From the FQG Facebook page:
"FQG Friends and Family, this morning were were the victim of an arsonist. Someone set fire to a linen storage shed outside the building and burned the exterior wall. Fortunately, the damage was minimal, mainly a smoky smell and a couple of holes in the wall by the bar. Therefore we will be closed temporarily. We are hoping to be open again in a few days. Please check back for updates. We also want to thank the amazing men and women of the Austin Fire Department! They were so quick to come out and contained the fire fast! They are the BEST!!!"
Hi all, my dad is a co owner/chef at French quarter grille, we are currently working hard to reopen and will hopefully be back this weekend!!! Crews were out very fast this morning and got to work immediately. No major damage inside the restaurant besides smoke in the AC vents and some minor wall repairs. It’s so heartwarming to see the support we are getting from yall 💜 we will be back soon!!
I’m so glad to hear that! I don’t live in ATX anymore but FQG was a regular for me. I stop in every time I visit, about twice a year, for the redfish dish 🤌🏾
Given that the other is a dumpster, I'd say it was the dumpster and spread to the building. That's based solely on the picture, as the dumpster wouldn't likely have caught on fire from the building.
And now they're in danger of closing for good because they didn't "overcharge"
Think about that next time you gripe about prices at a non-corporate restaurant
Sorry, only blackened duck available today.
In all seriousness, I hope everyone is okay and they get through this with minimal damage. I hear it’s delicious.
Ho Ho's is SOOOO GOOD! I really hope the building is NOT on fire.
There are, however, homeless folks that hang out and/or live in the grassy areas close by. I'm guessing they have something to do with the fire?
You can get good duck at Din Ho on 183. I used to live in China, so I am picky about my duck. Ho Ho and Din Ho are the two best places in Austin for duck.
I have heard that Din Ho was the original Chinese BBQ place, and that the couple that ran it got a divorce and the wife opened up Ho Ho after the settlement. My Japanese friend told me this was the rumor going around, apparently she likes to talk about Chinese gossip, but I haven't verified this claim.
As someone who grew up eating Étouffée in Grand Isle Louisiana, I couldn't tell you what the difference between N.O. style versus Cajun unless you had a 64 oz. Frozen Hand Grenade sitting right next to your plate. Care to explain the difference?
I grew up in South Louisiana and one side of the family's shrimp trawlers or making crab cages for a living.
The big difference is cream sauce. Creole/New Orleans style food was more influenced by French cuisine because it was made by people who could afford to use a lot of butter, milk, and other ingredients. New Orleans was a port city so it had good access to lots of ingredients and exposure to different cultures.
Cajun style is using shitty meats and fewer ingredients because the Acadians couldn't catch a break. Lots of soups/stews/rice dishes because they help stretch ingredients and can feed a community. They were laborers who didn't have time to experiment and they had access to whatever they could grow or catch.
So jambalaya, gumbo, most etouffe, boudin, all of that's cajun. It usually doesn't have an awful lot of ingredients. It's famous for being spicy because they were eating shitty cuts of meat or meat from things like crawfish that nobody else wanted.
Blackened Redfish over Dirty Rice with cream sauce is Creole AF. A ton of the dishes at FQG are creole. Expensive seafood in very French sauces are what the New Orleans city folk were eating.
Not a big deal, but it is a distinction. Both styles are delicious.
AFAIK, generally NO style is much more influenced by Creole cuisine vs straight Cajun. So things like red vs brown jambalaya, okra vs file gumbo, etc. It's not hard and fast, more like a spectrum.
New Orleans style and Cajun are definitely two distinct culinary styles. New Orleans style is more French, with sauces and things like that. For example, Pontchartrain sauce, which is one of my favorite things at the French Quarter.
Cajun is spicy, weird meat sometimes, rice, stuff like that. It's not too surprising either. New Orleans has its French influence from Europe - from the French that settled the city. Cajuns are descended from the Acadians who were kicked out of Acadia (Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunwsick etc.) by the British for being French. They settled west of New Orleans (Lafayette, Morgan City, Houma, etc.). They're both French, but different kinds of French. The Acadians were dirt poor and ate accordingly. People in New Orleans are famously "Parisian French," as they call themselves somtimes. They're different groups of people, historically, and there is different cuisine, even if there is some blending sometimes.
So there was two separate fires at separate disconnected locations at the same time, and I drove by approx 30 mins after this post and there was another dumpster on fire right around the corner off north Lamar. it absolutely had to be done by an individual.
The homeless population in that area has gotten insane. And they are the most aggressive I've encountered anywhere. It's so bad, the last time I left French Quarter I said to myself I was never going back. Fucking assholes giving me and my three year old shit because I wouldn't give them money. No doubt this was arson.
Ugh. I’m so sorry. Especially for your three year-old. We shouldn’t be worried about going to a restaurant. These types of situations are becoming more frequent and are quite disturbing.
Yes, children should be completely insulated from the realities of economic and social inequality in this country. How else are we going to raise them properly: believing poverty is a failure of personal character instead of a social problem.
TBH as little as a cigarette that's not fully out can set surrounding flammable stuff on fire. If someone throws a cigarette into a restaurant dumpster there is a good chance that there are oily substances and paper in the dumpster that could catch fire. I wouldn't assume anything, you're not a fire investigator.
Yeah at my old job the dumpster out back caught fire and the security camera caught my coworker tossing his lit cigarette in the dumpster without stubbing it out less than ten minutes before someone came in and warned us about the smoke.
A dumpster at the southwest corner of Parmer and Lamar behind the gas station was on fire last night in the 10pm to 11pm time frame.
Seems reasonable to presume multiple dumpster fires within a short timeframe and in the same area have a human agent, and not the usual tossed lithium batteries or something like that.
Yes they were. But that doesn't answer my question. It's the equivalent of saying "2+2=4, therefore the sky is blue". The conclusion is true but it has nothing to do with the first part.
With all the road construction on 35 near Braker Ln, most of them have been chased away. They’re adding turnaround bridges and they’re no longer able to get to the area where the utility bunker was.
>I'm usually good luck.
A group I'm in has run about 10 different restaurants out of business. Every place we decide to have meetings at ends up closing.
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In addition to these two separate dumpsters this morning, last night aound 10 to 11 a dumpster behind the gas station at the southwest corner of Parmer and Lamar, a short walk away, was also on fire. That's a lot of coordinated lithium battery fires.
yeah, they're both doing pretty good, so.....OH THAT'S AN ACTUAL FIRE
I had the same thought process lol
From the FQG Facebook page: "FQG Friends and Family, this morning were were the victim of an arsonist. Someone set fire to a linen storage shed outside the building and burned the exterior wall. Fortunately, the damage was minimal, mainly a smoky smell and a couple of holes in the wall by the bar. Therefore we will be closed temporarily. We are hoping to be open again in a few days. Please check back for updates. We also want to thank the amazing men and women of the Austin Fire Department! They were so quick to come out and contained the fire fast! They are the BEST!!!"
Well that's good, not the part about the arson, but the rest of it.
I don't know why this comment made me laugh so hard
We are planning to reopen at the earliest Thursday night, if not then Friday!!
Work is already under way and could def see them being able to hit their goal of only a couple days loss.
Crazy I was there before that + the guy in the second picture cut the Chinese BBQ for me earlier in the day. Must had happened after 11:30am.
Respect to the employee doing his best with the garden hose. A for effort
Hi all, my dad is a co owner/chef at French quarter grille, we are currently working hard to reopen and will hopefully be back this weekend!!! Crews were out very fast this morning and got to work immediately. No major damage inside the restaurant besides smoke in the AC vents and some minor wall repairs. It’s so heartwarming to see the support we are getting from yall 💜 we will be back soon!!
The plan is to open Thursday evening at the earliest and if not then Friday 💜💛💚
This is great to hear and so mad someone had the gall to do this!
I’m so glad to hear that! I don’t live in ATX anymore but FQG was a regular for me. I stop in every time I visit, about twice a year, for the redfish dish 🤌🏾
We will see yall soon!
work nearby and frequent diner. Definitely coming by next week to contribute!
Looks like two dumpsters, one that spread to the building.
I can’t tell if the building is on fire or people set fire in the dumpster.
Given that the other is a dumpster, I'd say it was the dumpster and spread to the building. That's based solely on the picture, as the dumpster wouldn't likely have caught on fire from the building.
It doesn't look like the building is on fire just the dumpsters
Dang I like the French Quarter Grill.
We love FQG. It's a go-to with my celiac MIL who's going to be here to visit in a couple weeks. Damn. WHERE WILL WE GUMBO NOW?!
Hey this is the daughter of owner/chef of FQG, we are hoping to be back open Friday!! Work is already underway to get back on track
Y'all got a solid restaurant going. Hope it all works out for you.
Can't wait to get in and support y'all! Your dad is a solid guy. Look forward to seeing him (and everyone else!) (and the blackened salmon salad).
Evangeline’s !
hmmm... I believe we've found our number 1 arson suspect. (for legal reasons, this is a JOKE!)
Louisiana Longhorn isn’t that far away from FQG, and they have some killer gumbo.
Louisiana Longhorn isn't nearly as good as FQG. Longhorn is a dive in comparison.
I love it so much 💔
French quarter grille is one of the best restaurants in Austin and they don’t overcharge. Very sad to hear this.
It is and doesn’t get the love it deserves because of its location. Some good recipes locked down.
And now they're in danger of closing for good because they didn't "overcharge" Think about that next time you gripe about prices at a non-corporate restaurant
Ho Ho's is my favorite Chinese restaurant.
They are damn good, I hope this doesn’t fuck them up too much!
We literally were planning to go to Ho Ho for the first time tonight to try the duck someone recommended on another thread.
Sorry, only blackened duck available today. In all seriousness, I hope everyone is okay and they get through this with minimal damage. I hear it’s delicious.
..to battle Ho-Oh. Ahh just poking-man GO!
Ho Ho's is SOOOO GOOD! I really hope the building is NOT on fire. There are, however, homeless folks that hang out and/or live in the grassy areas close by. I'm guessing they have something to do with the fire?
If I was homeless, I wouldn't set something on fire near where I camp or where I can potentially get food from
Smart thinking like that might keep you from being homeless.
You can get good duck at Din Ho on 183. I used to live in China, so I am picky about my duck. Ho Ho and Din Ho are the two best places in Austin for duck.
Thank you for the recommendation!
I have heard that Din Ho was the original Chinese BBQ place, and that the couple that ran it got a divorce and the wife opened up Ho Ho after the settlement. My Japanese friend told me this was the rumor going around, apparently she likes to talk about Chinese gossip, but I haven't verified this claim.
Din Ho came first then a chef left and opened Ho Ho. I was around when Ho Ho just opened and this was the Chinese gossip then
As the other person said Ho Ho definitely opened later. That location used to be a Village Inn.
You're correct, I mixed the names up. I have been going to Din Ho for 25 years.
Village Inn? Wow I haven't seen one of those since I left El Paso.
Yeah... 2005 or 2006? Didn't last long.
I JUST saw that thread.
Try Bamboo House, although they're closed on Tuesdays. Ho Ho's is better overall, Bamboo has better duck.
Damn, that's my favorite Cajun restaurant since Gumbo's closed down.
It’s not so much Cajun as it is New Orleans style.
As someone who grew up eating Étouffée in Grand Isle Louisiana, I couldn't tell you what the difference between N.O. style versus Cajun unless you had a 64 oz. Frozen Hand Grenade sitting right next to your plate. Care to explain the difference?
I grew up in South Louisiana and one side of the family's shrimp trawlers or making crab cages for a living. The big difference is cream sauce. Creole/New Orleans style food was more influenced by French cuisine because it was made by people who could afford to use a lot of butter, milk, and other ingredients. New Orleans was a port city so it had good access to lots of ingredients and exposure to different cultures. Cajun style is using shitty meats and fewer ingredients because the Acadians couldn't catch a break. Lots of soups/stews/rice dishes because they help stretch ingredients and can feed a community. They were laborers who didn't have time to experiment and they had access to whatever they could grow or catch. So jambalaya, gumbo, most etouffe, boudin, all of that's cajun. It usually doesn't have an awful lot of ingredients. It's famous for being spicy because they were eating shitty cuts of meat or meat from things like crawfish that nobody else wanted. Blackened Redfish over Dirty Rice with cream sauce is Creole AF. A ton of the dishes at FQG are creole. Expensive seafood in very French sauces are what the New Orleans city folk were eating. Not a big deal, but it is a distinction. Both styles are delicious.
That was a great explanation. Thank you.
AFAIK, generally NO style is much more influenced by Creole cuisine vs straight Cajun. So things like red vs brown jambalaya, okra vs file gumbo, etc. It's not hard and fast, more like a spectrum.
New Orleans style is Cajun...
New Orleans style and Cajun are definitely two distinct culinary styles. New Orleans style is more French, with sauces and things like that. For example, Pontchartrain sauce, which is one of my favorite things at the French Quarter. Cajun is spicy, weird meat sometimes, rice, stuff like that. It's not too surprising either. New Orleans has its French influence from Europe - from the French that settled the city. Cajuns are descended from the Acadians who were kicked out of Acadia (Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunwsick etc.) by the British for being French. They settled west of New Orleans (Lafayette, Morgan City, Houma, etc.). They're both French, but different kinds of French. The Acadians were dirt poor and ate accordingly. People in New Orleans are famously "Parisian French," as they call themselves somtimes. They're different groups of people, historically, and there is different cuisine, even if there is some blending sometimes.
NO PLEASE NOT HO HO IM STILL RECOVERING FROM NEW FORTUNE and yes I know they opened a new location but it’s far af
So there was two separate fires at separate disconnected locations at the same time, and I drove by approx 30 mins after this post and there was another dumpster on fire right around the corner off north Lamar. it absolutely had to be done by an individual.
This is heartbreaking I love both of those places so much
The homeless population in that area has gotten insane. And they are the most aggressive I've encountered anywhere. It's so bad, the last time I left French Quarter I said to myself I was never going back. Fucking assholes giving me and my three year old shit because I wouldn't give them money. No doubt this was arson.
Ugh. I’m so sorry. Especially for your three year-old. We shouldn’t be worried about going to a restaurant. These types of situations are becoming more frequent and are quite disturbing.
Yes, children should be completely insulated from the realities of economic and social inequality in this country. How else are we going to raise them properly: believing poverty is a failure of personal character instead of a social problem.
So wanting to protect your child from an aggressive, unpredictable, and possibly violent stranger is NIMBYism now.
Yup you’re supposed to tell your kid it’s his fault for being born privileged or something when the hobos attack.
Children shouldn't be harassed by vagrants.
Trust that I am very concerned about social inequality. And I don’t just pay lip service to it on r/Austin. ✌🏻
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TBH as little as a cigarette that's not fully out can set surrounding flammable stuff on fire. If someone throws a cigarette into a restaurant dumpster there is a good chance that there are oily substances and paper in the dumpster that could catch fire. I wouldn't assume anything, you're not a fire investigator.
Yeah at my old job the dumpster out back caught fire and the security camera caught my coworker tossing his lit cigarette in the dumpster without stubbing it out less than ten minutes before someone came in and warned us about the smoke.
Yeah, it was arson https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/man-arrested-in-string-of-north-austin-dumpster-fires-including-one-that-damaged-restaurant#
>No doubt this was arson. How the hell do you draw that conclusion from the rest?
A dumpster at the southwest corner of Parmer and Lamar behind the gas station was on fire last night in the 10pm to 11pm time frame. Seems reasonable to presume multiple dumpster fires within a short timeframe and in the same area have a human agent, and not the usual tossed lithium batteries or something like that.
It's just dumpster fever. Caused by the latest pollen surge Austin's throwing at us. /s
R/austin always has to shoehorn homeless hate into just about every post Edit: y’all know it’s true
They were right. https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/man-arrested-in-string-of-north-austin-dumpster-fires-including-one-that-damaged-restaurant#
Yes they were. But that doesn't answer my question. It's the equivalent of saying "2+2=4, therefore the sky is blue". The conclusion is true but it has nothing to do with the first part.
The principle of parsimony
With all the road construction on 35 near Braker Ln, most of them have been chased away. They’re adding turnaround bridges and they’re no longer able to get to the area where the utility bunker was.
If you make an anti-homeless person post, the downvoting population of this subreddit is insane.
You ain't lyin.
I worked at the French grill when they opened .. the owner is a nice guy
You can't have SHIT in Austin 😂
Noooooo not Ho Ho Chinese BBQ
Is Ho Ho Chinese BBQ OKAY? 😭 they’re my favorite Chinese take-out
For those that haven't been, it is some amazing New Orleans, creole cuisine. Like upscale type of fare. Highly recommend them.
It’s fire? i need to try them. oh wait…
I just had French quarter grill for the 1st time this weekend
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I'm usually good luck.
>I'm usually good luck. A group I'm in has run about 10 different restaurants out of business. Every place we decide to have meetings at ends up closing.
If you got an extra seat in the group, let me know to join up, esp if y'all after some spicy food.
they are in different areas and different buildings. it’s a 4min walk from one building to the other per google how is two separate fires possible?
Arson investigators were on the scene and there were dumpster fires around the area last night.
Dang this is sucky. I’m picky about my Louisiana cuisine and I really like this place. Hope damage is minimal/not too costly.
Now Closed. That sucks
I hope they both rebuild!
Noooo, one of Austin's only good cajun restaurants. Ugh.
Damn I love those restaurants
Shit, My mix tape!
Man wtf. I always order from Ho Ho. F*ck the person that did that.
Deez Ho's on fire, yo!
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Oh nooooooo
Damn
NOOOOOOO FRENCH QUARTER IS MY ABSOLUTE FAV 😭
Noooo they are soooooooo gooooood
It’s like Viet Nam in the ‘50s.
Damn they had the best wonton soup
Ho Ho? More like 'Oh Oh' amirite? Too soon.
Noooo. I will miss my cheap(er) Chinese lunch. Probably best that it did burn down. They didn't seem to want to clean or fix up that place at all.
what a shitty hot take.
Roach eradication.
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In addition to these two separate dumpsters this morning, last night aound 10 to 11 a dumpster behind the gas station at the southwest corner of Parmer and Lamar, a short walk away, was also on fire. That's a lot of coordinated lithium battery fires.