Rabbitz moved downtown for the second half of our Austin visit and were delighted to find some really great restos, particularly in the Second Street warehouse district. We were lured into Starlite by their happy hour sign. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a couple of well-made cocktails.

The Dutchess was a mix of plum brandy, lychee and champagne (all of Rab’s favourite things), while Mr. Rab went with a Manhattan, also well executed. Post-holidays, Starlite was out of sync on their liquor order, so they were out of Mr’s choice bourbon, but the very user-friendly bar offered him a taste of another bourbon along with his Manhattan. We ordered the pork meatballs from their happy hour snack menu and these flavourful bites with just the right bit of cheese and a tangy red sauce were so good that we decided to stay for early dinner.

Because we weren’t over-hungry, we split an app, main and eventually a dessert. First, we opted for the quail with pork stew avec raisins and mushrooms. The quail seemed initially a little bland, but the pork stew revved everything right up making for a dish that was savory and really quite excellent. Because the kitchen was recovering from post-holiday confusion, the bread wasn’t quite ready when we first arrived, but before long our server brought us out some soft white rolls fresh from the oven.

Our main at Starlife was quite outstanding… a fat veal chop, tender and juicy, topped with arugula and plated with some great polenta. Polenta is often too bland, but these triangles were nicely toasted and had a satisfying texture - a very good side for this dish.

For dessert, we opted for a ginger cake with fresh whipped cream — dark, moist, flavourful and delicious.

This went down with a bottle of tempranillo from a very interesting and reasonably priced wine list. There were about eight choices of each of red/white by the glass and we also sampled a nice Barbera but decided to go with something jammier.

This place was an all around winner with just the right kind of ambience and friendly, very accommodating service. Starlife is the exact kind of relaxed, boite-y hideout that I love and had we more time in Austin, I would definitely have lobbied for a return visit.

www.starliteaustin.net

Posted on January 1st, 2008 by rabbit
Filed under: Texas, Restaurant Reviews