Dear Dale

Good seafood in Austin is as easy as 1 (Cafe Josie), 2 (Truluck's), 3 (Uchi)

By Dale Rice
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Dear Dale,

We were here from early 1968 to mid-1970, and remember a Zuider Zee seafood place on Burnet Road, near the turnoff to the Americana movie theater. Everyone told us how great it was, but we were never able to eat there. When we returned in 1975, it was gone. Rumor had it as the No. 1 seafood in town at that time. Anyone remember the place?

We remember many other good places to eat, all long since gone. But there are plenty of top-notch new places. Coming from Northern Germany, we love good seafood. Any opinion on "the best" in Austin?

Best regards,
Jerry and Waltraud Foree

Jerry and Waltraud,

Austin is awash in so much good seafood that I'm not even going to try to single out one place as the best.

But I will name (in alphabetical order) the three spots that are my favorite for seafood: Cafe Josie, Truluck's and Uchi.

Cafe Josie (1200-B W. Sixth. St., 322-9226) combines spicy flavors of the American tropics with a wide variety of fish and shellfish, delivering one of the best seafood meals I've eaten in Austin two years in a row.

Truluck's (400 Colorado St. 482-9000; 10225 Research Blvd., Suite 4000, 794-8300) offers far more than its signature stonecrab claws from its own Gulf fisheries; it features an array of fresh seafood from giant prawns to hot-and-crunchy trout.

Uchi (801 S. Lamar Blvd., 916-4808) is home to sushi maestro Tyson Cole, one of Food & Wine magazine's Top 10 new chefs in 2005. His artistry and creativity shine behind the sushi bar, where he produces small bites of seafood that are as flavorful and they are beautiful.

Dale

Dear Dale,

I have a challenge on my hands — my mother-in-law has given me a menu of her favorite foods and I would like to choose a restaurant that could accommodate all of them to celebrate her birthday. For appetizers, she loves pâté de foie gras, for the entree, filet mignon, and for dessert, crepes suzette. Any idea how we could roll this all into one restaurant? Thanks for your help.

Greta

Greta,

Sorry, but I couldn't come up with a place for your mother-in-law's dream meal.

How about this alternative: Take her to Chez Nous (510 Neches St., 473-2413), the little French bistro that has been a favorite of mine for the past 20 years.

The pâté, although not made with foie gras, is delicious (as are the salads, onion soup and escargot). Rather than a standard filet mignon (a cut from the small end of the tenderloin), Chez Nous serves a tenderloin topped with a medallion of foie gras with a port wine reduction sauce. You could finish up with the crepe Normande, a sweet crepe filled with apples. That might not be exactly what she's looking for, but it's as close as I can get — and it will be delicious.

Dale

Dear Dale,

I am throwing a couples bridal shower for one of my good friends from high school. Can you give me ideas of reasonably priced restaurants that have the "Austin flavor"? (Preferably with a separate room, as there will probably be 30-40 of us.) Thank you!

Ashley

Ashley,

Here are a couple reasonably priced places that have great — but different — Austin flavor and separate rooms that can accommodate 40 people:

• Juan in a Million (2300 E. Cesar Chavez St., 472-3872), a classic little Tex-Mex spot in East Austin. Even though it is normally open only for breakfast and lunch, the restaurant frequently hosts evening events.

• County Line on the Hill (6500 W. Bee Cave Road, 327-1742) or County Line on the Lake (5204 RM 2222, 346-3664), where the family-style barbecue will stuff them with local flavor.

The restaurants do charge extra for the room rental, so you will want to chat with them about costs and build that into your meal budget.

Dale

Dear Dale,

My husband and I are going to Rockport this weekend. I was asking a friend about restaurants, and he thought some Austin chef had moved down there and opened a restaurant. I wondered whether you might know more.

C.W.

C.W.

I believe your friend is thinking of Jay Moore, who worked with Jeff Blank as the No. 2 chef at Hudson's on the Bend for a decade before heading to Rockport.

He has Aransazu Restaurant at 2841 Texas 35 North in Rockport (361-727-1105). It's open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday, with dinner entrees ranging from $9.25 to $29.95.

"I transferred what I was doing in Austin with Jeff Blank down here," Moore says, noting that he has a heavier emphasis on seafood than Hudson's. Plus, if you're a weekend angler, there's a bonus.

"If you bring your catch in, ready to hit the pan, you can eat what you caught that day," Moore says. "We'll bronze it or blacken it or grill it, however you want it done."

Now that should make your catch of the day taste a whole lot better.

Dale

You may contact Dale Rice at drice@statesman.com, 445-3859 or 305 S. Congress Ave., Austin 78704. Due to the volume of inquiries, not all questions can be answered.