I’ve just got back working at my employer’s offices in Austin, Texas. I didn’t do much siteseeing this time as I’d seen most of the city last time. Instead, I thought I’d write up brief reviews of some of the restaurants I ate in.
Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant
Some work colleagues and I went here for lunch one day. The restaurant was very busy when we arrived so we had to take a table outside. Although it was sunny there was quite a breeze. We were sitting in the shade of a tree and it felt quite chilly; I wished that I brought my coat with me.
I chose the Steak Burrito which turned out to be huge with an equally large amount of rice and beans. It was excellent.
Iron Cactus
That evening I was invited to dinner with some colleagues. We went to the North Austin branch of Iron Cactus, handily located next to the hotel I was staying in. I wanted to order the crab cakes for starters but they didn’t have any. Instead, I decided on the Guacamole which the waitress prepared from scratch at the table. I’m sure it was fresh!
The ordering system at Iron Cactus was sightly strange as the waitress took what we wanted for starters and walked off. The order for the main course was taken after we’d finished the starters. This turned out to be quite fortunate as by the time I’d finished the guacamole I was full. I shouldn’t have had such a large lunch!
I picked at the remains of my starters whilst the others had their main course. We all decided that we were too full for desert. I know from visiting Iron Cactus on my previous trip to Austin that I’d missed out on an excellent meal, but I was really too stuffed from lunch to enjoy it.
The Cheesecake Factory
For lunch on Saturday in the weekend that I was in Austin I went to the Cheesecake Factory restaurant in the Arboretum. Although its name suggests that it only does deserts, the Cheesecake factory is a full restaurant. I had the Cuban Sandwich and, of course, a slice of strawberry cheesecake for afters.
Whilst the dinner was very nice with ample sized portions I did think the Cheesecake factory was quiet expensive. It was certainly the only place in Austin that I didn’t think was cheap. They did serve a very nice cheesecake though!
Rudy’s Country Store
Towards the end of my trip I went with some work colleges to a branch of Rudy’s Country Store for lunch. My initial impression was that it was a dive, but I quickly realised that it was really faux-dive. There was a large queue waiting at the counter so the place must be popular.
I had a moist brisket sandwich, a huge pickled gherkin, a tub of coleslaw and another tub of creamed sweetcorn and a large glass of Coke. All of this cost just $9.83 which I thought was excellent value.
North By Northwest
On my last night I thought I’d push the boat out and and have dinner at North by Northwest which is located next to the Iron Cactus. I’d had several meals there on my previous trip and was looking forward to eating there.
North by Northwest is a brewery restaurant that brews a selection of beers. I thought about having their sampler of all of their beers but I wasn’t sure how much I’d end up having to drink. I settled on a glass of their wheat beer which was very good; I had a second glass later.
For starters I had the scallops wrapped in bacon. I hadn’t had scallops for a while and fancied something different. I realised why I hadn’t eaten scallops for a while; there’s not much to them!
For the main course I had the Beef Tenderloin. When asked how I wanted it I said “rare”, expecting “English rare” which is closer to medium. I really got rare and it was lovely and juicy, even perhaps a bit underdone.
For desert I had a cheesecake. This was certainly the best course of the three. Whilst I may have been disappointed by this visit to North by Northwest I’d certainly go back. I’d just choose something different from the menu.
Dallas – Fort Worth Airport
Finally, I had the nicest banana split in a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlour whilst I waited for my flight back to the UK. Do try one if you’ve got some time to kill in Terminal D.