[Sca-cooks] Friend going to Austin

[Ysabeau]

As Stefan said, Tex-Mex is the better way to go than seafood. And don't
forget Whole Foods! I live in South Austin so I can only give you my
favorite haunts.

Boiling Pot on 6th - this is only good if you have a crowd. It is what it
says. A seafood restaurant where you pick the things you want to go in the
pot then they cook it and dump it on the table. It is kind of pricey but one
of the few places I'll go for seafood with friends. It is really hard to
mess up something when you are just boiling it, you know? Depending on when
she comes, this is crawfish season! They also have shrimp, lobster, and
crabs...not sure what else but that is what we usually get.

Trudy's - There are three of them so one should be on whatever side of town
your friend is staying in. I personally recommend the stuffed avocado with
suiza sauce. It is an avocado stuffed with spiced chicken and cheese, rolled
in breadcrumbs and then fried served with cheese and suiza sauce on top. Not
for the calorie conscious but a truly delicious experience.

Vivo's - On Manor Road just east of  I35. This is a trendy but but fairly
priced Tex-Mex restaurant. I don't go there for the food. It is generic
Tex-Mex. I go for the margaritas and the ambience. It has a great patio and
the art inside is fabulous. The bathroom is very unique...they fill the
sinks with ice and rose petals. It is a great place to get together and
relax with friends over drinks and dinner. There is wonderful art
everywhere...but don't go if you are offended by nudity. It is very artistic
but ~some~ people could get offended. Okay, some of it is more pinup art but
that is still art.

Romeo's - Italian food that is really very good! They have great atmosphere
and you should ask to be seated in the room with the mural or in the front
window. If the weather is really nice, then the patio is great.

Hyde Park Grill - There are two now. One on Duval and one in the Central
Market South shopping center at South Lamar and Ben White. They have
traditional American cafe food. They are famous for their fries. I love
their Kobe beef burger.

Maria's Tacos on South Lamar - Go on Sunday morning for a true South Austin
experience. It has moved a bit back off the road but it is still the same
great place. I can't remember if they have the big statue of Maria back on
top, yet. There used to be this HUGE statue of Maria with her arms
outstretched holding pom poms but someone cut off her arms and the statue
was out for repair. We are talking a statue that was almost as big as the
building it stood on. On Sunday mornings there is live music on the patio.
Sometimes you will find tarot and palm readers out there as well. This is
old-fashioned tex-mex tacos - carne guisada, picadillo, migas, chorizo and
egg, etc.

My plan for spending a day with nothing to do in no particular order:

1. Whole Foods - The flagship is here and it is a wonderful place to go for
dinner or lunch but plan on taking a while. First you have to wander through
and look at all the various prepared food bars scattered through the store -
the roasted nut bar, the seafood bar, the barbecue bar and the soup bar.
Then there is the restaurant section that includes a pasta bar, a noodle
bar, a sushi bar, a raw foods bar, a big salad bar, and an "international"
bar that features a variety of cuisines that changes. I'm sure I'm
forgetting something. It is an experience. The patio is wonderful and they
have live music on some evenings on the upstairs patio. If your friend is a
foodie, tell her/him to get a light snack before going and plan on spending
several hours here. It is also possible to sample your way through without
actually buying dinner ~grin~.

2. Amy's Ice Cream - Okay, after Whole Foods, cross the street to Amy's Ice
Cream. The first time I took my nephew here he said "Aunt Lisa, this ice
cream tastes like it came straight from the cow!". They are known for their
unusual combinations - Cop's Dream Ice Cream is coffee ice cream with donuts
chopped into it is one example. They also have ice cream flavored with
spirits (noted with asterisks on the board). I'm boring. I love the dark
chocolate with almonds. Although, the creme de menthe with chocolate chips
chopped in is good when they have it.

3. BookPeople - This is the largest independent book store of some
region...I can't remember if it is Texas or the whole country. I like to
wander through and get a big stack of books then find a cozy corner and go
through them to decide which I want. You should also check their schedule
because they usually have some author or some talk going on every day. It is
on the third corner of the intersection along with REI and Anthropologie.

If you like music, Waterloo Records is a great place to go hang out. It is
right next door to Amy's. It is more Austin-centric on music but they have
both new and used CDs. There is a listening center and you can listen to any
CD before buying it. They also have an "ice house" next door with good
burgers, hot dogs, and such.

Then, before leaving the area completely...head down 6th to Sweetish Hill to
pick up muffins for breakfast the next day. I highly recommend the Mocha
one. If you still have time, you can check out the art galleries along the
way.


I hope this helps!
Ysabeau









On 3/27/07, Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:
>
> <<< If you can stand the wait and are willing to go to a chain,
> Pappadeaux is
> great.  They specialize in Creole and Cajun flavors and generally
> have really
> good fresh seafood.>>>
>
> Yes, after Trulucks, which I've never been to, Pappadeaux would be my
> choice.
>
> > On 3/27/07, Saint Phlip <phlip at 99main.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Got a friend (non-SCA) heading down to Austin on business next week,
> >> and is wanting some restaurant suggestions. She particularly likes
> >> seafood, non-Red Lobster type. Any suggestions?
>
> If your friend is looking for Austin-style restaurants, seafood would
> not be my choice. If they are interested in something that is more
> Austin, I would recommend some good Tex-Mex, of which their are
> numerous good choices, and a few bad ones. Trudy's would be a good
> choice. For something, er out of the ordinary, I'd choose Chuy's.
> Hubcaps on the ceiling, Bits of Mexican/Austin oddities as
> decoration. Definitely not a "serious", solemn restaurant.
>
> For a very highly rated interior of Mexico cuisine, as opposed to Tex-
> Mex, I would recommend Fonda San Miguel. Very good food and
> apparently nationally known. Their Sunday brunch is fabulous, but
> even my doctor-brother was a bit taken back by the price when we went
> there for a family outing, not knowing how much it would be.   I
> think the Sunday Brunch was about $24, but probably the best interior
> Mexican food I've ever had.  http://www.fondasanmiguel.com/
>
> Stefan
> --------
> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
>    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas
> StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
>
>
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