Salty Sow Impresses Sutter; Cafe Malta's E For Effort

Don't freak out, but there are four food reviews in town this week between the Austin Chronicle, Fed Man Walking and the Austin American-Statesman.

STATESMAN -- Matthew Odam gives South Austin's Cafe Malta an "e" for "effort." Or rather, a 6 out of 10 for their "thoughtful dishes at excellent price points" even though the "kitchen at the self-styled Tex-Med restaurant does not deliver on the ambition of the menu." His favorite? A "crunchy, creamy and crispy croque monsieur."

AUSTIN CHRONICLE -- The Mediterranean Chef Cafe's beet salad and tabouleh particularly impressed Mick Vann, who puts Chef Nikki Kaya's little Brentwood spot "way up there in the top tier of Mideast venues."

AUSTIN CHRONICLE -- Kate Thornberry visits the Phatso's Cheesesteaks truck on South First, which "[toes] the line religiously" when it comes to proper cheesesteakage; of course, there's always the option to add queso (made with hot sausage and cheddar) on Fridays for a local twist.

FED MAN WALKING -- Salty Sow, the latest venture from the Hopdoddy/Roaring Fork/Eddie V's/Z Tejas folks, impresses critic-about-town Mike Sutter, who especially enjoys their dishes "at the humbler end of the Southern scale," though the duck fat fries were an "appetite killer on a menu with greater gifts." The Sow folks, writes Sutter, also "know how to grill a piece of meat."

Cafe Malta. [Photo: Raymond Thompson/EATX]