Austin is bereft of great restaurants, but has a few pretty good ones, that Greg has correctly identified. Because it suffers at the very top end, I tend to go to Chez Nous quite often as the food, while predictable, is really almost as good as at any place in town. Among the rest, I think Wink is the most consistent. Olivia’s would be my second choice. The only other notable thing that I would say is that I have found Vaspaio to be a bit disappointing.
As for BBQ, I’d skip Smitty’s, Kreuz Market, etc. and head to Taylor to Louie Mueller’s, especially if you love sausage more than brisket. I like Mueller’s better.
Finally, if you can’t find better Tex-Mex than Chuy’s, you should just eat at McDonald’s. E gads. I’m not a fan of Tex-Mex at all, but Matt’s is OK. Jorge’s on Guadelupe. Amaya’s Taco Village. El Chile cafe on Manor Road. Dozens and dozens of possibilities better than Chuy’s.
Vespaio’s is a huge disappointment. The wine list is poorly selected and very expensive at around 3x retail. Last time I was there, they were pushing 2003 Brunello’s, mostly the ones hit by the scandal, and 2002 and 2003 Barolos. Second, the food ranges from inedible to merely adequate. I went on a business dinner with 5 members of my firm and 2 sales people. The sales guys each drank 1 1/2 bottles of wine and ate all their food; the 5 guys from my firm altogether drank less than 1 bottle. And we all left at least 1/2 the meal on our plates. From simple pizzas overloaded with salt, cheese and garlic powder, to overcooked, gloppy pasta with inedible sauce to tough, gristly steaks, we all walked away feeling glad we weren’t paying for the meal. And we all left hungry.
And that is my reaction to all the ersatz Italian food in Austin. Massive quantities of garlic power or garlic salt does not equal high-quality food. One would think with excellent meats, lots of fresh herbs, locally-sourced olive oil, and a good, hot grill we could make Porchetta, or Bistecca alla fiorentina, or any number of simple but satisfying Tuscan dishes. The best Tuscan recipes let the food speak for itself, with little adornment and simple accompaniments. The bane of Austin cooking is the belief that if 4 ingredients are good, then 25 must be even better. They aren’t.
In large part, I agree with Mr. Zachary’s take on Austin restaurants. In some senses, however, I do not.
I agree, for example, that Austin lacks a restaurant that would truly compete with the top end of restaurants in places like NYC, San Francisco, London, etc. etc. Indeed, it was not that long ago that Austin was a true culinary wasteland – nothing could compete against anyone anywhere (except, of course, with respect to Mexican food). Nowadays – at least since the late 90s when the high-tech money moved in – we’ve had an increasing number of very very good restaurants opening and thriving here.
At the end of the day, however, I don’t think anyone in Austin is really trying to compete at the level of New York/San Francisco/etc. Moreover, I don’t think that the lack of competitors at that level reflects a failure of ambition. I just think that Austin culture does not mix well – at least locally – with such high falutin’ ideals. Austin has a long and storied tradition of laid-back-itude (for lack of a proper english term). We don’t really do “high falutin” here. We may occasionally enjoy it elsewhere – usually, we only enjoy it elsewhere – as a special indulgence when we’re out of town – but not here. Here, as many others have noted (on this forum and/or elsewhere) you may go to the swankiest restaurant and find folks dressed in jeans and t-shirts. Its just Austin. That’s how we are. And, frankly, that’s how I like it.
Additionally, I find that my favorite meals have always been at more low level, comfort food (read large) type of places, rather than the high-faultin’ palaces of cuisine. So, although Austin may well be fundamentally challenged from a world class cuisine standpoint – it works for me (not that I wouldn’t be happy with more high end options, mind you).
We didn’t do too much going out - lots of home cooked meals but that is just fine by me.
Couldn’t convince anyone to go to the listed Tex Mex places - Traci’s mom hates one and her dad hates the other so we ended up back at the original CHuy’s. I had pretty good enchiladas and a very poor margarita. I still prefer “normal” Mexican to TexMex but Traci was happy and so was I.
Hit BBQ at Smitty’s in Lockhart. Very impressive. Fatty brisket very good, sausage was very good that day too and the pork ribs were smokin - pun intended. The pork chop was okay and the lean brisket was just okay too. I would stick to the sausage, ribs and fatty brisket. I do wish the brisket was sliced a little thinner though. Fair warning though, you will come out smelling like smoke!!!
It also looked like Kreuz is closed on Sunday’s.
Other than that hit some place near Traci’s folks called the Lion and Rose Pub in Westlake. Her dad loves it and insisted on going. I would go to hang in the bar and watch a game since it is 5 minutes away from their place but other than that the food isn’t very memorable.
Hit two locations of Twin Liquors (one in the Bee Caves shopping center - HEB, Tylers, Barnes Noble, Chik Fil A, etc and the Peter G location). Peter’s location has two things going for it: Peter and a slightly larger selection. Found some fun stuff at pretty good prices.
Also hit Specs - think Bev Mo for Texas. Some decent wine, over priced, and lots of crap wines.
Next time, we’ll have a little more time to hit some of the food hot spots hopefully. I would like to experience “fine” dining Austin style soon.
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