"Taco Xpress" in Austin
The Food: Consistently good but not usually exceptionally great. It's reasonably priced but it's not usually my first pick in town for tacos.
My advice: Get the queso, verde taco and a pitcher of margaritas on a mellow Sunday. I also suggest that you do NOT drink the pitcher alone or you'll be "that guy" and nobody likes that guy.
Service: Not too much to say here. You order. You pick it up. If you want anything else, go get it.
The Ambiance: Here is where Maria's really shines. If you want a weird taco bar where they play gospel music on Sundays to a crowd of margarita-drinking taco-eating old-Austin hippies than this is definitely your place. It's an experience and a fun one. Maria's is unquestionably one of a kind.
***
"Technique" in Austin
So for my first restaurant review I decided to start with Technique--the practical restaurant at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin TX.
Ach-hem. No association with me of course.
Food- Hit or miss. Seriously. I know that one of Austin's biggest failings as a foodie town is consistancy but here it's just ridiculous. There is an entire new staff every three weeks, no joke. The students work the FOH (front of the house, hosting, expo) and BOH (back of the house, prep, hot line, cold line, salads, desserts etc) for half a block each. Since each block is 6 weeks long that means that every 6 weeks you get a whole new class and every 3 weeks you get all new cooks.
The restaurant is closed on Mondays and the students switch stations every two days meaning that if you want any chance of a decent meal you have to go on a Wednesday or Friday. But $10 for a three course meal... not bad.
My advice: ask your server. They're a student too and they can let you in on what items you should be ordering based on who's preparing them. A little hint though--the chef instructor usually prepares the desserts so that's almost always a safe bet.
Service: Also hit or miss. If you get someone with the attention span of a goldfish, you're screwed. Likewise if you do split checks they'll have to get a chef to figure that out on the POS (point of sale) system.
My advice: Just make it easier for everyone and bring one card for your check. Also, if you want to see something really entertaining ask for a bottle of champagne. They're all cheap at $20 a bottle and watching a green culinarian struggle with a cork is priceless.
Ambiance: Not bad all things considered. If you're there all the time than you'll realize that they only have ONE play list and it ALWAYS starts with Buble... ALWAYS. But the decor itself is nice, minimalist but appealing, after all the restaurant is really for the students, not for the diners.
Final Advice: Make a reservation. Even if it's only two diners. You can NEVER be too careful with this place. Also, it's closing in just over a month so go eat there while you can!
Ach-hem. No association with me of course.
Food- Hit or miss. Seriously. I know that one of Austin's biggest failings as a foodie town is consistancy but here it's just ridiculous. There is an entire new staff every three weeks, no joke. The students work the FOH (front of the house, hosting, expo) and BOH (back of the house, prep, hot line, cold line, salads, desserts etc) for half a block each. Since each block is 6 weeks long that means that every 6 weeks you get a whole new class and every 3 weeks you get all new cooks.
The restaurant is closed on Mondays and the students switch stations every two days meaning that if you want any chance of a decent meal you have to go on a Wednesday or Friday. But $10 for a three course meal... not bad.
My advice: ask your server. They're a student too and they can let you in on what items you should be ordering based on who's preparing them. A little hint though--the chef instructor usually prepares the desserts so that's almost always a safe bet.
Service: Also hit or miss. If you get someone with the attention span of a goldfish, you're screwed. Likewise if you do split checks they'll have to get a chef to figure that out on the POS (point of sale) system.
My advice: Just make it easier for everyone and bring one card for your check. Also, if you want to see something really entertaining ask for a bottle of champagne. They're all cheap at $20 a bottle and watching a green culinarian struggle with a cork is priceless.
Ambiance: Not bad all things considered. If you're there all the time than you'll realize that they only have ONE play list and it ALWAYS starts with Buble... ALWAYS. But the decor itself is nice, minimalist but appealing, after all the restaurant is really for the students, not for the diners.
Final Advice: Make a reservation. Even if it's only two diners. You can NEVER be too careful with this place. Also, it's closing in just over a month so go eat there while you can!
