patrick schneider

So recently, the Austin Chronicle ranked Vespaio as the best restaurant in Austin. I went there last night, and it was definitely not the best restaurant I’ve been to.

When we first walked in, the hostess sauntered towards us with turtle-like speed. Although we did get the obligatory “I’ll be with you in a moment”, the moment took quite some time because she was walking so incredibly slowly. This was not a huge deal in and of itself. However…

…as we were putting our name in (for the 30 - 45 minute wait), another patron approached and inquired about when her table would be ready. It turns out that she was skipped! Marked off of the list and everything! And then, nothing more than an “Ooops… you’re table will be next”.

Luckily, we found a first-come, first-serve table near the bar and ordered a bottle of wine immediately.

The food and the bread came out at exactly the same time. The bread fails miserably. It was cold. Not cold like “not warm”. Cold like “chilled”. The refrigerated bread was served with some kind of butter-ish-looking substance that was covered in a GREEN liquid. It was the most bland spread I’ve ever tasted. Oh, it was cold too.

Hm. The entrees were both good. And dessert was tasty as well. I guess those are plusses. But the dining experience in total was not worth the cover charge.

My recommendation? If you want Italian, go to the Tree House Italian Grill. I’ve been at least 3 times and been increasingly impressed each time.

Shortly after I arrived at work this morning, I got news of an Austin-area tragedy — The Oasis on Lake Travis caught fire early this morning.

A wave of thunderstorms moved through the area around the time that the fire started, says the Austin American Statesman. The storms were loud and bright enough to wake me up, which is a fairly rare occurance.

The owner of The Oasis, Beau Theriot, says he will undoubtedly rebuild his 24 year old creation. I for one am very happy at this news and hope they can get everything straightened out swiftly.

We’ll keep you in our thoughts, Oasis. Good luck and speedy recovery.

I’m currently enjoying the leftover half of a Philly Cheesesteak that I purchased from Barton Hills Market. I thought it worth noting that they make one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had; tops here in Austin. Or, if not tops, definitely in the top 5… I can’t think of anywhere else that I like this much. Their Italian sub is phenomenal as well. But be prepared to wait awhile for either of those sammies — 15 to 20 minutes. Call ahead if you can. I’ve had limited success with doing so, but it’s usually worth a shot.

btw, hamburger != sandwich, at least not in my book.

I decided to go to Korea Garden one last time to try and recoup the $90 they stole from me. No luck. In fact, the waitress who served us doesn’t work there anymore (allegedly). Hopefully she was fired for her theft. The employees who currently work there, however, couldn’t have cared less about my predicament; my judgement on this filthy sushi hell hole still stands. Never go there.

On August 17, 2004 I dined with three friends at Korea Garden on North Lamar Blvd. I had been supporting this restaurant and its lunch specials for many months previous to this visit.

Our dinner went well. When we received the bill, we split it four ways. The total was around $100, and my share came out to $11.17 (one member of our party had a few too many sake bombs and decided to plop down more than his share… the others felt this was agreeable).

I tipped $10, bringing my total to $21.17, and threw my receipt away upon exiting the building.

When my credit card bill for the month arrived, the meal at Korea Garden showed up as $111.17! I’ve been back to the restaurant THREE TIMES to protest, to no avail. A similar thing happened to a reviewer on austin.citysearch.com, whose transaction went through four times for the same meal. Korea Garden has a recurring problem with overcharging its customers.

Now I keep all receipts. And I will never again eat at Korea Garden, regardless of whether I can recoup my money.