Sometimes, everything that is indicative of a platinum restaurant seems to be present at first glance.  The ambience is there.  The interesting variety of dishes.  The value for the money is extraordinary. All that is left is the actual execution of the food.  In many ways, the most important aspect of any restaurant obviously comes down to whether the food is actually good.

With this in mind, Neko and I ventured out to the Bakehouse on a Saturday evening in late April to try out the rumored star of culinary experience in South Austin.  Traditionally a wasteland of generic chain restaurants and strip malls, the news of an original Austin creation more than piqued my interest.  Touting a variety of dishes around the world at extremely affordable prices, the Bakehouse sounded like a dream come true for the global foodie.  Where else in Austin can one get a beef wellington or cheese and chocolate fondue?

To begin our dining experience, we selected the Sausage Crisp as our appetizer.  Composed of thinly sliced sausages wrappedin cheese and covered with dough, the sausage crisp is then deep fried and served sliced with horseradish sauce.  The result is something that is truly extraordinary and an excellent beginning to the dining experience.  Crispy on the outside and smoky and rich on the inside, the sausage and cheese make a surprisingly good combination.  Combined with the creaminess of the horshradish sauce, the dish alone is worth going to the Bakehouse. 

Unfortunately, the Sausage Crisp was the only bright spot over a series of three meals.  The other appetizer sampled was the Escargot-Stuffed Mushrooms.  The result was decidedly unspectacular to say the least.  While the portion size for the appetizer was generous, the actual palatability of the dish left much to to be desired.  The problem is not so much the ingredients as the seasoning of the dish or lack thereof.  When the key ingredient for a dish is described as garlic butter, the rational assumption is that a strong note of garlic would be present.  Since escargot is traditionally prepared in garlic butter, its combination with mushrooms as a container seems at first an inspired concept.  The Bakehouse Escargot-Stuffed Mushrooms however, carries the neutral nature of the mushrooms a bit too far and results in an overall bland dish.

Blandness, or the lack of flavor and seasoning unfortunately carries across to the entrees sampled.  In order to make sure that it is not just my personal preference and more of a general consensus, I enlisted many of the trusted foodies to get their perspectives.  In the photo to the right, Neko eagerly awaits her entree.  Her quest after a hard day at school - a hearty meal of Chicken Marinara over Pasta.  My quest for this evening - The South Austin Wellington.  Both dishes are not only described as specialities by the Bakehouse, but also highly recommended by the waitress.  Despite the earlier encounter with the Escargot-stuffed Mushrooms, we still held out hopes of redemption. 

The thought of chicken marinara evokes the image of chicken slow cooked in sauce until the spices have imparted every bit of flavor possible to the meat.  The thick and hearty combination is then served over pasta to present a flavor explosion of tangy and spicy.  Contrary to expectations, the Bakehouse version of chicken marinara was decidedly lacking.  Rather than a thick marinara sauce, a thin red sauce was slathered over the damp fettucini.  The watery residue of the sauce combined with the puddle of pasta water that had formed at the bottom of the dish.  To the side, the steamed squash added its own contribution to the overall wateriness of the dish.  In many ways, seeing a dish like this is distressing.  As someone who goes around the world trying to discover the best there is, prepared by people who love what they do, the aforementioned entree represents the antithesis of the search.  As a college student who has had to endure institutional dining for years, I can honestly say that I would take what is served in the cafeterias at the University over what was presented to us as entrees.

The next entree, the South Austin Wellington, in many ways was what initially intrigued me about the BakeHouse.  The beef wellington is a celebrated dish on both sides of the Atlantic.  Origininally created for the British monarchy in honor of the Duke of Wellington, the beef wellington, consists of a beef tenderloin surrounded by foie gras and sprinkles of truffles.  The combination is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked.

The BakeHouse has a decidedly different take on the traditional recipe.  Rather than tenderloin, chopped sirloin steak is used.  The foie gras and truffles are eliminated and replaced by cheese.  In addition, mushrooms are added to the recipe.  The actual entree, however, differs somewhat from this description.  Containing a meat pattie somewhat reminescent of a hamburger pattie at the bottom of the puff pastry, the South Austin Wellington not only did not have any evident sign of cheese being used in the recipe, but also did not contain any mushrooms in the actual wellington.  Rather, a few slices of mushrooms are included in the sauce on the side.  The result is a wellington that has so subtle a flavor that it almost has no presence.  The effect is somewhat like eating a stale dried crossant with somewhat tough meat on the bottom. 

The South Austin Wellington was only a precursor to what came next.  On the May 22nd Foodquest, I ordered the Pork Savorka from the menu.  BakeHouse's Pork Savorka is described in the menu as pork tenderloin marinated in greek spices and olive oil, and roasted to perfection.  Sounds good right?  The actual result hits a new low in the history of the Foodquest.  A roasted pork tenderloin is usually brown on the outside and pinkish on the inside.  When my tray arrived, it contained four round slices of completely white meat-like pieces covered with a greenish sauce.  Resembling bologna that had been soaked in bleach, I had a very hard time even being able to determine what type of meat I was being served.  When Conchitas asked me, "What's that?", my reply was, "Ya know, I have no idea!"  While a question like that might be a good thing on a foodquest, in this case, it is most assuredly not.  The sauce covering the slices resembled congealed pesto in appearance, however was neither pesto or greek in taste.  I spent the time trying to figure out if the sauce was somehow the "marinated in olive oil and greek spices" mentioned on the menu.  To this day, I am still not sure what it was.  The dish feels like the restaurant has just tossed up its hands and given up.  In some ways, I am offended that an entree like this even made it on the menu.  This entree alone almost cost BakeHouse its remaining wedge from the rating.

After the assortment  of entrees, it was finally time for desserts.  In order to get the most variety from the menu, distinct flavor variations, strawberry shortcake and mississippi mud were selected. The strawberry shortcake consists of of multiple layers of shortcake with strawberries and cream layered in between.  The shortcake is light and fluffy and makes an excellent complement to the strawberries.  The finishing touch of cream between each layer adds a smoothness that rounds out the tangy sweetness of the strawberries with the buttery flavor of the cake.  Especially after the entrees earlier in the evening, the strawberry shortcake was a refreshing breath of fresh air in an otherwise bland evening.

Likewise, the Mississippi Mud made a strong impression on the foodies. Consisting of a warm brownie coated with chocolate and topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream on top, the rich and flavorful combination indulges the taster in a flood of chocolate and creaminess at the same time.  While not too much of a chocolate person myself, I can still appreciate the delightful combination of flavors that the dish has to offer. 

All in all, the BakeHouse offers a diverse range of choices in terms of entrees.  Unfortunately, the more complex and difficult entrees present significant problems in execution.  Where the BakeHouse excels is in the more traditional entrees that form the core of its expertise.  Here, the BakeHouse demonstrates its potential.  However, be careful of the more exotic dishes that stray from the BakeHouse norm.  Results may vary...