Austin City Limits Music Festival

Austin City Limits. ACL. 3 days of awesomeness. It's all the same. Just don't get it confused with the ligament in your knee or the PBS show Austin City Limits. While the TV show is what inspired the music festival, and many of the featured artists have performed at the festival it is, in fact, not the same. Many people are often confused as the TV show has been around for 35 years while the Austin City Limits Festival only began in 2001. With the awesomeness of ACL one would think that it has been around for years, however, past weekend was just the 9th year of the festival's existence. 

While I am by no means a music, concert, or music festival expert I am certainly lucky to enjoy Austin City Limits in my city every year. I have been to Austin City Limits 3 of the 4 years that I have lived in Austin and this year was another exceptional experience. With over 65,000 people in attendance EACH of the three days I don't think I am alone in loving this festival.

One of the best stages... natural acoustics with the rock wall!

Essentially there are +130 bands, 8 stages, and 3 full days of music. The music ranges from country to rap with a lot of rock and alternative in between. My favorite shows were Mayer Hawthorne, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Matt and Kim (the literally climbed on top of the stage and danced ON TOP of the crowd). I put a few samples of music that I saw on the side bar so you can pretend like you were there with me! 


Besides the excellent selection of music my favorite things about ACL this year were the things that made this music festival unique to Austin. Taking place at Zilker Park; a park inside the city along the banks of Town Lake with beautiful  weather and the Austin skyline as the backdrop for the stages. Sunny skies, light breeze and low humidity kept everyone mostly comfortable throughout the weekend. Being within the city allowed people to transport themselves easily to Zilker park via foot, bus, bike, or convenient drop off and parking locations with shuttles around town. I was able to exercise all but the bus portion of forms of transportation used to arrive and depart from the festival all weekend. Lucky for me my friend Emily lives downtown and we were able to bike from her place with ease!


With the sun shining drinking water for festival goers was a priority; and since I personally drink my recommended 8-10 glasses of water daily, I especially appreciated the FREE water refill stations inside the park. Friendly volunteers filled water constantly throughout the weekend. Not only does this limit dehydration and emergencies, but also saves ACL guests money and thousands of plastic water bottles. Yeah Austin for being so ECO Friendly! Beyond the free water*, the food available for purchase is 100% Austin. From Aquarelle's French fare to Freebird's burritos all of the food is brought in from local restaurants for a price point of $5-$8  an item. This is a pretty good deal as many of the vendors don't normally have a meal under $20 on their regular menu. This weekend I got to eat at the Salt Lick, Aquarelle, and Hudson's on the Bend for about 20 bucks in one weekend! 

ACL at night

Beyond my basic needs of food, water, music, and great weather, Austin City Limits also provided numerous other amenities that make ACL easy to attend. Tons of beer and freebie tents, fashionable concert t-shirts from American Apparel (yeah hipster), artisans selling their local goods, and of course... police that are really there just for show who enforce next to nothing. What else could I ask for? Oh wait... yeah... almost all of my Austin friends attend ACL! That is the very best part! I know I can buy a ticket and not worry about finding someone to rock out with because everyone is there and having a great time. I highly recommend Austin City Limits and entire package it comes with because I LOVE it. :-) 


*yes I realize nothing, including water isn't really free when you pay $185 for a 3 day pass... but I paid for that months ago so it feels like it is free. 

Courtesy of Hill Country Conservancy FB page... View of Zilker from above

http://www.aclfestival.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_City_Limits_Music_Festival
http://austincitylimits.org/ 

The TEXAS State Fair

Is it fair to say that I love Austin because it is in Texas and therefore I can enjoy things in ALL of Texas? That might be a stretch, but my friends tell me that I Love Austin because it is in Central Texas and close to places I might need to visit. Most of the places in Texas (besides Austin) are kinda like family. You want them close enough to be able to visit with ease, but far enough away that it doesn't happen every weekend. No offense to any family in particular but most people need a little space to grow up and become an individual, just like Austin :-). That's just my personal opinion.

Big Tex

This past weekend my friends Jessica, Emily, Casi and I made the trip up to the Dallas Fort Worth area to experience the Texas State Fair. While there is a natural Austin vs. Dallas vs. Houston rivalry and writing about Dallas is essentially heresy I am justifying it because it is the TEXAS State Fair and it is only 3 hours away. Close enough to Austin to visit but by no means do I want to be there every weekend.

It is no surprise that the Texas State fair is the largest state fair in the United States (every thing is bigger and better in Texas). With over 3 million visitors over a three week period and permanent fair grounds it is difficult to compare. I checked, and there is lots of history on the Texas State Fair but I am more interested in all the fried delicacies offered at the fair than the history. In short, the Texas State Fair has been running since 1886, Big Tex is a large statue that has welcomed fair goers since 1952, and activities include: a livestock show, an auto show, museums, live music stages, carnival rides and games, a giant ferris wheel, a garden show, pig and dog races, creative arts, and other attractions. The most important of attractions include food. In 2005 the Fair began the Big Tex Choice Awards and competitions arose for the most creative and best tasting fried foods.

This being my maiden adventure I am glad I had an expert on hand to lead the way. Casi, being from the DFW area was the only one of the four that has ever been to the fair. The whole ordeal was overwhelming. However, she and her family (who we also joined there with my brother Harlan) directed us to convenient parking, short lines and the must do's of the Fair.

Where is his body?

I learned several things.  There will be lines, but they move fast. Fletcher's is the only place to get Corn Dogs. If there is a long line there is a shorter line for the same thing just a few minutes away. You must have an appetite for fried food. And ride the ferris wheel.

My winner... fried snickers

Inevitably, the large group split up but thankfully, we were well prepared with the tips from the locals. In accordance with our new found knowledge Jessica, Emily and I each had our own Fletcher's corn dog. It was delicious. The rest of the day we shared several different fried foods while touring the fair grounds. In order of my personal favorite to least favorite of the foods we tried: Fried Snickers, Fried Oreo, Fried Guacamole, Fried Frito Pie, Fried Ice Cream, Fried Peanut Butter Macaroon, Fried Beer. I know, I'm surprised Fried Beer was gross too, but it was basically beer in a dough pouch with no real flavor. Other delicacies we did not have a chance to try but would have if our stomachs were up for it... Fried Margarita, Fried Butter, Chicken Fried Bacon, Fried Lemonade, Fried Peanut Butter and Jelly, Fried Cheesecake, a Green Goblin (fried chili stuffed with chicken, guacamole, and cheese), pizza on a stick, and of course other typical fair food such as Caramel Apples, Funnel Cakes, sausage-on-a-stick, and much much more. I'm shocked there wasn't a booth to purchase fried Tums. Maybe next year I'll bring it.

Jessica was adamant about wanting to ride the carnival rides, so Emily and I both agreed to join her for one a piece. I chose my ride early on the food journey purposefully, I have a nickname from my brother and it didn't come from having a strong stomach. Looking back,  it might have served me well to get rid of all that fried goodness at the end of the day, but bulimia is pretty uncool.

After a day of beautiful weather and an overall fantastic experience at the Texas State Fair we took the journey back to Austin. While this adventure took place outside of Austin I love that I can go and indulge on fried food on a quick trip but I don't have to be tempted but once a year.

http://www.bigtex.com/sft/AboutUs/StateFair.asp

Indiana Jones Adventure

In keeping with the Alamo Drafthouse theme... I would like to recall my favorite adventure with my good friend Trever. Up until now all the events have been current but I cannot neglect to recount the Indiana Jones Adventure. I am no Indiana Jones movie buff nor do I really care to be the first person to see any movie but yet again I was convinced by Trever to tag along for something different. 

By tag along I mean Trever needed me to purchase tickets to the said adventure as I was the only one willing to put both tickets on my credit card knowing full well it would take a month to get paid back. (I love you trev! :-))

In 2008, when Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opened we joined about 60 mega fans on a tour bus around Austin for "one-of-a-kind danger flavored excursion." No lie, that's what their blog said. http://blog.originalalamo.com/category/uncategorized/page/17/. With that kind of marketing how could I pass it up?

Our excursion began on a Wednesday afternoon and provided an "Indy Fedora" and an unlimited supply of Tecate (cause that's what Indiana Jones drinks when he drinks beer, obvi) for the bus ride to Cypress Valley Canopy Tours. If we could hear it over the excitement of the crowd, Indiana Jones movies played on repeat for our entertainment.   A short ride later we arrived and were asked to secure our fedoras for some zip-lining through the forest. It's like a roller coaster in the woods! I have some pretty quality pictures from this. I don't recall but I believe we were then to search for artifacts throughout the forest. I'm thinking I missed this to zip line a second time or chat it up with the new friend Trever and I made, Zach, who happened to be the guy who organizes special events for the Alamo Drafthouse. 

Next, we were on to a studio on the East Side to watch "Texas Snake Man" Jackie Bibby charm snakes. Jackie Bibby is not your average snake charmer... this man is a world record holder for some pretty safe choices in life. He played with the snakes, sat in a tub full of snakes (87 is his record) and put 10 rattlesnakes in his mouth and swung them around like it was no big deal. We watched him do the latter while we were provided the fine cuisine of alligator and naturally... rattlesnake. It tasted like chicken! With a little more beer we left the studio and returned to the Alamo Drafthouse to return to our strategically reserved seats for the midnight showing of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 

The movie was ridiculous.... aliens... really? I won't be watching that again anytime soon. The adventure was also ridiculous, in a good way though. I loved it and I obviously have not forgotten how an average movie can be awesome at the Alamo, even if it is just for one night. 

http://www.texsnakeman.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367882/

Movies to the Max

When I moved to Austin I knew music was big deal, but I had no idea about the film culture that thrives here. One of my first roommates, Trever, moved to Austin because he was so obsessed with film and movie scene. He enlightened me to the likes of independent film, horror flicks, actors and directors from Austin, movies filmed in Austin, and of course, the Alamo Drafthouse. Supposedly, one of the main reasons why Trever moved to Austin was for this unique movie theater. At first it seemed a little strange to me that someone would move to a city for a movie theater. However, I have since learned that various publications such as Entertainment Weekly have named the Alamo Drafthouse as the best movie theater in the U.S.!

What's so great about a movie theater that you move to a city for it? For one thing, this movie theater serves alcohol. Need I say more? Probably not, but allow me to elaborate.

To accompany your beverages of choice you can also order food - and not just bar food, but chef prepared originals related to classic movies or specific to movies opening that month. For example you can get the "Godfather" pizza, obviously loaded with marinara and other Italian toppings; or right now you can get "The Carrie" a classic cosmopolitan. The food is always changing and always a treat.

Beyond the promotion of local food and beer choices the Alamo Drafthouse expands the movie going experience by offering unique movie openings and events to the extreme. Recently the Back to the Future Trilogy was presented with 4 actual Delorians and an appearance by Christoper Lloyd - Doc Brown in the flesh! For the opening of Transformers a car crushing machine/transformer entertained in . Sex in the City openings have included prizes to local boutiques, a pair of Manolo Blahnick shoes, character related furniture, and of course signature drinks. Trever convinced me to go to the Indiana Jones premier that included a bus ride to zip line in the woods, tasting rattlesnake, and of course snake charmers. For July 4th weekend I am sad I will miss the sold out Jaws event held on Lake Travis. The rolling road show is projecting Jaws while guests float in the water with surprise "shark attacks" and "killer prizes".

The events of the Alamo don't end at new movies. There are weekly events such as Weird Wednesday  and Terror Tuesday - late night screenings of exploitation movies from the '70s and horror flicks from the '80s. It is a blast from the past for only a dollar! I have never been, but they also have Master Pancake theater where comedians make light of various movies, sing-a-longs and quote-a-longs to classic movies, and special screenings of big games or finales of TV shows. Any night of the week you will find an original event held at one of the 3 original Austin Alamo locations.

The owners of the Alamo have allowed their business to expand out of Austin to other towns such as Houston and San Antonio with hopes to open more than 200 other Alamo Drafthouse locations throughout the country. These other locations will be franchised so it is unlikely they will be able to compare to the original Alamo in the heart of downtown Austin on 6th street. I suppose Austin can share its gem of a movie theater with other cities, but let's not forget where the original began!

http://www.drafthouse.com/
http://blog.originalalamo.com/
The awesome pictures are from my friend Andrew's website http://www.requiemamericana.com/

Flying Away

There comes a time when I have to leave Austin and seek adventure elsewhere. When I do leave I obviously have things to look forward to, even though I'll probably miss something fun going on in Austin. Nonetheless, all is not lost when I fly out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. 

Yep that's right, I love ABIA. I have traveled a lot and I can compare our little airport with the rest of the world and I know that this airport is special. Austin is a small city, so naturally we have a small airport that is easy to get through and navigate. Yet, despite the small size, Austin is not limited in ability to ensure efficient and timely travels as well as provide all guests with a uniquely Austin experience from the moment they touch down until the second they leave. 

To begin with, arriving an hour in advance to the airport is more than enough time for any flight so I never have to leave Austin any earlier than necessary. If I do have a little extra time I can eat at any one of the local restaurants I would normally drive all over town for, right in the terminal. I can stop anywhere from the Salt Lick to Amy's Ice Cream to get a taste of Austin before I leave. You won't find a McDonald's or Panda Express in this terminal. You also won't find a Brookstone but I can pick up a gift at a local store like Waterloo Records or Book People. For guests of Austin it is clear supporting local business is our pride and passion. 

After a long trip it is nice to feel at home the moment I step off the plane. I know I am home when I hear the sound of live music greeting me in the baggage claim.  With the music and guitar sculptures any person can see Austinites take the "Live Music Capital of the World" title seriously.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport provides an atmosphere with local pride and welcoming elements that make me realize how fortunate I am to call this place home!


http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/default.htm

BRUNCH!

It's been established I like trying new things. I also really like food. Naturally, I like eat out at various restaurants around Austin. When I was a poor graduate student my only chance to eat out was when I was taken on a date; but now, a working woman, I can afford a nice meal for myself! 

While I still enjoy that free meal that accompanies dates I quickly feign interest and I am on my own again for dinner. Girlfriends are a great option for dining out, but they often get invited to their own free meals and then where does that leave me?  Well, since I have read Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferazzi, eating alone is just not an option...or something like that. 

Lucky for me, my brother Harlan came to the rescue by moving to Austin just in time.  Theoretically, the best part of Harlan living in Austin is that I get to spend more time with him. However, our work schedules conflict so we have a standing date for Church and brunch every Sunday morning. 

Prior to our first Sunday brunch date I had been to brunch maybe 3 times in Austin. Considering we had no reference for where to go so we first went to Taverna, because everyone knows they have $1 bellini's and $1 mimosas. After this meal we decided both kept our eyes open for other places that served Sunday brunch. 

We quickly found that brunch in Austin is a BIG DEAL. Every type of restaurant from hotels to dive bars open their doors on Sunday morning for specials on drinks, a lavish buffet, or their rendition of eggs Benedict. Dining experiences vary from the classic to contemporary, the cheap to overpriced, places you can walk right up to to those that are worth the wait.  It is evident that some patrons go to brunch to be seen while others are attempting to survive their hangover.  

With so many places to choose from we generally look for good drink specials first. As Harlan likes to say, "the only thing that gets me through Church this early in the morning is knowing I can drink afterwards." Any wonder we are Catholic? Narrowing down our options to good drink specials one has to weigh the cost, is it better to have "bottomless", a carafe, or cheap individual mimosas? Next we must allow those places with a great reputation and no drink specials to sway us because lets be honest, a mimosa is virtually the same anywhere you go, but an egg is certainly not the same at every restaurant. Then of course, lets not forget, buffet or individual plates? Lastly we allow every other factor from price to time they open determine where we settle on for the day. According to Chowhound there are almost 2,000 restaurants in Austin, and Urbanspoon will tell you about 169 places that serve brunch but I know for a fact many are not listed. Oh the decisions. 

Considering this is a weekly activity and I have only been to about 10 or 12 restaurants out of at least 200. I have a long way to go. From my calculations that will take about 4 years to complete. I will be an expert by that point but for now these are my 3 top choices:

Food: Olivia  olivia-austin.com

Buffet: Moonshine  www.moonshinegrill.com

Drinks: Taverna www.tavernabylombardi.com

I also know that within the next few months I would like to try - Paggi House, Lamberts, Bess, Union Park, and Franks but really I want to try ALL the places with brunch in Austin!


I will keep you posted on what I discover and, if you ever want to join Harlan and I for brunch we are open to guests at our table! 

Gettin' Sauced

In case it hasn't already been established I really love free things, bevies, and food. Lucky for me these things go together often in Austin.

Everyone knows that Texas has great BBQ ... and I am not talking hot dogs and hamburgers. A true Texas BBQ will have sausage and brisket, but what makes it special is the way it's cooked and of course... the sauce.

Man Up Texas BBQ, a blog about a group of men and their adventures with BBQ, decided to have a  BBQ sauce tasting in a parking lot on the side of the freeway. The idea seems a little sketchy but with the promise of live music, door prizes, free beer, free sauce, and free dessert it was basically impossible for me to pass up the offer. I gathered a few friends and my Dad (a sucker for something different) to test out the first annual Gettin' Sauced event at held outside the Franklin BBQ trailer.

It wasn't a big event but I did get a free beer from St. Arnold's to help cleanse the palate while I dutifully ranked the 45 sauces presented. Yeah I said 45 sauces. Not shocking but they all kinda ran together. I lost my scorecard but  I still remember that #17 burned my mouth; and that was not OK.  I think #12, #18, #20, #23 or maybe it was #28 and one in the #40s were my faves.  My brother and my Dad seemed to go through the list pretty quickly making their decisions with certainty. On the other hand, my friends Sara,Casi, and I evaluated each sauce and went back and fourth between our top favorites writing down what we liked and descriptions as to why we liked them and then we tried them again. It was kinda like shopping. The men figured out what they liked and were finished in minutes while the women debated, evaluated, and considered the very best sauce for the specific setting and if they would really use the sauce on their meat. At least the guys had live music and beer to entertain them while we deliberated. It was pretty hilarious.

Since the free beer ran out quickly and it was thinking of raining we didn't stay long after we cast our ballots. The results can be found at http://manuptexasbbq.blogspot.com/. I am not sure if my favorites won and I don't know which ones are which at this point so what I learned from the event was... well... I guess that I love trying new things... especially if they are free!

http://www.franklinbarbecue.com/

Chef Smackdown @ Stubbs

Whenever I have a chance, I try to peruse the weekly Chronicle for fun upcoming events. Recently, I was skimming through and I spotted the Stubb's Bad to the Bone Celebrity Chef Smackdown featuring: Chef Shawn Cirkiel of Parkside, David Bull of Bolla, and Paul Petersen of Rick's Chophouse.  Sweet, just a couple of months ago my brother, Harlan, became the General Manager of Parkside. Meaning... FREE TICKETS! How did he not tell me about this before? Immediately, I scope out my chances for a set of tickets. Highly unlikely; I was told. Since it never hurts to ask, I persisted that Harlan just check in with Shawn anyway. Lucky me, Shawn's wife decided not to go and 2 extra tickets were to be had! :-)

Naturally, I ask Emily to join me in order to continue our hot streak of adventure together. Free food, live music, and a competition - what's not to love? The event was held outside on the Stubb's outdoor stage. The competition consisted of each Chef pre-selecting a secret ingredient and then incorporating all three ingredients into one fabulous dish. Seeing as the event promised food for each guest, the chefs were able to plan their dish in advance but they were required to make the judges' dishes on stage within 30 minutes. The chosen ingredients consisted of goats milk or cheese, achiote, and tangerine. I never heard of achiote but apparently it is a sauce made of ground annoatto seeds often used in Latin American cuisine. 

Here were their dishes: 

David Bull - Achiote Glazed Salmon with Smoked Bacon Grits, Goat Cheese Crema and Tangerine Spinach Salad

Paul Peterson - Annato Crusted Pork Loin with Goat's Milk Corn Pudding and Achiote Seared Tangerines.

Shawn Cirkiel - Goat Milk Sorbet, Achiote and Tangerine Fritter, Tangerine Salad, Local Orange Blossom Honey. 

Not surprisingly, the dishes were all great; and for both Emily and I our top choices were between the Pork Loin and the Fritter (aka: a donut). Comparing savory and sweet is the epitome of apples and oranges but for us, and the rest of the crowd, Shawn's fritters won by a landslide! 

Afterwards we headed down to Parkside to completely fill our bellies with even more mouthwatering food. An entry for Parkside will have to wait for now, but clearly this was another unforgettable night in Austin!  

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-TX/Stubbs-Bad-to-the-Bone-Chef-Smackdown/227030227315

http://www.stubbsaustin.com/

http://www.parkside-austin.com/

Hippos for Lunch

One of my many jobs consists of me driving out to people's homes and teaching them parenting skills. No, I don't have any kids of my own; but someone thinks I am qualified. Stranger combinations have occurred just like finding Hippos all over a Central Texas town.

One thing you must know, I really like Hippos... or well... at least the Hippopotamus Song. So naturally I was drawn to check out Hutto, TX. Hutto, just outside of Austin where the mascot for the High School and the entire town is the Hippo. Odd as it may seem there is a story. Legend has it that in 1915 a circus train broke down and a Hippo got loose and found refuge in a muddy creek. Since then the Hippo has made it's way into every crevice of life in Hutto. No lie, there is a mural dedicated to the Hippo on the wall of the chamber of commerce in town. Endearing or absurd? I haven't decided. 

Two minutes away from my appointment I get a call... another dramatic story about baby daddies and whatnot... the appointment is canceled. Great. To turn a total wash of a drive and a day to something positive I decided to treat myself to lunch at the legendary Texan Cafe. Since Texas Monthly rated it as one of the top 40 diners in the state I have been meaning to give it a shot.

The food was good; what one would expect at a good old country diner in Texas. I went for the chicken fried steak - if you don't know what that is get yourself to Texas ASAP and I will introduce you.  After the huge and tasty lunch platter I had to have a famous piece of Texan Cafe pie. Yes, I ate an entire chicken fried steak, 2 sides and a piece of pie. Don't judge. There were about 20 pies to choose from and the turtle pie with caramel, cream, and chocolate was so delicious! I had to be adventurous but I am sure the traditional pies are exceptional as well. I figure I will have to go back to try the other 19 pies! At least we know with the Texan Cafe close by I won't be a hungry hungry hippo! :-)

http://www.hutto-heritage-foundation.org/Heritage_Hippos_Branding_of_Hutto_Texas.htm

http://www.texancafe.net/index.htm

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