Panclog #10 – Kerbey Lane Cafe
Austin Brunch.
January 1, 2013 – 1:07 P.M.
Kerbey Lane Cafe is a well known breakfast staple in the great city of Austin. They have five locations within the city limits, but we reviewed the OG Kerbey Lane, just for you ‘cloggers! The original is located at 3704 on cozy Kerbey Lane. Their menu is available on their website. Additional info is available on Facebook and Twitter.
Location/Environment:
Service:
The service was laughable. She talked about how hard our requests were going to be for her.
Wait time for food: 28 minutes
Menu/Selection:
Kerbey Lane Cafe is open 24 hours. There full menu is always available. One unique characteristic of Kerbey Lane Cafe is their partnership with local bakery, The Cake Plate. The Cake Plate provides Kerbey Lane with all of its baked goods, such as the pumpkin bread which is morphed into french toast that is reviewed below.
Food:
Pumpkin Bread French Toast (Jared)
This name of this delicious meal should always be presented in Caps Lock. So it would be PUMPKIN BREAD FRENCH TOAST!!!! I threw in the exclamation marks to emphasize the tastiness of this dish.
Kerbey Lane Cafe on New Year’s Day is one of the busiest places in Austin. That may be a lie, but it sure seemed like it. This made our visit a little crowded. We continued on our journey to taste this neighborhood gem in Austin. The pancloggers were down in Austin, TX to celebrate another year of friendship. We had friends from Washington D.C. come down with us. S/O to Meg and Robb! We wanted to experience the heart of Austin and its culture. We found about KLC by using the trustworthy social media app, Foursquare.
Now let’s get down to business! These 6 amazing pieces of french toast were, you guessed it, amazing. I was incredibly pleased with my selection. The pumpkin bread has a beautifully dark savory flavor. But when you make this bread into french toast, you make something truly special. The strawberries are just the perfect palate refresher. Here is a fact: Powdered sugar congeals when touched with syrup. Yep.
At Eight dollars and ninety-five cents, at this price, BUY IT!
Java Mocha Pancakes (Stephen)
After weeks of french toast feasting, it’s time for me to hop on the pancake train. On this Panclog business trip of sorts, Kerbey Lane offered many varieties of hotcake (gingerbread, apple whole wheat and vegan to name a few). I decided to go with one of the daily specials, Java Mocha. I ordered a full stack of 3 pancakes. Upon arrival, the special seemed to be three chocolate pancakes drizzled with a mocha chocolate syrup. The cakes were rich and hearty, very cake-like. The flavor was instantly powerful, a sweet Texas kick to the face. The mixture of the chocolate syrup, maple syrup and actual cake was almost too much. The butter acts as a nice contrast in flavor. Brownie-esque in nature, this special would be more suitable as a half stack dessert. Although I couldn’t finish the stack due to richness and shear amount of food, the meal was very enjoyable. I left satisfied by the meal. At $5.95, the price is perfectly reasonable for the quality.
Chicken Verde Omelet $8.05
Pumpkin Pancakes (short stack) $4.85 (Emily)
My impression of Kerbey Lane Cafe was of a swarming, jam-packed, yet somehow homey little restaurant in the weird heart of Texas. I enjoyed the atmosphere with its delicate balance of hipster trendy and family friendly. I must mention however, dear Panclog readers, that my opinion was unfortunately colored by our over-an-hour wait time for our table. I suppose it didn’t help that I was a tad hungover and a tad chilly in our outdoor waiting spot. We all know, though, how waiting to eat can greatly affect a restaurant experience, whether it’s fair or not. Mama needs her breakfast, and she needs it now.
The menu was long, varied, and featured many unique breakfast options – I struggled to narrow it down and ended up ordering two things that struck my fancy. Originally I had hoped to get the Pumpkin Bread French Toast (I know, right??!?!); however, after hearing that my fellow Panclogger, Jared, planned to order it as well, I opted for the Chicken Verde Omelet and a short stack of Pumpkin Pancakes because I want our readers to get a taste of as much breakfast food as possible. Two reviews of the same meal on the same Panclog with THREE writers? I think not, Pancloggers.
The Chicken Verde Omelet did not end up being my cup of tea, although it sounded delicious on the menu. I didn’t know how I would like verde sauce on eggs, and now I do – not bad, but not great. Also, it didn’t help that it was served rather lukewarm. That being said, it was an interesting take on a traditional and wonderful breakfast food. I admired Kerbey Lane Cafe’s inventiveness.
The Pumpkin Pancakes (with traditional maple syrup on top) were a bigger hit with me. They featured a very nice level of pumpkin flavor – not too much and not too little. Although not terribly inventive, I think most will agree that you can’t go wrong with pumpkin-flavored anything when it’s done well. Kerbey Lane Cafe wins on this one.
It also must be mentioned that my opinion of this lovely restaurant was darkened a bit after witnessing our server’s treatment of our dear beloved Panclogger, Stephen. I’m pretty sure you learn in Serving 101 not to shame your customers for ordering something you don’t feel like preparing. You don’t have to like it, but you also don’t have to be a sassy ass hat about it either. You give my boy his chocolate coffee and you shut your trap, my friend.
Overall, I would definitely send anyone and everyone to go check out Kerbey Lane Cafe at its original Kerbey Lane location, provided you don’t mind the likely possibility of a long wait and a very full restaurant. I will cross my fingers for warmer weather and kinder wait staff for you, but I trust you will enjoy the delicious creations that await you.
Price:
Pricing was very standard. The only menu option that was a stretch of price was the Pumpkin Bread French Toast. I assume it was priced higher due to Kerbey Lane having to buy it from The Cake Plate.
This was normal pricing for an upscale breakfast spot.
Overall: Kerbey Lane Cafe is a local gem in Austin. I think if you are in Austin and hungry at an awkward eating time. This will ensure that the restaurant is not very busy. I believe that this will make the wait staff a little happier. You will be a fan of these breakfast items. I know we were.
Grade:
Jared: With Wait: C+
Without Wait: A+
Stephen: With Wait: B-
Without Wait: A
Emily: With Wait: B+
Without Wait:
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