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2000 Guadalupe St
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 480-0057

Hai Ky Cafe  

Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhoods: The Drag, West Campus, University of Texas

2.0 star rating
Update - 4/3/2012 21 Check-ins Here
Hey Hai Ky - this regular customer will not be returning to your establishment.

I'm a semi-weekly regular at this Hai Ky location - at the time of this writing I'm the "Duke" on Yelp with 21 checkins.

So here's my problem - your Tuesday night crew is costing you business. On two different occasions I came in around 9pm and was told that I could only order for take-out. I find this kinda odd because the posted closing hours are 10pm. I've come in plenty of times around 9pm on other days of the week and been seated, served, eaten and been out the door before closing time at 10pm.

Also - I totally understand that at 9:45 or even 9:30 it would be reasonable not to seat any more customers in the dining room, but ONLY if this is consistent and is posted as restaurant policy.

This last time it was 9:10pm and the same staff person as before said I could only order take out and THEN it would be at least 30 minutes before I would get food. Apparently they were very backed up in the kitchen? The restaurant was barely half-full. If you're crew is that far in the weeds with a half-full house, someone is doing something wrong.

Here's my issue - I go to Hai Ky specifically because they are open until 10pm (these are your posted hours). I drive across town and then arrive well before closing time to be told I can't sit down and have a meal. Not cool.

If there is a standard "take-out only after 9pm" policy - then great - Post that on the front door and I will know. If it's just because the Tuesday night crew can't handle the load - then figure out where the problem is and fix it.

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2 Previous Reviews: Hide »

  • 4.0 star rating
    2/14/2009

    Visiting for lunch and ordered the Bun (Bun Ga Nuong Cha Gio -  aka grilled lemograss vermicelli bowl with egg roll). Price on the Bun is $6.25 - $6.50 .

    Damn tasty!  While the chicken was diced up rather small - instead of the usual large chunks at most vietnamese places - the flavor and taste of the entire dish was really really good. Meat and egg rolls were great and they had the right combination of veg and vermicelli in the bowl. Portion size seemed right on.

    I'll be visiting again.

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  • 3.0 star rating
    2/3/2009

    New addition to the Asian food selections on the south end of "the drag".

    Since they just opened a week or two ago, it seems like they are still getting  things figured out in terms of hours.  If they keep staying open late I think this could be a regular stop for late night eats.

    I tried a simple combo fried rice and it was ok, but not a standout. Adding lime and chili sauce made it more to my liking.  I'll have to try the Pho and Bun options on another visit and see how they stack up.

    Nice decor, nice staff and reasonable prices on entrees. I'll have to update after another visit.

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1618 1/2 E 6th St
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 600-4791

The Liberty  

Category: Bars
Neighborhood: East Austin

4.0 star rating
Update - 3/13/2012 3 Check-ins Here
Sadly... no more pinball at the Liberty. :(

But they still have a great patio space and a decent beer selection - with a few local options on draft.

Pricing for a pint of Live Oak Black Lager on Draft was $5.50 on my last visit - which seems a bit steep for a local brew. Maybe I need to check back when they have specials.

Hipsters? Yeah... this is their natural habitat.

Listed in: Austin Pinball Locations

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1 Previous Review: Hide »

  • 4.0 star rating
    8/8/2009

    After one quick visit, this place is on my short list for groovy hangouts.

    Interior seems comfy and they have a sizable patio area outside, but the big plus for me is Two Pinball tables.

    Pinball at this location:

    Star Trek :The Next Generation (Williams 1993)
    http://ipdb.org/m...

    Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Williams 1991)
    http://ipdb.org/m...

    The Star Trek machine is in very good shape and plays well. None of the problems I've seen on other ST:TNG machines.

    The Terminator machine seems to play OK - but apparently has a problem with a ball getting stuck somewhere.

    The Liberty  might be my new #2 location for pinball.

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8557 Research Blvd
Austin, TX 78758
(512) 832-5595

Pho Van  

Category: Vietnamese

5.0 star rating
3/13/2012 9 Check-ins Here
Pho Van is my go-to spot for Pho in Austin. They can do no wrong (or should I say nurong? [haha!]).

My regular order is the Pho Ga (chicken soup) - 5 stars for this alone. Great broth, nice slices of white meat chicken and of course the usual Pho garnishes. Tasty+

The beef broth soups are also excellent. (Pho Tai is a good way to go).

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2113 Manor Rd
Austin, TX 78722
(512) 476-5858

Eastside Cafe  

Categories: American (New), American (Traditional), Vegetarian
Neighborhood: Cherrywood

3.0 star rating
3/13/2012 1 Check-in Here
I remember why I don't come here often. The food is just OK, but seems kinda expensive for what you get. Maybe the pricing is due to the "all-natural" slant they're doing with ingredients.

$11 for a salad of basic greens and a wee chicken breast on top (the Thai Chicken salad)? That "locally-raised Holmes all-natural chicken" must be pretty freakin' expensive by the pound.

Service on my last visit was spotty at best. A large group table next to me was getting plenty of attention, but I had to flag down a server more than once just to get a water refill.

Sorry, but the tastiness to value to service ratio at Eastside is working for me.

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2015 Riverside Dr
Austin, TX 78741
(512) 391-1943

Beauty Bar  

Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Oltorf/East Riverside

3.0 star rating
1/26/2012 First to Review
New east riverside bar expansion from the Beauty Bar folks. Apparently geared towards live music events.

Big space, bars on two levels.

Parking in the adjoining lot is pretty limited. Probably a bad idea to park across the street at the bingo hall.

Came out for a special pre-opening night event with the Lady Circus. Awesome space for this kind of performance.

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15201 E Mississippi Ave
Aurora, CO 80012
(303) 306-6035

Nickel-A-Play  

Categories: Party & Event Planning, Arcades

4.0 star rating
1/14/2012
Pinball at this location (for only 2 nickels per play!)

- No Fear (Williams, 1995) http://ipdb.org/machin...
- Tales from the Crypt (Data East, 1993) http://ipdb.org/machin...

I would give them 5 stars if they had more pinball. :)

Playing Smash TV with unlimited lives is pretty fun!

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9309 Foothill Blvd
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
(909) 980-9834

Boba Planet  

Categories: Coffee & Tea, Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt, Sandwiches

3.0 star rating
1/14/2012 1 Check-in Here
Kinda pricey for my boba habit. $4.52 for a basic large drink (lemon green tea) with boba.

Boba had a good consistency - not too soft/hard.

Staff was very nice and re-made my drink when I thought it was too sweet.

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1900 Manor Rd
Austin, TX 78722
(512) 366-5154

Flat Top Burger Shop  

Category: Burgers
Neighborhood: Cherrywood

4.0 star rating
12/17/2011 1 Check-in Here ROTD 4/3/2012 First to Review
New EastSide burger joint

So.. Let's break it down:

The Burgers are based on 1/4 lb patties - the standard burger being two patties. A jr. Burger is one patty. Obviously flat-top cooked. Patty diameter compares with Mighty Fine, or in other words its a bigger bun and patty than Five Guys or P. Terry's for example. Standard free fixings are lettuce, pickle, tomato, mustard and mayo. Extra for cheese and bacon.

They offer regular beef (corn fed 80/20) and also grass fed beef. Note - the grass fed option is a dollar more expensive, though this was not entirely clear to me on a quick glance at the menu.

Buns are old school - ButterCrust. Very lightly toasted (I think they could use a little extra toasting as the bottom bun kinda fell apart on my burger.)

Fries are fresh cut and tasty! Serving size compares well with P.Terry's but the fries are a bigger cut (a little fatter than five guys).

In all this is a tasty burger. A little bit messy. Texture is a little soft overall, but this is probably a combination of the very soft bun and the skinny burger patties. I tried the grass fed beef, which is supposed to be a little leaner. I'm not sure I'd really be able to tell the difference between the grass vs. corn-fed.

Pricing is in line with similar burger joints (maybe a dollar more?). Basic burger is $5.10 ish ($1 extra for cheese). About $10-11 for a regular (2 patty) cheeseburger, fries and drink.

The shop is a walk up window in an old gas station building (remodled). They have picnic table seating in the station bays.

I visited on the first day they opened so things may take a little time to get into a groove (like not having any ice tea yet).

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1105 E 6th St
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 524-8260

Fast Folks Cyclery  

Category: Bikes
Neighborhood: East Austin

5.0 star rating
12/6/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I nailed some railroad tracks and got a flat near 5th and Waller. Of course whenever this happens, I'm never carrying a spare tube or tools.  Not relishing the thought of walking 3 miles in bike cleats (or barefoot), I remembered there was a cycle shop up on 6th. Fast Folks to the rescue!

The kindly salesdude sold me a new innertube and let me use tools in the shop to change it out. Awesome!

Great service. They got me back on the road when I needed it most.

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1000 E 41st St
Austin, TX 78751
(512) 459-1060

H-E-B  

Category: Grocery

4.0 star rating
12/5/2011 7 Check-ins Here
Hancock H-E-B in a nutshell:

Don't go on a weekend day (way crazy busy)
Store aisles start to get congested with stockers around 11pm
Solid produce section about 95% of the time (except when only 1-2 of the scales are actually working).
Good selection of most everything except for international foods - The I35@Parmer store wins for that.
Very annoying that they sometimes "close" the bulk food section late night.

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"Everybody Loves Hypnotoad"

Review votes:
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