Adios, El Patio...

[utee94 15869]

3 hours ago, scottsins said:

 

I’ll always remember that place as “Pronto Market”.

 

I can't tell you how many sub-$3 checks I wrote to Pronto for a 6-pack of Mickey's Big Mouth over the years.  I recall one month, looking through all my validated checks, and seeing as many as three different drunken spellings for Pronto.

 

[phdhorn 6224]

If you went to Cain and Abel's when it was just Abel's (then it became something else, then nothing, then Cain & Abel's), you're ubercool and superior.

[Rougarou 594]

57 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Since we are reminiscing about Old Austin/West Campus, anyone remember Raymond's Drugs at Rio Grande and 28th?  i couldn't even count the number of $5 checks I cashed there. My mom looked at my bank statement once and asked if my weed dealer was named Raymond.

Before my time I guess, but I wrote a lot of $10 checks to Magic Wok. I bet that place is long gone.

[texasdago 7587]

22 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

If you went to Cain and Abel's when it was just Abel's (then it became something else, then nothing, then Cain & Abel's), you're ubercool and superior.

Well then, I even have a matchbook from when it was Abel's.  Probably picked it up while playing spades and drinking from my pewter mug.

[Brisketexan 105460]

Well, I guess there’s nothing left to look forward to but the future.

....when we will have an infinite supply of self-important mediocre $5 tacos from one of 300 Torchy’s locations, which will be the only option in town.

[scottsins 1979]

Great theory on the Rio Grande Mart. After that, the rat trap apt complexes we all lived in got torn down one by one for modern fancy and $$$ complexes. Through 2004ish, there was an element of old Austin and Texan/redneck/white trash (in a good way) that gave current students shares experiences with generations prior. Going through West Campus these days, it is full of swank. 

Yeah, the lifting of the zoning restriction of a maximum (3?) stories for buildings in WC, just ruined that shit beyond recognition.

[HRSchenker 2275]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

I'm still reading conflicting reports on why they are closing, or no reports at all.  I know the family wants to move on, and wish them well.  But is that corner parcel their land, or was it a lease this whole time?  Could the spot change hands and still operate as a restaurant or is the whole ground-up probably going under the wrecking ball?  

I'd like to know this as well. Lots of spots in Dallas are closing down because the landowners get huge property tax bills once the area goes the way of the McMansion™

[utee94 15869]

30 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

....when we will have an infinite supply of self-important mediocre $5 tacos from one of 300 Torchy’s locations, which will be the only option in town.

 

Torchys won the Franchise Wars.  Now all restaurants are Torchy's.

 

[scottsins 1979]

I'm still reading conflicting reports on why they are closing, or no reports at all.  I know the family wants to move on, and wish them well.  But is that corner parcel their land, or was it a lease this whole time?  Could the spot change hands and still operate as a restaurant or is the whole ground-up probably going under the wrecking ball?  

Lol. In this city, the answer is always “wrecking ball”.

[Biff Tannen 45750]

20 hours ago, Paper_jam said:

It wasn't exactly my favorite place to eat, but damn. There's hardly anything left around campus that I recognize.

I wish I had taken a lot of photos of the drag & campus when I was a student, but it was well before cell phones had cameras. Hell it was almost before cell phones, except for the "brick" style.

 

 

 

[4th&Five 41603]

^^^ a month after i turned 16.  a lot of my first memories of places in austin are from that summer since my parents hated leaving westlake. 

[Biff Tannen 45750]

3 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

^^^ a month after i turned 16.  a lot of my first memories of places in austin are from that summer since my parents hated leaving westlake. 

Six days after I turned 14.  I hit campus in 2000 so it was still pretty similar to this video.

[Deej 76972]

I was already complaining about how Austin was changing by the time that video was taken.

[phdhorn 6224]

Thursday nights, UT night, nickel beers.  This and the Armadillo closing was the true beginning of the shittastic Austin.

[utee94 15869]

47 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Thursday nights, UT night, nickel beers.  This and the Armadillo closing was the true beginning of the shittastic Austin.

Nah, Austin was already shitty long before.  It started with the end of The Skyline Club.

 

[Paper_jam 838]

I remember being kind of put out when the Varsity theater was shut down to become Tower. But then it turned out Tower was OK.

 

[MissingInAction 25213]

I tried eating at el patio several tines and always thought it was worse than chilis. They just poured velveeta all over everything and called it food.

That being said, i would rather see that sign than another fucking taco deli or torchys.

[Deej 76972]

I've lived in Austin my entire life. El Patio's food wasn't life changing, but it was part of life in this town. Eating there was purely nostalgia. It will be sad to drive down that stretch of Guadalupe and not see the sign.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

^^^ a month after i turned 16.  a lot of my first memories of places in austin are from that summer since my parents hated leaving westlake. 

Summer after my freshman year. I was back in Houston working the night shift on the assembly line at Compaq computers. That is “my” Austin.

Six days after I turned 14.  I hit campus in 2000 so it was still pretty similar to this video.

Pretty similar is an important qualifier to your statement. After graduating in 1999, I moved back in 2002 to open my recording studio. It was still great, but definitely different than my first experiences in 1991 and when I moved to Austin in 1995.

[Kringelbert Fishtybuns 944]

I lived within a block of that place for over four years and will only miss the exterior/sign.  Now Nuevo León and Dario’s, those still piss me off.

[utee94 15869]

Eh.  If you want to lament the passing of an old-school Austin Tex-Mex place on E. 6th, then Carmen's La Tapatia is the real tragedy.  It occupied 1501 E. 6th before Nueva Leon did, and was about a bazillion times better.

[Dbeasy 15120]

Eh.  If you want to lament the passing of an old-school Austin Tex-Mex place on E. 6th, then Carmen's La Tapatia is the real tragedy.  It occupied 1501 E. 6th before Nueva Leon did, and was about a bazillion times better.

Was just driving by there the other day and remembered the same thing. That was pretty good food.

[rage-a-holic 4492]

 

I sure will miss all that mediocre food. And the saltines with pace.

[Dbeasy 15120]

 
I sure will miss all that mediocre food. And the saltines with pace.

Now I know you are full o shit. There ain’t no pace.

[phdhorn 6224]

3 hours ago, Deej said:

I've lived in Austin my entire life. El Patio's food wasn't life changing, but it was part of life in this town. Eating there was purely nostalgia. It will be sad to drive down that stretch of Guadalupe and not see the sign.

And  it was damn good, DAMN good food for the price.

[huge 3795]

I have eaten a million mediocre meals in austin and somehow never darkened that door.

RIP El Patio (not to be confused with Club No Minor)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[DanRydell 799]

12 hours ago, Lobo said:

I'm still reading conflicting reports on why they are closing, or no reports at all.  I know the family wants to move on, and wish them well.  But is that corner parcel their land, or was it a lease this whole time?  Could the spot change hands and still operate as a restaurant or is the whole ground-up probably going under the wrecking ball?  

They own the land

Edited July 25, 2019 by DanRydell

[Not that Bob 739]

For me, they get the chili gravy/cheese ratio right. That photo that BearCountry11 posted over in Noach Austin is all wrong, for my tastes anyway. Way too much cheese unless there is an ocean of chili gravy under that cheese. At El Pat I always have enough gravy left, after eating the main stuff, to dip another few tortilla chips or a corn tortilla, or slurp it up with a spoon, which always gets "that look" from my wife. Guess I'll have to get used to waiting an hour at Dart Bowl. 

Edited July 25, 2019 by Not that Bob
cause

[texasdago 7587]

El Patio never meant anything to me.  I died a little when GM Steakhouse and the original Texadelphia closed so I got used to the "new" Austin a long time ago.

[Dbeasy 15120]

For me, they get the chili gravy/cheese ratio right. That photo that BearCountry11 posted over in Noach Austin is all wrong, for my tastes anyway. Way too much cheese unless there is an ocean of chili gravy under that cheese. At El Pat I always have enough gravy left, after eating the main stuff, to dip another few tortilla chips or a corn tortilla, or slurp it up with a spoon, which always gets "that look" from my wife. Guess I'll have to get used to waiting an hour at Dart Bowl. 

This is a post that indicates this person knows and understands what texmex is all about.

[Hank Scorpio 17731]

Nothing better than hitting up El Patio before going to a UT game and then shitting your pants by the 2nd quarter. 

[smuggs 9353]

2nd quarter? You must have the intestinal fortitude of that Japanese hot dog-eating guy.

 

[Deej 76972]

7 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Nothing better than hitting up El Patio before going to a UT game and then shitting your pants by the 2nd quarter. 

That was the "Mack Brown OU Special"

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

On 7/23/2019 at 7:44 PM, Paco said:

 

Edited July 27, 2019 by ShaggyBevo RIP
Triple

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Dp

Edited July 27, 2019 by ShaggyBevo RIP
Dp

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

On 7/23/2019 at 7:44 PM, Paco said:

On 7/23/2019 at 6:57 PM, Dbeasy said:

 

In the 70's (and 80's?) there were many Tex Mex places that served saltines if I remember correctly.

More like the ‘40s-80s saltines and butter were the standard fare at most Tex-Mex places. As well as pralines at the register. 

May be one for Armybrat. 

Edited July 27, 2019 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[dcbc 14540]

On 7/24/2019 at 12:36 AM, Rougarou said:

Grande Mart's closing

Is that what they renamed "Pronto"?

/edit.  Kept reading.  Yes.  RIP Pronto.

Edited July 27, 2019 by dcbc

[dcbc 14540]

On 7/24/2019 at 11:22 AM, Rougarou said:

Before my time I guess, but I wrote a lot of $10 checks to Magic Wok. I bet that place is long gone.

Was that before or after you visited Vickie's Retreat next door?

 

I ate the shit out of Magic Wok when I was at UT.  Vickie's, not.

Edited July 28, 2019 by dcbc

[Rougarou 594]

This thread reminds me; my 4.5 years in West Campus was truly an idyllic time in my life and one I haven’t thought back upon and cherished enough. We were lucky to have had the West Campus we had. We proud and lucky few.

(I’m sure literally everyone thinks this way of their own college experience)

[Hank Scorpio 17731]

Had to go by El Patio this afternoon and get some queso. Best in town. 

 

[RollLeft 5045]

Not just saltines but tabs of butter.  It will be missed but not for the food.  The sauces and beans tasted like they were from a can.  I'm surprised its lasted this long.  RIP El Patio.  

[rage-a-holic 4492]

6 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

More like the ‘40s-80s saltines and butter were the standard fare at most Tex-Mex places. As well as pralines at the register. 

May be one for Armybrat. 

My parents went to Tex-Mex places the majority of our nights out when I was a kid and I don't remember any in Dallas serving crackers/salsa in the 80s.

[DalTxHornFan 3119]

I grew up in Austin and we were on team La Fiesta, off of North Loop at Burnet.  No saltines there.

[Dbeasy 15120]

Was out at El Patio today for a final meal. Got to talk with the owner for awhile, took some pictures, reminisced. Had a two hour wait so we brought an ice chest of beer.

[utee94 15869]

57 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

I grew up in Austin and we were on team La Fiesta, off of North Loop at Burnet.  No saltines there.

Guess it depends on when you grew up in Austin.  Saltines were pretty common through my childhood in the 70s and early 80s, not just at El Patio.  But it definitely seems to have tapered off through the 80s.

[DalTxHornFan 3119]

7 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Guess it depends on when you grew up in Austin.  Saltines were pretty common through my childhood in the 70s and early 80s, not just at El Patio.  But it definitely seems to have tapered off through the 80s.

Yep, all those places served saltines to my kids in their high chairs back then.  The grown ups had chips and salsa with their beer (and margaritas, after Gov. Connally got the legislature to pass liquor by the drink) -- good times.

[Murfdogg21 4432]

On 7/24/2019 at 10:39 PM, Not that Bob said:

Guess I'll have to get used to waiting an hour at Dart Bowl. 

I keep my head on a swivel every time I’m driving down 2222/Koenig by McCallum to make sure Dart Bowl hasn’t been bulldozed. I haven’t been in 3 years, so I’m as guilty as everyone else if they eventually have to close. 

[DalTxHornFan 3119]

5 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I keep my head on a swivel every time I’m driving down 2222/Koenig by McCallum to make sure Dart Bowl hasn’t been bulldozed. I haven’t been in 3 years, so I’m as guilty as everyone else if they eventually have to close. 

Guilty, guilty, guilty.  Going every day this next week to atone.  Same thing for Dirty's and The Tavern.  We got's to keep some of these places from going condo!

[Murfdogg21 4432]

I make a point to go to Crown & Anchor every 6 months, but they’ve probably got more steady business than most due to engineering students and old beer hippies. I agree about Tavern, Draught House, and Dirtys. 

[zork 629]

we would order an order of chips as we were being seated or asap.  eat saltines till the chips arrived.(fried round corn tortillas x 5 per order iirc)  then get the big el patio combo that had the guac, salad, chip with queso on the first plate, followed by the second plate with rice, beans, tamale and enchiladas.  

the first time going the saltines were a trip but after that it was ok.  

The last time we were in Austin they were closed that day.  So we went to Dirty's instead.  Guess the kids will never get to try it.  /sniff

RIP El Patio, my old friend.