During this very strange time of sheltering in place, with restaurants open just for take-away and delivery, if open at all, I’ve been trying to safely support worthwhile, local establishments on a daily basis. Restaurants certainly need more customers, almost without exception, as daily turnover is a fraction of what it normally is. Those that have remained open have had to shift operations often dramatically to be able to serve customers solely outside of their premises. This has meant limited menus in most cases and some inevitable hiccups along the way. I think that it’s been a good idea to ignore these for the most part, as this is all so new.
Some of the places where I have had good luck so far, and which I recommend, are: Backstreet Café, BB's Café, Christian's Tailgate (of which only the Midtown location is open), Common Bond, Cuchara, Hugo's, The Kolache Shoppe, The Mucky Duck, Surya, and Underbelly Hospitality (Chris Shepherd’s restaurants). Along with a substantial portion of their regular menus, both Backstreet Café and Hugo’s are now serving breakfast tacos for $2.50 each daily from 9:00 to 11:00. Fairly hefty and tasty, these are great values. I wish I could include Izakaya, where I had a very good lunch featuring tuna poke, but it has since stopped serving. This is in order to protect staff and customers according to the notes posted at the restaurant. Another of my favorite spots, Giacomo’s, also started and then stopped service for a similar announced reason.
Though spending a little more at better restaurants has been satisfying both in terms of the quality of the food and believing that I’m helping in a small way to give places like those mentioned above a chance to survive this very trying time, I’m sometimes busy, or just feeling cheap, and a drive-thru has made the most sense. Oui Banh Mi on Richmond remains a generally reliable, usually fresh-tasting and always inexpensive option for banh mi and spring rolls, even if its intercom, annoyingly, has never worked slowing down the drive-thru experience. Much less satisfying, but more convenient, Brookstreet BBQ and Whataburger have also gotten my business in the past couple of weeks. And, KFC, too. That’s easily been the best of the drive-thru fare thus far, I’m a tad bit surprised to admit. Original Recipe. The Colonel is still killing it, mostly, at least recently.
The brisket and egg breakfast taco at Backstreet Cafe this morning.
Some of the places where I have had good luck so far, and which I recommend, are: Backstreet Café, BB's Café, Christian's Tailgate (of which only the Midtown location is open), Common Bond, Cuchara, Hugo's, The Kolache Shoppe, The Mucky Duck, Surya, and Underbelly Hospitality (Chris Shepherd’s restaurants). Along with a substantial portion of their regular menus, both Backstreet Café and Hugo’s are now serving breakfast tacos for $2.50 each daily from 9:00 to 11:00. Fairly hefty and tasty, these are great values. I wish I could include Izakaya, where I had a very good lunch featuring tuna poke, but it has since stopped serving. This is in order to protect staff and customers according to the notes posted at the restaurant. Another of my favorite spots, Giacomo’s, also started and then stopped service for a similar announced reason.
Though spending a little more at better restaurants has been satisfying both in terms of the quality of the food and believing that I’m helping in a small way to give places like those mentioned above a chance to survive this very trying time, I’m sometimes busy, or just feeling cheap, and a drive-thru has made the most sense. Oui Banh Mi on Richmond remains a generally reliable, usually fresh-tasting and always inexpensive option for banh mi and spring rolls, even if its intercom, annoyingly, has never worked slowing down the drive-thru experience. Much less satisfying, but more convenient, Brookstreet BBQ and Whataburger have also gotten my business in the past couple of weeks. And, KFC, too. That’s easily been the best of the drive-thru fare thus far, I’m a tad bit surprised to admit. Original Recipe. The Colonel is still killing it, mostly, at least recently.
The brisket and egg breakfast taco at Backstreet Cafe this morning.
