Catch Up Time - Reviews of 3 outings - Photos too

Since our last outing to Wahoo's, the Grazing Congress Food group has visited three more restaurants on South Congress in Austin.

Enoteco Vespaio

On 10/20/15, a small group of us went to Enoteca Vespaio and were lucky enough to sit outside on the small patio.  There were just four of us but everyone loved the food and can't wait to go back!
We started the evening inside at the bar waiting for our table where we ordered and loved the house homemade sangria wines.  They had a red and a white and both were amazing!

As an appetizer, we tried the Suppli (crispy risotto balls) and they were great.  This place has so many choices for appetizers, it was hard to choose one which is another good reason to go back.

For dinner I ordered an Italian panini.  It was great.  Deb who ordered a spinach salad commented that it was good but not great.  She did however like the sangria :).

Great spot in SoCo for Italian food and the outside patio with twinkling lights was perfect for dinner with friends.

Jalisco's

On 12/1/15, we had a holiday dinner Tex Mex style at Jalisco's on far south Congress.  This restaurant is south Congress before you get to William Cannon.  It has a great atmosphere and we enjoyed our dinner there.  You can't go wrong with Tex Mex food in Austin, especially south Austin.  Yummy.

There were 5 of us and here are our reviews:

Everyone said the same of the ambiance-that it was great and fun!  The wait time was very quick and the waitstaff was very friendly and pleasant.  "They were attentive but not overbearing".  No complaints from anyone.

*Texas Fajitas were very good.
*Supreme Nachos were yummy and had shrimp, chicken, and beef.  They were way too much food     for one person.
*Fish Tacos with rice and steamed vegetables were just the right amount and excellent.
*Shrimp a la Mexicana - the very reason I go here!  Shrimp sauteed in a tomato/pepper sauce served over rice.  The shrimp are very big and taste so fresh.

  



Torchy's SoCo

On 2/2/16, a big group of us went to Torchy's on South Congress.  This Torchy location was just opening and could not serve beer or wine yet but we had a fun time and sat outside on the patio.
Several new girls joined us and they kept it lively even without alcohol.  lol.

I have 7 critique sheets so will compile them.  Everyone who lives in Austin has pretty much been to Torchy's.  They started with food truck locations and now have several locations, the one on South Congress being a new one.  You order your tacos from a line, grab a table and they deliver them to you.  Good place to go with a crowd as everyone can order and pay individually.

The only negative thing mentioned was the fact that the bar was not open yet.
Comments about the restaurant were: "very inviting, love the decor, sat outside-nice and extremely clean".
Comments about the waitstaff were: "awesome and attentive, friendly, helpful and courteous".

The tacos here are all specialties as you will find when eat here.  Several that we tried were The Jerk chicken (very hot!), Scalleywag (overflowing with shrimp), Trailer park trashy (cheesy, comfort food, always get this one), Crossroads (very good), Fried avocado (yum) and Mr. Pink (tuna, delicious),

Of course, everyone said they would be going back (after the bar is opened)!

Wahoo's Fish Taco Bar - Austin, TX -South Congress location

The Grazing Congress Food group ate dinner at Wahoo's on 9/29/2015.
Overall it was a great place and we all enjoyed our dinner and time at this relaxing and fun place.
We grabbed a big table by the order line so it was very convenient for everyone to place orders and go back for drinks, etc.  We lucked out because it was Tuesday Taco night and all the al a carte tacos were $2.00 and it was also $2.00 for draft beer.  I spent just $8.00 and had a great dinner and in Austin, TX you can't hardly beat that.  :)
There were 8 of us that made it to Wahoo's!


Abbie had the shrimp enchiladas with red sauce and commented "it was exactly what you want from enchiladas, she liked the venue calling it eclectic, beachy, and very fun.  She will be going back.


Casey had a fish taco and shrimp enchilada, he said the place was "grungy but clean" - said he will be going back once a month.


Fran thought the ambiance was clean and fun as well and said the music volume was just right.
She commented the wait staff was friendly and the wait time was quick for ordering and getting food.
she had the shrimp tacos and a shrimp enchilada and said it was really good.


Debbie had a Wahoo shrimp salad and tortilla soup, she said they were excellent and low on calories!
Liked the place and will be going back again.


Teresa said Wahoo's was a very pleasant and clean nice place.  She ordered chips and salsa with had an enchilada, she loved the green sauce on the enchilada. 


Lori commented the service was a 10 out of 10.  She liked that we could order at counter and that we could order multiple things to try.  She ordered a "stop light" which was chips with red salsa, green salsa, and queso dip.  She shared with the group and the chips were great!
She had a shrimp taco and chicken taco and loved them both. Liked the casual atmosphere and said all the food tasted so fresh!


I ordered a fish taco and 2 shrimp tacos, they were soft tacos and they tasted wonderful!  I agree with Lori, very fresh tasting.  The shrimp was especially good.  The décor here has painted surf boards and skateboards, I want to take my grandson's back for some tacos and to see the boards.  They will love it.


Fun place, no one had one bad comment about Wahoo's!!  Be sure to check it out!
Next month, Italian food on south Congress.
(Photos to follow).

We Are Back At It - Time to Catch Up with Friends and Food on Congress Ave. - Austin, TX

Grazing Congress food group will be starting back up again.  I can’t believe how fast time has gone by.   Our last outing was at Hill’s Café in July, 2014 so over a year ago.    A lot of changes have happened in our group and we sure need to catch up.  I lost my husband to a heart attack last October 2014 so I have had a year of sadness and coping day by day with help from the Lord and my family and friends.  Both Gina and Terresa’s sons have finished high school and are in college now.  Debbie H. has had a “good loss” in that she has lost over 60 pounds with sensible eating and exercise.  Robyn N. has moved to Houston and gotten married.  Linda is in the process of selling and building a new home and took a well- deserved vacation to Alaska and Debi B. has been traveling and I am sure she has some good grand-ma stories for us.  My sister, niece, and a few more ladies are set to join us next week to enjoy more good food and fellowship on Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas.

 

HILL’S CAFÉ – July 1, 2014

Hill’s Café has been on South Congress Avenue for years and years.  It is an Austin original.  Everyone enjoyed the food and the place reminds me of a classy truck stop style café.  A little “trashy” with a lot of “class”!  I had the truck stop enchiladas which were very good and cheesy.  I enjoy this café and most times there is not a long wait in the evenings.  It does get busier for lunch. 

Comments:

Linda liked the laid back atmosphere.  She commented it took a while for our food to arrive, maybe because there were 7 of us there.  She had the chicken fried steak and said it was GREAT! 

Debi said it was very clean and the wait-staff was efficient, she had the mushroom burger with a side of zucchini, both had great flavor.  She would go back again!

Another commented, it was a little loud and hard to hear conversation and that the wait time for the food was longer than usual. She had the chicken fried steak and thought it was a little tough but liked the place because it is an Austin icon.

Next comments “Very Texas”.  It took a while to get our food but we used the time to catch up and chat. I ate chicken breast, grilled zucchini and green beans – said this is a great place for large groups.

Last comments were that Hill’s was a very friendly place.  Had the original Hill’s burger and the meat was perfect, loved the kolache bun and the serving was very large.  Only ate half.  This gal is going back again also.

 

August/September 2013 The Woodland

Tonight we went to The Woodland which was back on South Congress.  The place was really neat on the inside, painted green and had a forest theme.  One of the first things you notice inside is the glass case with pies, pies and more pies! 

We had a reservation and they had a table for 6 ready for us!  It was not very crowded on Tuesday night.  One minor thing that was wrong was I ordered the house made sangria (red) and they were out of the red and forgot to take it off our bill.  I noticed it on the bill though and he promptly took it off.

Other than that, this place was very, very good and a great place to sit and visit without feeling rushed.  Teresa and I ordered the chicken pot pie which was very good and very reasonable at just $9.  Fran had the pork empanadas, Linda had the patty melt and Gina ordered shrimp quesadillas and caprese salad.  Everyone raved about how good the food was and there was a great selection too.

Since we had seen the pies going in, everyone wanted to try some pie for dessert.  The two we tried were the coconut cream and the chocolate peanut butter.  Our favorite was the coconut cream but the chocolate peanut butter was good too and very rich like a giant peanut butter cup.  The service was good and as stated above, we stayed and talked quite a while after dinner and were not rushed at all.

We agreed we would all go back again!  I really enjoyed dinner here tonight.

 

Gourdough's - July 2013

In July, the group decided to venture off of South Congress and go eat on South Lamar at a restaurant called Gourdoughs.  This restaurant started in Ireland as a beer pub selling doughnuts.  On the poster there just shows to be the one in Dublin and the one in Austin, TX.  This place started as food trailer  selling just the specialty doughnuts here in Austin but then expanded into this restaurant. 

I really like the place and have been 3 times now.  All the food is based upon fried doughnut dough.  The sandwiches and hamburgers are all on plain doughnuts.   

I have had the kolaches (again made with doughnut batter).  I have tasted the chicken dumplings which were made with doughnut dumplings and had several sandwiches.  Everyone in our group agreed that the best food entre is the BLT sandwich. 

The fun part about this is the specialty doughnuts for dessert!  You have to save room for them and they are fun to split.  We ordered the southern maid (like a pecan pie doughnut), one made with chocolate syrup and one called "salty balls" which was doughnut holes with caramel, icing and peanuts.

This place is one of those places you love to take others!!  The wait staff is excellent and helpful with the menu.  Try it if you haven't.  I always leave very full after tasting the doughnut desserts.

They even have a salad with chicken fried bacon!!  This place is not your low fat or healthy food eatery.  My favorite dessert is the "salty balls".

Robyn's comments on Gourdough's were that is was clean and rustic and there was no issue with waiting for a table at 6 PM.  She states the waitress took great care of us and offered suggestions and was very friendly.  She tried the "mother clucker" which was southern fried chicken on top of a doughnut.  She said "it was very tasty.  For dessert she had "The Puddin" which was like banana pudding on top of a doughnut.  She said it was "sinfully good" and that she is going back again.

Debi had the greek salad and said it was very good and there was plenty of it.  She said the garlic doughnut which came with it was great!  She thought the place was very fun and is going back again for sure.

Also my sister, Fran has moved back to Austin and will be joining out group for dinner!  I am so excited.  This was her first night to join us. 

June 2013 - Guero's Taco Bar

In June we all met at Guero's taco bar which is an old Austin favorite.  It started out as an old mill and feed store before it was turned into a restaurant.  It has very good Mexican food which we all enjoyed.
At Guero's I had the fish tacos for my meal and they were so good!  A few people had enchiladas with various sauces which they said were very good too.
We had a group of about 6.  I ordered the sangria here thinking it would be the red wine drink but it was actually a frosty margarita with red wine and was very good.
Before eating at Guero's I did a little shopping at the Tesora(sp) store next door where I bought a purse!  That is one fun thing about eating on South Congress, there is always a little shopping to be done as well.
All in all this was another fun dinner on South Congress with great friends doing a lot of chatting!! 

May 2013 - The Snack Bar

I am going to do some catch up on this blog finally.  My apologies to the faithful group of friends that have been going out to dinner on Tuesday nights.  I have not spent the time to update our blog with our outings so tonight I have 4 updates to do.

This place is a really fun, lively spot and we sat out on the patio which is right on the South Congress sidewalk which made for some really good "people watching".

Tonight we had a new person come to dinner which was Roberta Vasek.  We really enjoyed catching up with her.  She has been with Progressive a number of years.

Also joining us was Debi Bruns-Lake's daughter, granddaughter and son-n-law.  It was so nice to meet them and fun having a little one at the table.  She is 3 and so well behaved!

The service was very good here.  They were especially accommodating for all of us arriving at different times, I know I was there early and waiting at the table (with a sangria I might add) for about 15 minutes watching people walk by.  Some places we have eaten at wanted the whole party there before they would give you a table.

The food was very good and everyone there agreed they would definitely be going back again!