The Saturday Dining Conspiracy: August, 2000

August 5, 2000: Classic Thai.

Dwight's comments:

Lawrence conned me into this trip: I had sworn off Classic Thai after our horrible experience at their North Lamar location, but Lawrence persuaded me that this was, after all, a different location.

I will admit the service was reasonably satifactory. However, the food was disappointing. The "classic Thai spicy" (with a red curry sauce) frankly wasn't spicy, and I couldn't detect any curry: the steamed dumplings and "classic Thai wings" were undistinguished (though the "sweet and sour" sauce for the wings did have a nice, but very slight, kick). The tomkha gai soup was pretty reasonable: I finished off Mike's pud thai, which was acceptable (but pales in comparison to Thai Kitchen).

North Austin needs a good Thai place. But Classic Thai in Cedar Park isn't worth the ride.

Lawrence's comments:

Classic Thai offers adequate Thai food. However, PooThai, who previously occupied this space, used to offer exceptional Thai food--in fact, Thai food second only to Thai Kitchen. Now both the menu and appetizer portions are smaller, and you can't get them to fix the food as hot as a real Thai restaurant. A darn shame. OK if you actually live in Cedar Park, but certainly not worth the drive if you live anywhere else.

August 12, 2000: Ross's Old Austin Cafe.

Dwight's comments:

Decent, cheap, "American" food, the same sort of stuff you'd get at Lone Star Cafe. Perhaps with better service than Lone Star, though, and a decent salad bar. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here (and it is fairly far north on Lamar) but I'd drop in for lunch if I was in the area.

Lawrence's comments:

Ross's Old Austin Cafe is sort of Lone Star Cafe by way of Bonanza. You order your entree and pick up your sides in line, cafeteria style, and then they bring your entree out to your table. My chicken fried steak was perfectly adequate, and Dwight and Andrew's steaks looked good, but I'd probably choose Lone Star Cafe or Hoovers over this.

August 19, 2000: Armadillocon.

Dwight's comments:

No conspiracy: Armadillocon weekend.

August 26, 2000: None.

Dwight's comments:

No conspiracy again this week as well: I had to go to Providence, Rhode Island on business for my corporate masters. Not that I minded: Providence in August is very nice.

Instead of a conspiracy review, then, some random notes on places in Rhode Island. All phone numbers are in the 401 area code.

• Barnsider's Mile and a Quarter (375 North Main, 351-7300): I had fond memories of this place from my last visit: this time, I enjoyed the scallops (in a sherry and butter sauce) and the excellent salad bar. My dining companion, on the other hand, expressed some disappointment with his meal: I'm not sure how much of that was the food, and how much of that was the nature of our dinner conversation.
• Twenty Water Street (Water Street in East Greenwich, 885-3700): Another classy waterfrood seafood place. Excellent rolls (served properly hot), good baked stuffed lobster and "stuffies" (stuffed quahogs).
• Capriccio (2 Pine Street, 421-1320): One reliable source tells me this is where all the "made guys" eat. Another reliable source tells me this is where he proposed to his wife. Very dressy, and very pricy: unless you plan on proposing, or have a native guide who can point out the "made guys", I'd suggest that Joe Marzillis Old Canteen (120 Atwells, 751-5544) which attracts a fair share of local characters (including Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci) offers a better bang/buck ratio. Not that Capriccio is bad: just that the prices and stuffiness are both high.
• Christie's (351 Thames Street in Newport, 847-5400): I think the stuffies here are the best I've found in Rhode Island (slightly edging out Twenty Water Street). Of course, you can't get quahogs in Austin, but I'd like to find Christie's recipe, anyway, just so I can figure out what that subtle extra is...good lobster, too, and not terribly self-important. Slightly pricy (hey, this is Newport): but note that I went there the first time on someone else's tab. This time, I went back on my own tab.
• Fire and Ice (100 Frances Street, basically in the Providence Place mall, 270-4040): This is an interesting concept for a restaurant. Imagine, if you will, that someone took Mongolian BBQ and:
  • did a complete remodeling, using a heavy hand with the paintbrush and a very bright color scheme
  • improved the quality of the ingredients (for example, udon noodles instead of spaghetti, lots of seafood (including scallops and salmon) instead of "krab", portobello and button mushrooms, etc.)
  • provided pre-mixed sauces (heavy on fruits like mango and other sugar) instead of sauce bases
  • increased the price by about $6 ($14.95 for all you can eat)
  That's Fire and Ice. Apparently, this is the third location in a chain (the other two are in the Boston area). Does the concept work? I think the extra money is more than justified, given the quality of ingredients. On the other hand, the transformation seems to be designed to make it a yuppie hangout: between that and the attitudes of some of the staff, I'm afraid the novelty would wear off fast.