There is a new restaurant in central Austin called The Blue Willow Tea Room. Very nice. It is in an old house, which is my favorite setting for a restaurant. I had lunch there on Easter Sunday. They had a special. For $18 you got soup, salad, entree, and desert. I had duck with orange sauce, which was very good. My friends had lamb and pork, which also got nods of approval. I took my girlfriend there for a special dinner last week. We ate in a room lit only by candlelight, with a CD of soft piano music playing. Very romantic. We had an appetizer of mushrooms stuffed with artichoke. Yum! For the main course, I had chicken with a wine sauce, and Melody had a fish dish. I had peach and apple cobbler for dessert, and Melody had a chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce. Again, the food was very good. Entrees were ~ $15. The total bill was $48. The presentation of the food is wonderful. They use flowers and flower petals, which adds a nice romantic touch. There are 3 rooms at the Blue Willow. The one where we had our candlelight dinner is the romantic room. One room is decorated with modern painting, and the other is decorated in a fishing, sailing, sports theme. They have "high tea" in the afternoon. I haven't tried that, but it sounds interesting. I like the Blue Willow better than The Belgian Restaurant and The Cafe At The Four Seasons because it is in an old house. I think Hudsons on the Bend is still my favorite, but the Blue Willow is close. The Blue Willow is on 35th, just west of where 34th and 38th converge. I think they are open for lunch and high tea most day, but only serve dinner Friday and Saturday. Steve
Austin, TX