What. The. Hell.

Posted on November 4, 2021 by dwightbrown

Just got an email from Perry’s Steakhouse.

Introducing Perry’s Private Reserve Caviar.

…

Perry’s signature caviar is from the World’s finest small batch Sturgeon that have been ethically and sustainably farmed with an all-natural diet and then harvested with the highest quality practices.

Not just caviar, but caviar from “small batch Sturgeon” (what the heck does that mean?) “ethically and sustainably farmed with an all-natural diet”.

But wait, there’s more:

…our innovative caviar service dish is kept at subzero temps…

…to maintain a perfect temperature for this and surrounded by ice (and sparklers) for a show-stopping and mouthwatering experience.

Any of you guys set of sparklers on the major holidays? You know what they smell like, right? Do you want your $2,646 per pound caviar smelling like burnt sparkler?

($175 for 30 grams, $75 for 10 grams. I think I did the math right. But you get chives, egg whites, toast points, egg yolks, and red onions with it.)

Don’t get me wrong, I like Perry’s. And I like caviar, and I have written in the past about the continuing caviar crisis. But this is just silly.

Posted in Fine Dining | Leave a comment

Catfish Parlour on N. 183 Is Closing

Posted on October 28, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Evidently the owner wanted to retire, and I bet the location is quite valuable.

They were a reliable staple, and we went there every so often.

The South and Georgetown locations remain open.

Dwight adds:

This is a darn shame. I always liked their shrimp and hush puppies.

And of course, no mention of this on Eater Austin or on the Statesman‘s food and drink page.

Posted in American, Closed, Seafood, Southern | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tragic news.

Posted on June 22, 2021 by dwightbrown

Mike the Musicologist forwarded us a link from Click2Houston.

Remember how Luby’s was closing down and selling off their real estate?

Yeah. Not so much.

The company announced Monday that it signed an agreement to sell Luby’s Cafeteria restaurant business to a newly formed affiliate of Calvin Gin.
“We are so pleased to be able to acquire the operation of these Luby’s Cafeteria stores, one of the iconic brands in the Texas restaurant market,” said Gin, CEO of the purchaser. “This transaction will allow us to continue serving the many loyal Luby’s customers at these locations and to provide long-term employment opportunities for the many associates currently at these locations.”

But:

The acquisition of the Luby’s cafeterias business will not include any of the real estate owned by Luby’s, or any of the company’s Fuddruckers operations or the Company’s Culinary Contract Service business, with the exception of the joint Luby’s/Fuddruckers location in Webster.

Just for grins, I went over to the Fuddrucker’s website to see if there were any open in the Austin area. The nearest one to me (that isn’t listed as “temporarily closed”) is on Slaughter Lane. The next nearest is in Waco. (The Round Rock location is “temporarily closed”. Yeah, I guess you could say that: it is now a location of the Tumble 22 Nashville hot chicken chain.)

Posted in American, Burgers | Leave a comment

Boned.

Posted on June 7, 2021 by dwightbrown

Noticed yesterday: the Bone Daddy’s restaurant on 183 near Duval is closed.

Apple Maps calls it “temporarily closed”, but the corporate website lists only three locations in Texas (Arlington, Dallas, and Lubbock).

I don’t really lament this. We went there once for an SDC. The barbecue was pretty average, and the experience was basically Twin Peaks without the class.

My most vivid memory of that visit, just to give you some idea of what I mean by “without the class”: there was a young waitress who was wearing a strategically placed coaster…because the cut of her shorts exposed too much plumber’s crack.

Oddly though, this was the most successful of the three restaurants in that center to start with: there was a Zio’s that folded pretty quickly (and has remained unoccupied since), a Razoo’s Cajun that lasted for a fair while (it eventually closed, was torn down, and is now a Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen which seems to be a roaring success), and the Bone Daddy’s. That probably held out as long as it did because there’s a hotel within easy walking distance.

Posted in Barbecue, Closed | Leave a comment

Which Austin Restaurants Are Open Or Closed During The Winter Storm

Posted on February 16, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Austinites who are out of food in their blacked-out homes do indeed have some dining choices available during the winter storm:

Here’s a list via Austin Eater.

And here’s one from Austin 360.

I thought it was my blogging duty to call around and find at least one restaurant not on either of those lists that was open. Success!

Doc B’s Restaurant + Bar in the Domain says they’re open until 5 PM today.

Sorry, that was the only one I found…

Posted in American, News | Leave a comment

2020 Austin Restaurant Closings

Posted on January 4, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Here’s a look back at Austin restaurants that closed in 2020, most (though not all) due to lockdowns from the Wuhan coronavirus. These are restaurants the SDC visited in the past, wanted to visit, or noticed the passing of (so it won’t include every Austin restaurant that closed), along with very brief notes.

  • Austin Java (three of four locations).
  • Be More Pacific. We never ate there, but that spot is sort of a Restaurant Site of the Damned.
  • Black Walnut Cafe (two Austin locations). Made a tasty burger and had the mad scientist coke machine.
  • Blue Baker: Another Arboretum closure. More bakery with a sidelight in sandwiches. I really hated the design of their space.
  • Blue Dahlia Bistro. Another Austin restaurant we never managed to get out to.
  • Brick Oven: Longtime Austin pizza restaurant at Braker and 183 is closing because that center’s HEB wants to expand into the space. I never liked their crust.
  • BRIO Tuscan Grille: Pricey Italian chain location in the Arboretum. Good food, but I only ate there on the very occasional Sunday (when Reale’s is closed).
  • Bombay Bistro North: Same center as Brick Oven, possibly closed for the same reason. Pretty decent Indian food.
  • Cafe Joise. A great place, back in the day.
  • Counter Cafe Diner at 6th and North Lamar. Pretty decent burgers, and a late night breakfast choice.
  • Dart Bowl Cafe. Never made it out there.
  • Easy Tiger on Sixth Street, which we really liked. The location at The Linc is still open, but really pissed us off.
  • Full English, a breakfast place Dwight used to frequent upon occasion.
  • Luby’s Cafeteria on Brodie Lane. Dwight was not a fan…
  • Holy Roller. Punk rock burger place we meant to try.
  • Lucy’s on the Lake. Never visited that location, but I did like the fried chicken at the south location.
  • North By Northwest. They did pretty good upscale pub grub, but they were all but empty for a 2019 lunch visit, so it appears business had been in decline for a while.
  • Shady Grove. A fine place for chicken fried steak and hamburgers.
  • Third Base Northwest: Sports bar on 183 that served pub grub; seems to have closed sometime in 2020.
  • Threadgil’s. In addition to the chicken fried steak, I was also fond of their ham steak with Jezebel sauce.
  • Yuyo. Peruvian restaurant we never managed to get out to.

    • Posted in American, Breakfast, Burgers, Cheap Dining, Closed, Fine Dining, Indian, Italian, Pizza, Sandwich, Sports Bar | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

    Austin Restaurants Under Stage 5 Coronavirus Restrictions Again

    Posted on December 27, 2020 by lawrenceperson

    Because clearly Christmas through New Year’s Eve isn’t an important time to make money for restaurants and bars:

    During a press conference this morning, city officials announced that Austin and Travis County has been bumped up to Stage 5 of the city’s risk-based COVID-19 restrictions for the first time during the pandemic.

    Under Stage 5 recommendations, restaurants and bars are asked to roll back to only takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery services, which means shutting down their indoor dining areas. KUT reports that these businesses are also asked to limit their outdoor dining capacities to 50 percent, as well as voluntarily closing from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

    In other news, lots of restaurants are open in Williamson County…

    Posted in News | Leave a comment

    October 24, 2020: Southside Market & Barbecue (North MoPac).

    Posted on October 26, 2020 by dwightbrown

    10515 N Mopac Suite B-225 (Austin, 78759)
    (512) 838-3600
    30.38917°N, 97.73333° W
    https://www.southsidemarket.com/

    Pepper grinder rating: 0.

    Men’s room rating: 2.

    Dwight’s comments:

    Good pork ribs. The jalepeno and cheese bacon wrapped “Sausage Slammers” were also pretty good. But the brisket was dry and really not worth it.

    I’m not sure I’d want to go back anytime soon, but if I did, I’d avoid the brisket.

    Posted in Barbecue | Leave a comment

    A few nice words.

    Posted on October 19, 2020 by dwightbrown

    Since we just pretty much curbstomped Easy Tiger in the Linc, I would like to say a few kind words about Fixe Southern House. This is not a formal SDC review, since it wasn’t an actual SDC. But my family went there last night for someone’s birthday.

    • They have very good biscuits.
    • On that point, they actually serve breakfast between 8 AM and 3 PM daily. We were talking at the SDC about whether there was any place downtown that still served breakfast, so I guess that answers the question. (I suppose there are also a few hotels that have breakfast menus or buffets. But in terms of stand alone downtown places that serve breakfast, we were having a hard time coming up with any.)
    • They didn’t sing “Happy Birthday” or anything else, which was nice.
    • I’ve eaten a lot of birthday meals with a lot of people at a lot of places. I have never, before last night, seen a restaurant not only bring out a dessert with a candle in it, but also give the birthday person a card with a handwritten personal note inside…and a $20 off coupon for their next visit.
    Posted in American, Breakfast, Southern | Leave a comment

    October 17, 2020: Easy Tiger.

    Posted on October 18, 2020 by dwightbrown

    6406 N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd Suite 1100
    (512) 494-4151

    Pepper grinder rating: 0. (We were not offered salt or pepper, and (of course) there were no condiments on the tables.)

    Men’s room rating: 1. (Two one-hole unisex restrooms with a single sink outside are not enough for a beer garden this size.)

    Dwight’s comments:

    I like Easy Tiger. I had some pleasant meals at the old downtown location (now closed) and I had a good meal at this location pre-Wuhan Flu.

    This was not a pleasant experience.

    First problem: outside only seating. The Linc location used to have a nice indoor space, but that’s “employees only” now. Okay, fine, beer virus, I get it. Good thing we picked a day when the weather was nice.

    Second problem: there’s no table service in the beer garden. Instead, you have to scan the QR code at your table, and use something that I believe is called ToastTab to order and pay. God forbid you’re one of those people who doesn’t have a smartphone, or your smartphone isn’t charged, or…

    Third problem: the second problem wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that ToastTab is a poorly designed almost unusable pile of dreck.

    Fourth problem: I’ve really liked ET’s pretzel in the past. But this one didn’t taste right: it was actually kind of tough and chewy, rather than being a good warm soft pretzel.

    Fifth problem: one of our party had to wait forever for his order, to the point where I ended up flagging down a waiter and asking them to check. I’m not sure he ever got an explanation.

    Sixth problem: I hate the restrooms. (See above.)

    Look, I get that we have to make compromises to deal with the current situation. But in this case, the compromises Easy Tiger has chosen to make rendered the experience unpleasant for me. I would go to another Easy Tiger (they’re opening or have opened one in the old Red’s Porch space on South Lamar). But: I would not go if I had to sit outside, use a one-hole unisex toilet, and order and pay with ToastTab. And I don’t think I’ll be going back to the Linc location until this Chinese virus thing is over and life gets back to normal.

    Lawrence’s comments:

    What Dwight said, only more fucking so. Easy Tiger’s web interface is infuriating garbage that it’s entirely too easy to click off of, and I think the “QR Code Only” is in fact a violation of the Americans with disabilities act, and looks to be geared as a way to force you to give them your email address (I entered a fake one instead). Print some frigging paper menus.

    Plus they no longer offer the multiple sausage plate that was the entire reason I wanted to go. The pastrami sandwich I ordered was OK, but not as good as, and more expensive than, competing offerings.

    I see no reason to revisit any Easy Tiger location until they drop the QR-code only bullshit.

    Posted in American | 1 Comment