Life > March 6, 2008

By Lukia Kliossis | Staff writer

Excited to try a restaurant off the beaten path for a university student, some friends and I headed over to South by Southwest for dinner and were pleasantly surprised by its upscale, yet reasonably-priced, southwestern cuisine.

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Since it was a Friday night, I expected we would have to wait for a table, but we seemed to have timed it right and were promptly seated upon walking into the restaurant.

Decorated in a traditional southwestern décor without crossing the line to tackiness, the restaurant is divided into several small dining rooms and has a good-sized bar.

Unlike your typical Mexican joint, you do have to pay for chips and salsa ($6), but their generous basket of colored chips with both blackened tomato-chipotle salsa and tomatillo salsa is a must-have appetizer.

However, I would love to try their other starters, such as the outlaw nachos ($8.75) or frijolemole ($7.25), a black bean dip with melted jack cheese, pico de gallo and sour cream served with corn tostados, on a second visit.

Besides the traditional tacos, fajitas and enchiladas, the menu also includes some of the chef’s own creations, including the pepita crusted salmon al carbon ($16.75), a salmon fillet topped with toasted pumpkin seed pesto, chipotle-pinenut sauce, pepper-cactus-corn relish served with beans and rice, and the filet al chipotle ($22), pan-seared medallions of beef tenderloin with mushrooms and tomatillo-chipotle sauce served with vegetables and rice.

With so many options, we had a hard time deciding what to order but were all impressed with our choices. The blue corn and smoked chicken enchilada ($11.95), consisting of hickory-smoked chicken in a blue corn tortilla served with black beans, was incredibly tasty.

The sierra campfire chicken Fajitas ($13.95), smoked chicken with pan-seared vegetables, pico de gallo, black beans and posole, were equally pleasing and yielded enough for leftovers.

Since their entrees are so generously portioned, an appetizer can be a great alterative if you’re looking for a smaller meal.

One of my friends ordered the night’s appetizer special, the shrimp and goat cheese fundito ($9), which was served with warm tortillas and proved to be a completely satisfying meal.

South by Southwest also features several salads, including a seared tuna salad ($9.95), in addition to some spiced-up traditional house and “Caezar” salads that can be topped with chicken or salmon for another entrée alternative.

Our service did not quite live up to the quality of the food. When we asked questions about the menu, she was not very knowledgable on the descriptions of the food.

I think she had too many tables — we had to ask for refills, which are key with spicy food!

South by Southwest also offers a wide variety of beer, wine and cocktails, as well as an impressive 19 different types of tequila, including a tequila sampler. We opted to go for the traditional margaritas ($5.50), which were first-rate.

Though the prices are higher comparatively speaking to other restaurants, South by Southwest is reasonably priced considering the caliber of its cuisine.

So if you want to venture out of your comfort zone, I encourage you to give South by Southwest a try for a dinner that will not disappoint.