Johnny T's BBQ
Texas BBQ


From the outside, Johnny T's doesn't look all that special, but the actual food is what sets them apart.  We walked in with our doubts, but hoping for the best from all the other reviews we had read. The interior left you desiring a bit more, but it was "authentic" in it's own way.  We were immediately greeted warmly and genuinely by the staff there. 


We decided to try a plethora of options.  Here is a list and our thoughts on each (pictures are below!): 

• moist beef brisket - really moist, a bit too fatty for our taste but still really good
• Elgin sausage - we thought the sausage had a really good flavor/texture 
• turkey sandwich - a little dry, but remedied by adding copious amounts of bbq sauce
• chopped beef sandwich - messy, but delicious.  had to scrape the pieces that fell out with utensils
• tamale potato casserole - our favorite! It was so unique and we loved the blend of flavors. really, truly amazing
• cream corn - comparable to Rudy's. very good
• sweet potato fries - has the perfect amount of "crunch;" I usually don't like anything with sweet potato but these were very tasty
• white bread - plain bread (it was free!)
• bbq sauces - there were 2 kinds, one mild and one spicy.  I preferred the spicier one!

All in all, a good experience that calls for another visit sometime soon!

MuMu Score:

Delightful! 

Teji's
Indian Restaurant and Grocery

We decided to try another Indian restaurant, this time with meat.  We had read reviews of Teji's online and decided to give it a whirl.

Walking in, we immediately noticed the dark red interior with some nice lighting.  The very diverse crowd started trickling in more so while we were finishing up, but that didn't seem to be much of a problem as Teji's had lots of seating available.

After we sat down, we were brought some chips with a sweet/sour sauce and a slightly spicier green sauce.  The menus had a lot of options, so we had a hard time deciding on what to order. 

 We weren't too adventurous with our choices as it was our first time there and ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken with Garlic Naan and Cheese Naan. We also ordered a sweet lassi to clean our palettes in between bites. The food was delicious and came out very quickly. Both main dishes came with a bowl of rice and it was definitely way too much food for us to handle.  The dishes were both very rich and filling and had tons of bite-sized pieces of chicken.  We preferred the garlic naan to the cheese naan as it seemed to blend better with the bold flavors.  By the end, we were definitely uncomfortably full, but we did most definitely enjoy getting there!  

 After the meal, we decided to meander through the grocery store that was connected to the restaurant and it was nice to see a variety of hard-to-find foods on sale there.  We ended up just buying a really soft scarf, but we know where to go next time if we're craving Indian food. :)

MuMu Score:

Finger lickin' good!

Fogo de Chao 
Brazilian Steakhouse


The atmosphere of this restaurant was outstanding, but your wallet may hurt by the evening's end. Exquisite side dishes including pão de queijo (warm cheese bread), crispy hot polenta, garlic mashed potatoes and caramelized bananas are tempting but be sure to save room for the 15 different types of meat. My favorite meats were the Filet Mignon and the Alcatra (top sirloin), but the Cordeiro (lamb) and Linguica (sausage) earn honorable mentions. 


The staff at Fogo de Chao are impeccable, be sure to flip your card from green to red or you'll quickly end up with a plate towering with meat. If you want to save an extra $7, decline the 'spring water' and stick with regular ice water. Also beware the salad bar, as it may fill you up before you have a chance to explore the different types of meats. 

If you find yourself at meals end with some spare room, try Fogo de Chao's gourmet desserts.


We were surprised with a Tres Leches which was amazing, but we could hardly walk out of the door after it was gone. Overall, we were very pleased with the experience as a whole. For $47.50 person, you get what you pay for but be sure to arrive hungry.

MuMu Score:

Oops, my wallet is bleeding...

T & S Chinese Restaurant 
Dim Sum


If you have never tried it before, Dim Sum is  a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. Dim sum is also well known for the unique way it is served in some restaurants, wherein fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables. 

Although this particular restaurant did not look like much from the outside, we quite enjoyed the multiple dishes that we plucked from carts as they passed by.  

Our particular favorite was a sort of steamed pork dumpling and the deep fried shrimp balls.  We also found the fried taro root turnover to be refreshingly different, yet still very tasty.  

We weren't too fond of the eggplant dish, but we aren't really a fan of eggplant to begin with so that wasn't too surprising.  

Some other plates we had included a sticky sweet rice with Chinese sausage, steamed BBQ pork buns and large flat noodles with shrimp.

There were too many options for us to try them all and we were actually too timid to try the chicken feet or shark fin.  Maybe next time?

Dim sum was a fun experience for us and everyone should try it at least once.  To us, the dishes often tasted differently from what they looked like and it was a very entertaining dining experience where we learned a lot.  We became knowledgeable in how to eat certain foods (some were very slippery!), how to ask what certain things were BEFORE pointing at them (otherwise they'd end up on our table and tab), and how to NOT pick dishes that we've seen on the cart before (as they're cold by the 2nd time around).

All in all, it was a great experience and a very filling meal on a dreary, rainy day.  We must definitely return to try everything we couldn't fit in today!

MuMu Score:

Close, but no cigar!

Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant
Ethiopian (duh)


Aster's Ethiopian restaurant is a quaint turquoise building near downtown Austin. The staff are welcoming and very helpful if you are new to Ethiopian food. Although the dishes may not look appetizing, the flavors and spices are delightful. 


We ordered the KeyiSiga and DoroWott, both were pleasantly spicy. The distinctive taste from the injera bread blended wonderfully with the savory flavors of Wat stew. The price of each entree was around $13 but the portions sizes were generous. We will certainly return to try other dishes. 

MuMu Score:

Good, but I've had better...

Swagat 
Vegetarian Indian Restaurant 


Swagat is a smaller venue than most and hidden in the corner of the shopping centre. There were many Indian families inside so we decided to give it a try. We ordered the Paneer Tikka Masala (tofu) and Masala Dosa with naan bread (butter and garlic) and a Sweet Lassi. The food arrived promptly and the service was friendly. 

The lassi was tasty and cleansed the palate from the explosion of flavors. Our only complaint was that there was only a luke warm water jug and I would have preferred a large glass with ice. 


However, we did not ask for water.
Perhaps we should have.  


The meals were about $6-$8 each with $2 bread.  The atmosphere was pleasant and the music was not blasting Bollywood as we have seen at other similar restaurants. 






We will definitely return to try some other dishes.

MuMu Score:

Mmmm... tofu?