I don't usually re-review restaurants, but I felt like our first experience wasn't necessarily representative of the strengths of the place. We had a party of 8 that included children, and bar service just doesn't work well that way. This time I went by myself and sat at the bar. I was the first one there for lunch. Bratwurst is new on the menu--I had the new Smitty's Braut with truffle fries.
The
brat is a good one, in a different way that most. The bratwurst is
locally made. It has less salt that most brats, which lets the beer
braising flavor come through. It is also softer than most--you won't
get the same "snap" as a store-bought Johnsonville, but that's OK if you
are not expecting it. The fixings on the brat (kraut, grain mustard, and a pretzel bun) were a good complement. The truffle fries were wonderful, even better
than last time if that's possible. The fries were crisp on the outside
and tender on the inside, with a great rich flavor. Their garlic aoli
complements the fries perfectly, no ketchup required. I had a nice amber ale with lunch, but I am not a beer connoisseur so I'll let others carry that discussion.
It's hard to rate the service when you're the only customer, but I felt I was well cared for and had a good dining experience. Definitely a place that will stay on my
radar.
My Yelp Review
Monday, August 27, 2018
Sunday, August 19, 2018
HEB at Gosling and 2920
I am really happy that this HEB went in, it is a great place to shop. But today I wanted to rate it for the prepared deli meal--I sometimes like to eat before I shop. That's not possible at this HEB, because they have no seating, either inside or out. Contrast this with the Kroger at 99 and Holzwarth, with a nice seating area and lots of ready meal options.
I was in a hurry so I went ahead and got a poke bowl and took it out. You can get them custom made by filling out an ingredient form, or take one that is made. This was the first time I have tried a poke bowl. If you haven't tried one, think sushi salad. Mine was a salmon bowl, with cabbage, lettuce, mukimame, avocado and mango, with some sushi sauce for a dressing. Very healthy and filling. Lots of other attractive options as well. But I'm just a little disappointed that there's nowhere to eat their good prepared meals on the spot.
I was in a hurry so I went ahead and got a poke bowl and took it out. You can get them custom made by filling out an ingredient form, or take one that is made. This was the first time I have tried a poke bowl. If you haven't tried one, think sushi salad. Mine was a salmon bowl, with cabbage, lettuce, mukimame, avocado and mango, with some sushi sauce for a dressing. Very healthy and filling. Lots of other attractive options as well. But I'm just a little disappointed that there's nowhere to eat their good prepared meals on the spot.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Tailgator's at Timberwilde
This is the first time I've been to Tailgator's since it was at the 2920 and Kuykendall location. I never got to review it there, so I looked forward to my lunch at the new location (in the Timberwilde center where McArdle's used to be) on a Friday. It was pretty busy in there for a weekday, so I'd say they are doing OK. The service is casual, you pick your own place to sit. I chose the bar.
I started off with some Gator Bites. Alligator is usually a novelty item on a menu--I've had it a few times and it tends to come out like dry chicken. Tailgator's actually makes the novelty worth eating. It has a wonderfully crunchy outside, and is tender enough inside. It comes with a spicy mustard sauce that complements the crunch well. I liked them a lot. You can get gator as a protein in other items as well, it's obvious they are confident about it.
For the meal I got a Bayou Po'boy with house chips. I absolutely love house chips, just about no matter how they are done, but these are done quite well. They are thick and crunchy, done to a uniform brown. Definitely try them. The sandwich was an overall good but interesting experience. The combination of Andouille sausage, chicken breast, grilled onions, cheddar cheese and mustard is unusual. Overall I'd say it worked--the chicken was flavorful and tender, which is always the main challenge--but there were some construction issues. The cheese was kind of all in one spot. I like that they try things but would probably order something different the next time.
The atmosphere is standard sports bar, unremarkable but there's plenty of TVs and good sight lines for them. They run viral videos on one TV for non-sports fans which is fun. The rest rooms were reasonably clean and ready during a busy time.
The main reason for marking it down at all would be the slight food issues above, but mainly the service. My experience was fine, I was served politely, but it was overall pretty slow. I was sitting at the bar so was hard to miss, but others complain of being ignored, which can happen in a seat-yourself place.
I didn't have a beer this time but it looks to be a real strength. They had an impressive set of local and national craft beers on tap.
Overall, while it isn't perfect it's quite good, and deserves to make it, so I hope they hang in there.
My Yelp Review
I started off with some Gator Bites. Alligator is usually a novelty item on a menu--I've had it a few times and it tends to come out like dry chicken. Tailgator's actually makes the novelty worth eating. It has a wonderfully crunchy outside, and is tender enough inside. It comes with a spicy mustard sauce that complements the crunch well. I liked them a lot. You can get gator as a protein in other items as well, it's obvious they are confident about it.
For the meal I got a Bayou Po'boy with house chips. I absolutely love house chips, just about no matter how they are done, but these are done quite well. They are thick and crunchy, done to a uniform brown. Definitely try them. The sandwich was an overall good but interesting experience. The combination of Andouille sausage, chicken breast, grilled onions, cheddar cheese and mustard is unusual. Overall I'd say it worked--the chicken was flavorful and tender, which is always the main challenge--but there were some construction issues. The cheese was kind of all in one spot. I like that they try things but would probably order something different the next time.
The atmosphere is standard sports bar, unremarkable but there's plenty of TVs and good sight lines for them. They run viral videos on one TV for non-sports fans which is fun. The rest rooms were reasonably clean and ready during a busy time.
The main reason for marking it down at all would be the slight food issues above, but mainly the service. My experience was fine, I was served politely, but it was overall pretty slow. I was sitting at the bar so was hard to miss, but others complain of being ignored, which can happen in a seat-yourself place.
I didn't have a beer this time but it looks to be a real strength. They had an impressive set of local and national craft beers on tap.
Overall, while it isn't perfect it's quite good, and deserves to make it, so I hope they hang in there.
My Yelp Review
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Vero Italian Kitchen
Vero has been in our neighborhood
for about 3 years, and we finally got around to trying it the other
night. It's all very basic Italian food and counter service, so the
atmosphere is laid back. We all got our favorites--spaghetti and
meatballs, alfredo cheese pizza, veggie pizza, and ravioli, with a
garlic bread appetizer. We got garlic bread with our meals, so I
probably would not have gotten the appetizer if I'd known that.
What stands out about Vero is their commitment to pleasing the customer. Our first try at ordering got us a cheese pizza with marinara instead of alfredo. The owner was there, and he kindly got us a new pizza with alfredo, and then threw in dessert. If you go there you can be confident you will be treated well, which is important.
The food itself is more OK-competent than outstanding. The garlic bread has a couple of lines of under-cooked dough running through it that bring down an otherwise tasty side. All the food is pretty light on seasoning, though my kids enjoyed it very much. We liked the Ooey-Gooey chocolate cookie with ice cream, it's a great sweet dish to share. I appreciated the homemade tiramisu, it was well-presented and had very good coffee flavor.
The atmosphere inside is very nice, mostly dark wood, and quite clean. The bench seats along the entrance have outlets if you look for them. The restrooms are clean and functional. In all ways they pay attention to detail for customer comfort.
Overall I have no trouble recommending it for a family lunch or dinner.
My Yelp Review
What stands out about Vero is their commitment to pleasing the customer. Our first try at ordering got us a cheese pizza with marinara instead of alfredo. The owner was there, and he kindly got us a new pizza with alfredo, and then threw in dessert. If you go there you can be confident you will be treated well, which is important.
The food itself is more OK-competent than outstanding. The garlic bread has a couple of lines of under-cooked dough running through it that bring down an otherwise tasty side. All the food is pretty light on seasoning, though my kids enjoyed it very much. We liked the Ooey-Gooey chocolate cookie with ice cream, it's a great sweet dish to share. I appreciated the homemade tiramisu, it was well-presented and had very good coffee flavor.
The atmosphere inside is very nice, mostly dark wood, and quite clean. The bench seats along the entrance have outlets if you look for them. The restrooms are clean and functional. In all ways they pay attention to detail for customer comfort.
Overall I have no trouble recommending it for a family lunch or dinner.
My Yelp Review
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