Guest Contributor: Josh Kerr

Maggie and I got invited to the Cuatros restaurant & bar blogger event yesterday.  I’m a big fan of bar food, and on this 100 degree hot Wednesday afternoon, I needed a refreshing cocktail.   But will I enjoy my drinks at a bar filled with college boys and girls planning their next frat party?  Yes I will.

To see Cuatros:

Cuatros is an upscale bar 1 block off Lamar on 24th street.  Its on the University of Texas campus, but it certainly isn’t a campus bar.  At least according to own Cuatro Kowalsky who started the bar a few years ago while moving his girlfriend out of her apartment.

I was moving her furniture and saw this great spot of land available on 24th st. and thought, this would be a great spot for a restaurant.

Several phones calls and two days later, Cuatro owned the spot and started building his restaurant.   The idea of opening his own restaurant was one that he has had since childhood.  Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, he chose to become a chef, going to UT and then culinary school in Austin and finally working for the Chewy’s chain.  As a manager at Hula Hut, he came up with some great ideas for new dishes and drinks, but the stiff management there balked on his original concepts.

I had some great ideas, but it was hard to get people to listen.   It was frustrating.

Some restaurants aren’t willing to take risks.  They have their routine down and people seem to like it, so why change?

Bloggers are treated to Beer and Watermelon Frescoes.

Cuatro is not an ordinary restaurant owner.  In fact, one look at him and you are hard pressed to guess that he owns anything.  Slacker college kid would be a better description as his wrists are adorned with cool bracelets, flip flops on his feet, sunglasses in his hair and an untucked short sleeved shirt.  But talk to him and you right away understand that there is way more than meets the eye.   He manages over 40 employees at his restaurant and they all love him.  His secret to this loyalty is that he listens to them.  He takes their suggestions and encourages everyone to participate because the bar isn’t just his, its all of theirs.

Maggie, Lila and Cuatro pose for a photo. (Lila, are you sneaking some food from the table?)

This concept of corporate ownership by employees is not new, but his application is novel.   This idea started when he needed a new green salsa.  He asked the people in the kitchen to come up with their favorite recipes and they would hold a contest to see whose is the best.  So everyone came in the next day with their own homemade salsa and they picked the best one.   The winning salsa was so delicious that they decided not only to serve it in their restaurant but also to enter it into the Hot Sauce Festival where it took first place for Green Salsas.   This event greatly motivated all of his employees not only to come up with better food recipes of their own, but to become more loyal toward the restaurant.

Mouth watering Tacos, Corn dogs and Fried Pickles.

As a result, the food and the service are great.  The servers walk around with smiles on their faces genuinely enjoying their jobs.  The food is consistently good and they are always trying new things so most dishes rarely stay the same.

One day I was sitting on the beach at Port Aransas and we decided to mix up a Fresco with watermelon juice and rum.  It was delicious so we tried serving it at the restaurant.

And it was a hit.  This was the first drink served to me on this 100 degree hot Wednesday afternoon.  At first I thought it was just watermelon juice because you can hardly taste the rum.  And according to the very pretty waitress that served it, it sneaks up on you so be careful.  One drink later and I’m buzzed nicely.  I speak to another blogger who complains to me that she can’t taste the alcohol so this is going to be one of those drinks that causes her to black out.  I make a mental note to stick around for that.

Maggie in this weeks Embarrassing Food in the Mouth (EFIM) photos.  (See Lyssa from last weeks.)

Okay, it’s a bar, the drinks are good, but what about the food?  Talking to Cuatro, I brought up fried pickles and my new love affair with them.  He is obviously a fan and went on to tell me that while he likes fried pickle spears, the slices give you more fried surface area and more crunchy goodness.  I love the way this guys talks.   If I had to complain about anything though, I’d say that the fried pickles were a bit too salty, so maybe extra surface area isn’t such a good thing.

I loved the food we were served.  Three kinds of tacos, corn dogs, fried pickles, chips and the award winning salsa, all fresh and delicious.  This and the fact that this place has the largest TV in Austin (save for the screen at the UT stadium) and its obviously a great place to watch sports or chill on the patio with friends on a weekday evening.  Parking is plentiful though not obvious as there are spots behind the restaurant that aren’t visible from 24th street.

Massive TV with people seemingly trying to grab our food on the wall.

The big message that Cuatro’s is trying to get out is that this isn’t a campus bar.  It certainly is upscale in decoration and the food and service are high quality, but there are college kids that flock to this bar.  I’d say its a 50/50 mix between the UT students and the non UT students.   But on this day as we spoke, 100 beautiful girls filed in to a private room for what was clearly a sorority event.  So from this bloggers perspective, the college crowd is welcome any day.

No shortage of super hot girls at this bar.

I’m a fan of this place and will be back again.

Cuatros
1004 W.24th St.
Austin, TX 78705
www.cuatrosaustin.com

The Author having a great time.

Yummy tacos please go into my belly.

Watermelon Frescoes anyone?  One of the most refreshing drinks on a 100 degree day.