The place pretty much blended in with the rest of the cottage homes along the street. There wasn't really any assigned parking, so you'll have to park along the street and pretty much compete with the rest of the block for parking. I got lucky. Somebody just pulled out just as i rode in and i snagged myself a spot right on their front step, right next to the little pathway that lead up to their main entryway.
Once inside, I was warmly greeted and ushered to my window seat. The decor was pleasant, purplish red walls with lots of wood paneling gave it a nice homely feel. The one thing that felt somewhat out of place were the round psychedelic discs that adorn almost every wall. I later found out that they were 3D paintings which, if you stared at them through 3D glasses (graciously provided at the bar), made it seem as if you were on a crazy acid trip.
After recovering from the trip, i finally had a chance to look at the menu. Most of the foods were your typical American breakfast foods, eggs, bacon, ham etc. A good part of the menu was dedicated to tex-mex (which i love). But today i decided to take my waiter's advice and go with their signature pancakes served with 2 eggs over easy and a slice of ham. I picked 2 pancakes... Blueberry and Apple Whole Wheat.
Defecting from my standard black coffee in the morning, I go with something on the menu which really caught my eye called "Hibiscus Phizz". It actually turned out to be pretty good. In keeping with the whole "low sugar" lifestyle that is so overtaking Austin, what is listed as "Sprite" on the menu, turns out to be of course..."Sprite Zero". But regardless, the fizzy red concoction was quite refreshing, throughly hydrating me for my long day ahead.
Next the food arrives... HOLY COW!! The pancakes are huge-mongus!! Here's a shot of the platter (iPhone 4 included for a sense of scale).
The eggs were... eh..eggs... you can't really mess up eggs over an easy. The Ham?... Terrible.... Obviously grilled in some way, all the nice juice probably fell into the fire and were instantly obliterated, leaving what I can only describe as "Ham Jerky". Left that one aside for the ham fairy...
Now on to the pancakes. I slice into one and holy holy holy cow... look how thick it is.
Now i had wished i had left the protein alone and just worked on this beast. The pancakes did not disappoint and more than made up for the ham jerky. Nice and fluffy. Even the Apple Whole Wheat actually tasted nice and fluffy and not papery like some of the wheat pancakes that i have had the ill privilege to have made acquaintance with. Both pancakes had a very mild flavor but had bits of fruit (blueberry & apple) cooked into it that gave that burst of flavor every once in a while. They brought out a little bottle of warm maple syrup, but my take is to ditch the maple syrup as it totally overpowers the mild flavors of the pancakes. The whipped butter was a good pairing, providing some moistness to the cake. Not too much though... otherwise once again the delicate pancake gets smothered to death.
I liked,
- The quaint surroundings and nice ambiance.
- Friendly staff
- Interesting original menu items.
- Huge pancakes which didn't have overpowering flavors.
I Didn't Quite Like,
- Hard to find parking sometimes.
- The grilled ham.
- The grilled ham.
Kerbey Lane Cafe
Address: (Original Location) 3704 Kerbey Lane, Austin Tx 78731 (Info on other locations on website).
Phone: (512) 451 - 1436
Hours: 24 hours!!! (Perfect for the late night munchies).
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