Reviews and Raves

From "The Onion" Volume 44, No.4

Attention businessman-types: Your mom doesn't work here. Fortunately, Apple Annie's serves up home cooking so lovingly prepared you might think she does, while its bright, airy dining room and covered patio provide welcome escape from nearby office buildings.

With daily breakfast and lunch specials, the cafe offers traditional meals made with trendy ingredients, from soups and salads to the popular meatloaf special. Soups are made from scratch daily, and the rich and tangy vegetarian tomato brie is available every day.

Its casual and cozy atmosphere makes it a comfortable spot to lunch with coworkers while reliving those glorious days of childhood, before you sold your soul to the company store.

Great for: Mama's Boys. [CW]

It’s OK to Take This Lunch Spot for GrantedReview by Dale Rice, Austin American Statesman

Ok, I’ll admit it.  Sometimes I’m in a rut.

But I’m not the only one who finds something he likes at a restaurant and then sticks to it time and again.  There are many people I know who do the same thing.  Over the years, one of my biggest ruts has been lunch at Apple Annies, the downtown deli in the basement of the high-rise on Sixth Street between Colorado and Lavaca.

I love the salad sampler, and I’ve had it at least a couple of dozen times-always choosing the same four items: the Caesar, pesto pasta, bowtie pasta and fresh fruit (with raspberry poppy seed dressing if I’m feeling decadent).

It more than satisfies and pleases me.

But then a reader called and chastised me for ignoring a place she felt was one of the best for lunch in Austin.  And she was right.  I had overlooked it, not because it wasn’t good, but because it was and I had come to take it for granted.

So I stepped out of the rut and found: A delightful apple-cinnamon muffin that was double the size of those served in many bakeries. A wonderful pull-apart cinnamon roll packed with cinnamon and topped with icing.

A smoked turkey breast sandwich that was thick with meat on the wheat bread with lettuce. A tasty cup of creamy tomato-brie soup A moist, tender chicken breast covered with a mild mustard sauce that was another of the specials. And the delicious eggplant rotini a thin slice of eggplant rolled crepe-style around a filling of cheese, spinach and mushrooms.

Each of the specials was served with a choice of sides.  Mine included cold ratatouille salad, roasted vegetables and broiled tomato.

I enjoyed every item.

Now will I eat something different at Apple Annies?  Maybe half of the time.  I have a felling I’ll still keep one foot in the rut.