An Elegant Adventure

Pepper-Crusted Ahi Tuna (Photo By John Anderson)

Back in April of this year, a friendly wine salesperson I met at the Saveur Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival recommended that I check out the Thistle Cafe on Sixth and I made a mental note to do so. The opportunity came later that month when a friend invited me to a reception for a famous interior designer that was taking place at the Thistle. I went gladly, and although only a handful of appetizers was served, it was enough to pique my curiosity and return for the full dinner experience.

The Thistle is not easy to see, unless one already knows it's there. The location could not be more desirable: the corner of Lavaca and Sixth. But the brown office building where the Thistle resides does not really offer any clues that the restaurant is there, except for a smallish sign above the bar entrance. Inside, however, the space is beautiful: high ceilings, modern furniture, and cool, earthy colors. The light fixtures are unique art pieces, and the fabric room dividers add a relaxed, contemporary feel. It is an elegant, yet comfortable space.

Having eaten at the Thistle at Davenport when it first opened, I guess I expected something a little more casual, so I was pleasantly surprised with the food, as well. The menu at Thistle offers an intriguing list of creative appetizers and entrées with international influences. Even though I am not vegetarian, I noticed the menu lacks any meatless entrée options, which is rare in Austin restaurants. The wine list, while not spectacular, has some good selections by the glass and by the bottle. However, both my dining companion -- a fellow food writer -- and I noticed there was not one single Texas wine on the list, a trend that sadly permeates most Austin restaurants. But that's another story entirely.

Back to the food. Among the appetizers, we chose the Oysters Thistle ($7). A dish reminiscent of oysters Rockefeller, the huge shellfish came baked on the half shell, topped with caramelized onions, pancetta, spinach, and cheese. The Duck Spring Rolls ($8) were definitely different, the moist Asian-style duck meat wrapped in delicate sesame-soy paper, drizzled with a chile-orange reduction.

For entrées, we were intrigued by the linguini topped with shrimp, scallops, and mussels in a Sambuca lemon cream sauce ($16), a combination of flavors I never would have dreamed of. Lucky for us, Executive Chef James Blanton did, and it turned out to be a delectable dish, the sweetness of the Sambuca being a perfect background to the naturally sweet shrimp and scallops. The Lollipop Lamb Chops ($25) were seven little chops, perfectly cooked to medium rare and sized for eating with our fingers (hence the name "lollipop," I presume). They were served on garlic mashed potatoes, with a tangy, earthy compote of sundried tomatoes, onions, and basil, sprinkled with feta cheese and drizzled with saffron oil. The decidedly Mediterranean flavors combined wonderfully with a glass of Edna Valley Pinot Noir ($8).

We were slightly disappointed by dessert, however. The White Chocolate Bread Pudding ($6) seemed a bit dry and was not among the best bread puddings I've ever had. But overall, I had a good first impression of the place.

On my first visit, we were surprised to be one of only two tables seated at the restaurant. I visited again a month later and was pleased to see there were more people in the dining room than before. This time, my guests and I actually had to wait at the bar to get seated, but that was fine since they have good drinks and decent happy-hour prices. But the wait was a bit longer than expected, and the restaurant seemed to be a bit understaffed.

This time, we started with the refreshing Ceviche ($8) of tilapia, scallops, and shrimp with finely diced tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, and capers. At the designer's reception I had attended, they served the ceviche inside tiny masa cups, but for dinner it comes with salsa and fried flour-tortilla chips on the side. This is a nontraditional yet interesting way of serving ceviche, and it works. We also enjoyed the Mediterranean Pizza ($7), a good thin crust topped with caramelized onions and figs, Gorgonzola, fresh thyme, and balsamic reduction. The Blueberry Bosc Salad ($6) of baby spinach with blueberries, Bosc pear slices, Gorgonzola, and smoked bacon was good, but not quite exciting.

The undisputed winner among the appetizers was the Curried Mussels ($8), a big bowl overflowing with bivalves steamed in what the menu describes as a "ginger lime essence," but we also tasted lemongrass and coconut milk. The host, a charming young man with a French accent (who I later found out is the manager), recommended the mussels, confiding to us that the broth was so good he "would just drink it by itself." And he was not kidding. We indeed fought over "drinking" the broth to the very last drop.

The only flaw that I noted was that the entrées came before we were finished with the appetizers. This is a major restaurant-service faux pas and a personal pet peeve of mine. The fact that the restaurant seemed to be a little understaffed may account for the problem. With only one waiter, it must have been difficult to keep a watchful eye and time the orders right, so I give our server the benefit of the doubt. But any experienced waiter knows not to bring the entrées until he has cleared the appetizers off the table.

Regardless, the entrées were all very good. The Angus Ribeye ($25) was juicy and tender, perfectly cooked to temperature, and served with black truffle butter and fingerling potatoes. Another beef entrée, the Tenderloin Medallions ($25) were also cooked just right, perfectly seared on the outside and pink on the inside, accompanied with a tasty horseradish bacon potato duchesse, asparagus tips, and a savory whisky-shallot demiglace.

Even though it seems that every restaurant in Austin these days serves ahi tuna in one form or another, we gave their pepper-crusted version ($21) a try. It came served over saffron mashed potatoes, with capers, kalamata olives, and tiny haricots verts, all splashed with a fruity green olive oil. It was almost like a warm salad niçoise, and rather enjoyable. The best entrée, in my opinion, was the Applewood-Smoked Pork Tenderloin ($17). Melt-in-your-mouth tender, the slices of tenderloin were served over rosemary polenta, topped with a sweet-sour mixed-berry compote and a balsamic reduction. It was a truly inspired and delicious combination of flavors that complemented each other perfectly.

We had better luck with dessert this time. The Chocolate Torte ($6) was dark, rich, and had, as my partner appropriately put it, "the density of Jupiter." The sorbet trio ($6) was a more adequate ending for our "meat-fest," artistically served in a large martini glass over crushed ice. The fruit flavors were cool and refreshing, but a word of warning: The sorbets need to be consumed fast, otherwise they will melt into the crushed ice, and it is impossible to enjoy them to the very last drop, as I would have liked. I'll eat it faster next time. Because there will be a next time.

With their elegant approach to simple meat-and-potato entrées and some adventurous, well-executed dishes, Thistle Cafe on Sixth is, in my opinion, a worthy addition to Downtown's fine-dining scene.