My Austin Trip
So, I'm back from Austin. I was there from Wednesday-Saturday last week. I had such a good time! Unfortunately I now have a cold, but it gives me some time to recap and post photos.
I left super early on Wednesday and got to Austin in the late afternoon. Heather & Andy picked me up and we went directly to Central Market, which is a Texas grocery chain that's kind of like a Whole Foods or New Seasons. As most of my friends know, I'm in heaven in that kind of place. So we got a ton of delicious items, including wine and fruit and Barefoot Contessa cupcake mix and orange blossom ice cream and all kinds of other treats. Then we went to H&A's new house, which is beautiful. I especially love the kitchen. Not only is it modern and equipped with everything I would want (gas range, black granite countertops, double wall oven, bar, sleek black fridge with pull-out freezer on the bottom....), but it's also filled with personal touches that are exactly in line with the style I love. Colorful Le Creuset cookware, cool little knick knacks from different countries, lots of interesting cookbooks. I felt right at home there. They're still in the process of acquiring furniture for some rooms, but I really like what they've done so far. I also like how the house is wired for sound so you can play music from a central source and hear it in multiple rooms.
The house from the front.
Part of the kitchen.
The living room.
So we hung out for a while there and drank some wine, and then went out to a place called Hill's Cafe for dinner. They wanted to take me there because it's a very "Texas" type diner and just a casual place to hang out on the first night of my visit. We had fried pickles and fried mushrooms as appetizers and I had a buffalo chicken sandwich -- way too much to eat, but good. Then we drove around Austin for a while so I could take pictures of some of the cool neon signs. We all share an interest in vintage neon signs, and Heather had already photographed most of them, but they took the time to drive me all over just so I could get photos too. They're so nice and hospitable.
A few of the coolest signs:
The next day, I slept in a bit and when I got up, Heather had already made the Barefoot Contessa chocolate cupcakes. We had decided to buy the mix just to see if any mix could possibly be worth $7.50 or whatever it cost. The box included pretty much everything for the cupcakes and peanut butter frosting, and the verdict was that they were pretty damn good. Not something I'd buy often, but they were fun for an indulgence. So then we went out and walked around downtown Austin for most of the day. We browsed shops, bought a few souvenirs, visited the State Capitol, etc. I looked around several places for the new Rolling Stone with the Hugh Laurie interview, but to no avail (they still had the old issue everywhere).
The overpriced cupcakes.
Here's me with one of the many Gibson guitar statues all over Austin.
And here's Heather & Andy with another guitar.
Here's me at the Capitol.
Then, we went out for a 5-course tasting menu at Zoot Restaurant that night. It was fantastic. We all felt that the service was a little rushed, but the food and wine pairings were great.
The menu - I had the farmer's tasting menu and they both had the chef's tasting menu.
Andy and Heather at dinner.
After dinner, we had reservations at the Alamo Drafthouse for a pop sing-along, but we had some time to kill so we took a horse-drawn carriage ride around downtown first. That was so fun -- a great way to see the city and just relax and hang out. The weather was nice and warm. Then we went to the Drafthouse, which is absolutely the coolest theatre in the country, maybe the world. Not only do they serve drinks and food throughout all events, but they have some of the most unique events I've ever heard of. They do things like have a 24-hour samurai film festival hosted by the Japanese guy from Heroes, or a showing of Shaft in which everyone gets a free 40-oz, or a spaghetti western marathon where they serve ... a spaghetti feast, of course. They recently had an 80s power ballad sing-along, which I would've LOVED to attend, but unfortunately the timing was wrong, so we had to attend the pop sing-along instead. They played way too much Justin Timberlake and Britney for our tastes, and we felt a little old for the music, but it was fun anyway. Basically it's like group karaoke. They show the videos on screen and everyone sings along (or you just sit and drink and watch everyone else singing). (Hey, I just realized, Entertainment Weekly called the Drafthouse the best theatre in America too - see, I know what I'm talking about!) Anyway, that was about it for the night -- we came home and played some Scene It - Music edition, which I narrowly won, and then went to bed.
In the morning, we went out for breakfast tacos (a local specialty) at a place called Juan in a Million. OMG, it was so good! We had the Don Juan tacos, which is a huge plate of bacon/egg/potato/cheese mixture and as many tortillas as you want. That plus chips and salsa and queso sauce is the perfect hangover breakfast. And lots of hot coffee. Then we went out to visit the Laguna Gloria estate, which is part of the Austin Museum of Art. It was pretty, but unfortunately by that time I wasn't feeling well so I didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would've. I felt really tired and just wanted to go home, so we went back to the house and I took a nap. We decided against going out that night, and instead just got some pizzas from Whole Foods, had some wine and watched a horror movie (Wolf Creek) on their new 52" plasma TV. It was exactly the type of evening I needed -- low key and comfortable. After the movie, we watched an episode of Extras, which was hilarious, and will most likely become one of my favorite shows (I borrowed the rest of the season from Heather).
Our chaotic table at Juan in a Million.
Don Juan breakfast taco!!
Finally, Saturday morning we had planned to make brunch at home. Heather did everything -- I just sat around being lazy. She made this delicious French toast stuffed with bananas, and topped with strawberries, blueberries, syrup and powdered sugar. So good! It was accompanied by some delicious bacon from Whole Foods (I normally don't eat bacon, but I make exceptions when it's high quality and I'm on vacation.) We also had mimosas and good French-press coffee.
Our delicious brunch. All credit goes to Heather.
The cute Sofia champagne we used to make mimosas. Inside the box, there's 4 little individual size cans with straws.
Heather & Andy's dog, Winnie.
Then, alas, it was time to go home. After an uneventful trip home, in which I watched several episodes of Jeeves & Wooster on the plane, I was back with my kitties safe and sound.
Longest post ever? If you made it through the whole thing, thank you.
I left super early on Wednesday and got to Austin in the late afternoon. Heather & Andy picked me up and we went directly to Central Market, which is a Texas grocery chain that's kind of like a Whole Foods or New Seasons. As most of my friends know, I'm in heaven in that kind of place. So we got a ton of delicious items, including wine and fruit and Barefoot Contessa cupcake mix and orange blossom ice cream and all kinds of other treats. Then we went to H&A's new house, which is beautiful. I especially love the kitchen. Not only is it modern and equipped with everything I would want (gas range, black granite countertops, double wall oven, bar, sleek black fridge with pull-out freezer on the bottom....), but it's also filled with personal touches that are exactly in line with the style I love. Colorful Le Creuset cookware, cool little knick knacks from different countries, lots of interesting cookbooks. I felt right at home there. They're still in the process of acquiring furniture for some rooms, but I really like what they've done so far. I also like how the house is wired for sound so you can play music from a central source and hear it in multiple rooms.
The house from the front.
Part of the kitchen.
The living room.
So we hung out for a while there and drank some wine, and then went out to a place called Hill's Cafe for dinner. They wanted to take me there because it's a very "Texas" type diner and just a casual place to hang out on the first night of my visit. We had fried pickles and fried mushrooms as appetizers and I had a buffalo chicken sandwich -- way too much to eat, but good. Then we drove around Austin for a while so I could take pictures of some of the cool neon signs. We all share an interest in vintage neon signs, and Heather had already photographed most of them, but they took the time to drive me all over just so I could get photos too. They're so nice and hospitable.
A few of the coolest signs:
The next day, I slept in a bit and when I got up, Heather had already made the Barefoot Contessa chocolate cupcakes. We had decided to buy the mix just to see if any mix could possibly be worth $7.50 or whatever it cost. The box included pretty much everything for the cupcakes and peanut butter frosting, and the verdict was that they were pretty damn good. Not something I'd buy often, but they were fun for an indulgence. So then we went out and walked around downtown Austin for most of the day. We browsed shops, bought a few souvenirs, visited the State Capitol, etc. I looked around several places for the new Rolling Stone with the Hugh Laurie interview, but to no avail (they still had the old issue everywhere).
The overpriced cupcakes.
Here's me with one of the many Gibson guitar statues all over Austin.
And here's Heather & Andy with another guitar.
Here's me at the Capitol.
Then, we went out for a 5-course tasting menu at Zoot Restaurant that night. It was fantastic. We all felt that the service was a little rushed, but the food and wine pairings were great.
The menu - I had the farmer's tasting menu and they both had the chef's tasting menu.
Andy and Heather at dinner.
After dinner, we had reservations at the Alamo Drafthouse for a pop sing-along, but we had some time to kill so we took a horse-drawn carriage ride around downtown first. That was so fun -- a great way to see the city and just relax and hang out. The weather was nice and warm. Then we went to the Drafthouse, which is absolutely the coolest theatre in the country, maybe the world. Not only do they serve drinks and food throughout all events, but they have some of the most unique events I've ever heard of. They do things like have a 24-hour samurai film festival hosted by the Japanese guy from Heroes, or a showing of Shaft in which everyone gets a free 40-oz, or a spaghetti western marathon where they serve ... a spaghetti feast, of course. They recently had an 80s power ballad sing-along, which I would've LOVED to attend, but unfortunately the timing was wrong, so we had to attend the pop sing-along instead. They played way too much Justin Timberlake and Britney for our tastes, and we felt a little old for the music, but it was fun anyway. Basically it's like group karaoke. They show the videos on screen and everyone sings along (or you just sit and drink and watch everyone else singing). (Hey, I just realized, Entertainment Weekly called the Drafthouse the best theatre in America too - see, I know what I'm talking about!) Anyway, that was about it for the night -- we came home and played some Scene It - Music edition, which I narrowly won, and then went to bed.
In the morning, we went out for breakfast tacos (a local specialty) at a place called Juan in a Million. OMG, it was so good! We had the Don Juan tacos, which is a huge plate of bacon/egg/potato/cheese mixture and as many tortillas as you want. That plus chips and salsa and queso sauce is the perfect hangover breakfast. And lots of hot coffee. Then we went out to visit the Laguna Gloria estate, which is part of the Austin Museum of Art. It was pretty, but unfortunately by that time I wasn't feeling well so I didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would've. I felt really tired and just wanted to go home, so we went back to the house and I took a nap. We decided against going out that night, and instead just got some pizzas from Whole Foods, had some wine and watched a horror movie (Wolf Creek) on their new 52" plasma TV. It was exactly the type of evening I needed -- low key and comfortable. After the movie, we watched an episode of Extras, which was hilarious, and will most likely become one of my favorite shows (I borrowed the rest of the season from Heather).
Our chaotic table at Juan in a Million.
Don Juan breakfast taco!!
Finally, Saturday morning we had planned to make brunch at home. Heather did everything -- I just sat around being lazy. She made this delicious French toast stuffed with bananas, and topped with strawberries, blueberries, syrup and powdered sugar. So good! It was accompanied by some delicious bacon from Whole Foods (I normally don't eat bacon, but I make exceptions when it's high quality and I'm on vacation.) We also had mimosas and good French-press coffee.
Our delicious brunch. All credit goes to Heather.
The cute Sofia champagne we used to make mimosas. Inside the box, there's 4 little individual size cans with straws.
Heather & Andy's dog, Winnie.
Then, alas, it was time to go home. After an uneventful trip home, in which I watched several episodes of Jeeves & Wooster on the plane, I was back with my kitties safe and sound.
Longest post ever? If you made it through the whole thing, thank you.