Posted by johngl
A long-time friend called me last weekend while the most glorious spousal unit and I were down in San Marcos, TX — home of more outlet stores than one city should have — doing some rainy-day birthday shopping. It was about two in the p.m. and I had just emerged from Johnny Rockets and was standing in front of the Pottery Barn, dodging large water droplets running in rivulets off the side of the building. It was a very gray day. Pulling my automatic (wireless communication device) from my shoulder holster, I looked up and glanced across the mist-laden expanse of rubber and steel watching other brain-dead shoppers run through the crying sky as though they might melt if the tears hit them. It was a ballet of sorts, thoroughly ungraceful. Chuckling out loud, I suddenly noticed the heels of my feet were burning intensely; we’d been wandering around for nearly three and a half hours. Noticing the caller id, I answered: “Hello sir!”
As it turned out, we were being invited to dinner. We were to meet up at a new Brasserie in a not so new location: East Austin.
Located at 4710 East Fifth Street, Justine’s is a quaint little house nestled between a warehouse and a vacant lot. There is a fence that surrounds the place. It was still misty when we pulled up lending a film noir type ambiance to the entire area. Had I worn a fedora and a trench coat, the scene would have been complete.
Expecting this scene to continue, I was a bit put off by an old bluesy-type tune blaring across the large patio. I was hoping for something more in the vein of Django Reinhardt. At least it wasn’t some live country music yodeling that graces restaurants in Austin far too frequently.
We sauntered up the walkway toward the cottage:
Justine’s has been open for just a few weeks and has generated quite a stir. It seemingly polarizes people; well, that was my impression when I read some of the reviews the following day.
Walking in, we noticed that we’d timed our arrival pretty well: early enough to get a corner table, but not so early as to get our choice of a corner table.
There were four of us in our party. The table was better suited for two, so we moved the table out from the wall a bit and got better situated. The table was adorned with some very pretty flowers. Most glorious said, “It’s too bad there is no room for them,” and, with a sweep of her delicate hand, they were moved to the window sill.
We were immediately set up with a bottle of water and we ordered some wine along with a charcuterie plate. I wasn’t on the ball just yet, so in the following photo, most of the charcuterie has been consumed.
The ramekin contained some tasty duck-liver pâté and there was a pork rillette and a couple of terrines. I love the little olives and cornichon. The rillette seemed a little off somehow.
Then came the escargot:
I really, really like escargot when they are done correctly. These were not. My suggestion is that if you want tasty snails, head over to Fabi + Rosi.
I also went for the the French Onion Soup. This was excellent!
Classic style, lots of gooey cheese, and delicious. One of our party, who has eaten onion soup in Paris on numerous occasions, said this soup tasted just like the ones he had in bistros while there. Authentic and tasty; can’t go wrong there.
One in our party went for the Salad Nicoise.
Maybe I am just a pain in the ass. Okay, forget I said that; it’s a given. But just take a look at that egg! Look at that green band on the north end of the yolk. There is just no excuse for that. To correctly hard boil an egg, bring the eggs and water just to a boil, turn off the heat, and let them sit for 15 minutes. They come out perfect every time.
I do have to say the salad greens were extremely fresh and tasty, so big points for that. The artichoke hearts were soggy; no points for that.
Most glorious spousal unit had the Confit de Canard. She seemed more than satisfied with it. I sampled a bit: pretty good!
I had the Ratatouille. I ordered it because I was looking for a light veggie dish. The veggies were nicely cooked and spice blend was really quite tasty, but I had a bit of a problem with all of the olive oil. I like olive oil, just not this much of it. Even those three slices of wonderful bread couldn’t soak it all up.
The remaining member of our group ordered the Fillet de Poisson: snapper with buerre blanc served with haricots verts. He wasn’t particularly thrilled with the fish saying that there was just too much fat and it overwhelmed the fish. I wasn’t particularly enamored with the way it looked either.
We had a couple of nice wines the filled the voids between courses. Both went nicely with the meals as well.
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To sum this all up, I would say that it wasn’t a bad way to spend a rainy and dismal evening, mostly due to the company I was keeping.
As for the food, it wasn’t five star fare, but I wasn’t expecting that. With a couple of noted exceptions, the food was middle of the road. I was hoping for more than that given all the hype this establishment has generated. In the end, I think most of the problems lie with the newness of the place and I am hoping that they get things straightened out; the potential is certainly there.
I donned my fedora and trenchcoat and headed for the door. Shadows from the street lamps lent an eerie air to the neighborhood. I stepped in a puddle and cold water seeped in through the holes in my purple crocs; it felt good. I escorted the little lady to the car using the trench to shield her from the rain (not really). She loves me even though I can be an asshole.
The best things in life should be shared!
Tags: Reviews
It looks like the wine made the day! Sometimes you just have to chalk up a night like that to good friends!
Excellent review–I really like the way you use photos to illustrate your narrative, and this review is so much more focused on the food, its taste and preparation, than anything we get from our local media.