Melting Pot

305 E. 3rd Street

Austin, Tx

(512) 401-2424

13343 N Highway 183

Austin, TX

(512) 401-2424

http://www.meltingpot.com/

Being the good daughter that I am, when Mother’s Day rolled around, I tried to plan a special day to celebrate how awesome my mom is (and I’m not partial, she really is). My mom has done everything in her power to help me succeed in life. Everything from putting me through college (thanks again mom and dad), to driving me half way across America (while I had pneumonia no less) so that I could go on my grade school field from Chicago to Virginia. She always cooks me yummy dinners and had the forethought enough to make me do my own laundry when I was a teenager so I wouldn’t screw it up once I got to college. I could go on and on extolling the virtues of my mom, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear those; you want to hear about where we went for Mother’s Day. We went to, what in my opinion is now, the greatest place to celebrate Mother’s Day – The Melting Pot.

Now when I lived in Fort Worth, high end chain restaurants like The Melting Pot, Simply Fondue, Fogo de Chao (as mentioned in the previous review), etc were de rigueur. Places like that aren’t too bad, in fact they’re usually pretty tasty, but I much prefer my experiences at unique (and non-chain) Austin restaurants. But (and here comes the but), I LOVE fondue. Its one of those foods that’s fun to eat, tasty, and is a great way to spend a long meal with someone (and trust me, when you eat fondue it’s a loooong meal – but more on that in a minute). But more importantly, my mom loved fondue. When she would come to visit me in Fort Worth, we spent many an evening at one of DFW’s many fondue places enjoying a hot of melty cheese or chocolate. So when I heard Austin finally had a fondue restaurant, I immediately knew I had to take my mom there for Mother’s Day. I called up to make reservations the Tuesday before Mother’s Day thinking there wouldn’t be any reservations left. Surely everyone else, unlike my procrastinating self, would have the foresight enough to call ahead weeks in advance to make reservations. Apparently not. I had no trouble getting us a table, I was even able to get us a special table (more on that in a minute too), AND they even offered to put a vase of fresh roses on the table that Mom could take with her. And here’s the best part, because we wanted to have a late lunch, they were offering all this at a special Mother’s Day discounted rate. How cool is that!

The Melting Pot is rather conveniently (or inconveniently) located in the new Convention Center Food District. It’s on the same block as the other quality national chains that broker for Convention traffic: Roy’s, PF Changs, Fogo de Chao, and to a lesser extent Dona Emilia’s. So with all those other options, why would you choose the Melting Pot? Three words: Chocolate Cookie Fondue. But I'll get to that in a minute.

Let me describe how the Melting Pot is layed out. The inside is dark and cavern-like, but tastefully decorated as all high end small chain restaurants are these days. Lots of dark wood and silver. That makes the Melting Pot really special, however, are the individual rooms. Yes, that's right, call ahead for reservations and you too can reserve one of a dozen or so totally private tables. Each room has its own table, complete with fondue burner, and a frosted glass pocket door to separate you from other other low-brow restaurant go-ers (I mean seriously, who wants to associate with those schlubs??). I highly recommend that if you eat here, you reserve one of these rooms just for the novelty of it.

Normally, the fondue operates on a per person prix fix pricing scale. The table chooses one type of cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, and in the middle, the type of entree cooking style. The cooking style is normally oil or a flavored broth. The oil is fun because they bring out a host of batters to cover your meat in, but the broth is healthier and just as tasty (and won't leave you smelling like you just deep fried your clothes). I think they normally have some sort of beer broth, and a more flavorful broth - when we went, it was coq au vin. Mom (who got to choose) went with the coq au vin. Once the table chooses a cooking style, everyone chooses their meat plate. They offer a mixed plate of tenderloin, chicken breast, sausage, shrimp, scallops and veggies that I normally recommend to fondue beginners. But, they also offer more steak, lobster, and veggie options.

Once you have the general outline of the meal figured out, you pick fondue flavors. For the cheese fondue, we chose the "Wisconsin Trio." Having grown up an almost cheesehead, I was most delighted with that choice. The trio was a rich blend of fontina, butterkase, and surprisingly blue cheese with some garlic, wine, scallions and sherry thrown in for good measure. The coolest part about the cheese course is they make it right in front of you. Your server brings out a large tray covered in cheese, and other delectable ingredients, starts the fondue burner and mixes up the cheese while you drool at the smell. Once its warmed up and melted, they bring you bowls filled with a variety of breads, fruits and veggies to dip in the cheese. It was incredible. There's nothing better than cheese, especially if its hot and melty and on top of a crisp green apple. The dippers as we'll call them were all fresh and tasty. No dry, stale bread and drippy cheese like at Cru. This fondue's the real deal.

Once you've gorged yourself on cheese, the server brings out a scalding hot pot of your chosen broth style. When it first comes out, its covered with a clamped on lid and looks something like a medieval torture device. Stay clear of this until your server tells you its safe. You wouldn't want to be a "hot coffee" lap casualty. But once it's safe, you grab your handy color coded skewer - each person gets their own color so you know who's is who's - spear a piece of meat, and start cooking. It generally takes about 2-3 minutes for each piece to cook, so you get a rhythm going, and rotating out through your 3 skewers so you always have tasty food on your plate. Oh, they also bring 4 or 5 different sauces to dip your meat into. The yogurt Curry is the best but stay away from the sweet and sour. Its pretty gross. This was probably the weakest part of the meal. After cooking quality meat in great smelling broth, you want something interesting and savory to dip your meat into. Not just a crappy teriyaki or horseradish sauce.

Added Note: After seeing Lee's comment, it reminded me of the funniest part of the fondue experience. When you lose a bit of food in the fondue broth, you use this big slotted spoon to fish it out. Now this slotted spoon isn't called just anything, it's called the "David Hasselhoff." So we all got a good giggle when we'd lose a piece of chicken in the broth and would have to ask someone to "Pass the Hoff."

Just when you think you're so full you could hardly eat anything else, they bring out.. The chocolate. You're table has to agree upon one type of chocolate fondue, but when you have such choices as Bailey's Milk Chocolate Fondue or Smores Fondue, is anyone really a loser? My mother, in her infinite wisdom chose Chocolate Cookie Fondue. It was a rich dark chocolate swirled with marshmallow fluff with bits of Oreo cookies mixed in. It was incredible. You get a plate of the most decedent desserts to dip in said fondue. Anything from angel food cake to marshmallows to brownies to a slice of cheesecake. Yes you read that right, a slice of cheesecake. I can't think of a more perfect dessert.

The plus about a fondue meal is also the minus. All this extravagance takes about 2-3 hours to complete and really do it justice. Cooking meat in broth in is a time consuming endeavour. But if you've got the time, I suggest you try it at least once. Its fun and tasty and a great way to connect with your family.

Bottom Line: Fun to eat food that tastes great

Mariah - 9.5

Cafe Java

11900 Metric Blvd # K
Austin, TX 78758
(512) 339-7677

2051 Gattis School Rd # 120
Round Rock, TX 78664
(512) 238-0700

http://www.cafejava.info/

My good friends Leslie and Joel are getting married in July. After picking out the awesome bridesmaids dresses on Monday night, Leslie was about to head up to Pflugerville to pick up her invitations from her friend Sarah of the stationary company, Icing on the Paper. Seeing an opportunity to be a super bridesmaid, I volunteered to save her a trip and pick them up for her, as I would be heading up north the next day anyway.

I arranged to meet Kyle, Sarah’s husband on our lunch breaks. I let him pick the place and he chose Café Java. I had never been there before, so he gave me directions and told me it was in the Randall’s parking lot.

I pulled into a rock star parking spot in the front row and made my way inside. There were a good number of tables and they were about at 75% capacity. This was a good sign.

I found Kyle and sat in the booth next to him across from a corporate couple (i.e. husband and wife team from the same company) Kyle works with. They were very friendly and after the initial introductions and business dealings with Kyle, they began to extol the virtues of Café Java. As Wells Branch area residents, they were regulars. The wife was very excited to announce that the café serves breakfast all day long. This definitely scores big with me. Sometimes you just want breakfast at 2 in the afternoon… perhaps this is because you didn’t get up until 2 in the afternoon, but hey it happens.

I looked over the menu and was pleased by the amount of options included on it. I was even more pleased when I noticed that there were options for those with vegetarian diets. They had lots of different coffees, usual breakfast fare with pancakes, omelettes, migas, huevos rancheros and various meats with eggs, hashbrowns and toast. Oh, and also Corn Beef Hash (Mariah I know you appreciate that). The meals included burgers and sandwiches, soups and salads and tacos.

I debated between a grilled garden melt (like a patty melt with a garden burger), a veggie sandwich (white swiss-american cheese, sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions, cucumbers and ranch dressing on grilled whole grain bread) or the avocado grilled cheese. I’m a sucker for grilled cheese, but I’m even more of a sucker for avocado. In the end I ordered the veggie sandwich because I had my eye on the vegetable of the day as my side item. The vegetable of the day was spinach casserole, and I suspected that was going to be heavy with cream/and or cheese and I wanted to balance my meal out with the lighter sandwich option.

Kyle ordered a cheeseburger and was extremely disappointed when the waitress said they didn’t have fries (not just that day, but ever) and he settled for chips. The wife ordered the 1x1x1, which is one egg, one pancake, and one serving of bacon. The husband went with the chicken cheddar melt- a chicken breast smothered in cheddar cheese with lettuce and tomatoes on grilled hoagie.

I listened as the table discussed life in the suburbs (which highways are best to live next to, etc etc) and the wife pointed out that the café was very Austin. I stopped to think about this and look around the room. Yes, there were vegetarian options, yes there was local art, and it had a mildly funky feel to it. You wouldn’t confuse this place with IHOP or Denny’s. But the décor seemed very vanilla when compared to Magnolia or a few other places I’ve been. Granted, I hadn’t tried the food yet but it seemed more like a normal cute coffee shop/café to me. I’ve been to equally charming cafes in San Antonio, Houston, DFW, Tucson, Seattle.. and well yeah. Just about every major city. I think she could tell that I was thinking too hard so she threw in that the other location (the one on Metric near ACC campus) was more funky and that this was Round Rock afterall, and that the Round Rock answer to the Keep Austin Weird slogan was “Keep Round Rock Mildly Unusual.”

The food arrived and I was disappointed to find that the spinach casserole was littered with pieces of bacon. The waitress was very nice and offered me another side item choice. I went with potato salad (which by the way had egg in it for any of you vegans out there.) My sandwich was pleasing. The bread was grilled as promised and tasty, and not soaked in olive oil like the sandwiches at Caffe Panini. The vegetables were fresh and the cheese and ranch dressing brought just enough smoothness to the sandwich. The potato salad was pleasant as well, but not the spinach casserole I had been pining for.

The breakfast plate and cheeseburger looked a little bleak, but the chicken cheddar melt looked amazing - the colors from the vegetables were appetizing and the cheese melted across the chunks of chicken and bread oozed of tasty comfort. Kyle complained that the food was too healthy, but I have to argue with that. I think he was just jaded from the absence of French fries and that you can go unhealthy there if you wish.

We finished our meals and paid at the counter where I got a chance to examine all of the pastries. They looked delicious, but so did the rest of the dessert menu and sadly I was too full.

The cashier was a little bit weird and went into a rant on how she thought drinking water without ice was nasty. I thought that was odd commentary on my ordering habits. (I order it that way because I chipped my front teeth as a kid and despite having them fixed, I now have very cold sensitive teeth.)

I was asked by my dining partners if I enjoyed my lunch. I responded that I did and that after seeing the chicken cheddar melt, I will definitely try the garden patty melt for sure next time.

And yes, there will be a next time. It’s nice to have a place like this in far north Austin.

Update: So I went back and ordered the soup and sandwich - not the garden patty melt as I had promised. I chose the grilled cheese and avocado sandwich and the tomato basil soup. The grilled cheese was not what i expected. Instead of a super cheesey flattened sandwich like your mom used to make, it turned out to be just a sandwich on toasted bread. But, I must say, it was good, and much healthier for me. In addition to two slices of cheese and half of an avocado, it had sprouts and tomato. When combined with the soup, it was just the perfect amount of lunch. The only thing that bothered me was that the waitress came by to snatch my plate away while I still had my mouth full. When I told her no she couldn't have it, she gave me an odd expression and looked at my empty plate. At that point I had to mutter through a full mouth that I was on my last bite. Maybe it's just me, but I need the sense of security of the plate until the end. Also, I tend to save the best bite for the last, and sadly i had to swallow it up really quick so that I could defend my plate. There's something odd (and not Keep Austin Weird weird) about their waitstaff...

Bottom Line: A charming café that doesn’t rock the boat in north Austin with a good range of options and all day breakfast.

Laura - 7.5

Musashino Sushi Dokoro

3407 Greystone Dr

Austin, TX 78731

(512) 795-8593

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted a new review. It’s been a crazy week. Between recovering from Finals and this week at work (and of course my full social schedule), blogging has found its way to the bottom of my list. That being said, I have a long, long list of places I’ve eaten at recently and have every intention of blogging about. The first of which has been a personal favorite restaurant of mine for over 10 years. Now that I’m back in the dating world and am a tick older, I’ve been noticing dating patterns that I was clueless about when I was a young woman freshly out on my own. 1) Men really do mature slower than women. I’m finally getting to the point where I can date men my own age. The 23 year old boys interested in chasing innocent, leggy, bottle blonds and doing beer bongs off the roof of their parents garage have finally turned into 30 year old men focused on their careers, saving money, and savoring life. 2) That when men (and maybe people in general) lack sufficient personal information about you, they’ll fall back on a standard set of questions. And the questions from man to man are surprisingly similar. My favorite right now, because it seems like every guy I’ve talked to has asked it recently is “What’s your favorite sushi restaurant.” I don’t know if they pulled this out of their ass or if there is some “Dating for Dummies” book out there that has put out a pre-approved set of questions a man should ask every woman (and I just haven’t happened to hear about it yet). I mean these random men probably think they’re really clever. They’re hoping to discern from me a couple of things a) whether I’m a foodie – which seems to have become an important quality among the single 30-something b) whether I’m adventurous enough to eat sushi regularly – because apparently there are STILL some people in this world who don’t eat sushi regularly and c) if my taste in restaurants is appropriate (and sorry for the list format again, I’ve spent too much time at work this week). So what sushi restaurant is my favorite, you ask? You might expect me to say Uchi. And while their Japanese fusion cuisine is rather spectacular (I mean maguro sashimi and goat cheese with cracked pepper, fuji apple and pumpkin seed oil, what’s there not to like??) but to be honest, their regular sushi/sashimi is rather unspectacular. Sure the quality is grade A-, but the price is waaay too much for just grade A- sushi. I can get the same fish at Korea Garden for half the price, now granted, I can’t feel like a glorified hipster at Korea Garden, but at my core I am a cheap bastard. So what sushi restaurant do I keep coming back to time and again over the years? Musashino.

Since I first discovered GOOD sushi in college here in Austin (Illinois isn’t exactly known for their great fresh fish), I’ve migrated back to Musashino regularly to partake of their tasty fish treats. When I first moved to Fort Worth, I had to drive all the way to Dallas to get good sushi. So, when I’d come to Austin to visit the folks, I’d usually always make a stop at Mushashino to get my sushi on. So I was incredibly delighted when my awesome Italian friend Elena decided to have her Birthday dinner there (with our other friend David who happens to have the same Birthday as Elena). I also happened to go a few days later on a date with a cool guy who, though he lives in Austin, is working on a contract in the Virgin Islands, and only comes into town rarely (see you were starting to wonder why I spent so much time talking about dating at the top, he was one of the favorite sushi culprits). He specifically requested we go for sushi because surprisingly the VI isn’t known for their sushi. You’d think on an island with an abundance of fresh fish, they’d be able to figure out sushi, but apparently that hasn’t happened yet. When I go to Mushashino, I generally get the same things, but those things span most of the menu so you’ll get a good flavor of what they have to offer.

So the first think you have to get if you go to Musashino is the Gyu Tataki. Thinly sliced rare (or even raw) fillet mignon in a roasted garlic and soy sauce. It’s served in a martini glass and looks horrible - brown good and raw beef all mixed in with flecks of fried garlic. But the taste is incredible. I love my steak on the rare side, the rarer the better and this appetizer really appeals to me. It’s the perfect starter to a meal that will finish with raw fish (I know it doesn’t sound like it, but the umami factor of the raw beef and soy really makes your mouth happy). After satiating myself on raw beef, I generally move onto sushi and the rolls. I find the sashimi at Musashino is rather pricy, so unless I’m with someone that insists, for my pocketbook’s sake, I choose rolls (remember how I said I was cheap). For the rolls, I find I like the following the Marilyn Mon-Roll, the Evil Knevil Rolls and the Ozzy II. They’re all American rolls with some sort of fish and veggies on the outside and then wrapped and rolled in fish roe. They’re all excellent, tasty, fresh, and extremely eatable. The only other tip I can give you about Musashino is to ALWAYS order the special of the day. Whether it’s the Kona Kampachi (Hawaiian yellowtail), or the salmon trout, always get a few pieces of it. You’ll thank me.. Really.

Musashino is known, for among other things, being traditional. Now the size of their sushi is slightly larger than the truly traditional 100 grain rice ball, but their Maki or skinny rolls are very traditional. There’s some weird stuff on that half of the menu and I have to admit, I haven’t been that adventurous to stray in to that part of the menu. But hey, if pickled burdock with daikon radish or a fermented soybean roll is your thing, go for it. I might even have a bite.

When I went with Laura, Elena and David, we got the Age Dofu appetizer, an asparagus roll, and I tried her seaweed salad. I have to say, those veggie items weren’t that great. Laura and I have had this back and forth conversation about Musashino. She didn’t think it was that good. And from her perspective, I’d have to agree. The veggie items are standard and nothing out of the ordinary. What makes Musashino really spectacular is their fish. It’s quality. Even better quality than Uchi I’d wager. The only time I’ve had better quality sushi was when I was in San Diego. Not even Sam’s Sushi in Seattle, which is known for their fresh, quality sushi, can match Musashino (but it’s damn close, not like I’d turn it down). I don’t know how they do it or who their supplier is, but its quality.

Laura's note: My food was really sub-par. The tofu was uninspiring, the seaweed salad was unmemorable. The asparagus roll was decent, but not great. It would've been fine at half the price but I expected more from a restaurant with this reputation and such an extensive wine list. It just seems like they forgot to pay attention to the details. At least the company was fantastic!

Bottom Line: World class quality fish, traditional style, go there tonight (unless you’re a vegetarian, then save your money)!

Mariah - 10

Laura - 4.5

Sampaio's

4800 Burnet
Austin, Tx 78756

512-469-9988

http://www.sampaiosrestaurant.com/

Mariah: So on Tuesday nights Laura and I usually head someplace for dinner and girl time. It’s become sort of a semi-regular ritual and last night was no exception. We decided to meet up at 8:00 so that we wouldn’t have to deal with the caucus voting yahoos filling the road. We e-mailed back and forth all afternoon trying to figure out which establishment to bless with our hot selves. We threw around Jeffries and Casa de Luz but neither of us felt really strongly about any one location. I looked at my handy dandy event calendar to figure out if there was anything fun going on around town, and being a typical Tuesday night, there wasn’t a whole lot. We eventually decided to get a pizza and watch Moulin Rouge at Rounders. But somewhere between that decision and 8:00, Elena decided to come eat with us. Since she is leaving for Italy on Friday, Laura had just gotten back from her crazy Colorado ski trip, and I’d had a rockin weekend I made an executive decision to nix Rounders movie night in favor of someplace we could more easily converse. But where? I picked up Laura and we headed to the Triangle to get Elena and the whole time we were going back and forth. “Where do you want to eat” “I dunno, where do you want to eat?” “I asked you first” and other childishness ensued. By the time we got Elena, we had decided against sushi, Mexican, or Indian. So where do we go? We had almost decided on Thai food when a bright idea popped into Laura’s head “Why don’t we try that Brazilian place Sampaio’s?” Genius.

Laura: Mariah and I would have been doing our patriotic duty of caucusing too except somehow my registration slipped through the cracks (I smell a conspiracy) and Mariah had just plain forgotten to re-register with her new Austin address. Oh well, Brazilian food it is.

When we arrived, I realized Sampaio was right next to Blue Star Cafeteria, another establishment I’ve been dying to try. We surveyed them both before making our final decision.

Mariah: When we took a peak into the Sampaio window to see if it was worthy of our moola, Elena basically lit up, making the choice obvious. It was very nice and upscale on the inside. Hard wood floors, exposed brick walls, a giant, fluted, blue tiled pillar in the center of the room (something reminiscent of a shape I’d have to find the volume of in calculus 101). And the smell emanating from within was amazing. Smoke, meat, spice, oh my. We quickly took a seat in a corner booth and hunkered down.

Laura: They sat us beneath a severely out of place painting of the Jesus and the Virgin Mary. We became quite confused at what kind of décor they were really going for- trendy colored tile lounge or da Vinci Code-esque goth? Thinking this hard made me want a drink.

Mariah: Our waiter in training showed up quickly enough and Laura ordered some egg drink (ew). I ordered some tasty tasty cheese bread for the table and Elena decided to try something new and got the Mandioca Griddles (yucca cakes). The cheese bread was out lightening fast and the yacca cakes followed a few minutes later. The cheese bread was tasty, but not the soft cheesy, doughy balls I used to get at Texas de Brazil and Fogo de Chao. These cheese balls were a little crustier on the outside but were still good to eat.

Laura: It’s called a Pisco Sour you uncultured woman. ;) The bread tasted just like those Thanksgiving day rolls all us southerners know and love- if they were injected mid-baking with cheese.

Mariah: The yucca cakes were a bit more interesting. They arrived looking like little chicken parmesan hockey pucks. They were golden deep fried yucca cakes covered in a thin tomato sauce and topped with a thick sheet of white cheese. They looked damn tasty so I dug in and took a big bite. Boy, that was a mistake. The intense spice of the dish literally exploded in my mouth. As I drank my whole glass of water in a crazed frenzy (the waiter in training being on hand to pour me another) Elena pointed out that the spicy part was the tomato sauce. We all scraped the sauce off the top of our cakes and dug in again (that sounds kind of dirty). Sans super spicy sauce, the yucca cakes were pretty good. The normally fibrous, thick texture of the yucca was a nice creamy texture in the cakes. But at its heart it was still yucca and was pretty bland. I went back to eating cheese bread.

Laura: LOL, actually I ate my tomato sauce and the tomato sauce you scraped off of yours. I thought it was tasty. Yes, a little on the spicy side, but it really complemented the yucca cakes. Without it, I could see how the cakes would taste bland. And remember, I was craving pizza earlier.

Mariah: We chit chatted and girl talked, trying to get each other up to date on our lives (I mean a whole week without talking, so much can happen in a week!). I told them about my awesome, ass kicking weekend: the State Radio show (totally rockin, go see them) on Friday night and drinking at the Gingerman on Saturday night. Elena told us about her boyfriend’s crazy stressful life right now. Poor guy’s been working killer hours and having to deal with a family tragedy too (oh he lives in Italy if you didn’t know). Plus, she’s been totally stressed trying to get all her PhD projects. And Laura told us all about her ski trip to Colorado (I know, she sounds so high-brow).

Laura: Elena and I also ordered a glass of wine each. They were out of Elena’s first choice, but happily recommended something similar to her that she seemed to accept. I thought the wine list was ok. I ended up with a glass of Pinot Noir. They had separate gluten free and vegetarian menus. There were several really satisfying vegetarian choices, including a rice dish with collard green and fried egg. The collard greens sounded appealing, but the fried egg business just reminded me too much of my trip to Switzerland where the vegetarian choice was always Rosti with a fried egg on top. Spend a week eating nothing but potato, egg and cheese and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Just thinking about it made me want a salad. Plus, I already had egg in my drink. So I took a look at the salads and decided to order the Salada de Maca, romaine hearts and baby greens topped with a Burgundy basted apple, stuffed with goat cheese, raisins and pecans and served with a mustard seed dressing. Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

Mariah: While we chatted, the food arrived. It smelled amazing. Elena and I had both gotten the Xinxim de Galinha con Camarao. Who could pass that up? White fluffy rice and rich green collard greens covered with chicken and shrimp in a coconut cream sauce. It was quite tasty. It reminded me of a Caribbean dish I make from time to time. But that dish involves the liberal usage of dark rum that is flambed. This sauce didn’t taste like that had done that. And while it was a great sauce, it could have used more dimension. They could have used rum or gone truly Brazilian and added strained dried shrimp broth to the sauce. But overall it was very satisfying and I would definitely eat it again.

Laura: I don’t know what I was expecting out of the mustard seed dressing, but I found it to be a little disappointing. The flavor was really powerful and it made my salad feel kind-of dry. Also, there was an ENTIRE cored apple just sitting in the middle of my plate. I cut it up to make it much more manageable. The rest of the salad was very pleasing- the romaine, baby greens, goat cheese pecans and raisins worked well together. Now, I usually don’t like raisins, but these were the cute plumpy golden kind, not the dried chewy brown bits you used to get in your lunchbox as a kid. And they didn’t overpower the salad. In fact, you would hardly notice them if you weren’t paying attention.

Mariah: We decided that since were eating well we might as well go all the way and order dessert. We opted to split the Guava Bread Pudding between the 3 of us. I’m sure glad we did that, the bread pudding slab they brought us was huge. It had a nice flavor cinnamon and nutmeg, infused with bits of dried guava. But the texture was far too gummy for my tastes. Now I know some people like their bread pudding to be a sticky hunk of fused bread pieces, but I prefer my bread pudding to still resemble the bread that made it and to be a lighter texture (if any bread pudding can be called “lighter”).

Laura: I don’t usually like bread pudding at all, I was actually mildly disgusted when you guys suggested it, but I figured I’d give it a try. It was actually ok. Plus we were talking about touchy subjects (the stress of being a grad student followed by exboyfriends and car vandalism followed by healthcare in America) so we all needed the sugar to calm us down.

Overall, the meal was very tasty and the environment was nice. The staff was friendly and attentive. It’s not my favorite Austin establishment but I would definitely take a friend there or recommend it to an Austin visitor with confidence.

Bottom Line: Great but not extraordinary Brazilian - but what other South American options do you have in Austin (that’s not the Fogo de Chao meat orgy)?

Mariah: 8

Laura: 8.5

Kerbey Lane

2606 Guadalupe St Austin, TX (512) 477-5717

2700 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX (512) 445-4451

3704 Kerbey Ln, Austin, TX (512) 451-1436

So I feel like we've gotten into the habit of only writing about the really great Austin restaurants or the really bad ones. When was the last time we reviewed just an ok restaurant? Well here's a good 'ok' Austin restaurant for ya - Kerby Lane. Now, before you start whining about how its an Austin institution, let me say that I fully acknowledge its innate Austin-ness. I've been eating at Kerby on and off for 10 years now and back when I was in college (and didn't know or couldn't afford better) it was a late night institution. But I am older and wiser and have since discovered the joys of other better local Austin institutions like the Omlettery and Magnolia Cafe. So how did I end up at Kerby again? Sheer laziness.

A few weeks ago I was out with Laura, Jenn, and Elena. The night was promising, we had special invites to a 1 year anniversary party at Prague. Now I thought Prague was a goth bar. The gargoyles and red lights usually signify goth-like tendencies, but Laura assured me it was just "European". So we get all tarted up and head to Prague. Boy were we disappointed. We were lured there with the promise of free drinks (it was sponsored by Grey Goose, which usually means free vodka) and free food (it was also sponsored by a local restaurant). Well we get there and not only was the place dead (as in we were the only people there), but there wasn't any free food, AND to add insult to injury, we had to pay for our drinks. Suck. So we headed for Betsy's, a nice little bar near the warehouse district and got our Lone Star on ($2 Lone Stars on Thursdays, as if Lone Star is even worth that much). Well it got to be 10:30 and being the working girl I am, I started packing up. I offered to drop Elena off at her place. As we were walking back to my car, I mentioned I was hungry and Elena said she was too, I mean, we were expecting free food. We decided on pancakes and since it was on the way, we thought we'd hit Kerby Lane.

We stopped at the Kerby on Guadalupe and 27th and the first thing we noticed was that the place was Hopping (with a capital H). We parking lot was full, we had to wait a second for a spot and we had to wait in line to get a table. But the wait was only 5 minutes, so we decided to stick it out. As we waited in and amongst the college students, something occurred to me, I am old in their eyes. I remember being a 19 year old college student looking at the late 20 something semi-professionals that would come to our frat parties and thinking, wow, that guy is 28, how old is that. And now that old guy is me and I'm a stranger in the world of the young and hip.

Anyway, it was chilly out and by the time they seated us, we were quite cold. We immediately ordered tea and hunkered down to warm up. As we scanned the menu, I noticed that it had changed considerably in the 5 or 6 years since I'd been there. The menu seemed less dinerish and more organic. As Laura noted on a trip there a few weeks later, there were more veggie options. But the reason Elena and I went there was for (a late night) breakfast. After hemming and hawing over the various options, we both decided to get a breakfast taco and a pancake. The pancakes, when they arrived were exactly as I had remembered them, large and spongy. I was less than enthused about the spongy (I use that word again because truly it is the best description) pancake in front of me having been a loyal patron of Magnolia Cafe for so many years. I have to say, in a side by side comparison the firmer, more flavorful Magnolia Cafe pancake would win. However, what really amazed me was the breakfast taco. Now, I've lived in Texas for 10 years and consider myself something of a breakfast taco expert, I've eatten a short ton of breakfast tacos in my lifetime. That Kerby breakfast taco was one of the best I've had. I went with a normal taco, egg, cheese and sausage and all were exceptional. The tortilla was lightly toasted and crunchy on the outside. The eggs were light and fluffy; the cheese to egg ratio was perfect. And the sausage.. Oh the sausage. It was tender, rosemary infused, and perfectly cooked. All together, the taco was tasty and damn near perfect.

Now, the reality of Kerby. They are really inconsistent. I went back to the same Kerby, on the same day of the week at the same time with Laura a week later. I wanted another breakfast taco. The first one was so good I had been dreaming about it. What was delivered to me was less than what I was expecting. The tortilla was overtoasted to the point that it wouldn't bend, and crumbled as I ate it. the bottom of the taco was soaked in grease. The sausage was overcooked and tasteless, and the eggs were dry. It was made up slightly by the tasty but not spectacular tortilla soup I had as a side. And overall disappointing experience.

Bottom Line: Inconsistant OK Food - If you want breakfast, stick with Magnolia Cafe

Mariah: 6.5

Mandola's Italian Market

(512) 419-9700

4700 Guadalupe St

Austin, TX

http://www.mandolasmarket.com/

I’ve been meaning to post a review of Mandola’s for a couple of weeks now and haven’t gotten around to it, so here it goes. I went there for a family dinner a few weeks ago. Its nice and centrally located making it a great location of you want to meet up with people who are dispersed all over town. My dad works waaaaay north, I live and work waaaaay south, my mom and brother work pretty centrally, so we decided to meet up at Mandola’s and give it a try. Its in that new (well new to me) Triangle complex around 45th and Lamar/Guadalupe. There are all sorts of new places going in there. A Flying Saucer (yeaaaaahhh, who wants to do the beers of the world tour with me??), a Mama Fu’s (review to follow when I get to it), a Flipnotics coffee space (or whatever the hell that place is called), and a couple of other places that I can’t remember now. First let me say the parking situation sucks. My girlfriend Elena lives there and it’s always a bitch and a half to go to find parking at her place. But I’ll let you in on a secret - park at the Office Depot (Office Max, Staples, whatever), then you can casually stroll down to Mandola’s while everyone else is cursing and fighting for a space. Second, I’ve only been there once, but I have it on good authority that the place is always packed. So be prepared to wait, but the wait turns out to be a rather reasonable – around 20 minutes.

When you get to Mandola’s the first thing you’ll notice is that it’s not a normal sit down restaurant - its part restaurant and part Italian market. You stand in a long line to place your order, but the 10 or so minutes you wait in line you can look at the market wares that happen to be within arms length. Elena, who is from Italy, says they have a good selection of Italian products (even some ones that are hard to find it Italy). They literally have 50 different kinds of olive oil. So if you’re an olive oil snob and you’ve worked your way through the selection at Central Market this is your place. There is a deliciously stocked pastry and dessert counter also, so make sure to save room.

When you finally do get to the front of the queue, you place your order at the register, and find a seat. If you come with a large group, as we did, strategize, and have half your group place the orders while the other stake their claim on a table. There is a separate (and shorter) line if you just want dessert and coffee. The selection is pretty good as far as Italian “fast food” goes. They have a nice selection of bruschette, paninis, pizze (pizza if you’re not too smart), pasta and insalate (salads).

Since there were 4 of us and I was hungry we opted for the Bruschette al Finocchiona as an appetizer. It was delicious! Crisp fresh bread topped with a really tasty salami, creamy goat cheese, arugula and nice big shavings of parmigiano. The ingredients were all fresh, crisp, and the pairings of all were a hearty way to kick off the Italian dinner. I highly recommend it. My parents both opted for the ravioli of the day. I believe it was a butternut squash ravioli in a butter sauce. It was excellent. Not the usual pre-made ravioli nightmare you find at most restaurants. You could tell these were made recently and the dough was fresh (having labored to make ravioli by hand before, I consider myself a minor ravioli expert and in the future will leave ravioli making to Mandolas). I went with my current Italian favorite, the Gnocchi al Sugo. I measure Italian restaurants by the quality of their gnocchi. Is it hand-made, is it fresh, is it tender and not too tough (or worse yet chewy). And Mandola’s lived up to my expectations. The gnocchi were prepared and cooked to perfection and came smothered in a light tomato cream sauce. I can’t speak highly enough of their gnocchi. It is really good. My brother went with Spaghetti Carbonara and I have to say it was my least favorite dish. It was fresh but far too rich for my palate. The cream egg sauce was just way too overwhelming. One bite and I was done with. I was more than happy to go back to my gnocchi. The table next to us had ordered a pizza and it was a work of art. Large and oblong (in the Sicilian style I am told) it was covered in fresh looking cheese and surprisingly salami. I’d like to give it a whirl sometime. I’ve never had salami on my pizza before..

We didn’t stay for dessert, but I wish we would have. Their dessert and coffee counter had some truly delectable looking treats. Oh well. It gives me an excuse to go back.

Bottom Line: Great Italian food if you can find parking and don’t mind standing in line

Mariah - 9

Kenobi

10000 Research Blvd, Building A
Austin, Texas 78759
512.241.0119

http://www.kenobiaustin.com/


Yesterday I got a phone call from my old friend Joel. He knew of a new sushi restaurant by the Arboretum that was celebrating its grand opening with free sushi and Grey Goose. I carefully weighed my options - sit in traffic on my way home from work, or eat free food and drink free martinis. Hmmm... What to do?

Kenobi is carefully nestled between Serrano’s and TGIFriday’s at the Arboretum. The outside of the building is a stark contrast to the chain restaurants surrounding it - classy and hip with a great outdoor patio. I opened the oversized doors and whoa. I was smacked in the face with one of those scenes that you read about in a Manhattan chick lit novel. Young people in trendy clothes drinking martinis behind a velvet rope guarded by several cute Asian girls with clipboards. “Is your name on the list?”

“Um” I paused. I hadn’t expected this, especially not in the Arboretum. I started craning my neck around to look for my friend while digging in my coat pockets for my phone. I stuttered out Joel’s name and they immediately let me in, telling me that he had already arrived.

As I made my way through the crowd, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the décor. The place was crowded, but the high ceilings made the place feel spacious. Large stone Buddhas were strategically placed. A medium-sized Romanian village worth of photographers snapped pictures of everything in sight.

The bar was immediately to the right and I made my way to it. “Surprise me” I told the bartender. He made me an orange grey goose cosmo that was pretty freaking tasty. I continued on and found Joel in one of the dining rooms waiting in line for the buffet. We sipped our martinis as we made our way to the front of the line. And guess what. Not a single vegetarian item on the entire spread. At this point I got very bitchy. But as Joel pointed out, I was drinking a very expensive martini -for free.

So I sucked it up and we made our way out of the dining room, past the patio exit, beyond the sushi bar where several sushi chefs were hard at work. We continued on into another dining room where we could sit at a table. I watched Joel chow down on his food and started to worry. Without food I ran the risk of getting very drunk, which would completely ruin my plans of going out and getting drunk later. A super hot waiter came by to offer us more drinks. We happily accepted his offer and I asked if the kitchen was open for food other than what was on the buffet. He promptly brought me a menu.

The prices were fair and there were several items I could choose from. The usual vegetable tempura, miso soup, edamame, veggie roll, etc. I ordered a veggie roll and got to work on my next drink.

The veggie roll was average. Don’t get me wrong, it was tasty, but nothing set it apart from the other 1000 veggie rolls I’ve had in my life. It contained avocado, asparagus, cucumber, yamagobo, sprouts and toasted sesame. All ingredients were fresh, but there was no enthusiasm to it. Joel conceded that his food wasn’t that good either.

We had a few more drinks, including some that we didn’t even ask for. More food and a trip to the restroom became necessary. We ordered edamame which was good- but how can you really mess up edamame? The restroom on the other hand was an experience.

The interior designer didn’t skimp on the restroom details. You went down a corridor to get to the toilets and upon entering your respective gender’s area, you were confronted with these amazing sinks. They were stone and square with motion activated streams flowing from a circular stone-framed hole in the wall. Seriously, if you go to Kenobi you have to check them out.

By 7 pm the restaurant had become very crowded, Joel and I had become pretty drunk and I felt the need to move on with the evening. So we paid up our bill – a total of $4 for the edamame + a pretty hefty tip. We grabbed goody bags full of all sorts of freebies for free food at Kenobi, products, and spa services around town. I thought it was a nice touch and proved that they didn’t leave out any details. Well except for that minor detail- the food.

Overall: good drinks, great bar, good service, excellent ambiance, decent prices, mediocre food. I could be convinced to stop by for a happy hour, but I wouldn’t make a special trip up for dinner.

Laura – 7.5