Threadgill's: Long Time Austin Favorite, New Time Favorite for Me.

Being raised in Austin, I am all about landmarks around town. This being said, I realized I had never been to one of the famous hot spots in town, Threadgills. I thought “What a better time than now to give it a try!” On the drive there, my family and I went through downtown Austin, passing the ZACH Theater and the Long Center both of which sit on the edge of the skyline, creating a beautiful scene to be accompanied by. Upon our arrival, it had a very Austin vibe, proudly advertising their “Home Style Cooking” from the parking lot all the way to the door. After entering I smelt some wonderful food, saw friendly wait staff, and welcoming decorations. I began to glance about the menu, immediately noticing some of my personal favorites! Among some favorites were the fried pickles, so we decided to start off the experience with an order while we took our time taking everything else in. I began contemplating what to get; chicken fried steak, shrimp po’boy, or possibly the Ahi tuna spinach salad. The options were endless! Although it was just ‘home cooking”, Threadgills had a great spin on some of the classics. By taking the broccoli cheese casserole and adding water chestnuts, they created a dish that is completely different with an amazing texture and taste. While my family and I continued to decipher the menu, our waitress was spectacular. She was not overbearing, but made sure to keep our drinks refilled, one can never have too much sweet tea while enjoying some delicious fried pickles! She was also very helpful in my decision on what to get. Taking her suggestion, I finally decided to order the Ahi tuna spinach salad, which came out in a timely fashion with the tuna cooked to perfection and the presentation was fantastic as well. Now the important part! The actual food. I was slightly hesitant to order the salad, but decided I needed to be adventurous so I went through with my unusual decision. After it’s arrival, I was very excited to dig in and try a new culinary creation. In addition to the tuna and spinach, the salad had a pineapple pico, a scrumptious lime vinaigrette, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I had neglected to notice the part about pico on the menu, so when I was served my food, it was a bit of a surprise. I was very unsure about eating pineapple with my spinach but decided at this point, it was worth a try! Luckily, I absolutely loved it. The balance of the sweet pineapple and spicy jalapenos in the pico to the tangy lime vinaigrette was a lovely combination that even had me praising the cook. Who knew salad could be so tasty? To put it simply, I would definitely order this dish again. In fact, I’m figuring out how I could make it myself. I also tried the chicken fried steak and fried shrimp courtesy of my family. It was all equally delicious. Overall, my experience this to Austin landmark was one of the better restaurants I have been to in a while.  I could definitely see myself revisiting and trying more of their spectacular menu items.