Culinary Espionage: El Gringo

The little pocket of tex-mex restaurants on Manor just east of I-35 never ceases to delight and impress, and El Gringo is no exception. Sunday's brunch outing was fruitful and exciting for the future of this establishment. Brunch was an addition to the full menu, meaning we had a wealth of options if one of us wasn't up for traditional morning fare.

We began with gorgeous chorizo empanadas with a perfect crust - substantial enough to hold its shape and contents but still golden, flaky and melt-in-your mouth delicious. My only caveat against perfection would be that we got an odd number of empanadas for two people, which was kinda awkward, and that there was more sweet potato in them than chorizo. It could be that we got an order of potato empanadas by mistake but that wouldn't really jive with the level of service we received throughout the meal. More on that later. Bottom line: get the empanadas.

For our main courses we got the bacon scramble and the ham steak benedict. Both were very well presented and the delicious bacon scramble had a good ratio of eggs to cheese and bacon. The unexpected twist on the traditional eggs Benedict was fun, and the hollandaise held up just fine, but, served on a biscuit, it's a little too much of a departure from the chewy texture of the English muffin most people are used to. Both dishes were sided with roasted potatoes with onion that were a neat idea, but a little salty in execution.

The service at El Gringo is wonderful. It never lagged, not even when we went from the only table seated to one of many in a crowded house. Our waiter was friendly, our beverages refreshed promptly, the coffee was strong and the porch very cool and comfortable - this would be a great place to go deep into a Texas summer because you'll be able to enjoy the sunshine from the porch without dying in the heat.

We love El Gringo and its enticing drink menu and dinner entrees ensure we'll be back for more.

El Gringo
1917 Manor Road
512.391.9500

photo by Dancan Davidson on flickr

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By phantom_critic in Food on June 4, 2007 4:25 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Sudo

I have to agree with trireme on this one. The only way to restore balance to Universe after such a horrible injustice is to carefully follow these exact steps:

1) Phantom Critic, upon re-reading their story, commits some sort of ritualistic suicide.

2) Justin Cox travels to an Eastside VMU bedroom to photograph the blood-soaked crime scene. Careful observers will notice that “Neighbors 4 Responsible Growth at Northcross” are artfully posed on the balcony, looking in.

3) Rockstar Energy drinks sponsors an exhibit of the photos at The Mohawk. KUT’s Laurie Guiardo spins the latest tracks from Peel and Ghostland Observatory. Voxtrot plays a set. Whenever he’s not wolfing down the free sliders and tacos, M1EK is overheard complaining that by allowing room for a dance floor, the hipster organizers are selfishly ignoring that a higher hipster density would have allowed entire families to attend instead of forcing them to get their entertainment at a Round Rock Express baseball game.

4) trireme, upon re-reading her original comment, realizes that the description “restaurant review snob” uses the wrong four letter word.

zipperhead

trireme:

Nothing personal with my critisism...

How witty! I laughed so hard, my monocle fell into my cucumber soop!

guy smiley

In the interest of full disclosure I want to point out that I often dream of El Gringo's queso fries. They are excellent. I like the food at that place. The bar service is horrible and enough of the thick-glass-four-pound-goblets-of-beer people! Those glasses are ridiculously heavy and everyone mopes around the bar looking like fatigued wizards drinking elixers.

For the record, the food at El Chile has taken a turn for the worse. I used to frequent the place but my last few visits over the last few months have left a bitter taste in my mouth. El Chilito has better bites for a fraction of the price.

ol'pappy

I have never been to this place but I took the 20 to visit a friend on Manor the other day and it disturbed me how much Manor Road has changed. I used to love it over there. There was a good sense of community. Now it's all whitewashed.

CBOT

gringess, I'm not sure if you've been to El Gringo multiple times or if you tried it once when it first opened or what, but I think that the food is every bit as good as El Chile/Chilito -- I'd recommend giving it another try.

And someone does need to edit for word choice and bizarre phrasing. "My only caveat against perfection..."?

trireme

This forum is not a first-grade classroom or therapy session. I don't think it's our job to protect the writer's ego and give fatuous encouragement.

Nothing personal with my critisism, but somehow I just expected to read something that looked like it took more than 10 minutes work. Should I lower my standards?

gringess

El Gringo is terrible. A terrible, horrible nightmare of a culinary experience. This is the 2nd time Austinist has spooged all over this restaurant; one that deserves neither praise nor patronage. The owners got it right with El Chile and El Chilito, El Gringo...not so much.

itsokayphantom

my stars!!

it's not easy to write, and i think that phantom may be slightly new to the site...?

we all *senstive* about our sh-t, so pls try to be constructive.

Bruce

I know this is "just a blog," but may we not expect a modicum of editorial oversight?

trireme

I appreciate the effort, but seriously, I truly hope this review is not setting the standard for future restaurant reviews here.

I mean, your brunch was "fruitful?" What was this "unexpected twist" to the benedict? The biscuit? Was it not stated in the menu? You ordered chorizo empanandas but might have gotten a different kind? Not sure? Yikes!

ps- sorry kind of restaurant review snob.

Wes

"It could be that we got an order of potato empanadas by mistake but that wouldn't really jive with the level of service we received throughout the meal."

I think that you meant to use the word "jibe".