Decent fried (and some non-fried) seafood at a fair price. Worth a try; probably the best you'll find on this side of town.
I like it. A hole in the wall joint that serves up food halfway between The Boiling Pot and Sambet's Cajun Cafe, with about the same prices as the latter (but a slightly nicier intrior, of the "big screen TVs tuned to sports" variety). The gumbo was good (though a notch below such stalwarts as Gumbo's and Sambet's), the crab cakes were pretty tasty, and the hot wings were adequate. The calamari, alas, was sub-par and nearly flavorless.
The crawfish etouffee was very nice indeed, albeit not as good as that served at Gumbo's or Ruby's, but still quite flavorful at a bargain price.
I would like to see a few more menu items (such as muffalettas and a wider dessert selection), but what they have is good, cheap cajun seafood. Given that criteria, I still prefer Sambet's, but this is a nice bargain seafood joint for those on the NE side of town.
Tolerable, but a long way to drive.
My previous visits to other El Arroyo locations were fairly unmemorable. However, since we had heard good things about this particular location (which seems to be owned by a different set of people). And it is better than the other El Arroyo locations...slightly.
Their website ticked off not one, but two of my pet peeves: A pointless Flash design for the main page, and a menu that didn't have any prices for items. If it weren't for those annoyances, I probably wouldn't complain about their copyright violation of the Jim Henson Company.
The appetizers were OK, but nothing special. For my entree I had something described as "a fried cheesesteak wrap," which was pretty much what it was. It good but a bit undersized for the price.
This isn't bad, but it simply isn't interesting enough for me to recommend anyone dive out of their way to eat there.
They do one thing; burgers. And they do it reasonably well, but that's both a strength and a weakness.
The strength: because they have only a limited menu, they can concentrate on doing things right (and not screwing up your order). It is a good burger.
The weakness: sometimes I want more than just a plain burger and fries. Phil's Icehouse or Billy's on Burnet or Casino El Camino can give me a variety that Mighty Fine doesn't have.
What Mighty Fine reminds me of the most is Dan's. A somewhat better Dan's, true. Also a higher priced Dan's. A good burger, but just short of a mighty fine burger.
A simple idea, well executed.
They serve burgers, fries, hot dogs, shakes, and drinks. And...that's it. They're owned by Rudy's, so they have the same order-at-the-counter, red and white checkered tablecloth ambiance (though the benches seem a little more comfortable). And the kitchen is staffed by a small army of order-takers and burger-makers, so your food comes out pretty quickly. (Now if only they could receive training to use the intercom every time. Where we were seated you couldn't hear them call from the counter.)
And the burger? Great! Nice and juicy, and just the way I ordered it. My only complaint was the lack of a pickle relish option. The fries? Excellent. Fresh and nicely crispy. And I think the shake was actually the best I've had in Austin, at least in recent memory.
This is probably my new favorite burger joint.
See the logs for February of 2008.