Why Wine about Valentine's

It's a love hate relationship most of us have with Valentine's Day. I stand by this regardless of your "couple status." Obviously being single one is reminded of the lack of having a partner in their life; and if you are happily coupled you are then forced to make some large gesture to represent your love (along with everyone else in the free world). Or more often, it turns into an awkward ....a "I kinda like you but I don't really know where this is going" situation.   I say, yes, do something nice for Valentine's Day. But let's be serious, is it really that important to receive roses when society forces your lover to do so at an overpriced rate? On the day of, save yourself the trouble of an overrated meal and bad bad service, and do something on the cheap.

Taking my own advice, and without a lover, I did something I knew I would make me happy and warm inside. Wine Wine Wine. Can it be a favorite past time to go to wineries if I have only gone to a handful of wineries in my life? Since Central Texas is the number 2 wine destination in the U.S. (just behind Napa, obvi) I find myself falling in love with Austin all over again.  

My partner in crime for the past few posts, Emily, and I planned a Sunday Funday to wineries in Marble Falls. She has a convertible and after weeks of cold weather it was a perfect day to put the top down! We picked Marble Falls as our destination as we figured it would be the road less traveled on Valentine's Day (Fredericksburg was hosting Lovers Wine Tasting Tour :-P). Marble Falls is a small country town about an hour Northwest of Austin promising beautiful views of the Colorado River. 

The first location we hit up was Lost Creek, a cute little spot with a swan in the creek. The two wines made on the vineyard were decent but I think I will remember the local, and attractive, sommelier who poured the wines a little bit longer. 

The next spot, Perissos Vineyard, was recommended by the aforementioned sommelier. This brand new vineyard was supposedly only 15 minutes away.  Getting lost along the way (while guided by GPS and iPhone navigation) we found a Castle. Yes,  a big white Cinderella-esque castle on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere central Texas. Interesting to say the least. Anyway, back to the trip... we eventually found the winery we were looking for. The the owners of the place greeted us when we stepped out of the car and introduced us to their wide selection of wine. We chatted with the happy couple while we watched them make wine and talk about their plans to expand.

Intimate, personal, and amazing. At this point Emily lost the battle to the wine tastings and I led the way to dinner. On a recommendation we avoided the touristy Blue Bonnet Cafe and chose River City Grill  that overlooks the Colorado River. It was a delicious and scenic. Afterwards we were too full off of food and wine to attempt another winery in our adventure so we tried the shops. As it turns out Sunday Funday does not include shopping in Marble Falls. I believe it is the combination of the recession and God's country that kept the stores closed. It was no bother, as the weather had turned from beautiful to cold in a matter of minutes so we were fine with packing it up taking our scenic drive home. 

Only an hour a way from Austin and numerous other wineries to visit along the way, this trip will surely be repeated. Marble Falls, a younger sister to Fredericksburg and a cousin to Austin this town surely stole my heart on Valentine's Day!

http://lostcreekvineyard.com/about.htm
http://www.perissosvineyards.com/

Jazz Hands!

In general, it isn't my scene to be found in a basement bar soulfully listening to jazz music. But hey, it's twenty ten and time for a change. 

A random connection and a need to get out of the house sparked an adventure to the Elephant Room on Congress. At 715pm my friend Emily calls and invites me to go with her to see an Austin original, Kat Edmonson. The catch was we had to be there by 8pm. Up for a challenge, this girl was ready and out of the house in 20 minutes! Sure enough Emily and I got there and the line was out the door but we made it in just before the bouncer all but stopped the line for the next 3 hours. As it turns out Ms. Edmonson draws quite the crowd and doesn't go on until 930. True to our hosts reassurances, she was well worth the wait. 

Kat is a beautifully tiny woman with a distinctive and sultry voice. New to the whole jazz scene I was caught off guard when conversation throughout the bar all but stopped when she stepped on stage.  The entire basement bar was transfixed with this woman and her melodic band. Needless to say I bought a CD and fell in love with the jazz scene that night. Striking up a quite conversation (only between sets of course) with the random strangers seated at our table and trying the uniquely served Belgium beer, Kwak, are also novelties of the Elephant Room scene. 

Elephant Room and Kat Edmonson, I heart you. Thank you for being in Austin. Who knows, maybe one day I will be that girl at the end of the bar sitting alone with a fedora mysteriously covering my face while drinking a dry martini...


http://www.elephantroom.com/ 
http://katedmonson.com/

Mobile friends and BBQ

I hesitate to assume that Austin is the only place you can find food in a unique location, but earlier this week my friend and I found a gem of a restaurant... on a school bus. Old School BBQ & Grill.

An Austin original is to get quality food out of a trailer, but Old School takes trailer food to the next level. Driving along MLK I busted a "U" when I spotted the big yellow bus I had heard about but never seen. My friend Emily and I pull up and hop out in the freezing dark cold and check to out the menu. Turns out on this particular day (and I suspect most other days) they are just about sold out of everything on the menu. Emily and I ask the jovial cook to tell us what we CAN get and he informs us that all they have left are burgers, brisket, and fries. Perfect. We will have one of each. No he says, you will each need your own fries. Ok, then you're the boss.

After we place our order we are then honorably invited to join the party ON the bus rather than waiting in the cold. While our new friend informs us this isn't typical and he never lets customers on the bus we spot two of his groupies chilling in the front seat hanging out. We take the risk. While watching our new friend Dan cook our food we hear his story of opening something like 56 restaurants in 12 countries in 3 continents. AMAZING. Then his sidekick, Trey, returns and joins in on the cooking. Em and I squeeze in the corner of the bus and slap on our napkins to devour the food. The burger was so good we forgot to add condiments and there was nothing left of the chopped brisket sandwich or the homemade sweet and chunky BBQ sauce. It was a good thing I was safely on the bus cause we definitely went took a ride to flavor town.

Now I am pretty sure that experience can't be repeated for everyone but THAT is what I love about Austin. Making new friends down by the railroad tracks. 

Available Mon 11am-3pm, at 3001 East Cesar Chavez St; Tue-Sat 12pm-6pm at MLK Jr. Blvd & Clifford Ave

Hello World!

A blog… my fondness for ellipses, top lists, abbreviations, and all things Austin have found a home! I am not really sure what I am getting myself into here but I am going to give it a chance.

A few things that pushed me to get into the “blogosphere”:

1. One of my 2010 goals – Be more creative. I just can’t stand the patience most art projects require so this seems like a better medium.

2. Everyone else was doing it, so why not?

3. A way to chronicle the awesomeness of Austin to my friends. Kinda like a travel commercial for my friends to visit.

There are certainly a few more items on my list but today I will just stick to three to get me started for now! I am looking forward to figure this whole thing out. We will see how long it takes me to actually get around and tell people. Thanks for reading!

Love, A