The Strange Case of Eddie Nimibutr
Well, in this viral world we live in, it doesn’t take much, as Eddie Nimibutr found out yesterday, to piss off a couple of million Americans. He posted some nasty crap about the Newtown shootings on his Facebook page; and he and his Austin restaurant, the Thai Noodle House on Guadalupe, has taken a major […]
The Tragedy of Newtown
At a time like this, we realize how almost trivial writing and thinking about dining out becomes. I grew up in CT and can tell you that Newtown is one of those typical, small, close-knit bucolic southwestern CT towns so characteristic of the area. That someone driven to the breaking point of sanity slaughtered all […]
When a Chain Really Doesn’t Act Like a Chain
I very rarely review chain restaurants. The menus are usually predictable, the food often comes out of some prepackaged source, and the servers are generally indifferent and poorly trained. But occasionally a place like Fleming’s at the Domain steps up with a managing partner like Darryl Wittle and exec chef Boyer Derise. And that’s when […]
Overheard in a BBQ Queue
We shot my KVUE-TV review last week at the almost universally discussed and acclaimed Franklin BBQ last week on E. 11th. When we arrived at 11am, the equally-discussed line was just over 2 hours long and well down toward the parking lot behind the restaurant. In between setting up different camera shots, I had the […]
The Reasons We Do What We Do on Dining Out with Rob
We occasionally see some blogger commentary regarding our site, diningoutwithrobbalon.com. Many of these comments have a prevailing theme. And of course that revolves around my decision to primarily write about restaurants that I like, while essentially ignoring the ones that I don’t like. This apparently drives some in the food blogger community to the point […]
Are You Kidding Me: Quaker Steak and Lube?
There are many comfort food based chains around the U.S., but with their most recent and first entry into to Texas (in Waco) and later New Jersey, Quaker Steak and Lube, a motorsports-themed casual dining chain now boasts a total of 56 owned and franchised restaurants. I can’t imagine why this chain hasn’t scheduled an […]
Resurgence in Retro Dishes: Trend or Fad?
Slowly but surely, some restaurants around Austin and elsewhere are adding some dishes to menus that haven’t been seen in some time. It may be an overt attempt to appeal to vanguard Baby Boomers, or it may be that a lot of 30-something chefs have been watching Nickelodeon and lots of 60’s reruns. But I’m […]
On People and Dogs
The relationships that people have with their dogs can often be quite remarkable. It certainly has been in our house for the past 34 years. We began with an Old English Sheepdog we named Jazz. He was our first baby, born a year before our daughter Jenn. Jazz lived a long healthy life and was […]
Who Cares What’s In It?
There’s a variation of an old expression that two things no American wants to observe being made are laws and hot dogs (sausages work here as well). But unlike most laws which one or more subgroups inevitably wind up despising or resenting, virtually every American loves the hot dog. And one man hugely responsible for […]
Top Chefs Deserve Top Judges
I watched Paul Qui’s victory on Top Chef Texas with chauvinistic pride and admiration for his talent. What I didn’t like was the boring cadre of old fart judges like Emeril Lagasse and Tom Colicchio who kept muttering “sweet and savory” and “textural integrity” ad infinitum ad nauseam. The game has changed. The so-called icons […]
Consumer Reports Reveals Results of Massive Restaurant Survey
I’ve always found Consumer Reports to be fairly useful for evaluating cars, appliances, et al. But they recently drifted into some unfamiliar territory for them: dishing about restaurants. OMG! They should have left this one alone. A massive reader poll released today trashed such American icons as Denny’s, IHOP, Johnny Rockets, Friendly’s and others. Now […]
Anthony Bourdain Goes Graphic with “Get Jiro”
When I first read Tony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential on a cross-country AA flight about ten years ago I laughed out loud all the way from NYC to LA. While I was only mildly impressed with his chef’s skills at Les Halles in New York, his tell-all semi-autobiography was a page turning riot. Soon Bourdain permanently […]
A Tax on Sugary Foods?
There is considerable rumblings among those responsible for such things about a new tax on sugary foods. Consider it a sin tax, on par with those levied on cigarettes and alcohol. There is no question, of course, that imposing a tax on candy, cookies, ice cream et al. will undoubtedly solve all of our nation’s […]
Food Writer’s Guilty Pleasures
In the past 13 years that I’ve been filing restaurant reviews for KLBJ-AM, KVUE-TV and diningoutwithrobbalon.com, I’ve had the opportunity to meet both food writers and chefs from around the state and the country. And among the many things we discuss, one thing that always seems to come up is the notion of “guilty pleasures”. […]
The Agony of Defeat
Anyone in the baby boomer category will remember the amazing open to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. It featured the horrific fall off the ramp by an Olympic ski jumper and was always accompanied by the immortal line (which came after the “Thrill of Victory”): “and the Agony of Defeat.” The thing that stays with […]
