After starting a one hour fix-it project that is now turning into a full weekend project (more on the project later) we decided that a dinner out was in order. We’d heard good things about a local restaurant, It’s Italian, and it was a nice night so we decided to walk. We cut through the park along the trail and then a few more streets. We figured 15 minutes, tops. With Wesley doing his own walking though, it took a little longer. Almost an hour actually. At one point a man across the street was walking down the sidewalk in a manner that could only generously be called a mosey. Maybe he was ambling. I’m just not up on my Texas walks so I can’t say exactly which of the two he was doing. But there was no doubt he was walking really slowly. He quickly caught up to us, passed by us and then got several blocks ahead of us. The point is that we were going slowly. The way home wasn’t any faster.
When we got there the restaurant was a little under staffed and everyone seemed to be surprised that they were so busy so early. We greeted by the co-owner just as described in this Austin360 article. She was exceedingly friendly and talked a lot to everybody. She greeted at least 4 groups of people by name. Despite a ton of positive reviews like this one our food wasn’t that great. First my cola had a hair and then a shard of glass in it. They replaced it with much apologies. Next the bread was warm, but not exactly great. The fried raviolis were pretty good, but I wouldn’t say spectacular. The pizza margarita was tasty but so salty I couldn’t eat more than a couple of small slices. We actually went there because of the pizza. Not because it was supposed to be great, but because we had a free coupon. It was good, the ingredients were fresh and it was well prepared, it was just way, way, way too salty.
Jillian was the hit of the restaurant. She had three kids aged 3-4 come visit her at the table. She stayed in a good mood the whole time which was nice. Wesley did a pretty good job too, but didn’t eat very much. He did have a good time using the pepper mill that was on the table. It took him longer than you’d think to learn that pepper is hot when you put enough on bread that it appears gray. He sucked his milk dry and then begged for a few sips of cola which he got.
I’m guessing we’ll go back. It has so many positive reviews that it is probably worth a second try. And while the other three restaurants in the same strip mall have lots of empty tables it is always full. Plus it is really, really close to home. Maybe we’ll visit again when it warms up a little and the patio seating is open.
Tags: Austin, It's Italian, italian, Restaurant, Wells Branch