Galaxy Cafe
A kicky cafe signals that Southwest Austin is ready to outgrow its chains
Reviewed by Barbara Chisholm, Fri., Oct. 22, 2004
Galaxy Cafe
9911 Brodie Lane, 233-6000Sunday-Thursday, 7:30am-10pm; Friday & Saturday, 7:30am-10:30pm
The population explosion that Austin/Round Rock has experienced in the past decade or so is areawide, but certain pockets have more intense growth than do others. Southwest Austin, for instance, is an epicenter of new growth and new building. Inevitably, scores of new homes beget the services that home dwellers require: supermarkets, gas stations, schools, and entertainment options. Chains are usually the first restaurants to venture into new areas; they have the deep, corporate pockets that are able to withstand a slow opening as a new area becomes settled. The usual suspects staked out positions in this region early, but as the prosperity and growth of the region has become certain, more local dining options are arriving. One of those is the kicky Galaxy Cafe.
Situated in a spiffy shopping center (that also includes a Brick Oven pizzeria and a Maudie's), Galaxy Cafe has more splash and panache than does your typical cookie-cutter chain restaurant. The tomato-colored walls are punctuated by polka dots of mirrors, which give the effect of cut-outs in the walls. Suspended lights are encased in Jetsons-inspired orange domes. Sleek black flooring, tables, and chairs complete the pop art feel.
The cafe is casually chic; it features walk-up ordering, and the food is brought to your table when ready. Options include burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, quiche, and soups. After 5:30pm, the menu expands with fish, pork chops, chicken, and beef options. The dinner entrees top out the menu at $8.95, making the cafe a bargain. Beer and wine are available, along with sodas, swanky water, and Odwalla juices. While the menu is typical enough, the execution is significantly above ordinary. Clearly, the residents of the '48 zip code have made this discovery, as the crowd on a recent weekday afternoon confirmed.
A ho-hum-sounding lunch of spinach salad and a cup of soup with coffee turned out to be a meal worth lingering over. The Mexican lime soup ($2.25/cup; $4.75/bowl) consisted of a clear, rich chicken broth studded with fresh, diced tomatoes and generous morsels of chicken tenders, topped with a zesty shower of cilantro. The flavors were bold but complementary. An enormous soup plate held the masterpiece of a spinach salad ($6.50). Baby spinach and arugula formed the base, which was topped with red onion rings and sliced Roma tomatoes and blanketed with hefty pieces of crisp, chewy bacon and candied walnut halves. Topped with the roasted shallot vinaigrette, the salad was a complete success.
Even the great cup of coffee (which is pretty standard these days) is a cut above at the Galaxy if you go with the bistro coffee ($2.95): You get an individual French press with the house blend in it. It's a cup(s) that will keep you purring all afternoon.
Saturday nights the Galaxy features live jazz, which fits in nicely with the hip (but not hipper-than-thou) atmosphere. After enduring the limited options of the ubiquitous Chili's and Olive Gardens, it must be a relief for area residents to have a unique dining option all their own. And for those of us who venture south for the inevitable shopping trip, it's a delight that makes the trek a treat.
