J & J BBQ

J & J Barbecue

300 W Whitestone Blvd
Cedar Park, TX 78613

(512) 918-0314

www.jj-bbq.com

Jake: Excellent parking and most important Excellent FOOD! Good pricing with a wide choice of different types of food. The granddaughter enjoys the hamburgers, Hoppy likes the chopped beef sandwich and of course I love the brisket. You have a good choice of lean meat or moist and both taste excellent. Then the desserts are old style home cooking. Pie with or without ice-cream all at a decent price. Gotta love Texas.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

401 W. Whitestone Blvd Suite C-100

Cedar Park, TX 78613

512.250.1495

jmowerydickeybarbeque@hotmail.com

www.dickeys.com

Jake: I dearly love good BBQ and in this part of Texas there are many choices of places to have good barbecue. A friend took us to Dickey’s in Cedar Park recently. In the past two weeks we have been back four times. This place is wonderful. The atmosphere is down home, there is music playing just loud enough to hear without blowing you out the door. I hate trying to eat in a place that you have to yell to talk to the wife across the table. There is one of those big screen TVs on the back wall with the sound off. So you can watch ESPN but do not have to compete with it for dinner mate’s attention. The only thing I would do differently with the TV is turn the captions on, so that if you are interested you could read what is happening.

Good parking, easy in and easy out, you have to love that.

This is without question one of the top three barbecue’s in Central Texas. I will address the other two in their own editions of Tasters.

The two meat plate is reasonably priced and the pulled pork is a big hit with Hoppy. The sausage is prime and the brisket very good. I am not big on sauce, but Dickey’s sauce is wonderful. The spicy sauce is a bit mild for me and Hoppy but most people find it tasty.

After you eat the barbecue, there is one of those old fashioned soft ice cream dispensers with the cones. Man that takes me back a few years. Hoppy says that going there just makes her happy after a bad day at work. It is that kind of place.

If you get a chance, drop in at Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Cedar Park-perhaps you will see Jake and Hoppy there.

Firehouse Subs

Firehouse Subs

1465 E. Whitestone Blvd.

STE #H-340

Cedar Park, TX 78603

512-259-9696

Jake says:

Plenty of good parking and one of the cleanest eating places I have been in lately. The staff was friendly, helpful and overall nice. The men’s restroom on the other hand was not-clean. Hoppy stayed out of the ladies after I told her about the men’s. The prices were middle of the road for a sub-shop – roughly $8 each including drinks. I was not impressed by the subs. The bread had a tang to it and the meat and cheese were bland. I suppose we were supposed to use some of the hundred or so different hot sauces on the counter but did not want spicy that night. We will go back again, just to be sure that we have the same thing twice. Things happen, and any place can have an off day so we will give them another chance. But for this one visit, my thought is: no.

Bone Daddy's House of Smoke

11617 Research Blvd.

Austin, Texas 78759

Phone: 512.346.3025

Jake: Parking is good, they have parking in front-down the side and around back. In the evenings the parking lot in the front can get pretty full but you can usually find a spot or three in the back. The back entrance is well lit and easily accessible.

Hoppy: I have always enjoyed going to Bone Daddy's and one of the reasons is the landscaping. I enjoy seeing new and unusual plants artfully arranged. The well-tended exterior is, to me, a clear indication that the interior is also tidy.

Jake: Atmosphere is warm, friendly and the girls are attractive (eye-candy) and well trained.

Hoppy: Even though we were ahead of the 5 o'clock crowd, the place was lively. Lots of talking, laughing, pretty girls flitting here and there. As Jake said, the atmosphere is warm. You feel welcomed there. Our waitperson was very patient with us as we had trouble deciding on what to eat.

Jake: The food is wonderful. Their brisket and sausage is primo and the chicken is good if you like chicken. Jake doesn't care for chicken all that much. Our waitress was prompt without being over bearing.

Hoppy: The food has always been exceptional and tonight was no different. I chose the ham plate with beans and potatoes. That meat really DOES melt-in-your-mouth! They serve large portions, so unless you are really hungry, be prepared to pack half of your food home.

Jake: The prices are reasonable. This place has large TV screens all over the place usually with either sports or news on the screens. Tonight the music was George Thorogood and contemporaries. We have in the past heard jazz and blues. While having a sports bar setup the place still has very good food. The bartender knows his/her business and the drinks are outstanding.

Hoppy: Yes, the drinks have never disappointed us. They are generous too. You won't get a tiny thimble-full of liquor!

PARS

Mediterranean Super Market & Deli

8820 Burnet Rd. Suite 502

(Corner of 183 and Burnet)

Austin, TX

Phone 512/452-4888

Jake

Parking: there is enough parking to where I was able to park directly in front. As I have mentioned before this is a big plus with me. Especially today as the temperature was in the low fifties and the wind was gusting over thirty miles an hour.

Service: This is one of those walk up to the counter places so being waited on is not an option. However the guy behind the counter was knowledgeable and very polite. We had a beef gyro and split it between us as well as an order of Mediterranean Potatoes.

The Food: The food was wonderful. A gyro is something like a taco or burrito, food in a bread-like wrapper. This one had beef, onion, tomato and some good spices with a bit of sour cream. I added some red pepper for a little extra heat. We were the first customers of the day, not usually a good idea if you want fast service. But we were served before we could drink our coffee. This is FAST in a sit down place. I did not care for the coffee, but it was very hot and very fresh. I did not dislike it enough to not drink it all. Usually if I really do not like the coffee I leave it. I drank all of this so it was not horrible just unfamiliar.

Prices: Very good indeed, Hoppy and I both ate for less than $10.

Atmosphere: Very friendly place, the servers and other people in the place were very polite and friendly.

This is one of those, "If we are in the area-this is where we will go to eat" places

Hoppy: Well, this is a rare moment. I think Jake has covered all the areas very well and I can’t think of a thing to add to it. Except, to say that I LOVED the coffee. It was smooth and left no bitter taste in the mouth.

The tables and chairs were very clean, everything had that quiet clean look…ready for the crowds to arrive.

The food was fresh, hot, superbly seasoned and made me wish I had a larger tummy so I could eat more of it. I’d not had a gyro before and if this is an example of what they are, then they deserve more publicity. The one Jake and I shared was oh, so wonderful. I liked it so much that I am conniving to see how I can get us back into that area so we can have another gyro. Yummy!

Until next time….happy eatin’!

Taqueria

Taqueria
Los Jaliscienses #3
6903 Airport Blvd.
Austin, TX 78752
Phone. 512/419-7340

Outside:

Jake: We went here at lunch because it is convenient to work. Parking at lunch is a bit spotty. It is a very popular place to eat.

Hoppy: This is my newest "most favorite" place to eat. The exterior is colorful and festive, proudly upholding their Mexican heritage. The parking is sufficient although they do fill up during peak eating times. Once you get familiar with the area, it is easy to get in and out of.

Inside:

Jake: The place offers a full bar, which does not interest me all that much as I cannot drink and then go back to work.
The lunch special is more than reasonable in price. $4.50 at the time of this writing. Their portions are enormous, I had fajita beef burrito and it was wonderful, although I was unable to eat more than half of it. They offer a fifteen inch burrito and we tried that one the first time we went. I can only eat a quarter of the fifteen inch burrito.
The waitresses are very nice although not totally conversant in English. There is ample seating and the place is sparkly clean.

Hoppy: The first thing I noticed was the simplicity of the furnishings and that everything was clean. The floor was spotless. The second thing I noticed was the Hispanic/Latino Pop music being played. Jake and I both love this type of music and enjoyed it while there.
The waitresses were lovely, attentive, and quick. We were given the usual basket of chips and two sauces, one red and one green, to dip chip into. I totally fell in love with the green sauce, although I nearly burned the back of my throat with it. YES! Gotta love it!
I had the chicken burrito and as usual, their portions are extremely generous! I could only eat half of it, but with this food, it is better as leftovers. They were not skimpy with the meat which was very moist and tender. Their flour tortillas are to die for, as they have a taste that I find highly appealing. The food fairly screams "fresh," a big plus to me.

After Thoughts:

Jake: This is the only place I have ever eaten at where the green hot sauce is too hot for me to eat. The red is very hot and very good….but the green is smoking!!

Hoppy: I hope to try everything on their menu. This place is well worth the effort to find if you haven't been there yet.

Mangia Chicago Stuffed Pizza

Texas Tasters – Jake and Hoppy



Mangia Chicago Stuffed Pizza GF

12001 Burnet Road Suite D

Austin, TX 78758

512-832-5550



PARKING:

Jake: There is enough parking. We went during the noon rush and still found a parking spot close. This is a big plus with me. So big a plus that I have been known to take one quick drive through the parking lot, and, not finding a place to park, just go somewhere else. This even knowing the food is not as good at the second place.

Hoppy: Surprise! We arrive at the peak of noon rush and still found a spot to park, right in front of the door too! I like that! This place has ample parking, from the front of the building, going on around and down the side. Lots of places to park, which made Jake happy.

INSIDE:

Jake: The place was full and people were eating and laughing and talking. These are all signs of a regular lunch crowd. There was also enough room inside so that we did not have to wait to be seated. Another plus, again if I have to wait I will usually just leave.

Hoppy: Instant attendance, warm welcome and ushered to a table. Jake didn’t want the table and asked for a booth which we were given without a pause. Smooth operators in this place. I enjoyed the attractive décor and the interesting art, nick knacks and posters to examine. Booth seats were padded just the right amount of thickness for comfort and enabled one to slide in and out easily. I hate booths that have no padding at all (very uncomfortable) and the ones that go over board and make the padding so thick, it ends up trapping innocent victims.

Jake: It was loud enough that when I received a cell call I had trouble understanding the caller. The staff was just attentive enough that we did not feel abandoned and not so attentive that we felt either rushed or smothered.

Hoppy: The buzz of a happy crowd told me that this place was enjoyed by many and that they probably had a good number of repeats. Our waitperson was knowledgeable and answered questions easily, she was quick and efficient.

Jake: We intend to return to give them another chance as our choice of food was new to the two of us and we both despised it. We will order regular food the next time. I cannot believe that many people can be wrong. We just made a bad first choice as to the food. We will give the tea a second chance as well, it was a bit bitter. My more intelligent better looking half says that is from sitting too long.

Hoppy: Being new at this, we erred in that we ordered the same thing for both of us. Please bear with us as we are learning what to do and what not to do. We ordered a spinach/cheese/black olive stuffed crust pizza with whole wheat crust. Neither of us liked the crust which probably caused us to not like the pizza at all. I can’t but wonder how it would have tasted with a regular crust. The whole wheat crust was hard and about as tasty as cardboard. The spinach stuffing was too spicy … not the hot spicy, just too much of something I wasn’t familiar with. The tea left a bitter taste and that will ruin any meal for me. I like my tea to be mild.

Yes, as Jake said, we will return to give them a second chance to impress us. We will let you know how it turns out. Until then,

Happy eatin’.