28) Doc’s Motor Works

1123 S. Congress, 448-9181

Sunday-Thursday, 11am-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 11am-11pm

www.docsaustin.com

If there is one thing that Austinites like to do, it’s sitting on a nice patio and drinking. Throw some decent food into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a successful restaurant. Doc’s Motor Works has taken this recipe for success and fulfilled all of the essentials. There is a nice, dark, indoor bar, exactly the kind at which to sit and talk to your friends while you toss back a few. In addition to having a full bar, Doc’s has 31 different types of beer on tap, as well as bottled beer. The interior sports five flat-screen TVs, but unless it’s a Texas game, they keep the volume down so that you can actually converse. Outside, facing the street, they have a remarkably pleasant patio. It is the largest patio on South Congress and is both cheerful and comfortable. The menu is aimed directly at the middle of the bell curve: burgers, queso, stuffed jalapeños, salads, a few sandwiches, enchiladas, tacos, chicken-fried steak, hot wings, potato skins, and cheese fries. You get the picture. Doc’s has the best onion rings I have had in years: fresh onions, hand-battered and not at all greasy. The queso is far better than most around town, light and creamy with tons of flavor and impossible not to finish. The burgers are big and tasty; the enchiladas and tacos are everything they should be. Service is friendly and enthusiastic, if a little slow, and the ambience is pure, laid-back South Austin.

This article appears in March 3 • 2006.

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Kate Thornberry worked in renowned Austin restaurants for 30 years while pursuing a reasonably successful career in music. She began contributing to the Chronicle in 1988 and became a regular contributor to the food section in 2006.