So the journey begins with a date with my boyfriend Denver to Joe's on Burnette. They don't have a website but the photo's of the menu I found online looked promising and it was 5 miles from my house so I decided to start here.From the second I walked in I could not have been happier. Everything about this place from minimal decor to the BYOB sign out front to the waitress who asked me to seat myself made me feel right at home!
The garlic rolls were fresh, hot and melted in my mouth and were served with a large dish of seasoned olive oil. Everything about this place reminded me of the restaurant I grew up working in back home! All entrees came with a salad. I had the house red vinaigrette which was again identical to what I've had in Fort Worth. *I kept diving into the food before taking pictures so they aren't as awesome as I'd like.*
 |
| I can't stop eating this!! |
 |
| House salad with house dressing mostly eaten |
I was thrilled with the prices! The entrees were anywhere from $9 to $13 including plenty of veal and seafood options with $2 pizza slices and $7 subs and calzones. Lunch specials are 7 days a week at $6.99 and they gave us coupons for an 18" 3 topping pizza for $9.99! I saw the pizza through a display window and it is definitely the Mom and Pop New York style pizza I was looking for.
Our appetizers consisted of $2.50 Garlic Bread With Cheese and $6.99 Fried Calamari. Both were very tasty! Joe's brought out a heaping portion of lightly breaded and well seasoned calamari with a side of some of the best marinara I have ever had in my life!
 |
| Fried calamari (already half way devoured) |
 |
| Garlic bread with cheese |
Denver ordered the Pasta Trio for $10.99 which included a sampler of Fettuccine Alfredo, Lasagna and Chicken Parmesan. The dish was huge! The lasagna was up to par and the Alfredo sauce was rich, creamy and mixed beautifully with the pasta. (no sticky clumps of sauce). We were not as amazed with the chicken Parmesan, but it was better than Olive Garden for sure!
 |
| Pasta Trio (Yummy) |
I had been craving a pink sauce and didn't see it on the menu so I asked the waiter about it. He explained that was their bolognese sauce. I asked if they could make it with tortellini and voila $8.99! Moments later I was chomping down the exact creamy and very flavorful dish that I had been craving and it exceeded my expectations. Again the portion was huge.
 |
| Tortellini Bolognese (Warming) |
We had already boxed up half of our dinner so we decided to grab desert to go. The waiter listed 4 special deserts they happened to have off the menu and highly recommended the Red Velvet Cake. Just looking at it I could tell it was extremely moist and it tasted like HEAVEN!
 |
| Moist Red Velvet Cake |
 |
| Tower of mass amount of food to eat tomorrow |
The service was fast and personable for sure and throughout the entire experience I kept saying, "This is absolutely crazy! It's just like Moni's and Tony's and Gino's. I feel like I am 15 again working for those crazy Albanians!"
HERE IS THE BEST PART!!!!
We went to the counter to pay and asked the owner for some background on Joe's. It actually just opened 5 weeks ago and is owned by the same family of the Joe's in Fort Worth!!! He actually knew my old bosses at Moni's and Denver's bosses at Tony's!! I am actually a little sad at this point that I have made a commitment to this Austin Italian food tour because I really feel like I need to look no further. Joe's was perfect and I am so excited to tell all of you that MOM AND POP ITALIAN IS ALIVE AND WELL IN AUSTIN!!!
