Mi marido and I have written a second dueling restaurant review.
There are certain people, places, and institutions that bring Austinites together. Some of them are big and famous, others are small and fly under the radar. One such small place is Quality Seafood, Austin's oldest fishmonger, which has had the same Airport Blvd location since before I was born.
Bob and I dined there tonight. Bob ordered the blackened snapper with salad and coleslaw. I had the daily special: blue marlin with "New Orleans BBQ Butter," plus salad and steamed broccoli. Bob and I shared a basket of hush puppies. With Bob's iced tea, the bill came to $28.
Bob observed that, like El Greco, we ordered at a counter and we paid more than $25 for our meal. Yet we were happy about this and were not crabby in any way. WHY?
Well, for starters, there was a Dixieland jazz band playing. Yeah, jazz eats a bag of dicks, but this musical organization had a guy in a jaunty straw boater who looked like he had just dismounted a big wheel bicycle AND a guy playing a big tuba (who was not dismounted). I don't know if any scientific studies have been done on tuba sounds aiding digestion, but I enjoyed the very Austin-like presence of live music, even at a rather pedestrian eatery such as QS.
Second, the staff seemed content and knew what they were doing. The friendly, multi-racial staff worked hard but gave of a positive vibe. Clearly, they felt competent and appreciated.
Third, I didn't mind the price at all. Quality Seafood (ha!) is pricey; a similar meal at a more upscale establishment would have cost $2-5 more per person. Even to cook a good piece of fish at home, you're looking at $16-20 for two people. I feel their price points are reasonable, which counts for a lot.
Bob and I were relaxed and happy when our tasty, no-frills food arrived. The tuba man went toot-toot-toot and we watched a very uninhibited 6 or 7 year old boy do some spastic dancing to the jazz band's music. The place was crowded for a Monday night and all the customers seemed at ease, happy to be having some tasty fish with their friends and/or family!
QS is a great local place to eat a no-nonsense fish meal with a Dixieland jazz band playing in the background. Nuff said.
We love this place. It's great for families and their fried shrimp are divine. Also? It is apparently where most sushi places get their fresh fish!
Sushi grade tuna! For sale!!!