Bess Bistro: Cute Name, Okay Food?

My coworker that I interned with at Sweet Leaf Tea recommended this place to me a while ago when I was looking for a good place to have a nice, affordable dinner with my boyfriend. She said Bess was really cute with a cozy feel, not to mention it's owned by Sandra Bullock.


So after snagging like a bajillion gift certificates last week on Restaurant.com when they had their 90% off sale to celebrate 9/9/09 ... my friend and I decided to use it at Bess for Austin Restaurant Week. We were going to go to Parkside, but we though parking might be an issue ... but I've been dying to go there, so hopefully one day! Bess is in a much easier location to park at that's not quite in the middle of all the hustle and bustle.

My friend Rachel and I joked about how surreal it would be if Sandra Bullock were there when we went in ... but then laughed it off saying yeah right, that will never happen! And lo and behold, she was sitting at the bar!!! It was nuts. We were glad we chose Bess before we even stuck a fork in our mouths.

Soup du Jour: Summer Squash

I enjoyed this soup. I love vegetable soups and this one was very colorful and flavorful. I liked the extra added spiciness to it. It went along very nicely with the bread. I imagine the oysters were probably a better deal though. Unfortunately, oysters scare me.

Bone-in Pork Loin

This was great! My first experience with a berry sauce on a grilled meat was at Breadwinners in Dallas. They have this amazing chipotle raspberry chicken sandwich that is just to-die-for. This reminded me a lot of it! The tender pork was topped with a blackberry compote that made your taste buds jump for joy. I was kind of indifferent about the grits. I'm not the biggest fan of grits. I'm a much bigger fan of mashed potatoes.

Summer Risotto with Scallops

Rachel ordered this dish for her main course. All I tried was the risotto because I am a huge huge huge risotto fan. Who isn't? It was far too lemony. Very distracting. Not my favorite.

Lastly I had the Chocolate Torte which is pictured first for dessert. It was ... not the best dessert I've ever had. Let's just say, it tasted like stale brownie/cookie dough or something. It didn't feel, taste, or look fresh at all. I might as well have left some fudgy ice cream rotting in the fridge and turn all rubber-y and then slap it in a tart shell ... Ok, that might be a little harsh. But anyway, don't get the chocolate torte.

Bess does have great deals besides Austin Restaurant Week. Once a week they have a couples dinner for $40 total. That's a 3-course meal for 2 people for $40. That is a steal. That is an even better deal thatn Austin Restaurant Week!

Bess Bistro
500 W. 6th St.
512-477-2377

x,

Franny