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La Condesa (above) and Lambert's for pre Morrissey fixins.
I like to poke my head into the kitchen if I can, and I did. Now we ALL know where the smoked meat drawer is... ha!
We enjoyed a stop at the W Hotel Wet Deck before the Orthy and Royal Forest show. Thanks to Chef Nadine for hosting.
Morrissey at the Austin Music Hall May 24th
I'd been tracking the set list from recent Morrissey concerts, knew he was doing the same songs each night. We only got three Smiths songs, but I knew that going in so I wasn't disappointed.
The show was better than I had expected. This was the third time I'd seen him. Wasn't the worst Morrissey show, but not as good at the 2007 show I saw at the Back Yard.
Living Room Live Sessions at the W Hotel:
The Living Room at the W Hotel is our favorite place to catch live music. The sound in there is perfect! It's never too crowded that we can't find a table near the stage and we get service during the show. We really enjoyed both Orthy and Royal Forest, brought home some vinyl too!
The beautiful wife and I had worked demolotion both saturday and sunday at our wimberley property. It was time for the Austin Restaurant Week 2 reward.
yes, it was in the 80's outside (May in TX) but that A/C in the W hotel works really well. Kat likes to warm her bones by the fire in their Living Room.
Then we went on to dinner at Finn and Porter:
They greeted us with some sparkling wine.
We started with a Trio of Tartare, each served over a tempura shiso leaf.
Then we dove into the Austin Restaurant Week menu, two savory, one sweet per person.
Sake Grilled Oysters
Asparagus, Spring Onion, Pickled Mushroom, Soy Butter
Duck Rillette
Brioche, Picked Vegetables, House Made Mustard
Pan Seared Gulf Grouper
Sugar Snap Peas, Grilled Radish, Salt Roasted Beet
5 Oz Filet
Feta Creamed Corn, Green Beans, Peppercorn Demi
Strawberry Shortcake
Whipped Mascarpone, Balsamic, Basil
We found this decanter while browsing antiques in Gruene last weekend. #2 son has been urging me to use it. He keeps asking me "Don't you want to drink some wine?". Like that's what I need, a little voice urging me to drink more wine... We finally gave in and filled it with some Shafer One Point Five.
He announced "I will be the DUCKER!". I wasn't sure what he was talking about. He explained that the decanter resembled a duck, "The DUCKER is the person that pours the duck".
We used the salt plate for Porcini dusted Sea Scallops and Shiitake mushrooms.
photographing the photographer and the duckish decanter.
the mushrooms were especially good...
and the Ducker did pour, until it was all gone.
We saw the EELS at The Paramount Theater
Yes, it's really ornate and beautiful.
The sound was perfect. Eels did a great job performing and entertaining us.
Pre-show bites:
We enjoyed pre-show eats at Due Forni with some friends. The pizza ovens feature a turntable spinning the pizzas and food pots as they cook.
Their signature pizza, the Due Forni. We enjoyed it, along with the octopus salad (below)
we have been enjoying our homebrew; Ginger Beer!
it's hard to find the words to describe how good and refreshing this stuff is. It does have a small alcohol content so it's not for kids. It's very refreshing over ice or used to make some really special Moscow Mules.
We've had the idea to take the kids to uchiko for a special dinner for years. This is the first year I've seen it participating in Austin Restaurant week, so I jumped on the reservation and scored the table.
#1 son is the most adventurous eater of the three kids. The daughter doesn't really like sushi and #2 son doesn't like anything.
We started with some koviche (fresh diver scallp, tomatillo, kalamata, black lime), #1 son can't wait to dive in.
Each of the three courses has three choices. we ordered three ARW meals. That enables us to have everything on the menu! Kat loves this method of ordering.
The daughter admitted, "OK, this IS pretty good". Meanwhile, #2 son ordered his third bowl of plain rice...
Then, we hit the dessert course. all the sudden #2 was was ready to participate...
#2 son: WAIT, WAIT WAIT! let me take a picture! (frames food in his iphone camera), I need more light! (Kat uses her iphone flashlight to brighten the sweet subjects).
and then the plates were scraped clean in a very short time.
Take the kids to uchiko, scratch that one off the list.
I made reservations for two at Botticelli's for the first night of Austin Restaurant Week. Kat was about to fly to Los Angeles and asked if we could also include the kids with our meal before she had to leave. This resulted in outdoor seating as they were fully booked inside.
#2 son refuses to cooperate with photographs unless he feels he can mess it up somehow, like making faces or wearing his sunglasses upside down.
The bonus to dining on the back patio area instead of the upscale indoor dining room... Happy Hour all night on Sunday back there! You now have to ASK your server for the HH menu, it's a great list of $5 cocktails.
Botticelli's is one of the best ARW options as they give you three savory courses for $37. Most places assume you want to end your meal with dessert and you only serve two savory courses followed by a half hearted sweet course.
...and the portions were ample.
We did order tiramisu for the kids. It didn't last long...
The crazy up/down temperature so far this year has prompted all sorts of blooming. This cactus that predates our ownership of the lot (it's wild) is one example. It's covered in bright yellow flowers and all sorts of bees buzz around it all day.
And the rattlesnake said
I wish i had hands so
I could hug you like a man
And then the cactus said
Don't you understand
My skin is covered
With sharp spikes
That'll stab you
Like a thousand knives
A hug would be nice
But hug my flower
With your eyes -Antsy Pantsy
Just when I say that I'm just about over this whole "Craft Cocktail" trend, I was re-interested during a recent Happy Hour sampling at Mettle. The Rhubarb Julep (above) was refreshing and I thoroughly enjoyed my Mexico '68 (shown below).
They serve Kat's favorite summer beer. Shiner Rubyred (ginger and red grapefruit beer) as a Shandy, over a cube of frozen lemonade.
The $5 HH food was good as well.
Brussell Sprouts with crispy rice, apple butter (above), Caramelized Cauliflower with quinoa, almond, pomegranate (below)
Yelp Elite party at the Getaway:
make up booth by Sephora
30+ years later and I'm still trying to beat that Donkey Kong!
Eastciders is really good if you don't care for the overly sweet ciders usually produced in the US.
The historic Gruene Hall, is the oldest dance hall in Texas, built in 1878 and has not seen many changes since. One positive change, they no longer allow smoking!
M. Ward played for a sold out house.
He didn't hold back on displaying his skill on the guitar! We enjoyed a nice selection of material old and new.
We enjoyed a pre show dinner at Mozie's.
I found this in #2 son's backpack...
Mente Clara have a CD!
You can order it via their bandcamp page: https://menteclaramusic.bandcamp.com/
They sounded great! it was a great show. We enjoyed it with friends.
We decided to celebrate Mother's day a week early this year (it just fit the schedule better this way).
We took my Mom to La Condesa for brunch.
Chicharones over chicken leg with masa dumplings and mole sauce.
La Condesa was also hosting a Cinco de Mayo party in the street. It was rocking!
Then we crossed the street and enjoyed a 2nd brunch at Lamberts.
crispy pork ribs and Circle Brewery beer.
Lamberts makes their own sauces, the spicy one was pretty special.
and somehow the two older kids got swatches out of the deal...
Photographing the photographer.
The weather was just gorgeous!
and for brunch #3, Kat and I met up with some friends that were downtown. The patio at TRACE is a great spot to enjoy the perfect weather.
Kat stopped to enjoy the Living Room at the W Hotel.
then we made our way to the Mente Clara CD release party...
(yeah, file this one under Best Sunday Ever)
We were picking up a few things from our local HEB (grocery) when Raul (meat/fish guy) ran up all excited to tell us about the crawfish he was getting in for the weekend. We wasted no time and put our name down for a bag (29lb). Invited a few local families to come join us.
Photographing the photographer.
it was a successful boil. less salt and more spice this year was a good move.
the kids ate well too.
We stopped in The Backspace for a quick bite before trying to make the sold out Quiet Company show at Holy Mountain.
All the ingredients are fresh and of the highest quality. The meat is sliced to order on a hand crank machine, the oven is wood fired... it's almost like going back in time. The place is really small, just a few tables.
We also made a brief stop for fun and games at 508 Tequila bar.
We arrived at the QC show about 8:20. Listed door time was 8 PM. BUT, we found a line, doors were NOT open. While we patiently waited in line, employess came out and smoked next to the line... it's like we were trapped there to endure their 2nd hand smoke. We finally got into the venue around 9 PM. At nearly 10 PM the first band had not yet taken the stage, there were two bands scheduled before Quiet Company... Realizing QC was not going to start before midnight, it proved to be a bad fit for us. We finished our one beer, decided that was enough for one night and came home. win some, lose some.