Is Jeffrey's Walking a Tightrope?; Josephine House Takes Chronicle Critic Back in Time

Food critics at the Austin Chronicle were on fire this week, filing an impressive four reviews. Here's where they ate:

Virginia Wood visited the newly renovated Jeffrey's and was mostly impressed with what Larry McGuire and crew have done with the place. (Random celebrity-spotting: one of the Bush twins was there!) Though she alludes to the "heart-stopping prices," Wood finds much to like in the food. She called her $54 Beeman Ranch filet "a truly sublime steak" and was especially impressed with a salad of "fresh peaches and sweet lobster meat." Pastry chef Alex Manley's made-to-order soufflés, which Wood says take 20 minutes to bake, are "worth the wait." But Woods warns that the success of Jeffrey's "all comes down to execution," and thinks McGuire might be "walking a tightrope that offers little margin for error." [Austin Chronicle]

Rachel Feit is charmed by Jeffrey's sister restaurant Josephine House, which she calls "the type of place where you can easily dither away the afternoon sipping iced tea and grazing on cool melon salad." Feit liked the way chef Jen Jackson has "injected new life" into standard dishes "using a modern farm-to-table sensibility," but has a minor quibble with the $3 charge for bread and butter. [Austin Chronicle]

The rest of the Chronicle team took a road trip down Highway 290. Melanie Haupt finds dining at Pieous to be a "generally pleasant experience." Though one of her pizzas "was heavy and a bit greasy," the Rocket Pizza with arugula and prosciutto was "successful." Kate Thornberry chows down at Señor Buddy's, the latest from the team at Curra's Grill. Though she calls dinner service "unpredictable," she raves about their burgers and interior Mexican food. [Austin Chronicle]
— Claire Canavan

JEFFREY'S NEW PARTNER AT THE DANCE [Austin Chronicle]

JOSEPHINE HOUSE [Austin Chronicle]

TRAVELS ON 290 [Austin Chronicle]