Whiskey Ridge in Driftwood, TX, offers "upscale casual" dining in a western contemporary enviroment. Make reservations, especiallly on the weekend.

Whiskey Ridge is a contemporary Western restaurant located in the quickly developing Hays county area off a two lane road between Kyle and Wimberley. My date and I were in the area visiting family and decided to go there for dinner on a Saturday night evening.

The restaurant is fairly new and extremely popular. Upon arrival we quickly figured out that we should have made a reservation. By 5pm, the place was already packed. There were several large groups seated (this was between Christmas and New Year's Day) both inside and outside. We decided to put our name on the list since it would take us a while to get back into town to find another place to eat. After that we headed out to the patio bar area but after not seeing a server, we decided to go around the front of the restuarnt where there were a couple of fire pits, a porch swing, and two patio chairs. We watched the sun set as we waited about a little over an hour for our table.   

Once seated on the outside patio, the server arrived quickly to welcom us and give us our menus. The menu was not huge but there were several intriguing options. Steak, of course, some interesting appetizers, upscale sandwiches, salads, and items such as a chicken fried ribeye or a Wagyu burger.

We ordered our drinks but did not get an appetizer, even though some of them were very tempting. I decided to go with the fried jumbo gulf coast shrimp ($23) for dinner. It came with cole slaw and a blackberry horseradish dipping sauce. My date ordered the center-cut filet ($65), cooked medium rare (sides were extra), and we shared an order of fries ($7).  

The food took about 30 mintues to arrive. This was not terribly surprising since the place was extremely busy. The server did check on us and kept our water filled. Fortunately, we were not in a hurry but by the time the food arrived we were quite hungry. It was getting close to 7pm and we had been at the restaurant since about 5pm. 

My shrimp were good-sized but had cooled off a bit by the time they got to the table. Perhaps waiting for my companions steak to be done? Not sure. They were tasty and not overcooked but the breading could have been a bit lighter. I did not care for the sauce that came with the dish, so I asked for tarter sauce and cocktail sauces. They did not have any tarter sauce so they brought me some hot sauce and cocktail sauce. 

The steak was cooked perfectly to order and served with a dollop of garlic butter with parsley on top. However, the server did not wait and have him cut into it to be sure it was how he wanted it. 

It was a very good steak but perhaps could have done with a little less "dressing" up so that the flavor of the meat would shine through. 

The fries were the closest thing to a McDonald's french fry that I have ever tasted outside of Mickey D's. Whiskey Ridge must have figured out the secret recipe! They came out hot and crispy with a side of ketchup.

The service was attentive and considerate, if a bit slow. The restaurant's ambiance is certainly a draw, particulary if you would like to sit on the patio when the weather is pretty. The view from the patio was of a pasture. 

The adult beverage menu was extensive. I can certainly understand why it is popular, even if there were more restuarant options within 5 miles of  the immediate area, which there are not, except for the Hays City Store & Icehouse across the road.

I would go back when I am in the area but next time I will make a reservation and/or avoid going on a weekend.

Whiskey Ridge

Sunday - Wednesday - 3 PM to 10 PM

Thursday - 3 PM to 11 PM

Friday - 11 AM to 11 PM

Saturday - 3 PM to 11 PM

https://www.whiskeyridgetx.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076531110232

https://www.instagram.com/whiskeyridge.tx/#

8750 W RR 150, Bldg 300, Driftwood, Texas 78619

CLOSED Biscuit Bar--Go for breakfast or brunch when the biscuits are fresh

The Biscuit Bar is a theme restaurant  that opened in Abilene last fall. The food is served on a biscuit. Not just breakfast items but all sorts of sandwiches. It is located in the new entertainment area on N. Judge Ely Blvd. close to Abilene Christian University. The other restaurants that are already there are Fuzzy's Tacos (Abilene's second location) and a Vietnamese place. 

The area has lots of outdoor seating, a playground and is situated around a pond with a walking track around it. In this pandemic world, the outdoor seating has lots of appeal. Even more so than it normally would with the generally agreeable weather in this area. There is room for more establishments to come in to the space. 

For a girls night in mid-December, myself and three friends went to have dinner at The Biscuit Bar as none of us had been there yet. Yes, they do have an actual bar and serve alcoholic beverages in addition to their menu of biscuit sandwiches and tater tots with a variety of topping options. It is a small chain with a few other locations around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

We arrived on a Friday evening around 6:30pm, early yes but with most new places in Abilene we anticipated that there would be a line even though they had been open for about 3 months. Lo and behold, no line and only about three diners inside. This set off a bit of warning bell in my mind that it was so sparse but I put it down to the end of the semester and the mass exodus of college students for Christmas break. There was a large party seated outside along with a couple or two. 

The service set up is to go through the line and place your order and it will be brought out to you. We all placed our orders and went to find a seat inside which as I stated wasn't a problem, except that we had to clean it off ourselves. I ordered the Fancy Chicken ($6.60) with a side order of plain tater tots with ranch ($3.80) and a drink. The sandwich was a fried chicken breast, dill pickles and house-made "fancy" sauce, which tasted like ranch to me. I found the biscuit to be tough and not warm enough, very disappointing since the entire restaurant concept was based on their biscuits. The breading on the chicken was tasty but the entire sandwich was quite small for the price. I do realize that prices have gone up everywhere but almost $4 for an order of plain tater tots no bigger than a large order of tots from Sonic was to be blunt, dissatisfying. To get toppings on them would have added another $2.50 to the cost. I think the toppings are meant to make them an entrée so the price follows. They are just not good enough or plentiful enough to cost that much, sorry.

My friends ordered the grilled chicken biscuit ($6.90), the grilled chicken biscuit with no biscuit--as there were no gluten free options in regard to the bread and salad would have cost $2 more--and the biscuit French toast ($5.80). Out of all of us the French toast biscuit was the best option. Perhaps going there and sticking to breakfast style features is a safer bet. Safer still would be to go early in the day when the biscuits are fresh. All day you have the option to get a sausage biscuit or a biscuit with sausage gravy for less than $5 or a bacon, egg and cheese for less than $6. Kid's meals are about $5 and there are salads but they start at $8.50. There are sweet potato tots for those that like them.

All in all, I may go back for brunch sometime and enjoy sitting outside if the weather is nice but it is not going to make my regular rotation. 

https://thebiscuit.bar/

2447 N. Judge Ely Blvd

Abilene, TX 79601

Sun – Thurs: 8am – 9pm

Fri & Sat: 8am – 10pm

abilene@thebiscuit.bar

325-267-6538

CLOSED Cajun/Creole Cuisine in Lampasas, TX at Toupsie's

Toupsie's is a restaurant, bar and live music venue located on the north side of Lampasas, Texas. On a trip returning to Abilene from a meeting in Austin, myself and a friend decided to stop for lunch there. I heard that it was a pretty good spot to get some Cajun food. Granted one would not normally think of Lampasas as a place that would have a restaurant that specialized in cuisine from Louisiana but why not give it a try since we were passing through and hungry! Also, I read that one of the owners grew up in Thibodaux, Lousiana.

Fried shrimp and crawfish basket with fries and red beans/rice

Shrimp salad

We hit Lampasas on a Tuesday around 1:45pm. It was their first Tuesday to be open and it was also pouring rain outside so the place did not have many customers. They had a decent-sized selection of items on the menu. My choice was the combo basket of fried shrimp and fried crawdads ($14.99). Sides were battered fries and red beans and rice (a must-have at any Cajun/Creole restaurant).  My friend got a shrimp remoulade salad and a cup of seafood gumbo...much healthier choices than mine. I asked if they also had etouffee and the answer was in the affirmative though I didn't spot it on the menu. For dessert we split a piece of French silk pie.

Menu--front

Service was friendly and fairly quick. Since there were only two other customers the attentiveness is to be expected. The food came out fast as well. I was quite pleased with my fried entree. The breading on the seafood was crispy and well-spiced. The shrimp were a nice size and the crawfish were small but I take that as a sign that they were not imported. The fries were not quite warm enough, probably sat out too long. Ask to have them cooked fresh. At first, I thought the meal seemed small for the price but it was plenty of food, too much for me to finish. The beans were very tasty. My friend really enjoyed the gumbo. I'm not a fan of stewed okra in any form. Her salad was just fine and had plenty of remoulade sauce on the side. The shrimp were dusted with spices. Our dessert pie from a local bakery was scrumptious! We dug in before thinking of taking a picture.

Menu--back

There are daily specials and other items on the menu such as burgers and a steak night on Saturday. I have a feeling the place is hopping on weekend nights with live music and adult beverages. Toupsie's is worth the stop if you find yourself in and around Lampasas.

Toupsie's 

904 N Key Ave

Lampasas, Texas

(512) 556-5862
Closed Sunday night and Monday

Fuzzy's Taco Shop--Abilene location

For New Year's Eve my husband and I went to a movie at the local mall and then decided to eat at Fuzzy's Taco Shop when we got out of the theater at 8:30pm. Fuzzy's is located adjacent to the mall in small shopping center (used to be a pool hall/bar called Rack Daddy's). As with any new restaurant chain in Abilene it took a while for the crowds to thin out but even so after 3 months of being in business it was surprisingly deserted for a place with a full bar and relatively inexpensive food on NYE.

Fuzzy's is not a sit down and order restaurant. You go through the line and order your food, they give you a number and you pick it up. What differentiates them from fast food is the full bar and the slightly higher prices. This type of establishment should be pretty popular in Abilene with a large Air Force base and lots of college students, especially since they don't close their doors until late (M-F until midnight, 1am on Saturday and 11pm on Sunday) and open at 7am. Plus, they are in a heavy traffic area. The crowd that was in there on New Year's was decided older. Kind of unexpected. There were a few 20somethings and two large groups of 60-70somethings. We were the only people that were in the middle age bracket.


Fuzzy's advertises Baja style Mexican food. The main difference is the addition of cilantro, feta cheese and a garlic sauce on their tacos along with the usual iceberg lettuce, tomato and cheddar topping.  All nice additions to most taco flavors. I ordered a plate so I had my choice of many different meats and three types of tortillas; crispy, corn or flour.  I went with a shrimp tempura (not really tempura batter but fried shrimp) and a spicy shredded pork, both flour. One of them was missing the feta. The plate came with two sides, also of my choice...refried beans and cilantro lime rice. My companion got three tacos; chorizo, egg, and cheese, ground beef and  I believe the third was shredded beef. We also got seasoned chips and salsa as an appetizer. I am not a wimp when it comes to spice/heat in my food but be warned, the salsa has a real kick and lots of flavor. So much so that after eating it, my taste buds were dulled when I ate my tacos. Of all the tacos, we agreed that the shredded pork and the breakfast taco were the best.  Breakfast tacos are served all the time. Salsa and pickled jalapenos are not free, no salsa bar. Skip the side dishes, not impressive and boost the cost more than they should. They do have other items such as burritos, fajitas, tamales, nachos, and some grilled sandwiches.

Taco plate with cilantro lime rice and refried beans

Service was indifferent. Didn't see a manager around. They could use some more people to bus tables and wash dishes. Quite a bit of seating but not a lot a parking. On the positive side the outdoor enclosed patio would be inviting on a less chilly night. Televisions tuned to sports were scattered around but not turned up too loud.

All in all it was an okay experience but not a place I'll regularly visit unless I happen to be by the mall or have friends who want to go. Next time I will try the chips and white queso and/or guacamole.  As far as chains like this, I like Yucatan Taco Stand. The food quality is better.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop
3351 Turner Plaza Drive, Suite 100
Abilene, TX 79606
Ph: 325-701-9521
Facebook