I still like the Clay Pit, but I'm developing some reservations. The service recently has seemed about a half-beat off. And I noticed that my tandoori mixed grill, which was supposed to come with a rack of lamb (and has in the past), for some reason didn't this time. No explanation, no adjustment in price: and at $16 (the most expensive mixed grill in town) I find this difficult to pardon.
With Sarovar's recent remodeling (we haven't been back since they finished, so we don't know for sure), I am fearing that we might be headed back into the bad times for Indian places in Austin.
I don't have much to say about The Clay Pit I didn't cover in our last visit. The calamari is still excellent, and they made my goat curry as hot as I like it. It was good for goat, but I think next time I'll opt for the lamb.
Very good crawfish eggrolls. I think they do a slightly better job with pastas than Evangeline Café. And there's a certain similarity between the two: both are nice, friendly, neighborhood places that turn out good food. I envy you South Austin folks.
I like it. It's actually a tough call between this and Evangeline Café for best Cajun place south of the river. The appetizers are good, especially the Crawfish eggrolls, but the quantities are considerably less generous than those at Evangeline. The gumbo was a good, zesty effort, and my salad was adequate. (The Raspberry-Cane Syrup Vinaigrette was interesting and not at all bad, but I think I'll go for the Chipolte Ranch next time.) My Atchafalaya Catfish was very good indeed, much better than the usual fried catfish, topped with pretty credible crawfish etoufee. The bread pudding was decent, but not even in the same league as Yoli's.
Service was reasonable, given that they were obviously understaffed (at one point our waitress noted that she was making some of the salads), but other than a few waits on Diet Coke refills, and Milton getting his salad with his meal rather than before it, not bad.
This is a pretty good Cajun place, and worth your patronage, but I would like to see a little more variety in the menu; say, a blackened fish dish other than catfish with crawfish etoufee.
Yawn.
I'm starting to run out of things to say about chain Italian restaurants.
The appetizers were undersized for the price, and the calamari was particularly disappointing (the fact we had recently eaten The Clay Pit's great calamari didn't help). The bread was decent but not exceptional. Ditto for the salads.
My main entree, the Johnny's Combo, was, on the whole, pretty good. The spaghetti with marinara was the usual bland restaurant spaghetti; par for the course. The homemade lasagna was actually quite tasty, and the chicken parmigiana had a very nice breading; both were significantly better than your average Italian chain fare.
The cheesecake was firmly back in the adequate range; nothing wrong with it except the nagging suspicion that it comes in once a week stacked on refrigeration truck pallets.
There's nothing particularly wrong with Johnny Carino's, and I'd be willing to try some of the other offerings if someone dragged me there. But with Reale's five minutes to the south, and Ciola's 15 to the west, there's really no reason for anyone to choose this as their Italian dining destination.
Lawrence was visiting his family out of town.
As far as Cartwright's goes, I was disappointed: the brisket seemed to me to be dry and tough, I wasn't impressed by the ribs or the sausage, and the pork loin was the best of a less than mediocre lot. The hot sauce wasn't.
I wouldn't stop again even if I was driving through Bastrop.
Though they can be variable, Cartwright's usually offers up fairly reliable BBQ.
Let's start with the beef ribs, which were much better than average, and actually a tad better than the last batch I had at the Iron Works, who are often praised for their beef ribs. The pork ribs and the brisket were very good as well, although not as well as competing fare like those at the Salt Lick or Kreuz Market. The pork loin, as usual, was a little dry. I liked the potato salad, and I liked the macaroni salad (not something I usually order) quite a bit. The cherry pie I had for dessert was credible but far from exceptional (which is pretty much what you expect when it comes altready shrink-wrapped on a plate at the top of the counter).
While it wouldn't crack my top five, Cartwright's might sneak onto my Top Ten Central Texas BBQ list. Worth trying if you're driving through Bastrop.
See the logs for February of 2005.