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Best spots to eat near the Domain


Chewbacca

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2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Agreed on it being more of an experience than a meal.  But we spent $1,400 on 3 people (Omakase plus all the sake) so I'm going to disagree on the not that expensive part.

I'm a bit of a wine snob, but I have zero fucking idea what's going with sake.  You could give me sake from a discount bin at Spec's or some rare 50 year old bottle and I wouldn't know the difference.  Last time at Uchiko, large group.  I chose the wine carefully so as not to gouge anybody with the bill at the end but still meet everybody's needs and wants.  Then this guy at the other end who I didn't know starts going nuts with sake bottles and I had long since given up the drink menu.  I was thinking in my head, "Okay, they're probably $100/each so at this rate, each couple will probably be expected to pick up one bottle apiece."  Holy fucking shit, his sake orders were more than all the food and wine of the table combined.  Never liked that guy.  Fun end to the night though, took a leak next to Denny Trejo and he told me I had good urinal focus and it would serve me well if I ever went to jail in Mexico.

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3 hours ago, mchookem said:

😄 touche'...we're more whiskey/cocktail drinkers so usually just do one glass of wine there, i imagine if you got into the saki that would be different lol. and we've always just had the waiter make recommendations, generally 6-7 items...we get out of there for ~$160 or so, including a very generous tip.

actually...this last time we got two free items, including dessert, b/c it was our anniversary...so maybe my stats are skewed! 😜

 

Man, that's a serious deviation in price.  $465 per person VS $80 per person?

I'm a notorious cheapskate, but I'd happily drop $160 on a date night with my wife.  Close to $1K?  I'm gonna need some promises, and I'm gonna need them in writing.

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well...i think the difference (as Lobo illustrated) is 1) the saki consumed, and 2) i think Chewy's gropu went with the chef's specialty/selection, which by def going to cost a good penny. 

if you stick with the main menu, and tell your waitperson your general likes/dislikes (i.e., spicy or not, will eat raw, etc), and stick with a couple glasses of wine or a cheaper saki...you'll pretty easily come in sub-$200, i promise :)

OH! and also...the HH was awesome. at least the food...that's prolly also why we've gotten off cheaper 😉 i specifically remember shrimp skewers and fried chicken which were both fantastic.   

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  • 10 months later...

Going for round 2 in a few weeks.  Still staying in the Domain, although not at the Archer (Archer was full, doing Lone Star Court this time).   Doing dinner for 4 nights.  We are going to Andiamo and Uchiko for sure on Wed and Thurs.  Need 2 more.  One needs to be a steakhouse (not Eddie V's) and one needs to be an American style place.  Willing to venture farther out from the Domain than I was last time, but probably don't want to go farther than 20ish minutes each way unless there is a damn good reason for doing so.  This will be on a Friday and Saturday night.  Doing Uchiko and Andiamo the first 2 nights.

 

Thinking of the following for both of those nights.  Need one steakhouse and one American style place.  Don't want 2 steakhouses because I don't like steakhouses.

  • Barley Swine
  • Salt & Time
  • J Carvers

Any other recs?

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13 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Going for round 2 in a few weeks.  Still staying in the Domain, although not at the Archer (Archer was full, doing Lone Star Court this time).   Doing dinner for 4 nights.  We are going to Andiamo and Uchiko for sure on Wed and Thurs.  Need 2 more.  One needs to be a steakhouse (not Eddie V's) and one needs to be an American style place.  Willing to venture farther out from the Domain than I was last time, but probably don't want to go farther than 20ish minutes each way unless there is a damn good reason for doing so.  This will be on a Friday and Saturday night.  Doing Uchiko and Andiamo the first 2 nights.

 

Thinking of the following for both of those nights.  Need one steakhouse and one American style place.  Don't want 2 steakhouses because I don't like steakhouses.

  • Barley Swine
  • Salt & Time
  • J Carvers

Any other recs?

J Carvers for sure. I’ve been going there most trips to Austin this year and had 2 day old leftovers from there earlier this week and it was better than the meal I had at III Forks Tuesday night. I’ve never been to Salt and Time but had a ham from there on Christmas Day that was outstanding. My favorite restaurant in Austin is still Red Ash (which is how I first learned of J Carver) but sounds like it’s not an option for you this trip.

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13 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Going for round 2 in a few weeks.  Still staying in the Domain, although not at the Archer (Archer was full, doing Lone Star Court this time).   Doing dinner for 4 nights.  We are going to Andiamo and Uchiko for sure on Wed and Thurs.  Need 2 more.  One needs to be a steakhouse (not Eddie V's) and one needs to be an American style place.  Willing to venture farther out from the Domain than I was last time, but probably don't want to go farther than 20ish minutes each way unless there is a damn good reason for doing so.  This will be on a Friday and Saturday night.  Doing Uchiko and Andiamo the first 2 nights.

 

Thinking of the following for both of those nights.  Need one steakhouse and one American style place.  Don't want 2 steakhouses because I don't like steakhouses.

  • Barley Swine
  • Salt & Time
  • J Carvers

Any other recs?

Barley Swine is in my hood and is excellent. Get the chef’s tasting menu with the wine pairing.  Perry’s is a decent steakhouse and they have a location in The Domain, though I’ve only been to the one downtown. Never been to J Carvers but the menu looks fantastic.

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The new place next to Eddie Vs, Bulevar, is solid, if a bit overpriced. I’ve only been there once but liked everything we tried except for one drink. 
 

It’s interior Mexican meets high end steaks. I wanted to hate it because of the price point (and they charge for chips and salsa!), but came away impressed. 
 


 

 

Edited by hornian
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How long does it take to get from the Domain to downtown around dinner time on Friday and Saturday?  Leaning towards Salt & Time and J Carvers for those 2 nights (our picky eater nixed Barley Swine), but I have no idea how much of a shit show it will be getting down there.

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How long does it take to get from the Domain to downtown around dinner time on Friday and Saturday?  Leaning towards Salt & Time and J Carvers for those 2 nights (our picky eater nixed Barley Swine), but I have no idea how much of a shit show it will be getting down there.

No big deal on a normal Saturday night. Fridays will be bad if before 7.
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What is 'bad'?  Are we talking 30 minutes?  An hour?

Friday before 7 I’d budget 45 minutes due to Mopac traffic. It could also just be 15 minutes if there were no accidents. Google Map time estimates are pretty accurate here based on my experience. I’d check it a few times leading up to it to gauge when to leave.
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32 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Friday before 7 I’d budget 45 minutes due to Mopac traffic. It could also just be 15 minutes if there were no accidents. Google Map time estimates are pretty accurate here based on my experience. I’d check it a few times leading up to it to gauge when to leave.

I have no data to back this up, but it seems to me that Austin traffic gets monumentally bad during the after-work rush hour roughly when daylight savings time rolls off, up to Christmas.  After that, things seem to ease up.  Could be shopping traffic, could be human nature wanting to get home because it's already dark, I don't know, but going forward I wouldn't expect Friday evening traffic to be quite as bad as it has been.

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8 hours ago, hornian said:

The new place next to Eddie Vs, Bulevar, is solid, if a bit overpriced. I’ve only been there once but liked everything we tried except for one drink. 
 

It’s interior Mexican meets high end steaks. I wanted to hate it because of the price point (and they charge for chips and salsa!), but came away impressed. 
 


 

 

Menu definitely looks solid.

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1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:

Menu definitely looks solid.

A friend of mine has been there a couple of times, and claims the steak he had was the best steak he’s ever had from a restaurant (including steakhouses). I can’t verify that personally (I stuck to other parts of the menu), but I trust his opinion given the business he’s in (which includes a lot of client dinners where price is not really an issue). Don’t know if it will satisfy the “steakhouse” requirement but it should satisfy the “steak” at least. 

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7 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Well, fuck me.  J Carver's is more popular than I expected.  Can't get in at times that work for us on either Friday or Saturday.  Need a steakhouse again...

Does it have to be a classic steakhouse, or just a good restaurant where steak is an option?  There are a ton of the latter in Austin, but if it has to be MOAR MEAT then I'm not sure what will work in that area.  There are places like Estanchia and Roaring Fork nearby, but I wouldn't consider them top-flight.  Not that you can't get a good meal, but they're not as focused on best in class steaks.

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24 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Does it have to be a classic steakhouse, or just a good restaurant where steak is an option?  There are a ton of the latter in Austin, but if it has to be MOAR MEAT then I'm not sure what will work in that area.  There are places like Estanchia and Roaring Fork nearby, but I wouldn't consider them top-flight.  Not that you can't get a good meal, but they're not as focused on best in class steaks.

We changed some plans and are just going to do J Carvers on Friday night (early).  Everyone loved the menu and wanted to eat there, so crisis averted.  All reservations booked.  Andiamo Wed night, Uchiko Thursday, J Carvers Friday and Salt & Time Saturday.  Should be fun!  I suspect I'll gain a pound a day while I'm there.

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46 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

We changed some plans and are just going to do J Carvers on Friday night (early).  Everyone loved the menu and wanted to eat there, so crisis averted.  All reservations booked.  Andiamo Wed night, Uchiko Thursday, J Carvers Friday and Salt & Time Saturday.  Should be fun!  I suspect I'll gain a pound a day while I'm there.

That's a solid lineup.  Eat some for me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Really enjoyed all the dinners. Only downer was Salt & Time's 15% fee to, as the waiter put it, pay for health insurance and mental health. It was made clear that it was not a tip. I fucking hate that shit. Just raise your prices and leave me out of your hr bulkshit. I provide health insurance to my employees and I don't have a few on my invoices to cover it. Really put a camper on an otherwise great night. Their food is outstanding. But expecting people to pay 30-40% on top of menu prices is not ok

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2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Really enjoyed all the dinners. Only downer was Salt & Time's 15% fee to, as the waiter put it, pay for health insurance and mental health. It was made clear that it was not a tip. I fucking hate that shit. Just raise your prices and leave me out of your hr bulkshit. I provide health insurance to my employees and I don't have a few on my invoices to cover it. Really put a camper on an otherwise great night. Their food is outstanding. But expecting people to pay 30-40% on top of menu prices is not ok

Grumpy Cat No GIF by Internet Cat Video Festival

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On 1/29/2023 at 7:18 PM, Chewbacca said:

Really enjoyed all the dinners. Only downer was Salt & Time's 15% fee to, as the waiter put it, pay for health insurance and mental health. It was made clear that it was not a tip. I fucking hate that shit. Just raise your prices and leave me out of your hr bulkshit. I provide health insurance to my employees and I don't have a few on my invoices to cover it. Really put a camper on an otherwise great night. Their food is outstanding. But expecting people to pay 30-40% on top of menu prices is not ok

On the flip side, the service fee isn't taxable so you're not paying sales tax on that part of the bill. I see pros/cons to that type of model. Had a friend in from out of town this past weekend and he said it's becoming more and more common where he lives (Minneapolis).

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3 minutes ago, royiv said:

On the flip side, the service fee isn't taxable so you're not paying sales tax on that part of the bill. I see pros/cons to that type of model. Had a friend in from out of town this past weekend and he said it's becoming more and more common where he lives (Minneapolis).

But you're expecting people to pay 30-40% over your menu prices to eat there?  Nah, just raise your prices.  Leave me out of all that.  It's becoming more common in Denver, too, but I won't eat at places like that if I know they do it.  It just really bothers me.

This is almost as bad as everyone everywhere wanting tips.  Sorry, I'm not tipping you for buying a product.  I tip for service.

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On 1/29/2023 at 7:18 PM, Chewbacca said:

Really enjoyed all the dinners. Only downer was Salt & Time's 15% fee to, as the waiter put it, pay for health insurance and mental health. It was made clear that it was not a tip. I fucking hate that shit. Just raise your prices and leave me out of your hr bulkshit. I provide health insurance to my employees and I don't have a few on my invoices to cover it. Really put a camper on an otherwise great night. Their food is outstanding. But expecting people to pay 30-40% on top of menu prices is not ok

I haven’t seen that yet but that's fine with me if anywhere wants to do that. I'll just tip less. 

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17 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I haven’t seen that yet but that's fine with me if anywhere wants to do that. I'll just tip less. 

Typically I would as well, but I think the intent is to make you feel like an asshole if you tip less (since the waiter explained the fee when he gave me the bill and explicitly told me it was not a tip).  I'll just avoid places like that.  I want to feel good about a good meal.

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2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

But you're expecting people to pay 30-40% over your menu prices to eat there?  Nah, just raise your prices.  Leave me out of all that.  It's becoming more common in Denver, too, but I won't eat at places like that if I know they do it.  It just really bothers me.

This is almost as bad as everyone everywhere wanting tips.  Sorry, I'm not tipping you for buying a product.  I tip for service.

Totally get what you're saying. My point, that you may have missed, is that instead of raising prices 15% and then also charging sales tax on that 15%, is that the customer actually saves a buck or two. In a fine dining experience that probably doesn't matter to most. Like I said, I can see pros/cons to both sides. For me personally, I don't give a shit on how we get there. I care about the total value on the bill.

Honest question, did you feel like the total bill was unreasonable? If so, I agree with your point. If not, it just feels like quibbling over something just to make a point.

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15 hours ago, royiv said:

Totally get what you're saying. My point, that you may have missed, is that instead of raising prices 15% and then also charging sales tax on that 15%, is that the customer actually saves a buck or two. In a fine dining experience that probably doesn't matter to most. Like I said, I can see pros/cons to both sides. For me personally, I don't give a shit on how we get there. I care about the total value on the bill.

Honest question, did you feel like the total bill was unreasonable? If so, I agree with your point. If not, it just feels like quibbling over something just to make a point.

I'd say they are on the high side of reasonable, before you add in the extra 15%.  Hamburger (which was great, but it's still a burger and fries) was $16.  Add 15% and it's $18.  Charcuterie board was $42.  While it was also great, would I pay $48 for it?  Probably not - I felt the $42 was already high.  I suspect this is why they don't add the 15% to their prices.

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3 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

I'd say they are on the high side of reasonable, before you add in the extra 15%.  Hamburger (which was great, but it's still a burger and fries) was $16.  Add 15% and it's $18.  Charcuterie board was $42.  While it was also great, would I pay $48 for it?  Probably not - I felt the $42 was already high.  I suspect this is why they don't add the 15% to their prices.

Agree on the burger. I have no issue paying up to $20 for a burger if it's at a nice place and it's really good. But $48 for a charcuterie plate us getting pretty spendy. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/29/2023 at 8:18 PM, Chewbacca said:

Really enjoyed all the dinners. Only downer was Salt & Time's 15% fee to, as the waiter put it, pay for health insurance and mental health. It was made clear that it was not a tip. I fucking hate that shit. Just raise your prices and leave me out of your hr bulkshit. I provide health insurance to my employees and I don't have a few on my invoices to cover it. Really put a camper on an otherwise great night. Their food is outstanding. But expecting people to pay 30-40% on top of menu prices is not ok

I haven't seen that bullshit yet, so I gotta ask... do they make it readily known prior to ordering (prominently displayed on menu, waiter mentions it, etc...). Surely, your bill doesn't just show up with this bullshit extra line item, right? 

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3 hours ago, Blotto said:

I haven't seen that bullshit yet, so I gotta ask... do they make it readily known prior to ordering (prominently displayed on menu, waiter mentions it, etc...). Surely, your bill doesn't just show up with this bullshit extra line item, right? 

I didn't see it on the menu anywhere (although it's possible I missed it), but it is on their website.  Either way, I do not like it and would not go back because of that.

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On 1/2/2023 at 6:22 PM, hornian said:

A friend of mine has been there a couple of times, and claims the steak he had was the best steak he’s ever had from a restaurant (including steakhouses). I can’t verify that personally (I stuck to other parts of the menu), but I trust his opinion given the business he’s in (which includes a lot of client dinners where price is not really an issue). Don’t know if it will satisfy the “steakhouse” requirement but it should satisfy the “steak” at least. 

Can confirm. Ate there, had steak. Was delicious. They only do gigantic cuts and serve family style. Their smallest ribeye was 55 oz.

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