Did you chime in? These are the lost Austin restaurants that readers miss the most.
If you keep up with social media posts about Old Austin, you already know that some of the most popular threads deal with vanished restaurants.
Decades after they closed, Austinites can still call up the sense memories of an old restaurant's sights, tastes, smells, and, most especially, the achingly missed social scenes.
Several weeks ago, Austin Answered kicked off a chat about the city's most missed eateries.
Reader Bart Ewald had opened up the bidding with Vikashmo's on East Sixth Street, GM Steakhouse on the Drag and 2-J Hamburgers "and those amazing Manske rolls" on North Lamar Boulevard. He added El Gallo on South Congress Avenue and "El Matt" on East Fifth Street.
Public response to that Jan. 24 column was a bit overwhelming.
In all, 232 votes via social media and emails went to 123 missing restaurants.
Did you chime in? These are lost Austin restaurants that readers miss the most
Some of those 123 departed eateries (such as Holiday House, Rainbow Inn, The Barn) closed before I arrived in the 1980s.
Others (Victor's, Kirschner’s, Newberry's, Gianni's) were completely unfamiliar to me.
A few (Dot's, Virginia's, Raw Deal) I knew about while they were still open, but sadly never made it through their doors.
The voters reminded me of several excellent places (Granite Cafe, Mezzaluna, Castle Hill Café) that, for some reason, I rarely think about any more. (Sincere thanks for the memories!)
Among the runners-up that received more than the minimum votes — but not the most — were Eastside Café, Les Amis Café, Mad Dog and Beans, Threadgill's, Frisco Shop, El Gallo and El Azteca.
The three restaurants voters missed the most
And the winners — each anchored by a strong sense of place — with 10 or more votes apiece in this highly unscientific poll are:
Shady Grove on Barton Springs Road. "Shady Grove for sure," Karin Richmond says. "I loved the acoustic music nights." "Sept. 13, 1998 (was) the first time the original founders ever went out on a Mobile Loaves & Fishes run," says Alan Graham, CEO and founder of the homeless services nonprofit which started by feeding the unhoused. "We ended the evening at Shady Grove. So from a Mobile Loaves & Fishes point of view, that is a historical place."
Chez Nous on East Sixth Street. "It was like being transported to a friendly neighborhood bistro in France (but in) downtown Austin," Amy Price says. "Didn't even have to twitch my nose to get there. Le sigh." "Chez Nous was our favorite date night place," Brad Kissinger says. "We always enjoyed our company and the food there. We always seemed to leave having had a great time together."
Las Manitas on Congress Avenue. "Las Manitas was like my grandmas kitchen back home," Ricky Martínez says. "The warmth of the space, the smells, and the familiarity one felt while walking through the kitchen to get to the back patio."
More Austin Answered
Are you from somewhere else?Immigrants share which Austin restaurant feels like home
The ultimate question:What are your favorite vanished Austin cafés, bars and clubs?
Solving the breaded mystery: The case of the lost Austin chicken fried steak joint
The chew and chat continues: Austin has more to say about Stallion Drive Inn
Send your questions — or answers — about Central Texas past and present to "Austin Answered" at mbarnes@statesman.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Chez Nous, Las Manitas, Shady Grove top lost Austin restaurants poll
