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Featured Replies

On 7/23/2019 at 7:20 PM, VirginiaLonghorn said:

Back in the day ... El Mat, El Patio, y El Toro. 

El Mat for puffy tacos.

Never have been to El Patio since moving here in 1959.

El Patio was always okay. Sucks that it's closing though. Milto's, Thai Kitchen and Ken's will have to hold down the block. 

El Azteca was the biggest old school texmex loss for me. And it's not as "texmex" but if Aranda's on Burnet ever closes I might burn down the resulting establishment. 

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

El Patio was always okay. Sucks that it's closing though. Milto's, Thai Kitchen and Ken's will have to hold down the block. 

El Azteca was the biggest old school texmex loss for me. And it's not as "texmex" but if Aranda's on Burnet ever closes I might burn down the resulting establishment. 

I liked El Azteca's cabrito.  Everything else was pretty meh for me.  But I miss it for the cabrito alone.

And everything around that Aranda's is gentrifying, I don't see any way it survives too much longer.  And whatever dog bar thing is at Putt Putt, that's a decent amount of land, it can't survive much longer, either.

Was that before or after you visited Vickie's Retreat next door?
 
I ate the shit out of Magic Wok when I was at UT.  Vickie's, not.


Haha, I was just thinking about Magic Walk the other day. If you go to google street view and slide the time frame back as far as it goes, you can see the restaurant.

I swear, in the mid 90s it was like $3.71 for a plate of kung pao “chicken”, egg roll and a drink.
I liked El Azteca's cabrito.  Everything else was pretty meh for me.  But I miss it for the cabrito alone.
And everything around that Aranda's is gentrifying, I don't see any way it survives too much longer.  And whatever dog bar thing is at Putt Putt, that's a decent amount of land, it can't survive much longer, either.


I noticed that the Putt Putt place was replaced by some bizarre bar. Used to take dates there when I was a young nerd.
10 hours ago, ztejas said:

El Patio was always okay. Sucks that it's closing though. Milto's, Thai Kitchen and Ken's will have to hold down the block. 

El Azteca was the biggest old school texmex loss for me. And it's not as "texmex" but if Aranda's on Burnet ever closes I might burn down the resulting establishment. 

Yeah. About miltos. It’s gonna be rip too soon if not already. Pouring out some liquor for that cabrito though. Hit it up at EL Aztecs many times with the old man.  

1 hour ago, Deej said:

i never went to that wiggys because parking sucks.  this goes for most all things austin.  if i have to drive around to search for parking and there are other choices, i aint going.  or if it's a bitch to get in and out of due to road design, traffic, etc, i'm going somewhere else.



I noticed that the Putt Putt place was replaced by some bizarre bar. Used to take dates there when I was a young nerd.

Yard Bar. It’s a dog park bar. I walkover there sometimes. It’s okay but really good when there’s a dog fight and their drunk owners attempt to break it up.
3 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:

 


Haha, I was just thinking about Magic Walk the other day. If you go to google street view and slide the time frame back as far as it goes, you can see the restaurant.

I swear, in the mid 90s it was like $3.71 for a plate of kung pao “chicken”, egg roll and a drink.

Nice.  Their fried rice wasn't the best.  But it wasn't the worst either.

Edit:  I just tried it.  How do you make the google maps time machine work?

Another Edit:  Nevermind, I figured it out.  That Bambinos Deli hopefully used a lot of bleach to remove the leftovers from the mid 90s tenants.

Edited by dcbc


Yard Bar. It’s a dog park bar. I walkover there sometimes. It’s okay but really good when there’s a dog fight and their drunk owners attempt to break it up.


And a new business idea is born. Battlebots, but with dogs.

Loved El Patio. I remember that the very air seemed to have bean grease in it. The last time I was there, they had succumbed to pressure and switched the saltines to bowls of chips, but a request brought the saltines back out. Hopefully it's all saltines their last day open,

3 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

 


And a new business idea is born. Battlebots, but with dogs.

 

Yeah Michael Vick tried this already.

15 hours ago, dcbc said:

Nice.  Their fried rice wasn't the best.  But it wasn't the worst either.

Edit:  I just tried it.  How do you make the google maps time machine work?

Another Edit:  Nevermind, I figured it out.  That Bambinos Deli hopefully used a lot of bleach to remove the leftovers from the mid 90s tenants.

lol Bambinos Deli! That's a blip on the radar I never thought I'd think about again. Must have lasted a whole 6 months.

33 minutes ago, Tailgate said:

bd7beb58bfd59fdb40f8abfe24d1a70f.jpg

Paid my respects today.

Rest in Peace

20 hours ago, dcbc said:

google maps time machine

there goes my afternoon

  • 1 month later...
  • Author

Attal? ACL Patio?

Patio Estan, Beethches!

Holy shit in my pants.

This is fantastic news!

El Patio is dead.

Long live El Patio.

Strangest news of the day. Guess they realized it's too hot for golf and fishing. Retirement is tough. 

We all said our goodbyes to them that included weird extended hugs with the owners, the waiters, and the bus boys. It’s going to be a little awkward that first trip back in.

6 hours ago, Steamboat1874 said:

Nothing about this sucks....

spacer.png

Great Tex-Mex never sucks.

It clogs.

Until, suddenly, it doesn't.

Trudy sucks now. Was ok only while I was in college due to their drinks. 

El patio never been despite living in Austin 10+ years because everyone said is was meh. Always surprised it lasted this long 

Just now, SoCalHorn said:

Trudy sucks now. Was ok only while I was in college due to their drinks. 

El patio never been despite living in Austin 10+ years because everyone said is was meh. Always surprised it lasted this long 

I mean, people might have said it was "meh" but people are also generally stupid.

Trudy's chipotle sauce is still my favorite anywhere.  Their standard brown chile gravy isn't very good and never was.

20 hours ago, Par4 said:

Strangest news of the day. Guess they realized it's too hot for golf and fishing. Retirement is tough. 

It was too cold at home.

https://www.austin360.com/news/20190910/exclusive-el-patio-is-coming-back-just-weeks-after-closing

Charles Attal knew within a minute of hearing the news from his cousin that something had to be done.

Kristyn Ciani, granddaughter of El Patio founders Paul and MaryAnn Joseph and daughter of longtime El Patio employee Roseann Joseph-Ciani, had alerted Attal that her uncle David had decided to close the restaurant his parents opened in 1954.

“We have to save it,” Attal, a co-founder of C3 Presents, told his cousin.

Ciani had supported her uncle in his decision to close the restaurant after four decades and never imagined she would have the opportunity to continue the family legacy. The call from Attal, who is also a partner in Stubb’s BBQ, changed all that.

And a visit to the restaurant and a glimpse of the seemingly endless lines of people saying farewell to the Tex-Mex institution, which closed Aug. 9, reaffirmed their decision.

The next generation of family formed a group that included Ciani, Attal,his sister Jennifer Attal-Allen, her son Sled Allen and Sway and La Condesa founder Jesse Herman to reopen the business, which has been in the family for 65 years.

“It’s literally in my blood,” Kristyn Ciani said. “I never thought I would have been able to be a part of something so cool like this.”

El Patio will reopen at 2938 Guadalupe St. by the end of September, the family said.

“Our roots run deep in Austin, back to the late 1800s,” said Jennifer Attal-Allen, whose grandmother was a half-sister of El Patio co-founder Paul Joseph. “Family is everything to us. So to now, along with my brother, son, and cousin, be able to continue this tradition Uncle Paul and Aunt MaryAnn started, means more than I’m able to put into words. It’s especially a very proud moment for me personally, that the next generation who is stepping up includes my son, Sled.”

When longtime guests return to visit El Patio, they will see familiar faces and familiar dishes. The staff from both front and back of house is returning to the restaurant, some of whom have worked at El Patio for more than 35 years. The menu will remain the same, though the bar will expand with additional drink offerings. The new owners say they have no intention of messing with the heart and formula of what made their family restaurant such a treasured institution.

“Jennifer and I grew up in that restaurant, so it’s an honor to be a part of something that now my own kids can grow up in,” Charles Attal said. “We will continue to bestow the same respect upon it that David and the rest of our cousins have since day one.”

El Patio will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.

Is this like the New Coke marketing stunt?

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

Is this like the New Coke marketing stunt?

This will turn out way better.

35 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

This will turn out way better.

Says you....

 

  • 3 years later...

Cain and Abel's being torn down to make way for a 30-story high-rise is the most Austin-y news you'll hear this week.
 

 

Edited by Hornius Emeritus

When you come expecting bad El Patio news after 3 years plus and you get blindsided by Austin’s constant evolution into San Jose

On 9/11/2019 at 11:55 AM, Mappable said:

https://www.austin360.com/news/20190910/exclusive-el-patio-is-coming-back-just-weeks-after-closing

Charles Attal knew within a minute of hearing the news from his cousin that something had to be done.

Kristyn Ciani, granddaughter of El Patio founders Paul and MaryAnn Joseph and daughter of longtime El Patio employee Roseann Joseph-Ciani, had alerted Attal that her uncle David had decided to close the restaurant his parents opened in 1954.

“We have to save it,” Attal, a co-founder of C3 Presents, told his cousin.

Ciani had supported her uncle in his decision to close the restaurant after four decades and never imagined she would have the opportunity to continue the family legacy. The call from Attal, who is also a partner in Stubb’s BBQ, changed all that.

And a visit to the restaurant and a glimpse of the seemingly endless lines of people saying farewell to the Tex-Mex institution, which closed Aug. 9, reaffirmed their decision.

The next generation of family formed a group that included Ciani, Attal,his sister Jennifer Attal-Allen, her son Sled Allen and Sway and La Condesa founder Jesse Herman to reopen the business, which has been in the family for 65 years.

“It’s literally in my blood,” Kristyn Ciani said. “I never thought I would have been able to be a part of something so cool like this.”

El Patio will reopen at 2938 Guadalupe St. by the end of September, the family said.

“Our roots run deep in Austin, back to the late 1800s,” said Jennifer Attal-Allen, whose grandmother was a half-sister of El Patio co-founder Paul Joseph. “Family is everything to us. So to now, along with my brother, son, and cousin, be able to continue this tradition Uncle Paul and Aunt MaryAnn started, means more than I’m able to put into words. It’s especially a very proud moment for me personally, that the next generation who is stepping up includes my son, Sled.”

When longtime guests return to visit El Patio, they will see familiar faces and familiar dishes. The staff from both front and back of house is returning to the restaurant, some of whom have worked at El Patio for more than 35 years. The menu will remain the same, though the bar will expand with additional drink offerings. The new owners say they have no intention of messing with the heart and formula of what made their family restaurant such a treasured institution.

“Jennifer and I grew up in that restaurant, so it’s an honor to be a part of something that now my own kids can grow up in,” Charles Attal said. “We will continue to bestow the same respect upon it that David and the rest of our cousins have since day one.”

El Patio will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday.

That family is the Austin Lebanese mafia right there. 

Yes I’ve heard over the years that parts of the family are allegedly involved with organized crime.

I know David. I and a bunch of friends went out there on its last day open to reminisce and eat one last meal. It’s great to read that the presence of so many people helped them decide to move forward with keeping it open. We had a pretty good party in the parking lot - coolers, beer, lawn chairs, farting. 

5 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

My brain read that as Crown & Anchor and I almost stroked out.

Dog Snl GIF by Saturday Night Live

7 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

My brain read that as Crown & Anchor and I almost stroked out.

Soon.

  • Author
23 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Nah.

That block is ripe for a shitty condo building. 

 

Screenshot_20230404_193228_Maps.jpg

9 minutes ago, Deej said:

That block is ripe for a shitty condo building. 

 

Screenshot_20230404_193228_Maps.jpg

Yep.  RE developers wet dream, right there.

  • Author
3 minutes ago, baboso said:

Yep.  RE developers wet dream, right there.

It's a good location to house all the UT law students who are the future of Surly. 

31 minutes ago, Deej said:

That block is ripe for a shitty condo building. 

 

Screenshot_20230404_193228_Maps.jpg

If that block goes I go. 

8 hours ago, Deej said:

It's a good location to house all the UT law students who are the future of Surly. 

Show them all the beauty they possess inside.

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