manny (@manny) on taste

mannymanny

39 following178 reviews

Want to go14 items

Luke, manny, and rohit went to Sapori Italian Roots

Downtown, Austin

lukeMar 27

●8.9

pasta here is undeniably elite. it’s in a weird location downtown but was packed (sxsw) and they sold out of pasta! service was a bit slow but understandably due to how busy it was. very friendly and better service and attention than I was expecting to be honest; I figured it would be more of a walk up type situation. they used to be a food truck but became a brick and mortar a few years ago. focaccia was solid; there were some pieces I had which were incredible and others that were pretty disappointing and overly dense. pasta I got was so so good. very obviously made in house and the noodles were perfectly chewy. sauce complemented it really well also. I would love to try some other flavors here and some other pasta shapes. I left very impressed and with a full stomach. I think for vibes and overall I would still recommend patrizi’s but this place clears it (and every other spot in atx i’ve had) in the pasta department for sure.

200

phonz & tungsten went to Parish Barbecue

MLK, Austin

lukeMar 16

●9.1

parish has been near the top of my hit list for a while! it opened within the past year or two, and instantly made waves in the atx food scene. it’s got a bib gourmand from michelin and is rated in the top 25 by infatuation. parish is cajun style bbq. they have all the classics of central texas bbq but there are some unique additions, sauces, and sides much like KG a few blocks over. with parish, manor road adds another notch to its belt as one of the best foodie roads in austin. me, manny and george had a great monday morning run and rewarded ourselves with an excellent spread of bbq. here’s the run down… pulled duck: a unique addition. I really enjoyed the flavor here. I wish it was slightly more tender but it hit the spot and I would definitely order again. ham: I was very tentative on us ordering this. i’m a ruthless ham hater and I think it’s very hard for me to enjoy it. however this blew me away. another non tradition meat; this is a must get. it was so tender and perfectly fatty. the bark on it had a really good char as well. blended great with the sauces. brisket: the staple. I liked it. would have liked it more if we had more fatty over lean but it was very serviceable. honestly if you are looking for brisket or visiting from out of town, I would prob recommend terry blacks or most other places over this. they did a fine job, but don’t come here for just the brisket. pork ribs: I wasn’t a big fan of these. I think I got a bad part because it wasn’t super tender and had too much bone. boudin: this was unique for sure. glad I tried it but it’s not really my cup of tea. the spices were too overwhelming and I feel like the rice didn’t add much. I don’t think it’s parish’s fault tho; I think I just don’t like this type of sausage. crawfish dressing: this was like a stuffing with crawfish inside. it seemed too unique to not try. I was thoroughly impressed. great flavor profile and they give a really healthy portion. fried roll: this was like a donut almost. they deep fry a bread roll and serve it was honey siracha butter. i’d recommend it. overall I was impressed with parish. they have a unique take on bbq which is much appreciated. they execute it well and I would definitely be down to return.

300

manny, Luke, and Jibraan went to Komé: Sushi Kitchen

North Loop, Austin

lukeMar 16

●6.5

I really wanted to enjoy kome more than I did… but I was kinda disappointed. to be fair, ambiance and service was pretty top notch. the karaage was very mediocre. chicken tasted a bit rubbery and it didn’t really taste fried. more roasted. on the sushi front: the rolls were okay. rice was kinda on par with an AYCE spot, maybe slightly better. fish was fresh but quantity was a bit lacking for the price. for me personally, I don’t see a need to return here unfortunately. while it is more affordable than the high end spots in austin, I don’t think it delivers anywhere near the quality that those places do. i’ll stick to the uchi’s for a top tier sushi meal. and i’ll stick to the ayce spots for all else.

300

phonz & tungsten went to Wingzup

Hancock, Austin

lukeMar 16

●6.8

best wings in america? 🤨 they’re pretty good but I would classify them marginally better than pluckers. the golden style that manny got were def the best; sauces were enjoyable and fries were standard. hit the spot after moving stuff all day. i’d say worth trying but not worth going out of the way for. hard to beat the value at plucks.

300

lily, manny, and luke went to Culver’s

Austin, Texas

lilyMar 13

●4.3

the cheese curd was very salty but they have good pickles so points for that. not something I’d feel the need to get again

mannyOct 10

●4.9

we curded out on tuesday at newly renovated culver’s! the curd burger did not reach expectations but was not a bad experience. probably won’t get it again but down to try more at culver’s

lukeOct 9

●8.4

post run club Culver’s trip. last week they were closed due to renovations, this week they welcomed us with open arms and a freshly decorated interior. main motive of the trip was to try the curd burger™️. I normally get a side of cheese curds but today I tried the onion rings (since the curd was already on the burger). also ordered a root beer float which was phenomenal. the curd burger itself only had one patty which was a lil disappointing. other than that it was very similar to the standard butter burger with the addition of a massive cheese curd on top. I wish the cheese curd was a lil more gooey. it was soft but no big cheese pull. I enjoyed it as a limited item but will be going back to my typical double burger order with a side of cheese curds. culver’s is def a top three fast food in my opinion; sides are great, burgers on point and the shakes/custards also are very consistent. 😊 last pic is of lily trying to claim she ate here even though she only stole a bite from someone 🤔

700

Luke, manny, and rohit went to Barley Swine

Brentwood, Austin

rohitMar 10

●9.7

First michelin star experience, of course it had to be for Luke’s birthday. Amazing experience food and presentation were phenomenal. i would add pictures but luke and manny already did and we ate the same things so… my fav two dishes were the scallion rolls and the carnitas!

mannyMar 7

●9.7

happy birthday luke 🎊🎈🎂 got the tasting menu 👅 everything we had was incredible except for the rogue items i got off the pre fixe menu would recommend but do not veer off track. not worth the extra money. this was the beef rib and mushroom dumpling

lukeMar 3

●9.9

birthday dinner, feb 22nd, 2026. huge shoutout to manny for sponsoring this meal. this was one of the best dining experiences I have had in austin. truly a legendary dinner. barley swine is one of 7 restaurants in austin with a Michelin star. the concept here is a texan centric tasting menu. priced at $120; $90 during the first 30 minutes of sunday service (which is when we went). be prepared to stay a while. this is an experience and you can expect dinner to last around 2.5-3 hours. vibe and service: decor here isn’t overly pretentious; classy yet definitely emphasizes the farm to table vibe with rustic touches and plenty of ingredient jars dispersed around. wait staff was polite and accommodating. service was excellent and exactly what I would expect at a restaurant of this caliber. the bathroom had a vertical I-beam right next to the stalls which I found pretty funny; I almost mistook it for a hipster urinal. food: hiramasa: tasty. had a similar dish at le calamar and I think they executed the sauce better. however still very good blend of flavors. oyster: great oyster of good size. I like seeing what places like these do with oysters. 95% of my oyster enjoyment comes from the dressings and accouterments rather than the oyster itself. very solid. squash: this was the sleeper hit. reading over the menu I kinda skipped over this. squash? cheese? booooo. but it was insane. def a top 3 bite of the meal. squash complemented the cheese perfectly and i’m not sure what type of cheese it was but it was perfect flavor and consistency. dishes like these are what impresses me the most about these type of spots. I would never think to combine these ingredients but it works so so well. tilefish: the tilefish was okay. i’m not really a white fish fan and the fish didn’t really appeal to me. the prep around it was good. I liked the sauce and the crispys. but overall kinda a meh dish. mainly since I don’t like cooked white fish 🤷‍♂️ dumplings: these were an addition that we made. they rotate the menu monthly but this is one of their staple dishes. the very lightly cooked eggs worked very well with the dumplings. soupy inside and the dumpling itself was perfectly al dente (take notes misi). a stellar dish and very enjoyable. worth adding. carnitas: wow wow wow. another top 3 bite of the meal. the sauce on this dish paired perfectly. the carnitas were perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. up there with the best taco spots in austin and honestly probably clears them (granted a lot more expensive but). beef tartare: nothing insane. I enjoyed this but mainly cause it’s been a while since i’ve had beef tartare. tostada it was on was a bit too firm for my liking (not crispy enough). good but wasn’t blown away. beef rib: another addition. we all shared this one. a lil smaller than the beef ribs at bbq focused spots. I agreed with manny’s sentiment here: there isn’t really a reason to order this in austin. maybe in other northern cities that don’t focus on BBQ. but there are plenty of places in atx you can get a better beef rib. it’s perfectly acceptable and not bad. but compare to other dishes; there is no reason in my mind to add this on. ribeye: prepared two ways. there was a skewer with a more fatty part which I really really enjoyed. I think it was a soy based sauce and worked well. the main ribeye was good but not insane. also prepared well; I prefer a filet but it was very enjoyable. scallion roll: these were elite. the butter sauce had some addition minced meat hidden underneath which paired so well. super good. olive oil cake: because of my allergy I had to get a substitution for the first dessert. the olive oil cake was very good and complemented well with the carrot ice cream. very unique. prepared well. I think the sheet cake may have been even better but I guess i’ll never know :/. sorbet: yummy. fudge underneath worked well and made for a really good bite. whipped cream they made was also top notch. chocolate balls: idk what these were. they were not listed on the menu and they came out right with the check. tasted like ground up oreos that had been re cooked without the cream. not a fan but won’t hold it against them for the added bonus. overall I had a phenomenal time here and really enjoyed the culinary experience that barley swine offers. a great spot for special occasions. I think this is relatively affordable compare to the other non-bbq michelin star spots in austin so I would highly recommend checking it out. I think the only restaurant in austin I would personally rank above this is canje. check it out!

1020

manny reviewed The Capital GrilleMar 7

117 W 4th St

●5.0

it was completely empty when i came for happy hour. i just really wanted to try the $16 dry aged steak. 🥩 i couldn’t taste the dry aged 😢 it was all ok

400

+2

manny, rohit, Han, Steve, and luke went to Maie Day

Travis Heights, Austin

mannyMar 7

●9.5

new happy hour alert 🚨 pretty insane deals , must go back before it gets nerfed prime rib for $19 and it was better than the famous house of prime rib in sf

lukeFeb 27

●8.5

elite happy hour alert 🚨 maie day (pronounced may, verified by the waitress 😌) is a michelin recommended trendy steakhouse located on south congress. saw a post for a weekend happy hour running until 6:30; knew we had to check it out. they do a $19 prime rib, 1/2 cocktails and 1/2 some other bites (including a caesar salad) during the happy hour. vibe here is modern with lofted ceilings. beautifully decorated. def feels more like a happy hour spot tho than a steak house. I’d feel a lil off paying normal steak house prices here to be honest. service was good and prompt. no free dessert for my birthday thought even tho the table behind us got some… either because we ordered off the happy hour menu or because he was 70 yrs my senior. either way very fair. the prime rib was very flavorful. i’m more of a filet guy since I typically shy away from fatty meat but I tried the fat in this one. it tasted good but one bite was enough to get the idea. sauce complemented it well. for $19 this is a very hefty cut that is worth it. at full price I would def get a filet over this. also got a $5 caesar salad. no anchovies so it tasted more like a normal salad. crunchy and great size. didn’t blow me away though. the coquito I got was very good and sweet; not bad for $8. def gonna come back. we did try most of the happy hour specials and they were solid; rohit’s burger looked a lil sad but he swore it tasted good 👍

810

Jibraan, lily, manny, and luke went to DEE DEE : Country Style Thai

Sunset Valley, Texas

mannyMar 7

●6.1

really cool spot parking lot is really dark 😱 got the most popular dish. it was good but the whole dish was the same flavor. first bite was great but got bored midway

lukeFeb 20

●7.9

very solid green curry here at dee dee. a lil spicy but I was able to handle it with only a mild stummy ache the next day 😎 they have a semi-brick and mortar here. I wish the containers they gave were more conducive to eating curry but the price was very fair for the portions. very flavorful. vibe here is pretty incredible. feels very east austin and glad a spot like this is on the south side. def worth checking out just to hang. the coffee shop here looked cool as well.

500

luke, manny, and Han went to Bar Peached

Old West Austin, Austin

mannyMar 7

●8.6

steak frites is peak. definitely mentioned in discussion as a top contender

HanFeb 27

●5.0

The pork buns were delicious definitely the highlight of the meal. Unfortunately, the fried rice was a bit disappointing. The rice was too mushy, which made me think it may not have been day-old rice. It tasted more like freshly cooked or overcooked rice rather than properly dried overnight rice. The Korean chicken wings were flavorful but a little too saucy for my taste. That said, the portions were generous. I’d definitely order the pork buns again. I also regret not reserving the steaks in advance because I didn’t want to just order the same thing as everyone else, but that might have elevated the overall experience.

400