Gene's is a very unassuming place. The first time I ate there was in early 2005, before the City of Austin started to try to revitalize East Austin. There was only a dirt parking lot outside of Gene's, and plenty of hobos nearby, but I like hole-in-the-wall places so the surroundings did not scare me.
I had a shrimp po'boy, and it was the BEST one I've had outside of New Orleans. I had been searching feverishly for years for a good shrimp po'boy in Texas since I left college in New Orleans in 1997, and I finally found one. Well, there's a restaurant in Dallas called Shuck 'n' Jive which also has phenomenal po'boys, so if you're ever in The Big D, give them a try. But here in Austin, Gene's just rocks.
During the 2005 visit the restaurant was quite crowded. A co-worker and I went around noon, so you can imagine. We had a waiter take our order, which Gene's doesn't seem to do anymore. I went back for my second visit in 2009, and I had to order at the counter. I don't remember what time I went to the restaurant, but there were only two other people in there. 11th St has changed quite considerably in the last four years, I noted. It looks almost habitable now. And there is an actual parking lot next to Gene's now instead of just dirt.
Some reviewers say the food changed for the worse since the new management took over. The only clue I had that the management was different was the change between having a waiter previously and having to order at the counter most recently. But the food tastes even better nowadays, in my opinion.
When I first moved to NW Austin in 2003, I walked from my house to the Spicewood Springs/183 intersection and tried a po'boy at Sambet's. Gene's totally spanks Sambet's.
Next I will try Ms. B's and Nubian Queen Lola's. Since Gene's and Nubian Queen are so close in distance, perhaps I will get a sandwich from each place and have a dueling po'boy-off.
I had a shrimp po'boy, and it was the BEST one I've had outside of New Orleans. I had been searching feverishly for years for a good shrimp po'boy in Texas since I left college in New Orleans in 1997, and I finally found one. Well, there's a restaurant in Dallas called Shuck 'n' Jive which also has phenomenal po'boys, so if you're ever in The Big D, give them a try. But here in Austin, Gene's just rocks.
During the 2005 visit the restaurant was quite crowded. A co-worker and I went around noon, so you can imagine. We had a waiter take our order, which Gene's doesn't seem to do anymore. I went back for my second visit in 2009, and I had to order at the counter. I don't remember what time I went to the restaurant, but there were only two other people in there. 11th St has changed quite considerably in the last four years, I noted. It looks almost habitable now. And there is an actual parking lot next to Gene's now instead of just dirt.
Some reviewers say the food changed for the worse since the new management took over. The only clue I had that the management was different was the change between having a waiter previously and having to order at the counter most recently. But the food tastes even better nowadays, in my opinion.
When I first moved to NW Austin in 2003, I walked from my house to the Spicewood Springs/183 intersection and tried a po'boy at Sambet's. Gene's totally spanks Sambet's.
Next I will try Ms. B's and Nubian Queen Lola's. Since Gene's and Nubian Queen are so close in distance, perhaps I will get a sandwich from each place and have a dueling po'boy-off.
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