November 2011
14 posts
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Halloween is - no joke - my favorite holiday. This year’s celebrations included a party with my best friend (and right-“hammed” girl) on Saturday, a costume party at work on Monday during the day, and dinner and music (with my own Clyde Barrow) Monday night. I have SO much fun putting costumes together, and was very proud of how they turned out this year. Many thanks to Sara for...
October 2011
76 posts
Talkin' 'bout a little place called Austin...
With a legion of ghost pretzels chilling in my freezer, and two pineapple rum cakes baking in my oven, I have decided that it’s time to sit down an tell you all about our whirlwind vacation to Austin, Texas.
We had decided to plan a pair of trips (Toronto being the first of the two), when our go-to airline ran an anniversary special on flights. We got a good deal on our tickets, but what we didn’t pay for in money, we paid for with time. It ended up taking three flights to reach our final destination - Indy to Tampa, Tampa to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale to Austin - but we made it, and...
After picking up our rental car, our first stop was the Magnolia Cafe. I’d heard my husband’s fond memories of heavenly panakes eaten when he’d played South by Southwest with his band, and it had been insisted that there was no finer place to “break the seal” on our Austin dining experiences. The Mr. went straight for migas and a gingerbread short stack, while I...
After dinner we strolled down South Congress Avenue (SoCo, locally), a vibrant collection of boutiques, retro clothing shops, restaurants, and coffee shops. We stopped by happy hour at the Continental Club, the premiere venue in town, and the birthplace of many a music career. Adam Johnson and the Pay Me’s had the stage that evening, and we checked out their mix of blues, soul, and R&B...
We fetched the car and headed to the Casulo Hotel. It’s a Zen-inspired boutique hotel just five minutes south of downtown. We stay on the move when we travel, so all we really ask for is a comfy bed and a coffee pot. We got these things, along with a balcony, a living room, a dreadfully powerful air-conditioning system, and a shower that you can see straight into from the main room. All...
After turning the A/C off and changing clothes, we were off again to Threadgill’s (subtitled: Armadillo World Headquarters) to see Phil Hurley play with Indianapolis’ own Andy Carrell on bass. We got there just in time to see the last three songs, and were able to obtain some suggestions of things to do in town from Andy, but our experience at the famous Austin venue was just that...
The continental breakfast at the hotel disappeared before I made it downstairs (a suspicious trend that lasted throughout our stay), so we were actually, technically forced to return to the Magnolia Cafe for brunch. He opted for some ginger stir-fry concoction, and I chose the hummus wrap. Again, we were not disappointed. We had both been feeling under the weather, and know from experience that...
Shortly thereafter, we jumped in the rental and headed over to South Austin Music. This isn’t really my subject, so I’ll say it’s a store full of guitars…and amps…and things. The Mr. enjoyed it, and that’s all that really mattered to me. He hangs around second-hand holes-in-the-wall while I coo over buttons on dresses from the 40s, so I was more than happy to...
I was also happy to eat barbecue, which is unusual for me. Our next stop was for an early dinner at Ruby’s, a must-visit eatery for authentic brick pit-smoked barbecue. The Mr. got the brisket sandwich with collard greens, and I stuck to a good-old chicken sandwich with spicy southwest mashed potatoes. A splendid meal was had by all. We swung next door to the Spiderhouse cafe, bar, and...
We hightailed it downtown to see guitarist Stan Smith (another Indianapolis-ite) play happy hour in the basement jazz club known as the Elephant Room. Again, we arrived at the tail-end of the early act, so we took a moment to have a drink and gather our thoughts on what we should do with the remainder of our evening.
We decided to take a walk over to 6th Street, the comparative Bourbon Street of Austin. The Mr. grabbed a fresh hand-rolled cigar, I lit up a flavored cigarillo, and we rambled past the various dives and clubs in the district. Music of every sort poured through the open doors and windows as we walked down the strip. Jazz, rock, blues, country, death metal (by far the most distinct), all flowed...
Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon is Austin’s home of chicken shit bingo Sundays, and was voted one of the “20 Greatest Bars to Throw Up In”. It’s an unassuming structure set back off the road, with a steeple on top and a bright red door. The bar is set up to sell beer or wine, but the lady of the house is more than happy to run a soda and a bucket of ice over to...
After such a busy night, it was practically necessary to stop by the Magnolia for a bite before heading back to the hotel. By that point, I don’t remember what was on his plate, but I had some crazy jalapeño and cheese covered potatoes that they called a “Martian Landscape” - prefect for two in the morning, I tell you.
Having found the buffet in the lobby barren again, we headed out to meet yet another Indiana pal for lunch at 888 Vietnamese Bistro for a surprisingly delicious ethnic buffet experience. After catching up there, it was off to pick up the Mr.’s one-time drummer and long-time friend for a field trip to the Collings Guitar factory. Collings produces industry standard-setting artisan electric...
The next couple of hours were spent watching the Mr. reconnect with the friend he hadn’t seen in close to fifteen years. We drove around to music stores and pawn shops, and it was nice seeing them catch up in person after having kept in touch exclusively over the telephone for so long.
