I lived in Austin for 2 years... but that was 4 years ago. I'm heading back in a week to see some old friends and refresh my memory of the place. But from everything I hear, it sounds like it has changed a lot since Y2K. Do you have any "don't miss" restaurant recommendations for places that have opened within the last 4 years? I'm not looking for BBQ -- thanks anyway.

If this helps, here are some (older) places I'm looking forward to re-visiting:
* Brick Oven Pizza (the location next to Central Market as it's far superior to the others)
* Katz's for Sunday brunch and that great Matzo Ball, Chicken and Noodle Soup
* Sweetish Hill Bakery for one of their specialty chocolate cakes

And maybe also
* East Side Cafe
* Kirby Lane (ironically, just to see if it's as disappointing now for late-night pie as it was when I lived there)

If I had more time, I'd consider
* Zoot

But then again, I'm not even sure how many of those places I've just listed are still open!

Suggestions appreciated!

East Side Cafe is still great. I went there, whew, I guess it was already about six months ago now. But it's very consistent and good.

A new place you might want to check out that's great all the time, but particularly fine during Sunday brunch, is called Chez Zee. It's up on FM 2222 off of MoPac. Terrific food that's well-prepared. Reservations are a must at brunch, though.

I'd skip the Flemings Steakhouse. I was thoroughly disappointed in their meat. Ruth's Chris is a much better option -- and has a terrific wine list with admirable depth.

Shoreline Grill, next to the Four Seasons hotel, is a good place for dinner. We always like that a lot. They do a lot of nice fish dishes and make a killer ribeye steak with an applewood smoked bacon sauce.

I'm sure most of your old haunts are still there, so don't sweat it. Places like Dirty Martin's and El Patio Mexican restaurant ... ah, good stuff. Enjoy it. Austin's becoming a heck of a restaurant town.

Going on what you like, I could recommend also Manny Hattans, turning out almost the same stuff as Katz' does, just up on the North side(183 & Great Hills Trail).

Kerby Lane, I would say is also pretty much pushing the same stuff they always have been. Everyone I talk to seems to think it's the best food ever, but to me it's just average diner fare.

Something a little more upscale would be Zin American Bistro. 2 doors down from the original Kerby, but doing good food. Went for dinner, but I've heard the brunch is good as well.

If you're up for a little sushi, try Uchi on S. Lamar. Just went last night, and while we spent a small fortune, it was the best sushi I've had in Austin. No hype, no rah rah, just a fine fine meal.

PM me for more... Coffee just finished brewing, I need to wake up.

Thanks for the ideas! Chez Zee and Zin sound especially interesting. Unfortunately, I have just found out that my trip has to be cut short... so we'll see how many places I have time to get to! I'll post my results once I return home.

I'm grateful for your posts!

I had barely gotten off the plane on Friday when I began my search for the mythical product called “Miles of Chocolate” I had read about online on Chowhound.com (http://www.chowhound.com/southwest/boards/texas/messages/13427.html ). Easily enough, I found it in a refrigerated case in the bakery of Whole Foods on 6th and Lamar. I nibbled and swooned in the parking lot. Miles of Chocolate (www.milesofchocolate.com) is either an underbaked brownie or an overbaked truffle, depending on how you want to look at it. Either way, it’s totally rich and dense and fudgy and delicious and totally worth the outrageous price tag ($11.49/lb at WF; $11.99 at Central Market; apparently better-priced at Grapevine Market or so I hear).

The chocolate fest was just beginning! My next stop was Sweetish Hill Bakery (1120 West Sixth Street, Austin, Texas 78703, 512.472.1347) to pick up the Venezuelan Chocolate Torte I had pre-ordered earlier I the week. I remembered this as the best chocolate cake I’d had in Austin. This one turned out to be a bit more cinnamon-y than I had remembered but it was still delicious.

The store manager we loved, Dave, no longer manages Brick Oven Pizza (on 35th St? next to the floral shop). But his replacement still made the margharita pizza we remembered so fondly. That pizza was great enough to justify the entire trip. Seriously. The tiramisu isn’t nearly as good as it used to be – don’t bother with this tribute to whipped cream.

I had planned all along to go for late-night pie at Kerbey Lane Cafe North (12602 Research Blvd., 512-258-7757) - ironically, just to see if it was as disappointing as we had remembered it. We walked in and were greeted with a refrigerated case featuring some of the saddest desserts I’ve ever seen. I figured we should sit down and listen to the specials just in case they had some additional pie flavors hidden in the back… but the heavily pierced and totally sweet waitress said, “well, we have apple…. and… um… apple!” The apple had looked so awful and pale and limp that we actually got up and left. Why spend the money and the calories on something so disappointing when there was a luscious chocolate torte waiting back at the hotel?

Saturday began with some shopping at the Whole Foods Gateway store and picked up picnic foods for our day at Schlitterbahn (because I’m not that big on amusement park fare like turkey legs): watermelon jicama salad, blackened chicken salad, veggie wraps, poppadum crisps (in a Pringles-like container), a pasta salad, a funky hummus with feta and kalamata olives (after trying it, I can’t recommend it) and some red peppers for dipping and several pieces of fruit.

I had my restaurants totally mixed up. I remembered the place I wanted to go to on Saturday night, and I remembered the approximate street location but I couldn’t remember the name. The Castle Hill Café sounded sorta right but I couldn’t be certain…. Until we arrived at the restaurant and I realized it wasn’t the right place. No matter – Castle Hill was still good when we lived in Austin, and it still has a good reputation today. Some even call it Austin’s best restaurant. Over dinner, we realized the place I had remembered was one street away – Café Josie is adjacent to Sweetish Hill. Castle Hill Café, Sweetish Hill and Café Josie are all within a one block radius – with names like that, no wonder I was confused! (Castle Hill Café, 1101 West Fifth St, Austin, TX 78703, 512 476 0728; www.castlehillcafe.com )

We’ll just have to go back to Café Josie next time we’re in town. (Cafe Josie, 1200 W 6th St # B, Austin, TX ; Tel: (512) 322-9226)

At Castle Hill, we had the world’s fastest service. Bus people delivered water and bread within 30 seconds of our arriving at the table and our waitress was only 30 seconds behind them. I think our meals were delivered within 10 minutes of our placing the order and probably less – more like 5. Seriously, I’ve had slower service at Baja Fresh! The food was good, too. And our waitress was nice and funny and had a good memory for the names of area restaurants, which was good because I was describing them in phrases like, “you know the restaurant that faces the street and has the fish sculpture on the side, and parking is around back and there’s an outdoor covered patio and it might be on 6th street but you can’t see it from the street?” We had arrived at the restaurant just before 10 pm and were completely finished before 10:30 pm.

I had been trying without luck to remember the name of this place I had been to once for brunch. After some unsuccessful brain-racking, I asked a friend who immediately remembered the name of this place and approximate directions: Chez Nous. Well, it turned out that the place was in factChez Zee, but at least we finally got there! I was amused to see that this was the same place we had been discussing in these posts... but I hadn't remembered it until I was standing outside the restaurant! After a satisfying brunch of “bed and breakfast French toast” (challah stuffed with apples, raisins, etc.) and a frozen peach bellini (well, for me at least – my travel companion had a nutty waffle and an iced mocha beverage) and two games of Connect Four, we hit the road. (5406 Balcones Drive, Austin TX 78731 (512) 454-2666; http://www.chez-zee.com/ )

We hung out in the airport for about 90 minutes before our plane departed but at least we had “A” boarding passes for our return Southwest flight. Ate some Schlotzsky’s (original turkey, toasted -- http://www.schlotzskys.com/index.html ) and some Amy’s Ice Cream (http://www.amysicecreams.com/ ). The alcohol-infused hot cinnamon flavor was intriguing but I’d prefer it as a garnish rather than a whole dish of that flavor. I thought my deep chocolate scoop tasted of extra cream – unusually so.

Overall, it was a pretty great weekend, food-wise!

Great to hear you had a fabulous time in Austin, AzureBlue. Gotta love that Chez Zee brunch! I've never been disappointed there. Congrats on what sounds like a successful (and satisfyingly filling!) trip!

Can we talk about the power of the internet?

Without it, I never would have read the posting on Chowhound, praising the fine qualities of Miles of Chocolate, the dessert that's kinda like a cross between an underbaked brownie and a truffle... but with a light crust.
http://www.chowhound.com/southwest/boards/texas/messages/13427.html

That would mean I'd have missed out on tasting this amazing concoction.
http://www.milesofchocolate.com/

So I wouldn't have had any reason to purchase large quantities of it, plus bags of ice, to keep this product properly chilled on the plane ride back to MD.

And that means that my friends in management and purchasing at Balducci's food markets wouldn't have tried it, either. And they would have missed the opportunity to fall in love with it -- the same way I did.

And that would be an unfortunate situation all around.

But hooray for all of us! Because of the internet and the unusual connections it helps us all to create, now East Coast residents will be able to share in the sinful richness of this fudge-like, brownie-esque creation. And believe me, we'll all be better people for it.

Yes, I'm serious.

Starting on Saturday, RUN to your local Balducci's. (If you live in the greater Washington, DC area, those stores were formerly known as Sutton Place Gourmet; if you live in CT, head to what used to be Hay Day; in NYC, just keep shopping at Balducci's.) http://www.balduccis.com/about/stores.html

Look in the refrigerated desserts case for "Splendid Sludge" pre-packed in ready-to-go containers. Buy a slab and as you're biting into it and absolutely swooning (because this may be one of the best desserts you've ever had), remember that you have your fellow online chatters to thank. :)

Consider this little slice of chocolate heaven as a reward for all the postings you've composed over the years. Thanks, everybody for sharing all of your great ideas in these forums. Clearly these messages are being read... and are having an impact perhaps beyond anything you ever might have imagined!

Damn you and your Miles of Chocolate. ;)

I couldn't resist picking up a piece from Central Market tonight when I was grabbing takeout. Now I have a new chocolate obsession. :D

Techgirl, you're welcome. :D

I (and my recently-increased calorie count) are right there with you. Then again, if you're craving chocolate, isn't this the way to go? I'd personally rather eat 1/4 of a piece of Miles of Chocolate than a pound of Hershey's Kisses.