by Rob Balon

It’s not often that a medical doctor abandons his or her work for an entirely different career field. Well, I guess Howard Dean did it. And look what happened to him!

But the restaurant bug bit Dr. Susan Hartmier, an epidemiologist, really badly a few years ago. She hasn’t completely abandoned medicine. But she’s spending the majority of her time on her restaurant. And lucky for us that she does, because the result of her mid-life career adaptation is the Thistle Café.

There are two Thistle Café locations, one in Davenport Center off 360 in Westlake, and one downtown on Sixth Street across from the new nightclub Oslo. The Sixth Street location has a more eclectic and formal dinner menu and we’ll be talking about that one today.

In two very enjoyable dining experiences there, I’ve had only one negative. The bread on the second visit was stale and not too edible. But the rest was totally delightful.

The appetizers are diverse, well thought-out, and delicious. The Calamari is soaked in buttermilk and lemon juice before frying, giving it a very appealing texture and taste. I liked the idea of the mustard sauce for dipping as well. I, for one, do not subscribe to the notion that a marinara sauce is the standard for calamari. Good for Thistle. I like this out of the box thinking; the sauce was mellow and the perfect complement to the spicy Calamari.

Another cool appetizer is the Blackened Gulf Shrimp. This is comparable to Dan Haverty’s Shrimp Harissa at the Shoreline, and just as good. They use a light, blackening spice, clarified butter, fried leeks and crumbled Stilton cheese. The taste sensation is immediate and riveting. We also tried their lovely Goat Cheese Salad. The key here is the combination of dried cranberries and candied pecans: they totally enhance the field lettuces and make for a really interesting salad.

I’ve tried four different entrees and they’ve all offered a complex yet totally complementary array of tastes. I mean to tell you folks: they are delicious. The Angus Rib eye is excellent. I like my rib eyes marbled and tender, and Thistle delivered on both counts. They cut their own steaks at Thistle and my cut was perfect. But the accompanying sauce elevated the dish to an even higher plateau. The black truffle butter merged with a demi-glace of shallots, fresh thyme, garlic, and parsley was just outstanding. Run, do not walk to the Thistle and order the Angus Ribeye.

The Sea Bass is equally appealing. It’s a 6-8oz portion of steamed sea bass, and how’s this for an interesting twist, a sauce with a base of lemongrass and mustard stock. And then a sweet chili sauce topped with toasted sesame and served over soba noodles. Seriously good.

The next dish to try is the Pan Seared Australian Lamb Loin. The lamb is cooked perfectly with a ragout of mushrooms and a visually stunning and equally tasty English pea puree. Again, the diversity of flavors here is quite stunning.

And do try the Beef Tenderloins with a whiskey shallot demi-glace. Ours were cooked just right and were tender and eminently tasty.
If you’ve got room for dessert, try their cookies and cream. They take a homemade cookie and crumble it into vanilla ice cream. I think you get the picture. Decadently good. Also tried the sorbets, which we found to be a bit on the bitter side, particularly the lemon and the mango. But after a meal like that, one can forgive a sorbet that misses the mark.

Our server was generous with her time and was very pleasant and engaging. Thumbs up for her!

This is a truly distinctive and exceptional restaurant that is likely to become a downtown standard. And a distinct candidate for my Top 20.

Thistle Café
300 W 6th St
(512) 275-9777 &
4601 M Cap of TX Hwy
(512) 347-1000
Mon-Thu 7am-10pm
Fri 7am-11pm
Sat 5pm-11pm

–From the June 2004 Austin Review