Galaxy Cafe

South Austin restaurant off to a stellar start

By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
June 10, 2004

Pull into the large parking lot at 7:30 on a Tuesday night and try to find an empty space, and one thing quickly becomes clear: Power dining has come to far South Austin.

Maudie's anchors one side of this busy strip center on Brodie Lane, while the Brick Oven holds down the other. Both are packed this evening.

Between the two is one of the area's newest restaurants, Galaxy Cafe, a funky, friendly restaurant with broad appeal.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, the Galaxy radiates a 1950s/1960s feel, with circular mirrors affixed to bright red walls and George Jetson-esque light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

A much-lighter option was the small slice of leek and Canadian bacon quiche ($3.25), which would have gone well with some sort of side.

The early morning coup de grace, though, was the French toast deluxe ($4.95), two slices of very lightly battered Swiss muesli bread that formed a sandwich with sliced bananas in the middle and sliced strawberries on top. Mmmmm.

From the dinner offerings, the burger ($6.50) was average. It was served on a whole wheat roll with the usual condiments and a side of crisp fries.

However, the chipotle-apricot glazed pork chops ($8.95), featuring two thin chops over a large bed of steamed vegetables that included red bell peppers, yellow squash, carrots and zucchini, was delightful. The daily soup was a thick, flavorful roasted tomato ($2.25 for a cup) made with a touch of chicken broth and cream.

For dessert, the housemade, flourless chocolate torte ($3.50) was a dark, rich wedge with a ganache-style icing.

It all makes a trip to the Galaxy an adventure worth taking.