The Stallion Grill
5201 Airport, 380-9433
Monday-Friday, 11am-3pm (soon adding breakfast, starting at 6 or 7am)
When caterer Rick Collier leased this former burger and barbecue joint on Airport, he saw the venture as a convenient commercial kitchen for his successful corporate catering operation. Since the kitchen was already set up for serving barbecue and burgers and was once again full of working cooks, Collier decided to open for lunch and dinner. His menu features barbecue with country sides; Angus beef burgers with hand-cut fries and onion rings; homestyle meals (including a one-, two-, or three-patty hand-breaded Angus beef chicken-fried steak); and homemade hamburger buns, dinner rolls, and desserts. He called the restaurant the Stallion as an homage to the popular Austin family restaurant he remembered from his youth.
Before long, the working folks who travel Airport Boulevard every day, as well as the nearby neighbors, were packing the place, chowing down on Collier’s simple, hearty fare: All satisfying and all made from scratch. We found the brisket to be juicy and flavorful. The one-patty chicken-fried steak is enormous (and a little heavy on the breading), swathed in very good cream gravy. Everything we’ve sampled has been solid, tasty, and affordable. The restaurant got so busy so quickly that Collier soon had to find another catering kitchen. Driving down Airport this week, I noticed the sign announcing the Stallion is now only open for lunch weekdays from 11am-3pm. Manager Rodney Hale explained they are in the process of adding a full country breakfast to the already popular menu and should have it ready to debut in a few weeks. We’ll keep an eye on the Stallion and let you know when breakfast is ready.
Lammes Candies
5330 Airport, 453-2899
Monday-Saturday, 9am-5:30pm
Lammes has been doing business in Austin for 120 years, and this storefront candy counter has been the official face of the local factory since 1957. There are Lammes stores all over town these days, some mall kiosks, and a very successful catalog mail-order operation. However, we prefer the very accessible factory store, where there is no extra charge for the seductive scent of chocolate and sugar when you drop by for some mint taffy or chewy pralines.
Burger Tex
5420 Airport, 453-8772
Monday-Saturday, 10:40am-9pm
Anyone who says a fresh-baked bun doesn’t contribute to the overall superior quality of a classic hamburger hasn’t eaten at Burger Tex. The aroma of bread baking and meat cooking certainly adds to the pleasant sensory experience while you build your own 6- or 8-oz. burger here. This original Burger Tex was once part of a three-store local chain that were all sold to separate operators some years back. These days, it’s the flagship store of a three-outlet franchise with restaurants in Oak Hill and Pflugerville. Burger Tex operations on the Drag and on Research Boulevard are independently owned, but all five spots still serve Bulgoki, a Korean-inspired beef dish you are unlikely to find at any other burger joints in town.
Quality Seafood Market
5621 Airport, 454-5827
Monday-Saturday, 10:30am-9pm
Austinites have trusted Quality Seafood for their fresh fish since the late 1930s, and the store has been a mainstay on this stretch of Airport Boulevard since the early 1970s. The business was passed down through two generations of a local family and then purchased by the Eaves brothers in the late Eighties, but it always maintained a reputation for quality fresh fish for retail and wholesale customers. Over the years, some prepared foods were added for takeout, and the Eaves eventually added a few tables for a makeshift restaurant serving good gumbo, fried fish, and well-stuffed po-boys. The newest owner, Paul Huntsberger, has gone a step further and expanded to a full-blown restaurant within the store. Food is ordered at the counter, and there is ample seating at booths, tables, or the new oyster bar. There’s plenty of ice-cold beer, and this could be the only eatery on this particular stretch of Airport that serves wine by the glass.
The only raw oysters served at the oyster bar are mild-flavored certified Louisiana Gulf oysters. (Bivalves from both the East and West coasts are flown in for the store’s restaurant customers.) We’re partial to the Shrimp Diablo with jalapeño slices and crisp bacon, the buttery Crawfish Étouffée, and the perfectly fried shrimp and catfish. Po’boys dressed in their homemade tartar sauce never fail to satisfy. Several varieties of fish fillets are available to be fried, blackened, grilled, or broiled and paired with such à la carte sides as fries, hush puppies, cole slaw, and potato salad. We topped off a substantial seafood meal with a huge steaming bowl of cinnamon-scented peach cobbler and grabbed a quart of étouffée to go.
This article appears in June 16 • 2006.