Chuy's is OPEN

The food is great, but I'm not waiting 2.5 hours for dinner. My hubby, mom, dad and I went 2 weeks ago, at around 4:45ish, and the wait was ridiculous. We patronized a different Mexican place. I'll wait 20 minutes. I'll wait 30. For special occasions, I have waited an hour, but there is NO WAY I'm waiting 2.5 hours for dinner. We'll go back once some of the hype has worn off.

[Robin Garr]

taco bell, also does not use lard in their beans.

Cost-cutting measure.

What I don't get is why people who love bacon get so freaked out about lard. It's all pig fat, people!

I like bacon but lard does something entirely different to my tummy. I'm not scared of it so much as I just don't appreciate the way it makes me feel.

My husband and I are from Houston (and I lived in Austin while attending UT) so we are big fans of Chuy's. We have gone an embarrassing number of times since they opened here and have found that they are way off in their estimations for wait times. Each time we go, we are quoted a wait time of around an hour and a half (or longer) but the longest we have actually had to wait has been 45 minutes. So, I wouldn't be scared off by what they quote you because chances are, it won't be anywhere near that.

With my luck, it would be LONGER!

I went on Sunday with my girlfriend. Only a 5 minute wait even though tons of tables were open.

I liked that they note on the menu what options are vegetarian, few as they may be. I have the vegetarian combo of the enchillada and chile relleno. On par with most places around here so if I'm in the area I wont hesitate to eat there again. Unless of course my girlfriend is only going to eat two bites then forget her to go box.

We opted for the bar- no wait! Anyway, re Taco Hell refried beans. If Livestrong's website is correct, they use a reconstituted powder added to partially hydrogenated oil and water to make their refried beans. Lovely. I never go near YUM brand anything. Can anyone confirm that?

We opted for the bar- no wait! Anyway, re Taco Hell refried beans. If Livestrong's website is correct, they use a reconstituted powder added to partially hydrogenated oil and water to make their refried beans. Lovely. I never go near YUM brand anything. Can anyone confirm that?

http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredientstatement

Beans
Pinto Beans, Partially Hydrogenated Soy Bean Oil (With TBHQ And Citric Acid Added To Protect Flavor) , Salt.

When we were there, waiting for the bar wasn't an option. The place was so crowded that there was no room to breathe, let alone move. However, the week AFTER they opened, we got there about 3:30pm on a weekday, and walked right in.

Livestrong's website is correct. The "Beans" are a powder that comes in packets kind of like instant oatmeal, except larger.

Instructions:
1. Empty packet into pan
2. Add hot water
3. Stir
4. Wait 20 minutes
5. Serve

If the mixture sits too long, it sets up like concrete and is hard to get out of the pans!

We opted for the bar- no wait! Anyway, re Taco Hell refried beans. If Livestrong's website is correct, they use a reconstituted powder added to partially hydrogenated oil and water to make their refried beans. Lovely. I never go near YUM brand anything. Can anyone confirm that?

http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredientstatement

Beans
Pinto Beans, Partially Hydrogenated Soy Bean Oil (With TBHQ And Citric Acid Added To Protect Flavor) , Salt.

[Robin Garr]

Stupid question, I guess, but do they take reservations?

no reservations, no call ahead seating.

no reservations, no call ahead seating.

Oh, it's one of those places:!: They don't have any regard for the customers time. I suppose the objective is to sell more high priced drinks as mentioned earlier.

We don't use lard in any ingredient at El Mundo, nor are our beans cooked with powdered thickening agents. That's freaky.
We make everything possible from scratch, and everything is vegetarian until you add meat to it.
Went to Chuy's yesterday for lunch. I was shopping window treatments for the house at JC penney's. Our server was really nice, there was absoulutely no wait, as there were not many tables occupied. Everything was very pedestrian. What you want in a chain. The gentleman seated behind us returned his meal because he doesn't eat lettuce and tomato. He had requested extra sour cream, and it didn't suit him it came on a bed of lettuce. The server quickly corrected the "problem".
We ate at the Chuys in Austin many moons ago, the chain while profitable for them, doesn't translate very well.

Easy there,Nora. You don't want anyone here thinking they do something nice.