NNTP-Posting-Date: 6 Dec 1999 20:57:52 GMT X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express Macintosh Edition - 4.5 (0410) Xref: pale-rider.INS.CWRU.Edu austin.food:6403 Hi, Just ate there Friday night. While things were ok, I probably won't be going back. There were some high points, but for the most part you should save your money for someplace like Outback (which I very much like), Texas Land and Cattle, or similar. Three friends and I went Friday night. We were asked if we had reservations; we did not. We got there around 9:00. They said no problem, but there would be a 20-minute wait. Well, that slowly turned into a 45-minute wait. Finally when we sat, we ordered the stuffed mushroom appetizer. It was stuffed with a crab meat mixture. It was ok, but apparently someone forgot to wash the mushrooms, as there was a lot of grit in them. There were 7 caps, so that was enough for the 4 of us. We ordered drinks, which was a mistake. There's this small martini menu on the table, from which we ordered. What we should have asked, though, was the price. A simple Absolut and cranberry martini was over $9! We were kind of shocked when we got the bill. In addition, the food was not cheap. A recent review in some publication said portions were more than enough. This may be true of the steak, but the sides were non-existent. I had a 12 ounce prime rib that was $20. With it I had garlic mashed potatoes and green beans with bacon and onion. The steak was chewy and had not been trimmed very well. It was, however, seasoned nicely. No need for au jus or sauce of any kind. The mashed potatoes didn't have any hint of garlic. The green beans were good -- all 10 of them. No baked potato option, although it was offered a la carte -- for $5! One high point for me was the Caesar salad, thankfully included. The portion was large and the dressing tasted like a real Caesar dressing, anchovies and all. Don't know if they used raw egg, but I wouldn't be surprised. It was very good. Everyone else had the ribeye. It was around $17 or $18. They said it was very good, but nothing special. They had similar sides. One had scalloped potatoes, and that portion was incredibly small. The total bill for all of us, including drinks, was $108. The place itself is nice. Deep-colored real wood paneling makes for an earthy atmosphere. One note, however, the bar and waiting areas were not sufficiently blocked off from the dining area, as we had cigarette smoke hanging over our table almost the entire time. All in all the experience was average, with average food priced way too high for what you can get elsewhere. The service, I will say was very attentive and very friendly. We had almost everyone apologizing to us for the wait, even though we never mentioned it to anyone. Just my 2 cents. Philip ---------- Walter S. wrote: > Does anyone have an opinion of Ray's Steakhouse on Guadalope where the > Ruth Chris steakhouse used to be? >
Austin, TX