Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill

While in Austin for a conference, I went to lunch with some colleagues at Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill. This restaurant is one that I go to almost every year that I attend the conference.  Besides serving up some great Southern dishes, it is literally right across the street from the convention center. It usually gets packed around lunch, so we usually try to get there early. They have a large outdoor patio, but the five of us elected to eat indoors and enjoy the air conditioning.

Seasoned popcorn to snack on while looking over the menu

The restaurant always gives a bucket of seasoned popcorn for the table to snack on. We also elected to try the shrimp corn dogs for an appetizer. They were tasty and served with a spicy mustard dipping sauce. They were two distinct tastes that seemed like they did not go together, yet they did somehow. 

Shrimp Corndogs

Everyone else in my group elected to split sandwiches, but I was not going to let these slackers ruin my meal. I went ahead and ordered the chicken fried steak with chipotle gravy. It came with steamed carrots, zucchini, and Parmesan squash. I also elected to get a side of red beans and rice. The chicken fried steak was better than average, but not as good as some recent ones I have dined on. The gravy did not have any seasoning to it that even hinted at chipotle, but it was a very good size portion of chicken fried steak. The veggies were the surprise highlight of the meal and I particularly liked the red beans and rice.

Chicken Fried Steak with Chipotle Gravy

To conclude the meal, we ordered the bread pudding and shared it between the five of us. I am not usually a big fan of bread pudding, but this was a really good dessert. Although I was a little disappointed in the chicken fried steak, the rest o the meal was great. Moonshine is one of my favorite restaurants in the area and I will be back again.

Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill 

http://www.moonshinegrill.com/ 

303 Red River St. 

Austin, TX 

Livin the Good Life Rating = 4