Zane M.
Yelp
So first off, this review is about the kitchen. I wish there could be a second option to review their Beer Garden, and a third to review their "store" separately, because it is great! Good selection of beers wine and specialty pizzas. Five stars there.
Secondly, you should know that Whip In is an Austin favorite by reputation from locals. [So much so that in the madness of the current I-35 "emergency-expansion" construction, (because city council members of past decades have been too ignorant to SERIOUSLY consider the future growth of their city) hundreds of businesses will be wiped off the map due to this, yet I have received insight from family, whom have lived here for decades, that Whip In will be spared from such annihilation].
Here's how this is relevant. I ordered chips and queso, garlic naan, and the lamb tikka masala. I have been in and out of Austin for years, and I can tell you that there are hundreds of places that have WAYYYYY BETTER queso!! AND for cheaper; $10????, this is worth $6, maybe!!! I won't lie, the chips are quite good for their purpose, but the queso is TOTALLY watered down (like seriously, I have never encountered queso that takes hours and hours to congeal. It just RUNS off the chip like a thin liquid, NOT slowly, like it should. AND, it tastes powdery). I think their are some money-saving scheme's happening here.
That leads me to the Lamb Tikka Masala. Straight up, i haven't even tasted it yet, Real Talk. But just from looking at the portions served, it is NOT WORTH $16 at all. $12 maybe. This little brown box of rice is only HALF-FILLED! WTF?!?!? REALLY??!! Now to the Lamb Curry itself. We all know that there is a total variance of amounts of things that can be stuffed into these plastic 1/2 pint containers. Mine was 3/4 curry and 1/4 lamb meat. At this point, I HAVE taken a chefs "spoon-taste-test" to the curry and it is a nice flavor. BUT, I ordered the Lamb Curry, and there is not enough lamb to mix with the curry.
At this point, my conclusion is I could have gone to trader Joes and bought the same lamb tikka masala yet add TJ's palak paneer, and had just as much an enjoyable experience as eating this!
And it must be said, I have shopped at WI at least six times in the last three weeks for beer pizza wine, and there is almost no one there, EVERY SINGLE TIME! So I do not understand how in the world they are staying in business!
Sorry Whip In, I like you, but changes need to be made in the kitchen!