Twin Peaks

701 E. Stassney Lane
Austin, Texas 78745
512-383-9699

100 Louis Henna Boulevard
Round Rock, Texas 78664
Phone: 512-238-7325

http://www.twinpeaksrestaurant.com/

Have you ever been cursed before? I mean really and truly cursed? I'm talking the kind of metaphysical malediction originating from the occult...all packed with bad ju-ju. I'm talking about being the target of a mal-aligned spiritual energy, the likes of which you only see on afternoon documentaries on the Discovery channel. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I've been cursed. I just know it. I don't know how it came about. I must have slapped a gypsy or cut off a witch doctor in traffic a couple of weeks ago, but something strange and supernatural has been happening to me. (For any gypsies or witch doctors reading this, I mean no offense here. So, no need to retaliate against me....one damnation at a time is plenty, thank you.) What's really bothersome, though, is that I think it might have been someone I know because the effects of this spell have been so personal---hitting me right where it counts...in my dining experience.

Let me back up a couple of steps. A couple of weeks ago, Mariah and Laura gave me an opportunity to guest blog about a somewhat bad dining experience I had at Ms. B's here in Austin. Little did I know that was just the beginning of things. Since then, eating out about 4 times a week, I have had nothing but incredibly bad service at restaurants here in town. Trust me, if there has been a bartender, waitress, hostess, manager, table busser, or cook who was a trainee, having an off day, or was just dumped by her boyfriend; you can bet your butt that person was going to somehow be involved with my dining experience. The effects have ranged from small to large. From being double charged for entrees to given the wrong order to having my order lost altogether. I've seen it all lately. Hell, on two occasions, I've even had the hostess give away my table to another party AFTER seating my son and myself. There was one humorous occasion where I had ordered a salad. I was served the wrong one and kindly asked my waitress to correct the order. She brought me back the same salad plate with the correct salad order simply layered over the wrong one. If that isn't the sign of some weird restaurant-based jinx, I don't know what is.

Well, the curse reared it's ugly head again last night. My kiddo and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie with my buddy Bo. (Great movie, by the way). It was about dinner time after the flick, so we decided to go grab something to eat. Bo deferred the selection to me given my foodie status. So, after carefully accounting for the tastes of who was going, the time, and location, I chose Twin Peaks in Round Rock. I'd like to say that I just made a bad choice, but with this jinx hanging over me, I just can't be sure...

Austin and I get to this restaurant before Bo and are seated immediately. Let's cover the restaurant itself first. It's very much a Hooters-esque type of estabishment. Lots of gorgeous (and not so gorgeous) waitresses in short shorts and plaid tops tied just below the bustline. I'm not typically one to notice someone's shoes, but they were all wearing furry bootlike shoes...I guess to compliment the restaurant's mountaineer type lumberjack theme. Since I had arrived before Bo, I had a few minutes to check out other qualities of the restaurant. The music selection played over the speaker system was decent...mostly 80's top 40 type stuff, but it was almost uncomfortably loud. They've also got free wireless there, too.

Well, enough about that. Onto the curse. My waitress stopped by to take drink orders for Austin and myself. I simply order a Coke for him and a Dr. Pepper for myself. Minutes later, she brings back Austin's soda and says, "I'm sorry. I don't remember what you ordered." I know. I know. With the curse going on, I should have taken this as a sign to leave. But, for some reason, I thought that was as bad as it was going to get. Nope. Time to order food. I asked for the Kid's Nachos for Austin and the Sirloin Chili Nachos for myself. 5 minutes later, the waitress brings Austin's order and says, "I'm sorry. I don't remember what you ordered." OMG!!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? It was at this point that Bo showed up to discover a smiling Austin eating away and me with my face buried in my palms.

My next request was a new waitress to whom I explained the situation of the curse and told her how I had ordered a kids nacho for a Sirloin Chili Nacho. This young lady was quite nice and very eager to help right any wrongs. But, alas. She was just another mere mortal doing battle with an unseen and unimaginable force. The poor girl never even knew what happened.

The menu listed two types of soup, which Bo ordered one of each...a bowl of each. He ordered the Sirloin Chili and the Corn Chowder. Our new waitress brought him 2 different soups of the wrong size. Great. The spell is no longer just affecting me, but it's decided to badger my dining companions as well. On the bright side, Bo said the Corn Chowder was great. His preference is for a thicker soup and he didn't find the soup too watery for his tastes. The Sirloin Chili on the other hand, had great flavor he said, but he was really expecting large chunks of sirloin, not something with more the texture of ground beef. Still, he gave it a thumbs up.

I did eventually get what I wanted, but I couldn't eat too much of it. It wasn't that the food was bad. I had just loaded myself up on a second order of the kids meal (that showed up unannounced somewhere along the course of the meal) and I was pretty full by then.

Mariah and Laura, I'm sorry ladies, but I am not going to give this restaurant a rating at this time. I couldn't in good conscience rate this place while I'm still fairly convinced that the service I experienced was due to an unexplained cult phenomenon. I will say that the food (that I got to experience) was of a decent caliber for this type of restaurant. I will also add that I'll be going back once this hex has been broken. In the meantime, I'll be stockpiling lucky rabbit's feet, avoiding black cats and walking under ladders like the plague, and might even consider weaving myself a necklace out of wolfsbane and garlic. I don't plan to let any mirrors within a football field's length of my person; will keep an eye out for any pennies heads up; and if I have anything to say about it, the upcoming Friday the 13th will find me curled in a fetal position in my bathtub covered with blankets rather than venturing out for food and drink.

Bottom line: Never eat out when there's some strange curse affecting you. It's just bad mojo.

Lee - ??

OK, as I mentioned in my latest comment below, I feel that my curse is finally over. I still don't know what caused it or how I ended it, but I'm not going to question it. I feel that I can finally venture forth in Austin again to enjoy the great food and restaurants that our wonderful city has to offer. Of course, it doesn't mean that I'm still not going to be wary. I plan to be on the best of terms with any supernatural entity I should meet from here on out. Now, I have been back to the Twin Peaks in Round Rock since the spell got lifted, and I'm able to give a rating. I rate it with a 4.5. Mediocre service and food. Thanks to my anonymous friend from the comments, though, I've decided that in order to give this place a really objective opinion, I'll have to hit the South Austin location sooner or later....

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

Brooklyn Pie Co.

2711 La Frontera Blvd. Ste. 330
Round Rock, TX 78681
512-255-1414

8127 Mesa Dr.
Suite B-202
Austin, TX 78759
512-346-1414

http://www.brooklynpie.com/

My friend Natalia recently moved to Brooklyn. I asked her how the pizza was and the response I got went like this:

“Actually, I live above a Mediterranean cafe (good hummus and falafel) that has a delicious lamb pizza. The cafe also makes the apartment smell of garlic at times, when we open the window and they happen to be cooking outside in the back. But hey, that's how it goes.”

So yeah, you know where else you can get lamb on your pizza? Brooklyn Pie Company.

They make a really awesome pie. The crust is thin but not cracker crispy and if you order by the slice, the slices are huge! Like an entire 4th of an 18 inch pizza. The cheese they use is yummy, but if you don’t like mozzarella, you have 7 other cheeses to choose from, including goat cheese, le gruyere and Gorgonzola. You also have a whole lot of toppings to select from. The topping selection ranges from the normal pepperoni, sausage, extra cheese, mushrooms, onions, black olives blah blah blah boring Pizza Hut toppings, to the really interesting stuff like fresh minced garlic, portabella, broccoli, zucchini, bean sprout, artichoke hearts, chorizo, and baby clams.

My favorite topping is spinach. I think the green on top of the cheese and bread tricks my brain into thinking what I’m eating is healthy and makes me not feel guilty. Anyway, the spinach is fresh. The only wilting is what’s caused by the natural heat of the pizza. Trust me, it really works. Although one time I actually got asked by another customer why I had lettuce on my pizza. What can I say? Round Rock- not exactly the culinary or cultural epicenter of the universe.

They also have good salads (including Caprese and Greek) and desserts (think Baklava) and really decent prices. A slice of pizza and a drink will run you about $6.

The staff is cool. They are always nice, and I think that the size of the establishment probably has something to do with this. It’s tiny… exactly like I imagine a pizza place in Brooklyn to be, well you know except that it’s in a small strip. And I say imagine because I’ve never been to Brooklyn.

There are high tables and stools if you want to eat in. Or you can sit on the picnic benches outside if you prefer. People often get pizzas to go or for delivery too if that’s your thing. And if you go alone, they stock Austin Chronicle, so you can plan your weekend out over your lunch break.

Overall: Really good pizza for super decent price. Try the spinach.

Laura ~ 9.5

Caffé Panini

Caffé Panini
1105 S Mays Street
Round Rock, TX 78664

http://www.caffepaninitx.com/

My coworkers were all headed to Whataburger, so my work friend Joel (not to be confused with Joel of Kenobi fame or Galaxy Café Joel) suggested we head to Caffé Panini instead. Caffé Panini is a sandwich shop in Round Rock that insists on spelling café with two f’s. I was grateful to try a new place, so I quickly agreed. We made the short drive from our cube farm down to Mays Street in Round Rock and found ourselves parking in a small ugly strip.

We walked into the restaurant, and I was pleasantly surprised by the stylish and up-to-date non frou-frou interior. There were couches at the front of the shop and rows of tables that lined the square simple space all the way to an ordering counter in the back. A look at the website promises patio seating in the future, but I think in the future I might prefer avoiding the strip mall atmosphere by sitting indoors.

The lunch and dinner menu is small. It contains 9 appetizing paninis, a few specialty coffees, Italian sodas, (iced tea and regular sodas of course), pastries, white chocolate bread pudding and brownies. For breakfast you get the option of an egg poblano panini or a sausage kolache. All lunch and dinner sandwiches are served with either pasta or bistro chips. The soup of the day was Broccoli Cheese.

I chose the Veggie Panini. It contained portabella, artichoke, sun dried tomatoes, sweet balsamic onions and swiss cheese. I decided on chips instead of pasta since the pasta was littered with pepperoni bits. Joel had the Trio (Turkey, ham, bacon, tomato, provolone with dijon mayo) and he went all out with the pasta.

The staff was friendly and cute. The food was quick and a girl walked around asking if everyone was alright. This was hilarious to me because every request Joel made was rejected, but yet the girl felt it seem necessary to help us in some way.

Cute Staff Member: Is everything OK today? Could I get you anything else?
Joel: Well, I could use some Tabasco sauce.
Cute Staff Member: I’m sorry we don’t have any Tabasco sauce but I think we might have some Louisiana Hot Sauce.
Joel: OK, sure, that’s fine.
Cute Staff Member leaves and returns 2 minutes later: I’m sorry we don’t have any Louisiana Hot Sauce, but perhaps I could get you some banana peppers.
Joel: OK, sure, that’s fine.
Cute Staff Member leaves and returns 2 minutes later: I’m sorry we don’t have any banana peppers, but perhaps I could refill your drink?

And so on and so forth.

My sandwich was tasty, but please do not be fooled by the word “veggie.” It was in no way healthy. The bread was soaked in oil (exactly what was making it taste so damn good) and the vegetables were smothered in cheese. The artichoke and sundried tomatoes were very tangy, and immediately dominated my taste buds. The bread became the necessary taste bud escape. The chips were plain old chips and can only be described as salty and crispy.

We tried not to talk too much about work as we finished our sandwiches. Joel seemed to like his sandwich, but I didn’t see him touch the pasta.

Overall: A decent sandwich shop in Round Rock that doesn’t look suburban on the inside and has a really friendly staff. A lot better than Schlotzsky’s, but with a much smaller menu.

Laura ~ 7 (It was a 7.5 but I rethought the menu size)

Juarez Mexican Bakery

1701 S Mays St Ste P
Round Rock, TX 78664
(512) 255-6262

In response to a request for more variety in our reviews, I decided to include my lunchtime experience today. My coworkers were going to Juarez Mexican Bakery. I weighed my options in a flash of an instant, envisioning a small guacamole and tortillas, and decided to tag along. Hell, I’d even offer to drive. It was my turn after all and a little bit of socializing would be good for me.

Mexican bakeries bring back memories of my hometown. There was a little Mexican bakery in the corner of a convenience store just down the street from my high school. We piled everyone into my 1986 Dodge Ram Charger with the gun rack and pop up roof to sneak away at lunchtime or during class. Arriving at the store, we promptly piled out and headed to the back of the store, passing bottles of soda and snacks written in Spanish. We would each order our individual burritos for about $1.50 each, occasionally adding a pastry for fifty cents or so, and take our grease soaked bags outside to the picnic tables to join our other socially deviant classmates.

Perhaps this nostalgia holds Juarez to an unachievable standard. Or maybe my past experiences lead me to expect my Mexican bakeries to contain a different level of divey-ness - just a little more grime (although I did google Juarez and note that on their last inspection they received 10 demerits.) Regardless, I always seem to find the establishment mildly disappointing.

While Juarez is not in the back of a convenience store, it is in a strip mall. In fact it is in that same stripmall that the horrific Gino’s resides in. When you enter there are rows of desserts and various pastries surrounding a counter where two cash registers are positioned. Some of the pastries looked really tasty and there were cakes that I would really have liked to try. Fortunately to my waist line, I just don’t have a big sweet tooth.

A sign on the register says no credit cards on bills less than $5. Shoot! I forgot my cash back in the office. Oh well, I’ll just have to get more than a small order of guacamole to snack on.

In the past, I’ve spoken to the staff at Juarez and they have been accommodating to my no-meat eating requirements. I usually go for off-menu vegetarian tacos with guacamole, rice, and beans. I’ve been promised that the beans do not contain animal lard, but my intestines this afternoon would argue against that. Depending on who is working the cash register, the price on this item varies.

After you order, you move to the left to pick up average corn chips and decent salsa and fill your drink.

The interior of the bakery is average for what you would expect. Not particularly nice, but clean and suitable. A flatscreen tv rests on the wall and was showing CNN on mute with closed captioning for those actually paying attention.

The food came out fairly quickly. My veggie tacos were filled with mushrooms, onions, guacamole, bell peppers and cheese. There were lettuce and tomatoes, refried beans and Spanish rice. All very tasty, but nothing special.

Mike across from me ordered the carne guisada and said it was really good. To me it looked like my mom’s beef tips in gravy. (No offense, Ma!) All the other dishes at the table looked generically cheesy.

Overall: Average Tex-Mex food for average prices in a strip mall in Round Rock. Bakery products look promising.

Laura - 5

Beluga Japanese Restaurant

http://www.belugasushi.net/

661 Louis Henna Blvd # 300

Round Rock, TX 78664

(512) 255-6454

There are a few lunch places that I tend to visit over and over again. Beluga Sushi on Louis Henna is one of them, but I hadn’t been there in a while. One reason is because none of their lunch specials are vegetarian, so I end up ordering a la carte items and that can get pricey. I usually get some combination of veggie roll, vegetable tempura, edamame, seaweed salad or age doshu (tempura tofu). I have to admit that while their veggie roll is good, it’s not spectacular and an entire plate of vegetable tempura is just too much fried friedness for one meal. Despite this and the fact that I just went to a sushi restaurant on Saturday, I decided to visit Beluga again today.

Beluga is in the HEB shopping center just west of A.W. Grimes on Louis Henna (45 tollway). It’s not much on the outside, but the inside is nicely done. It’s a swanky spot that offers stylish music, sleek decor and staff members with cool haircuts. It’s really got the cool edgy factor going for it since there’s not much competition for this approach in Round Rock.

Today I decided to sit at the bar since I was all alone and it was just a little too windy for their small make-shift patio. There usually aren’t many people at the bar but today some of the Dell crowd was there flirting with the bartender.

Blair, the bartender, brought me water and a menu. The menu looked new, so I began to scan it for previously unavailable items I could eat. Turns out Blair was a pescatarian so she understood my plight and was more than happy to help me find something really delicious. She recommended an off-menu item of Tofu steak in a Bento box. Something new- this was exciting!

I took her up on the offer and she brought me some miso soup as a starter. The miso soup was good but very typical. It contained small chunks of tofu and strips of seaweed. I slurped it down and soon my Bento box arrived.

Wow was I surprised at the amount of food: a California roll (minus the crab), a salad, vegetable tempura (broccoli, carrot, Eggplant, sweet potato, and shiitake mushroom), fresh orange slices and the elusive tofu steak topping a heap of white rice and sautéed vegetables. Then there where sauces: ginger soy for the tempura and a fantastic savory chili sauce for the tofu steak with just the right amount of spice. The tofu steak was perfectly flaky and the sautéed vegetables were a nice touch. The salad provided the perfect amount of green freshness the meal needed. The vegetable tempura was delicious except for the shitake mushrooms were tough on the ends. The roll was typical, but satisfactory.

The super friendly bartender offered me a box and I gladly took her up on the offer. She boxed up the leftovers (even the chili sauce!) and brought me my check- a mere $11.50, and although this is more than I like to spend daily on lunch, it was completely worth it for the variety and quality of food I consumed.

My faith in Beluga has been restored. Now, I wouldn't want to make a special trip up to Round Rock for it, but I’ll be happy to meet you there after work for their awesome happy hour specials- Anyone up for $2 Saketinis on Tuesdays?

Note: July 21, 2008.

Well, I returned for lunch today, and let me just say the waitstaff was a lot less accomodating this time. Apparently the super sweet bartender in the past was a super sweet fluke. My waiter refused to do any substitutions this time siting restaurant policy. For me as a non fish eater, the restaurant is far too expensive for lunch time. It's still lovely if you partake in raw fish, but not being a fish eater I will not return until they make a few additions to their menu. I have amended the bottom line.

Bottom Line: Decent Japanese food in swank decor. Not vegetarian friendly. Can get pricey if you order a la carte but they have decent priced fish happy hour and lunch specials.

Laura - 8 if you eat fish, 4 if you don't.

Chola

2601 S IH 35 B400
Round Rock TX 78664
512 - 244 - 2222


Hey. Laura reviewing from Round Rock again.

Lately I’ve been having a severe craving for Indian food. I’ve been day dreaming at work about tikka masala for days now. I even planned to satisfy my craving yesterday at lunch, until I realized the reason I couldn’t find my keys was because I had taken my car to the shop to get the oil changed and I had to jump on whatever lunch bandwagon my coworkers were on. But today. Today was the day I was going to make it happen.

I didn’t want to go far. I didn’t have the energy or patience for driving and dealing with traffic, and there was an Indian restaurant close by that I had not tried yet. I’d been there once before, but turned away when I realized it was a buffet. I always get the raw deal at buffets. I don’t eat that much in a single session. Plus, I’ve been scarred for life from those 4 months I worked as a cashier at Golden Corral as a teenager. I would stand at my station, pretending to rearrange cups and to-go plates, watching the post church crowd graze like cattle. They were bent over to examine the slop, swaying back and forth as they traversed the troughs. The thought of it still makes me shutter. But I had been convinced to try the buffet once at Madras Pavillion on 183 near Burnet and was fairly pleased with that, so Chola deserved a chance too, right?

I walked in, a lone diner with a book and asked how much the buffet was. I was told $8.99 and was seated immediately. I asked to see a menu, just to make sure I wouldn’t rather order a meal. The menu prices for meals were mostly $7.99 to $9.99, so I figured this might be worth the buffet to try lots of different things. I sucked up my buffet prejudice and hit the troughs.

Now keep in mind that I’m a Westerner reviewing an Indian food restaurant. I’ve never been to India. I’m not sure what makes Indian food authentic, but I do know what tastes good.

The selection was really wonderful for vegetarian eating. 2/3rds of the buffet contained vegetarian items and the meat dishes (chicken, lamb, goat, etc) were grouped neatly together at the end.

Two different soups were offered, a brothy soup with chunks of tomato and a spicy and flavorful soup with lentils and onions. The latter was definitely the more exciting of the two. It was very flavorful and on the edge of my spice comfort level. Both soups were tasty, but neither rocked my world.

Oh well, on to the rest. The onion pakora was really good in a comfort food sort of way. But, as Mariah and I have discussed, everything tastes great fried. The buffet also contained Saag Paneer- spinach and cottage cheese blended with cream. It warranted seconds. As did the Aloo Gobhi curry- potatoes and cauliflower cooked w/ onions and tomatoes. There were curried beans that were mediocre. And a fabulous mushroom dish with an amazing creamy sauce. Dare I say it tasted like it was cooked in wine? That can’t be right. I have to find out that secret ingredient.

The basmati rice was just perfect.

For dessert, the rice pudding was amazing with the fresh fruit. I braved a steamed cream cheese patty (Rasmalai). It could be my uncultured taste buds, but I’ll pass on it next time.

The waitstaff was friendly, one even kindly came by to tell me that there was yogurt if the spice was too much for me (which it wasn’t). And best of all, they served me water without ice. I didn’t even have to ask for it this way.

And in true buffet fashion, I completely stuffed myself.

All in all, a good experience. Chola is a pleasant surprise for a strip mall restaurant in the Round Rock area and a good lunch spot, if you are up for a little gorging.

Laura- 9

Gino's Italian Restaurant

1701 S Mays St Ste B
Round Rock, TX 78664
Phone: (512) 218-9922

Hi, Laura here.

This being my first post, I feel the need to begin with a little background information. I work in Round Rock. Not quite known for the culinary center of Texas, but I spend a lot of time in the RR, so consequently I eat a lot of meals here. Some places my coworkers drag me to, some places I venture to on my own. Hopefully during the course of this blog, I can detail the good, the bad and the ugly for you.

Let's begin with a little Italian restaurant called Gino's.

First of all, Gino's is in a really fugly strip mall. I've learned not to judge a restaurant by it's location. Afterall, one of my favorite restaurants (Wink) is in a strip, so the outside appearance can be overcome.

Upon arrival, we were seated immediately. The interior is average suburban American/Italian restaurant. Nothing special, but they dress it up with candles and such to make it pleasant enough. The table was greeted with bread and garlic dipping oil. The bread was so-so, but the garlic dipping oil was great. Sadly, this oil was the highlight of my meal.

I ordered the eggplant parmigiana. It was $7.50. Not a bad price, if it had turned out alright. First I received a salad. It was ok, nothing special. Just some lettuce and onion and tomato. It seemed more of a token effort than anything.

Unfortunately, after a long wait, they brought me chicken parmigiana instead of eggplant. Easy mistake to make, and the mistake was corrected quickly enough. However, the eggplant I received was extremely limp and to be honest, kind of disgusting. It did not seem like there was any kind of thought put into it's preparation. Instead, it seemed as thought they slopped some overcooked eggplant onto a plate, added some cheese, and added a HUGE heaping of marinara over it. The spaghetti was overcooked as well. And they made up for it's inadequacy with marinara too.

Not the worst dining experience I've ever had, but I honestly believe if this restaurant was not in extremely close proximity to Dell it would be long gone. If I can possibly steer my coworkers away, I won't be returning.

Laura - 3