General managers Ashlynn Patrizi and Ben Bratan run Vic & Al’s.
COURTESY VIC AND AL’S
DINING FEATURE Vic & Al’s Tucked-away restaurant offers Cajun cuisine to Austinites W hen the owners of Unit-D Pizzeria BY KATY MCAFEE
Vic & Al’s jambalaya includes rice, chicken, shrimp and scallions.
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The “functional pantry” inside Vic & Al’s is used as decor and a solution to its limited kitchen space.
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ENTREES THREE WAYS
Vic & Al’s proteins—roasted pork, blackened cat sh and red bean fritters—can be served as: Po’boy New Orleans sandwich served on
Patrizi, Patrizi’s sister and general manager. For his third restaurant, Patrizi was compelled to honor his grandfather, Vic, and his grandfather’s brother, Al, who opened a restaurant near the Louisiana border in Beaumont, Texas, in the ‘50s. Ashlynn said the restaurant has become a “hid- den gem,” as it is tucked away with minimal signage across the street from Patrizi's. “We opened with a goal to be word-of-mouth and just spread around [the community],” Ashlynn said. “We’re a close-knit group.” The menu has a lunch and dinner special that changes daily. The core menu includes roasted pork, blackened cat sh and red bean fritters that can be served as po’boys, sassafras rice or a salad, and sides, including gumbo. For dessert, Vic & Al’s o ers a less-traditional version of New Orleans bread pudding as well as beignets, which are o -menu but still available.
announced they were going to sell their building in 2018, Nic Patrizi, one of their regulars, saw the perfect opportunity to open his rst brick-and-mortar restaurant. Vic and Al’s o cially opened in 2019 with a menu o ering jambalaya, po’boys, Gumbo and other Cajun classics. Patrizi saw the space as an opportunity to honor the Cajun side of his family. He started his restau- rant journey in 2009 with a sandwich truck called Jalopy, which has since closed. Then in 2012, he opened a pasta food truck called Patrizi’s on Manor Road, which was inspired by his Italian half. “Every holiday we’d go to my grandfather’s, and he’d make a [Cajun] sirloin, and my grandmother would be making eggplant parmesan,” said Ashlynn
French bread Sassafras rice served with Hoppin’ Johns—a black-eyed peas dish, green onion and parsley Salad bowl collard greens, charred cabbage and more
Vic & Al’s 2406 Manor Road, Ste. D, Austin 512-387-5875 www.vicandals.com Hours: Daily 9 a.m.-11 p.m.
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