The Donut Hole

Having read good things about The Donut Hole, we thought we should try this place out.  They not only serve donuts, but they also serve breakfast and lunch.  After a morning at the beach, I loaded up the family with promises of both lunch and donuts for dessert.

When we arrived, the place was really busy with the late breakfast and early lunch crowd.  A busy restaurant is usually a sign of good food, but our table was passed by several times before a waitress finally took our orders after we had been seated for about fifteen minutes.  I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak and Fries, which I now regret.  The chicken fried steak was comparable to the quality that one would find in a high school cafeteria and the fries were equally bad.  Neither tasted homemade and I strongly suspect they were purchased frozen from a supplier.  

Chicken Fried Steak and Fries

My wife ordered the BLT, which was better than my meal and had bacon that was thick and flavorful.  While not the best BLT I have ever had, it was certainly a step up from my meal.  She ordered the potato salad as her side and it left a lot to be desired.  Neither of us cared for the taste of this item.  

BLT and Potato Salad

The donuts ended up being the highlight of the meal, but I feel they were highly overrated as well.  I sampled the Cookies and Cream, Chocolate, and Chocolate Angel.  I usually don't order cream filled donuts, but the two I ordered looked too good to pass up.  The Chocolate Angel was filled with chocolate, covered in powdered sugar, and was my favorite of the three I tried.  The chocolate donut was average compared to other donut places and I did not care much for the Cookies and Cream variety.  Even the crumbled Oreos on top didn't do it for me.

Cookies and Cream, Chocolate, and Chocolate Angel

 Maybe I built this place up too much in my head due to the reviews I had read, but I was upset that I had wasted my family's time dining here.  The service was extremely slow and the food was disappointing.   If I ever go here again, I will only go for donuts for the kids and skip the other options.

The Donut Hole

Livin the Good Life Rating=1

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