Very, very good Middle Eastern food. Friendly service, excellent kebobs, and a nice interior. Live music on Saturday nights, too. Every bit as good as Alborz, maybe just slightly better.
I've wanted to try this for some time, despite disappointments over our outing to the restaurant right next door and other Middle Eastern restaurants. Shandeez Grill bills itself as a Persian restaurant, and there's much to recommend it in that vein.
Before we had even ordered they started us out with what is evidently the traditional mokhalafat garnish plate: naan accompanied by cut white onions, feta cheese, parsley and mint garnish, and walnuts, all of which you're supposed to combine on your naan; it sounds odd, but it mostly works. The dolmas were also much better than those we had at Alborz.
For my entrèe I had a lamb shank over rice with a kebob on the side; the lamb was very tender, but I thought a bit underflavored; the kebob was much better.
Service was quite acceptable, considering that there was only a single waitress (I'm assuming the co-owner) on staff for the entire restaurant, which was mostly empty apart from our largish party of 11 (Phil and Yvonne finally made it to an SDC, since it's within walking distance of their house).
All in all, I enjoyed this more than any other "middle eastern" restaurant I've been to in Austin (I consider the late, lamented The Pyramids more of a Mediterranean/Gyro joint). Well worth a visit if you're up for something a little different in NW Austin.
I actually kind of like this place, even if it is part of a largeish chain. The dense and compact burger style appeals to me, I'm a well-known sucker for peanuts, and I even like the fries.
Another burger chain, and one that seems an awful lot like Mighty Fine Burger or Mooyah Burger, right down to the red and white checker décor. (Since Five Guys seem to have been around for a while in other parts of the country, I couldn't say who was copying who.) And they make a perfectly tasty and acceptable burger, though I found the fries merely adequate. But there are no desserts (not even the shakes you can find at the aforementioned Mighty Fine and Mooyah's).
Unless I lived within walking distance, or liked free peanuts (I don't), I can't come up with any reason to eat here over Mighty Fine Burger, or even your average Fuddruckers location. (I would compare them to the Burger Tex down a little ways on Guadalupe, but that hardly seems fair, since I don't think I've eaten there since the Reagan Administration.)
A perfectly serviceble Thai place. Much better than Thai Passion North.
Despite the generic name, this is a pretty solid Thai restaurant, with a nice interior, good food, and decent service.
We started with the Tom Kha soup and the "one of everything" appetizer plate. Everything on the appetizer plate was at least adequate, some was a good bit better, and I liked the bicolor dipping sauce on the side.
I also ordered a side salad, and was gratified to find out that it was huge; easily as big as the main salad plate at another establishment. It was also very tasty, making it probably the best $3 salad I've ever had.
For my entrée I had the Thai BBQ pork, which I found slightly disappointing. Though the pork itself was fine, I had asked for it very spicy; it wasn't, and the dipping sauce they provided on the side was much heavier on lime than heat. However, they earn points for presentation, as it came out sizzling on a metal plate, not unlike a fajita skillet (though I don't think I've ever seen a fajita skillet shaped like a pig.
The check was less than we thought it would be, even counting the 10% off coupon we found online.
While this doesn't displace Thai Kitchen from its central spot in our Thai affections, it is a strong contender (along with Thamnak Thai) for the best Thai place north of 183.
See the logs for March of 2009.