Last night we were looking for a relatively quick meal close by, so we walked down to it, figuring with SXSW in full swing we might have a wait, but could grab a drink at the bar and maybe snag a couple of seats and eat up there.
Monday night. Place was packed and we were looking at a 45 minute wait. Two deep all across the U shaped bar, we were lucky to find a spot to stand at the end, where we ordered a couple of glasses of wine. The crowd there renewed my faith in the place as a fun place to go and a good place to get a bit to eat, and our fingers were crossed that we'd be lucky enough to get a seat outside. This is one of the best places in Austin to sit outside and eat, particularly for brunch on the weekends. Huge deck.
(Now, that reminds me of a story which I'll digress to here for a moment because I find it worth sharing. I used to work with a really nice guy, fairly quiet and unassuming, who was selling his house up in Dallas. After a few weeks of some low traffic coming through the house, he and his realtor decided to put a massive half or full page ad in the home section of the newspaper, with a picture of it and four or five lines describing it. I can't remember all the details of it, but the part I remember verbatim contained one hell of a typo, indicating that the property featured, "a huge wooden dick in the backyard". Seriously. I saw it. I cut it out. And I sent it to Leno.)
Back to Z Tejas though. Awesome atmosphere, a place where locals and visitors of all ages go. The porch is out front raised up above 6th Street, with tables intertwined with lighted trees growing up through and around the deck, but the only bad thing about it is that despite how much space there is out there, NO DOGS ALLOWED. Inside, you're greeted with a large bar with plenty of stools, which is a great place to either wait for a table or belly up if you're flying solo (there's a television at the bar which is a good place to catch a game on one of the regular channels if you want to work that into your dinner). There are a number of different rooms inside the colorfully and tastefully decorated restaurant, with tons of windows and open doors which gives you the feel that you're inside and outside at the same time. We ended up with a nice compromise on seating as one of five tables on a covered walkway that spans above the driveway over to the function space, open to 6th Street on one side, but covered and blocked on the other so the wind doesn't bother you while you're eating.
We weren't starving, and knew that they bring out a small thing of cornbread still in the cast iron skillet to each table, so we didn't fork over $4.95 for chips and salsa, which I think is an absolute crock of sh!t. Yeah you get three homemade salsas, and yeah, some places in town charge for chips and salsa, normally below $2, but $4.95?? I boycott on principal.
Our waiter was out and took our order pretty quickly, and the food arrived shortly after that despite them being slammed. Great to know if you want to eat quickly, but I'd stagger your ordering if you're looking to sit, drink and visit for a little while. I had the Iceberg Wedge followed by their entree portion of Five Cheese Macaroni with Achiote Chicken. MLWMG had the Caesar and a bowl of Tortilla Soup.
As far as wedgies go, this one was pretty good. Not too far up the crack, no tearing of the unde...excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm clearly twelve years old. As far as wedges go, this one was pretty good. When it comes to this type of salad, I like it with a generous coating of blue cheese dressing, and don't like having the general constituent parts messed with too much or added to. This one is covered in a house made green chile blue cheese dressing which has a good ratio of blue cheese chunks to dressing in it. The lettuce was cold, crisp, fresh, and generous, and the chopped tomatoes on it were as ripe as could be, with great flavor.
The mac and cheese was also pretty good, though if I had to do it over again, I'd order the vegetarian alternative of it and get it as a side rather than a meal. It was hot, creamy, and full of flavor, a blend of blue, jack, cheddar, parmigiana, and romano cheeses. I really hesitated on ordering this as a meal when I saw blue cheese was an ingredient. I was going long on blue cheese with the salad, and was nervous that the blue would overpower the dish. It didn't, but was used in small proportion to supply flavor but not make the dish blue cheese and macaroni.
Now, I'm not a chicken guy, particularly white meat, and most particularly the boneless chicken breast. This was everything that I could have hoped the chicken on this dish wasn't, though I knew it was a risk going in. Let me start by saying that the seasoning was great, and went really well with the macaroni. The chicken breast was pounded thin and wasn't very juicy. It wasn't overly dry but I think could have benefited from being brined prior to cooking, which it clearly wasn't. Boneless chicken breast lovers will probably like it, but any healthy effects of ordering boneless chicken breasts are negated here with an abundance of cheese. The only other disappointment was the toasted bacon gratin. Though I'm quite certain it's not, the bacon came off tasting and looking like store bought bacon bits. Not bad, but not what I'd expect.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the macaroni, and will get it again, as the vegetarian option sans chicken and bacon, as a side dish. Seems to me that might pair perfectly with one of their steaks, which I'd still like to try as a saw a couple last night and they looked great.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab some lunch and see my cardiologist.
Summary
Atmophere: vibrant Southwestern near chain-like feel but authentic and local, fantastic patio with ample seating, great bar to have a drink at or eat at and talk to people, good for the solo traveler, good for groups, good for a date, great for brunch, great for families
Food: Southwestern
Dog Friendly: no
When to Go: brunch, happy hour, dinner
Crowd: locals, artists, groups of girls, groups of girls and guys, solo bar eaters, hotchicks
What to Order for a First Timer: Iceberg Wedge, Wild Mushroom Enchiladas
Laughing out loud!
ReplyDelete