Austin Grill: How to spell B-L-A-N-D

Since the revitalization of downtown Silver Spring, many new and diverse restaurant choices such as Red Lobster, Pot Belly and Panera Bread have popped out of the woodwork. If one wishes to experience the most phony and bland Tex-Mex experience, Austin Grill is just the place for you.

Austin Grill is a Texas-themed restaurant that decorates itself with "authentic" Western memorabilia - such as photographs of rough guys driving big trucks - and plays country music in the background. However, decorations only temporarily detract your attention from the most important thing: the food.

The meals at Austin Grill come in meager portions and the appetizers are the tastier part of the dining experience. For an opening dish, the crab cake quesadillas are an excellent choice. For $10.00, try four warm quesadillas with jack cheese topped with lightly toasted corn and tomatoes and accompanied by guacomole and lettuce. The crab meat is juicy, and the crust has a moist center but a flaky surface.

As for the grand ole entrée, one can try several customary Mexican dishes. Austin Grill is one of those establishments that boasts about their unique sauces. There are several sauces that one can choose from, depending on the dish ordered. The enchiladas are $10.00, and customers get a choice of beef or chicken as a filling. The customer decides his or her sauce choice, and it is stingily poured over the entrée. Not only does the sauce come a small and microscopic amount, it isn't all what the menu touts it to be. For example, the Ranchera sauce with serrane peppers, onions and garlic is spiceless and just runny tomatoes smothering the main dish.

To make matters worse, Austin Grill makes a sad and paltry attempt to compensate for their dismal main courses by overdressing their desserts in a gaudy fashion. The $5.50 key lime pie is overly festooned with coconut dressing and smothered with a overly tart and bitter raspberry sauce. The dish looked more like a disheveled ice cream sundae than a regular pie.

For the real deal, try Mi Rancho's, located on 8701 Ramsey Avenue in Silver Spring. Austin Grill does not compare to the taste related sensations one experiences at Mi Rancho's.

Austin Grill is nestled in the new complex of Silver Spring attractions on 919 Ellsworth drive.