Austin Restaurants Finally Plow Through COVID-19 Crisis and Now Can’t Hire Anyone
I was talking to a restaurant owner several weeks ago. The conversation centered around an all too familiar subject – why Austin restaurants have been so short-staffed since early Fall. He told me he’d had difficulty hiring line cooks, servers, and various front-of-the-house positions. These shortages had often led to unplanned early closings and a […]
Rob’s Christmas Dining Memories
You know, at this time of the year I often recall some of our most memorable Christmas dinners at our favorite restaurants in Austin. And there have been some extraordinary ones. Delicious Christmas Day brunches at the Four Seasons. Classic dim sum feasts at Chinatown Westlake and fresh Maine lobsters at McCormick & Schmick’s. But […]
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund: Time for Our Government to Step Up!
As the pandemic devastated local restaurants last year, Congress responded with the creation of The Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The SBA was tasked with distributing the $28.7 billion allocated for eligible restaurants who had been financially impacted by the COVID crisis. And over 300,00 businesses immediately filed applications. Well, bravo to the government for responding in […]
Dining Out in Dripping: A Sampling of Rob’s Recommendations
Dripping Springs has grown from a sleepy country suburb of Austin where restaurant choices were very limited to a vibrant community where the restaurant scene has grown along with the town. Here’s a look at some of my favorites. TILLIE’SLocated on a hilltop overlooking the Hill Country, Tillie’s is an American-style restaurant with a thoughtful […]
Will the Delta Variant Impact Indoor Dining in Austin?
Just when we all thought it was safe to get back in the water, so to speak, the raging Delta variant threatens to once again debilitate our local restaurants and their ability to provide indoor dining. The cruel irony of this surge is that it has struck just as some sense of normalcy has been […]
Why Austin’s Tex Mex Restaurants Are the Best in Texas
In my travels around Texas, I’ve tried many Mexican restaurants, including those that call themselves Tex Mex and I’ve come to the conclusion that Austin Tex Mex joints are at the pantheon of that particular cuisine. Why? Because in the many iterations of Tex Mex that exist, it all comes down to the core essentials: chili […]
Blasts From the Past: Rob’s TV Restaurant Reviews on KVUE and FOX 7
I never set out to do restaurant reviews. I had gotten my PhD at the University of Michigan to enable me to teach at the college level, first at UT Austin and then at California State Long Beach. While I very much enjoyed teaching, it soon became apparent that teaching courses in Broadcasting and Advertising […]
One on One With Joe Cave, Founder of the Pizza Cave: A Renaissance Pizzaiolo
Joe Cave is a Pizzaiolo by trade. Yet as the owner and driving force behind the very popular The Pizza Cave on 290 West (and the last stop on our Pizza Corridor) he is a man of many diverse talents and interests. I finally caught up with him a few weeks ago for this interview RB: […]
More One on One With Hyde Park Bar & Grill’s Bick Brown
Bick Brown is, without question, one of the most creative and dynamic restaurateurs in Austin. He’s been at the helm of the enduringly popular Hyde Park Bar & Grill for 39 years and was involved with the opening of Chuy’s while also opening the highly acclaimed Zoot off Lake Austin Boulevard. RB: Bick, tell me about the […]
