iPic

3225 Amy Donovan Plaza Austin, TX 78758 (512) 568-3400

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One of the great American traditions has long been that of dinner and a movie. Sorry Monsieur Truffaut, but this is our deal! And there have been variations on the theme: some firms, with varying degrees of success, attempt to offer the dinner and the movie in the same venue. We are at one such location today called iPic at the Domain.

There can be no denying the level of comfort a moviegoer is afforded at iPic. Reclining loungers and pillows create an atmosphere that can be addicting. But the food is the next key to the comfort puzzle. Can it work in a low light environment and how does it taste?

Dining in the dark deprives you of one of your key senses and subtly alters the way food can taste. So to work the flavors have to pop and be readily distinguishable. And for the most part at iPic, that’s the case. I like the Thai Coconut Shrimp. They’re easy to eat, and actually quite fresh and tasty with great texture. A salad in the dark could be problematic. But not the Caesar Romaine Spears. This is a hands-only Caesar salad with the crisp romaine spears lining the rim of the bowl with the dressing at the bottom. Dip in a spear and munch away. Kudos to whoever came up with this one. The Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls rolls are good, but I thought there was a bit too much chicken in each roll causing it to be dryer than necessary. I’ve had no such problem with the Crispy Calamari “Steak”. The wasabi dipping sauce is the perfect complement for me and I love the subtle flavors of the squid.

They do interesting little slider trios at iPic and I particularly like the Portabello Mushrooms with roasted red pepper and goat cheese along with roasted garlic aioli on a brioche bun. The Blackened Mahi Mahi Trio is also another very good idea. What’s not to like about blackened mahi mahi with a jalapeno pepper jelly. And again, very easy to find and eat.

The Flatbread pizzas at iPic are another good choice for low light munching. I tried the Pepperoni and Sausage on my last visit and the flavors were spot-on. Most importantly, the texture was perfect. You could pick up a slice without it drooping in half, making the tasting process very accommodating. I had the Four Cheese pizza on another visit and that too was pretty good. I’d have no trouble recommending it.

Chef Casey does a very serviceable Panini as well. I tried the Smoked Turkey, Brie and Apple Butter Panini on my last visit and it was moist with a crunchy texture. Nice flavor components as well. And the accompanying truffle French fries were tasty and crispy and stayed that way for the duration. We also tried the beer battered Fish and Chips. The taste and texture was really quite impressive: they were very well cooked. But they were just too big. Cut each one in half and you’ve got the problem solved.

The desserts are most tempting at iPic. I tried the Red Velvet Bread Pudding. It was as advertised, absolutely decadent. We also tried the Death by Chocolate, which was advertised as moist, but came up a little bit short of that. Still, a nice flavor profile.

But with a few minor hiccups as noted, dinner and a movie really works at iPic. I’m Rob Balon dining out at iPic at the Domain. And now, let the show begin!

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