Vince Young Steakhouse November 9, 2010
301 San Jacinto Blvd.
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 457-8325
www.vinceyoungsteakhouse.com
The Vince Young Steakhouse just barely opened on November 6, 2010. Alan is a super giant big fan of Vince Young and will tell you repeatedly he was at the famous Rose Bowl game where Vince won our Alma Mater a national championship. So it was definitely Alan’s idea to have our date night last night at Vince Young Steakhouse. The Tennessee Titans had a bye week this week so Alan was on the look out for Vince perchance he came back to Austin to eat at his own restaurant. Yes, I know. My boyfriend is adorable.
Alan was spouting fun factoids about the steakhouse as we drove to it. Fun Factoid #1 is that the location of the restaurant is the same as Real World Austin’s housing.
Real World Austin
Image by Larry D. Moore, used under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License
Fun Factoid #2, if you want to drop a few hundred, you can buy a bottle of wine signed by Vince Young.
The interior design kind of reminded me of Joe DiMaggio’s. Classic, sporty, dark, clean, and very masculine. My photos follow. Apologies for the dim quality. My point and click struggles with dim lighting.
The food was solid. I’d give the food a B+ or A-. We started off by sharing a crab cake. Fresh, chunky, big flakes. I loved that it wasn’t so processed. I totally forgot to snap a before photo.
For our steaks, I ordered the 8 oz Filet Mignon cooked medium and Alan ordered the 16 oz Rib Eye cooked medium. The steaks were succulent with good flavor. Alan who is more of a steak aficionado than me thought Ruth’s Chris’s was a tad bit better quality. I was very satisfied with my Filet Mignon.
My baby 8 oz Filet Mignon. I actually didn’t even finish this. 4 oz would be optimal for me.
Alan’s 16 oz Rib Eye
The sides were all southern comfort foods. Mashed potatoes, Bacon Mac & Cheese, and Sauteed Green Beans. All done just right.
Green Beans and Bacon Mac & Cheese
Comforting Mashed Potatoes
And finally, our dessert was a nice sweet note to end on. The cranberries’ and orange syrup’s tartness were nicely balanced with the creamy cheesecake. I liked.
Cheesecake with Cranberries and Orange Syrup
Overall, it was a pleasant experience despite the lack of a Vince Young sighting (poor Alan!). I will tentatively note that though the service was super friendly, for an establishment that strives to be classified as fine dining, the staff seemed a bit inexperienced with a handful of nervous fumbles and misses. Maybe wait a few months for them to fine-tune if you are looking for the complete “fine dining” experience. In the meantime, I don’t think I would initiate any group outings here when taking into account Austin’s competition.
However, I wouldn’t mind coming back since the novelty is fun. I am pulling for this restaurant. So, in closing, I raise my glass to Vince Young Steakhouse’s effort and growth potential. Cheers!