Bad Ideas ‘R Us.

Posted on March 22, 2022 by dwightbrown

“Order anything besides brisket or burnt ends,” a sign greeting customers at Arthur Bryant’s location in Kansas City’s 18th and Vine District reads.
While the two options on the menu make up 70% of the restaurant’s business, Bryant’s said it is also reeling from sticker shock at the prices it is passing on to customers.
“As you can see, the brisket prices that we are charging are ridiculously high,” the sign reads. “This is because the prices we are paying are ridiculously high. We understand you are not happy but know we take no pleasure in charging these prices.”

They’re getting $21.95 a pound for brisket, according to the article. Just for comparison, Stiles Switch in Cedar Park is getting $31 a pound for a to-go order, and Schmidt Family Barbecue in Bee Cave is getting the same.

I’ve never been to Arthur Bryant’s. I’ve wanted to go since reading Calvin Trillin’s “Tummy Trilogy”, but the one time I had an excuse to go, I was between jobs and couldn’t travel to Kansas City.

That said, if I ever do go, I’m not ordering the turkey, thank you very much. As long as the prices are clearly posted, I figure it’s up to me to decide how much of what kind of meat I want, including brisket or burnt ends.

Instead Bryant’s is asking customers to contact their elected officials and demand they do something about the high price of beef and almost everything else.

At least they aren’t blaming the vertical integration of the broiler industry.

Posted in Barbecue | Leave a comment

Crawfish on Fyre…

Posted on March 10, 2022 by dwightbrown

I missed this story and, thankfully, the event itself. I didn’t find out about it until I checked the HouChron site for other reasons, and I’ve seen no coverage of this on Austin Eater, Austin360, or KXAN.

This past weekend was the Austin Crawfish Festival. It sounds like it went well, except for one small problem…

…they didn’t have any crawfish.

Gallaga and his fiancée waited more than two hours and didn’t taste a single mud bug.

…

“We’re standing around for an hour when it starts to feel like okay, what’s going on here?” Gallaga says. “Because, you know, there’s obviously no crawfish, nobody’s eating.”

…

Gallaga went to the front of the line and learned that festival workers were telling attendees that crawfish was coming, but to no avail. Hungry and frustrated, Gallaga and his fiancée left the line after two hours and headed for a nearby food truck in the general admission section of the festival. Ironically, one of those trucks had crawfish for sale.

…

Three years ago, a couple weeks before the first Austin Crawfish Festival, the organizers reached out to HooDoo Crawfish, asking for a 60-pound boil in four hours, as they were testing out distributors. Sistrunk says the group hustled to make it from Cedar Park to South Austin, only for the organizers to show up an hour late.
They liked the crawfish, and said they’d like to use it for their VIP area. But what gave Sistrunk pause: they had never had crawfish before that moment.
“So you guys sold over $40,000 worth of tickets to people for something you’ve never had, and you have no idea who’s gonna do it or where it’s gonna come from?” he remembers thinking. “I’m like, Oh my God, this is Fyre Fest.” HooDoo declined to take part in the festival. Sistrunk says the Austin Crawfish Festival organizers even stiffed him on the cost of the “test boil.”

The apparent organizers, Crenshaw Ventures, declined to comment to the HouChron. If I see any updates, I’ll link to them: if they wish to respond here, they are welcome to.

Otherwise…well, this is why I never go to any of these festivals. It seems like every one in Austin I’ve heard about (possibly excepting the Texas Monthly Barbecue Festival, and that’s in Lockhart this year) has been a complete fiasco.

Posted in Cajun, Gripes, Media | Leave a comment

Copper is Closing

Posted on December 28, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Copper in The Domain is closing January 2, 2022.

To Our Friends and Guests:

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of Copper. Our lease expires at the end of this year and we were unable to come to terms with the landlord for a renewal.

Our last day in operation will be Sunday, January 2nd. The bakery on Burnet Road will remain open.

They looked somewhat interesting, but we never got a chance to try them because, well, they’re in The Domain…

Posted in American, Closed | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Obit watch: December 17, 2021.

Posted on December 17, 2021 by dwightbrown

John Mueller, one of the great Texas barbecue guys. He was only 52.

Mueller grew up working for his father, the late Bobby Mueller, at family patriarch Louie Mueller’s barbecue restaurant in Taylor, bussing tables from the age of 8, according to his sister and La Barbecue owner, LeAnn Mueller, and eventually learning how to smoke and slice meat at his father’s side.

…

Mueller built his reputation on sturdy but supple brisket cooked hot and fast, gargantuan beef ribs with a soft side that belied their imposing stature, and a mercurial personality that often burned with the same intensity as his off-set smoker.
Franklin Barbecue owner Aaron Franklin worked briefly for Mueller in 2006, cutting onions and helping with other prep work, and says that the Taylor native had a talent that could not be taught.
“He spent all those years hanging out in Taylor learning from his dad. The guy really just had such a natural gift for cooking barbecue,” Franklin said. “I’d be surprised if there was anyone else in the world who has cooked more briskets than that guy.”

…

Mueller would play up the caricature of “the dark prince of Texas barbecue,” a moniker bestowed on him by Texas Monthly, later in life, blending barbs with banter that made him an unpredictable if entertaining presence at his businesses.
But despite his love for giving people grief and straddling the line between famous and infamous, Mueller at his heart was a classic Central Texas barbecue man who took the lessons from his father and then burned his own path through the barbecue scene.

…

John Lewis worked briefly for Mueller at his South First trailer before going to serve as pit boss at La Barbecue. Lewis, who now runs the lauded Lewis Barbecue in Charleston, S.C., says that despite his reputation as an ornery cuss, Mueller could be an affable guy who loved to share a laugh.
“He was a really, really kind guy. He had a huge heart and I didn’t really get to know that until we worked side by side,” Lewis said. “He would act really tough but the next second he is goofing on you. He had a great sense of humor.”

Additional coverage from the Dallas Morning News (by way of archive.is).

Edited to add 12/18: Texas Monthly tribute.

Posted in Barbecue, obituary | Leave a comment

What. The. Hell.

Posted on November 4, 2021 by dwightbrown

Just got an email from Perry’s Steakhouse.

Introducing Perry’s Private Reserve Caviar.

…

Perry’s signature caviar is from the World’s finest small batch Sturgeon that have been ethically and sustainably farmed with an all-natural diet and then harvested with the highest quality practices.

Not just caviar, but caviar from “small batch Sturgeon” (what the heck does that mean?) “ethically and sustainably farmed with an all-natural diet”.

But wait, there’s more:

…our innovative caviar service dish is kept at subzero temps…

…to maintain a perfect temperature for this and surrounded by ice (and sparklers) for a show-stopping and mouthwatering experience.

Any of you guys set of sparklers on the major holidays? You know what they smell like, right? Do you want your $2,646 per pound caviar smelling like burnt sparkler?

($175 for 30 grams, $75 for 10 grams. I think I did the math right. But you get chives, egg whites, toast points, egg yolks, and red onions with it.)

Don’t get me wrong, I like Perry’s. And I like caviar, and I have written in the past about the continuing caviar crisis. But this is just silly.

Posted in Fine Dining | Leave a comment

Catfish Parlour on N. 183 Is Closing

Posted on October 28, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Evidently the owner wanted to retire, and I bet the location is quite valuable.

They were a reliable staple, and we went there every so often.

The South and Georgetown locations remain open.

Dwight adds:

This is a darn shame. I always liked their shrimp and hush puppies.

And of course, no mention of this on Eater Austin or on the Statesman‘s food and drink page.

Posted in American, Closed, Seafood, Southern | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tragic news.

Posted on June 22, 2021 by dwightbrown

Mike the Musicologist forwarded us a link from Click2Houston.

Remember how Luby’s was closing down and selling off their real estate?

Yeah. Not so much.

The company announced Monday that it signed an agreement to sell Luby’s Cafeteria restaurant business to a newly formed affiliate of Calvin Gin.
“We are so pleased to be able to acquire the operation of these Luby’s Cafeteria stores, one of the iconic brands in the Texas restaurant market,” said Gin, CEO of the purchaser. “This transaction will allow us to continue serving the many loyal Luby’s customers at these locations and to provide long-term employment opportunities for the many associates currently at these locations.”

But:

The acquisition of the Luby’s cafeterias business will not include any of the real estate owned by Luby’s, or any of the company’s Fuddruckers operations or the Company’s Culinary Contract Service business, with the exception of the joint Luby’s/Fuddruckers location in Webster.

Just for grins, I went over to the Fuddrucker’s website to see if there were any open in the Austin area. The nearest one to me (that isn’t listed as “temporarily closed”) is on Slaughter Lane. The next nearest is in Waco. (The Round Rock location is “temporarily closed”. Yeah, I guess you could say that: it is now a location of the Tumble 22 Nashville hot chicken chain.)

Posted in American, Burgers | Leave a comment

Boned.

Posted on June 7, 2021 by dwightbrown

Noticed yesterday: the Bone Daddy’s restaurant on 183 near Duval is closed.

Apple Maps calls it “temporarily closed”, but the corporate website lists only three locations in Texas (Arlington, Dallas, and Lubbock).

I don’t really lament this. We went there once for an SDC. The barbecue was pretty average, and the experience was basically Twin Peaks without the class.

My most vivid memory of that visit, just to give you some idea of what I mean by “without the class”: there was a young waitress who was wearing a strategically placed coaster…because the cut of her shorts exposed too much plumber’s crack.

Oddly though, this was the most successful of the three restaurants in that center to start with: there was a Zio’s that folded pretty quickly (and has remained unoccupied since), a Razoo’s Cajun that lasted for a fair while (it eventually closed, was torn down, and is now a Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen which seems to be a roaring success), and the Bone Daddy’s. That probably held out as long as it did because there’s a hotel within easy walking distance.

Posted in Barbecue, Closed | Leave a comment

Which Austin Restaurants Are Open Or Closed During The Winter Storm

Posted on February 16, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Austinites who are out of food in their blacked-out homes do indeed have some dining choices available during the winter storm:

Here’s a list via Austin Eater.

And here’s one from Austin 360.

I thought it was my blogging duty to call around and find at least one restaurant not on either of those lists that was open. Success!

Doc B’s Restaurant + Bar in the Domain says they’re open until 5 PM today.

Sorry, that was the only one I found…

Posted in American, News | Leave a comment

2020 Austin Restaurant Closings

Posted on January 4, 2021 by lawrenceperson

Here’s a look back at Austin restaurants that closed in 2020, most (though not all) due to lockdowns from the Wuhan coronavirus. These are restaurants the SDC visited in the past, wanted to visit, or noticed the passing of (so it won’t include every Austin restaurant that closed), along with very brief notes.

  • Austin Java (three of four locations).
  • Be More Pacific. We never ate there, but that spot is sort of a Restaurant Site of the Damned.
  • Black Walnut Cafe (two Austin locations). Made a tasty burger and had the mad scientist coke machine.
  • Blue Baker: Another Arboretum closure. More bakery with a sidelight in sandwiches. I really hated the design of their space.
  • Blue Dahlia Bistro. Another Austin restaurant we never managed to get out to.
  • Brick Oven: Longtime Austin pizza restaurant at Braker and 183 is closing because that center’s HEB wants to expand into the space. I never liked their crust.
  • BRIO Tuscan Grille: Pricey Italian chain location in the Arboretum. Good food, but I only ate there on the very occasional Sunday (when Reale’s is closed).
  • Bombay Bistro North: Same center as Brick Oven, possibly closed for the same reason. Pretty decent Indian food.
  • Cafe Joise. A great place, back in the day.
  • Counter Cafe Diner at 6th and North Lamar. Pretty decent burgers, and a late night breakfast choice.
  • Dart Bowl Cafe. Never made it out there.
  • Easy Tiger on Sixth Street, which we really liked. The location at The Linc is still open, but really pissed us off.
  • Full English, a breakfast place Dwight used to frequent upon occasion.
  • Luby’s Cafeteria on Brodie Lane. Dwight was not a fan…
  • Holy Roller. Punk rock burger place we meant to try.
  • Lucy’s on the Lake. Never visited that location, but I did like the fried chicken at the south location.
  • North By Northwest. They did pretty good upscale pub grub, but they were all but empty for a 2019 lunch visit, so it appears business had been in decline for a while.
  • Shady Grove. A fine place for chicken fried steak and hamburgers.
  • Third Base Northwest: Sports bar on 183 that served pub grub; seems to have closed sometime in 2020.
  • Threadgil’s. In addition to the chicken fried steak, I was also fond of their ham steak with Jezebel sauce.
  • Yuyo. Peruvian restaurant we never managed to get out to.

    • Posted in American, Breakfast, Burgers, Cheap Dining, Closed, Fine Dining, Indian, Italian, Pizza, Sandwich, Sports Bar | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment