Dining: Truluck's

Truluck's keeps clawing its way toward the top tier

By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
Web posted: Nov. 2, 2005

Photos by Robert Godwin for AA-S As Truluck's improves its ambience, its food — clockwise from top, stone crab claws, fiery Texas Gulf snapper and giant prawns — remains its star attraction. TRULUCK'S — ARBORETUM 10225 Research Blvd., Suite 4000 (512) 794-8300 Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners, Discover Wheelchair access: Yes Wine: 100 by the glass ($7-$29), 150 by the bottle ($29-$300) Rating:

At the new Truluck's at the Arboretum, it reveals a chain that has charted a course toward distinction and is steadily making progress in that direction.

To help set itself apart, Truluck's installed a water purification system to filter Austin tap water, which is then bottled and chilled before being brought to the table in tall, clear bottles.

It's a small touch, but one that doesn't force diners to make what can sometimes be a pressure-filled choice between expensive, imported bottled water and plain, old Austin H2O. An added benefit: Truluck's water doesn't float the price of the meal.

That makes a big statement about Truluck's attitude toward its customers and its determination to deliver a sense of value to an expensive meal.

Another new, distinguishing element for the chain is the piano-bar ambience. With a pianist playing throughout the evening in the bar portion of the restaurant, the eatery takes on a musical style seldom found elsewhere in Austin.

At the Arboretum, which is much less noisy than the downtown location, it was still possible for diners to conduct conversation at normal levels and enjoy the music from their tables in the dining area.

Music and water, though, would mean little if the food didn't live up to expectations. But the fare, developed by the chain's executive chef, Johnny Carino, and executed by local chefs, doesn't let a diner down.

The Florida stonecrab claws are Truluck's signature item; the chain has its own fisheries near Naples, Fla. The plate of medium claws ($14.95) brought four that had been cracked and placed on a bed of crushed ice with lemon wedges and mustard sauce. They were sweet and fresh-tasting, the reason stonecrabs are so special.

Fortunately, Truluck's will continue to serve stonecrab claws. Shortly after the season opened Oct. 15, Hurricane Wilma blew through. The eyewall passed directly over Marco Island, home to the chain's processing facility. While the boats were not damaged, the dock was impaired, and Truluck's lost most of its crab traps. New traps will replace the lost ones shortly. In the meantime, the restaurant is receiving claws from a nearby supplier.

In the second round of appetizers, the crab and corn chowder ($5.50 for a cup) was a creamy soup, sweet with crab and corn. It was more subtle and not quite as thick as the roasted shrimp and poblano soup ($5.50), which packed a strong flavor of chopped shrimp and zesty punch from the poblano.

For the main course, the large, thin fillet of trout ($18.95) — covered in a spicy, crunchy coating — was delectable. The fish was presented on a bed of rice, with a jalapeņo-mango puree and citrus aioli that offered a sweet-hot contrast of flavors.

The giant Australian prawns ($24.95), served with the heads on (just a warning for those who are squirmish about that sort of thing), were imbued with a great smoky flavor. They were accompanied by creamy Italian rice and a tomato-basil sauce.

For dessert, the key lime pie ($6.95), the smallest item on a tray of huge confections, featured a tart lime filling and mounds of sweet, lightly toasted, almost-marshmallow-like meringue. (One of these days I'm going to persuade the folks at Truluck's to decrease the size and increase the sophistication of their desserts.)

Service was on a par with the food, a contrast to some of my previous experiences at Truluck's. To me, our attentive and knowledgeable server was further evidence of the chain's improvement.

Truluck's, in refining and focusing its course, is well on its way to becoming an exemplary seafood chain.