Kyle "The Daily" B.'s Profile

The Yelp prompt for a two-star review says it best: "Meh."

The vibe is cool, but this is another of those "there are SO many better options if this is what you're hungry for" spots in Austin.  There's better food and stiffer margaritas elsewhere friends.  

I'd start with Vivo over in East Austin, but Polvos and Curras are also better calls to scratch that Mexican food itch ahead of Gueros.

Make no mistake, the tacos are 5-star.

I'm giving the location 4 stars, b/c it's just a little too small, and nowhere near as cool as the trailer park vibe.

So consider this review my way of saying that, if you can make the drive another mile or two down S. 1st, hit the Torchy's at the trailer park.

But if you can't, just eat at Torchy's wherever you can get it. Their Democrat (barbacoa shredded beef), Trailer Park (fried chicken -- make sure to get it "trashy", eg w/ queso) and Fried Avocado tacos are as good as any in town.

You just can't beat The Salt Lick.  And if you're going to do it, you have to do it right and drive out to Driftwood for the OG classic.

I wish I could say I've sampled more of Texas's BBQ, but I haven't.  So I won't try to compare Salt Lick to all the other greats.  I'll just say that anyone I've visited The Salt Lick with has had nothing short of a religious experience.  Not most -- I'm talking batting 1.000 here people.

If you haven't been, make sure you get out there.  ASAP.  And make sure to bring along a sixer (or a case) to take advantage of the BYOB policy.

The only hesitation I have in giving those 5 stars are the beverages -- tasty, but always a little weak on the sauce. Other than that, my experience has been good.  The service doesn't knock it out of the park, but the food is excellent and the atmosphere is great (I know, from the outside it looks like it's trying too hard for Austin -- but inside, it manages to deliver a classy but low-key feel that totally works).

I haven't had a bad dish yet, so I won't go into detail on every item I've tried, I'll just leave it at this -- Berkshire Pork Belly Carnitas.

If you're a fan of carnitas, do NOT miss these.  So good, just talking about them is making me sweat.  And it's 40 degrees out right now.

For the record, my baseline for a good Whataburger would be about a 2.5-3, depending on the little details like cleanliness and service, which are typically good to great in my experiences.

That being said, this is by far the worst Whataburger in town.

Orders take 2-3x as long as they do at any other location.  The people always seemed hugely burdened to have to help you. And food that's consistenly not as good as it is at other spots.

Avoid this location at all costs.

Ok, so there's two main reasons I can't go higher than two stars here:

1.) In a town filled with great Mexican food, you should NOT be wasting your time here unless you're in a huge hurry for a show at Stubbs and you don't feel like eating at Stubbs. The place is clean, the food isn't inedible -- it's just way down the list of potential Mexican-themed options in ATX.  

2.) We had one classically bad night of service, and in the midst of it, caught attitude from one of the other servers.  Lose our ticket, delay our food, make us miss the start of a show AND make us feel like it's OUR fault.

Adios, Jaime.

Everything I've had (PB&J, Chocolate+Coconut, Strawberry Shortcake) has been excellent.  My only complaint would be lack of a great chocolate cake donut.

But other than that, everything I've had to date leaves me hungry for more.  Very dangerous place to live near, if you're not trying to put on 65 pounds for a film role as a fat guy.

If there's a better brunch in Austin, I haven't had it.  Only reason I hold back on the 5-stars is that the dinners I've had have been less-than-perfect...especially some overdressed salads that were a disappointment.

That being said, let's get back to brunch.  The eggs benedict w/ steak & egg migas are epic, and the carrot cake french toast is heavenly.  That's really all you NEED to know.

Every special I've ever had at brunch is great too...as are the bloody marys with Tito's infused with peppers/jalepenos.

Might have to go on Saturday -- all this talk has made me hungry yet again.

Only had the mini-tacos (and they are, indeed, quite mini) -- carnitas and chicken -- but they were most definitely delicious.

The beers are great.  The interior design is awesome. The food is good.

Unfortunately, the service I experienced was as BAD as the beers, interior and food is good.  

(1) They seated us, then proceeded to move us five minutes later (after taking our drink order) b/c they needed our table for a larger party.  But unlike any normal restaurant, who would ask you politely and offer some token of appreciation for failing miserably at their job of holding a reservation properly, they just told us they were moving us and didn't offer anything in return.  Strike one.

(2) They managed to bring my food 40 minutes after the rest of my party's.  One of our dinner party, who had to leave for a show she was in, was literally fed and gone by the time my food finally arrived at the table.  And all the while, there wasn't even that much in the way of apologies....just sort of a "umm, the kitchen screwed up...what did you order again?" and no assurance that I wouldn't have to pay to eat half an hour after everyone I was with (or any offer of snacks or drinks to help make up for the error)

(3) When all was said and done, they comped the food that came 40 minutes late (only after I told them I had no intention of paying to have my group of friends watch me eat alone) and that was it.  No "hey, let us buy you a drink", no "hey, sorry your wife ate a cold meal b/c she waited for your plate to arrive".  

If you don't mind shitty, amateurish service that doesn't have the first clue how to remedy the kind of inevitable mistakes that happen at restaurants, roll the dice and give Spitzer's a try.

(Sad part for them is -- I loved their beers, and thought the food was good for the price, as did the rest of my party.  But b/c of how horribly this was all handled, none of our group (or the party of 10 next to us who witnessed the amateur hour) will ever return.  In other words, they managed to turn a potentially vocal advocate, who spends a lot of money on corporate dinners, into a pissed-off dude who will make sure to tell everyone he knows to stay the hell away.  Well played Spitzers)