by Corie Slagter on We seem to always find ourselves here when my husband wants to indulge in some carbs or perhaps, he just wants to please his bread-loving wife. I will die with a piece of crusty bread in my hands. I love the simplicity of this place. It has a very urban, big city kinda feel. Simple decor, a little pricey, and very fresh, high quality food. The service is a little slow because they actually make your food to order. We always get a Danish, which is not too sweet, coffee (very strong). My husband is always a fan of the Italian sub, clam chowder, French onion soup, and roast beef sandwich. The sourdough bread is perfect for sandwiches. The meat is piled high and lots of vegetables. My kids love all the creamy soups and the French onion soup is actually decent. Quite frankly, we've been satisfied every time we come here. Pick up the day-old pastries for a quarter of the price. Also, you can get the Austin local card discount and today, we got a free drink for mentioning an add on rateclubs. Thanks rateclubs!
by Leonarda Barbre on You may have just won my heart. Came here for dinner with a friend. Whats better than a monday night with a bottle of wine, steak and an evening with a handsome man? Nothing. Okay fine. Maybe napping. But lets debate that out later. We started with a drink at the bar then had our pick of table. Of course we picked a table with adequate people watching potential. Our server was attentive, friendly and knew his wine. For starters, i had the Shrimp Rice Krispies - admittedly, a choice i made out of pure curiosity. Big succulent shrimp over a bed of popped rice then when served, topped with an amazing tasty sauce - eliciting that snap crackle and pop of the rice krispies. This was fantastic and i could have had that for an entree! I had the bone in steak with the house steak sauce and the sauteed mushrooms and parmesean truffle fries for sides. The steak was fantastic and cooked to perfection. The mushrooms were packed with amazing flavor and a perfect pairing to the steak. The fries (which were highly reccomended to me by friends prior to this dinner) were all parmesean to me, and barely a hint of truffle oil. They were also very thick block cut, which did not cater to this girls love of crunchiness. We passed on dessert and stuck with wine and people watching. I love the ambiance and the service and it was a fantastic place to just enjoy a great meal with some great company. Highly reccomended.
by Nikki K. on A few weekends ago my friend and I decided to go out. We started at the Local, but he looked bored as hell. He always gets dragged out to the straight bars. So he suggested we split from our group and go to Blake's. Sure, I'm down, and I've only had two small drinks at the Local! Let's go! So, after waiting in a long line to get in I finally made my way into Blake's for the first time. My friend immediately buys me a shot, and this is no straight-bar shot! The "shot" came in a regular-sized cup and was filled to the top! It took about four huge swigs to get it down. These folks do not mess around. I swear it was a shot of everclear because I was immediately jacked up. We went to the dance floor and danced our butts off with drag queens and it was so much fun! Then he meets up with an old friend and they suggest we take the shuttle to another bar. "Shuuure, shounds goodt" I probably slurred. So as soon as we get on the bus, some person gives us a free shot of, probably everclear again, because I pretty much blacked out after this. Events are fuzzy, but all I remember is that me and my friends were laughing so hard this lesbian security guard kicked us off the bus! And of course I got into a fight with her. Then my pant leg slipped under my heel while exiting and I fell out of the bus. Can we say train wreck!? I felt like Lindsay Lohan, pre-rehab. The woman then asked if I was okay, and my friend, who is very shy and meek, screams, "She's fine, you bitch!" I do remember that because it shocked me, hearing a voice that loud emerge from his naturally manorexic body. I couldn't feel my tongue for two days after and prayed for death for what seemed to be an eternity. But we had a great time!! But next time I go there I will not be drinking, no no no.
