Karaoke and Serious Chinese Food Blend at Chinatown on West 5th
We passed a most pleasant evening last Saturday night at Chinatown on 5th St. munching on chicken wings, dim sum, and the usual killer entrees at Ronald Cheng’s Chinatown. We sampled dishes like Salt and Pepper Shrimp, Jalapeno Scallops, Sesame Shrimp, and Honey Pepper Beef. We also had some wonderful crispy Tofu with vegetables in […]
80 lbs. Lighter, Rob Goes Back to Max’s Wine Dive!
Met Gonzos Art and Carol San Miguel at Max’s Wine Dive at 3rd and San Jacinto the other night. It had been a while since I’d been there (actually our last Gonzo Gourmet Dinner) and my exile had been self-imposed. While I was in my serious weight-loss mode, I simply couldn’t trust myself around J.P. […]
Rocking on the Lake at the Gnarly Gar
You’ve gotta love the name for this floating restaurant on Lake Travis near Little Hust Harbor. The Gar is a lake fish and owner Todd Hynes challenged his staff to come up with a unique branding concept. One of his employees, an Aggie, came up with the Gnarly Gar. This may be a generational thing […]
Donald Trump’s Favorite Meals. Insights?
Whether Donald Trump actually runs for president or not is almost a moot point at this juncture. In all likelihood he probably will not because it’s doubtful that he could stand up to the scrutiny of a media that up to this point has given him the equivalent of a free pass. He achieved a […]
Bryce Gilmore Snags Huge Award
First let me state that I couldn’t be more proud of Bryce Gilmore, owner of Barley Swine at 2024 South Lamar. He has just been voted one of the top ten chefs under 30 in the US by Food and Wine Magazine. If you’ve been to either his Odd Duck trailer or the new brick […]
Big Dog Reds Rock at the THCWFF
The Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival stormed into the town this weekend and for the first time in my memory, I did not attend the Stars Across Texas event. That is the walk, sip and graze fest where local and regional Texas chefs prepare finger foods for your pleasure. Part of the reason […]
Kitchen Nightmares Coming to Austin?
I got a call last week from the one of the producers of Kitchen Nightmares, the Fox network show starring the dyspeptic Chef Gordon Ramsey. It appears they want to shoot some episodes in Austin and wanted my recommendations of local restaurant scenarios that would lend themselves to the take-no-prisoners mindset of the program. It […]
Alex Jones and Charlie Sheen
I don’t know if any of you caught Austin radio talk-show host Alex Jones’ appearance on The View several weeks ago. He was on, I assume, because of his earlier radio interview with his pal Charlie Sheen in which Sheen pretty much eviscerated the entire staff of Two and a Half Men and the CBS […]
A Third Bachelor Stint for Brad?
Now that Austinite and bar owner Brad Womack has wrapped up a second turn as “The Bachelor” (he actually kind of sorta picked somebody this time), it occurred to me that there’s no real reason why ABC shouldn’t make him the permanent Bachelor for the foreseeable future of the show. British bookmakers are betting that […]
Romantic Restaurant Proposals
A recent poll of married women revealed that almost a third regretted the manner in which their husbands proposed to them. Many expressed disappointment at the lack of romance and originality displayed at that critical and apparently memorable moment. As I look back at my own proposal or lack thereof as it ultimately turned out […]
Carrob’s Cafe is an Amazing Little Joint!
In a little alley right around the corner from The Boiling Pot on East 6th lies a new restaurant called Carrob’s Cafe. The name is an anagram which combines the husband-and-wife owners’ (Carol and Rob) first names. My first taste was the broccoli and cheese soup and I was blown away. It was that good. […]
Labor Pains Notwithstanding, We Launch the New Site
The redesign and launch of a website can be a rather harrowing yet equally rewarding experience. It’s been both for those of us at diningoutwithrobbalon. We decided quite some time ago that a redo of our original website, built in 2000, was long overdue. Computer screen resolutions were smaller by default back then, we had […]
Food Critic Sheds Pounds and Old Bad Habits
I am pleased to report that as of Dec 31st of 2010, I have dropped 78 pounds and almost ten pants sizes. My shirts have gone from 5x to 2x and best of all, my blood tests reveal that cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose levels are all well within normal ranges. I did this without benefit […]
Katz’s to Finally KLOSE!
I have known Marc Katz for 30 years and been to many of his weddings! For a good part of that time, his Katz’s Deli on W. 6th was as close to a late-night institution as there was in the River City. You could always rely on a killer Reuben or a wonderful cheese omelet […]
Mama Roux Rocks Out for Charity
Heard from Yoli Amr (the original co-founder of Gumbo’s) and now the proprietor of Mama Roux in North Austin. In a benefit on December 12th, the restaurant raised over $900 for the Austin Humane Society and also collected 400 pounds of food. Yoli and husband Michael are two of the good guys in this crazy […]
