The one nice thing I can say about The Veranda is that they did a good job of accomodating us. Of course, that wasn't hard, since the restaurant was virtually empty.
It makes me sad to know that so much money and time and talent has been invested in a place that turns out such average food. Cajun blackened pork tenderloin: good idea. But the sauce wasn't terribly spicy, and the pasta served with the dish was basically plain boiled bowtie pasta: there wasn't any attempt at a pasta sauce (or enough sauce on the pork tenderloin to cover the pasta as well). The appetizers are reasonably priced, but I didn't find any of the six we got particuarly interesting. Even the location is depressing: is there anything more pathetic than a dying mall?
Sad. Just sad.
Questions, questions, questions. Dining at The Veranda leaves me so
many
questions.
The (non-flaming) Bananas Foster dessert was nice, the calamari was good, the escargot were fairly cheap (but needed more garlic), and the fries were decent. However, none of the other appetizers stuck out, and my crab-stuffed-salmon was woefully under flavored; while not "off," it was bland enough that I wondered how fresh it was. I can well believe other dishes might be more interesting, but I didn't hear any reports of such from my many fellow dinners. (10 in total; a big crowd this time.)
Really, A. T. nailed it when he said that there was nothing here you couldn't have whipped up better versions of at home.
Frankly, Northcross has been a Mall of the Living Dead for almost a decade. (Dwight and I have often joked that all they need was a Scotch Tape Boutique to complete the ambiance of pathetic desperation.) Even though I don't generally shop at Wal-Mart (they seldom have what I want), unlike certain hippies, it couldn't help but be an improvement on what's there now, The Veranda included.
I could blame it on the rain. Or on Rio. But, actually, it was just that Lawrence was out of town.
I did go to Ciola's with my folks (who had not been before). I liked my osso bucco (a special that night) very much (bringing a small fork for the marrow was a good touch) and I think my mother liked her rigatoni bologonase okay. However, my stepfather's lasagna, while a fairly substantial serving, was frozen in the middle. This did not make a favorable impression on him. I did think the service was excellent, though.
I liked the original Curra's, for a while. But I don't get down that way very much any more.
The North Curra's is okay, I guess. For some reason, I can't get motivated to eat there very often any more, either.
And then we have Curra's Long Bar, which struck me as being a copy of a copy. Of course, when you copy a copy, you get degradation. That's kind of how I feel about Curra's Long Bar. None of the food was as interesting or well prepared as it was at the other two locations when I used to frequent them, the service was kind of off, and it seemed to be trying for a "cool place to drink and maybe eat" vibe than a decent restaurant vibe.
Another Curra's, this one up on Parmer and a mere mile from my house. The decorating scheme is a bit more minimal than the others, though I did like The Giant Fan Blade of Doom in the ceiling.
And the food? About like the other Curra's. Solid nachos and flameada, though the empanadas seemed too heavy and insufficiently flavorful. My Tacos El Pastor plate was pretty good and pretty cheap, though I think the tacos themselves could have been beefier (porkier?). Service was pretty good, with fairly regular drink and chip refills.
Frankly, Andrew's fajitas looked like a much better deal for the price, and if I drop in again I'd lean toward getting that.
A very nice, very flexible, family run barbecue joint. Excellent sausage, and you can even get a baked potato. I'm not sure I'd come here instead of the Salt Lick, but it is awfully convienent to eat at after a trip to Cabella's.
This was quite a satisfying BBQ road trip.
Big Oak is a nice, roomy small-town BBQ joint in Buda. Though I'm not usually a folk-art-decorating-scheme fan, I think it works fine for them. And the BBQ?
Pretty good.
The brisket was mediocre (and perhaps a touch overcooked), while the ribs were good and the sausage excellent, maybe just a touch below that served at Kreutz's and Smitty's. Though I wasn't impressed with the potato salad (I prefer mayo-based to German-style), the banana pudding was easily among the top five I've had.
I wouldn't rank Big Oak BBQ among the first tier of great central Texas BBQ joints, but it's a solid contender with a lot of promise, and it's about as far away (or even closer) than The Salt Lick. Well worth a try if you live in South or Central Austin and don't mind a short drive.
See the logs for February of 2007.