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Sun Newspapers
November 17, 2005
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Cleveland Scene
August 28, 2002
The Smokin' Steak House is the East Side place for south-of-the-border eats.
By Elaine T. Cicora
I admit I wasn’t expecting much from Austin’s Smokin’ Steak House, and East Side restaurant that a colleague has been urging me to try for the past several years. Crouched among dry cleaners, banks, and a Holiday Inn Express, the modes little building – home to a series of forgettable restaurants in the early 1190s – is well-kept and tidy, but lacks much in the way of sex appeal. And frankly, the notion of finding good Texas BBQ in Mayfield Village seemed like a long shot. Still, curiosity and the potential thrill of discovery eventually overcame my misgivings, and me ‘n’ my pardners finally saddled up for a trail ride. Turns out, we done good: The food at this unpretentious little spot is generally well conceived, well executed, and priced for value.
Owner, executive chef, and hospitality industry veteran Dan Campbell isn’t a native Texan, although his mother’s family does trace its roots to the Lone Star State. But his Cleveland origins seem irrelevant as soon as guests pull into the parking lot, get their first whiff of hickory smoke, and spy the sacks of mesquite logs stacked up on the blacktop like sandbags. The hickory is used for smoking such items as ribs, chicken, pulled pork, and brisket. Then, after as many as 13 hours of slow cooking, the meats are finished on mesquite-fired grills. The final step in the labor-intensive process is swabbing the meats with one of the housemade barbecue sauces (either a darkly intense, sweet-and peppery Texas-style sauce or a thinner, mustard-and-vinegar-based Southeastern-style sauce), for dishes that resound with both primal aromas and complex flavor notes.
The Steak house’s all-day menu is a big’un, reaching far beyond barbecue. While the succulent hickory-roasted chicken, superlative ribs, steaks, and even the astonishing smoked prime rib, redolent of campfires and desert blossoms, are more or less de rigueur, there are also two or three pasta dishes, a garden’s worth of entrée-sized salads, and more than a dozen different sandwiches. In the shadow of big employers like Progressive and Phillips, the restaurant rightly provides speedy lunch service for the hordes of nearby cubicle dwellers. Come Friday night, however, the place fills up with young couples, families, and senior citizens, interspersed with a few weary white-collar types, who apparently forgot their way back to the office.
We can’t blame those slackers for lingering, though. Don e up in shades of green and maroon, accented with shiny oak and brass, the interior is friendly, snug and comfortably frayed around the edges. A small but well-stocked bar takes up about a quarter of the room. In the remainder, tables and booths – either topped with green oilcloths or finished in faux-granite Formica – are closely spaced, and the place can get too noisy for intimate conversation (a comfort, most likely, to those who come here toting a fretful toddler or two). An eccentric assemblage of old-timely collectables – everything from an impressive Lucky Strike clock and a Mail Pouch thermometer to barn lanterns, beer signs, and a pair of ragged leather ice skates – covers the walls and window ledges, prompting a companion to deadpan, “It’s like an Applebee’s that got shrunk in the wash.” However, sturdy white cloth napkins, as well as the steaming washcloths that appear at the end of rib dinners, provide a counterbalancing touch of class.
For one weekday’s lunch, we passed up temptations like Thai Chicken Salad, Smoked Salmon Salad, and the Laredo Salad, with beans, black olives, and cheese, and instead rounded up a few sandwiches. Pulled prok, a perennial favorite, piled high on a Kaiser roll, was tender and toothsome, although it could have used a more generous dousing with the Southeastern barbecue sauce. But a two-fisted hamburger, topped with cheddar, hickory-smoked bacon, and Texas-style barbecue sauce, made a flavor statement as big as the Western sky. Efficient servers saw to it that we got in and out in plenty of time to stay off the boss’s black list, and the reasonable prices left our wallets happy, too.
However, it was during alter dinner visit when we finally took time to explore the appetizers, that he kitchen really showed its stuff. For instance, a starter of blackened sea scallops, dusted with Cajun spices and pan-seared, was as perfectly prepared and delicious as an we’ve had in downtown seafood palaces, and the accompaniments (dollops of sweet-but-not-sugary mango chutney and a dab of zesty, roasted red-pepper salsa fresca) were bright tongue-tinglers that rustled up cheers around the table. Just as good was the Carolina Crab Cake: a thin, crisp-crusted little beauty that exploded with the fresh, round flavors of crab, corn, and bits of roasted red and green pepper; here, chile-powder-spiked mayo, along with that fresh salsa, helped make the sparks fly.
Among the main courses, our posse couldn’t stop raving about the baby-back ribs, all moist and tender beneath a thick coat of char; and the succulent marinated-and-grilled chicken, so fragile that it nearly melted on the tongue. Slices of slow-roasted beef brisket, slathered in that dark, tangy barbecue sauce, were impressively tender and savory, too. And if a Friday- and Saturday-night special of smoked prime rib wasn’t the most ender we’ve ever eaten, its woodsy aroma and rich flavor were sheer delights. Entrée prices (ranging from a modest $9.99 for the brisket to $24.99 for a bone-in rib-eye steak) typically include a mixed-green salad with grape tomatoes, red onion rings, and croutons, and a choice of mainly homemade dressings. Among them our favorite was the house dressing: garlic-lime with a sprinkling of blue cheese, with lots of pep and vigor; our other choice, the creamy blue-cheese dressing, had a wholesome dairy flavor, but not much zip. At dinner, salads are accompanied by a loaf of warm, yeasty Orlando bread; at lunch, a slice of dense homemade carrot bread is settled on the rim of each plate of greens.
Part of the pleasure of eating at Austin’s is choosing sides – those tasty tidbits that accompany most sandwiches and entrees, that is. Sure, you could go for the average coleslaw or the flabby macaroni and cheese. But gourmet-minded cowpokes know to choose the mahogany-colored smokin’ beans, spiked with ground beef, bacon, and more than a dozen other spics and seasonings; or the sweet-tart cinnamon apples, a cut or two above average and with addictive potential. Sides of potatoes also come with some dishes: Here, if possible, avoid the ho-hum frozen French fries and rustle yourself up one of the kitchen’s light, fluffy baked potatoes, fresh out of the oven and wrapped in a fine, crisp skin. (That is, unless you can somehow convince the kitchen to smother the fries in a heap o’ smokin’ beans: Now that would be a real two-step for the taste buds!)
The final stop for the Austin’s chuck wagon is dessert: a small selection of homemade goodies, ranging from bread pudding to pecan pie, sized for sharing. A massive wedge of Key like pie was cool and citrusy, with a thick custard filling and crisp graham cracker crust. And strawberry shortcake – a towering edifice erected from whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, berries and their juices, and homemade biscuits almost as light and sweet as meringue – would be the pride of any camp cook in the country.
So, listen up, buckaroos. The next stagecoach for Austin’s leaves at noon: If you ain’t under it, then you’d better be on it.
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The Plain Dealer - Friday Section
May 25, 1995
Smoky Ribs, Fries Offer Break in Nutrition Rules
By Wilma Salisbury Plain Dealer Reporter
Austin's Smokin' Steak House in Mayfield makes it fun to break the prevailing rules about good nutrition. The restaurant's "healthy fries" are served with bacon, melted cheddar cheese and a humorous disclaimer: "These are good for mental health only." Even without the bacon and cheese, the shoestring potatoes are so fresh, delicious and non-greasy that a large platter disappears as fast as a bowl of forbidden favorite chips.
But the fries-for-mental-health are only an accompaniment to the main theme: Texas barbecue, smoked baby back ribs, charbroiled steaks and big burgers. The slightly sweet aromas of smoldering mesquite and hickory permeate the parking lot and whet the appetite for the flavor of red meat, smoked or charbroiled to perfection.
The house filet, 8 ounces of prime tenderloin cooked medium rare as ordered, is priced at $16.95. The most expensive item on the menu, the steak is so tender and flavorful that it's worth every penny.
Texas barbecue is not the traditional grilled meat of the Midwest but rather beef brisket slowly smoked over hickory chips, then sliced and served with the house barbecue sauce. Catsup-based and seasoned with plenty of garlic, the tangy red sauce also complements grilled boneless chicken breast accompanied with two house specialties: "filthy dirty rice" and "smokin' beans." The browned rice gets its specks of "dirt" from black beans, celery, red pepper and Cajun seasonings. The baked beans, cooked in the hickory smoker and served in a cup, bear a family resemblance to the ubiquitous barbecue sauce.
Marinated and smoked pork tenderloin is chewier and fatter than beef brisket. Texas-sized portions of beef or pork come with the habit-forming fries and crunchy homemade cole slaw.
Although chef Phil Skoczen recommends everything on the menu, he takes extra pride in the restaurant's smoked baby back ribs. Unfortunately, the meat was cooked dry on one occasion, and the "soon-to-be-famous ribs" seem unlikely to walk away with any cook-off prizes.
To try all the smoked specialties in one gluttonous sitting, order Austin's combo: a generous sampling of ribs, beef brisket and pork tenderloin with all the trimmings for $13.95.
Alternative side dishes that stand up to the hearty flavor of the smoked and chargrilled meats are buttery Lyonnaise potatoes, lightly grilled onions and honey-flavored corn bread made in an iron skillet. A crisp green salad is tossed with a choice of brightly seasoned homemade dressings. The short wine list features several full-bodied selections, such as Guenoc zinfandel, chosen to complement the robust entrees.
Although an appetizer is not necessary to make the meal complete, jalapeno poppers fire up the palate for the meaty flavors to come. Stuffed with cheddar cheese, lightly breaded and deep-fried, the hot jalapenos are served with mild red pepper salsa.
Sharp cheddar cheese fattens up a rich soup made with bacon and potatoes and served in a mug. Tiny ground beef meatballs give a Texas accent to the restaurant's version of Italian wedding soup. Juicy shrimp cakes, pan-smoked to taste almost like bacon, are served with spicy roasted red pepper sauce.
The restaurant's theme of big flavors and Texas-sized portions continues through dessert. The choices are luscious pecan pie with fresh whipped cream or pudding-textured dark chocolate brownie topped with macadamia nuts, vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of dark chocolate syrup.
Formerly the Yankee Tavern, Austin's opened last December after owner Dan Campbell renovated the casual neighborhood restaurant and installed a large grill and smoker ovens in the kitchen. A restaurant that smokes its food apparently appeals to smokers, since cigar aficionados are welcomed after 10 p.m., and the best section of seats (overlooking a peaceful cemetery) are designated as the smoking section.
While the quality of the food is good and the ambiance of the dining room pleasant, the service varies with the personality of the server. One individual could not have been more accommodating, while another had a negative attitude that probably could have been cured with a big dose of "healthy fries."
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www.cleveland.citysearch.com
December 11, 2001
Best of Everything
Anonymous
No matter what you want to eat from steaks, burgers, sandwiches, salads, prime rib, brisket or ribs they are all good. Soups are all made in house. I miss the corn bread wish they would bring it back. Baked beans are the best. It is all good. Have never had anything bad. They have one regular patron who eats both lunch and dinner there everyday
www.cleveland.citysearch.com
December 11, 2001
It’s Smokin’!
Anonymous
This has got to be one of the best steak houses in town. I make a point of stopping by every time I'm in the Cleveland area. The portions are large, service is excellent and the owner is always around to say hello and check on things.
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