The bride and I really enjoy Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” show on Food Network. One reason we enjoy it is because Fieri focuses not on the big name chefs slinging $100 a plate James-Beard specials but rather the little guys and girls slinging local but honest chow. It’s also a great way to work up an appetite to travel the country and try out some of the places he visits. Now Fieri has joined the ghost kitchen craze to ply some of his own wares across the country, including out of the Gateway in North Austin (just north of the MoPac/183 interchange).
We partook one night of the somewhat limited menu (a feature of ghost kitchens), including the Bacon Mac N Cheese Burger (80/20 ground beef, cheese, mac n cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, crispy onions, and Donkey sauce on a garlic buttered brioche; $13), Morgan’s Veggie Burger (scratch-made veggie patty, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, crispy onions, and Donkey sauce on a toasted brioche bun; $10), Flavortown Fries ($5), and Fried Pickles & Ranch ($7).
The Bacon Mac N Cheese Burger has Fieri written all over it: a bit over the top with perhaps too much going on. All the different flavors and cheese on cheese creates something of a street brawl in your mouth, but it was pretty good (I do loves me some mac-n-cheese). Although I’m glad I got it (I can tell the grandcats someday in the post-apocalyptic we-only-eat-jellyfish warming world about how I once ate a burger with mac-n-cheese, cheese, and bacon on it invented by a dude with a really bad haircut), I don’t need another one (I may still be processing all that cholesterol). The bride thought her house-made veggie burger was pretty decent. And the fried pickles–perhaps a novelty in the northern climes–were fried pickles. But the fries were unique and the real deal: big, irregular, and beautifully crunchysoft.
Fieri is a passionate dude, so while his menu and recipes are sprinkled across the country in various ghost kitchens, his passion–unfortunately–didn’t convey. And like fast food, the food you get doesn’t look as good as the photos on the menu. But if you live in the delivery radius and you want a little Fieri in ya, get it while you can.
I wrote this review for the Allandale Neighbor.
web&where: interwebs
what’s the deal? Guy Fieri’s take on diner-dive food; delivery only
overall: ** (food**; instagrammability**)
cost: $$
our scale:
– meh [think twice]
* OK [it’ll get the job done]
** good [solid neighborhood joint]
*** damn good [we’ll definitely be back]
**** yippity-yikes that was amazeballs [fantastic; one of the best]
***** holy sh!t [transcendental; best of the best] each $ = $10; cost is based on a typical dinner entrée and appetizer (no drinks)
each $ = $10; cost is based on a typical dinner entrée and appetizer (no drinks)
austin wanderlist 