Eating in Austin

[robyn]

Boy - I thought I wrote this up weeks ago. Guess I didn't - because I couldn't find a message. Anyway - I'm glad I checked before I threw my notes away.

We spent 3 nights and 2 days in Austin last month. In addition to our trip to Lockhart (which I wrote up in a separate thread) - we had some good eating.

The night we arrived we ate at Manuel's. I don't know if this is authentic "interior Mexican food" - but it was excellent and we liked this restaurant a lot. Decor was pleasant - somewhat trendy - and the place was packed. We had the camarones fritos (fried shrimp) and enchiladas de mole. Started with the corn soup. And ended with the budin de chocolate (bitter-sweet chocolate bread pudding) - which was fantastic. Only problem was a false start with the soup. We originally ordered a chile soup - and - although we're not wimps - it was inedibly hot - kind of like what you get when you order Indian food "hot" in London. So we sent it back (no problem) - and got the corn soup instead. The fellow at the front said the chiles varied in terms of heat intensity - so one night the soup would be very hot - the next night not so hot.

The next night we ate at Threadgills (figured we had to do at least one "music night"). The outdoor venue was pleasant. But the music was mediocre - and so was the food. This was the day we had lunch at Lockhart - so to counter all that BBQ - we had veggies. I'm not sure how Texas veggies are supposed to taste - but southern veggies (even the ones we get in a Piccadilly cafeteria) are better. Still it was fun getting a little sampling of the Austin music experience.

Our last day - we had lunch at (don't laugh) the new Whole Foods Market near downtown. This is the most amazing grocery store I've ever seen. It is huge. And it has tons of things to buy - including many you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else - everything from fresh porcini mushrooms to Anson grits. Whole Foods' gift to Austin for giving it its start. It has little serving areas with stools where you can order different kinds of cooked food - everything from seafood to pasta. As well as many "prepare your own meal from pre-made things and dine outside" areas. We had some chowder - and some scallops sauteed in Wasabi butter (which came with an orzo/baby spinach salad). The scallops were excellent. Had some home dipped chocolates (fresh berries in chocolate) for dessert. Another winner. I think that half of downtown Austin was eating lunch there with us.

We had dinner at the Cafe at the Four Seasons - which is pretty fancy. I think the gist of this dinner is that the dishes were well thought out - but I'd have to rate the executions about a B comparing the place to other high end restaurants in other cities (except for the dessert - the pastry chef's riff on a Tres Leches - which was a solid A). My husband and I each had a starter (I had quail in mole sauce - he had escargot ravioli - and a soup (I had the 10-15 vidalia onion and he had the cold corn). We shared a main course - the veggie platter - which I thought made excellent use of local ingredients and southwest cooking concepts. And the kitchen made the effort to split the main course into 2 little tasting plates. Very attractive presentation. Like I said - overall - a solid B.

Anyway - that was our eating in Austin. We had a great time - and I hope the rest of you will share your recent experiences. Robyn

[claire797]

We had dinner at the Cafe at the Four Seasons - which is pretty fancy. I think the gist of this dinner is that the dishes were well thought out - but I'd have to rate the executions about a B comparing the place to other high end restaurants in other cities (except for the dessert - the pastry chef's riff on a Tres Leches - which was a solid A).

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Hi Robyn!

Thanks for posting your report. I'm just now checking in, so sorry to have not replied sooner.

Glad you enjoyed Manuel's. I've always had a pleasant experience there as well. Next time you're in town, you might seek out Curras, Fonda San Miguel or Garibaldis. They are also very good and serve some interior Mexican along with Tex Mex.

I'm curious to know more about the dessert you had at The Four Seasons. A friend and I had dessert there the other night and we had a chocolate tres leches cake. Was yours chocolate? I thought it was pretty good, but not the best chocolate dessert ever. Then again, I'm not an expert on tres leches and was already full from dinner.

[BigboyDan]

-- The new Whole Foods is a marvel; just went there myself for the first time last week.

-- Threadgill's on North Lamar should be your choice of the two establishments, better food, better music, and better 1960's stories.

-- No Austin restaurant, including Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel, does interior Mexican food. There are, however, a few East Side eateries (where no one speaks English) where you can get authenticly prepared Northern Mexican foods - cabrito, tripe, Café de Olla, Capirotada, escabeches, arracheras, horchata, etc.

-- Cafe at the Four Seasons, is just that, a Cafe. The Austin Four Seasons deliberately avoided the San Francisco or Chicago type trappings that Austin diners would have avoided; though, usually, the food is better than that of your description.

[claire797]

-- No Austin restaurant, including Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel, does interior Mexican food. There are, however, a few East Side eateries (where no one speaks English) where you can get authenticly prepared Northern Mexican foods - cabrito, tripe, Café de Olla, Capirotada, escabeches, arracheras, horchata, etc.

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Er, I think she mentioned interior Mexican not inferior.

[robyn]

We had dinner at the Cafe at the Four Seasons - which is pretty fancy. I think the gist of this dinner is that the dishes were well thought out - but I'd have to rate the executions about a B comparing the place to other high end restaurants in other cities (except for the dessert - the pastry chef's riff on a Tres Leches - which was a solid A).

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Hi Robyn!

Thanks for posting your report. I'm just now checking in, so sorry to have not replied sooner.

Glad you enjoyed Manuel's. I've always had a pleasant experience there as well. Next time you're in town, you might seek out Curras, Fonda San Miguel or Garibaldis. They are also very good and serve some interior Mexican along with Tex Mex.

I'm curious to know more about the dessert you had at The Four Seasons. A friend and I had dessert there the other night and we had a chocolate tres leches cake. Was yours chocolate? I thought it was pretty good, but not the best chocolate dessert ever. Then again, I'm not an expert on tres leches and was already full from dinner.

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I can't remember the tres leches exactly - but I recall that it did have some chocolate - perhaps somewhere near the top (the thought that comes to mind is my saying at dinner that any chef who adds a little chocolate to tres lechces can't be all bad ). However it was predominantly vanilla (like most tres leches). Whatever it was - I recall liking it a lot.

But I have a lingering question. A few weeks after I got home - I saw a piece on the Food Network which showcased the pastry chef at the Four Seasons in Austin. The stuff he was making on that piece looked absolutely fabulous. Nothing at all like what I saw the night we were there (what I had was very good - it just didn't look like this stuff at all). And the pastry chef on that piece was a guy - and I have a strong recollection that the pastry chef in the kitchen the night we ate was a woman. Has the pastry chef in that restaurant changed recently? Robyn

[robyn]

-- The new Whole Foods is a marvel; just went there myself for the first time last week.

-- Threadgill's on North Lamar should be your choice of the two establishments, better food, better music, and better 1960's stories.

-- No Austin restaurant, including Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel, does interior Mexican food. There are, however, a few East Side eateries (where no one speaks English) where you can get authenticly prepared Northern Mexican foods - cabrito, tripe, Café de Olla, Capirotada, escabeches, arracheras, horchata, etc.

-- Cafe at the Four Seasons, is just that, a Cafe. The Austin Four Seasons deliberately avoided the San Francisco or Chicago type trappings that Austin diners would have avoided; though, usually, the food is better than that of your description.

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Being from a city where Mexican means "Taco Bell" - I don't care what type of Mexican food Manuel's serves. The important thing is that it was good - and I can recommend the place to anyone staying in the downtown area who would like to walk to dinner.

I think that perhaps you misconstrued what I said about the Four Seasons. There was nothing bad about it. It just wasn't really terrific. It was perfectly acceptable for what it cost - and I can recommend the place to people who are in the area (I don't think it's worth a big trip to get there). Robyn

[ariggsby]

-- No Austin restaurant, including Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel, does interior Mexican food. There are, however, a few East Side eateries (where no one speaks English) where you can get authenticly prepared Northern Mexican foods - cabrito, tripe, Café de Olla, Capirotada, escabeches, arracheras, horchata, etc.

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Care to elaborate on the first half of that?

Andrew

[Jaymes]

-- No Austin restaurant, including Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel, does interior Mexican food.

La Cocina de Michoacana does interior Mexican food.

[claire797]

Robyn, I don't know much about the pastry chef at The Four Seasons cafe, so I'm not sure why there was a guy on TV and a woman back in the kitchen. Maybe they have more than one pastry chef. Their web site might say something.

Another hotel cafe that has been featured on TV is The Driskill's 1886 Cafe. They serve a chocolate Tres Leches cake, but it is completely chocolate through and through.

I still haven't had the ultimate traditional Tres Leches. I should probably order some next time I go to Fonda San Miguel. Churrascos in Houston had it on the menu as well, but the night we went we were intent on having dessert at Baskin Robbins.

[BigboyDan]

-- No Austin restaurant, including Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel, does interior Mexican food.

La Cocina de Michoacana does interior Mexican food.

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Andrew,

I wish that Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel did interior food; rather it's like eating hotdogs and hamburgers and corn-on-the-cob and potato salad in Guadalajara.

Jaymes,

La Cocina de Michoacana is the type of restaurant that I referenced above, simple food, simply prepared.

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The problem with using the term interior Mexican food is that is a catch-all for Mexican standards: ceviche, moles, cochinita pibil, huachinango Vera Cruzana, bisteca Tampiquena, etc. You can get these offerings in many places in Austin, Houston and San Antonio, but they're just aproximations...

[Jaymes]

-- No Austin restaurant, including Manuel's and Fonda San Miguel, does interior Mexican food.

La Cocina de Michoacana does interior Mexican food.

La Cocina de Michoacana is the type of restaurant that I referenced above, simple food, simply prepared.

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The problem with using the term interior Mexican food is that is a catch-all for Mexican standards: ceviche, moles, cochinita pibil, huachinango Vera Cruzana, bisteca Tampiquena, etc. You can get these offerings in many places in Austin, Houston and San Antonio, but they're just aproximations...

Having just returned from Michoacan, which I personally found to be in the interior of Mexico, many of the dishes I've eaten at Cocina de Michoacana are identical to many of the dishes I ate in Michoacan.

Furthermore, Cocina de Michoacana has several quite sophisticated, complicated dishes that I have not found on other menus in Austin -- dishes that are nobody's idea of "simple food, simply prepared."

But whatever.

Some things are just stupid to argue about.

Ya' know?

Edited July 5, 2005 by Jaymes (log)

[BigboyDan]

Jaymes.

Uh-hem.

When a restaurant is identified as offering interior Mexican food, what does that mean? It references Mexican standards that are derived lower than that of the bordering Mexican states. Saying that an Austin restaurant that offers Michoacana is offering interior Mexican food, well... that's akin to saying that a restaurant in Morelia that offers baked ham, collard greens, grits and apple pie is offering interior American food.

That's all.

[Jaymes]

When a restaurant is identified as offering interior Mexican food, what does that mean?

So your problem is one of semantics? Sadly for us all, we are limited in our ability to communicate. In most instances, we are forced to use language. Which, having been created by mankind, is imperfect.

So when the rest of say, "interior Mexican food," we mean, "as opposed to TexMex with chili gravy and Velveeta all over everything."

And we all understand ourselves just fine.

[Richard Kilgore]

Moderator's Note: I think we have gone as far as we can with debating the concept of "interior", and I have removed a couple of off-topic posts. At any rate, if that part of this discussion continues, let's keep it civil and respectful of others' opinions when disagreeing.

Specific comments about specific restaurants would be welcome, of course.

Thanks,

Richard