Goodbye, Goodnight.

Posted on October 17, 2013 by dwightbrown

A couple of friends of mine asked me out to dinner last night. After some discussion, we settled on The Goodnight. I thought this was a good choice: it is a spin-off venture of the people behind the Alamo Drafthouse, which I like, and we’ve been talking about trying it ever since it opened.

I got there a little early (as is my wont). The setup is pretty standard: on the left as you enter is the dining room passageway, with the standard “Please wait to be seated” sign. On the right is a desk with a computer, phone, and a young woman working both.

So I waited to be seated.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And then someone who worked there came out, looked at me, and asked me what I wanted.

I AM FUCKING STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO THE “PLEASE WAIT TO BE SEATED” SIGN. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I WANT, ASSHOLE?

(This happens to me every so often when I go out. I’ll walk up to the “Please wait to be seated” sign, and the staff looks at me like I have three heads or something. Yes, people do dine alone. It sets my teeth on edge when they do this.)

I politely explain that I am looking to be seated for dinner. The guy looks around a bit, and then tells me “She’ll help you” and disappears into the back.

“She” is the woman sitting at the desk, who has been on the phone and computer the entire time I’ve been waiting, and shows no sign of acknowledging my existence.

So I wait some more.

“She” finally gets off the phone and computer and comes over to where I am. Once again, we go through the same drill I went through with the previous gentleman: it was apparently inconceivable to her as well that I might actually want a table for myself and the two other people who were joining me.

But finally, I manage to convince her that I would like a table for my party of three, and she finds me one. Sandwiched between two noisy parties, when there are several unoccupied tables a little further down in the dining room, but at least it is a table.

Over the years, I’ve developed a rule. If I start a stopwatch running, and the staff hasn’t acknowledged my existence within five minutes, I walk out. I don’t demand drinks be on the table in five minutes: all I want is for someone to show some sign that they know I’m there, even if it is just “I’ll be with you in a minute, sir”.

At 5 minutes and 3 seconds, literally as I was pushing my chair back to leave, the waitress finally came over and asked if I’d like something to drink. I nursed an ice water for a bit, progressively getting more and more angry, and finally decided I’d had enough of this bullshit.

So I walked out, waited for my friends out in front of The Goodnight, and then we went over to Korea House. Say what you will about Korea House, but at least we were treated like valued customers there, and not like something someone had scraped off the bottom of their shoes.

Congratulations, Tim League and The Goodnight. You’ve managed to earn the coveted SDC “Die In A Fire” status, you’ve ensured I’m never going back to The Goodnight under any circumstances, and you’ve given me a great story that I can tell to as many people as possible.

Posted in American, DIAF, Gripes | 2 Comments

July 27, 2013: Prima Pizza Pasta

Posted on July 27, 2013 by lawrenceperson

Prima Pizza Pasta
6001 W Parmer Ln (the same corner as the HEB)
258-5700

Lawrence’s Comments

Once upon a time, this space was a CiCi’s pizza. And it closed. How hard can it be to make a profit at a pizza place when your primary ingredient is cardboard?

So I was somewhat skeptical when new pizza place went in there. Though situated at a semi-major intersection at Parmer and McNeil, it’s as far as you can get from the center’s anchor store (HEB) and still be in the same center. So how good could their chances be?

After more than a year: So far, so good. It really helps when you serve excellent pizza.

Things started off right with the garlic cheese bread, which was excellent; a fellow diner said it was better than that served at Reale’s, which is high praise indeed. Also good were the free rolls. (Alas, the calimari remains nothing to write home about.)

The pizza itself remains excellent, an exemplary example of the new York style soft thin-crust pizza; I’d have to compare it back-to-back with Reale’s to see which I prefer. In fact, I like the pizza so much that I frequently pick up a slice or two on Fridays. At some point I also want to try some of the non-pizza dishes, which have received a fair amount of praise from fellow diners. And the service from our waitress was also excellent, with many an preemptive soft-drink refill.

If you like pizza and live anywhere north, you should definitely make an effort to check out Prima. So far they seem to have remained undiscovered, and have plenty of uncrowded seating to enjoy some delicious Italian food.

Posted in Italian, Pizza | Tagged , | 1 Comment

May 25, 2013: Man Bites Dog

Posted on June 5, 2013 by lawrenceperson

Man Bites Dog
5222 Burnet Rd.
614-1330

Lawrence’s Comments

What you have here is a vending cart transformed into a small restaurant storefront. If you like hot dogs, they’ve got hot dogs (as well as corn dogs and a few appetizers).

And they do good hot dogs. The Hair of the Dog, wrapped in a fried egg and bacon, was quite tasty. And the pulled pork mac and cheese appetizer was pretty good as well.

The place is pretty crowded on a Saturday night. I’m surprised they were actually able to keep up as well as they did with only two people working. The ambiance is fast food functional, with a handful of games on hand for the entertainment of children of all ages. I got to teach Dwight’s niece and nephew that Connect 4 is indeed just another variant of Lawrence Always Wins. Unfortunately, they’re another place that uses that weird Maine softdrink dispenser setup, and their diet cola still sucks.

The biggest drawback to the place, at least as a regular candidate for my own patronage, is that dog dogs are pretty easy to fix. I can make a hot dog as good or better at home quicker and cheaper than I can get one here. And if I do feel like getting out of the house to eat, I’m probably not going to opt for hot dogs.

However, if you are down with the concept, Man Bites Dog executes on it pretty well.

Posted in American, Cheap Dining | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

May 18, 2013: Naanfull

Posted on May 20, 2013 by lawrenceperson

Naanfull
1335 E Whitestone Blvd, Ste T-130 (Cedar Park, 78613)
528-5903

Lawrence’s Comments

The concept just doesn’t work for me.

I have no a priori objection to Indian fast food, but I haven’t met an installment of it I thought worked. The problems with Naanful:

  • This location isn’t particularly convenient for grab-and-go food. It’s tucked back pretty far in a shopping complex, with no drive-through.
  • It’s got the ambiance of a fast-food joint, but the prices aren’t notably cheaper than your average Indian restaurant.
  • We didn’t get our food much faster than we would have gotten it at an Indian place after ordering.
  • The appetizer menu is extremely limited.
  • I thought the samosas were bland.

That said, I thought my lamb vindaloo was fine, but could have used a bit more meat.

Honestly, the only reason I can see anyone going here (assuming you’re not lured by the siren song of big-screen Indian cricket) is because Indian choices in Cedar Park are extremely limited. But outside those narrow geographic constraints, there are plenty of better (and a few cheaper) Indian food choices.

Posted in Indian | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Amy, Amy, Amy…

Posted on May 18, 2013 by dwightbrown

For those of you who may have missed it, or didn’t download the copies floating around the net: the Amy’s Baking Company episode of Kitchen Nightmares is now available for free on Hulu. (Previously.)

Posted in Television | Leave a comment

May 11, 2013: Nagoya Steak and Sushi

Posted on May 15, 2013 by lawrenceperson

Nagoya Steak and Sushi
Nagoya Steak and Sushi
11630 N FM 620.
258-9888
30.457317°N, 97.2432°W
WiFi: No.
Pepper grinder rating: 0.
Men’s room: 2.5.

Lawrence’s Comments

This is a nice, attractively decorated Japanese restaurant. Oddly enough, they were playing a fairly chill reggae dub mix while we were there, which seemed strangely appropriate for the ambiance of the place. They have a nice half-price happy hour menu (though that ends at 6 PM, so get there a little early). All the appetizers we had (gyoza, shumai, etc.) were good, although only the calamari really stood out.

The miso soup was definitely better than average, mainly by being more substantial. The salad was like every other sushi-place salad.

I did enjoy my hibachi rib-eye, and they did cook it medium rare.

Drawbacks: No rainbow roll or unagi on the happy hour menu, the prices are a bit higher than you’re going to pay at Momiji, and soft drinks come in bottles, so no free refills.

This is a solid restaurant, though Momiji’s is slightly closer and slightly cheaper. I could see dropping by either, depending on my mood.

Posted in Japanese, Sushi | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Gordo.

Posted on May 14, 2013 by dwightbrown

I don’t watch Kitchen Nightmares. (The reasons why are personal, and not really relevant to a food blog.)

But I think I am going to have to make an exception for this episode. Holy cow.

Yes, I know, “reality television”, probably heavily edited, taken out of context, etc. But:

(And pocketing tips? I Am Not A Lawyer, but my understanding is that this is the kind of behavior that gets you investigated by multiple federal and state agencies, and generally results in big lawyer bills and large cash settlements.)

Note: the episode apparently aired last week. It is available on the Fox web site and Hulu right now, but you either have to have a Hulu Plus account or a Fox account through one of their designated providers to watch it. The Fox website says it will be available to the general public eight days after air date, and it looks like the same applies on Hulu. The Eater articles also contain a link to a bootleg version, which I won’t link here.

Posted in Television | Leave a comment

May 4, 2014: Pinthouse Pizza

Posted on May 11, 2013 by lawrenceperson

IMAG0314
Pinthouse Pizza
4729 Burnet Rd.
436-9605
30.318865°N, 97.73927°W
WiFi: Yes.
Pepper grinder rating: 0.
Men’s room: 2.

Lawrence’s Comments

This is a brewpub that serves pretty decent pizza. It’s an “order at the counter” sort of place, though they do have people busing the tables. Seating is BBQ bench tables style, like The Salt Lick.

The pizza is pretty good and reasonably priced. I also liked their soft pretzel, which seemed better than the average New York cart vendor.

Drawbacks: The place has the feel and acoustics of a crowded barn, and is probably the ninth or tenth loudest venue we’ve been in. Also, soft drinks are that weird off-brand Maine thing, which I’m not fond of. And the appetizer and dessert selection is pretty limited.

Worth trying if you’re in the area, or want to try the beer (which I’ll let Dwight review).

Dwight’s Comments

My problem is that I drink beer, from time to time (relatively infrequently) but I’m not a beer snob. I got a sampler of the Pinthouse house brews, and liked almost all of them. My one exception was the Bearded Seal, which I think is their attempt to brew a Guinness stout style beer: it was just too bitter and too hoppy for my taste.

As for the pizza and other appetizers, they were all perfectly fine. And that’s sort of the problem. The pizza is good, but there’s just as good or better pizza at at least four pizza places I can think of (Cajun Pizza Place, Milto’s, Pizza Bistro, and Brooklyn Heights, off the top of my head). And none of those places give you the feeling that you’re sitting in a loud crowded barn. Pinthouse’s big advantage is the craft beer, if you’re into that sort of thing. And I give them maximum points for service. I’d go back if I was with people who are into the craft brewing scene. On my own, though, there’s nothing that really jumps out at me and makes me want to return.

Posted in Pizza | Tagged , | 2 Comments

And the In-and-Out Burger location is…

Posted on April 25, 2013 by lawrenceperson

4508 N. I-35. Or so read the tea leaves.

I ate at an In-and-Out Burger on a business trip to California a while back. And it was…good. But nothing that made it clearly superior to, say, Mighty Fine.

But I’m sure we’ll give it a try once it’s open…

Posted in Burgers, News, Opening | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Is this the Hill’s you want to die on?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by dwightbrown

The Statesman reports that Hill’s Barbecue Market on Steck has closed.

Funny thing about that. It is right around the corner from my apartment, but I never ate there. Lawrence and I had planned an SDC there. But when Lawrence called ahead to verify that they were open, they told him they’d stopped serving dinner. Even though dinner was clearly advertised on their website at the time, yep, no dinner on Saturday night or any other night of the week.

So we went to Dickey’s instead. I would have been happy to give a local place my business, but they decided it wasn’t worth it.

Too bad, but I can’t say I’m surprised. I don’t think they had a very good location, plus the other issues with Hill’s probably hurt them. (To be honest, we haven’t been to Hill’s in a while, either. I remember the food other than burgers being just okay. And it seems kind of out of the way; I’m not down on Ben White for the dinner hour that often.)

Posted in Barbecue, Closed | Leave a comment