Hoover's Cooking

Entrance into Hoover's Cooking
(Photo by: myself)

Let’s start this week with a little background information about myself. Being born and raised in the great state of Texas, I consider myself a southern girl. I make sure to say “yes mam” or “no sir” to anyone I meet, I fully expect a man to hold the door open for me, and I love to stuff my face with some good southern comfort food. So when I heard about a joint in Austin that was serving up traditional southern favorites, I knew I had to get me some.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you Hoover’s Cooking. Located at 2002 Manor Road, this local favorite has been cooking up southern-style meals for more than 15 years. The front of their menu reads, “Serving up honest-to-goodness good cooking,” and it couldn’t be more accurate. Accompanying me this week were 9 of my equally-as-hungry teammates, who were more than eager in helping me experiment in a new brunch location. What better way to get an opinion of the menu than 10 hungry girls with 10 different pallets? Let the games begin.

My mouth-watering breakfast tacos
(Photo by: me)

FOOD: How do you know if you’re really dining at a southern-style restaurant? Well, open the menu and if you see entrees like, shrimp ‘ n grits, chicken & cakes and fried catfish etouffée, you know you’re at the right place. Everything from Hoover’s is made from scratch, a point that they pride themselves on. I ordered the bacon and egg breakfast tacos, which will have to be broken down by specifics because they were THAT good. First, the tortillas were steamed and soft. Second, the bacon was crisp and mixed perfectly with the eggs. Third was the optional side of either home fries, cheddar garlic grits, grits, or fruit. Being the southern girl that I am, I went with the grits. These grits came heavily peppered, just a warning incase you don’t enjoy a little pepper in your food. Apart from their breakfast tacos, pancake options included buttermilk, sweet potato, and their “hoe cakes,” which is a real country favorite that includes flour and cornmeal in the batter. Another signature ingredient on their menu is Hoover’s sausage, which is a spicier and more flavorful alternative to their original sausage. I will conclude by saying that all 10 girls at my table were satisfied. No one left the restaurant hungry and all us agreed we’d come back another Sunday for more.
 

Hoover's inside dining area
(photo by: me)

ATMOSPHERE: Walking into Hoover’s, you’ll find a simply decorated interior with local artwork hanging on the walls. I appreciate their simplicity. To me, this reads, “our food is so good that we don’t need fancy-shmancy decoration to prove it.” Our waiter was kind and patient, which I know can be difficult when dealing with 10 hyper, hungry and indecisive young ladies.

Two varieties of Hoover's margaritas
(photo by: me)

DRINKS: Otherwise known at Hoover’s as “hair of the dog,” breakfast drinks included mimosas, bloody marys, and their signature ‘rita. I ordered the frozen signature ‘rita, and felt satisfied with the tequila-to-margarita ratio. Each frozen margarita put me back 6 dollars, which seemed a little high in my opinion. Granted they were delicious, but I still feel that around 4 dollars would’ve been a fair price.

COST: All in all, Hoover’s is bang for your buck. Not one of us spent over $15 and we all left feeling full and satisfied. The only warning I give you is that getting more than one drink will cost you. It pains me to say that the drinks are a bit overpriced, only because they use fresh squeezed orange juice in their mimosas and pack a major punch in their margaritas. Let’s put it this way: If you’re a college kid on a budget, limit yourself to one drink with your meal and no one’s wallet will take a beating. The food is well-made, well-priced, and well worth the trip.