“Careful with that finger!”
We flew back from San Francisco to Dallas on Tuesday afternoon, unpacked, did some laundry, re-packed and started the drive to Austin on Wednesday morning. I always enjoy looking out at the cloud formations on daytime flights.
The new VW Atlas performed very well on the drive – very comfy and smooth and with all the modern electronics that Penelope is lacking. We met the Ogans for tacos at Nixta before checking into the hotel. This is a place that I had been hoping to try for a while, and it was excellent. Very creative and tasty tacos and tostadas. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed the garden patio setting very much. I had a beet tartare tostada that had some kind of whipped avocado base – highly recommended.
After hotel check-in, we had a few hours until dinner at Justine’s. We found a couple of new cocktail establishments. Higher Ground was just a few hundred yards from the hotel, and had great drinks and snacks – all cleverly named after the seven deadly sins.
Our next stop was at the Firehouse lounge. This is a classic speakeasy hidden behind a sliding bookcase in the lobby of a hostel. We enjoyed this stop a lot, with Diana and Anne very impressed that the bartender made them Old Cubans without any help on ingredients or proportions.
We sat on the patio at Justine’s and enjoyed a terrific evening. Denny loved the ambiance and the food. He and I both had a special clam dish with chorizo and frites. What did Diana have? Any guesses? Yes – her first steak tartare of the trip.
Both Diana and I had work most of the day on Thursday and so Denny and Anne were on their own. I ran into them (almost) on my drive to the office as they were scootering down Barton Springs. I joined them for breakfast at Biscuits and Groovy – a very good food truck that even serves French press coffee.
We all met up for dinner at Peche before the concert at Austin City Limits. What did Diana have here? You are correct – her second steak tartare. “But they’re all so good and so different from each other.”
We loved everything about the concert. Three terrific artists/band were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. We had excellent seats and plenty of room. I’m going to share the pictures in order with the setlist from the evening.
Set list:
Alejandro Escovedo (inducted by Lenny Kaye)
1. “Algo Azul” (with Alex Ruiz and Lenny Kaye)
2. “Sally Was a Cop” (with John Doe, Alex Ruiz and Lenny Kaye)
3. “Put You Down”
Alejandro’s set was my favourite of the night – such a variety of musical styles and excellent song writing. A highlight was him introducing his niece, Sheila E. from Prince’s band. Now we know what the E stands for.
Lucinda Williams (inducted by Jason Isbell)
Certainly the most poignant moment of the evening. We didn’t realize that Lucinda had suffered a stroke about a year ago – she can sing well but isn’t very mobile. Isbell gave the best induction speech – highlighting the amazing lyrics of her songs.
1. “I Envy the Wind” (performed by Jason Isbell)
2. “Crescent City” (with Rosanne Cash)
3. “Changed the Locks” (with Margo Price)
Wilco (inducted by the lovely Rosanne Cash)
1. “A Shot in the Arm”
2. “Sky Blue Sky” (performed by Bill Callahan)
3. “One Sunday Morning” (performed by Terry Allen)
4. “Jesus Etc.” (with Michelle Zauner)
5. “California Stars” (grand finale with almost all performers)
If you look very closely in the bottom right corner you can catch sight of my grey hair. It was about this time 2 years ago that I tried to cut off the tip of my finger in the J.W. Marriott door. McD had me on a very close watch. We introduced Denny and Anne to Velvet Taco for a late night snack – the chicken tikka tacos were a perfect end to a great and very unique evening.
The Ogans flew back to New Orleans on Friday morning, and so we had the day to ourselves. We started out with a good long run along the river – that we seriously payed for over the next few days – not sure why our legs hurt so much. I made a lunch reservation at June’s and teased D by asking her where she would like to pick for lunch – she ultimately got to June’s and wondered if we could get a reservation 🙂 It was another lovely afternoon and we were able to sit out on the patio. What did Diana have for lunch? Yes – the trifecta of steak tartare was completed. I enjoyed some salt cod croquettes and delicious curried escargot.
It was time to move again. We walked about a mile and a half over to South Lamar and had a coffee on the wonderful Opa! patio. One of the places we really miss for Sunday mornings.
After coffee, I took Diana to the tiki bar that I had picked out for Denny (before he had to leave early). Tiki Tatsu-Ya was amazing – we were really transported into another world with outstanding details. It has only been open a few weeks and is doing quite well, even though it’s hidden away behind the Saxon Pub parking lot. Denny really missed out. We’re looking forward to trying some food on our next visit.
Each drink had a very fancy cup. We did not like the Tiki version of a negroni in that scary shot glass at all – needs some work. A totally unique experience again. The menu itself was very impressive.
After Tiki, I gave D the option of TG BAD (two guitars, bass, and drums) at the Saxon pub or an earlier than planned dinner at the Odd Duck. She decided the Odd Duck couldn’t wait. Wise move.
The Odd Duck and Opa! are probably the two places we miss the most in Austin. The menu is always changing, so creative, and there’s no other place that mixes together so many flavours and textures so well.
We started with ceviche, quesadilla, and quail. All fantastic. Still a little hungry, we finished up with the scallops – perfectly cooked. We really love this restaurant.
What an excellent day wandering around Austin and enjoying our favourite places!
Saturday started with a walk (a run was out of the question with our sore muscles) along the river. Then we visited our last old favourite, El Alma, for their excellent brunch. Eggs Benedict are probably not a great option before a four hour drive – that hollandaise sauce put me in a very sleepy state. The Atlas made easy work of the drive back home – I think we’re going to get along just fine.
Finn came over for “football food” on Sunday after work. I had suggested wings to D and she did a great job of cooking them for the first time. The Cowboys didn’t play until the evening and were going with the backup quarterback, Cooper Rush. We were all quite nervous, but they ended up being able to eke out a win to bring their record to 6-1 – best in decades.
We had planned to distribute Halloween candy until the game started at 7:30. Business was light with I would guess a total of 30 kids or less. Here are Ben and Lilly dressed up and ready to go in California. And then Campbell and Molly are a bit scarier in San Diego.
I was too busy to get any decent reading done this week, and we’ve talked a lot about music already, so stay safe and kind!