Thanks to a very nice gift certificate, Sweetmonger and I decided to try Wink for the second time. The meal was very much like our first. Wink is not a hard restaurant to figure out. The kitchen uses somewhat uncommon ingredients to prepare simple food which it plates elegantly.
Two meals have produced six savory courses. Nothing has been exceptional but everything has been tasty and the occasional dish has been very good. This weekend I went with a braised veal cheek and whipped potato appetizer. Our waiter described it as a decadent pot-roast, which was a very spot-on description. The meat was amazingly tender and the flavor was nice. Something crunchy would have been a nice textural contrast with the tender meat and the smooth potatoes but overall this was a successful creation.
For my entree, I went with the grilled antelope. Three slices of medium-rare antelope were served on top of Siberian kale, a baked baby yam and a parsnip-turnip puree. The antelope had a nice, gamey flavor, although one slice was tougher than the other two. The baked baby yam, the crunchy kale and the puree were delicious accompaniments.
Nothing spectacular comes out of the kitchen at Wink but it does deliver high quality, tasty food. However, the restaurant is over-priced relative to the quality, especially the appetizers. Without the gift-certificate, it would not have been worth it. I seem to find this is the case with all fine dining in Austin. The city has great grocery stores and farmers' markets, excellent Mexican and wonderful barbeque. But so far, high-end restaurants have been a vast disappointment. If there are restaurants out there that I need to try, please let me know.
