Ararat
5 ratings since posting on Thursday, November 10, 2005
Overall Rating   based on 5 ratings |
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Took a client from New Orleans here to show him what Austin was about after one of my friend's (whose opinions I respect) said it was solid. Here's the quick play by play: It was their third day doing lunch. Went in and was greeted with a genuine smile from our waitress. Place is very cozy. Picked a table inside. Went to the men's room and saw the charming outside area. It was an incredible day, so I went back in and suggested that we move outside. Asked our waitress, who now looked like she had just suffered a strong electrical shock. She didn't reply but led us out. She then said, 'I'm the only one here'. We both then said we weren't in ANY kind of a hurry. Told her to take her time, plus, there wasn't anybody else there! We were the only ones. From then on everything went down hill. The Trail of Tears from inside to outside was about thirty feet; a real stretch for a trained waitress with tennis shoes on a sixty degree day. Now with the genuine scowl of a late twenties over-educated sulker (you know the type; they haul-ass to the Spiderhouse every day to sulk and write people up in their secret diary, not knowing that you've been listening to The Cure for fifteen years longer than they have) she reluctantly answered our questions with as few words as possible, making us feel stupid, which was lovely on such a fine day. The tension oozed over us every time she came by. We're still the only diners at the place. She was adept at leaving our questions and remarks with no answer or speech whatsoever. She may have recently had some mouth or dental surgery. She comes out with the food, which was great, and asks, 'Would you like me to take your gum?' to which I replied 'yes', since she hadn't given us any napkins; I didn't want to throw it on the ground! I admit this may have been entirely gross (I've worked in restaurants too and have seen and cleaned much worse) but her f***ing unshaven armpits 24 inches from my face wasn't exactly a pleasure that tickled the palette. After this she disappeared. We didn't want for anything, but had to go to the front to get the check, which is where the best part of the story was found. Another waitress asked how the food was. We told her it was great. I told her we must have angered our waitress somewhow to which she replied, 'Oh, that's the owner. She's just stressed out.' We couldn't beleive it! She should fire herself. How embarassing for her. She streamed by a moment later and somebody made comment to us how the cuisine being good was important. I then I said, "So is service." Our lovely heroine heard this and left for more 'owner' duties as she thought about how I was going to stiff her. I left her $4 on $20 and got the hell out of there, apologizing to my friend and explaing that this wasn't really Austin. The Point: 1. Dont' go to Ararat if the owner's having a bad day. You may want to get her personal number and call before just dropping by whenever you feel like it. 2. If you don't like your job, then f***ing quit. Stop making yourself and everyone else miserable. McDonald's has better service, plus the McRib is back. Great food. Thanks for the memories. James Hill P.S. After surfing aoround a bit doing this, found out this chic is infamous for having a shitty attitude - james , posted 01/02/08 |
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i went on my anniversary. it was truly a delight. perfect for couples on their first date or their eightieth. the candle light was beautiful along with the rugs on the walls. felt like i crept into another country. - waverly , posted 12/27/06 |
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If you're looking for a quietly elegant place for a date, this isn't it. I'm into the "Austin thing" as far as atmosphere goes and found the waitstaff barely competent and the food simply OK. And the place is a dump. There was loose trash and rubbish around the front of the place. What kind of restaurant tolerates that? There are too many places in the area that will work for the patronage of their customers. - Pete , posted 12/25/06 |
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am a big fan, too, of the pomegranate (i am certain i cannot spell that) juice and the mountain tea. i too have been remiss on the desert consumption (am always so FULL) but will try to check it out this next week, when i plan to go again. :) - squeak , posted 03/15/06 |
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Seriously folks. If you haven't taken a date to this place, you haven't done your duty as a significant other. It looks almost like a shack from the outside (a nice shack, but you know...). Still, once you walk through the door, it's like you've walked into something wonderfully decadent in all the right ways. Persian rugs line the walls, beautiful hippie girls swirl about with colorful dishes of fragrant, color-coordinated food, and most nights there is live music and/or belly dancing not more than 10 feet from where you are sitting. The next joy comes when you sit at your table (try and reserve the little ones that are by the door), and you look over the tantilizing menu while your beautiful hippie waitress brings drinks and glasses for the bottle of wine that YOU BROUGHT (of course you did, you clever devil), knowing it's a BYOB type of place. Appetizers are beautiful and tasty (my favorite is the sampler, but always check the specials), but don't fill yourself silly yet. The next course is worth waiting for. As you munch in the corner, sipping Spanish wine, revelling in the flavors before you and divulging secrets to your date you never thought you'd tell a living soul, the beautiful hippie waitress approaches. She bears in her hands a meal of incomparable beauty and complexity, so overwhelming in it's artistry that you have to take a moment and compose yourself before more conversation can occur. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating, but if you don't try it you'll never know. My favorites are anything sizzling (veggies, lamb, salmon, chicken). Their sizzling dishes mix the hot spicy with the earthy fire roasted veggies finished with the cool dip of a yogurt sauce. I'm also a huge fan of the salmon over grape leaves with the Tahini sauces. You can always try two, you know (sauces, that is). I still need to explore their desserts more. Their figs are really good, but I'd stuff em with cheese and coat em with walnuts. Or somesuch. There needs to be a mixture of cheese honey with fruit and nuts, and that one has everything but the cheese. Still it's good, but could be easier to share. You have to open your mouth REAL wide! Oh dear... The mixture of ambiance, live middle-eastern music, great food, good conversation, and your own hand-picked bottle of wine (take your time, make it worth it), will make you feel almost like that belly dancer is saying, "Go forth and get it on." - Doryan , posted 11/10/05 |
Ararat was recommended for:
- Tribe: Austin Scene
- Tribe: Austin Art Community
- Tribe: Texas
- Tribe: Austin
- Tribe: Burn Austin
- Tribe: Austin Music Lovers
