Austin - Summary

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We had a week long visit to Austin, Texas in November of 2009. Part of our time was for a conference at the Driskill Hotel -- we stayed there in a cosy (small) room in the old part of the hotel during the conference. After the conference we moved to a long stay near 1st and Barton Springs. Our friend Alison from Winnipeg came to visit and she stayed in the Driskill as well. But in the new tower where the rooms are much larger.

The photo at left is Jovita's -- a restaurant/bar/dance hall on South 1st where we saw the Carper Family. We'd been to this restaurant a while ago and saw Cornell Hurd in a front room. Since then the place is greatly expanded.

The Driskill hotel is smack in the heart of the 6th Street (aka Pecan Street) entertainment district. There's a ton of bars with live music but it mostly caters to the young college crowd. Our hotel did recommend a nearby restaurant, the Iron Cactus, where we enjoyed freshly made table side guacamole (and a couple of margaritas too). Further down there's Esther's Follies, a comedy revue, that we try to catch when in Austin. They're always very funny (although some skits have a very long life having seen them on previous visits). The magician does some unbelievable slight of hand, the audience is involved as too are people on the street as the stage backs onto Pecan and often engages pedestrians walking by.

I did a conducted tour of the State Capital which is just up the street on Congress and learned a bit more about Texas history. The other way on Congress is the Mexic-Arte Museum. It's not very big but always has some interesting exhibits. Since it was close to the Day of the Dead there were some alters/ofrenda to the dead. There's also a great gift shop with lots of Mexican folk art, Frida Kahlo posters, etc

We did a some trips out of the city. We went to Gruene Hall (south on the I35 near San Antonio) to see a packed concert by Robert Earl Keene -- one of our favorite Texan musicians (e.g. "The Road Goes on Forever and the Party Never Ends"). It was packed, standing room only!

Another trip was to a wine tasting in the Pearl Brewery District. This is a developing area on the far north end of the river walk, past the old Lone Star Brewery (now the San Antonio Art Museum). We went for a wine tasting in the market area of the Pearl District. It was a lovely sunny day and we enjoyed the wine. While in San Antonio we went to the Mexican Markets in the Historic Market Square -- lots of Mexican folk art there!

Of course we tried the Tex/Mex food at Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress. But more interestingly we attended a Vegetarian Chili Cookoff at a Farmer's Market on North Lamar. Kate's a vegetarian hence the visit. In Texas there's a rule that "You don't put beans in Chili" but they made an exception here. There were lots of Chili's to try and lots of interesting competitors and people like us tasting their wares. I caught some very funny T-shirts on people visiting, Kate bought one for the Cookoff.

Back in the city we were able to try the "Sacred Waters of Barton Springs". November is pretty warm (by our standards) so swimming in this natural spring fed pool went well. Mind you the water is pretty chilly (it is spring fed) so our swim skins helped.

On South Congress we caught "Purgatory Hill" at an early show at the Continental Club. They were just a couple. He played driving blues an electric cigar box "gitar", while she accompanied on tamborine. A small band for sure but they really had a big sound. I enjoyed them thoroughly.

When Sam came for her visit we had an expensive gourmet dinner at Uchi on South Lamar. It's probably the best of the best in Austin. We took her to see Sara Hickman at the Cactus Cafe on the UTX campus/Guadalupe Strip. It was an intimate show and Sara's daughter played a bit with her. Another night we had a dinner at Z-Tejas on west 6th (near Waterloo Records and Whole Foods) and saw Will Sexton, Stephen Doster and Will Carter. The funny story here is that Sam asked Will Sexton if he was any relation to Ron Sexsmith (they both have Sex in their last names). He was sort of non-plussed by the question. In later years Sam claims it was Kate who asked this dumb question.

There's a developing wine region in the hill country around Austin. Kate and I had a romantic and expensive gourmet lunch at Flat Creek Wines which is on the north side of Lake Travis (North and West of the city). There was hardly anyone there. We enjoyed the lunch and the wines. We brought back a "Super Texan" (cf. Super Tuscan) for our friend Terry.

Near the end of our visit we saw an outdoor concert with James McMurtry and his band at Threadgill's South on the corner of South 1st and Barton Springs.  It was a short walk from our extended stay. There's an "original" Threadgill's North way north on Lamar where Janis Joplin first played but we've never been there. We've often seen James McMurty solo and acoustic over the years but this was a first for us with a full band -- he can be very loud and electric. It was a little bit cool out, there was a fire pit burning to help stay warm. It was a great concert.

We had our dinner at Threadgill's South before the show. Every time I'm in Texas I try a "Chicken Fried Steak" with "white gravy" (I blame Guy Clark's song "Texas Cookin'') . The steak is a cheap steak that's been run through a tenderizing stamping machine, battered and deep fried. White gravy is made from sausage drippings but, as the name implies, is very white and looks like paste. Everytime I try this combination I am disappointed, Threadgill's is no exception.

Anyways, that pretty much covers our adventures. Here's a photo album if you are interested.