Lutie’s Garden Restaurant

Posted on July 16, 2021November 12, 2025 by Alyse Nicole

Lutie’s Garden Restaurant

If you read my last post, you know that we had a staycation at the Commodore Perry Estate during the July 4th long weekend. Unfortunately, William and I didn’t get to eat at Lutie’s during that stay because the restaurant is only open Wednesday through Sunday, and we were only at the resort overnight on Monday. Luckily, though, I was able to return Wednesday to try Lutie’s. Continue reading for a look inside one of the most beautiful, sought after restaurants in Texas, Lutie’s Garden Restaurant.

Lutie’s Garden Restaurant is named after the Lady of the original Comodore Perry estate, Lutie Perry. She was known for her beautiful garden as well as hosting Gatsby level gatherings, from dinner parties to soirees. So this restaurant is a breathtaking homage to her.

The Interior

As soon as you open the door, you’re engulfed by the lush green décor, including a mixture of live and artificial plants hanging from the latticed ceiling. While there is lighting, the restaurant is mostly lit by the sunlight entering two enormous walls of windows. After sunset, the chandeliers and pendant lights take over.

Lutie’s may also have the most beautiful bar I’ve ever seen, with its gold trim around cream and glass shelves, the green velvet rollback barstools, and chandeliers on either end that almost feel like floral arrangements.

Seating is a mixture of booths and tables, as well as outdoor seating on the patio that overlooks the sunken garden. I arrived promptly at 5pm (actually before then), at opening time. So I was the first patron seated.

I was taken to a table for two near the windows and had the perfect view to admire the entire restaurant, both indoors and outdoors. The food is served on antique ceramic dishes with gold flatware, and guests are offered their choice of still or sparkling water. Since this is still during cautionary times due to COVID, menus are still digital.

The Menu

Here’s the thing. Lutie’s menu is a bit different from what you may be used to. There isn’t an appetizer, salad, or entrée section. Instead, the food is listed from the smallest to largest dish, ending with a 2 pound aged ribeye steak. The menu also changes regularly, depending on what fresh ingredients are available. So there isn’t really a menu available online to peruse beforehand.

The entire menu is explained to you upon arrival, and every dish is described in detail. My server, Candace, said they suggest 2-3 dishes per patron, consisting of two smaller items and one larger item. There are also several shareable dishes.

My Meal

I started with a cocktail, the very flavorful Indigo Kick (all specialty cocktails are $17). Its ingredients include vanilla infused Kettle One vodka, blackberry, basil shrub, local honey, ginger beer, and lemon. I used it as a palate cleanser between dishes. For my meal, I chose 3 dishes, the corn falafel ($9 for 3 falafels), the barbecued scallops ($30 for 2 scallops), and the green dish ($18).

The corn falafel was tasty. It was crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. The tangy sauce drizzled on top was a nice surprise for my taste buds.

The barbecued scallops were insanely good! It had several contrasting flavors and was cooked perfectly. The purple daikon relish also gave it a nice little crunch.

Finally, the green dish was also exceptional and nothing I would’ve ever thought of creating. The ingredients for this dish change, depending on what’s in season, but as of July 5, 2021, it consisted of roasted summer squash topped with mixed greens and feta cheese, all covered in a green sauce with a dash of sea salt. If only I knew what the green sauce was made of, I’d definitely try making this at home.

Everything had a great combination of contrasting flavors that made them stand out and keep me excited for the next bite. The three dishes were also just enough to fill me up.

Dessert

Of course, I saved room for dessert! I ordered the chocolate shaved ice ($12), which is layered from bottom to top with dark chocolate ice cream, chocolate shaved ice, vanilla Chantilly, and cocoa nibs.

Now, I’m not a chocolate ice cream fan, but something said try it, and I’m glad I did. The different textures are a lot of fun in your mouth. The chocolate did start to take me over close to the end, but the vanilla Chantilly calmed it back down. It almost reminded me of tiramisu with a crunch. Then Candace, my server, said someone described it as a fancy fudgesicle, and they were absolutely right!

Final Thoughts

Lutie’s Garden Restaurant is hands down the most beautiful restaurant I’ve ever visited, but it’s also very down to Earth. The servers are quite attentive and go out of their way to make sure you fully enjoy your visit. The presentation of each dish was top tier, with nothing out of place. You definitely receive the full 5 star experience from arrival to your last bite (or sip).

I recommend everyone dine here at least once. You’re unlikely to experience anything like this anywhere else.

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The Backspace Anderson Lane

Posted on June 14, 2021November 12, 2025 by Alyse Nicole

The Backspace Anderson Lane

I’ve been trying to branch out from my go-to’s and explore new restaurants. So, last week we visited The Backspace Anderson Lane, the sister restaurant to The Backspace, Austin’s first Neapolitan pizzeria. These restaurants are under the umbrella of Parkside Projects, which is comprised of several local restaurants and venues in Austin.

The Backspace Anderson Lane serves Neapolitan pizza (of course), antipasti, pasta, paninis, and many other Italian dishes. Read below to see what we tried, including pictures to lure you in.

First Impressions

When arriving at the restaurant, you enter it from the back side of the building. Get it, the backspace? There’s a nice small outdoor sitting area near the door and cool painted signage on the wall with neon lights of a pizza being flipped (top picture).

Upon entering, you’re welcomed by the hostess, who is kind enough to give your husband a disposable mask because he forgot his at home. To the right, there’s a private dining area with banquet style tables. Straight ahead is the bar, kitchen, brick oven, and a shelf featuring the many Italian wines served there. Then, to your left is the seating, which is a mixture of booths and tables.

There’s a very nice ambiance inside, which is definitely matched by the food offerings. This isn’t your everyday pizzeria after all. I mean, you don’t have to be dressed up as much as I was, but I feel it calls for at least a polo shirt or blouse, depending on your preference.

Though there’s a bar, the restaurant is still family friendly. Case in point, there was a young lady celebrating her 13th birthday with her family and friends while we were there.

I love that the pizzas are made out front where you can see the artistry in action. Also, pretty funny to me, my favorite aspect was the water glasses made from old wine bottles. Enough of the visuals, though. Let’s get to what you really want to know. How was the food?

William (my husband) started with a caesar salad, and I had the crispy calamari. I tasted his salad, and he tried the calamari. Both were delicious!

Usually when I think of a caesar salad, I just think of lettuce, parmesan, croutons, and caesar dressing. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see this colorful medley. The calamari included the typical calamari rings as well as mini octopi and was served with an Italian tarter sauce.

As I said, William had the fettuccini. So, here are his thoughts.

“It was very flavorful. The basil added a pleasant zing to each forkful. There was a nice amount of pesto sauce. It wasn’t too much, and it wasn’t dry.”

I ordered the Speck pizza, and oh my goodness! The flavor combination was almost too good to handle, from the spinach and read onions to the calabrese chili and ham, it was a true party in my mouth! I will be honest, though. The chili almost had me, but I was able to come out victoriously. All in all, though, I’d absolutely recommend it.

Finally, there was the tiramisu, which I have to order whenever it’s an option, thanks to my oldest brother, Chef Tony Evans. May he rest in eternal peace.

In my opinion, tiramisu should be listed as one of the wonders of the world, and the one served at The Backspace Anderson Lane is top tier! The bottom wasn’t soggy, which I have unfortunately experienced elsewhere several times. The coffee flavor wasn’t overpowering, and the mascarpone was perfectly light.

My final thoughts overall are that this won’t be our last visit, and I look forward to trying other dishes in hopes that they’re all as delicious as these. If you have or haven’t been before, make this your next restaurant to visit. Dine in, and really take in the full experience and vibe.

*This was a hosted visit, but all thoughts are my honest opinions.

First Time in Denver

Posted on January 30, 2021November 12, 2025 by Alyse Nicole

First Time in Denver

I had planned on going to Denver, CO for my birthday. It was originally a couple trip for William and me, but once “you know what” hit, that counted William out because he’s considered high risk due to his asthma. So it turned into a family affair, with the addition of my friend Jennifer. Here’s the story.

How it Started

So, we planned the trip for months, as one does. For our first day, since we were all arriving at different times, I decided to hire a private chef for that evening so we could rest up and wind down from traveling. The first chef completely ghosted me. We were conversing. All she had to do was send the invoice. Then she was nowhere to be found. So, I found her on Instagram and asked her if we were still on. I didn’t hear back from her until we were back from our trip. Luckily, I went ahead and moved on. So, I found another chef, and he tried to overprice the meal for whatever reason. So, I cancelled our agreement as well.

The first day of the trip was my actual birthday, and since we were celebrating my 35th birthday, which is a milestone birthday to me, Jennifer and I flew in first class. It was my first time, and let me say, I’m in love! Click here to see how that went lol. We arrived in Denver first, but my niece, Kayla, arrived shortly after. So we waited for her so we could all drive to the Airbnb together. On the way to the house, we stopped by a dispensary. This was also a first for me, and what an experience it was! Once my sisters and other niece made it in, we had also partaken and were under the influence. So this is what happened with the food. smh

Since we were without a private chef, I just found a local restaurant that delivered and had family size dishes. Now, here’s where I messed up. I ordered the food after taking the edible! So, the evening was going on, and I knew the food shouldn’t have taken that long. Eventually, I decided to check the status, only to find that I had ordered it as pickup instead of delivery. Mind you, we didn’t have a car, and the restaurant doesn’t deliver themselves. It’s actually through Doordash. So, I’m freaking out now. I called the restaurant and let them know, and together we came up with a solution. Uber has a new service called Uber Pickup, where they literally pick things up and bring them to you. So, we finally received the food, and it was surprisingly still hot! Night saved! As far as the rest of the night, I ended up crashing around 8pm. Happy birthday to me. lol

Hitting the Town

Now, it’s Friday, day 2, and we’re starting our activities. We headed downtown to Larimer Square, but sadly it was closed. So we walked over to 16th Street to check out the 16th Street Mall. I’m not sure if Larimer Square was closed because we were too early, because of the snow, or due to the lockdown that started back the week of our trip. All during our trek, there was a slight blizzard (to us) taking place. We couldn’t wait to get to Denver and experience the snow until we got to Denver and experienced the snow. It was basically like walking in the rain. lol

So, during our journey, we made it to Angelo’s Taverna, where we had lunch in a greenhouse. The greenhouses are part of their solution to outdoor dining due to COVID restrictions. It was a really cool experience, besides it being pretty cold inside. We started with oysters. Then I ordered a huge calzone with sausage and bell peppers. After dinner, our server brought me a cannoli for my birthday. Everything was delicious!

We had so many plans, like visiting Miracle at Larimer Square, a Christmas themed pop up bar. There’s one in Austin during the holidays too, but we never make it. We were also supposed to go ice skating downtown. While neither of those happened, we did ride the free 16th Street shuttle to the State Capitol and stumbled upon a German Christmas market in the Civic Center Park called the Christkindl Market. Each vendor was set up in a cedar booth that resembled a log cabin. We had some delicious hot chocolate and Russian style crepes from Blinchiki, one of the food vendors on site. If you’re in Denver in December, please visit this market. It’s like you’re in another place and time.

The last details given were from Friday and Saturday. At this point, the whole trip has become one big day because Saturday evening, my niece received some news that would completely change and outweigh everything. At around 5pm, mountain time, my niece received a call that her daughter was in a terrible car accident and had to have emergency surgery, among other things. Of course, this meant we spent the rest of the trip making sure she’d be ok. It was a long night, but our baby girl pulled through. Two months later, she’s still on the road to recovery, but she’s doing so good!

I’m sorry to end the story this way, but that’s how the trip ended. Everyone else’s flights left early in the morning. So, when I got up, they were already gone. I cleaned up, took a few pics (that were all later deleted), and headed to the airport. I did treat myself to some expensive airport restaurant food since I got there early. Then I met up with Jennifer, and we came back home. I will say that I plan to return to Denver when it’s safer and warmer so I can get a better experience of the Mile High City. Have you ever been there? If so, do you have any recommendations for when I revisit?

Steubens Uptown Denver Colorado

Posted on December 31, 2020November 12, 2025 by Alyse Nicole

Steuben’s Uptown in Denver, CO

Monte Cristo sandwich

gravy fries

eggs benedict

crispy Brussels sprouts

buttermilk pancake stack

cookie dough donuts with mini mimosa

While in Denver, we had the chance to visit Steuben’s Uptown and try their Monte Cristo sandwich, among other things. They are following all the possible safety measures currently needed right now and have outdoor seating set up in a huge event tent with decor and heaters. You never even really notice you’re outside until a quick breeze comes through. Also, masks are required, unless you’re eating or drinking.

They started us out with their gravy fries, crispy Brussels sprouts, and cookie dough donuts (all of which were delicious). We also had mini mimosas, and let me tell you. I’m not sure I could’ve handled a full sized one. lol

The Meal

Now, for the Monte Cristo, it was everything I wished it would be! I’ve been longing for a good Monte Cristo since “Hey, You Gonna Eat or What” (yes, that was the real name) closed down in Austin, and Steuben’s filled my cup! It was deep-fried to perfection with not too much powdered sugar, and the raspberry preserve on the side sealed the deal. I’d highly recommend it if you get the chance to visit.

The other meals we ordered were the eggs Benedict, the Steuben’s burger, and the buttermilk pancakes stack. Everything was a crowd favorite and very filling. Be prepared to possibly get a to-go box. Thank you Steuben’s for your hospitality and great service! I can’t wait to visit in warmer weather.