Well Fed On the Town

Almost any restaurant can earn my immediate respect simply by having an excellent selection of Single Malts. Truluck’s would have my respect for this reason, if for none other. With well over twenty Single Malts available, diner’s can enjoy things like Highland Park 12 year, Talisker 10 year, Dalmore Cigar Malt 12 year and more.

However, before I stray too far afield on the subject of Single Malts (one of my favorite subjects), I should likely point out that Truluck’s offers up fine seafood, primarily featuring their Fresh Florida Stone Crab.

The setting at Truluck’s is fine indeed. Dimly lit for privacy, with dark wood tones and white linens, the decor is opulent beyond what one would expect of even a small, select chain of restaurants. However, this particular location being in Austin, TX, you can also enjoy dining in the Austin variant of business casual, that is … pretty much anything goes, t-shirt and shorts are fine.

Along with single malts, of course we had an excellent meal. I was dining with two old friends and really it was more about the conversation and camaraderie, but that didn’t stop the food from being excellent. We started our meal with appetizers of the Deep Fried Rhode Island Calamari and Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese Cake. The Calamari was very crispy and seemed almost to melt on your tongue, it was easily among the most tender Calamari I had ever had and went perfectly with the remoulade style sauce served with it. Just as nice though was the Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese Cake, served warm on a bed of baby greens with two toasts baguettes, it was soft, aromatic and very flavorful. It sounded wonderful to begin with, but actually proved to be even better still than we had imagined.

For an entree, I enjoyed the Pan Seared Gulf Red Snapper. It was served topped with Blue Crab and mushrooms, accompanied by a Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce and Truluck’s Rice. The fish was perfectly seasoned and prepared, succulent, moist and savory. The slight heat of the roasted red pepper cream sauce was tempered by the tomatoes to keep it from overwhelming the delicate snapper. Meanwhile, the rice was on hand to absorb the extra cream sauce. And while I try not to play with my food, I couldn’t help but assemble bites of Blue Crab, Snapper, Mushroom, Rice and Tomato, just for the contrast of textures and flavors.

I wish I could say we saved room for dessert, but no such luck. However, it was a great meal, with great friends in a wonderful setting. The menu at Austin’s Arboretum location is fairly simple, and on Monday night’s features all you can eat Fresh Florida Stone Crab Claws. I can’t vouch personally for everything on the menu, but can say that I’ve never had a meal at Truluck’s that I didn’t enjoy completely.

Photos from Truluck’s website.

Truluck’s - Arboretum
10225 Research Blvd, Suite 4000
Austin , TX 78759
Phone: 512.794.8300
Fax: 512.794.1993

Truluck’s - Downtown Austin
400 Colorado
Austin, TX 78701
Phone: 512.482.9000
Fax: 512.482.0202