Friday, April 1, 2011

Bar 96 / Ms. P's Electric Cock - Austin, TX

Two Words:  Tailgate.  In.  A.  House


Yep.

Skee Ball.  Ring Game.  Cornhole.  Dogs allowed inside and out.  Hotchicks inside and out.  TVs inside and out.  Fried chicken.

All we're missing is the game.  Which is just fine.

Yeah, this place is great.  Down in the Rainey Street district, this is a fantastic bar to sit outside, drink beers, play games, and watch whatever games are on.  And while it may not look like there's food available, there's plenty of it, with Ms. P's Electric Cock serving up fresh fried chicken and upscale country sides out back, Mexican food across and down the street at Lustre Pearl and El Naranjo which you can bring in, as well as G'Raj Mahal (Indian) and Cazamance (African) on the same block, also able to be brought in while you enjoy your drinks on a great outdoor porch surrounding a renovated old house turned bar and watch whatever is on the tube.


Dogs.  This place and the people who run it and work there love dogs.  And here are ours enjoying their evening there, sober of course...


They're welcome inside and out, they set out water for them and have a canister of treats, and the place sets up well for them.  After a decent walk to the place, if that's what you choose, your pup can conk out on the wooden deck without getting covered in dirt.  Head out back and there is a large dirt lot where the cornhole games are played and picnic tables are set up, and your dog can run a round a little and get dirty.

And this, folks, is where Ms. P and her Electric Cock trailer is set up.  So look left, look right, make sure you don't get hit with a flying bean bag, and head over to put in your order.


We decided earlier to go with something healthy for dinner, but opted instead for convenience, and split a three piece dark with some truffled macaroni and cheese on the side.  Truffled macaroni and cheese seems to be at a whole lot of places these days, which as a macaroni and cheese lover, I am grateful for, but most seem to be of the white cheese variety.  Ms. P's, however, has that rich sharp cheddar flavor with even an underlying hint of worcestershire or something of the sort giving it almost a meaty, hearty quality, with a drizzle of truffle oil rounding it out.  Listed on the menu as breaded, deep fried, and served on a stick, ours actually came in casserole form, topped with breadcrumbs, and if I were Ms. P, I'd keep it just like that, because it was excellent.


WARNING:  This chicken is not crispy.  But then again, neither is the Colonel's, and how many heads has he chopped off in his tenure to please his adoring public?   Simply put, it works.  Why?  Great flavor and plenty of meat.  This meal takes you right back to that tailgate, and hits the spot after several beers in the hot sun.

Additionally, Electric Cock t-shirts are available for just $5, so come on down, have some beers, eat some chicken, get your t-shirt and wear it around town to help Ms. P's marketing campaign.  She's a great lady serving up some good food.

Summary

Atmosphere: renovated old house turned bar, games, televisions inside and out, plenty of outdoor seating  and space inside which is really open to the outside just sheltered, good for groups, good for an afternoon of drinking, good place to meet up with old and new friends, good place to hit on a bar hopping tour of Rainey Street, and a good place to belly up alone

Food:  fried chicken

Dog Friendly:  buddy, more than you can imagine

When to Go:  happy hour, dinner time, late

Crowd:  mix of hipsters, preppies, old guys, hotchicks, groups of girls, groups of guys, groups of girls and guys, drunks

What to Order for the First Timer:  fried chicken and macaroni and cheese

3 comments:

  1. Ms Ps has migrated early this year and is now located at 1101 South Congress Austin Tx 78704

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  2. 1101 S Congress Ave
    Austin, TX 78704
    Neighborhood: 78704 (South Austin)
    (512) 912-7778

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  3. After seeing them on Food Network and btw personally i'm on on the record as a fried chicken freak. I'm hooked Over my years of travel my quest has been to find fried chicken that tasted like my grandmothers for Sunday dinner. First off, Ms P's Electric Cock is quite possibly the best fried chicken I've had. Sorry Nana! Ms P is some kind of fried chicken alchemist. My company brings me to DC, Chicago, Austin and LA mostly. I knew I was going to check out all the top fried chicken spots in between. Ms P made us feel like we were sitting down for Sunday dinner at Nana's. Just sweet as can be.

    I convinced my best friend, the thunder from down-under traveler to accompany us to Ms P's prior to my wife dropping us off at the F1 track. He could not thank me enough for the rest of the day. We ordered two Truffle Mac and Cheese, one with and one with out Truffle oil. My youngest son said it was he best Mac and cheese "ever", he's 6. Down to business, the 12 piece of Fried Chicken . The pieces they sell are Drums, wings and tenders. No breast and no Thigh's. Ms P explain she uses only of locally sourced, free range, antibiotic free and hormone free chicken(~$20 per chicken). Ouch I had no idea!!! The lady who took our order, checked in on us seemingly just as we needed something. So polite and helpful.

    Anyway back to the chicken. It was fried and battered perfectly. The batter wasn't too thick. It was thick enough to add that crispiness you look forward to in fried chicken, but thin enough that the chicken itself shined through; deliciously moist and lip smacking yummy. It wasn't tongue burning spicy, but had layers of flavor. Those who are sensitive to spicy foods will not taste the spice. I don't normally have my chicken with this bouquet of flavor (I didn't know chicken was even supposed to be flavorful until Ms P's! That flavor just added something mouthwatering to the already delicious chicken. I also loved the Truffle mac and cheese, Farm Frites (fries) cooked and season to perfection but I thought the slaw was a little bland.

    The waffles...wow. This was not a heavy waffle it was a light & crisp and a perfect compliment to the chicken. They make the everything to order so wait to have the waffles and chicken together, our waffles came a few minutes behind the rest but they let us know. You will thank me later! We joked that we should have just ordered a second order.

    I look forward to going back to Austin JUST to eat here again. I've had dreams about this chicken. It's probably just as well that it's so far away, otherwise I'd probably eat there every day and weigh a ton. lol.

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