Galloway Hits The Big Time...
Today's Austin Chronicle has an article about Galloway's Sandwich Shop the much revered East Austin soul food haven.
Look for the gravel parking lot to fill up with Volvos from Clarksville this weekend.
Running battles between reformed hippies looking to eat some Fried Chicken and the Michael Jordan twins[the two sister/hookers who dress up like Mike circa 1990]are surely on the agenda for the next few days.
A few words from the past:
While Austin will never contend with Birmingham Al in the Soul Food category we have a very fine local establishment that gathers little attention from the 'hounds on this board.Galloway's Sandwich Shop is a real hound find;located in a dicey neighborhood this tiny restaurant does admirable takes on American classics such as Fried Chicken,Smothered Pork Chops,Roasted Pork Shoulder w/all the requisite sides:Broccoli and Cheese Sauce,Blackeye Peas,Green Beans,Butter Beans and plenty other sides..the chef also does a good breakfast:Pancakes,Fried Eggs,Bacon,Sausage.
Hours are short and make sure you get there before he sells out.
It's a working class joint that very much reminds me of a Meat and 3 in New
Orleans.This is honest unpretentious food at very reasonable prices.
I amended this from a previous post.
Galloway's is located at 1914 E.12th St phone 512-469-5816
scrumptiouschef
I finally checked out Galloway's today, scrumptious, and really enjoyed the chow. Thanks for the tip. On the menu were mains of pork chops or chicken & dumplings, with sides of black-eyed peas, creamed corn, steamed spinach (flavored with pork), and Southern-style sweet potatoes. All the sides were good, but the orange-tinged sweet potatoes were especially delicious. For a main course, I went with the chicken & dumplings, which consisted of a bowl of stewed chicken pieces, bones and all. Almost all the broth had been strained out, so don’t expect a soupy version of the dish. The rolled dumplings (which tasted like they were cooked in the broth before it was strained away) were cut into thin squares slightly larger than Saltine crackers. The flavor of this dish reminded me of a simple Tejano-style arroz con pollo, which is one of my favorite comfort foods. The chicken & dumplings was by far the most popular choice with the other customers, too, who appeared to be regulars. However, I also got a bite of the pork chops [you get 2 per order], which were spicy and well-fried, though maybe a bit dry. A slightly dry but decent cornbread muffin comes with each plate, too. Drink choices are fruit punch or sweet tea, both made from powder.
Even if you're stuffed, you should make room for dessert. Galloway's sweet-potato pie is fantastic. It's very soft—both filling and crust—and the filling is on the loose side. The flavor, however, can't be beat. You can't get much closer to an ideal homemade version. The creamy banana pudding was another winner. [Yes, I’ve already eaten some of it, even though I purchased it "for later" before heading out the door.] Galloway's banana pudding has to be in the top two or three of my favorite versions available here in Austin.
If any of you other 'hounds have been putting off a visit because you can't get to the restaurant early, I’d suggest that you take your chances at any time of day. At 1:30 to 2 P.M. today, for example, they didn't appear to be out of anything yet.
Galloway's is open from 8 to 4, every day except Sunday. The location is within a block of Sam's, for those familiar with that address. The folks running the place are really friendly; the vibe is no-frills but sociable; and the price is right. I know I'll be back to check out more of their down-home-good soul food.
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MPH Sep 06, 2007 01:23PM
Feed Me Feed Me Feed Me Feed Me Feed Me Feed Me
What restaurant did the best job of feeding you in 2007?
What joint did you find yourself returning to time and time again because you knew you were going to be fed...fed well...fed tastily...fed til the cows came home.
I have a million contenders[if Slims wasn't 1000 miles from here they would win]:Taqueria El Rinconsito,Sam's,Little Thailand,Tacos El Rico,Gene's,Willie's,La Michoacana's deli,Taqueria Diego,Los Altos,Backstage,Reggie's....the list is endless but this is a zero sum question and there can be only one.
GALLOWAY'S SANDWICH SHOP.
Yeah,I said it.When the chips are down and you need a plate of deliciousness with no nonsense,no scene and no cognoscenti my spot is Galloways.The man's menu is totally diverse offering food from all major food groups[Salt,Fat,White Flour and Sugar].When you prove to be a repeat customer the plates get bigger and bigger conjuring an E.12th St. version of the groaning board.
Two squares a day are available.A very fine breakfast...flapjacks,biscuits,fried eggs,sausage et al...lunch however is the real star.Any given day may feature Beef Tips,Chicken and Dumplings,Pork Steak,Meatloaf,Fried Chicken...all the side vegetables are good southern style offerings.Greens,Blackeyes,Mashers,Mac and Cheese,Pinto Beans et al.Cornbread comes with and is good,real good once you slather it with butter or one of the very good gravies.Finish things off with a slab of the best Sweet Potato pie in Austin and you just got fed.
Galloways doesn't receive the acclaim of the more popular restaurants [Lola's,Hoovers,Threadgills etc] but this man is serious about his soul food.
It is the finest Austin has to offer.
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scrumptiouschef Dec 31, 2007 12:41PM
My friend who earns a very nice living as a pastry chef in Paris is in for but a few days and is inquiring as to the quintessential Austin food experience.
I have no idea what that might be but a quick call to Galloways on E.12th St later we're clambering aboard my bike and motoring towards one of my favorite areas of town.
The East 12th and Chicon zone is one of the final spots on the Eastside wonderfully unadorned by progress.Rolling past Reggies fried fish stand I notice a good bit of construction hard behind the little red trailer...it's all toppled on the ground from last nights kerfuffle and I believe I see Reggie himself surveying the damage.Could Reggie be masterminding a proper brick and mortar style joint?I wonder to myself.
I make a mental note to come back later as we pull into the dirt and gravel parking lot which serves Galloways,the former Nation of Islam,the White Swan and a small barber shop.There's a small group of young bloods in the parking lot on the hustle...one cat's spinning around on a brand new 50 cc dirtbike...another guy's trying to figure out how to get his truck running and a gaggle of girls from the neighborhood are watching the proceedings with all the wry commentary you might expect.
Walking in the smells hit right off the bat.Onions are frying,cornbread is baking,Sweet potatoes are simmering,a nice bitter note of Greens is off in the mix somewhere as well.Everything is right and good at Galloways on this day.
We walk up to the vaunted steam line and peer at the offerings.A handsome rack of meatloafs is in one #1 pan,pork chops that've been fried then braised in brown gravy another.The vegetable offerings are Mashed Potatoes,Creamed Corn and Mustard Greens.
We make our way to table with our bounty and begin to feed.The Cornbread muffins are historically dry so I've asked for a monkey dish of the Brown Gravy that the chops are riding in,crumble up a muffin in the sauce and get on down.The Gravy is delicious,rich and salty.The Mashers are perfect,creamy with little chunks of starch that have resisted the mashing.The Porkchops are a good mix of fat and lean,simple trenchermans fare...fuel for a days worth of hard work.
The scene is neat and clean.A table filled with elderly Black men is to our left,they're busily talking amongst themselves about the storm damage...another table is filled with workmen hunkered over their plates fueling up for the rest of the long day.A couple housewives are kicking it in some fuzzy slippers and simple frocks happy to be off the hot stove and having someone else do the cooking for a change.
Walking out into the sunsplashed day the neighborhood is teeming.Folks are strolling down to Sams Barbecue for smoked meat...the barbershop is bustling...Five O is rolling nice and slow looking for a stray miscreant or three.We thread through the crowd in the parking lot,well fed and ready for a day of folly.
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scrumptiouschef May 17, 2008
Don't everybody go at once now.I'd hate to see Stephen Galloway hurt his back carrying out duffel bags of cash at the end of the day from the uptick in business.
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The recent acquisition of a new (used!) Piaggio LT150 has freed me from the confines of campus and is making me salivate in previously unexplored ways. I'm vowing to get to all these places (Angie's, Mike's, the Korean places up on Lamar, Swad, the Riverside taco strip) that I could never squeeze into an hour lunch break.
So after walking out into a still-cool morning, I scooted to Garza high to pick up a friend and then hightailed it to Galloway's. As tempted as I was by the beef enchilada casserole, I was here for meat and two and so received a stunningly elegantly plated dish of greens, red beans, a scoop of rice and a perfectly tanned hunk of a boneless country style pork rib. Oh-and a knob of corn bread.
First, the greens-doused with sport pepper sauce, they were honest; supple, bitter, tasting of green and the pot. The beans, next, were like the best ranch style beans you ever tasted; rich with cumin and chili and pork fat. And then there was the rib. Dry rubbed, a good dark crust that is all I ever want off of smoked meat, a delicate squeeze of barbecue sauce that didn't smother the rib but just accented it. About three bites in, I struck a vein of pork fat that was swoonworthy; everything leapt into balance, the room brightened, doors opened and closed. It was everything scrumptiouschef had promised it would be, and it was all I could do to put myself back on the bike and go back to work.
AND
halfway through the meal, Mr. Galloway himself swung by the table, and in the gentlest voice I've ever heard, asked if everything was allright over here.
Yes, sir. Sir, yes, sir.Thanks, Austin, thanks, scrumptiouschef, thanks, new scooter, thanks, chowhound, and thank you, Mr. Galloway.
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Nab
Sep 18, 2008 04:22 PM
"Running battles between reformed hippies looking to eat some Fried Chicken and the Michael Jordan twins[the two sister/hookers who dress up like Mike circa 1990]are surely on the agenda for the next few days."
Bwahahahahaha !! (right on the money - and I love Mike circa '90)
I caught the Chron while waiting for a grinder at Aljohn's and thought of your post on old haunts when I read the article on Austin landmarks:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyroba...
Hard times are closing the doors on many of our favourite ma'n'pa shops, so I'm happy to see ol' Gallows Pole get some good press, even if it means dealing with the sheep.
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re: Alan Sudo
Stephen Galloway must have a pretty good life.
Walking into his crowded restaurant at lunch today he's all smiles behind the steam line.His buddies are sitting at a nearby table and needling him as he serves the food he and his wife spent the morning preparing.Everybody's laughing and smiling and the smell of frying chicken and baking cornbread is nigh onto intoxicating.
It's a straight bounty with big hotel pans ladled full of Beef and Cheese Enchiladas,Cast iron Fried Chicken,Turnip Greens,Broccoli and Cheese Sauce,Pinto Beans and Rice and Yellow Corn Muffins.
I'm not going to miss Mr Galloways fried chicken especially when I notice Grandma stepping lightly through the hall outside the kitchen.Something tell me her hand may be at play today as she's not always here anymore.
The fried chicken is the best I've had in Austin.The two medium sized thighs[you have your pick of white or dark]are brick red and crusty outside with meat so juicy I wonder if one of the Galloways has discovered brining.The flour coating is simply seasoned with salt and pepper and needs nothing save a napkin to daub at the corners of your mouth.
The broccoli and cheese sauce is the Deep South classic with a pitch perfect extra melt sauce and spoon tender broccoli.
The pintos are smoky,piggy and lightly sweet.I add one drop of Louisiana Hot Sauce and the perfect balance is achieved.
The hang is always good.Elderly gentleman from the neighborhood are at one table discussing the events of the day,a couple young bucks are tucking into big plates of enchiladas at another,society gals with nice hats and heels are sharing a table with a group of nurses enjoying a soul food lunch on break from St David.It's a nice little community of eaters,together and separate. feasting on some very good country cooking.
I make my way to the register.
"Well,it looks like I'm going to leave here hungry again"
"Oh no,I'll feed you til you get good and full"
"No,I'm just going to have to quit coming in here.I'm afraid your wife might throw me out if she catches me licking my plate clean"
Mr Galloway looks relieved when he realizes I'm teasing him.We pass the time of day for a couple minutes before I head outside into a light rain shower.The devil's beating his wife I remark to no one in particular as the sun bursts out of the clouds and the rain begins to pour.
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