Jaime "way too colorful" M.'s Profile

My mental list of places where it would be extraordinarily difficult to keep up my vegetarian ways has always included Louisiana. Not because I'd be tempted by the mud bugs, possum kabobs and gator steaks, or whatever it is they eat there, but because I just don't see there being many vegetarian options available.

Well, I've heard that Evangeline might not be tops for authenticity, but I'm no expert, and frankly that sort of thing doesn't matter much to me if it means there's something I can eat!

My avocado po' boy was deliciously indulgent, especially with a side of excellent fries. I don't know what comes on a typical po' boy, but this one was loaded down with vegetables (including that crazy fried avocado), cheese and their trademark Evangeline sauce.

Lunch prices (I believe it's $6.50 for a po' boy combo) aren't half-bad, either, for an enormous meal.

I could do without the Louisiana homage-kitsch, but if that's your thing, they've got it in spades. And I'll admit, it does give it a memorably unusual atmosphere for an Austin strip-mall joint.

Ain't no party like a doughnut party, trust me.
And I now can truly say there is nothing like a Yelp doughnut party to wake a woman up on a Saturday morning!

We are an ambitious bunch, and thus we could not go gently into this grand adventure. Doughnuts galore, doughnuts aplenty, doughnuts for everybody. If you like fried dough, this place is for you -- and our celebration would have been for you, if you'd shown up (you couldn't ask for a better group to enjoy doughnuts with!).

My report card for the doughnuts our sizable group shared:

Mama's Cake (chocolate and cake batter): sweet, great texture, a classic to share five ways -- the cake batter is RICH; Stars: 4

Dirty Berry (chocolate and strawberries): Good, a bit cloying, would make a terrific dessert or a terrible breakfast; I could see it on the dessert menu at one of those upscale comfort food joints; Stars: 3 1/2 (hey, it's my review and in my reviews, we give 1/2 stars)

Slow Burn (cream cheese frosting and habanero jelly): Great mix of sweet and spicy for a clever Austiny treat; I'd probably pick regular cream cheese over the cream cheese frosting if this were my creation and/or I weren't sampling a bevy of treats at once, but it definitely doesn't detract from the experience much; Stars: 4 1/2

Naughty & Nice (cinnamon-sugar with honey butter): This is a NICE doughnut for classic doughnut lovers, reminds me of those rare childhood doughnut Sundays when we'd get a dozen from the nearest shop and the cinnamon ones were the best -- but this is better; the honey butter makes me feel a little excessively decadent, though; Stars: 5

Peach pie (I believe that's the name -- it seems to be a limited time offering -- has peaches and crumbly topping): Impressive take on the common peach pie/cobbler concept -- better than the common cobbler, even; a bit too heavy overall, but might make a great treat for a day when you're skipping dinner; Stars: 4

Margaritaville: (key lime goo with green sprinkles): the most artificial-tasting doughnut to me -- while they're all decadent, the green sprinkles and the gooiness were just too much -- though it gets props for not being overwhelmingly sweet; Stars: 2 1/2

Pecan cinnamon roll (cream cheese frosting, brown sugar cinnamon glaze and pecan bits): This creation was made up by Yelper Carl F. and Total Woman in association with the Gourdough's chef, and I truly think it ought to be on the regular menu, despite its super-sweetness -- the flavors just work so well together; Stars: 4 1/2

The meat eaters had the Mother Clucker (fried chicken and honey butter); Flying Pig (bacon-maple) and Gobble Gobble (a Thanksgiving thing with turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes and gravy). Meat on a doughnut? Seriously? Too much for me, but everyone who partook enjoyed themselves.

Oh, AND we had Champagne, which in my opinion went especially well with the chocolatey creations. It's not exactly on the Gourdough's menu, but an ingenious Yelper definitely put the icing on the proverbial doughnut with that contribution!

Will I be back? I do not want to say yes, but I have a feeling I'll find myself drifting this way sooner than my expanding belly would like!

Saturday at the OK Buffet:
-- Plenty of fresh vegetarian options
-- Weird, flavorless bread
-- About 5 people in there besides us
-- Loud music videos
-- Friendly older fellow monitoring the place
-- Mislabeled dishes aplenty

Food highlights:
-- Chopped cucumber salad (better salad = one with smaller cucumber chunks)
-- Heavily seasoned falafel
-- Heavily stewed eggplant

Food ehs:
-- Tabouli that's almost all parsley
-- Vinegary bean salad
-- Dips
-- Baklava that tasted like Red Hots candies

Foods to avoid:
-- Bread
-- Half mushy, half crunchy cauliflower
-- Lentil and onion rice (maybe it's just not my style)
-- Spinach from a can with cheese

It looks like a buffet, it quacks like a buffet. It must be a buffet.

And while there were some good dishes, I can get a better Mediterranean meal in Austin for under $12 (weekend price) elsewhere. I'd give it another try in a busier time slot and hope for some fresher and more diverse options.

Upscale casual done perfectly.
For a weekday dinner date, the price is right, the atmosphere is spot-on and the food is fantastic without even a hint of fussiness.

We both began with the brie tomato soup, which could have used a slight kick, but I always think that of tomato soups -- I just added a touch of pepper and was happy with the rich brie flavor and true tomato goodness. The bread didn't stun me on its own, but it was definitely well-made.

My stunningly fresh basil, tomato and mozzarella with pesto sandwich on focaccia was just filling enough with the perfectly dressed side of fresh, diverse greens. His roasted veggie pizza was still getting compliments for days afterward (and that's unusual, trust me!).

Our shared side of fries wasn't getting any props from me when it arrived on the table -- I tend to like steak fries, not skinnies -- but once I popped one in my mouth, it won me over. Lovely crispiness and not at all heavy-feeling, a feat for fries. I am a fan of neither chipotle nor mayo, so the aoli wasn't my style, but if you like those flavors, the dipping sauce would be your ticket. We barely dented the huge pile of frites, saving the rest for the next day.

They were out of all but two (decent-sounding) desserts, which could have knocked 'em down a notch, but too full for dessert, we went on our merry way.

Next time, dessert and cocktails.

No thank you.

I am sorry that I suggested this place for lunch today. I rarely say something like that, but this meal was all-around disappointing.
It was my third visit to Cuatros and almost certainly my last meal there.

First time I came, I had a veggie burger with sweet potato fries and a drink. The burger was utter mush and the fries not so good, and the service was glacial, but it was right around when they first opened, and the queso and chips, when we got them, were decent, so I didn't write it off.

Second time was just for drinks. It was a huge group, so the relatively scattershot service was excusable because I still got my beer and had a good time. I'd try it again for a drinks-and-chips get-together.

Today was a weekday afternoon lunch for two. When we ordered, our waiter said it'd be "five to 10 minutes" before we got our food, and even though we didn't ask how long it'd be, I was impressed that he offered up such a quick turnaround estimate.

Fifteen or 20 minutes later, we got our food dropped off, and unfortunately the waiter didn't stick around for a half-second, because I knew right away I had the wrong food.

Luckily the erroneous dish was still something I could eat. I was prepared to tell him of the mistake when he came back by, but unfortunately I was almost done eating by the time he returned, 20 or more minutes later.

I'll give due credit to him for immediately offering to give me the correct order (in a to-go box, no less), but he said it'd be out within 10 minutes and it took more like 20, once again. (And no, I did not ask for free food outright, and yes, we did pay for my first entree.)

Our sides were awful. The beans were crusty-looking and sour-tasting, not at all pleasant -- I could only stomach a nibble, and I love black beans like nothing else. The rice was oddly textured, over-seasoned and salted, and just plain not good to me, though he liked his enough to nibble at it.

My entree (the first one) was pretty good, if not incredibly filling -- finely diced squash and cheese were the dominant ingredients, and neither was plentiful -- and the parsley that topped the tacos was wildly out of place. Cilantro would have made much more sense.

I saved my second entree (mushroom tacos) for dinner, and it was just gross -- I ended up getting something else to eat because I couldn't try another bite. The 'ubiquitous sauce' is some kind of funky take on thousand island, not even close to good. The mushrooms were cooked to rubbery, and the accompanying flavors just didn't blend well on the tongue. Rice and beans were no better reheated than they were the first time.

Pass, please.

Pizza is top-5-in-town good! The rest is simply OK.

Skip the pasta dishes -- when pasta makes up that much of the menu and is that underwhelming, I can't help but downgrade a place.

My pesto pasta yesterday was so bland I was ready to give up after a few bites, but with a liberal dousing of black pepper, red pepper and Parmesan and a sprinkle of salt (if you read my reviews, you'll note that I complain regularly about food being way too salty, so that's a rare thing for me), it became edible.

I like that they have patio seating, but with all their attempts to block the weather from their patrons, it's beginning to look a bit ramshackle and sloppy. The interior ambiance is nothing to brag about, either -- at those prices I'm not a fan of the counter ordering system, I guess.

As I asked last night: Who on earth would buy one of their T-shirts? If the answer is you, they seem to have a huge stock available. Enjoy!

I'll certainly be back for the pizza, maybe for the dessert, but I've decided this falls in the 3- to 4-star range as a whole.

Funky-grungy. Just the way I like my dive!

On a Sunday night it was relatively uncrowded, which I liked because we weren't exactly there to mingle. We had to talk loudly at times, but for the most part were able to enjoy the dimly lit, eclectic space while playing iPhone pop culture trivia (we're pretty dang geeky) and having plenty of room for our pizza and drinks.

The pizza was sufficient if not amazing. The Greek had feta, tomato, and olives, which were disappointing (canned). Crust was just not that stunning, a little floury but definitely not overcooked (I'm one of those who don't love too much char on my crust). However, we were pretty hungry and ended up eating most of a pie between us, so it certainly wasn't anything to sneeze at. Better than average bar pizza.

Blue Moons kept on coming, which kept me happy.

Just the sort of museum a city like Dallas should have. While I didn't find many blow-me-away pieces, the whole collection is impressive in scope and size.

We couldn't see every last thing because the museum closed two hours after we arrived, but what we did see was enjoyable and a great survey of international art. Aside from a rather awkward wing of British decor, the flow and allotment of space impressed me.

I'd definitely go back for traveling exhibits in the future and to get a better look at the whole place. Be aware that it's $10 per adult for admission, plus $10 to park, so it can make for an expensive couple of hours.

We'll call this one a 3.4. Not the creme de la creme, but good company and a nice patio even on a rainy day.

Eh:
Whiny kids all around
Watery omelet
People we were meeting had to wait good while, we had to wait a few minutes

Yay:
The bathroom smelled like blueberry pancakes
Everyone else liked their food
Free pumpkin bread was good

I'm a sucker for well-thought-out comfort-modern design. Aloft had me from the start on that front. Pretty cool-looking joint.

I'm also a sucker for a little bit of luxury. Aloft isn't exactly the Ritz-Carlton (ha! like I've ever been in a Ritz!), but it's definitely a leap up from a Days Inn (ha! like I've ever stayed in a Days Inn ... in downtown Dallas), and that's enough to make me happy!

I could do without the "aloha" every time you walk past the desk, but other than the so-new-you're-afraid-to-break-everything feeling, this is a nice space. We played a couple games of pool on the table downstairs and despite being pretty much the only ones around (no one at the bar or small cafe(teria?) area, it was easy to relax.

Our room had a nice shower, a comfy bed and a big ol' TV we couldn't quite figure out how to turn on in one simple move but eventually did work.

It was super quiet until 8:30 a.m. when a ROARING JACKHAMMER started four stories below us in the parking lot. Not that I'd expect that to be a regular occurrence, but for people who'd been up fairly late, it was jarring and obnoxious!