The highest and best use possible.

Posted on September 30, 2026 by dwightbrown

A former Houston Luby’s restaurant is swapping out its famous LuAnn Platters and square-shaped fish for spooky costumes and movie masks. Spirit Halloween has taken over the former Montrose-River Oaks cafeteria location at 1414 Waugh Drive.

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Jewboy Sub Shop Rides Into The Sunset

Posted on September 22, 2026 by lawrenceperson

This evidently happened last year, but I didn’t notice until this week.

JewBoy Sub Shop will permanently close its doors Sunday after four and a half years of serving the Austin community, the restaurant announced on social media.

The restaurant, located at 6701 Burnet Road, cited an expiring lease and new business opportunities as reasons for the closure. The owners expressed gratitude to customers and employees who supported the restaurant throughout its run.

This is a shame, as we had an SDC there and really like it, probably more than any of Austin’s sub shop chains.

When Dwight said that “DonDon is in one of those mixed use residential/retail on the first floor developments that replaced something more worthwhile on Burnet. I disremember exactly what,” he might have been thinking this, as they went in where JewBoy had an outdoor eating area.

Jewboy Burgers is still open.

(Title reference here.)

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Hank Hill Reiterates the Saturday Dining Conspiracy’s Position on QR Code Menus

Posted on September 21, 2026 by lawrenceperson

Just in case it was unclear to anyone:

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Obit watch: September 17, 2026.

Posted on September 17, 2026 by dwightbrown

Friend of everyone, and unindicted SDC co-conspirator (though it wasn’t for lack of trying), Andrew Wimsatt, was murdered on Labor Day.

In addition to everything else about him, Andrew had been attending Saturday Dining Conspiracies almost as long as Lawrence and I have been doing them. I think he was at the very first one (a now forgotten place called Spaghetti Western) and he was there every Saturday night. Unless he was out of town. Or at a music festival. Or a car show. He loved the car shows at Top Notch, and had been considering getting his own classic car to wrench on.

I want to point you to the three posts Lawrence made on his blog, as I think they contain an excellent summation of Andrew. Especially the third:

My Friend Was Murdered On Labor Day
Updates On The Murder Of Andrew Wimsatt
Remembering Andrew Wimsatt: “The Coolest Dude Ever”

Man loved to eat. And he loved salt.

He will be missed.

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Take these broken wings and learn to fly again…

Posted on September 17, 2026 by dwightbrown

Every now and then, I see one of those food festivals advertised and thing, “This sounds like fun. I wonder if I should go.”

Then I remember why I don’t go to food festivals.

The organizers behind the Houston Chicken Wing Festival are issuing both refunds and apologies after the event’s inaugural run at drumettes and flats fell flat over the weekend.
Sunday’s event at the Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park was promoted as a “one day celebration of the best chicken wings in Houston.” But vendors and attendees stated things didn’t go as planned: The vendors ran out of food, guests were turned away, and a live cookoff competition had to be called off before it even started. As a result, organizer Bayou City Hangouts released an apology Monday.

…

General admission to the festival was free, though donations were encouraged. Those who splurged for a “Wings Tasting Pass,” however, had access to giveaways, prizes, voting rights in the cook-off competition, contests and guaranteed wing tastings. VIP ticket holders had additional perks, including one-hour-early entry, double competition voting rights, guaranteed gifts and shaded seating.
The Wing Pass and the VIP tickets started at $35 and $75, respectively. They increased to $45 and $90 as the event drew closer. A portion of the proceeds were to benefit Kids Meals Inc., a Houston nonprofit that delivers healthy meals to vulnerable preschool-aged children.

…

Hoover and DeVaul confirmed VIPs and Wing Tasting pass holders were each given 10 tickets instead of wristbands, citing a printing error. They said guests had the option to use their tickets with whomever they wanted—say, five tickets for one vendor, three for a second and two for a third…
But those tickets were spread out among just three vendors serving chicken wings (there were 39 total businesses participating in the festival). There was no competition.
“Absolute bust and scam,” wrote an attendee responding to Bayou City Hangouts’ apology on Instagram. “3 wing vendors total and they ran out of wings. One vendor didn’t even honor my wing pass. Waste of money and I need my refund.”

It sounds disorganized and very much a fiasco. As I said, this is why I don’t go to food festivals: 99 times out of 100, it seems like they end up being complete failures.

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How to kill a restaurant.

Posted on August 24, 2026 by dwightbrown

The Saturday Dining Conspiracy ate at DonDon Japanese Fire Bowl by SOSU.

Well, we planned to, anyway.

DonDon is in one of those mixed use residential/retail on the first floor developments that replaced something more worthwhile on Burnet. I disremember exactly what.

Three of us got there at very close to the same time. We were confronted by aggressive parking warnings:

Now, I resent the fact that too many places these days want to assume that 1) I have a smartphone, b) My smart phone is charged, and III) that I’m willing to use my smartphone to register for parking/order off their menu/do basic things and submit myself to their tracking. But setting that to one side for the moment…

This is the screen we got from the R2Park site after selecting the name of the center.

When we selected “visitor parking” (there was no other option), we got:

There was no access code. Anywhere. I tried installing their app, just as a test, and got the same result.

Two out of the three of us went inside DonDon to explain the situation and ask them what to do. They had no idea. They knew nothing about the parking setup.

None of us, including Lawrence, wanted to risk having our cars towed. So we bailed on DonDon and went instead to Ichiban instead. They were just up the road, they’ve been around forever, and while they have an awful parking lot, it didn’t require any registration or smartphone usage. And it was good.

So, congratulations “Marq on Burnet”. You managed to deprive your tenant, DonDon, of over $200 worth of business on a Saturday night (and they were not busy when we went in: just the opposite, as a matter of fact), and you’ve managed to arrange things so that I will never go back to DonDon or any other business in your retail center.

I hope you’re happy.

Posted in Gripes, Japanese | 1 Comment

Get your biscuits in the oven…

Posted on July 22, 2026 by dwightbrown

Previously, I noted that Maple Street Biscuit Company was owned by Cracker Barrel.

Not. Anymore.

Cracker Barrel has sold its Maple Street Biscuit Company brand and 35 restaurants to Biscuit Belly, LLC and will close 16 locations of the fast casual breakfast chain.

Biscuit Belly’s website says that the 35 restaurants are going to “transition” to Biscut Belly locations. The Bee Cave location is one of those, though the list I saw said the transition is scheduled for Q4 2027. I don’t have any clue about how BB runs their fiscal year, so I guess I’ll find out when it happens.

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More random food notes.

Posted on June 22, 2026 by dwightbrown

1. On the Border is really most sincerely dead. (Previously.)

OTB Hospitality, LLC filed for bankruptcy on Friday, effectively ending Pappas Restaurants’ efforts to revive On the Border brand after acquiring it out of bankruptcy last year. The news also comes a month after the group announced a series of changes for the restaurant chain, including a “sweeping menu overhaul.”
“This was an incredibly difficult decision. Our teams worked hard over the past year to stabilize the business, but it became clear that OTB would require substantial ongoing investment that would pull focus and resources away from the core operations that define who we are,” Chris Pappas said in a statement. “While this was a necessary step, we remain incredibly proud of our team members and the heart they brought to this brand, and we are deeply grateful to the guests and employees who supported On The Border for so many years.”

This isn’t Chapter 11: this is Chapter 7, which is complete liquidation.

According to bankruptcy filings, OTB Hospitality entered liquidation with about $753,000 in assets and more than $6.2 million in liabilities. In addition, the company had around $2 million in severance to former staff and listed $15.4 million in vendor payments in the 90 days preceding the bankruptcy.

2. The latest restaurant that allegedly isn’t paying their staff: Down South CaJJun Eats in Pflugerville.

At first, Saldana said, employees were issued checks – but not always ones they could immediately cash.
“They were just giving us the checks, but we couldn’t cash them because they were gonna bounce,” Saldana said. “They would ask us, ‘Oh, can you cash them in two or three days?’”
Instead, Saldana said owners would pay employees – including herself – through apps like Cash App and Zelle, but the delays continued – with money often arriving days after payday.

We’d consider eating at the place – there aren’t nearly enough Cajun options around town – but not if they are cheating their workers.

To be fair, though, they may be having more problems than normal: a guy got killed there during Cinco de Mayo, and that’s the kind of thing that puts a damper on business.

3. Is Sysco ruining the restaurant business?

The general public got a full taste of Sysco resentment in October 2025 when progressive nonprofit More Perfect Union published The Hidden Reason Why Restaurants Are Getting Worse by Brock Hrehor. In the report, Hrehor noted Sysco had become too central to independent restaurant operations, supplying pre-prepared and pre-made ingredients and meals en masse in a way that’s driving the company’s business model. This has had the effect, according, per the report, of contributing to a kind of sameness across different restaurants and killing unique and creative cooking under the threat of consolidation.

“progressive nonprofit”. I’m going to say “no” to the question above. And I have no real brief for Sysco.

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Random notes.

Posted on June 18, 2026 by dwightbrown

1. Penske Media (the owners of Deadline and the Hollywood Reporter) have bought the Eater websites. Among others:

Publishing brands, including food authority Eater, tech destination The Verge, sports network SB Nation, travel brand Thrillist, lifestyle site Popsugar, animal story-focused The Dodo and drinking culture site Punch, were acquired by Penske Media, the companies said on Thursday.

As I’ve noted in this space previously, Eater Austin has been completely useless for quite a while now. These days, I get better coverage of the Austin restaurant scene from the Houston Chronicle. It will be interesting to see if Penske tries to revive the Austin specific part, or if they decide to shutter that side of Eater.

2. Something I’ve noticed recently and find interesting: I’ve been hearing a lot recently about how hard times are for barbecue places, what with the high price of beef and everything else.

Well, Kruez Market in Lockhart has been heavily advertising their catering services on local television. I’ve noticed the ads on one specific channel during a specific time period. I’m trying to recall the last time I saw a commercial for a barbecue place, and I can’t. (I’d link to the commercial, but it doesn’t seem to be on the ‘Tube.)

3. Twin Peaks has spun itself off from the bankrupt FAT Brands. (Previously.)

According to the release shared Monday, Twin Peaks said it will no longer be associated with FAT Brands and will return to its previous status as a privately held company, operating as Summit Twin Hospitality I, LLC.

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The last roundup.

Posted on June 11, 2026 by dwightbrown

Louisiana Longhorn in Round Rock is closing on June 20th.

This is a darn shame. We had a couple of SDCs there, and I ate there from time to time when I worked closer to Round Rock. It was a pretty swell Cajun/seafood place.

In an interview with the Austin American-Statesman, our sister paper, Louisiana Longhorn owners Warren and Jenny Smith said rising food prices, a lack of parking and the changing nature of Round Rock’s downtown area were among the factors behind the closure. Business was especially challenging outside of winter and crawfish season.

In other news, the HouChron is reporting that all of the On the Border locations are closing. As you may recall, Pappas Restaurants bought On the Border out of bankruptcy last year. I think it will be interesting to see what Pappas does with the properties.

OtB’s website says they are hiring, but if you click on the various “opportunities” on that page, they all say they currently have no positions available.

Posted in Cajun, Closed, Mexican | 1 Comment