Did somebody say Threadgills?
Written: Dec 27 '00 (Updated Dec 27 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: everything
Cons: it's in Austin
|
|
|
| stract's Full Review: Austin Restaurants |
Well, you may not believe this, coming from someone who's lived in Austin all their life, but before tonight, I'd never eaten at Threadgills before. That's right (pick your jaw up off the floor), there is such a thing in the world as a native Austinite who has never eaten at Threadgills. If you ever meet any more, my advice is to remedy the situation immediately and take them to the nearest Threadgills.
Location Location Location
There are two, count them, TWO locations in Austin. The one I dined at is downtown at the old Armadillo World Headquarters where Barton Springs meets Riverside meets South First (right on the other side of the river). This particular location was opened in 1981, the day after Armadillo World Headquarters closed for good.
The other location, in north Austin on Lamar somewhere near Hwy 183, started out as a Gulf station in 1933 and blossomed into what it has become today. Janis Joplin was a regular there before her death in 1970...
Food for Thought
Threadgills is of course world famous for the chicken fried steak, which is what I ended up ordering, and my mom got the chicken fried chicken. If you aren't the chicken fried steak/chicken type, fear not! They have steak choices, they have seafood choices, they have other chicken concoctions, they have burgers, and for the non-meat type, they have veggie plates.
Speaking of veggies, that's the other thing Threadgills is famous for. One half of the menu is dominated by veggies, which presented me with a VERY tough decision of what I wanted to pick to go with my chicken fried steak. After what seemed like hours of internal turmoil, I finally settled on the mashed potatoes and fried okra. Those mashed potatoes melted in my mouth, and the okra was....well....great, but nothing earth-shattering.
The servings were huge, and I was only able to finish half of my chicken fried steak (I ate all the mashed potatoes and okra). The entire plate was covered with food, same for my mom. She was also unable to finish everything there, so remember to bring your appetite when you go.
Oh, can't forget the bread. We got served a plate of rolls and corn bread, kind of like the chips and salsa thing at tex-mex places. But this wasn't just any cornbread, this cornbread was in muffin form, each piece still wrapped in the paper (no cracks about muffin tops, the stump was just as good!). And inside each individual corn bread muffin were real pieces of corn, and what looked like little pieces of jalapenos, but it wasn't hot/spicy at all.
Can you say Atmosphere?
According to the Threadgills website, the north location on Lamar is representative of Austin from the 30's to the 60's, and the South location on Barton Springs is representative of Austin in the 70's. Of course, pretty much all the decorations inside the Threadgills World Headquarters (the south location) came from the old Armadillo World Headquarters. Autographs from Willie and just about every other musician to come through deck the walls (NOT boughs of holly).
The plastic place mats on the tables (yes, I just said plastic place mats), are postcards depicting old scenes from Austin. My mom had one with Memorial Stadium from 1928, but my all time favorite was the Austin Insane Asylum, where you learn on the back that it was a favorite spot for Austinites to court back in the day.
It was busy when we went at 7; the wait was about 10 minutes to get a table. It wasn't loud at all despite all the people, and normal conversations could be had without having to shout.
Quench your Thirst
The bar is located on the left of the building, though not much was going on in there when I peeped in. They're open late, so I'm sure things get hopping at some point.
The offerings of local beers make you think you are in heaven (if you are into the beer scene). Numerous local beers on tap, 3 times as many in the bottle, and even some local beers from other states (like Fat Tire, which is a CO beer).
They have root beer on tap, root beer in a bottle, soft drinks, tea, water, and I think I caught the word margarita on the menu, though I have no idea if they're any good or not.
Shell over the $$
For the quality and quantity of food each patron receives, the dent in the wallet is surprisingly little. Perusing the rest of the menu (I was thinking ahead and thought you Eps people might find it interesting), the most expensive thing there is an 18 oz T-bone steak for $17.95. Both of our meals were $7.95. Of course you can check it out yourselves at www.threadgills.com, which is the official Threadgills website.
Where's the butler?
Service was phenomenal to say the least. Within 10 seconds of sitting down at our table we had our corn bread muffins and rolls on the table and our drink orders taken. After perusing the menu for about 5 minutes, I ordered a Shiner Blonde (GREAT beer if you've never had it), and 2 minutes later the bottle appeared in front of me. A minute later, the meals we'd ordered with our beer showed up. Talk about lightning quick service, I might even call it a blitzkreig.
The waiter was very friendly and personable, checking up on us a few times to make sure our waters were never empty, and after he carded me and commented that I was 10 days older than him, then had a conversation with us about famous people who shared our birthdays, my mom gave him quite the large tip.
Are we there yet?
If you are reading this and you live in Austin, and you've never been to Threadgills, don't wait 21 years like I did to check it out. I mean, seriously, I used to drive past the place all the time on my way to and from soccer practice on Disch Field (next to the City Coliseum) and on my way to and from Guero's without ever giving it a second thought. It was only my indecisiveness in where we wanted to have dinner that lead to the suggestion of Threadgills, a place neither my mom nor I had ever been. All I can say is Thank God for Austin Restaurants.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
stract
|
|
Location: Valdosta, GA
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 56 members
About Me:
Austin, TX is God's gift to humanity
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.