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!

March Outing to Magnolia Cafe-South Congress

On March 26, 2013 five of the Grazing Congress group ate at Magnolia Cafe.  It is a very fun, local restaurant that most people that eat there have breakfasts, they have the best omelets.  I took a vote to see where we would eat this time and everyone picked Magnolia Cafe over Fran's.  Now we wish we would have chosen Fran's because it has closed within the last two weeks and we missed our chance to eat there as a group!
Magnolia was great though and the food and service was excellent!  I recommend this eatery to everyone, they have a large variety of choices on the menu from chicken fried steak to sprouts!  I had the tropical turkey tacos.  They were made on whole wheat tortillas with turkey, pineapple and salsa and were great.
Several others had a salad and loved them.  Teresa had forgotten we were going and ate before she came so she had a brownie a la mode, of course we all had a taste and it was good.  We decided sometime we should go "grazing" and just order all desserts to share.
Our next outing will be toward the end of April.  Will report back after we eat out.  I have sure enjoyed the friendships and time together with this group of ladies.
Oh, and after we ate at Magnolia, Gina and I walked next door to Prima Dora for a little shopping!  That shop is worth the stop, a lot of unusual Austin gifts and reasonable priced.

Habana - Feb. 26, 2013

We had another great dinner and outing at Habana Restaurant Bar & Grill on Feb. 26, 2013.  The food here was amazing and I really loved the little "cabanas" outside that we sat in for drinks until we got a little cold and more people arrived so the cabana was a little tight to eat.  We moved into the enclosed patio area which was nice too!  You can't go wrong sitting either place.  I liked the place so much that I have been back again and everything was great the second time around also!
We had 9 people go to dinner this time, two new grazer, Abbie and Raquel.  We said goodbye to Mary O'Brien who has been to almost all of our outings.  She has moved to South Carolina with a new job and new boyfriend, good luck to you Mary and we will miss you!
Now for the reviews for Habana -  there may be more to follow but here is what I have so far.

I loved Habana and as I mentioned above, I loved the outdoor cabana seating, see pics below of us in the cabana.  I had margarita and it was a large one and very tasty.  They have a drink happy hour from 4-7 PM.  The service was very slow at first and we were probably there 30 minutes until every one had their drinks.  Once we ordered the wait for the food wasn't bad.  We were a tough group for our waitress as we moved inside after we ordered and did not sit in the same places but she was a trooper and very friendly.  I also appreciated the fact that we got individual checks which is unusual for a party of 9.  I had the beef stew and potatoes which was excellent.  I chose the white rice and red beans with my entree and mixed them together.  The stew was excellent and the portions were large.  I also tasted the pork and some guacamole and both were good.  I have been a second time and had a pork empanada which was great also.

Mary said Habana was clean with a great ambiance.  She would like to sit outside in cabana in warmer weather.  The staff was very nice but service was slow.  She had the shrimp creole which tasted delicious but the portion was small for the price of $16.  The Sangria (and it is made there) was awesome.  Sangria was her 3rd choice as they did not have cider beer or ginger ale.  She also states that CASTRO the cat was cool.  He was hanging out on the patio with us.

Debbie H. said Habana was clean and fun!  She also noted that the service was a little slow to get started.  She said Joanne, our waitress was very friendly and we changed tables 3 times and she was not phased.  She had the roast pork and said it was wonderful.  She had the other half for lunch the next day as the portions were so large.  She would like more veggies for side choices other than rice and beans.

Robyn said we first sat outside under a cabana which was fun but a little tight for all of us. :)  She thought the wait time was a little long and that the waitress was very friendly but really got confused at payout time and seemed to misplace a few checks that were paid.  Robyn had the roasted pork plate and said it was Fabulous, very tasty and large servings.  She said Yes absolutely when asked if she was going back again.

Stay tuned until March, when we graze Congress again.

Botticelli's - January 29, 2013

Of all the 6 places we have been so far this was my favorite as far as food!  It was so delicious and I cannot wait to go back.
You need reservations but very easy to book online at "open table".  I called the day of our meal and added one more person.
Because we wanted to have the happy hour menu, we sat out in beer garden.  It was very pretty and was great except a rainstorm blew in on us about the time we were arriving.  They turned on the table heater and we got comfy and really enjoyed the storm.  Of course here they don't last long and the whole thing blew over in about 15 minutes.
The happy hour menu has food and drinks for a great price, it is from 5-7 daily.
We had a 7 people and again had such a good time catching up and visiting.
Here are the reviews:

Deb H. said the place was clean and fun, commented that a storm blew in and we stayed dry.  the wait staff was very friendly and helpful.  She had mussells and ravioli.  Both were excellent.  She is ready to go back again and said the parking was much easier than she thought!

Robyn N. liked the ambiance, even the light rain shower made the patio nice!  She notes our waitress wasn't overly friendly but she did her job well except for getting Paula her drink.  She had the ravioli stuffed with butternut squash and says "yummy"!  She is going back again and said "Company was the best"!

Debbie B. had the bread Italian sandwich and said it was good and there was lots for the price.

My review as I stated above is that I loved this place and especially the food!  We sat in the beer garden but very nice, the table still had white table cloths and candles.  The wait staff was very helpful in getting some plastic down and the table heater turned on to make us comfortable.  The happy hour menu has several drinks for $5 and beer for $2.  The Botticelli bread is the best and on the happy hour menu is just $7.  It is a full load of Italian bread stuffed with meats and cheese.  It is enough for two to share.  I also had shrimp with polenta off the HH menu which was just $5.  This was my first time to have polenta and it was great.  It is a mix between grits and cornbread.
I am definitely going back again!  This was the best food so far in my opinion.

Go see for yourself, I think you will really love Botticelli's if you like Italian food.

Grazing Congress Group-Opal Devine's

It has been awhile since my last post.  Due to summer vacations and then holidays, we had a slower end to 2012 but we are back at it for 2013 and will be "grazing" once a month.

That said, we did go to Opal Devine's 9/25/2012.  There were 5 of us and we had a wonderful time catching up and visiting.  We ate on their fabulous deck under the misters because it was still very hot in Austin, TX last September.
The food and service was great, I had the fish and chips which was very good and I highly recommend it.  Teresa enjoyed the food and atmosphere so much she took her family back so they could enjoy it again.  We had a few pictures but I do not have them to post here.

In January we went to Botticelli's.  I will review it in the next post!