Westin Hotel bar (Urban Lounge) - Unexpected Pizza Find

I met up with some friends I hadn't seen in a couple of years at the hotel bar at the Westin at the Domain.  The Westin has a restaurant, Urban, that I haven't tried yet, but will get to eventually.  This is not a review of Urban, but of the Urban Lounge.

We were at the bar for about 90 minutes when some food service workers from another restaurant at the Domain came in and sat at the bar.  About 20 minutes after they arrived some wonderful smelling pizzas came out.  I'd had a small dinner, got hungry without realizing it, and those pizzas were smelling like they would be the cure for my hunger.  The bartender pointed us to the bar menu and saw the pepperoni and sausage pizza for $6.  We ordered one to share for the four of us.

Pizza with a cheesy slice

The pizza came out and it tasted as good as it smelled.  The crust was crispy on the edges, there was a generous amount of cheese, and the pepperoni was tasty.  The sausage was not like regular "Italian" style sausage it was chopped up link sausage.  It had a mild non-BBQy flavor and was very good.  The change-up in sausage was appreciated.  The pizza was very light on the sauce.  I really like sauces and condiments so this could have been an issue, but the light sauce worked on this style of pizza.

We all really enjoyed the pizza and will definitely be back for a late night bite, definitely better than any of the 6th street pizzas.  The pizza isn't going to outdo Homeslice, Reale's, Craig O's, or NoRTH, but it's really good for bar food.  Also a great deal price-wise considering the bar has typical hotel bar pricing ($4.50 domestic beers).

Close up view, picture ended up dark.

Maggiano’s Little Italy in the Domain – Austin, TX, August 26, 2010

I’m not a chain snob. Many food forums I read, including one that rhymes with “cow pound” have posts from people who seem to feel chains are beneath them, or incapable of serving good food. Of course, these same people will recommend dreck like Maudie’s, Kerbey Lane, Jorge’s, and Enchiladas y Más. If a chain serves food I like, and enjoy, I’m not ashamed of it, and you shouldn’t be either.

I went to Maggiano’s Little Italy for lunch. It’s a very nice looking restaurant in the Domain right next to Dillards. The interior was much bigger than I thought it would be and it looks like the type of dining room you would find in an expensive hotel. The bar area had a lot of dark word and dim lighting and looked really appealing. The kind of place Don Draper and Roger Sterling would have after another hard day of lying on their office couches “working”.


Our waiter was far too interested in pushing the Maggiano’s feel, “we’re a scratch kitchen which means everything is made from scratch…If you have food allergies, let us know and the chef will come out and talk to you.” We get it, this isn’t Olive Garden. Guess I won’t be bringing my Italian uncle to come eat here.

They have a deal where you buy one bowl of pasta and you get another to go (it doesn’t have to be the same dish) for about $13. My lunch dish was eggplant parmesan, my favorite variety of parmesan. My to-go dish was spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve recently (in the past year) become a fan of meatballs after considering them kids’ food. The food came out and it looked fine. I was hungry so I cut my eggplant before I took a picture. That won’t be the last time that happens.

The eggplant was flavorful, and the pasta was cooked well. Unfortunately the sauce suffered from chain style preparation. Not wanting to offend anyone with strong garlic, onion, or wine they just decide to walk behind the Morton Salt girl with their saucepan. There were no delicate or subtle flavors in the sauce like at North, and no strong old style red sauce comfort, just harsh tomato and salt. It just had no “love” or care in it, and I was left underwhelmed. While not overpriced for two meals, it would have been for one. Johnny Carino’s is a better deal with better food for chain Italian. Next time I’ll skip lunch and head straight for the bar.