Restaurant Review: Review
Pints for the peckish will put you in the Pour House
Reviewed by Lee Nichols, Fri., May 28, 2010
Pour House Pub
6701 Burnet Rd. Ste. A-3, 454-POURSunday-Friday, 3pm-12mid; Saturday, 3pm-1am (kitchen opens at 5pm Saturday & Sunday)
www.pourhousepubaustin.com
The hardest part about accepting the Pour House Pub was letting go of the bitterness. Neighbors of the former Travis County Farmers' Market still grumble about losing Brentwood Tavern – beer, burgers, and a playscape made it an ideal family spot. (In 2007, a landlord with more dollars than sense made life too difficult for them, and they left.) So the chore was to judge this location on what it is, not what it was. Thankfully, the Pour House withstood my bias well.
A magnificent (and bigger) beer selection helped: an impressive 34 taps, including all the local breweries as well as out-of-town ringers such as Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale, Victory HopDevil Ale, and Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. And fairly cheap, too: Regardless of whether it's fancy barleywine or Bud Light, all pints are $3.50. On this oppressively humid day in the beautiful, pecan-shaded biergarten, my wife grabbed a cold Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen while I chose an equally refreshing Wit from Austin's (512) Brewing Company.
On the food front, Pour House holds up quite well to its predecessor. We split the Black & Blue Burger, the Firehouse Chicken Sandwich, and the special of the day, a quail kebab (each $8.99). The burger and the sandwich were essentially the same, just different meat. The fantastic red-hot buffalo sauce evokes a spicier Cholula. Mixed with blue cheese crumbles, it made a glorious, dripping mess that had me licking my fingers happily and grabbing napkins. For sides, we enjoyed some decent spicy fries, but the onion rings were unfortunately mediocre.
The quail kebab was a nice surprise, juicy chunks of tender bird layered between green, red, and yellow peppers and grilled onions. But the surprising highlight modestly sat next to the kebab, an unassuming little zucchini slaw. Thin slivers of the green vegetable creamily mixed with just the right amount of carrots and onions had me gobbling it up greedily. Wow!
Sadly, there's no more playscape, but the Pour House sliders ($5.99) and chicken tenders ($7.99) pleased our kids.
Okay, the grudge is gone. Pour House, welcome to the neighborhood. Hopefully, the landlord will encourage this tenant to stay.
