austinized

I will neither confirm nor deny that the main reason we moved to Austin was the possibility of seeing more shows by Explosions in the Sky. I will say this…it didn’t hurt the decision making process! So, when I discovered they were playing their first announced show since we’ve moved to town, I made sure I was there…along with half the city I think.

Explosions played a free show on the last night of SXSW at Auditorium Shores. The sound was far from perfect — one of the guitars seemed to come and go in the mix. And I think the tallest person in the crowd was about 7 inches in front of, and above, me. But those things aside, I couldn’t have asked for a better setting. The stage backs right up to Town Lake, and downtown creates a backdrop to the right of the stage. It was 72 degrees with no clouds to clutter the night sky.

They began their set by inviting the surging crowd to “Come dream with us” and then glided into their set of six songs: The Only Moment We Were Alone, Catastrophe and the Cure, Greet Death, Your Hand in Mine, The Birth and Death of the Day, and Memorial. As Memorial swelled into its crescendo, a fireworks show began behind the stage. The band left the stage after the song, allowing the continuing fireworks to serve as the encore.

As we left, I was thankful for the reminder of why we love living in Austin.

Last weekend, we took our family to the annual Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Christmas Parade.

Let me begin with the most important detail. The parade didn’t start until 11am. Whoever planned the time must know how hard it is to get several small children out of the house in the morning. The start time was perfect for us to navigate the heavy and find a good viewing spot well before the parade began.

The parade took a straight path down Congress from the Capitol building to Town Lake. It had a good mixture of what you’d expect of a Christmas parade in Austin — inflated balloons, bright floats, live music, and some oddities. Our kids loved it.

The point of the parade was a highlight for our family. Parade goers were encouraged to bring toys to give to less fortunate families. I lost count of how many pickup trucks went by that were overflowing with toys. This will be an annual tradition for our family…see you next year!

Barton Springs Pool is in Zilker Park, just across the lake from downtown. It is a popular place to hang out and swim in Austin.

It has some nice grassy areas to bask in the sun and some good play areas for young children to splash. The diving board in the middle seemed to be a hit. On the south end, you can enter it like a zero-entry pool or beach, but beware of the slippery algae. A kind experienced local swimmer there pointed out that there was a path that had been cleaned off (white rather than greenish) that wasn’t too slippery. We were very thankful, considering we didn’t want to drop our young children on the rocks.

You may have to be used to cooler water to enjoy swimming here. It wasn’t a problem for my kids after a few minutes, but I’m kind of a cold-water wimp, so I prefer a pool — or maybe a jacuzzi!

Pros:
Inexpensive
Grassy areas
Beautiful, surrounded by green trees
Nature experience, including small fish swimming around your feet
Zero entry on the sides
Great view of downtown
Conveniently located in Zilker Park

Cons:
Cold water (relative I know!)
Parking was pretty full
A bit of a walk to the kids area, which is tricky with little ones
Slippery
Algae floating around your legs

I promise this isn’t going to become an Austin coffee blog. But, please understand that coffee is the fuel that will help keep this blog going. Without it, there might not be any content! So, the coffee tour continues…

One of the best lattes I have found in Austin comes from Caffe Medici. I’m not an espresso afficianado, but I’ve had enough lattes to form opinions. One thing I know — latte art matters. It’s not just that it makes the coffee look pretty. It also shows that the milk was steamed to the right texture. I’ve had 3-4 lattes at Medici, and they have nailed it everytime as far as texture, and art, goes.

They have two locations, one on Lynn, and one on The Drag, across from UT, where Metro Coffee used to be. I’ve not been to the Guadalupe location, at least not since Medici took it over. But I have been to Lynn. The great coffee comes with a price, because parking and table space is usually at a premium. I’ve found that if I don’t get there before mid morning, I’m usually out of luck.

As I’m trying out local coffee shops, a few favorites are starting to emerge. One of those is Sodade Coffee House, near Duval and MoPac.

I’ve been spending as much time at Sodade as anywhere else because they score high in my primary criteria — they make one of the best (and cheapest) lattes I’ve had in the city. It’s certainly the best latte within ten minutes of our house. The staff is very friendly and the atmosphere is fairly quiet and relaxed. I never have trouble focusing here. The wifi is spotty at times, although they seem to have gotten that sorted out. (Even when it isn’t working, it is never a problem to pick up the signal from the restaurant next door. Ssshh.)

Bonus points go to Sodade for having a twitter account! Pay them a visit…just don’t take my table.

I spend 3-4 mornings a week working in a coffee house, so I am making the rounds in Austin to see what’s out there. I’ve been to several, but have held off from posting about any of them until I’ve had 2-3 visits. Coming from Seattle, I was spoiled as far as coffee goes, but I think I’m going to be okay…

Up first in the grand coffee tour is Genuine Joe. It’s a good sized shop with an outdoor patio, three different indoor rooms, and a variety of furniture. This means you can usually find a spot to fit your mood, from a couch in a quiet corner to a table amidst all the action. The music I’ve heard is a decent mix…which means it doesn’t include any oldies or country.

Out of three visits, I’ve had one average drink, and two pretty good drinks. The latte I had on my second visit just seemed like hot flavored milk. Today, my latte had a nice texture to it. I have visited a few places where I like the lattes better (which I’ll share in time). But, I don’t like to be confined to one or two spots, so Genuine Joe is a place I’ll visit often.

One of my new Austin friends took me to lunch at Austin Diner this week. On first glance, it looked like, well, a diner. After a while, I realized it was a diner with some contemporary Austin feel. I wasn’t forced to relive decades past with oldies that I tired of long ago. The music was subtle, but modern, and the decor gave it an Austin flavor while holding on to a throwback diner atmosphere.

The waiter was helpful, the Dr. Pepper glass was large, and the food didn’t take long. Most important was what I ordered. I figured that I was in a diner, so I could have breakfast for lunch. More importantly, I was in Austin, so I could have breakfast tacos for lunch. I ordered Oscar’s Favorite, and I’ve got to tell you, I think I Oscar and I could be friends. Each taco was two corn tortillas filled with fried potatoes, bacon, pico and cheese. I probably shouldn’t eat that every day for lunch, but I know I will be eating it again!

After about a week of unpacking, our family needed to get out and unravel a bit. We met up with some new friends for live music, a playground, and some ice cream on a Saturday evening at Central Market on North Lamar. It was almost perfect…a weak iced latte was the only damper on the evening. Still, we unraveled.

One look at the parking lot as we pulled in told us that we weren’t the only ones ready to enjoy this evening. Once we got in, it wasn’t that bad. Sometimes I don’t like huge crowds, but this one didn’t bother me at all. The wait for ice cream was short and there were plenty of tables both inside and out to choose from.

After engorging their bellies and enlarging their smiles, the kids were ready to play on the playground. Again, it was full of kids, but not so much that they were climbing on each other. Well, there were one or two instances… The kids ran and slid and danced and hid while we were serenaded by the Marshall Ford Swing Band.

Central Market offers live music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening and a movie in the park every other Wednesday night. Visit their events page for the full rundown.

Last week, I met another friend for lunch who had also just moved to Austin. We had planned to meet at Mighty Fine Burgers which has been recommended to me several times but it had a long line and no space to sit. (This was the second time I’ve tried Mighty Fine…one of these days I’ll enjoy one of those burgers.) Since Red Brick Pizza was right across the parking lot, we decided to try that.

I wasn’t familiar with Redbrick — it wasn’t something we had in Seattle. But, since I ate there, I’ve discovered it’s a franchise that’s opening around the country. I’m always up for pizza, so I as more than willing to give it a shot.

The setup for RedBrick is great with TVs all over the place showing SportsCenter or the NFL Network. Best of all, there are remotes around coded to each TV, so you can change the channel at your table if you feel the urge. The menu had a good selection and was reasonable priced for pizza and a drink.

I ordered one of my standards — a BBQ chicken pizza. I was a little confused that it had mushrooms on it, as I don’t think I’ve seen that before. I ordered it without the fungus. They left the mushrooms on and left off the red onions. When I took it back up to point out the mistake, I wasn’t impressed with their suggestion for me to just pick off the mushrooms. They did agree to remake it and the person who brought it to me seemed more apologetic.

Overall, I’d be willing to go back. But I’m sure there are lots of pizza places to try in Austin, so I might need to wait until I’ve made the rounds to see what else is out there.

On our first weekend in town, we were ready to get our whole family out for a relaxing evening after the stresses of moving. We met some friends for dinner at Chipotle and then headed over to The Domain.

Part of our motivation was to give our little ones some idea of consistency. Our family regularly visits bookstores and the Apple store. Seeing the Borders and the Apple store at the domain gave our kids a sense of something familiar in a new place. (And to be honest, I needed to scope out the Apple store to make sure it would be up to snuff. It was.)

We settled in at the little courtyard and play area near Starbucks. Our kids played with our friends’ kids and made many new friends along the way. We settled in for some great conversation and enjoyed the warm evening while live jazz played across the way. Knowing that there are plenty of outdoor evening activities like this was part of why we wanted to move to Austin. We came home that evening reminded of how happy we were to be here.