas on 6th Street is closing.

I don’t think we ever had a SDC there, but I had brunch a couple of times with my people. The brunch is good, but that location is awful.

2. For The Love Of God, Montresor, I implore you: do not order items off movie tie-in menus at chain restaurants. (I don’t know if they still have it, but just in case they do, I also recommend avoiding the “influencer” menu at Denny’s.)

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Bad Ideas ‘R Us.

Posted on March 22, 2022 by dwightbrown

“Order anything besides brisket or burnt ends,” a sign greeting customers at Arthur Bryant’s location in Kansas City’s 18th and Vine District reads.
While the two options on the menu make up 70% of the restaurant’s business, Bryant’s said it is also reeling from sticker shock at the prices it is passing on to customers.
“As you can see, the brisket prices that we are charging are ridiculously high,” the sign reads. “This is because the prices we are paying are ridiculously high. We understand you are not happy but know we take no pleasure in charging these prices.”

They’re getting $21.95 a pound for brisket, according to the article. Just for comparison, Stiles Switch in Cedar Park is getting $31 a pound for a to-go order, and Schmidt Family Barbecue in Bee Cave is getting the same.

I’ve never been to Arthur Bryant’s. I’ve wanted to go since reading Calvin Trillin’s “Tummy Trilogy”, but the one time I had an excuse to go, I was between jobs and couldn’t travel to Kansas City.

That said, if I ever do go, I’m not ordering the turkey, thank you very much. As long as the prices are clearly posted, I figure it’s up to me to decide how much of what kind of meat I want, including brisket or burnt ends.

Instead Bryant’s is asking customers to contact their elected officials and demand they do something about the high price of beef and almost everything else.

At least they aren’t blaming the vertical integration of the broiler industry.

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Crawfish on Fyre…

Posted on March 10, 2022 by dwightbrown

I missed this story and, thankfully, the event itself. I didn’t find out about it until I checked the HouChron site for other reasons, and I’ve seen no coverage of this on Austin Eater, Austin360, or KXAN.

This past weekend was the Austin Crawfish Festival. It sounds like it went well, except for one small problem…

…they didn’t have any crawfish.

Gallaga and his fiancée waited more than two hours and didn’t taste a single mud bug.

…

“We’re standing around for an hour when it starts to feel like okay, what’s going on here?” Gallaga says. “Because, you know, there’s obviously no crawfish, nobody’s eating.”

…

Gallaga went to the front of the line and learned that festival workers were telling attendees that crawfish was coming, but to no avail. Hungry and frustrated, Gallaga and his fiancée left the line after two hours and headed for a nearby food truck in the general admission section of the festival. Ironically, one of those trucks had crawfish for sale.

…

Three years ago, a couple weeks before the first Austin Crawfish Festival, the organizers reached out to HooDoo Crawfish, asking for a 60-pound boil in four hours, as they were testing out distributors. Sistrunk says the group hustled to make it from Cedar Park to South Austin, only for the organizers to show up an hour late.
They liked the crawfish, and said they’d like to use it for their VIP area. But what gave Sistrunk pause: they had never had crawfish before that moment.
“So you guys sold over $40,000 worth of tickets to people for something you’ve never had, and you have no idea who’s gonna do it or where it’s gonna come from?” he remembers thinking. “I’m like, Oh my God, this is Fyre Fest.” HooDoo declined to take part in the festival. Sistrunk says the Austin Crawfish Festival organizers even stiffed him on the cost of the “test boil.”

The apparent organizers, Crenshaw Ventures, declined to comment to the HouChron. If I see any updates, I’ll link to them: if they wish to respond here, they are welcome to.

Otherwise…well, this is why I never go to any of these festivals. It seems like every one in Austin I’ve heard about (possibly excepting the Texas Monthly Barbecue Festival, and that’s in Lockhart this year) has been a complete fiasco.

Posted in Cajun, Gripes, Media | Leave a comment

Copper is Closing

Posted on December 28, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Copper in The Domain is closing January 2, 2022.

To Our Friends and Guests:

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of Copper. Our lease expires at the end of this year and we were unable to come to terms with the landlord for a renewal.

Our last day in operation will be Sunday, January 2nd. The bakery on Burnet Road will remain open.

They looked somewhat interesting, but we never got a chance to try them because, well, they’re in The Domain…

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Obit watch: December 17, 2021.

Posted on December 17, 2021 by dwightbrown

John Mueller, one of the great Texas barbecue guys. He was only 52.

Mueller grew up working for his father, the late Bobby Mueller, at family patriarch Louie Mueller’s barbecue restaurant in Taylor, bussing tables from the age of 8, according to his sister and La Barbecue owner, LeAnn Mueller, and eventually learning how to smoke and slice meat at his father’s side.

…

Mueller built his reputation on sturdy but supple brisket cooked hot and fast, gargantuan beef ribs with a soft side that belied their imposing stature, and a mercurial personality that often burned with the same intensity as his off-set smoker.
Franklin Barbecue owner Aaron Franklin worked briefly for Mueller in 2006, cutting onions and helping with other prep work, and says that the Taylor native had a talent that could not be taught.
“He spent all those years hanging out in Taylor learning from his dad. The guy really just had such a natural gift for cooking barbecue,” Franklin said. “I’d be surprised if there was anyone else in the world who has cooked more briskets than that guy.”

…

Mueller would play up the caricature of “the dark prince of Texas barbecue,” a moniker bestowed on him by Texas Monthly, later in life, blending barbs with banter that made him an unpredictable if entertaining presence at his businesses.
But despite his love for giving people grief and straddling the line between famous and infamous, Mueller at his heart was a classic Central Texas barbecue man who took the lessons from his father and then burned his own path through the barbecue scene.

…

John Lewis worked briefly for Mueller at his South First trailer before going to serve as pit boss at La Barbecue. Lewis, who now runs the lauded Lewis Barbecue in Charleston, S.C., says that despite his reputation as an ornery cuss, Mueller could be an affable guy who loved to share a laugh.
“He was a really, really kind guy. He had a huge heart and I didn’t really get to know that until we worked side by side,” Lewis said. “He would act really tough but the next second he is goofing on you. He had a great sense of humor.”

Additional coverage from the Dallas Morning News (by way of archive.is).

Edited to add 12/18: Texas Monthly tribute.

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