Thursday, August 03, 2006

Checking Off the List

Before Jack left we constructed a list of all the things we needed to do in Austin before going to Rome. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Avenue B Grocery.
Where fresh sandwiches are made in the back and the aisles are filled with all the specialty chip and drink accompaniments one could ask for. The man who runs the place is also part of the draw. Always good conversation while he's making your sandwich. (Especially during football season if you're into that sort of thing.) Actually, when I went in there a few weeks ago, I told him that his grocery was on My List, and he told me that I was the third person to say that to him that day. Enough said.

The Dry Creek Cafe
It's called a Cafe because there are wonderful delicacies like pickles and bags of chips to choose from. There's also one of the oldest juke boxes in town and a decor that has not changed a bit in the last 50 years. The chairs are still broken, so are the tables, and nobody has felt it necessary to invest in a fan or two. We sweat there last weekend for the 50th anniversary. Said "hello" to Sarah (the 93-year-old woman who owns the place, whom I affectionately refer to as the Beer Nazi) and enjoyed the best value view in town. (In terms of value in time, money, and headaches it beats the snot out of the Oasis any day.)

Hut's Hamburgers
Jack and I used to come here every Tuesday (or was it Thursday?) for 2 for 1 Southern Fried Chicken Night. Apparently so did a lot of others in Austin, and they stopped that special. They still do 2 For 1 Burger Nights, although their burgers are worth full price. As are their fat onion rings and fatty shakes and malts.

Tamale House
The one on Airport. The one with Migas that lay swimming in a soup of cheese. They are worth every pound to my hips and arteries.

These are all places that I've been going for over 10 years, and I'm satisfied with one last trip as a final goodbye. Or a see you later. What I am not ok with is only finding out now, right before I'm leaving the country, that there are other AMAZING GEMS in this city that I don't feel satisfied with yet! For instance this one:

Little Thailand
WHY did I not know that an authentic Thai restaurant resided in a trailer under the Garfield water tower? With a free jukebox? Where a Living Will can be completed for you while you eat? Honestly, is this the sort of thing that remains secret among friends?
Or this one:









Actually the picture isn't obvious but it's of the Independence Brewery. The fact that there's a brewery in Austin is "meh" exciting. The fact that they serve their beer free the first Saturday of every month is something I should have known about before now! And the only reason that I am still coming to Rome, Jack, is because this Saturday happens to be the the first Saturday of this month.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

mmm. Oh man, you just brought back a flood of memories. Those migas haunt my tongue.

Anonymous said...

curses! i was just salivating over tamale house the other day, telling all my new york friends how they don't know the meaning of migas or tacos until they've had tamale house. and their salsa! aggghhhh! i was going to make you send me a huge bottle of it ( you'd have to steal like 40 of those little cups) before you left for italy. damn!

and the independent brewery? and a living will at a thai restaurant. seriously i can't believe i lived in austin for 10 YEARS and didn't know about those places. damn again!