I was pretty fond of the downtown Truluck's when they first opened. I've been inclined to defend them, and the chain, even against some of their more misguided ventures. But I also haven't been to the downtown location in a good while. If the Arboretum location is any indication, I probably won't be looking to go there soon.
The bread is good. I'll give them that. The water conceit (instead of offering bottled or tap water, they put recycled bottles containing filtered and chilled tap water on your table) hovers between amusing and annoying: I make it 60-40 to the annoying side. Service was efficient, in that pretentious "refold your napkin when you get up from the table" way.
I wasn't that wild about my "Fiery Texas Gulf Snapper". The fish had a nice crunch and texture to it, but there was really no "fiery" to it.
Then there's the whole "crab fried rice" issue. If you are going to tell me that the "crab fried rice" side that's listed separately on the menu at $8.95 is "big enough for two people" and "big enough to share", I expect it to come out in a separate dish, not plonked down on my plate. (I have serious doubts that the portion they served me was worth $8.95.) And when I order "crab fried rice", I expect crab (check) and rice (check). I do not expect bell pepper strips. Seriously, WTF? (If you want good "crab fried rice", that served at Eddie V.'s Edgewater Grill is much better than Truluck's. Yes, the review is a little old, but I've been there several times recently: as a matter of fact, I like their crab fried rice so much, I sometimes go in and make a dinner of that and the shrimp and lobster bisque.)
Lawrence elaborates on his dessert issue below, but I'll add a memo to waitstaff: if someone asks you to leave the nuts off of something, you might want to go into more detail with them, such as "Do you have a nut allergy, sir? Because there are nuts in the dish itself as well." Doing this avoids problems, including having emergency medical technicians putting in airways and injecting people with epinephrine in the middle of a crowded restaurant on a Saturday night, as well as future legal issues. (Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or lawyer, and the above should not be used as medical or legal advice. If you shoot someone full of epinephrine and they die, don't come crying to me.)
I guess I just feel like I shouldn't drop $60+ in a restaurant and walk out with a general sense of annoyance. Especially since Eddie V.'s seems to be doing the same thing better.
The food at this location is quite good, and the I'm glad they kept the sourdough bread, which seems to be the only holdover from their Florida Seafood Grill incarnation. The "crab pizza" was actually really good, the calamari merely OK. Unimaginative salads. My biggest problem was with the jalapeno salmon entree; it was good, but at these prices I expect a lot more than good. And while the service was good, their inability to adequately fix or describe the mocha dessert (I asked for it without walnuts; it came with walnuts and it turns out you can't fix it without them, so I ended up settling for a créme brulee) was bothersome.
If you're willing to put up with the hassles (reservations required) and inconsistencies, this is still probably your best choice for high-end seafood north of 183, but I'm still open to other options.
Look, it had been open for a while, we wanted something cheap after the previous week, and don't you think we had an obligation to make sure it met the standards established by the other ones? Sure you do. And it does.
Is there anything more to say about this location that we haven't said about the other locations?
Nope. Not really. Except that I think the servings for the garlic cheese bread (still markedly inferior to that at Reale's has shrunk, and they now have a Raseberry White Chocolate Cheesecake, which is fine, if a bit generic (I'm guessing Lawler's).
Nice to have one up here, thoough I think my drive-time is almost the same to the Mesa location.
Other than the difficulty of finding the place, not a single thing about this meal was memorable or noteworthy.
Mixed bag. It's strange to walk into a restaurant at 6 PM on Saturday night and be the only one there. This is obviously more of a lunch spot, and there's also The Curse of Westlake to consider, but it's still odd. Chuck complained that they A.) Have the hardest sign in the center to see from the front, and B.) Have no sign visible from the back, both problems they should consider addressing.
And the food? Pretty decent. I liked the calamari, especially the tangy mustard dipping sauce, as well as the spring rolls, but the quesadillas portions were a ripoff for the price. The salad was OK, but the cucumber wasabi dressing I tried didn't work. (Suggestion: I'd be interested in tasting a wasabi ranch dressing.) I was satisfied with my club sandwich, and the key lime pie (not something I usually opt for) was just fine. Save one longish wait for a Diet Coke refill (normally it wouldn't have been too long, but it was when we were still the only ones in the restaurant), the service was quite acceptable.
However, there was nothing so good about the service that it justifies an UNACCEPTABLE 20% mandatory tip for large parties. With a restaurant as empty as this one was, there's no reason to institute policies that keep patrons away.
The ownership of Thistle Cafe may feel just fine about making all their money at lunch, but if they want dinner to look like something other than a ghost town, some changes are in order.
The space seems to have been cut in half which is, to my mind, all for the good, since they look a lot less empty.
And the food? Pretty much the same, though my lamb vindaloo could have used a bit more meat. I did like the onion appetizer they brought out, even though it was a mistake (I asked for onion nann).
Still a good choice for Indian food up around 183.
Decent fries, but bad barbecue.
This used to be 'Bout Time BBQ, which was a nice little neighborhood BBQ joint. Then it was taken over by the local Smokey Mo's chain. So how is it now?
Sucks.
The brisket was dry and the pork ribs were substandard. The potato salad and banana pudding were fine, and I like the fact you can get fries, but with crummy BBQ and Rudy's just a few minutes away, there's no reason to ever go here.
See the logs for January of 2006.