AUSTIN NOKIDDING!

Restaurant Explorers

Austin has a wide and varied selection of restaurants. Restaurant Explorers is a monthly activity for people who enjoy dining with friends in some of Austin's unique restaurants.

If you're ready for something besides a Big Mac- if you'd like to try Lebanese style Lamb, real Cajun gumbo, a Cuban stew with fried banana- or would simply like to try something different- then join us.

We meet on the fourth Saturday of the month. Check out our calendar to see where we will be dining next.

What are the current suggestions?

All our restaurant visits are suggested by the members of ANK! who have either already been there and enjoyed it, or are curious and wish to visit with a group.

To see the current list of suggestions, go to Restaurant Suggestions.

If you have a suggestion for a Restaurant that you think we should add to the ANK Restaurant Explorers list for a future visit, please send a email to: explorers and we'll add it to the list and we'll see you there!

Archive

Updated April 29, 2008

Restaurant Explorers meet every fourth Saturday at 6 pm at different restaurants around Austin. Here's an archive of the places we've been in the past, all recommended to us by the members of Austin NO KIDDING!.
DISCLAIMER: These are just brief write-ups and our opinions of the restaurants visited and are not full reviews. Also if you are interested in visiting any of these, do check whether they are still in business, since sadly many fine restaurants do close up...

Alborz -- 3300 W Anderson Ln Ste 303
Persian food is always fun, so many options and Alborz was no different. Of the many dishes people were trying, everyone loved the cherry rice that came as a side dish.
Ararat -- 111 E. North Loop
Definitely a hidden restaurant, tucked away between a tattoo parlor and shoe repair shop. Ararat is small but with big tastes and authentic spices. The interior is dark and smokey with incense, the atmosphere slow and languid, perfect for Sunday night dining.
ASTI Trattoria & Wine Bar -- 408-C 43rd St.
In the heart of the Hyde Park area, this upscale Italian restaurant was very fancy (and a little pricey). Their chocolate Canola's were wonderful.
Athena Grill -- 705 Colorado
Situated downtown, this Greek restaurant was a little gem. Great pot roast in thick gravy, and leg of lamb were the popular dishes. And the service was outstanding, very eager to please - several folks made sounds of wanting to visit again.
Azul Tequila -- 4211 S. Lamar
A small tex-mex restaurant on the south side of town. A nice restaurant, they took good care of us, but there was nothing to make it stand out.
Austin Java -- 301 West 2nd Street
A local chain of restaurants, we dined at the downtown location and sat outside to enjoy the warm autumn evening. Several folks enjoyed the pasta salads, while other tackled the large, but delicious fresh sandwiches.
Bombay Bistro -- 10710 Research Blvd. #126
A new large Indian near the Arboretum. While well known for their lunch buffets, the evening menu was very hit or miss, with several raving about the food, while others left disappointed.
Boiling Pot -- 700 East 6th St.
No utensils here! The seafood is dumped on paper towels, and you go to with a hammer.
Buca di Beppo -- 3600 Tudor Blvd
Loud, splashy, and lots of food. We loved the garlicky dishes and fun atmosphere. This one was so popular we voted to return and get the captain's table in the kitchens.
Cafe Mangu -- 15200 FM 1825, Pflugerville
We love Caribbean food, and Cafe Mangu was what we expected. As small friendly establishment that was very busy on a Saturday evening, but accommodated us easily. The garlic lovers had fun with the plantain chips and garlic dipping oil.
Cafe Spazio -- 5416 Parkcrest Dr
The contemporary Italian dishes intrigued us and there was lots of sharing after a long period of dithering over what to order.
Caribbean Way -- 14735 Bratton Lane
Big and colorful with beach/ocean paintings that caused the divers in the group to plan their next vacation. A wide variety of dishes insured everyone was happy and Mark even had goat.
Casa de Luz -- 1701 Toomey Rd.
We decided that a bit of "healthy" eating was in order, so we tried Casa De Luz who specialize in Vegan cuisine. A small "commune" in the heart of Austin, CdL is tucked away in a lush setting. The dinner was a pre-set meal prepared by those living in the commune. It was certainly different and we enjoyed it.
Catfish Parlor -- 11910 Research Blvd
An Austin establishment for 20 years known for it's cold beer, great hushpuppies and of course some of the best boneless catfish fillets in town..
Chez Zee -- 5406 Balcones Drive
An American restaurant, but explores many qualities that is America food and not just your Hamburger. The deserts were the real treat of an enjoyable evening.
Clay Pot -- 1601 Guadalupe
We had a good time visiting this small Indian restaurant reserving a quiet side room we were able to talk as a group while enjoying the rich food. One of the best explores in a while.
Cypress Grill -- 4404-L W. William Cannon
A south Austin Cajun restaurant. A bright and open restaurant - very friendly, several folks enjoyed the Crawfish Étoufée.
County Line -- 2222 & 360
Whenever we go here, we just can't decide what to have, the Ribs, Brisket or sausage, and the portions are always so huge. More importantly we end up fighting over the honey bread, there never seems to be enough of that.
Drakula -- 8120 Research Boulevard, Suite 104b
A small restaurant which we easily filled (we had to limit the number of attendees). Authentic Romanian food by authentic Romanians. But since no one had been to Romania, how would we know? Well, to us it felt like authentic Romanian.
Dominick's Pizza -- 1540 Cypress Creek Rd, Cedar Park
A regular favorite for those who do Movie Night, a large group descended on Dominick's Pizza to try the authentic New-York Style pizza. The pizza's are large and very hot, but wonderful. Dominick claims that you cannot get the right Pizza crusts outside of New-York (something to do with the water - or so he says), which is why ships the dough from NY to TX. We had a great time and when Dominick came round to make sure we were happy, we gave him a round of applause.
East Side Cafe -- 2113 Manor Road
The East Side cafe is renowned in Austin, so we were eager to try it out. Trying to make arrangements for the group were difficult and we were treated quite rudely which marred the experience. While the food was good, we hope that they work out how to accommodate and treat groups of more than 4 people.
El Chile -- 1809 Manor Road
Over in east Austin, this tex-mex restaurant was a good find. A very popular restaurant, this place stands out as a little gem.
El Sol Y La Luna -- 1224 S. Congress Ave
Down to south Austin for a menu of tex-mex or various interior Mexico cuisine. While enjoyable, the very loud music did mean we could not converse and enjoy the food.
Empanada Parlor -- 707-709 E. 6th Street
They have sweet, savory, and spicy fillings in these half-moon-shaped turnovers. Plates include multiple empanada's so we ordered a variety and shared.
Estancia Churrascaria Brazilian Steakhouse -- 4894 Highway 290 W, Sunset Valley
For our 7th Anniversary, the group wanted to visit this Brazilian steakhouse, where for a fixed price they walk around with different cuts of roasted meats and carve of a slice or two. We stayed a while and dined slowly, many enjoyed the "Picanha"- cut of rump steak, heavily salted and marinated in garlic, while others raved about the slow cooked pork sausage.
European Bistro -- 111 E. Main, Pflugerville
An interesting restaurant specializing in Hungary and Romanian dishes. A beautifully decorated restaurant, great food, but a few members were disappointed that they were unable to offer full menu selections to a large group such as ourselves.
Evangeline Cafe -- 8106 Brodie Ln.
Perhaps not what we had hoped for, but hey, that's the fun of doing the explore.
Frank and Angies -- 508 West Ave
Pizza and pasta for everyone. Their cheese less pizzas are tasty enough for even non-vegans.
Fonda San Miguel -- 2330 West North Loop
Sunday Brunch at Fonda San Miguel was one of our anniversary explores. Brunch is a little pricey, but consists of a buffet featuring several of the choice items from the menu. A beautiful restaurant and wonderful food - several went back for seconds!
Garibaldi's Mexican Food -- 4201 S Congress Ave
Hand-mixed margaritas made me happy. The food was so good many members eat there now on a regular basis.
Green Mesquite -- 1400 Barton Springs Rd. (just west of Lamar)
We sat outside and enjoyed the barbeque and the rockabilly bank. Best peach cobbler I've had in Austin.
Green Pastures -- 811 Live Oak
We celebrated our 1 year anniversary with great food and beautiful surroundings of Green Pastures. As an added bonus we had a room to ourselves, so we dined without any kids around.
Habana Restaurant -- 2728 S. Congress & 709 E. Sixth
22 members showed up for the dinner here and then spoke so highly of it, we offered a make-up session for those that couldn't attend the first time, and had 12 more members. Great food with spice combinations you probably haven't tried before.
A return trip a few years later to the new East Sixth location was popular. Same great menu, but the new venue was fun as we dined in the back courtyard surrounded by palm trees enjoying the spring weather.
Hill Country Pasta -- 3519 RR 620 North
we had a bright sunny day, and it was a perfect drive to Hill country Pasta. It's a great restaurant, with a wonderful atmosphere. The Pasta itself was incredibly rich and filling. The only complaint was from those who had the Tiramisu desert, which had way too much cinnamon.
Hill's Cafe -- 4700 South Congress
Southern Style comfort food, like several around Austin. The margaritas were good, but there was nothing to make this restaurant stand out - except the deep fried corn nuggets which were just delicious.
Hoover's -- 2002 Manor Road
Southern-style food with a cajun bite, but also the traditional veggie plate.
The Hoovers on 183 north; While the menu is essentially the same as the central Austin location, the northern locale is larger and a little more upscale.
Hula Hut -- 3826 Lake Austin Blvd
ANK's very first Restaurant Explorers choice, not because it is 'unknown and out of the way' but because we knew it had great food and was easy to find. Hula Hut overlooks Tom Miller Dam and Lake Austin. Hula Hut features lots of other things, too, like 'tubular tacos', fish tacos, and coconut shrimp.
Hut's Hamburgers -- 807 W. Sixth St
The second restaurant ANK explored. They have tasty hamburgers, veggie burgers, chicken fried steak, vegetarian "chicken fried steak", and really great onion rings. And their malts and shakes -- oh, yeah!
Iguana Grill -- 2900 N. RM 620 (2 miles south of Mansfield damn on Hwy 620)
Ok, so it was cloudy the evening we visited, but we still enjoyed the view, the food, and the margaritas.
Jazz Louisiana Kitchen -- 214 E. Sixth
Located on sixth street, Jazz offered fine New-Orleans style food in a fun setting. The drinks were strong and everyone loved the fruit beignets.
Katz's Deli -- 618 W. 6th St.
Despite never "klosing", many NKer's had never been to this deli on 6th street. The NYer's agreed the food was authentic but enjoyed the Austin improvement of good service. The sandwiches were so stuffed several of us had to remove half the meat so we could eat them. Despite much joking, no one tried the cheesecake milkshake.
Koreana Grill and Sushi Bar -- 12196 N. Mopac Blvd
Personally I recommend the asparagus tempura, but the seafood eaters assured me the sushi was excellent.
Le Soleil Authentic Vietnamese restaurant -- 9616 N. Lamar Blvd
FanTAStic food, a few members have made several return visits. The main concern though was that they couldn't handle a large crowd.
Madam Mam's Noodle House-- 2514 Guadalupe
The hot pepper rating on the menus run from 2 to 5 but the bravest anyone got was 3 peppers (aka 8 Kleenex). Fresh and fast it's become one of our standards when we meet near UT.
Down at the Westgate, the Madam Mam's @ Westgate location is very different from the small place near UT. They managed to accommodated all 20 of us easily. Food was great and fast.
Marakesh -- 906 Congress Ave
This small restaurant on congress was big on atmosphere and was a good way to enjoy the waning heat of late summer. The middle eastern food worked well in the heat with the kebabs being a favorite among many.
Marco Polo -- 2200 S. IH-35
For those that enjoy Chinese and sea-food, the trip to Marco Polo was a delight, with several folks skeptical about the idea of clams in black been sauce, but in the end saying that it was wonderful.
Mars -- 1610 San Antonio St.
We loved the atmosphere here and everyone felt right at home. Interesting dishes with an Indian influence that played to our adventurous style.
Matt's El Rancho -- 2613 South Lamar Blvd
Matt's is more an Austin institution than an outstanding Mexican restaurant. The food was good but typical -- with dishes like red sauce-covered enchiladas and ground beef tacos. But the food was attractively prepared and flavorful.
Maudies's Cafe -- 2608 W 7th St (where lake Austin Blvd and W. 7th intersect)
The waiter at Frank and Angies told us about this place. Tucked away in a small shopping center, it's so popular the tables have spilled out into the parking lot. Not only is their Tex-Mex food terrific but it's inexpensive as well.
Mongolian BBQ -- 9200 N. Lamar, #100
You pick your veggies and meat, top with a choice of sauces and let them cook it up for you. We were warned that the food would cook down a lot, so the bowls should be packed; actually it ended up still being a LOT of food and our gracious host kept bringing out more little tidbits of food that went with our meal.
Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill -- 303 Red River St.
Upscale comfort food! Moonshine is actually a great cozy place, we had a great time dining on the patio enjoying a warm spring evening. Moonshine serves comfort staples such mac-and-cheese, but done in an Austin yuppy way. They even do a shrimp corn dog which a few found interesting. The "Moonshine in Jugs" was a popular drink.
Mothers Cafe & Garden -- 4215 Duval Street
Mothers is an Austin landmark. They raise vegetarian food above the "nuts and sticks" level and do really delicious dishes, everyone found something to their liking.
Ms B's -- 8105 Mesa Drive
This small family run Cajun restaurant offered affordable traditional Louisiana style food with flair in a romantic setting.
Neuvo Leon -- 1501 East 6th St
A nice upscale tex-mex restaurant in East Austin. While the food was good - nothing really stood out, the margarita's were amazingly strong and popular!
Nutty Brown Cafe -- 12225 W Highway 290 Austin.
Good outdoor seating in a country diner type setting. A nice drive just outside of town. A fun late summer trip.
Osaka Restaurant -- 13492 Research Blvd.
Our first outing for sushi, which actually very few people ordered. The sushi at Osaka was fresh and affordable, and the other dishes, like tempura, grilled salmon, and chicken terryaki were also great.
Peony Chinese -- 5308 Balcones
We enjoyed the food at Peony but found it a little expensive for the portion sizes. The do have lots of unusual and very flavorful dishes on their menu, such as Tofu in Hot Clay Pot and Filipino Pancit Bihon chicken noodles, that you don't find at your 'average' Chinese restaurant.
The Pier on Lake Austin -- 1703 River Hills
A little sandwich and beer place on the lake with live music so loud we had to hide in the corner to talk. Despite the bucolic setting my notes say we discussed the events that started WWII.
Pyramids restaurant. -- 6019 N I-35.
We had a large turnout to try their middle eastern cuisine, the lamb BBQ was popular as well as the Lebanese tea. The Belly Dancing was fun to watch.
Reales Pizzeria -- 13450 N. Hwy. 183, Ste #230.
They don't do just Pizza, although several swear that they served the best fried calamari they've eaten. Everyone was satisfied with the food although service was not satisfactory - even though we booked with the restaurant that we were a large group.
Roaring Fork -- 701 Congress Avenue
This restaurant - part of the Stephen F Austin Hotel, was an elegant location for our Fourth anniversary dinner serving contemporary food that was very south-west in style.
Ronnie's real Food.
Ronnie's is situated in the Hill Country just outside Austin. They served dinner at 7pm and there is only one item on the menu. Why was this trip such a success? Well with it being only 1 sitting, we were able to enjoy a whole evening socializing and watching the Deer wondering by. We returned to Ronnie's for our Third ANK! anniversary and we stayed and chatted until about 10pm.
Salt Grass - Arboretum -- 10614 Research Blvd
A cold wet evening was perfect for visiting the Salt Grass and trying to choice from the variety of steaks or southern style food, including the largest chicken fried steaks any of us had ever seen! For those that had room at the end, a few shared a slice of the Margarita pie and it was delicious - not as sharp as a regular key-lime or lemon pie, but had a unique flavor of its own.
Salt Lick 360 -- 3801 N Capital of Texas Hwy
One of Austin area well known BBQ places. While the BBQ was good, we were disappointed that they didn't have some of the BBQ staple dishes such as cobbler or banana pudding.. Not quite the same as the original location in Dripping Springs.
Sampaio's -- 4800 Burnet Rd.
This Brazilian Restaurant was loved by everyone. We had to spli up into smaller groups, instead of one large table, but we didn't mind because it made for more intimate dining.
Satay Asian Cookery -- 3202 W. Anderson Lane, Suite 205
It was hard to pick among the great dishes from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. They have a large selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, and we all enjoyed the dishes we finally settled on ordering.
Seoul Restaurant & D.K.'s Sushi Bar. -- 6400 South First Street.
Lisa recommended this sushi bar. With it being just before Christmas, we had a small turnout, but everyone enjoyed themselves and even those "unsure" about sushi bravely tried - and enjoyed some.
Shady Grove -- 1624 Barton Springs Rd
We wanted a place to sit outside to enjoy the last gasp of warm weather and SG certainly was the right place. From the famous hippie hollow sandwich (a tasty mix of grilled veggies) to excellent margaritas, SG was a place to relax and recap our various summer travels.
Ski Shores -- 2905 Pearce Road
Another little sandwich and beer spot on the lake. This one is memorable due to a gentle shower that turned into a torrential downpour that chased us all inside the tiny ordering room while the storm tossed the plastic furniture off the pier.
South Congress Cafe -- 1600 South Congress Ave
The weather was not kind to us for this trip, so turnout was low and the restaurant was fairly empty. But the food was good, if not outstanding and those who braved the storm ad a good time.
Star of India -- 2900 W. Anderson Lane
A terrific dinner buffet stuffed us NK diners. They have a HUGE buffet, including lots of great vegetarian dishes. This was our September outing and we mostly talked politics.
Suzi's Chinese Kitchen. -- 1152 S Lamar Blvd
It had been a while since we had done Chinese, but we had a very large turnout for this RE. Suzi's China Kitchen is the original "Suzi's" in Austin, a small family run restaurant with friendly service. Everyone found something they loved here.
A return visit a few years later was very popular and successful - we were given free spicy tangy dumplings which we all loved.
T&S Seafood- Dim Dum. -- 10014 N Lamar Blvd.
We changed from our regular RE time to come here since they only serve Dim Sum at lunch time. T&S was a hit with even the most skeptical among us, everyone tried a small bit of everything they brought us (except for the fried chicken feet!) and everyone saying "you have to try this" as they passed the dishes around. This RE was one of the most economical as well! Well worth a return visit.
Thai Passion -- 620 Congress Ave #105
An upscale Thai restaurant. The food is more Thai-style than authentic Thai, but that is what makes them stand out. Several of the dishes are quite refreshing and crisp, which is great in Texas in the summer.
Threadgills -- 6416 North Lamar Blvd
Threadgills on North Lamar was the first location of our Monthly supper. A wide menu allows for carnivores and vegans to both be happy. Chicken-fried steak, huge burgers, a 5 vegetable plate, plus great service and a big table set in the back makes this one of our most popular events.
Triumph Cafe -- 3808 Spicewood Springs Rd Ste 104
This small Asian restaurant served cuisine from various regions, so everyone found something to their liking. Unfortunately the weather was not with us when we visited, so we were not able to sit out back and dine in the garden patio.
Trulucks -- 400 Colorado Street
For our second anniversary, we splashed out and visited Trulucks in the Warehouse District. The seafood was delicious, but the "Wow" of the trip was the desert where they presented us with a tall chocolate cup (molded by pouring melted chocolate into a paper bag), filled with fruit and cream.
West Lynne Cafe -- 1110 W. Lynn
Even the 'carnivores' enjoyed this vegetarian restaurant. They have a huge menu and all their dishes were delicious. The portions were large and the presentation was lovely.