Eastside Cafe - an Austin tradition

Our friends suggested Eastside Cafe this weekend and mentioned how it was an Austin tradition. I was surprised I had almost not really heard of it... but we agreed to go anyway; most of the old gang was getting together after a long time... so it seemed like it would be worth it.

Eastside Cafe is located on Manor Road, further down from El Chile Cafe Y Cantina in 2 small houses. From the restaurant's website:


The Eastside Café sits on an acre of land surrounded by dozens of pecan trees. One third of the land is home to a gorgeous organic garden. For 15 years vegetables, herbs and flowers have been organically grown and harvested for use in the Eastside Café kitchen.

The restaurant also boasts of a gardening center, shop and culinary center - need to research more into those, though.

The food itself was pretty unexpectedly good. I am a huge loved of baked bries especially when paired with chutneys and this one had an apple chutney to go with it. But I decided to stick to the entree especially because it was served with two sides.

Surbhi ended up picking the special that I originally had pondered over - Honey Roasted Pecan Ravioli with Lemon cream sauce. So I went for the Manicotti stuffed with cheeses, almonds, etc covered with a creamy tomato sauce. Daisy and Vikram shared salmon dumplings in coconut curry sauce and Vikram's main course was the salmon and shrimp cake salad. One word for everything - YUMMY!

Vikram was not to thrilled with either dish because the "curry" was thin and watery and the salad dressing was too "lemon-y". The rest of the food though was quite an experience. I bit into Subrhi's ravioli and was subtly overpowered by the delightful flavors of pecans and the tangy-ness of the lemon cream sauce. My own Manicotti dish was one of the best ones I've had! As for the sides - there were several to pick from - including soups and garlic mashed potatoes. But the two that stood out for me were Daisy's picks - the sweet mashed potatoes and the uniquely put together acorn squash with a soy ginger sauce in it.

As for the wines, I liked my white (an organic Cava the name for which I should've written down) but I've not had a chance to discuss the others' picks. The food is completely made from organic ingredients and the servers are pleasant, even when we hung out late after their closing time. The atmosphere is very Austin; an eclectic (can I really use that word in this context? ha!) collection of diners eating in a charming old house with it's eccentric little wall hangings. Overall, an enjoyable experience!