As a fan of the III Forks in Dallas, I was looking forward to trying it here. We made reservations for Saturday night. They gave us a booth in the bar area. Despite our apprehensions, we didn't ask for another table. Big mistake! The bar area at III Forks should not include booths for dining. It is too loud, too crowded, and quite clearly a matter of ""out of sight, out of mind"" for the waitstaff assigned to the tables there. Ten minutes after we were seated, a waiter offered us a wine menu and didn't give us a chance to order anything else after we declined it. Fifteen minutes later, we finally met our waiter but we didn't see him again until he brought our entrees. Someone else delivered our appetizers. We tried the bacon-wrapped scallops, the beef crostini, and a III Forks Sampler. Of the three, the sampler was the best. It was the only good food we had there and the only food that was adequately described on the menu. The Dover Sole was fresh but boring, whereas the beef medallions and tenderloin tips were too large and nearly flavorless, even though the tips were drenched in a salty red wine sauce that had a strange smokey taste. Stranger still--and even less appealing--were the side dishes. In a sad imitation of better steakhouses, III Forks presents its diners with a daily selection of side dishes that are brought to the table after the entrees have arrived. We were offered creamed corn that was extremely sugery and overripe beefsteak tomatoes sprinkled with parsley. However, even though we ordered baked potatoes with our entrees, the person with the sour cream, butter, and chives never came to our table and our waiter did not ask us how our food was or if we needed anything before he brought the check. Overall, it was the WORST DINING EXPERIENCE I've ever had in Austin and I have lived here for almost eight years.
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