Izzoz Tacos

Izzoz Tacos

In the relatively short time since we started this little culinary adventure there is one thing that we have found to be consistently true: most of the best food in town seems to come from the trailers that are sprinkled throughout Austin. I have been asking myself for weeks now why it is that chefs with the ability to turn out such quality would opt for an AirStream over a brick and mortar operation or a job at high-profile and well established restaurant. The only answer I have been able to come up with is: Freedom.


Freedom not just to be your own boss but to create as you see fit. Freedom to make the food that you want to make. And these little trailers are the perfect venue for it. It could be Gourdough's Doughnuts and their giant sized mutant concoctions that make you do a double take. It might be Crepes Mille on S. Congress (they will be the subject of a future review) with their crepes stuffed with all manner of wonderfulness like Chicken Burgundy or Panang Curry. These little places seem to work perfectly because they are based out of a trailer. I can't imagine some of these places working in traditional restaurant setting. I wish them best of luck and continued success. Not only are they delicious and exciting, but they add so much character to our cityscape. They fit perfectly in a town like Austin and I hope that they continue to flourish.


After reading that overly long intro it should come as no surprise that this week's review is about a trailer. A taco trailer in actuality. I think the thing I like most about good Mexican food is its homey feel. The best Mexican food, even if served in a restaurant still has the feel of a home cooked meal. And at some of the better places in town, grandma really is in the kitchen helping to make dinner. I know what you're thinking, A taco trailer? Really? There's practically one on every corner in Austin and most are not that great. Well no worries because the place we went to was Izzoz Tacos, which is now one of my two favorite places for tacos.


Unlike my other favorite place, where grandma actually is in the kitchen, Izzoz is run by a very skilled chef, John Galindo. How does his food stack up to the standard? The first thing that struck me was how true this food was to it's roots. The second thing I noticed was that he is not trying to reinvent the wheel here. He has taken some of my favorite things and added touches that only a chef can, while staying true to the original. Take the Escobar, a Carne Guisada taco for example.

The Escobar

For my money there's really nothing better than a good plate/taco of Carne Guisada, and this taco is as good as any I've ever had. It tastes like it could have come from grandma's kitchen. It's just beef stew served in a tortilla and finished with a little cilantro, onion and tomato. There's no pretense here, it just wants to be a good plate of stew and achieves exactly that. The chef's touch comes in here as it is finished with a little fresh cilantro. John's understanding of Mexican cuisine is apparent because it is only a little cilantro. I don't know how many times I've seen some chef on TV (who thinks that he or she knows Mexican food) absolutely demolish a dish or a salsa by adding a huge amount of cilantro. So to any trained chefs out there: Yes, Mexican food uses cilantro but it's not the only flavor you're going for. It's powerful stuff, take it easy people! Maybe you should all go to Izzoz to see how to use it properly. Speaking of salsa, the Escobar is served with a made fresh daily roasted salsa. How good is the salsa? Chef Galindo told me that on whim, literally hours before it was to start, he decided to enter a recent hot sauce competition. So he quickly made a batch, brought it to the competition and ended up taking second place. In short, it's pretty awesome.

The Vegitarian

Ah, yes the Vegitarian sandwich. It is in my opinion this is one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. I have had tortas (sandwiches) in Monterrey, Mexico and this one stands tall among the best of them. Perfectly fried portabella mushroom, fried avocado with a sherry chipotle vinaigrette. You might be tempted to think that there should be some sort of meat on this sandwich. But let me tell you, this is quite possibly one of the most perfect sandwiches ever created. Everything here works in perfect harmony to create a sandwich that is very well balanced in relation to both flavor and size. If you just can't decide on what you want, this makes a good "go to" kind of meal. It is also served with a large side of fries. The fries are done exactly as they should be done: hand cut, perfectly crispy and lightly salted. They also have a little bit of roasted garlic added to them. Very nice indeed. 

Fried Avocado

Now for something that is near and dear to my heart: the Fried Avocado Taco. I love a deep fried avocado, in fact I made a batch a couple of nights ago. This is one of my favorite tacos of all time. I suppose it's not too traditional but who cares? If you've never had one, then you are depriving yourselves dear friends. A properly fried avocado should just about melt in your mouth like butter, and that is exactly what is accomplished here. The batter used is basically a tempura batter that stays crunchy long after being removed from the oil. The result is a perfect texture of crunchy and soft. The taco itself comes served with arugula, cotijachese and a sherry chipotle sauce. And yet again, these ingredients serve only to highlight the real star of the show, the avocado. Not only is the avocado fried to order, but it is cut to order as well.

John was kind enough to sit and chat with us for a while, which is a good lesson for any current or aspiring restaurant owner. Your customers will love it if you are friendly enough to take a personal interest in them. We found out that, not surprisingly, he has been in the business for quite a while, about fifteen years. His passion for food really shows in the final product. But this comes as no surprise from a person who on his days off is known to show up at his friend's restaurants and help out in their kitchens. Now that's dedication. It's a dedication that shows in the products he turns out.

Take the guacamole, for example. If you order a side of guacamole or if something comes with guacamole it is made to order at Izzoz. Why go to all of that trouble? Because it tastes better that way. In fact the guacamole is exactly as I like it- uncomplicated. It is just avocado, salt, garlic and lime finished with a little tomato. Nothing fancy, just good food. While the tortillas at Izzoz are not made in house, it's about as close as you can get. He orders them from a local tortilla shop called El Milagro, on 6th Street. But these are not the run of the mill tortillas either. He special orders them according to his recipe, and do not contain any preservatives. It's just the basic ingredients which is all you need.
 

So how much weight will your precious wallet lose when stopping by Izzoz? Not very much, actually. Prices start at $2.00 and go up to $6.00. You'll leave Izzoz with a full belly, and a plump wallet.Portions are also nothing to scoff at.


Lastly, in case there is anyone out there thinking, "Man, I'd love to cook like that," he's got you covered. John offers cooking lessons. If you're interested, check the Izzoz website for more information. Now get out there and get yourselves a taco!

-Matt

AFJ Rating- 5 Lone Star Points

Izzoz Tacos Website
Google Maps Location
1207 S. 1st St.
Austin, TX 78704
Hours: 7 Days a week 9AM-9PM

The Flying Carpet

The Flying Carpet

This week the Food Junkies decided to try a trailer offering what they call "Moroccan Burgers." I don't know that I would call them burgers, but they were certainly tasty. We were joined by my close friends, Sean and Laura, for this tasty excursion.

How does one describe Moroccan food? First, in case you don't own a map, Morocco is located on the northwestern corner of Africa, directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. Its inhabitants are the descendants of the people who ruled Spain from about the year 700 AD until 1492 AD. In 1492, other than Columbus sailing an ocean of some color or other, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella finally drove the Muslims from the Spanish land, completing the Reconquista. Sorry, as a history major, I really couldn't resist adding a little background. Morocco was, in ancient times, one of the major centers of the spice trade coming from Asia going to Europe, and its cuisine shows this fact. Moroccan food has great spice and depth of flavor found only in countries where the spice trade made its mark in a big way. Indian and Ethiopia are other examples of "spice trade cuisine," though markedly different from Moroccan food.

The Sleek Vegan

The Flying Carpet serve three different main items:, The Moroccan Burger, The Sleek Vegetarian and The Sleek Vegan. The also offer fries or a salad as a side. We were able to cover everything except the salad, because they did not have any available for sale. Oh well, maybe next time. All of the sandwiches come wrapped in a pita and are served with a sauce they call L'Afrique, a tangy, slightly spicy mayonnaise type sauce. The Moroccan is grilled ground beef, a fried egg and mixed greens all in a homemade tomato sauce. This wrap is very tasty, well spiced and beautiful. The richness of the egg compliments the ground beef well and helps to cut some of the acidity of the tomato sauce. The tomato sauce is made, not surprisingly, with Harissa (pronounced ha-ree-sa). Harissa is a type of chili paste common in North African cuisine. It was nice and spicy without overpowering the dish or setting your mouth aflame. In all, it added a nice, balanced tangy/spicy layer to the wrap.


The Sleek Vegetarian is made with eggplant, fried egg, greens and the same tomato sauce; very flavorful if you like eggplant as much as I do. The Sleek Vegan is the same as the vegetarian, just replace the egg with falafel. Personally, I liked the Vegan better. I thought the addition of falafel added a nice crunchy texture to an otherwise soft dish. One nice thing about this one is that it is a very satisfying wrap. When most people think vegetarian or vegan, they may think of something like a salad out of a bag; which is to say not satisfying and not particularly flavorful. In this case both wraps are quite substantial. The eggplant acts as a nice substitute for meat in this case. Not that it tastes like meat or that you'll mistake it for meat. It adds a nice amount of substance to the wrap, much like a grilled or sauteed portabello mushroom can be used to add substance to a vegetarian sandwich. The result is a very tasty and very satisfying dish. The french fries are well fried, just crunchy enough without being tooth-shatteringly hard. This is a difficult technique to pull off, and one that many places fail at - not The Flying Carpet though. In addition to being salted, the fries also have a little black pepper added to them, which is a nice touch .

The Moroccan

There is one thing I would like to point out that I caught on their website: They use 100% hormone and antibiotic free ground beef that has been vegetarian fed as well as eggs from cage free, vegetarian fed chickens. I know to many people this is not the sort of thing they ever think about, but the difference to the planet and your health is worth it. Cost wise you are looking at $6.50 for the Moroccan or Vegetarian or $6 for the Vegan. Fries are $1.50 for a small basket and drinks are all about $2. All told, you can get a very good dinner for around $10; a great deal, honestly. The Flying Carpet certainly makes a nice addition to to the trailer scene here. I hope to see more ethnic based trailers popping up soon. Maybe an Indian trailer? I'd certainly be okay with that!

General Information:
Website/Menu
Google Maps Location
Hours: Wed-Fri 5:30pm-8:30pm; Sat 12:30pm-3pm, 5pm-8:30pm; Sun 12pm-5pm
Phone: (512) 744-5651



Official AFJ Rating: Two Points

Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

Cooper's

A couple of weeks ago my good friend Kirk posted on his Facebook page that he planned to restart his BBQ World Tour. For those of you not familiar with this outing, it's an idea he came up with back in 2001 to visit some of the places listed as having the best barbecue by Texas Monthly magazine. This little trip took us to an old favorite- Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que. Cooper's was part of the original World Tour and has remained a favorite ever since. How good are they? People are known to drive for hours to get here; in fact it's a drive of over an hour from Austin. Not only that, former President Bush was known to have them catered to his ranch when he was in town, or so the story goes. Say what you will about his politics, the facts are that the man knows his barbecue.

BBQ Pit

So what makes this place so worth the drive? First, it's a nice trip across the scenic Texas Hill Country. A very nice experience if you've never been, or if you have visitors in town and don't want to go the River Walk in San Antonio again. Second and most important is the meat, the nicely spiced and smoked, melt-in-your-mouth meat. Cooper's serves all manner of slow cooked critters, all of them equally delicious. Just look at that spread in the pit. Makes you hungry doesn't it? It makes me wish it was last Saturday all over again....

First up we have the brisket. Barbecued brisket is really more of a Texas kind of thing, and is not often seen on menus outside of the state but really should be. Every barbecue joint in Texas has their own special spice rub and cooking technique for brisket, and Cooper's is just about the king of this cut of beef. How can you tell a good cut of brisket? It should have a good blackened top (it's Flavor Country according Alex), and should be moist and tender. The brisket at Cooper's meets this standard perfectly. It has a nice intense flavor and is perfectly tender. Now, I've heard some people suggest that the only proper barbecue is pork. I humbly disagree with this statement. When done correctly beef lends itself nicely to this method. For any of you brisket nonbelievers, go to Cooper's and give it a try. You may find yourself becoming a convert to the ways of beef barbecue.

Tenderloin

For those of you who prefer pork, you have nothing to fear! Cooper's serves up some fantastic porcine dishes as well. There is of course the obligatory smoked sausage which is very tasty and comes in two varieties, regular and jalapeno. Either one is worth having, but for me it's all about the pork tenderloin and pork ribs. The tenderloin is juicy and tender. Spiced nicely but not so heavily that the flavor of the meat can't come through. But the ribs. Oh, my the ribs.....Let me explain something about me and ribs. For years I thought I did not like them. Why, you ask? It is because I had never had a proper rib until moving to Texas. Every time I had eaten ribs in the past they had almost no meat, were tough and were served in horrifyingly sweet and sticky sauce. Disgusting. These ribs -as is the case in Texas barbecue in general- are smoked using a dry rub. The spice is perfect, and the meat simply falls off the bone. They are required eating when you finally get to go.

Sauce

No trip to a barbecue joint would be complete without a quick discussion about the sauce. I once heard a person say that barbecue is all about the sauce. I don't even know where to start being snarky about that comment. Barbecue has nothing do with the sauce. Barbecue is all about the smoked meat. In fact it's a style that originated in the Americas as a method of slow cooking meat using low heat and smoke. The way I see it, if you have to cover your meat in some kind of overly sweet, sticky, or spicy sauce it is an indication that something is wrong with the meat. Let the meat speak for itself! Having said all of that I must admit that I do like a good sauce as an accompaniment. The sauce at Cooper's is unlike most I've tasted. It's thin, vinegar based and mixed with pan drippings and other spices. Personally, I like it a lot. It has it's own character and adds to the show without taking over.


Cooper's now has three locations, and I'm sure all of them are worth the visit. Dave and I ended the evening by going with Kirk and his family to the town of Fredericksburg for a little ice cream. It was a very nice way to end very pleasant day. Kirk, it was a very successful trip. I can't wait for the next one!


Official AFJ rating- Four Points



Website
Google Maps Location
Hours-
Sun-Thurs: 11:00 A.M.-8:00 P.M.
Fri-Sat: 11:00 A.M.-9:00 P.M.

Shandeez Grill

     Ever had Persian food? If not, I'm sure you're wondering what its like. For those unaware: Persian food refers to food from the country of Iran. This is because Iran is what remains of the once mighty Persian Empire, the same folks Alexander conquered on his way to becoming great. Interestingly enough, we have a few great Persian restaurants here in Austin. Today dear friends, we will review one of these great eateries- Shandeez Grill on Anderson Mill Rd. That's right, we do have great food even on the North end of town.

     First a description of Persian cuisine. If you've ever had Greek or Lebanese food, they are somewhat similar. You will find a lot of grilled, delightfully spiced meats, which are often lamb, beef or chicken. Even so, Persian cuisine is slightly different. You don't usually see a large bed of steamed rice with your meal when it comes to Mediterranean food, but in Persian cuisine you get perfectly cooked, well seasoned long-grain basmati - which is the much better looking and slightly more fashionable cousin to your average grain of rice. While a helping of rice might make you think more of Indian food, the flavor profiles between Indian and Persian are vastly different. Indian food, to me, is like Beethoven's fifth symphony - its dark, and loud and full of wonderful and exciting style. Persian food is more like Moonlight Sonata, the gentle and subtle undertones of flavor dance and float in a manner that makes you want to cry with joy, then move on to that next piece of lamb.

     On to the dishes. We tried the Chicken Soltani, a plate of grilled chicken and grilled flank steak served over a bed of buttered basmati. The flavors are superb, just delicate and beautiful. The meats were, of course, cooked to perfection. Tender, juicy and tasty. I had the Joojeh Kebob, a grilled Cornish Game Hen served on a healthy helping of basmati. Both of these dishes were seasoned primarily with saffron, the most expensive spice on earth. How does saffron taste? It tastes like expensive, OK seriously you’ll just have to try it and see. One other small - yet important - detail on these two dishes, is that  both are also served with half of a grilled tomato on the side. The grilled tomato, for those uninitiated, is a marvelous and easily passed over gem. Just when you think nature can't be improved on, someone puts it over a hot grill and nature sings in beautiful, seared agony. It's little additions like these tomatoes that can really spruce up a dish.

     Matt had the Adas Polo, grilled chicken over basmati topped with a sauce made with raisins, cinnamon and lentils. I know what you're thinking; "Raisins? On my savory food? No thanks!" If this is your thought process, I am sorry to inform you that you are wrong. This dish was filled with a wealth of beautiful flavor and texture. The sweet and tart flavor of the raisins, the mild spice of the cinnamon, juicy tender chicken, there is nothing about this meal you shouldn't be begging for. A long-time friend, Devyn, came along and tried the Khorest Gheymeh, a kind of beef stew topped with thin sliced and lightly fried potatoes, onions and split peas. This had a very nice earthy, mildly spicy flavor, a definite winner.

      They also have desserts. Try the baklava, a wonderfully flaky phyllo dough pastry filled with nuts, brown sugar and honey. Not in a pastry mood? Try the Persian ice cream; its an ice cream made with rose water, saffron and cardamom. The ice cream has a wonderful, floral flavor, that's just perfect.

     The impact to your bank account will be about $6 for a salad and between $7 and $14 for a kabob plate or a bowl of stew. The price is truly worth it, as the portions are large and the food is fantastic.  The Austin Food Junkies give Shandeez Grill three points of the Lone Star out of five.

Salaam,

Dave

General information:
Shandeez Website

Map
8863 Anderson Mill Rd., Suite 109
Austin, Texas 78729

Hours: Monday-Thursday 11:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Friday-Saturday 11:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.
Sunday - CLOSED

AFJ Rating: 3 Lonestar Points 

Recipe Time- Indian Stir Fry

Hey everyone,

I thought I'd share a quick, easy and healthy stir-fry recipe I've been messing with. First, a bit of full disclosure about this recipe: it's something I picked up online in an interview with Suvir Saran. In fact I made what was essentially his version of this recipe plus some extra mixed vegetables (as well as Chicken Tika) for a dinner party not too long ago, and everyone enjoyed it. They enjoyed it so much so that there wasn't any left at the end of the evening. Since then I have had the chance to tinker around with the recipe a bit; here's what I came up with:

• 2 tsp whole cumin
• 1 tbsp whole brown mustard seed
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (sometimes spelled tumeric)
• 6-12 curry leaves, crushed or torn to release their oils.
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1 large garlic clove, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 or 3 medium-large zucchini, cubed or sliced into medallions
• vegetable oil - enough to coat the bottom of the pan

1. Add the oil to your pan and turn your heat to medium.

2. As the oil is heating add the cumin, mustard seed, and curry leaves
and stir-fry them in the pan for a minute or two. Take care not to burn the
spices. 

 
3. Next, add the turmeric and allow it to cook for another minute or so, continuing to stir. Cooking the turmeric is an important step because raw turmeric is rather bitter and cooking helps to cut the
bitterness almost completely.

4. Add the ginger, garlic and onions and allow them to cook in the oil,
stirring often, until the the onions start to get soft.

5. Add the zucchini and any other vegetables you may like and add salt
to taste. Increase the heat to high.

6. Stir Fry until the zucchini starts to get soft.

7. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

 

You may find that you have plenty of oil left over. Oil with lots of flavor, to be more specific. So what to do with the left over oil? You might try cubing some chicken and frying it the remaining oil, or possibly fish or even some hard tofu. But if you go for the tofu I'd recommend pressing it out before frying to remove any excess liquid. You'll get better results that way. Tofu can be dried by simply wrapping a block in paper towels and placing it on a plate. Next place another plate on top of the block and on top of the plate try adding a 16 oz can. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes and enough of the liquid should have drained out to allow for proper frying.


Spices:
It is important that you use whole spices rather than ground. Why is it important? One word: texture. The problem is that ground spices will make for a very gritty and unpleasant texture whereas the whole spices will actually add a bit of crunch to the dish. Not to mention that whole spices have a lot more flavor than ground spices. Another thing to remember about whole seeds is that they will pop like popcorn if the heat gets too high. Then you'll have a bunch of seeds coated in boiling oil spreading all over your kitchen. And forearms. And clothing......So be careful.

Turmeric:
Turmeric is a yellow powder often used as a type of pigment. In fact it is what gives yellow mustard it's bright yellow color. This being the case, please keep in mind that it will stain anything and everything it touches (including your pans!) although it will eventually fade. With this in mind you may want to invest in an apron or just wear clothing that you don't mind getting yellow pigment on.

Curry leaves:
These can be a bit tricky to find, as most neighborhood grocery stores do not carry them. I'd recommend going to your local Indian or Pakistani grocery store to get them. And don't worry if you can't find them. The dish will be fine without them. But seriously, buy the curry leaves if you can. The have an aroma approaching a fresh roasted pepper and add a great dimension to this dish. Very, very nice.

Not sure where the nearest Indian store is? Here's couple on the northwest side of Austin:

Apna Bazaar
STE 133-B 8650 Spicewood Springs Rd.
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 249-0202

KP Indian Grocery
1212 West Parmer Lane,
Austin, TX 78727
(512) 833-6222

Manny's Uptown Kitchen

Manny's Uptown Kitchen

This week's review took us to one of our new favorites- Manny's Uptown Kitchen. As many of our readers already know, they were previously open under the name Manny Hattan's and served New York style deli fare. So why the name change? Well, the owners felt it was time to expand their horizons a bit and experiment with new flavors. What they serve now might be classified as a type of deli fusion cuisine. Owner Aaron Mayer told us that there is now a much greater emphasis on fresh ingredients and made to order products, and the end results are a real testament to the fine job they're doing.

Potato Knish

Let's start things out with our appetizers. First up we have the potato knish. The knish is a staple of Jewish delis all over New York. It's a mound of fluffy mashed potatoes that have been covered in a bit of dough and baked to perfection. Years ago, I took a trip to New York and got a knish from one of the best places possible- a street vendor. It may sound silly to say about a simple potato dish, but it was a culinary revelation for me. It's been seventeen years but I still remember the flavor and texture of my first knish. So how does Manny's stack up to this memory? It is perfect. The flavor and texture are just like I remember from all those years ago. And it was especially good with the brown mustard at the table.

Pierogies

Next up was the butternut squash pierogi. For those of you not familiar with a pierogi, think of it as an Eastern European ravioli or dumpling. The dumpling itself is cooked absolutely spot on. It has a nice firm texture without being tough or rubbery. The filling is nice and subtle, but still present. The sauce on the pierogis is a sage brown butter and balsamic vinegar reduction. When Aaron brought them out to us the sauce was the first thing I noticed for a couple of reasons. First, it is very eye catching. Dark reddish brown from the vinegar and butter and green from the sage contrasted against the lighter tan of the pierogis. Second, and most important was the scent. The sauce has a nice tangy vinegar bite, but mellowed out by the reduction process. The flavor was sweet, tangy and savory all at the same time. For me, this appetizer really hit it out of the park.

Tongue Sandwich

For our main course David decided to order the Beef Tongue Sandwich. Tongue is a type of meat that some people have a hard time with. I'll admit I was once one of them. There are two problems with tongue: First it is difficult to prepare well. If it is over cooked it becomes tough to the point of being inedible. Second, and most common- it's a tongue. The thought of chewing on a tongue is a bit unsettling for many people. But let me assuage your fears, this is one of the best sandwiches you will ever have. Just think of it as it really and truly is at this point- a perfectly tender cut of meat. Most often,  tongue is prepared by braising because the low temperature of the braising process allows the meat to cook without becoming tough. In this case the meat is first pickled, similar to what you would do in preparing a corned beef, then boiled and served as a cold cut sandwich. The results that Manny's achieves by using this method are absolutely fantastic. The meat itself has a rich flavor due to the heavy marbling and, due to the pickling, a character very similar to corned beef. In fact if you didn't know it was tongue you would probably guess it was corned beef. The meat is sliced thin, and practically melts in your mouth. A sandwich any real deli would be proud to serve.

Challa French Toast

For my entree, I decided to go with Breakfast. That's right, Manny's now serves breakfast and they serve it all day. I don't know about you all, but as a child I always looked forward to having breakfast for dinner. There's just nothing like having pancakes or French toast for a meal other than breakfast. It's almost like you're doing something wrong, but mom is encouraging you to do it. For my breakfast plate I ordered the Challa Bread French Toast. Challa (pronounced "halla" with a rough 'H') is a type of braided Jewish bread that happens to lend itself perfectly to French toast. It is porous enough to soak up the egg batter and soft enough so that the cooking process does not make the crust tough or chewy. The egg batter has a nice flavor due to the addition of cinnamon and other spices. The toast has a nice crispiness to the exterior and an almost custard-like texture to the interior. It comes served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, butter and syrup. This toast is so good that I get it almost every time I come to Manny's.

Manny's Uptown Kitchen is located in the Gateway Shopping Center right off of Highway 183 in N.W. Austin. With a little something for everyone, Manny's comes highly recommended from the Food Junkies.

Our rating- 4 points of the Lone Star

Google Maps Location

Website

Hours:

Monday-Friday: 7:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M.

Saturday-Sunday 7:00 A.M.-11:00 P.M.

Phil's Icehouse

Phil's Icehouse

For this review, Dave and I ventured out to Phil's Icehouse to sample some of what they had to offer. Phil's serves the most classic of all American fare - burgers and dogs, and they do 'em both well. Before we dive into the review I thought it would be good to give a little background information on Phil's. Phil's Icehouse is owned by none other than Amy and Steve Simmons. Who are they, you ask? Well, if you've been in Austin for any length of time you've heard the name Amy, or more specifically Amy's Ice Cream. Amy's Ice Cream is a huge part of Austin and is, in my opinion, the best ice cream anywhere. Like it's counterpart Amy's, Phil's exudes the Austin feel. Most importantly though, they produce some of the best burgers in town. Now on with the review.


We'll start with the Brentwood Burger. The Brentwood is as classic as it gets. It's an old American favorite, the bacon cheeseburger.  A simple cheeseburger topped with two pieces of bacon, onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, mustard and cheddar cheese. Very simple, and very delicious; Phil's hit's it right on the money with this one. The beef patty itself is nicely seasoned and perfectly juicy. The lettuce stays nice and crisp and you can get a taste of everything with every bite. Like all of their burgers, the bun is nicely toasted adding a great texture to the meal. It is also slightly sweet which adds a very nice extra touch. If you come in to Phil's and can't quite decide what to get the Brentwood is a great go-to menu item. Now the way I see it, if you can't get the simplest things right you might as well just pack it in and go home. There is little out there that is simpler or more classic American than the bacon cheese burger and Phil's makes one of the greats.

 Jardin

Next up- the Jardin (pronounced hardeen). According to their website, this burger is an interpretation of a Mexican style burger that they had in San Miguel Del Allende. Having been to Mexico many times, including to San Miguel Del Allende, I can vouch for the authenticity of this burger. The Jardin is served in similar fashion to hamburgesas served in many of the restaurants in Monterrey, with a piece of ham on top of the beef patty. Accompanying the patty and ham are two strips of bacon, cheddar cheese, jalepenos, tomato, mayo and mustard. The ham may seem like a strange addition but it really brings this burger together. Like the Brentwood the Jardin's bun is also lightly sweet and toasted. This one comes highly recommended.

Foot Long

And finally we have the grilled Foot Long Hot Dog. The dog itself is split down the middle and grilled on all sides with a liberal helping of tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese spread down the middle of this gargantuan dog. The dog is grilled until it gets that perfect crispy skin texture, and a perfect flavor. Like it's burger brethren the bun on the hot dog is perfectly toasted. The bun is also an appropriate size for the dog. In fact to any other purveyors of hot dogs we are neither fooled or impressed when you use an undersized bun on a large dog. It just looks like you are too cheap to spring for a correctly sized bun and causes a mess. Please stop this behavior. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now. If you come in to Phil's and are not feeling a burger, may I humbly submit the Grilled Foot Long for your consideration.


All of our entrees came served with the most American of sides - french fries. The fries at Phil's are in a word, perfect. Nice and crunchy outside and soft inside, and just enough salt. And best of all they serve them mixed. Mixed with what, you ask? Seasoned curly fries? Thankfully no. I'm afraid Phil's is a few steps above that Clown-In-A-Crate place. They come mixed with a serving of their distinguished cousin - the sweet potato fry. Crunchy, soft and a little sweet with just the right amount of salt on top. I only recently discovered this particular creation and have quickly become a huge fan. And to wash it all down we had milkshakes of course. Their Milkshakes are made, of course, with Amy's Ice Cream. And Amy's, as I pointed out at the beginning of the review, is some of the best ice cream anywhere. They also start each shake the right way, with the ice cream flavor of the shake. A chocolate shake does not start with vanilla ice cream and three pounds of syrup from a poor quality choclatier in Pennsylvania, it starts with chocolate ice cream. The same is true of any flavor shake, syrup doesn't count. The portions are large and the prices are reasonable ($4.50-7.50) so you can expect to be left with change and a snack for later!

AFJ Rating: 3 Lone Star points

Phil's Ice House Website Google Maps Location 5620 Burnet Rd Austin, TX 78756 Sun-Thur: 11 A.M.-9 P.M. Fri-Sat: 11 A.M.-10 P.M.