2002 Manor Rd, Austin
(512) 479-0889
13376 US Highway 183 North, Austin
(512) 335-0300
http://www.hooverscooking.com/
I helped my friend celebrate her birthday a few weeks ago. And where did she decide to go? Hoovers. Now I love me some good ole, rib stickin, southern food as much as the next, and at this point in my life, I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of chicken fried steak and collard greens. And I have to admit, I’ve had a surprisingly hard time finding quality southern food in this town. When I was a kid, you could go a 100 places in Austin and get a good Chicken Fried Steak, now, I’m hard pressed to name you 5 places that offer it. Maybe that’s a byproduct of people trying to eat healthier today than they did 20 years ago (oh wow, did I just date myself) or maybe it’s a byproduct of Austin’s gentrification. But, Jesus, can’t a girl get a good Chicken Fried Steak anymore??
Anyway, I let my diet barriers drop for one afternoon and had myself a nice, fat, deep fried, hunk of meat covered in cream gravy. It was good, but it wasn’t great. It was much better than that gristly and tasteless Chicken Fried Steak they serve over at Threadgill’s (is it just me or has the quality of food gone way down over there in the last 10 years??). But it paled in comparison to my friends exquisite Chicken Fried Chicken. I swear on everything that is holy that Hoover’s Chicken Fried Chicken is one of the best I have ever eaten. The crunchy flour breading was perfectly deep fried and help up well to the de-crisp-ifying effects of the gravy.
The sides at Hoovers are also worth mentioning (mostly because there are 1000 of them). The Jalapeno Creamed Spinach is amazing. Only one of us ordered it and after the rest of us had tried it, it disappeared quickly. The mustard greens and okra were both very good. The okra breading was crisp and not at all greasy. And the greens were smoky with a little hint of spice to kick it up (a notch, har har). They are, however, on par with what I’ve had at other places around town. The corn bread gets a big thumbs down for being gross and dry. The mac and cheese is tasty, but pretty basic. The yams were ok. And the green beans were yummy, but mostly because they were flavored with my favorite southern ingredient, bacon. Mmmm..
(A random broiled fish one of my friends got, not worth writing home about)
Sooooo, all in all, if you pick your meal properly, you’ll have a great experience at Hoovers. Chicken Fried Chicken, Jalapeno Creamed Corn, Mustard Greens, and Okra are the winners. Enjoy!
~Mariah: 7