So Yelp has release a Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. list. Their ratings, being based on actual diners, are very different than high-end restaurant critics, and include six places around Austin:
Quick thoughts:
By comparison, only one place made the cut in Houston, and none in Dallas…
(Cross-posted to The Logbook of the Saturday Dining Conspiracy.)
Imperia
310 Colorado St. (Austin, 78701)
(512) 472-6770
We’d been hearing good things about Imperia for quite a while, so we thought they were a good choice for the first SDC of 2014.
It lived up to the hype.
Imperia serves up pan-Asian fusion cuisine that draws equally from Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines (and probably a few others as well) in an attractive, understated space in the warehouse district (or what used to be called the warehouse district; they keep changing names and I don’t think there are any warehouses left). There’s a bar, but it doesn’t seem overemphasized the way it does in other downtown establishments.
We started off with the pork belly steamed buns, which were delicious but definitely smaller than the steamed buns you get at the average dim sum restaurant. The calamari was very good, with a nicely light batter, but not enough to eclipse perennial champion The Clay Pit. For sushi, we picked something that stretched the definition:”The Hot Mess,” which the menu described as “Snow crab and shrimp atop a honey and avocado roll. Topped with Dynomite [sic] sauce and Kochijyan butter,” to which I can only add “what they said.” The individual portions were very tasty and came out in an escargot dish. (I also had two pieces of unagi, which were fine but undersized.)
For my entree I had “Kinoko to Suteki,” which is a very savory steak and mushroom dish; the portions could have been a bit bigger, but it was in-line with downtown Asian fusion expectations. I also like the portion of Pad-Thai Dwight and I spilt.
I can’t find an online listing for the dessert I had, which involved creme brulee, ice cream, caramel sauce and decadence. Service was pretty attentive.
We ended up getting several entrees and appetizers, so the bill was substantial: more than $150 for three people including tax and tip. You’d be hard-pressed to get an appetizer, meal and drink for under $20, but you could probably do it for around $30. Just keep in mind that you’re not paying for Chinese food, you’re paying for a downtown Asian fusion restaurant, and adjust your expectations accordingly. (The biggest difference between Imperia and the late, unlamented Austin location of Roy’s is value. Though we ended up spending about as much at both places, we didn’t feel like we were being ripped off, and we didn’t leave still hungry.)
Besides price, the biggest problem with Imperia is their location in the warehouse district downtown. Unless you want to use the valet parking, there’s a good chance you’ll have to park several blocks away (I found a metered space on Republic Square). But Imperia is well worth the hassle, either for special occasions or if you already live downtown.
(This review will also appear on The Logbook of the Saturday Dining Conspiracy.)
Don Webb alerted me to this Finnish bread ad which is so depressingly grim that it’s hilarious:
Translation to the only dialog: “Well are you hungry or not?”
On Don’s Facebook page, Marc Laidlaw suggested that the father and son might be the same actors who were in Rare Exports, and I think he might be right.
I worked with a Finn once, and he said Finnish National Health care didn’t bother with such frivolities as Novocaine when they were drilling your teeth when he was growing up. No wonder they kicked the Soviet Union’s ass in the winter war…
(Here’s a restaurant review in route to its place on http://www.sdclog.net/.)
Prima Pizza Pasta
6001 W Parmer Ln (the same corner as the HEB)
258-5700
Once upon a time, this space was a CiCi’s pizza. And it closed. How hard can it be to make a profit at a pizza place when your primary ingredient is cardboard?
So I was somewhat skeptical when new pizza place went in there. Though situated at a semi-major intersection at Parmer and McNeil, it’s as far as you can get from the center’s anchor store (HEB) and still be in the same center. So how good could their chances be?
After more than a year: So far, so good. It really helps when you serve excellent pizza.
Things started off right with the garlic cheese bread, which was excellent; a fellow diner said it was better than that served at Reale’s, which is high praise indeed. Also good were the free rolls. (Alas, the calimari remains nothing to write home about.)
The pizza itself remains excellent, an exemplary example of the new York style soft thin-crust pizza; I’d have to compare it back-to-back with Reale’s to see which I prefer. In fact, I like the pizza so much that I frequently pick up a slice or two on Fridays. At some point I also want to try some of the non-pizza dishes, which have received a fair amount of praise from fellow diners. And the service from our waitress was also excellent, with many an preemptive soft-drink refill.
If you like pizza and live anywhere north, you should definitely make an effort to check out Prima. So far they seem to have remained undiscovered, and have plenty of uncrowded seating to enjoy some delicious Italian food.
“For I am the way, and the truth, and the life, and no one comes unto the McNuggets but through me.”
There are many things that are pointless, and some that are awesome.
Here’s something that’s both:
Pointless: Because there’s absolutely no practical point in having your food delivered by quadrocopter if your waitress has to stand there and guide the Quadrocopter to your table using an iPad.
Awesome: Because they’re still flying food to your table in a quadrocopter.
I may have to eat there when I’m in London for Worldcon next year…
Just as I did last year, I bring you a public service announcement from William Shatner: try not to set yourself on fire while frying a turkey:
For those with low Shatner thresholds, the advice is:
If you’re going to fry a turkey, this is pretty sound advice.
And now, new for this year: The remix!
And remember: It can even happen to professionals, as last year Sambet’s Cajun Cafe managed to burn themselves down frying turkeys.
“I understand what all those word mean individually, but together in the same sentence they don’t make any sense!”
Sometimes you buy something just so that later you can prove to people it exists.
This is one of those times.
Feast your eyes on this:
I thought they might be white chocolate covered Pringles. But no, they’re regular Pringles with a hint of…white chocolate peppermint. It’s actually pretty subtle. But I’m not sure I want my mass produced pressed potato chips to be “subtle.”
If you want to try them, you should probably pick them up, as I doubt you’ll see them again after this Christmas.
By the way, did you know that Gene Wolfe helped engineer the machine that makes Pringles? Absolutely true. He designed the part that cooks the chips.
From The Austin Post, a venue of which I was previously unaware, comes ridiculously awesome bacon sculptures. Come for the full mech suit and the AK-47, stay for Patrick Bateman’s business card.
(Note: This is a restaurant review that will eventually end up on The Logbook of the Saturday Dining Conspiracy, but since: A.) We’ve pretty much sucked at keep that up to date, and B.) We both have blogs, and, hey, content!, I thought I’d start putting my reviews up in transit to the main SDC pages.)
Chagos Caribbean Cuisine
7301 N Lamar Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78752
(512) 275-6013
http://www.chagos.biz/
Dining Date: March 24, 2012
This is a nice, cheap, hole-in-the-wall restaurant on a stretch (north Lamar between Airport and 183) that has traditionally been hostile to any restaurant not named “Kim Phung.” Although the plantano and yucca chips didn’t grab me, the chicken appetizer was sort of interesting, the salad wasn’t bad, and my Bistec Encebollado was reasonably tasty.
My Tres Leches cake was quite deliciously sweet but undersized. Service was attentive and personal, but they weren’t particularly busy.
If you live nearby, and are in the mood for something both cheap and not bland TexMex, Chagos is worth a try.