Apparently I'm Too Old

You know how the saying goes, "if it's too loud..." Apparently it's time to trade in my bicycle for a walker and stock up on Depends and viagra. We went to try out the Meat Market's bigger sister last night. I think, on the face of things, we'll be sticking to the younger, friendlier restaurant. Insert awkward comparison between Meat Market/Meat Liquor and Bianca/Kate from The Taming of the Shrew.

For starters, the line at 6:45 PM was halfway down the street. It moved pretty quickly, but apparently they've had enough trouble with queue-jumpers that they felt the need to implement Measures. As these things go, their fix is rather clever and fun. You get a food stamp on your wrist when you show up and get in queue. No, really.. it's a stamp that says "FOOD." If you don't have the stamp by the time you reach the front door, you go to the back of the line and have to wait again.

Once you make it to the door, you can head to the bar to order a drink while you wait for your table. I recommend the House Grog. The place isn't particularly well laid out. There's almost no room near the bar to stand, and runners and bussers are constantly having to push through the crowd. For seating, there are a couple open areas where you can take in the view of the place, but more than likely you're going to get stuck off in an inconvenient alcove with sticky floors and not-so-great wait staff. Also, the noise. I realize it's a borderline nightspot, and their selection of rock tunes is good, but the volume is way too loud. Plus, the decor firmly answer "We are!" to the question "What's black and white and red all over?" It's a bizzarro mirror of Casino El Camino back in Austin, with only about half as much charm.

The food here is good. We had the phili-cheese fries, and thought they were fantastic. Becca ordered the Dead Hippie burger (a staple of ours over at Meat Market), and I had the mushroom-swiss. The burgers were obviously rushed -- a little too pink on the inside, almost well-done on the outside, but they were plenty juicy and the flavor made up for it.

Will we be back? Probably not, but that's mainly because we have a better alternative, and it's only a 15-minute walk away.