Dazed and Amused in Austin, Texas – Part II

Our second day in Austin we found our bearings. If we’d done our research properly, we probably would have made a beeline to this funky and happening area. But the delay only amped our appreciation.

For anyone who knows Austin, you’ve probably already guessed that I’m talking about historic South Congress (“SoCo”). Dilapidated and seedy not so long ago, SoCo has been revitalized and reborn. It’s now home to the most popular South by Southwest “musician’s hotel,” the Hotel San Jose, the longtime holdout Austin Motel, several carefully curated thrift stores, the Allens Boots megastore, numerous cafes and, of course, the legendary music venue, The Continental Club, which has seen SoCo through good, bad and back.

If you need any further evidence that you’re in the hippest part of town, just walk past Hey Cupcake, which sells cupcakes out of a Airstream trailer accompanied by live music (see photo below).

We knew we were on track as we bit into our uber-rich Carrot Cake French Toast (complete with warm cream cheese sauce) during brunch at South Congress Café. High from all the sugar, an impromptu shopping spree took over us, leaving us with bags full of gently worn retro duds as well as some handmade jewelry from Ten Thousand Villages, the fair trade retailer that sells the wares of artisans from developing nations around the world. (Yes, that was a plug.)

If we hadn’t just had dessert for breakfast, we surely would have given into not only a cupcake but also the weirdo ice cream flavors at Amy’s Ice Creams, including Shiner, which is flavored with the beer Shiner Bock. (Did I mention this is a big drinking town?)

After a nap, we set out again to grab some (more) comfort food and hear some live music. Our greatest hits tour took us first to Threadgills, a local institution for 76 years, and also where local "Roots & Rock" star James McMurty was performing that night.

Unfortunately, our grubbing on fried pickles, meatloaf, mac ‘n cheese, “Texas black-eyed pea caviar” (pictured below) and more in the restaurant adjacent to the outdoor stage ran a little long. When we emerged, there were no seats left, and our nascent food coma was making standing seem out of the question. So we headed back over to The Continental Club, where we were early enough to score table seats and hear some jazz.

That night, we slept extra hard thanks to the turbocharged air conditioning in our room. (We never did figure out how to turn it down, a sign that such as desire was clearly abnormal in these sweltering parts.) We awoke refreshed, and the sun, which had hidden a bit the day before, was out in full force. The obvious thing to do was to go biking. I mean, we were in Lance Armstrong’s hometown after all. But first we needed to fuel up, and we hadn't had a nibble of Mexican food yet.

We made our way to the famed technicolor shack that is Taco Xpress. You can't miss it thanks to the huge, wacky and welcoming bust of owner Maria Corbalan out front (see photo below). We arrived at the tail end of “Hippie Sunday Church.” I’d read something about it a while ago, but I don’t think anyone can fully appreciate it until you’ve experienced it. We’re talking about some serious rocking out.

Young and old, boho and yuppie, everyone was on their feet, dancing, shouting and clapping (with greasy hands from eating tacos, of course) with a true religious fervor. The lead singer of the band was absolutely going for broke, whipping her head to the point that I was concerned for her spinal column. It was perhaps the moment where I really got Austin. This place lives for A) music and B) brunch, and when you combine the two, well, prepare for nirvana.

Still decompressing from that raucous scene (above is the beer line afterwards), we rented bikes at one of the nicest bike shops I’ve ever been in and pedaled the short distance to Town Lake (renamed Lady Bird Lake in 2007, but no one seems to call it that). And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. A lovely lake (formed by damming the Colorado River) right in the middle of town, with big corporate offices just a block away in some cases, but with the added amenity of 10 miles of interconnected trails around the perimeter. Everyone, their brother and their brother’s dog was out walking, jogging or biking.

We had to conduct some high-stakes crowd navigation, but we didn't mind. Biking around Town Lake is darn fun, except when you’re lost, as we were twice. This did allow us to see a rowing competition in progress as well as talk to some natives, but next time, we’ll take a better map. (Talk about the recurring theme of this trip!)

Dazed and Amused in Austin, Texas – Part I

I knew this could be a problem. Less than 12 hours after returning from my heart-thumping rendezvous with Santa Fe and Albuquerque, I departed for a first date with Austin, Texas. The pitfall of such brazen promiscuity? I’d gotten so besotted with New Mexico that I forgot to do any research or planning for Austin. I scooped up a few articles I’d printed out ages ago and scrambled to make my flight.

Now, as many of you know, this is highly out of character for this congenital planner. (I didn’t earn the nickname “Planny McPlannerson” for nothing.) Arriving in a place I’ve never visited without a guidebook, map or at least a heavily-researched list of ideas is frankly unprecedented. I was winging it, and I felt out of sorts. I also felt somewhat unburdened. I couldn’t be responsible for the success or failure if I didn’t plan it, I rationalized.

To be fair, I have gone on spontaneous adventures orchestrated by non-planner, Type B friends and significant others. And I enjoyed how they pulled me out of my comfort zone. But in those instances, I just followed their lead. This time I was meeting a college friend who rivaled me in the planning department. Shockingly, though, she confessed she hadn’t had time to look into Austin either. Gulp!

So here we were – two Type A control freaks in a rental car without even a decent map to pee on. For a panicky moment, I didn’t even think we had the address and directions for our B&B, though it turned out we did. The sensible thing would have been to rent a GPS with our car, but we gamely headed out with our crappy Avis map. Not surprisingly, we were soon muttering “This can’t be it!” and calling the B&B to find out where we’d gone wrong.

Fortunately, once we found the historic Woodburn House (built 1909), located in the venerable Hyde Park neighborhood, we realized we at least had a soothing resting place. With its double porches and yard full of pecan trees, things were looking up. Plus, our lovely room (a steal at $125/night including breakfast) was remarkably plush and period-appropriate without any of the bright floral prints or doilies you might expect. Instead, we got soft robes and plenty of surface space, a real luxury when you have toiletries for two women.

Yes, we were here, in a grand mansion surrounded by tiny Craftsman bungalows, but now what? Being in Texas, eating some BBQ seemed like a good first move. So we pulled out the laptop and headed to the upstairs porch to do some Googling. The air was warm and humid (an odd sensation having just come from arid New Mexico), and the reviews were equally confusing, pointing us to joints outside of town (e.g. The Salt Lick) for “the best BBQ in Austin.” With our paltry map, and the growing darkness, we balked at driving that far.

Eventually we gave up and decided to drive towards downtown. We were winging it, after all. We were soon rewarded for our intrepidness with Ironworks Barbecue, located in a former ironsmith’s shop south of the rowdy Red River District. (According to their website, they’re ranked #1 in Texas, but isn’t it funny how every BBQ place is rated “top” by someone?) We ordered the $12.95 sampler platter, which came with sliced beef, one rib, sausage, beans, potato salad, pickles…and a slice of white bread. Yep, soft, enriched sandwich bread like you’d buy at the grocery.

I was puzzled…and a little turned off. It wasn’t until I learned that the slice of bread was a deep South tradition – meant to sop up all the good stuff – that it made sense. But I still think it’s weird. Nonetheless, I managed to scarf up most of my ginormous platter (ignoring the bread) and still find room for the banana pudding. Sitting with our cafeteria plates on the screened porch, I was satiated - and staring to get a sense of Austin’s casual scruffiness.

Later, we motored through the downtown club area, where pounding hip hop beats spilled out followed by packs of kids who seemed very young. This is a mild concern when I think of living in a big college town (Austin is home to the University of Texas, with 48,000+ students) – namely, feeling old and saying things like, “This place is way too loud.” So not surprisingly, we instead chose a tranquil gelato bar where we could hear each other and catch up.

Normally, I wouldn’t question whether this was lame, but in a good-timer place like Austin, you feel a little ashamed. Tomorrow we’ll do better, we agreed. We just needed to find the part of town that was our speed.

Stay tuned for Part II!