September 28, 2009

Kerbey Lane for Go Texan Restaurant Roundup

Kerbey Lane was never one of my favorite places. Why? Well, what comes to mind is a dirty, fluorescent lit restaurant on The Drag at 3 am with a retarded wait, dirty floors, and somewhat rightfully rude staff.

But then I went to the newer location on 183 and it might as well have been a different restaurant with a different name! Dark wood, more of a family atmosphere, cleaner ... I wish the one on The Drag was like this one, but totally understandable since college students don't care about these kinds of things.

Anyway, I had the pleasure of meeting the executive chef, Joel Welch, who really changed my perspective on the whole Kerbey experience through the dishes he concocted for Go Texan.


Eggplant Tartine

Loved this! It reminded me a lot of Counter Cafe's Veggie Sandwich ... but as a pizza. I absolutely loved the red pepper pesto and eggplant with the cheese. I highly recommend getting it! I think it's something a lot of people would enjoy but may shy away from it because of the unfamiliar name.

Bison, Antelope, and Lamb Sliders

We also tried these sliders that included the like of bison, antelope, and lamb. All three of these animals, I've generally been uneasy eating. Actually, I'm generally uneasy eating any kind of game-like meat and most shellfish. But, I figured, might as well try it someday. So, here's what I thought coming from a first-time game-r... haha. The lamb? I have had lamb before, generally in kebabs. But this as a slider was great... it was mixed with feta and other spices which gave it less of a meaty taste and more of a meatloaf-y taste. Really good. The bison? My favorite. I think this one had jalapeno in it or some kind of pepper. It's slipping my mind right now, but anyway it was spicy just the way I like food to be. Finally, the antelope. Not my cup of tea. I don't know if it was just my palate, but I felt like it just left a strange aftertaste. It was a bit smoky, which was something I expected. It just was not a taste that I've acquired.

Edit: Ok, so after looking at the menu to make sure that this all was correct since the 3 looked very much the same, apparently the antelope was the one with jalapeno and the bison had parmesan and tomato. So I'm wondering if it was the bison that I didn't like so much? I know it was the slider with the red toothpick. Sigh. Oh... game...

Overall though, a very positive and eye-opening experience. I never knew that Kerbey held much talent beyond queso and pancakes. Definitely try it out this week if you are looking for an affordable, tasty dinner. In addition, in light of the Go Texan Roundup, many of these restaurants participating are donating to food banks. Awesome!

Go Texan: here

Kerbey Lane
13435 Hwy 183 N
SE Corner Anderson Mill & 183 N

Austin, TX 78750
x,

Franny

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