a friend called around 9pm Wednesday: an out-of-town visitor had
just arrived and he wondered if I'd feel like coming along for
dinner and chat -- and where I'd suggest to go... what about
the Tocai that I had suggested in the past? I called, but kitchen
closes at 9:30 and, no, they wouldn't let me order in advance
over the phone (understandable as I'm not a "regular" there, else
I would have expected that this should have been workable).
On a lark, I suggested Katz's Top of The Marc (there was one
vegetarian in the party to consider)...
coming up to Castle Hill heading east from Mopac on 5th, I
suggested that C.H. might be even better (for the vegetarian),
but: Kitchen just closed there, too (we learned as we walked in).
so it's Katz's after all, and we headed upstairs right away, to
where the Austin All Stars were calling us with appealing 60s music.
We had the pick of half the tables out on the deck, the sky was
clear, the moon was out, the air felt pleasant after a hot day,
the house wine (white) was good and cool, food was ordered from
a separate waiter who kept a separate bill, breaded spinach cheese
apetizers were delicious, corn chowder and clam chowder soups, even
the mazza ball, hit the spot. the grilled salmon was a delight,
as were the NY-style sandwiches, great potato pancakes with apple
sauce accompanied them.
the cheese-cake for desert was unbelievable (once we let
it warm up a little; it was nearly frozen cold on arrival,
and eating a cheese-cake cold is a crime). the fruit-filled
crepes (blueberries and apple) were a hit -- too bad they
had run out of pecans... (I love nutty flavors in most
dishes).
a place which has good music just about every night (no cover
on Wednesdays), serves good food 24 hours, has a food buffet
happy hour, indoor and outdoor seating, in the middle of
down-town... until now I've only "mentioned" this place to
friends for it's music and dancing and 24-hours, but this
was a good enough experience that left us all with the
thought of going back for food in the near future.
And having Mr. Katz come to the table to chat and offer to
send a waiter "in a hurry" (to where we felt we'd have to
assure him that we were well taken care of), that's just
part of the "different" experience of this only such NY-style
place in Central Texas (I have no idea where the nearest
comparable place is. Surely Houston and Dallas must have
a NY-style deli with quite a few Jewish dishes on the menu..?!?)
Oh, one minus: they slapped 17% gratuity on for a party of 5
and didn't label it as such on the bill (miscellaneous was
written next to it, or something. One couldn't tell and
we nearly tipped twice as result). That kind of bull-shit
makes me angry. next time I'm going to have a party of 5
or larger, I'm going to ask for a 10% quantity discount in
food prices, 20% in drinks. And none of this automatic
tipping. I'll tip if and according how pleased I am.
If they don't like it, they can lump it. I might just get
annoyed enough, it could turn into a crusade.Austin, TX