After the shoot, Todd joined Leah and I for a late lunch at The Frisco. I’ve wanted to try this place ever since I first saw the neon sign. Also, I’m not totally clear on all the details – but apparently the building will soon be demolished to make room for yet another Walgreen’s. The good news is that the Frisco itself will survive by moving down the street into the old Curras building. But I wanted to eat at the original location at least once.
According to the official Frisco Shop website: “The Frisco Shop opened its doors as part of Harry Akins successful Night Hawk chain which included a popular steak house and a 24-hour restaurant next to the University of Texas. Helmed by Akin, the small diner boasted of the famed Frisco burger which at the time was Austin’s only “corn-fed” burger. Today this time-tested favorite still remains one of their most requested items on the menu. In addition to other traditional favorites such as the enchiladas, country biscuits and of course The Frisco Shop’s famed pies.”
Todd and Leah went for steak and baked potatoes. I ordered fried chicken, potatoes and turnip greens. This is old-school American food with big portions and lots of flavor. If you order a baked potato, the waitress returns with a spinning lazy-susan type contraption and will ladle cheese, sour cream and onions onto the potato at your request – and she does not skimp. If you’re looking for a reduced fat portions – go elsewhere. At the Frisco, you just need to embrace it. The food was amazing, but unfortunately – none of us had room for a slice of one of the “famed pies.”
Everything about this place takes you back in history. It’s not just the decor – the waitresses, the food, the customers – it all makes you feel like you are stepping back in time. The Frisco is the type of place a production designer for a movie would spend millions of dollars recreating – unfortunately, it’s going to be bulldozed.
If you’re in Austin and you haven’t paid a visit to the Frisco, do it soon. The restaurant will survive, but the original building will be gone. We asked our waitress when the exact date of the move was, but she wasn’t sure. So get to it.
NOTE: I didn’t take these photos, instead we have the Creative Commons and the following photographers to thank: joediev (sign) and Yi (steak).
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Yep. Sadly, this was the last of the original buildings. The Nitehawks for a period of time, were an Austin staple, and THE place to go. Great places, all of them. The one that was downtown on S. Congress, in what is now the lobby of the Embassy Suites, was always packed on Friday and Saturday night. And yes, these are the same Nitehawks you can get in your grocers frozen food section these days.