NEW From Austin: Happy Hour @ Lambert’s

Hi, I’m Michael. I go to school in Austin, Texas and I like to eat. I’m a friend of Michelle and Brian. The result? I’m going to start writing some things for the little dish that involve eating in Austin. It’s going to be great, I promise…

Lambert’s is a great restaurant in downtown Austin that refers to itself as “fancy barbecue.” It’s housed in a great looking, old two-story building that apparently dates back to 1873. The interior is cozy but modern, and manages to feel exactly how you would think an upscale barbecue joint should. (In other words, the hardwood to brick to leather ratios are on point.) The open kitchen is definitely a plus in my book.

The second floor is home to the main bar, which is just as charming as the main dining area downstairs. A small stage frequently hosts live music acts. There’s a great neon “LIQUOR” sign hanging over the staircase. I’d like to take it to hang in my apartment, but they’d probably notice. Most importantly, this bar is where my evening gorging took place. You see, from 5 to 7 PM, seven days a week, Lambert’s has happy hour. And during said happy hour, all of their (already reasonably priced) bar food is half-price and all drinks are 2 dollars off.

We started with some Roasted Green Chili Queso and a round of drinks. The queso was good, though I wish the green chiles would have been a bit more prevalent. I’m not sure what kind or combination of cheese they use, but it was a little mild/Velveeta-y for my tastes. However, my two dining companions had no complaints. The tortilla chips though, were awesome—fresh, perfectly crunchy, and not greasy at all.

I ordered the Wood Grilled Natural Cheese Burger. Brian (who had eaten their previous on a trip to Austin) raved about this burger, so I had high hopes. I was not disappointed. It’s a very straightforward burger, but executed extremely well. The beef is flavorful and was perfectly cooked; the dressings (mayo, mustard, lettuce, and red onion) provide a good counterbalance to the richness of the meet and cheese. The taste and aroma of the wood is definitely there. The bun is thick enough to last the entire meal without getting soggy, but so heavy that it gets in the way of the main burger goods. I could eat the mustard with a spoon all by itself. Really, it’s just an awesome cheeseburger. I want another one right now.

The herbed waffle fries that came with the cheese burger were also great. Crispy outside, fluffy inside, and tossed with a nice seasoning that coated all the fries pretty evenly. I dipped them in the mustard. And then dipped my finger in the mustard a few times, too. Seriously.

The Crispy Wild Boar Ribs with celery and daikon slaw were pretty spectacular, too. Each rib had a fairly small amount of the flavorful (but not gamey), lean boar meat. However the serving was large enough to be satisfying. They had a sweet and sour glaze with a great tang to it, and gave the ribs a bit of an asian inspiration to match the garnish of daikon slaw.

The third dish at the table was a Barbecue Plate with chicken, jicama slaw, and green chili grits. I didn’t taste the chicken, but it didn’t look like it was overcooked, which seems to be the problem with chicken at most barbecue places. I did, however, steal a bite of the sides. I love jicama and grits and green chili, so I naturally expected to like both of them. And I did…especially the grits. Even before you taste them them, there’s something kind of inherently fun about green-tinted grits.

To finish, we got an order of Bread Pudding for dessert that doesn’t appear to be on the websites menu. It came out steaming hot with a perfectly round scoop of in-house homemade ice cream on top. I only had a bite, but it was a great bite. The custard perfectly saturated the bread (not too mushy, not too dry) and there was plenty of spice from the cinnamon. The cold and creamy ice cream melting down into the pudding was…cold…and creamy…and melting down into the pudding. Real good. I wished I wasn’t so full and could have eaten more of it.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the Habanero BBQ sauce. I liked the heat, but it seemed like—both from flavor and color—they had tried to cut the spice with the sweetness of ketchup. I could be wrong about the source, but there was definitely a sweetness that I was not digging too much.

Overall, it was a great early dinner, especially for the price. If you’re ever in Austin looking to get some drinks and a great bite to eat, the Lambert’s bar should definitely be towards the top of your list. Get the burger. Eat the mustard. Booyah.

Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue
401 West 2nd Street | Austin, TX 78701
512.494.1500

Tags: austin, barbecue, barbecue sauce, boar, bread pudding, burger, burger roundup, green chili, jicama, liquid diet, liquor, mustard, queso, ribs