Kerbey Lane Review

Kerbey Lane Cafe is a local favorite in Austin, TX. We have been there once or twice a long time ago, but not in a very long time. I've always loved the eclectic, artsy vibe of Kerbey Lane...it's the kind of place where most of the servers have tattoos, piercings, and there are a lot of dreds! Recently I purchased a Groupon for $7 which enabled us to get $15 worth of food, so we thought we would give it another shot.

When we first got there we were "greeted" by a rather curt, but stunningly beautiful lady. She was kind of abrupt with us at first, but it might just have been because they were coming off a rush. We were seated and started looking at the menu (which we had already perused on the web.) Our waiter showed up several minutes later, right when I started to wonder if anyone was ever going to come to our table, and took our orders for water. We decided to order an appetizer of chips, queso and salsa, pictured below.

I honestly thought this was the best part of the whole meal. The queso was so creamy and yummy. Awesome queso flavor and great texture. The salsa was a little on the sweet side, but it was still good and the chips were crispy and salty. A small order (which is what we ordered) was $5.59.

I ordered a short stack of original buttermilk pancakes. I really wanted whole-wheat pancakes, but they only have apple whole-wheat pancakes and mix the apples in early so they couldn't take them out. I thought the pancakes were okay, but they were nothing special. I am not a huge fan of hot syrup, and that is what Kerbey Lane brings to the table (we weren't really checked on by anyone so I never got to ask for cold syrup by the time I had made up my mind that was what I wanted.) The syrup did have a good flavor, just not really what I wanted or was expecting. I don't even think I ate half of the pancakes. A short stack of pancakes is $4.49.

James ordered "David's Enchiladas' with verde sauce which consisted of "three cheddarjack cheese enchiladas topped with your choice of sauce, pico de gallo, lettuce and sour cream. Served with black beans and guacamole." The black beans and guacamole were served on a different plate. James liked the flavor of the beans and guacamole. He said the enchiladas were okay, but not like he expected. They were kind of dry and not like traditional enchiladas that are covered in sauce. He said that he felt like they were trying to make the enchiladas healthy by completely covering them with a "salad." I got the feeling that he would not order these again. The David's Enchilada were priced at $7.99.

With our $15 groupon we only ended up paying $9 for the meal at the restaurant. (We tipped off the original total, and were more generous than we should have been based on the service.)

I'm not sure if we'll be going back. I think we were both a little disappointed in the meal, although it was okay.

Update

I just wanted to give an update on my condition. We still don't know what's going on. Today I had some more blood work done, was put on a new medication, and am being referred to a cardiologist. We'll see what happens.

I do have a new restaurant review to put up in the next couple of days.

Odds and Ends

As per my challenge I've been doing a few things.

One day after work I put in a movie and worked on a piece of a decoration I want to get done for Christmas. I got a pretty large portion of it completed. Eventually it will be a snow man...kind of hard to see it now, but I actually don't have a lot left to do.

My friend Inge makes jewelry and she made me a couple of pairs of earrings that I love. I was inspired to try my hand at it. While it is pretty easy, making the little loops is harder than it would seem. I also messed up on the pair on the left...I didn't notice that there were two sizes of silver balls on the bead chain, so I'll have to fix one of them. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my first attempts.

I've also helped James paint a little bit of the outside of the house. I'm not that much of a help because I tire out so easily, but I did contribute for about an hour.

I also want to share my Staples bounty. I forgot I had some earned some rewards when the store first opened, and received an email that they were going to expire. I went with the intention of being frivolous with the rewards and just getting a bunch of whatever I wanted. However, I happened to walk down one aisle in the very back of the store that had food and paper products. My plan changed and I was able to get $25.95 worth of goods that we'll use around the house.

New challenge for myself

I have been having some health problems...undiagnosed health problems. These have been the center of my thoughts for about two months. It is very difficult to stay positive and "look on the bright side" when you have constant discomfort. In an effort to take my mind of the problems (my health insurance doesn't kick in for a month, so I'm in limbo until then), I am challenging myself to craft, bake, do a home improvement project, or do a brain-teaser puzzle every day that I am off work for at least two months. The projects can be small or big, it is more about the idea of creating and completing something. I hope this will help me keep my mind off my discomfort, at least for a little while each day. Hopefully, I'll remember to take pictures of the things I do and blog about them.

Reviews

Sorry about not having any new reviews lately. We have been eating out, but we have been going to the same restaurants that I've already reviewed. We will try to branch out soon, but right now we are just in a rut.

Review: Sports Dawg

I don't have to write a long review for this one. Sports Dawg was disgusting! I got the chicken fried steak sandwich and it was a frozen patty that had been deep fried. The meal came with "fresh-made" chips...disgusting. James got a jalapeno burger...okay, but he thought the chips were gross as well. Not much else to say about this one.

Review - Snappy's Cafe & Grill, Katy, TX

We took a spur of the moment trip to Katy, TX, so that James could visit the Bass Pro Shop. After finally picking the rod and reel he wanted to purchase, we walked around the mall, and then decided to eat. We busted out the GPS looking for something that wasn't a chain and was near the mall. Snappy's Cafe & Grill popped up and it was close.

As it was spur of the moment, I don't have any pictures...no camera! Snappy's was just a little local dive. Normal grease pit, but with some Greek food thrown in. I had a regular burger, James had a jalapeno cheese burger, and we split an order of fries. Nothing special with the food. Burgers were okay and the fries were your typical frozen things you can get in any burger joint, but it was okay.

I think the time to go to Snappy's might be breakfast. After ordering my burger and then seeing all the yummy breakfasts, I wish I had ordered pancakes and bacon.

While the food was just plain and uneventful, the waitstaff seemed really friendly. We could tell that there were a lot of regulars and that they were all known by name. Plus although busy, the servers were all in good moods and nice.

If we lived there, we would probably go back, but next time we visit we will try a different place.