Dining Prospects in South Austin Looking Up

Dining Prospects in South Austin Looking Up

When former FCC commissioner Newton Minnow delivered his famous address about television being a “vast wasteland” rumor had it that he had just spent several days attempting to find a restaurant in Austin south of Oltorf. Hence the inspiration.

For years, it seemed as if the classic Bakehouse on Manchaca was the only restaurant south of Oltorf in the entire city. The Bakehouse is still alive and doing very well (I love the sausage crisps) but they finally have some company. Cherry Creek Catfish down the road on Manchaca offers up excellent gumbo with a mild roux and crispy catfish and fried shrimp. Great family spot. And at Manchaca and William Cannon you’ll find Hao Hao. This is Chinese/Vietnamese at its best. The ribs are to die for. The pho is amazing. And the Egg Foo Young will rock your world.

And way down Manchaca almost into Buda you’ll find The Texican and 1626 Café. The former is an excellent Mexican restaurant (I adore the cabrito and the shrimp flautas) while the latter uses hand-pounded beef for their excellent burgers. Nice pizza bar as well.

There’s also a brand new Carino’s Italian Grill down at the end of Slaughter near I-35 that’s showcasing their new menu. Carino’s is a chef-driven chain that is head and shoulders above the other Italian chains.

Near Circle C you have Mangieri’s, a neat little Pizza/Italian joint on Escarpment at Slaughter. This place dishes up some damn good pizza with east-coast sensibilities. Further down Slaughter, you have the inimitable Galaxy Café which dishes up great breakfast/brunch fare and has a lot tasty sandwiches and salads. Also in that same center, Cypress, a very decent Cajun restaurant and Maudie’s tex-mex. Further down Brodie lies Evangeline Café, probably my favorite Cajun food in the area. Curtis Clark is a legitimate coon-ass and his etouffee is the bomb!

And new on 290 is an Italian buffet called Cannoli Joe’s. The theme is the buffet line is supposed to resemble a street in Italy. The price points are reasonable and the food is actually very good: all custom made. And across the street is Estanica Churrascaria, a Brazilian BBQ modeled after the famous Fogo de Chao. The meats are carved off skewers tableside and the flavors at this place are sensational. Very reasonable prices for the quality and quantity of the food as well.

Well, that should be enough to get you started. Happy tastings and don’t forget to look up the owner or manager and tell them that we sent you.

Top Five Things That Restaurants Do that Irritate Me

1. Tell me you’re “slammed” when I call to make a reservation. As the customer, I could care less if you’re slammed. I just want a table. And I want to come away with the impression that you are genuinely interested in somehow helping me to get one.
2. Ethnic restaurants that have someone answering the phone who can’t speak English. This continues to astound me. It would be reasonable to assume here in Austin that the majority of your clientele is gong to be English-speaking. So put someone on the phone who does not present an immediate roadblock to communication!
3. Servers who are not conversant with the various menu offerings. Most restaurant customers spend less than two minutes looking at the menu. They often rely on their server for advice about a selection. So when the server replies, “I haven’t tried that,” or worse, “They don’t let us try the food,” it’s an immediate turnoff. Even worse. I once went into Earl Campbell’s BBQ joint on 6th St. and asked the waiter for a recommendation. “Well, I’m a vegan,” was the reply. ARRRRGGGGHHHH!
4. Having the server rattle off a dozen “specials” while the customers sit there trying to digest it all. There’s a new tech innovation in case you haven’t heard. It’s called a laser printer. Instead of making the poor server regurgitate an endless list of specials, why not just print out the day’s specials and attach them to the menu? This will speed up the process and will eliminate questions like, “What was that fourth special you mentioned?”
5. Menus that are too dense and way too long. I agree with Anthony Bourdain on this. Give me a restaurant where the chef has some dishes that he/she is really passionate about and feels great about. I want to know that I am getting the very best this craftsperson has to offer. I don’t need to choose from 28 salads (a la the Cheesecake Factory). I went into Uncle Billy’s BBQ the other day and the menu was very brief and to the point. Worked for me.