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Overrated Food Places


TexArcher

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I'm not a huge doughnut fan, but I'll go in for a good  one.  I still remember the first time I tried a Krispy Kreme.  Overrated doesn't begin to describe it.  Possibly the worst glazed doughnut I've ever had.  I don't think I even bothered to finish it.

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14 hours ago, utee94 said:

El Patio is fine, it's decent.  I don't recall anyone ever hyping it up so I'm not sure overrated applies.

The last time I went to El Patio was about 10-15 years ago, and I recall it was pretty solid.  Not five stars, not shitty.  And this is coming from a guy who thinks Matt's is overrated subpar Tex Mex trash.

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3 hours ago, dcbc said:

I'm not a huge doughnut fan, but I'll go in for a good  one.  I still remember the first time I tried a Krispy Kreme.  Overrated doesn't begin to describe it.  Possibly the worst glazed doughnut I've ever had.  I don't think I even bothered to finish it.

 

2 hours ago, Underdog said:

RR Donuts is overrated.  

This and this. HEB donuts in the box, microwaved for about 10 seconds blow both KK and RR donuts away.  KK is straight up gross. RR is just another ordinary donut unworthy of the hype. 

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When KK opened in Arlington I would get calls from folks telling me they were in line for three hours to get a couple dozen. When they opened in Seattle I had employees leaving Portland after work to drive and get some.

I grew up in Memphis and hot donuts were fairly common. In colllege we’d go to Thornton’s donuts higher than shit and eat three dozen and a quart or two of chocolate milk. I didn’t get the slavish attention.

I like a kk hot out of the fryer. A couple minutes later it’s a sugar cube. Worst donuts are Dunkin’ Donuts. A Vietnamese donut shop near me in Arlington has cronuts. Awesomeness.

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14 hours ago, WBT said:

Yeah, it's amazing how many out of state media coming to Austin for SXSW, ACL, or a big UT game will mention how excited they are to go to Torchy's.

Yup... and you'll go to South Congress and see long ass lines at the Torchy's / Hopdoddy and we just shake our heads

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29 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Okay, I love RR Donuts.

Where in greater Austin should I be going instead??

It's Donut Taco Palace for me.  

For Texadelphia, other than the original (R.I.P.) and the first Westheimer one in Houston (R.I.P.) the rest were average, at best.  Just franchises.  

Lastly, El Patio.  We talking Houston?  I didn't know people actually ate there... I thought it was just to watch debauchery in progress at Club No Minors.

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On 9/27/2022 at 3:34 PM, C-Man said:

My favorite Dallas Texadelphia will always be the old house in Uptown where Hotel Zaza is now. That location/place was killer. Tom Landis sold Old Town and another to a couple we know from my kids' school. They're nice enough folks and I should go more. 

True story- we had our rehearsal dinner at the Uptown location.  No ragrets- it was awesome.

I've definitely noticed the decline over the years, but the Old Town loc is still pretty damn good.

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32 minutes ago, texasdago said:

It's Donut Taco Palace for me.  

For Texadelphia, other than the original (R.I.P.) and the first Westheimer one in Houston (R.I.P.) the rest were average, at best.  Just franchises.  

Lastly, El Patio.  We talking Houston?  I didn't know people actually ate there... I thought it was just to watch debauchery in progress at Club No Minors.

I think most here are talking about El Patio in Austin, on Guadalupe a few blocks north of campus.  It's been around since 1954.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, utee94 said:

 

I think most here are talking about El Patio in Austin, on Guadalupe a few blocks north of campus.  It's been around since 1954.

 

 

 

Gotcha... kind of like Matts El Rancho then... what white people in the 50s thought was Mexican *duck*

 

Edited by texasdago
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17 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

The pizza at Home Slice is overrated. I like it. It's good. I don't complain when I end up eating it. But it's far from the best pizza in Austin and is way too thick to be "New York Style."

Their Italian sub, however, is incredible, and might actually be the best in Austin.

add cherry peppers and it is the best Italian in ATX

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2 hours ago, texasdago said:

It's Donut Taco Palace for me.  

For Texadelphia, other than the original (R.I.P.) and the first Westheimer one in Houston (R.I.P.) the rest were average, at best.  Just franchises.  

Lastly, El Patio.  We talking Houston?  I didn't know people actually ate there... I thought it was just to watch debauchery in progress at Club No Minors.

The drinks suck at El Patio too. If that place catches fire, somebody get me a lawn chair. 

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23 hours ago, Rimbo said:

I mean... it's just mustard and mayo, no?

It’s really easy. 

any mayo, goldens spicy mustard, and teriyaki, (but I prefer lea and Perrin’s Worcestershire instead of teriyaki)

 

2 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

The drinks suck at El Patio too. If that place catches fire, somebody get me a lawn chair. 

The food also sucks 

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I don't eat out much anymore and I would kill for most of these places right about now. From Five Guys to Whataburger. Hell I'd mow on some OG salad and bread right now. I don't really consider any of these places to be overrated. Maybe to a 15 year old. I will nominate Skyline Chili. There are some psychos out there that love that abomination. 

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14 hours ago, dcbc said:

I'm not a huge doughnut fan, but I'll go in for a good  one.  I still remember the first time I tried a Krispy Kreme.  Overrated doesn't begin to describe it.  Possibly the worst glazed doughnut I've ever had.  I don't think I even bothered to finish it.

Gotta eat it piping hot off the line with a cup of coffee in hand. Really, you could say this about every donut. Better than Shipley’s at these unique conditions. 
 

As always, the only Shipley’s locations worth a shit are North Main and Ella (cake donuts). If you want a kolache or pig in a blanket go to River Oaks Donuts. 

Edited by billfromlaketravis
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15 hours ago, dcbc said:

I still remember the first time I tried a Krispy Kreme.  Overrated doesn't begin to describe it.  Possibly the worst glazed doughnut I've ever had.  I don't think I even bothered to finish it.

17 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Gotta eat it piping hot off the line

Both of these. I also remember the first time I tried a KK, they'd just opened in AZ, news had been hyping it for weeks, there were lines around the building and out the parking lot. They gave me a freebie hot off the belt, and it was amazingly good. Had never had an airy, glutinous dough with chew like that compared to the bread/cake style donuts at Dunkin etc. I'll gladly choose KK if comparing hot off the line.

 

In-N-Out fits the spirit of this thread. Similar to KK above, news hyped it for weeks when it came to AZ. Lines out the parking lot. I finally went, took one bite, and said "wtf, why?" Terrible burger, even more terrible fries, and a meh shake. Literally no redeeming item, didn't finish any of it, went to eat elsewhere. Five Guys has damn good (and generous) Cajun fries, and a bad Five Guys burger is still way better than any In-N-Out.

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4 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

I don't eat out much anymore and I would kill for most of these places right about now. From Five Guys to Whataburger. Hell I'd mow on some OG salad and bread right now. I don't really consider any of these places to be overrated. Maybe to a 15 year old. I will nominate Skyline Chili. There are some psychos out there that love that abomination. 

Skyline is great and it’s far from overrated. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. That’s your problem. But it’s been more than 35 years since I first ate there and the quality hasn’t slipped a bit. Can’t say the same for BDubs. They used to be awesome, went corporate, and went to hell. I’ve watched McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell deteriorate. There used to be a really good Italian restaurant called Bravo here that was excellent. They opened some more stores. They expanded further and called the new ones Brio. Quality plummeted and I can’t eat there anymore. I’ve watched a lot of restaurant chains grow and sacrifice quality for profit margin and turn to crap. Skyline remains unchanged.

From this past National Chili Dog Day (not shown is the hot sauce, I brought my own):

9009BF29-49AF-4CA9-8FF3-33EA782A29DB.thumb.jpeg.2b720f8ea96d96bb8ad48bb373a988b3.jpeg

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9 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Gotta eat it piping hot off the line

I will definitely take you at your word since I haven't had them at that stage.  This tends to be true with a lot of food.  Brisket is best within minutes of its being sliced.  That burger doesn't improve between the moment they hand it to me in the bag and the time I get it home.  Krispy Kreme seems to have a lot smaller window than just about any other doughnut someone has left out on the break room table at my office or most other foods for that matter.  And since doughnuts are things people tend to buy more than one of to feed small groups, I'd tend to lean toward the shop that makes something that isn't going to taste like sawdust within x minutes of coming off the line.  Again, I'm not saying they aren't great in that moment.  And not being a doughnut person, I tend not to be the one that goes to pick up the doughnuts.  So I need something with a little bit of staying power.

 

We tend to grab a bunch of pigs in the blanket on the doughnut shop runs we do make.  And there are a handful of mom & pop Asian operated places that really get those right, at least in these parts. 

Edited by dcbc
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1 minute ago, ztejas said:

Good brisket holds up much better than donuts or a burger. C'mon now. 

I'll eat day old brisket cold out of the fridge. 

That was my point (poorly made).  It's best off the line, but it's not inedible 10 minutes later.  And yes, I've been eating lots of leftover brisket this week (see WSM thread).

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In general, the donut is a disappointing confection far more than it is truly great. I would say only 5% of traditional raised donuts are very good to great, and 50% are just a big disappointment with that first bite. The balance is still an unsatisfying lot.

That’s why my usual choices are buttermilk donuts and apple fritters.

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52 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

It’s definitely average but it’s top shelf for Austin. I can’t even think of another casual Italian restaurant. Maybe there are some in the burbs but I ain’t driving out there.

Mandola's is "top shelf" for Austin?  The fuck?

Places like Red Ash, Vespaio, Olive & June, and Juniper are "top shelf" Italian in Austin.  Not some drab chain like Mandola's.  I consider Gusto and Andiamo casual Italian, at least compared to those places.  Asti in Hyde Park probably fits that bill as well.  I'll go to all of those places for casual Italian on a continuous loop before I go to Mandola's.

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19 hours ago, texasdago said:

...and THAT is what Guero's is.  Sit on the front patio and people watch while drinking a margarita and eating a taco al pastor.  

This is what I don't understand about the Matt's hate. We ate there the night before the Alabama game, and almost got into a fight, which was amazing. The tacos I got were literally inedible. The shell was the fucked up, inedible chewy/untearable tortilla chip consistency we've all experienced. We waited two hours to get seated. And don't give a fuck, it was wall to wall hot women and fun. Love Matt's. But it ain't the food. 

17 hours ago, texasdago said:

For some reason quite a few people in Houston get all excited for this place and I just don't get it... https://www.theunionkitchen.com/

That place is fine. The food is ok, there's rarely a wait, and there is one nearby. That being said, there's nothing to be excited about it whatsoever, much less enthused. It's literally the "every other place is busy I guess we can eat here" place. I say that but also probably haven't been to a location for 2 years. 

5 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Skyline is great and it’s far from overrated. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. That’s your problem. But it’s been more than 35 years since I first ate there and the quality hasn’t slipped a bit. Can’t say the same for BDubs. They used to be awesome, went corporate, and went to hell. I’ve watched McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell deteriorate. There used to be a really good Italian restaurant called Bravo here that was excellent. They opened some more stores. They expanded further and called the new ones Brio. Quality plummeted and I can’t eat there anymore. I’ve watched a lot of restaurant chains grow and sacrifice quality for profit margin and turn to crap. Skyline remains unchanged.

From this past National Chili Dog Day (not shown is the hot sauce, I brought my own):

9009BF29-49AF-4CA9-8FF3-33EA782A29DB.thumb.jpeg.2b720f8ea96d96bb8ad48bb373a988b3.jpeg

This is the "food that is overrated" thread, not the "defend a pile of horseshit thread."

Taco Bell is awesome. That is all. 

Edited by SydneyCarton
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