Dishola: Reviews by the Dish

1206 Parkway, Austin, TX
(512) 476-1829

chon_jee on 01/19/08

If you are one for a thick, filling, gourmet burger, this one's worth trying. It's a burger topped with thick peppercorn sauce, blue cheese crumbles, and a variety of fresh greens. Certainly good points on creativity and freshness. The toppings are very fresh and crunchy, the bun is more like a sweet wheat dinner roll, the sauce has just enough heat, and the blue cheese melts on top of the patty. The patty itself is fairly lightly seasoned, if not plain, which is a good decision considering the richness of the other flavors all around it. This burger, to me, is really more about the toppings than the meat itself. The peppercorn sauce might be a tad too overpowering, and the bun is a bit thick and filling. But this is coming from a traditional, thin-patty burger-fan... Thick burgers always seems like it takes a lot more effort for me to enjoy (yes, chewing can be too-much-like-work for me sometimes). I wouldn't call it a bad dish, that would be preposterous, just not my taste... but it's worth tasting nonetheless. Hence the score of 7.

6115 Lohmans Ford Rd, Lago Vista, TX
(512) 267-9001

chon_jee on 12/16/07

Every once in a while I like to just start driving to the outskirts of Austin and just keep driving without any particular directions. Hoping to find some kind of roadside eatery with a flare or character that you just can't missed. Sure enough, as I was driving down Lohmans Ford road around Lago Vista (don't ask me how I got here), a big sign that says Stuffed Burgers caught my eye. Brake, turn into the next parking lot and turn around back to Bam's Roadhouse Grill. Character? It's got it alright, very simple picnic table settings, with a stage, and a walk up order window. i was there when nobody's around so I was lucky enough to talk to the friendly staff. Among which was Tommy, inventor of the Popeye's stuffed burger (has spinach in it, of course. I had to ask -_-"). Now to the food; what's a stuffed burger? It's two patties put together with a cornucopia of ingredients in between. The number 1 (as they called it) had ... get ready for this.... melted cheddar, Mexican peppers, bacon, red onion, and chilli stuffed in between. Woah! In terms of roadhouse or bar food, I've gotta put this on the top for originality. Now imagine you're stuffing this down with a cold glass of Shiner Bock whilst listening to live blues music. Hey it's so good that apparently a group of Canadians comes down here every summer to eat this. (Which explains the Canadian flag amidst the Big 12, I had to ask too -_-")

614 E Oltorf St, Austin, TX
(512) 444-0012

chon_jee on 12/16/07

Personally I'm disappointed with this aperitif, the buttery texture and flavor of the avocado was drowned by the tequila and lime. Having it as a slushie didn't helped either. And honestly it was overpriced. It is daring to present it as an option in this world of your run-of-the-mill margharitas though. That much i'll give. But hey, maybe i'm just too used to having avocado smoothies served with chocolate syrup as a kid.

4501 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA
(504) 894-9880

chon_jee on 09/21/08

Warm Crawfish & Andouille Cheesecake with Chipotle Aioli. It's a cheesecake, it's an appetizer. This is sssooooo unbelievably good. Warm melty cheese, with hearty chunks of fresh crawfish, and bits of andouile sausage. The salty and spiciness of the sausage gives it a hint to the creamy cheese and sweet crawfish. Damn it, sometimes I wish I live in New Orleans (minus the annual hurricanes).

1108 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA
(626) 574-7068

chon_jee on 12/16/07

Agreed! I tried Din Tai Fung in Shanghai, and their Xiaolongbao dumplings are just roll-your-eyes-back goooooddd... Very tender dumpling skin without the starchy aftertaste, very delicate yet bold broth with perfectly seasoned meat stuffing. I don't usually like international chains, but this one is just exquisite.