Lonesome Dove Bistro-Austin

Tim Love owns and operates one of my favorite restaurants in Fort Worth, Lonesome Dove Bistro.  Recently he opened up a second location of in Austin.  Since my wife and I are big fans of the Fort Worth location, I decided that we must visit the new location while in Austin and see how it compared.  Lucky for us, the Austin location of Lonesome Dove Bistro was just 3 blocks from our hotel where we were staying, the JW Marriott Austin.

Fettine Trio

While dining there with some friends from Houston, we sampled several items.  While looking over the menu, we started with the Fettine Trio.  The Fettine trio included duck-rattlesnake sausage fettine, elk-pork fettine, and lamb-quail fettine.  Although I didn't love the version with the lamb, the other two were absolutely amazing.

Nilgai Antelope Nachos

For appetizers, we ordered several items to share for the table.  The three that we ordered were the Nilgai Antelope Tenderloin Carpaccio Nachos, the Blue Corn Lobster Hushpuppies, and the Deviled Gulf Coast Blue Crabs.  The deviled blue crabs were my favorite of the three, but they were all exceptional and I would not hesitate to order any of the three again.

Blue Corn Lobster Hushpuppies

Following appetizers, I also ordered the Winter Squash Soup.  The soup had great flavor and texture.  It was one of the best soups I have had in recent memory and it had a sweet taste that I really liked.   It was also topped with the shaved grana padano cheese, which was also flavorful.

Winter Squash Soup

For our main course, all four of us ordered the house speciality, which is the Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin.  This cut of meat was especially tender, had excellent flavor, and was topped with a great mop sauce.  The Western plaid hash and grilled asparagus were both very good as well.  My wife and I also chose to share a side of the burnt carrots, which were about as good as carrots could be.  

Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

Burnt Carrots

For dessert, the table share an order of the Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake and the Churros.  The chocolate cake was very moist, topped with ice cream, and you could even taste a slight hint of ancho chile.  The churros were good in their own right, but were even better when dipped in the raspberry, chocolate, and caramel sauces.

Churros

Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake

Since we made our way through such a large portion of the menu, I was about as full as I could ever remember being.  The service was spectacular, but the food was even better.  This location lived up the high expectations I had experience of the Fort Worth location and I would highly recommend anyone to try this place out.  You will not be disappointed.

Lonesome Dove Bistro
http://lonesomedoveaustin.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=5

Hickory

Kent Rathbun is one of the most highly acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs in DFW.  Both Jasper's and Abacus have been highly acclaimed by critics and diners alike.  He recently opened up Hickory, which is a causal restaurant that he describes as a "modern Texas roadhouse."  The menu is intriguing and serves up several Texas favorites, including barbecue, burgers, chili, and tacos.  Since it opened in June, I have dined there a couple of times and had the opportunity to sample several of the items.

Hickory Waffle Fries

For appetizers, the restaurant has several options with a twist on the traditional, including chili, fried green tomatoes, charred corn bread, Hickory waffle fries, and smoked sausage fondue.  I have sampled the Hickory waffle fries and the charred corn bread.  The corn bread is delicious and served with honey butter.  The Hickory Waffle Fries are topped with Maytag blue cheese, bacon, and scallions.  If you have ever had Rathbun's Maytag blue cheese potato chips at Jasper's, then you will notice that the Hickory waffle fries are basically the fry version of this dish.  The waffle fries themselves are excellent and have a very strong blue cheese taste.  I personally liked this twist on the traditional cheese fries, but would have preferred to have a little more bacon and scallions on my order.

I was also able to sample some of his smoked meat.  On my first visit, I ordered the Meat Lovers Combo with Wagyu Brisket, Smoked Turkey, and their sausage of the day, which was Chorizo.  The brisket was smoked well, had well rendered fat, and was better than I had anticipated.  Unfortunately, a quality bark was lacking on the serving I received.  The turkey had a nice smokey flavor, but was a little too chewy for my taste.  Perhaps my favorite of the three, the sausage had a nice little kick to it and I liked the texture of the course ground sausage.

Meat Lovers Combo

As much as I liked the barbecue, I was also impressed with the 44 Farms Burger.  This burger was served with a pepper crusted bacon, scallion hollandaise sauce, and an egg which I had cooked over medium.  The overall flavor of the burger was great, the bacon was top notch, and I liked the egg cooked over medium because it wasn't quite as runny as some other burgers I have had with eggs.

44 Farms Burger

Sides are impressive here as well.  Although I have only tried the Texas Cheddar Mac & Cheese and the Backstrap Molasses Baked Beans, both were terrific.  The mac & cheese was topped with Parmesan cornbread crumbles and somewhat spicy, but not so much that it overwhelmed the cheddar taste.  The beans were my favorite of the two dishes.  They had a very sweet taste and were topped with two slices of thick cut peppered bacon.

Texas Cheddar Mac & Cheese and Backstrap Molasses Bake Beans

The Texas Sized Chocolate Cupcake is the only dessert I have tried so far, but it had an excellent chocolate flavor, was very moist, and was served with a warm chocolate topping.   The restaurant has a warm and cozy feel to it and the servers work hard to please.  I had a few questions that they couldn't answer regarding menu items, but that is expected with a new restaurant and a staff that is still learning the ropes as well.  I think Rathbun has another winner with Hickory.   I wouldn't hesitate to go back here again and I know that I will have to go back very soon because I still haven't tried the burnt end chili or ribs yet!

Texas Sized Chocolate Cupcake

Hickory
http://www.hickoryplano.com
Livin the Good Life Rating=3