by Bill Kirschke on This is a super good find, to fill a later evening craving or even a day time lunch bite. OR, a Happy Hour visit. Being nearby....makes this an easy target. The tacos are 2 bucks on a Tuesday from 5pm. I love the vegetarian tacos (chock full of guacomole) and the chicken and battered fish tacos. The deep fried shell with the soft shell, sandwiches the meats and lettuce with toppings over topping the taco with green and red pepper sauces. Mouth watering...really. My other choice if I wasn't in the mood for the crispy shell, would be that gooey and warm cheesy quesadilla with chicken or pork. You cannot lose here! I could probably eat 3 tacos in one sitting, if I'm very hungry. But one quesadilla order, is like two. I'm glad to have this as a place to fill my ;o.
by Husejin D. on Maggiano's Little Italy is perfect for the Domain: a cookie cutter Italian restaurant nestled into the sprawl of a cookie cutter shopping / living / hospitality complex. I'll rant separately about the Domain, but Maggiano's perches only slightly higher in the Italian Food Chain strata than the likes of Olive Garden or Romano's Macaroni Grill. The food? Yes you can lump it into a category with Italian, but it is nothing special. The service? Maybe they will get adult supervision someday. The facts: Maggiano's is owned by Brinker International, Inc. Brinker is a multinational publicly traded company whose performance in the stock market matches what is served in their restaurants, i.e. mediocre and lackluster. Brinker owns that other phenomenon of gastronomic delight: Chili's. They managed to sell On the Border recently as well. Most recent news about Brinker is the resignation of it's chief financial officer. All this makes one wonder how well the formula is working in the kitchen with all the other turmoil. Austin lacks REALLY good Italian food. Until we get stellar Italian restaurants, I will stick with the local places that are consistent with some of their dishes.
by Nathanial Marque on If you've ever seen that old skool movie The Game with Michael Douglas where he basically wakes up in some scary town uncertain of how he got there, then that replicates my experience here. First, I was in a cool bar sipping a Stella. Then, suddenly I was at 12th Air Command. The horror. The horror. (Read with husky Brando voice). This places puts the fright in frightful. Because my experience there is mostly a blur, I can only tell you what I remember. Sweat. Smoke. Leather. Basically, what my mind will allow me to recall. If this description has given you the impression that this bar is a cross between Sing Sing, and armageddon, then that's just about right. Prison coutre. Yikes.
