Best restaurant in Austin...

[Your Mom 4827]

The Jersey Mike’s comment was a joke right?  That’s a national chain found in airports everywhere. It’s not a bad sandwich at all but it’s still just some good airport food.

[ChickenSandwich 9843]

[Guest Lobo]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

The Jersey Mike’s comment was a joke right?  That’s a national chain found in airports everywhere. It’s not a bad sandwich at all but it’s still just some good airport food.

Jersey Mike’s is not a national Chain.  It’s an Austin homegrown original and blows subway away.  

[Your Mom 4827]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

Jersey Mike’s is not a national Chain.  It’s an Austin homegrown original and blows subway away.  

It does indeed blow Subway away. It’s a solid sandwich and I like it. But there are nearly 2000 locations across America and it started in.... wait for it.... 

Jersey. 

Are you sure you aren’t thinking of Schlotzkys?  

[Hook1997 5397]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

It does indeed blow Subway away. It’s a solid sandwich and I like it. But there are nearly 2000 locations across America and it started in.... wait for it.... 

Jersey. 

Are you sure you aren’t thinking of Schlotzkys?  

Thundercloud is what he’s talking about, I think…

[Guest Lobo]

Just riffing on chicken sandwiche’s post #141

i am well aware of where Jersey mike came from and he can take his ass back there.  Team thundercloud all the way. (which is kicking the ass of the Jersey Mike’s across the street in our hood). 
 

anyway, what was that great little restaurant that was on west fifth just past Baylor street?  Kind of continental cuisine, tucked up on the backside of that little two story ‘office’ building. ?  

[Your Mom 4827]

Got you. I rarely look at who actually posted something and I thought it was your mention originally. I’ll adjust the meter. 

[ChickenSandwich 9843]

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

Just riffing on chicken sandwiche’s post #141

i am well aware of where Jersey mike came from and he can take his ass back there.  Team thundercloud all the way. (which is kicking the ass of the Jersey Mike’s across the street in our hood). 
 

anyway, what was that great little restaurant that was on west fifth just past Baylor street?  Kind of continental cuisine, tucked up on the backside of that little two story ‘office’ building. ?  

[Guest Lobo]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

Got you. I rarely look at who actually posted something and I thought it was your mention originally. I’ll adjust the meter. 

No adjustment necessary.  Sarcastic deli chain smack talk has reached its apex.  

And I remembered the name of the place I was thinking about while pruning trees this morning---Cafe Josie.  I think it was certainly one of the 10 best restaurants in Austin 20 years ago.  I'd say 20 years ago, the best restaurants in Austin were very clear---Vespaio, Cafe Josie, Jeffrey's (the Weiss' original), Louie's 106, Fonda San Miguel, Hudson's on the Bend...who else am I missing from that 1995-2010 heydey before the dining scene really went into overdrive?  

[South Austin 52523]

4 minutes ago, Lobo said:

No adjustment necessary.  Sarcastic deli chain smack talk has reached its apex.  

And I remembered the name of the place I was thinking about while pruning trees this morning---Cafe Josie.  I think it was certainly one of the 10 best restaurants in Austin 20 years ago.  I'd say 20 years ago, the best restaurants in Austin were very clear---Vespaio, Cafe Josie, Jeffrey's (the Weiss' original), Louie's 106, Fonda San Miguel, Hudson's on the Bend...who else am I missing from that 1995-2010 heydey before the dining scene really went into overdrive?  

I recall Gilligan’s, Bertram’s, and Shoreline were very good, but that was when I was in college/law school and had a poor student’s palate.

[Guest Lobo]

Shit, good call on Shoreline.  Always above my pocket book when it was open, but we splurged a couple times and it was superlative.  Bertram's, same deal.  Couple times I had business expense at Gilligan's, I found it way overrated.  But at the time, it was peak Austin seafood so I'll give it a pass.  Yeah, Shoreline was a gem though.  Now it's a bikini parade everyday at Chive Media.  NTTAWWT.  

Great little hidden gem in late 90's/early 2000's was Basil's off Lamar.  Was that the name?  Little cottage north of where that 7-11 is now.  Great date spot during our courting  days with the wife.  It was the only place I could think of when my uncle came to town to visit my cousin at Saint Edward's and wanted a nice high-end meal, his treat.  So we went there, like 12 of us and they looked at us like we were insane, biggest table they had was a 4-top.  We waited for about an hour until my uncle left in a vulgarity and scotch-ladden tirade.   I never went back out of paranoia.  /csb

I think it's easier to pin down what the best Austin restaurant was in 1990, then 2000, maybe 2010, because in this day and age it's impossible to gauge.  

[utee94 15835]

Yup Basil's was good.  If this is now the old 90s restaurant nostalgia thread, then I'll throw in Castle Hill Cafe and Mezzaluna.  

[burntorangebongos 10747]

On 7/17/2021 at 8:47 AM, Lobo said:

I mentioned this a few years ago when I saw the report, could obviously be a very different environment these days.  But that store at 45th & Lamar, that was one of the Top 10 Chili's in all of North America in terms of gross receipts.  Meaning, not only were people skipping over dozens of great restaurants within a few miles radius of that place, but when they went in.....they were spending serious money.  That just blows my mind.  To pick Chili's and then spend $50/person.  Having said that, I've spent $50 at airport Chili's.  The myth that paces like Chili's and Applebee's are affordable spots for working class families is just ridiculous.  

As for best Austin restaurant, it's not possible to name.  We are fortunate to have so many superlative restaurants covering almost every cuisine and type and taste.  We've also lost a number of great restaurants over the last 5 years or so.  But based on crowd size/wait time---Olive Garden on South Lamar still reigns supreme. 

It is because the blind people from the blind school nearby spend all their money on booze at Chili's Bar. If you carved our their money, it would be a middle of the road earner. 

[justhookit 4191]

2 hours ago, utee94 said:

Yup Basil's was good.  If this is now the old 90s restaurant nostalgia thread, then I'll throw in Castle Hill Cafe and Mezzaluna.  

Yeah we didn’t have a lot of options back then. We went to those 2 quite often plus Sullivan’s and City Grill.

[utee94 15835]

13 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Yeah we didn’t have a lot of options back then. We went to those 2 quite often plus Sullivan’s and City Grill.

I sat at a table next to Mack Brown at Sullivan's a couple of times in the late 90s.

Dell actually started to discourage (forbid) employees from doing corporate dinners there, because Dell's monthly bill to Sullivan's was reaching exorbitant amounts.  

 

 

 

[Anastasis 23479]

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

I sat at a table next to Mack Brown at Sullivan's a couple of times in the late 90s.

Dell actually started to discourage (forbid) employees from doing corporate dinners there, because Dell's monthly bill to Sullivan's was reaching exorbitant amounts.  

Sat next to Mack at Ruth's Chris many years ago. He was hosting a table full of Penn State Pedo coaches IIRC. 

[LCHorn 2624]

Mezzaluna’s was trash; I only ate there because they had the very best looking waitstaff.  
 

i always considered Jeffrey’s in a class by itself but too pricey for date night.  I favored Granite Cafe, Mirabelle, and Mars for restaurants that didn’t get loved to death or become tourist spots.  

[jimmyjazz 45998]

An underrated Italian gem was Stelline's in north Austin.

My wife and I had our first date at Malaga for drinks and tapas and then Basil's for dinner.  I was a baller.

Mezzaluna was hardly trash.  They had a legit carbonara.

[LCHorn 2624]

Also, I don’t think there was a time when Cafe Josie would have been considered a top 10 restaurant-it was always an under the radar option, at least when their menu was doing the Caribbean thing.  
 

Re: Jimmy-Mezzaluna’s food was well below that of Siena back when they would have been competitors.  I think it was inferior to Asti, too, though they’ve been kind of up and down in terms of quality/reputation (of course, over 20 years who wouldn’t be?).

Another favorite to take a date was Green Pastures-they had the best service in town back when service in Austin was broadly average or below.  

 

[Anastasis 23479]

Can't wait for Apis to reopen. 

[DalTxHornFan 3109]

19 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

An underrated Italian gem was Stelline's in north Austin.

 

Agree on Stelline's.  That was chef Harvey Harris' first foray into having his own restaurant after spending time at Mezzaluna and prior to that in Houston (Maybe Damian's?).

He's been the chef at Sienna forever.  I like Sienna a bunch.

[jimmyjazz 45998]

1 hour ago, LCHorn said:

Also, I don’t think there was a time when Cafe Josie would have been considered a top 10 restaurant-it was always an under the radar option, at least when their menu was doing the Caribbean thing.  

Really?  It was easily top 10 for us.  I can't eat seafood due to allergies so we didn't go there all that much but it was seriously good cookin'.

 

 

Quote

Re: Jimmy-Mezzaluna’s food was well below that of Siena back when they would have been competitors.  I think it was inferior to Asti, too, though they’ve been kind of up and down in terms of quality/reputation (of course, over 20 years who wouldn’t be?).

I guess I think of Mezzaluna as a precursor to Siena and Asti.  No doubt Italian food got better in Austin over time, with La Traviata, Andiamo's, and of course Vespaio and Siena, but I definitely didn't think Mezzaluna was bad.  It just wasn't great.

[utee94 15835]

I don't think I'd ever have Cafe Josie as a top 10 Austin restaurant but it was always  a great date night spot. 

[Sbbruin 21865]

BTW, Whataburger got a resounding thumbs down.  Mostly for the mustard.  But the boy, who is a burger fanatic, was not impressed.

[MAUFRAIS 6630]

Oh no! These California fuckfaces don’t like our fast food!

[ChickenSandwich 9843]

Guadalupe location is terrible. 
 

He’s young, get the app and customize. He can even get jalapeños on a burger, or Mayo not mixed with ketchup. I know I know, ground breaking. Sadly he will have to bring his own shitty thousand island dressing. 

[Gourmand 7774]

On 7/18/2021 at 10:02 AM, Lobo said:

No adjustment necessary.  Sarcastic deli chain smack talk has reached its apex.  

And I remembered the name of the place I was thinking about while pruning trees this morning---Cafe Josie.  I think it was certainly one of the 10 best restaurants in Austin 20 years ago.  I'd say 20 years ago, the best restaurants in Austin were very clear---Vespaio, Cafe Josie, Jeffrey's (the Weiss' original), Louie's 106, Fonda San Miguel, Hudson's on the Bend...who else am I missing from that 1995-2010 heydey before the dining scene really went into overdrive?  

Emelia's

Aquarelle

Castle Hill 

Mezzaluna

Zoot 

[Gourmand 7774]

20 hours ago, LCHorn said:

Mezzaluna’s was trash;

so completely wrong. Mezzaluna was a family tree to many restaurants that opened in Austin in the 2000s.

[Gourmand 7774]

19 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

guess I think of Mezzaluna as a precursor to Siena and Asti. 

You are correct.  Emmett (Asti) and Harvey (Siena) were execs at Mezzaluna before those two restaurants were born. 

 

[sidis 9832]

6 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

Aquarelle

Zoot 

two of my historical all-time favs in austin.

[conVINCEd 21469]

1 hour ago, Sbbruin said:

BTW, Whataburger got a resounding thumbs down.  Mostly for the mustard.  But the boy, who is a burger fanatic, was not impressed.

There are several local places that can meet his burger needs should he choose to matriculate at our fine university.  Whataburger has become very location dependent.

[Sbbruin 21865]

46 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Guadalupe location is terrible. 
 

He’s young, get the app and customize. He can even get jalapeños on a burger, or Mayo not mixed with ketchup. I know I know, ground breaking. Sadly he will have to bring his own shitty thousand island dressing. 

So only Bronco Burger secret sauce, not All-American Burger secret sauce?

[ChickenSandwich 9843]

[justhookit 4191]

1 hour ago, Gourmand said:

so completely wrong. Mezzaluna was a family tree to many restaurants that opened in Austin in the 2000s.

Not to mention Reed’s group also opened Granite Cafe, Bitter End, Reed’s Supper Club, the Grove, etc.

Mezzaluna as trash is such a bizarre take. Maybe the hot waitresses refused to go out with him?

Edited July 19, 2021 by justhookit

[sidis 9832]

so in terms of the places i have been in austin of late that i have been genuinely impressed with, i would posit:

1) comedor.  been about 7 or 8 times.  everything i have had has been excellent.  highlight has definitely been the bone marrow tacos.  holy fuck i would eat that every day and die of a heart attack/gout but would be worth it. 

2) hestia.  been around for a while...been a few times and only feel like they've had a couple of misses.  most everything has been extremely good.

3) suerte.  just...yes.

that isn't to say that it is all necessarily better than consistent favs like jeffreys, dai due, emmer and rye, odd duck, etc..., just some of the relatively newer spots that i have enjoyed a lot.

[LCHorn 2624]

2 hours ago, justhookit said:

Not to mention Reed’s group also opened Granite Cafe, Bitter End, Reed’s Supper Club, the Grove, etc.

Mezzaluna as trash is such a bizarre take. Maybe the hot waitresses refused to go out with him?

Jeez, I had no idea this place was so full of Mezzaluna partisans!
 

I ate there probably once a month for a year because a business colleague favored it and tried a ton of items on their menu; at best it was average and at worst inedible.  
 

And yes, the hot waitress refused my advances but I’d like to think my taste buds have more integrity that that 🙂. 
 

I’ve also been politely rejected by a Justine’s server and continue to love dining there.  
 

Anyway, enough of the nostalgia wallowing and thanks to @sidis for bringing us back on topic.  

[jimmyjazz 45998]

Austin suffered a notorious dearth of decent Italian joints until (by recollection) Basil's and Mezzaluna showed up.  Prior to that, it was mostly red/white checkered tablecloth Italian-American red sauce Sysco slingers.  Over time, things got better and more choices became available.  Mezzaluna was roughly the equivalent of Mack Brown's 2001 team . . . on the way up, but not there yet.  Nobody is saying it was Spiaggia.

[conVINCEd 21469]

Was at the table next to Dick Vitale at Mezzaluna many years ago.  He bought our group of pre sorority formal attendees a few bottles of wine.  So fond memories of the place.

[Steamboat1874 4072]

20 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

There are several local places that can meet his burger needs should he choose to matriculate at our fine university.  Whataburger has become very location dependent.

Dan's is a hundred times better than Whataburger.

[justhookit 4191]

The original Eddie V’s out at the arboretum was really good. These days I’d probably go with Red Ash and ATX Cocina. I don’t get to enough restaurants in Austin to call those the best but they are definitely my favorites. Taverna has also revamped and upped their game. It’s not my favorite by any means but it’s really solid.

[landman 559]

On 7/19/2021 at 11:25 AM, Sbbruin said:

BTW, Whataburger got a resounding thumbs down.  Mostly for the mustard.  But the boy, who is a burger fanatic, was not impressed.

He should have gone to Dirty's for the OT Special.