Mccormick and Schmick's
Seafood Restaurant



We found out about Austin Restaurant week a little late, but did manage to make it out to McCormick and Schmicks to sample their dinner menu.  If you haven't heard of this restaurant week, you should definitely make room for it on your calendar the next time.  The food is always amazing for pretty decent prices (usually for at least 3 courses).


We started off with Fried calamari with sweet Thai chili glaze and sesame seeds and Brushetta with roasted mushrooms and a balsamic glaze.  Both were decent.

For our main entrees, we had the Top Sirloin topped with fried oysters and a gorgonzola cream sauce and the Wasabi Pea Crusted Mahi Mahi with sesame seed sushi rice.  I am not easily impressed by steaks, but McCormick's did well.  I also enjoyed the mahi mahi dish, although I did find the sushi rice a bit overwhelming.  There was a lot of it and the taste was very strong.

The last course is usually my favorite, and I was not disappointed.  We had one creme brulee and a heath bar brownie with caramel sauce and mocha fudge ice cream.  Nevertheless, there were no leftovers of either.

The service was impeccable as you would expect and the restaurant was surprisingly empty and quiet which was nice for our little date.  The pictures did not turn out well in the dim lighting, but the food was delightful.  All in all, a very good first experience with Austin Restaurant week.


                    

MuMu Score:

Need my next bonus check to return again...

B.D. Rileys
Traditional Irish Pub


Food: We started off with some nice cold beer as it was a very hot day; it's starting to get hot in Austin!  We ordered one Woodchuck Cider and a Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale which were  filling.  However, we still had to order food!  For eats, we had an order of Bangers & Mash and one of my all-time favorites: Shepherd's Pie.  We thoroughly enjoyed both.  They both came out fast and were piping hot.  I thought the Shepherd's Pie's 
                       mashed potatoes were perfectly                          browned; it was amazing.


Atmosphere: This place was definitely going for the "hole in the wall" feel and even had live music that day, albeit an old man with his keyboard and mic. It was still lovely to have something to listen to as we took in the pub-like surroundings with dozens of knick-knacks overtaking the walls.

Service: The waitress was friendly, and as I mentioned before, the food was out fast.  This is definitely a place that I feel many frequent, especially if they live close.  I feel that the staff know many of the locals by name.

MuMu Score:

Maybe if we're in the neighborhood again...

Zorba's
Greek Restaurant

Food: We ordered the Feed Me Plate (which should be called the Feed Yourself Plate as you have to put everything together in a pita). It included: lemon chicken soup, house salad, appetizer plate, rice, hummus, spinach, and gyro meat. Zorba's chicken was my favorite, but the best part of the meal was probably the chocolate baklava for desert. If I could do it again I would have ordered a lamb kebab.




Atmosphere: I dug the music and the paintings on the wall. You can tell though, that Zorba's caters mainly to the Dell lunch crowd by the seating arrangements. 

Service: Late adolescent host, still he was on top of things and did his job well. No complaints here...

MuMu Score:

Something was missing...

Taco Deli
Specialty Mexican Food

Food: We tried the cowboy taco (rubbed beef tenderloin with grilled corn, caramelized onions and roasted peppers, topped with guacamole and queso fresco... yum), the Puerco Borracho (slow roasted, pork braised in tequila & sherry and seasoned with free basil and pasilla pepper sauté ...greasy), and the Frontera Fundido Chicken (grilled chicken with Monterrey Jack cheese and garnished with sautéed poblanos & onion rajas). Try the Cowboy taco... the rest... meh.

Atmosphere/Service: Another cafe style restaurant. The venue was busy but the wait time was short, which was nice. We enjoyed sitting outside... but wouldn't in a few months. 

MuMu Score:

We will probably return... eventually 

Thai Cuisine 
Thai Restaurant 

Food: We ordered Satay for an appetizer (skewered chicken marinated in curry powder and coconut milk, served with peanut sauce, and sweet and sour sauce), Pad Se Ewe (Stir-fried fresh flat rice noodles with egg in sweet soy sauce), Pad Thai (stir-fried thin rice noodles with egg, bean sprouts, chopped fried tofu), and Kao Pad (typical Thai fried rice with scallions, onions, tomatoes, and egg. Each entree was 8.95 and well worth it. Visually pleasing and very tasty. For dessert we had delicious Thai homemade coconut ice-cream. 

Service: Outstanding. Super friendly staff dressed in traditional Thai garb. 


Atmosphere: Wonderful. The restaurant was well kept and I enjoyed the decor. Definitely will return.

MuMu Score:

mmm ... sacrelicious

Coco's Cafe
Taiwanese 


Food: Outright fan-flipping-tastic. We ordered the Peppercorn Chicken with rice, Sa Cha Beef Lo Mein, and Green Onion Pie (the half order was a lot of food). The Sa Cha Beef Lo Mein had a strange aroma but tasted amazing. Helen loves those weird drinks with tapioca balls in them. She ordered the Taro milk and it was... okay.
 
Service: This is another quick, made-to-order place and I loved it. Amazing food and fast! The wait-staff were friendly and you knew it was good Taiwanese food by the amount of Taiwanese people in the restaurant. 


Atmosphere: Clean, nice modern decor, even trinkets from Taiwan for sale. If you need a rhinestone Hello-Kitty charm, boom, this place has everything you need. 

MuMu Score:

yeth yeth yeth yeth YETH!

Gino's
Italian Restaurant


Food: We tried the Spaghetti alla Gino (sautéed with mushrooms, meatball & Italian sausage in a marinara sauce) and Chicken Primavera (pasta tossed in Garlic & Olive Oil with mixed vegetables). The spaghetti was great and I enjoyed the sausage and meatballs. The chicken primavera was watered down and unsatisfying. For dessert we had a spumone. Our waitress described it as strawberry, mint, and chocolate ice cream. In reality, the combination of cherry, pistachio, and chocolate ice cream was the perfect end of an imperfect dining experience. 


Service: Terrible. Our waitress was extremely rude, non attentive, and unfriendly. It took about four minutes before anyone noticed us after we walked through the door and the staff looked bored and were playing on their phones as we left.


Atmosphere: Nice italian music at a moderate level and appealing decor. Unfortunately, for the third restaurant in a row we sat next to a family with a screaming child. Seating at Gino's is very cramped and I could overhear everything the idiot at the next table told his friend. 

MuMu Score:

Meh.

Sichuan Garden
Authentic Chinese


Food: Pictures of the meals help you choose what you want. Portions are large and prices are reasonable. I burned the roof of my mouth on the cheese wontons so be wary. Overall, I was pleased with the quality and timing that the dishes arrived. Fresh vegetables and savory sauces. 

Service: Don't expect any. You order and pay, get silverware and drinks, then seat yourself. 
I didn't mind it... but we waited around for several minutes until we figured out what the routine was. Still... the food made it worth it.

Atmosphere: Cheesy Chinese Decor. They have remodeled recently an it looks better, but still pretty lame. Oh well.

MuMu Score:

Yeah, baby!

Pho Hoang
Vietnamese Cuisine

Service: Great if you want a quick in-and-out establishment. The wait-staff, although friendly, were difficult to understand at times. Cash only, but the food was relatively cheap.

Food: Flavorful and pleasingly aromatic. Pho soup has a unique taste from the Asian basil, mint leaves, lime and bean sprouts. The broth is generally made by simmering beef bones, flank steak, charred onion, and ginger which gives it a sensational aftertaste. Like most Vietnamese establishments, there are a variety of spices and sauces available at your table for you to experiment with. 

Atmosphere: As it is a quick in-and-out style diner, the restaurant is on the noisy side, but we didn't dine in for the atmosphere. We wanted great Pho and we got just that. I have heard that Pho Danh is better... 

we'll  be sure to find out!

MuMu Score:

Not too shabby!

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...