Perusing the dessert menu, we’re always a bit skeptical when we come across something such as “ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry)” or some permutation thereof. If nothing else seems appealing, and we’d like a bit of ice cream, then we take the chance. If we’re lucky, we’ll get some good local stuff from Thomas Sweet or Gifford’s. Or on the corporate side of things, we’ll likewise feel honored to scarf down some Haagen-Dazs, particularly any rare sightings of their Belgian chocolate flavor.

But we really get excited when a local restaurant has recognized the greatness of some other state’s creamy confection, as is the case with Austin Grill, which has imported the great Amy’s Ice Creams brand of ice cream from its home in Austin, Texas (with locations in Houston and San Antonio). This stuff is so homegrown, in fact, that though this Dallas-bred DCist had never had the occasion to sample Amy’s until settling in Washington. Of course, back when we knew all the words to “Deep in the Heart of Texas”, our minds were clouded by the alleged merit of Blue Bell, which was the only thing around to fill the great ice cream void in North Texas.

Though we occasionally enjoy a pollo guisado taco or the guacamole at Austin Grill, we’re not by any means holding it up as a paragon of fine dining or even excellent Tex-Mex. But Austin Grill gets major points for bringing Amy’s ice cream to the East Coast (notwithstanding the fact that Austin Grill owner Rob Wilder, a shareholder in Amy’s, is obviously beneficial to Mr. Wilder), thereby augmenting Amy’s national profile as one of the best homegrown ice creams in the country.