Okay TexMex and InMex. I wasn't very impressed with the tacos al pastor. The concinita pibil was a much larger serving than Curra's offers of the same dish, and I thought it was a better value for the money. Until I tried it: Azul's is less tasty and not quite as good.
Service was fine, though. I have trouble being very enthusiastic about Azul, but I wouldn't suggest avoiding it.
I like it. Pretty decent quesadillas, good flameada, nice tacos el pastor, and entrees a good bit more interesting than your run of the mill TexMex joint. You also get to try some interior Mexican dishes without the snooty attitude and higher prices that seem to be a staple at so many other "interior Mexico" restaurants. I'd like to try the southern Curra's again for a comparison, but right now Azul Tequila seems like one of your top choices for TexMex south of the river.
Pizza's still good. Based on other visits, the Italian food is still pretty fair, and the service seems to have improved a bit over our last few visits.
Still excellent: Cheese bread, fried mozzarella, pizza. Still good: Salads.
The only new discovery this time around was the Neapolitan (though they called it something else), which was also excellent, though by the time I finished it, a salad, some cheese bread, some breadsticks, and half a large pizza, I felt like Homer Simpson after failing to finish the 144 ounce challenge steak. (But it was a good full.) Speaking of the breadsticks, they seem to have improved since our last visit, and are nearly up to par with those at the Olive Garden, although nothing else at Olive Garden (except the salads) are in the same league as Reale's. Of course, to be fair, our last visit to Olive Garden was some seven years ago.
Still, if you're looking for Italian food in Austin, or thin-crust pizza, this is the place. (Or did you think that our last seven SDC visits were some sort of fluke?)
Perfectly reasonable, perfectly competent chain steaks. The main
motivation for this visit, as Lawrence notes, was the "all you can eat
smoked sirloin" special (which is apparently now available on Monday night:
you may want to call ahead and confirm). I'm sure that's a great deal
if:
(This is the part where Lawrence calls me a "health Nazi".) I like a good steak every now and then, but I generally prefer the "trail quail" when I eat at a TL&CC. And I wish they'd stop recommending sides on the menu: just tell me what they are and let me make up my own mind, okay?
Since we've covered previous locations, here's the executive summary for the 290 & I-35 location: 1. It's good, but not as good as JC's across the street. 2. The service, while perfectly acceptable, isn't as hyper-attentive as the "whippets on speed" service you get at the South I-35 location. 3. The "all you can eat smoked sirloin" special they were having in September was a heck of a good deal. While I would recommend JC's over them, this location of TL&CC is just fine, and, except for the cheese-fries, I think they do a better job at just about everything than the nearest location of The Outback, which seems to have slipped recently. Competition is a good thing.
No conspiracy.
See the logs for October of 2003.