Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > November > 06 > Entry
Vince Young Steakhouse Opening
One cringes a little inside when a sports superstar opens a restaurant or bar. These champions of the game know their athletic universes inside out. Do they know what it takes to launch a powerhouse of food, drink and socializing?
Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe and Vince Young
From the barest evidence on Friday, Vince Young does. Or at least his Houston-based partners do. The cocktail reception and preview on Friday kept a full house bubbling with excitement, even before the former Longhorn arrived, towering over the mere mortals who mobbed him.
Lisa Campos and Javier Lopez
The location is tricky: In between the Convention Center district and East Sixth Street at 301 San Jacinto St. This is the former Rio Grande Mexican restaurant, itself occupying the shell of the former “Real World Austin” crib. Architect Richard Weiss rushed the steakhouse into full form, selecting a copper-colored theme to lightly suggest a grown-up version of burnt orange.
Michele Rogerson Lynch, Stephanie McDonald and Richard Weiss
Chain-mail billows in waves around a half dozen dining areas. Horizontal wine bottles line the walls, themselves tiled in modern, martini-age patterns. I tasted nibbles of beef, pork belly and some surprise samples — all well above average for an event such as this.
George Powell and Elaine Powell
What of Young himself? The Tennessee Titan surely swatted away the more than fervent wish that he could return to the University of Texas to play instead of study. Yet he seemed very much the gentleman, treating each suppliant with kind attention.
Hey, if Young were there all the time, this steakhouse would have no trouble surviving the intense competition in that field downtown. At the very least, Longhorn fans will converge there, no matter how the team fares.
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