RIP Chuy's

[DanTheHorn 4852]

19 hours ago, Texzilla588 said:

Can you just stay in Mexico? Obviously you have zero clue about evolving foodways as people migrate around the world. TexMex is as legit a cuisine, centuries in the making, dating back to Spanish colonization. Do you complain about the fact the Italian food the world enjoys was invented by starving southern Italians who left famine for the abandazza of America? Or that the Chinese or Thai food in Mexico has been Mexicanized

Ask him about tacos al pastor in Mexico city. They did not originate in Mexico they are a derivative. Tex-Mex is its' own thing and last time I was in Mexico in some small little pueblo I saw a Tex-Mex restaurant. The sign had the name of the restaurant and under it it said "Comida Tex-Mex".

 

Edited July 23 by DanTheHorn

[closetojumping 61997]

42 minutes ago, Underdog said:

The fuck you say? 

If you aren’t prepared to change your handle and lay low for awhile, I would rethink whatever you are about to do next. There are some very, very serious bbq twits on this board, and they’ll come at you with everything they’ve got if you attempt to back Dickey’s. 

[freyguy 4239]

HEB makes better BBQ than Dickeys...

[DixonHur 10837]

2 hours ago, Underdog said:

The fuck you say? 

I certainly didn't have Dickie's as the BBQ hill to die on, on my bingo card.

That place us pure trash.

[Texzilla588 765]

HEB makes better BBQ than Dickeys...

A can of alpo is better barbecue than fucking Dickeys. The Tarrant County locations are constantly in the heat of the health department.

[ballrific 214]

hits close to home…had some chuys tortillas and refried beans last night at a party. I’ve had worse.l..and the ritas were kinda shitty.

[Beau Vine 53653]

On 7/19/2024 at 2:29 PM, MrX said:

Denver had a Chuys?  Sheesh. Had no idea. 

There's still one off 36 about halfway between Denver and Boulder.  Broomfield maybe?

[Jimbaround 972]

hits close to home…had some chuys tortillas and refried beans last night at a party. I’ve had worse.l..and the ritas were kinda shitty.

That sounds like my kind of party!

[jimmyjazz 45162]

We went there Tuesday night for our older son's birthday -- his choice.  It was fine.  Salsas are slipping and the table sauce appears to no longer be available.  Queso was decent.  I had an app plate that was loaded with all kinds of things -- the chicken flautas were legit, quesadillas not so much.  (I'm not exactly sure if a flauta can be "legit" but they were tasty.)

If I never go back I will not lose sleep or regret it on my deathbed.

[4th&Five 41111]

in my fat days i used to get the comida deluxe anytime we went and the sauce they put on the flautas is great.

[BurntEyes 5629]

On 7/22/2024 at 9:55 PM, Texzilla588 said:

Can you just stay in Mexico? Obviously you have zero clue about evolving foodways as people migrate around the world. TexMex is as legit a cuisine, centuries in the making, dating back to Spanish colonization. Do you complain about the fact the Italian food the world enjoys was invented by starving southern Italians who left famine for the abandazza of America? Or that the Chinese or Thai food in Mexico has been Mexicanized

You just open the entire "Authetic" can of stupid worms. 

What about "Asian-Fusion"? Sicilian vs Italian? Regional variations of Italian? What they eat in Bari is nothing like what they eat in Milano. Grumble grumble....

For the record, I'm down for some Mexi-nese. Sign me up yo. 

Ital-Mex - grew up on that shit.

Kraut-Dego aka (Milanese), yes please.

Oh Chuys I don't hate it, I enjoy some of their offerings, I don't love it. My take is an obscenely rational reaction to an okay Tex-Mex offering when other options aren't available.

Edited August 1 by BurntEyes

[horn4life 3748]

Chuy's used to be... well... great!  Now that was a long time ago!

I started going to Chuy's sometime not too long after they opened, long before they added on the second half of the restaurant on Barton Springs.  Somebody got them to sponsor our soccer team Austin United(if only we could score). We would make a point after games at Zilker to go and get a large table in the hub cap room, to make sure the place would make it so there was something decent on Barton Springs.  They had a killer margarita and I used to particularly like their Bandidos. A mixture of cheese and diced gree chiles rolled in a whole wheat eggroll, served with the new stuff.. jalapeño ranch.  It was a go to place in the 80's and early 90's.

It's fallen so far I haven't eaten there but maybe twice in the last decade accomodating somebody else's request.  Just shows how hard it is to scale restaurant quality over time, especially as you expand.  Darden might actually be able to improve them, as the bar is pretty low. Shocked they payed like $10 over the closing stock price of $27. could have used that cash to implement some employee retention and training programs.

What I do miss terribly is Shady Grove.  What I miss even more is that big floppy disk with all the recipes on it that I discarded long ago... Their Veggie Chili was the bomb, with also solid offerings and desserts. Drove by yesterday.  Abandoned and overgrown. And Shady Grove would have never happened without a rent dispute for the Chuy's Barton location.  I looked back and realized the founder Mike Young passed away a year ago. Hope Darden can bring it back to at least close to what it once was. I likely will never know, as I will be at Eldorado, or slumming at Y Mas. 

 

 

[LCHorn 2529]

23 minutes ago, horn4life said:

What I do miss terribly is Shady Grove.

I do, too.  It was a solid for the cost, had an unbelievable patio, and appeared to be fairly well managed.  
 

Austin has a plethora of food trucks and restaurants chasing Instagram glory-what it lacks is the basic “let’s eat out tonight” neighborhood joints and Shady Grove was perfect for that*.  You end up with restaurants like El Dorado getting loved to death.

*they also frequently had live music or showed old movies on their projector, both of which lent themselves to the cool bohemian charm of yore. 

[horn4life 3748]

7 hours ago, LCHorn said:

I do, too.  It was a solid for the cost, had an unbelievable patio, and appeared to be fairly well managed.  
 

Austin has a plethora of food trucks and restaurants chasing Instagram glory-what it lacks is the basic “let’s eat out tonight” neighborhood joints and Shady Grove was perfect for that*.  You end up with restaurants like El Dorado getting loved to death.

*they also frequently had live music or showed old movies on their projector, both of which lent themselves to the cool bohemian charm of yore. 

I was putting my wife through Pharmacy school when Shady grove was getting going and our friend Rosie was the bar manager I think? But she was my "surrogate wife" as I would eat and drink there a couple nights a week while my wife was slaving away at UT.  I remember when they first started having bands, that eventually ended up being "unplugged at the Grove."  My wife would kill for a Hippie Chick.  We moved up NW in 1999 and only went 8-10 times a year after that.  It was good food for adults as well as kid friendly. RIP

[SurlyBDR 22386]

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2024/10/11/chuys-acquisition-has-been-finalized.html

 

No ABJ sub, so I grabbed this from KXAN this morning:

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/chuys-headquarters-moving-to-florida-after-darden-acquisition

 

Quote

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) — Chuy’s is relocating its headquarters from Austin to Orlando, Florida, now that its $605 million acquisition by Darden Restaurants Inc. has become final.

“For Chuy’s to benefit from Darden’s competitive advantages, we will need to consolidate the support functions at their home office in Austin and transfer them to our Restaurant Support Center in Orlando,” Darden spokesperson Rich Jeffers said in an email.

 

[tx 3 putt 75221]

chuys / olive garden hybrid 🤔🤔🤔

[bernorange 8338]

I used to enjoy an occassional trip to Chuy's before they quit doing just about everything that made the place interesting.  No more "Texas Toothpicks" during Hatch Chili season.  Then Covid hit and they downsized the menu and stopped their daily specials.  I liked the stuffed avocado and green chili pork stew.  It's a very bland experience these days.

Edited October 13 by bernorange

[Underdog 28117]

Endless Taco Bowls. 

[Brisketexan 103515]

On 8/2/2024 at 6:12 AM, LCHorn said:

I do, too.  It was a solid for the cost, had an unbelievable patio, and appeared to be fairly well managed.  
 

Austin has a plethora of food trucks and restaurants chasing Instagram glory-what it lacks is the basic “let’s eat out tonight” neighborhood joints and Shady Grove was perfect for that*.  You end up with restaurants like El Dorado getting loved to death.

*they also frequently had live music or showed old movies on their projector, both of which lent themselves to the cool bohemian charm of yore. 

Man.  Losing Shady Grove is one our all-time Austin heartbreakers.  Hippie Chick, Tortilla crusted queso catfish, a great meatloaf, and an outstanding burger and onion rings.  They even had a grilled vegetable platter that was fantastic, a nice healthy option.  We ate there all the time, esp when our kids were young.  You capture PERFECTLY what it was: "hey, I'm going to work up till dinner time downtown.  Want to just load up the kids and meet me at Shady Grove?"  We must have done that 50 times or more over the years. 

Great Austin moment: my daughter and Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison's first kid were born hours apart at St. David's.  As a result, our paths crossed several times over the years.  The first time was when the kids were still in the high-chair stage.  Both families eating dinner at Shady Grove, kids' high chairs were right next to each other the way the tables were set up.  The kids just yammered with each other, making each other laugh and giggle, it was so damned pure and sweet.  Both sets of parents just smiling and taking it in (and my wife rolling her eyes a bit because she knows I have a longtime crush on Kelly Willis).  Daughter and the Robison firstborn ended up being high school classmates and friends.  But they met at Shady Grove, eating french fries in their high chairs one night when we were all surely just too tired to cook, and wanted a tasty meal and a cold beer or margarita.

[utee94 15708]

Yeah Shady Grove was just an awesome place. It didn't open until 1992 so it can't really be lamented as a "loss of old Austin" but it was a fantastic place to eat, listen to music, drink beer and margaritas, and hang out, for the 3 decades it was open. 

 

Lakeview Cafe' was another great place, but that one was done in by its own management's short-sightedness when they decided to move from the hill down onto the water and become the "Lodge at Lakeview" and then a half-dozen other things that all failed to varying degrees.

[randomhorn 1500]

6 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

chuys / olive garden hybrid 🤔🤔🤔

[DalTxHornFan 3070]

2 hours ago, utee94 said:

Lakeview Cafe' was another great place, but that one was done in by its own management's short-sightedness when they decided to move from the hill down onto the water and become the "Lodge at Lakeview" and then a half-dozen other things that all failed to varying degrees.

That Lakeview place was fun - Craig Gatewood, of early El Arroyo fame, was the main guy there.  I don't think they had much choice about relocating.  I think that LCRA wanted that dirt for their purposes.

[Nueces River Rat 5487]

6 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

chuys / olive garden hybrid 🤔🤔🤔

Now you have another option for that Olive Garden gift card 

[hobbes2702 12516]

On 7/23/2024 at 8:13 PM, Texzilla588 said:

A can of alpo is better barbecue than fucking Dickeys. The Tarrant County locations are constantly in the heat of the health department.

Bottom of the barrel even for a chain place. It’s worse than Pokejos, Grady’s, bill miller, etc.

[4th&Five 41111]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Man.  Losing Shady Grove is one our all-time Austin heartbreakers.  Hippie Chick, Tortilla crusted queso catfish, a great meatloaf, and an outstanding burger and onion rings.  They even had a grilled vegetable platter that was fantastic, a nice healthy option.  We ate there all the time, esp when our kids were young.  You capture PERFECTLY what it was: "hey, I'm going to work up till dinner time downtown.  Want to just load up the kids and meet me at Shady Grove?"  We must have done that 50 times or more over the years. 

Great Austin moment: my daughter and Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison's first kid were born hours apart at St. David's.  As a result, our paths crossed several times over the years.  The first time was when the kids were still in the high-chair stage.  Both families eating dinner at Shady Grove, kids' high chairs were right next to each other the way the tables were set up.  The kids just yammered with each other, making each other laugh and giggle, it was so damned pure and sweet.  Both sets of parents just smiling and taking it in (and my wife rolling her eyes a bit because she knows I have a longtime crush on Kelly Willis).  Daughter and the Robison firstborn ended up being high school classmates and friends.  But they met at Shady Grove, eating french fries in their high chairs one night when we were all surely just too tired to cook, and wanted a tasty meal and a cold beer or margarita.

It will always have a soft spot for me too. On my 21st birthday we started the night there with Reckless Kelly Unplugged at the Grove. A few shady things later we were piled in a cab with the band headed to Lucy’s. The rest is a blur but I have some great photos to remember it by. 

[Armybrat 40527]

On 7/20/2024 at 5:36 PM, 6th Street said:

Wait there's a bartender that's worked at Chuy's for 30 years?

My late DIL worked at both Shady Grove and the nearby Chuy’s from the mid 1990s until about 2011. 
Server, bartender, and assistant manager.

[Gatorubet 29538]

On 7/24/2024 at 8:49 AM, utee94 said:

Fajitas are pretty popular around the nation as well.  

ironically, I had Baja fish tacos take-out for dinner tonight at my hotel in Auckland.  It was close, I was hungry.    The fish tacos were great, the sauce that came with…not so much.

The abundance of fresh local seafood made me think it was a safe choice.  tex-mex is conquering the fucking world.

[DoobieWah 1374]

How were the tortillas?

[royiv 9044]

6 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

ironically, I had Baja fish tacos take-out for dinner tonight at my hotel in Auckland.  It was close, I was hungry.    The fish tacos were great, the sauce that came with…not so much.

The abundance of fresh local seafood made me think it was a safe choice.  tex-mex is conquering the fucking world.

You know where Baja is, right?

[Deej 76156]

18 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

ironically, I had Baja fish tacos take-out for dinner tonight at my hotel in Auckland.  It was close, I was hungry.    The fish tacos were great, the sauce that came with…not so much.

The abundance of fresh local seafood made me think it was a safe choice.  tex-mex is conquering the fucking world.

Auckland? Just do fish and chips.

 

[Gatorubet 29538]

2 minutes ago, Deej said:

Auckland? Just do fish and chips.

 

I like their fish, but I’m not a fan of the chips.  Hence fish taco.

[Deej 76156]

1 minute ago, Gatorubet said:

I like their fish, but I’m not a fan of the chips.  Hence fish taco.

Well, any decent fish and chip shop has a ton of fried goodness to choose from.

[Brisketexan 103515]

I like their fish, but I’m not a fan of the chips.  Hence fish taco.

Wait…what? You don’t like chips? Do you not like French fried potatoes at all?

[Gatorubet 29538]

14 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Wait…what? You don’t like chips? Do you not like French fried potatoes at all and hate babies?

blame it on the occupational baby shaking.  I prefer ‘Murican french fries to the big ass wedge shaped hand cut potatoes.

And I hadn’t had fish n big ass chips since, I don’t know, the previous day. 

[Brisketexan 103515]

blame it on the occupational baby shaking.  I prefer ‘Murican french fries to the big ass wedge shaped hand cut potatoes.
And I hadn’t had fish n big ass chips since, I don’t know, the previous day. 

Man…had chippy like 5-6 times on our last trip to the UK, and the wife and I agreed that they nail the chip. We had one version that was a bit big/wedge cut type, but the rest were those perfect crispy outside with fluffy inside. Can’t find a duplicate here in Austin.

[Gatorubet 29538]

7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Man…had chippy like 5-6 times on our last trip to the UK, and the wife and I agreed that they nail the chip. We had one version that was a bit big/wedge cut type, but the rest were those perfect crispy outside with fluffy inside. Can’t find a duplicate here in Austin.

Truth! my brother and I went to some pub in Liverpool last year that had shitty waiters and less

draft beer options, but the fish and chips were exactly like you said.  Worth the trip.  i’m not gonna judge the kiwis till I try more.   I’m probably fucking up by going to nicer places.

[Iceman 2585]

Steak burrito with boom boom sauce is a winner every time.  Once in a while, I'll order the Comida Deluxe #1.

Throw in some creamy jalapeno and their chips are my favorite thin, cantina style chips.

When I think of going out for good Mexican food, Chuys is not on that list though.  I do feel like it's good for what they do, and they deliver value with their pricing.

[utee94 15708]

I always thought of Chuy's and El Arroyo and Trudy's as Aus-Mex rather than Tex-Mex.  They had some good dishes, but the standard cheese enchiladas with brown gravy con carne was not among them.  As long as you stuck with their specialties and didn't really think of it as true Tex-Mex, you'd do okay.

 

[Deej 76156]

10 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

Truth! my brother and I went to some pub in Liverpool last year that had shitty waiters and less

draft beer options, but the fish and chips were exactly like you said.  Worth the trip.  i’m not gonna judge the kiwis till I try more.   I’m probably fucking up by going to nicer places.

Every place I had fish and chips in NZ, and it was a lot of places, did not have big wedge fries. 

[CooterBrown 17724]

10 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Man…had chippy like 5-6 times on our last trip to the UK, and the wife and I agreed that they nail the chip. We had one version that was a bit big/wedge cut type, but the rest were those perfect crispy outside with fluffy inside. Can’t find a duplicate here in Austin.

The difference is they use Maris Piper potatoes. There's no substitute that gets that same texture. 

[jimmyjazz 45162]

10 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Man…had chippy like 5-6 times on our last trip to the UK, and the wife and I agreed that they nail the chip. We had one version that was a bit big/wedge cut type, but the rest were those perfect crispy outside with fluffy inside. Can’t find a duplicate here in Austin.

If you're willing to roll your own, check out the Serious Eats page on parboiling potatoes in alkaline water, then roasting.  Pretty damn great.

[Brisketexan 103515]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

The difference is they use Maris Piper potatoes. There's no substitute that gets that same texture. 

Well, we should get us some of those over here.  They're outstanding.  We can't let the brits beat us on something food-related.  That's just embarrassing.  It's like losing an international baseball competition to Armenia or something.

[gsoda3 3192]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

The difference is they use Maris Piper potatoes. There's no substitute that gets that same texture. 

maris pipers are popular but there are plenty of chippies that use king edwards or other newer varieties.  the main difference i've seen is 1.) chippies SOAK their cut chips in water for hours before cooking and 2.) they move them to a heated and enclosed on all sides save for one compartment to drain after frying.  my grandparents owned a chain of chippies and we used to go back and me and my parents would help.  

[TwiceHorn 30834]

7 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

maris pipers are popular but there are plenty of chippies that use king edwards or other newer varieties.  the main difference i've seen is 1.) chippies SOAK their cut chips in water for hours before cooking and 2.) they move them to a heated and enclosed on all sides save for one compartment to drain after frying.  my grandparents owned a chain of chippies and we used to go back and me and my parents would help.  

Heard a Belgian talking about frites on Rick Steves' show.  They fry them twice, once at a lower temp to cook and again at a higher to brown and crisp.

[Brisketexan 103515]

6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Heard a Belgian talking about frites on Rick Steves' show.  They fry them twice, once at a lower temp to cook and again at a higher to brown and crisp.

Worked with a lawyer whose family, growing up, ran a chain of hot dog places in Chicago that were famous for their fries.  He spent many a day working in one, and said the double-frying technique is key.

[locodos 5229]

The George on Borough High St in London had the best Chips(fries) with rosemary and sea salt.   But they got bought by the Greene King (corporate pubs) and now the fries are nowhere near as good as they used to be.  Still a cool little hidden-ish pub.  IIRC it was a set piece in Game of Thrones

[gsoda3 3192]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Worked with a lawyer whose family, growing up, ran a chain of hot dog places in Chicago that were famous for their fries.  He spent many a day working in one, and said the double-frying technique is key.

 

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

Heard a Belgian talking about frites on Rick Steves' show.  They fry them twice, once at a lower temp to cook and again at a higher to brown and crisp.

lower temp - yes we had three fryers, two at lower temps and one at a higher temp with a different fat (all had lard but i'm not sure what the %s were).

 

double frying is key, but we do that here also*.  all the frozen stuff the chains use is par-fried before being frozen and bagged.  i'm sure frying then freezing makes a difference vs frying fresh, resting, and frying again.  

*in a way.  

[SurlyGator 822]

"Chippies" talk on a Chuy's thread not going away...