Austin Adventures: In With the Old, In With the New

Good Morning!

As promised, I have much to share from our trip to Austin last weekend.  We visited an old friend and made a couple of new ones (restaurant-wise, that is), and were reminded just how awesome it can be to head out for the evening with no specific destination in mind...

Friday Night

Looking for a bar on 6th Street is kind of like shaking presents under the Christmas tree.  You can check out the wrappings ("Ooooh - shiny!") and get a vague idea of what's inside ("Sounds kinda boring..."), but you really don't know what you're in for until you tear the paper off and go inside.  Or something like that.  Anyway, when the hubby and I headed out the front door of the hotel and landed on 6th that first night, we really didn't know where to go.  We figured we'd wander the street and open a door when the mood felt right.  A few blocks down, however, we realized that we'd need a little nudge in one direction or the other, so we stopped a hip-looking shopkeeper on the sidewalk.  We asked for a cool bar with a patio and she pointed us toward Casino El Camino.  Awesome suggestion!

This place was all tiki-ed up, with colorful murals painted on the walls and a creepy statue-slash-fountain gurgling his little heart out on the patio:

We really liked Casino El Camino.  At around five when we arrived, we had the patio to ourselves, but it quickly filled with local-looking types chugging cold beers and munching burgers (Did you see the sign above?  Those burgers looked great!).  I'm glad we asked a local - if we'd gone it alone, we could have unwrapped some underwear, if you know what I mean.

We stayed at the Casino until sunset and then headed down the street to Geisha Sushi for a bite.  This place is a dive, but the sushi was to-die-for.  We had a little of everything, including the "Crazy in 6th" roll, which consisted of deep fried shrimp, cucumber and tuna drizzled with a spicy sauce.  It was crazy good.  We'd never been to Geisha before, but we'll be back.  Here's to a great night of firsts on 6th!

Saturday

Saturday afternoon, we headed out to the lake to revisit an old haunt that had a close call a couple years back.  The Oasis is a giant restaurant/bar/gift shop complex located 450 feet above Lake Travis.  As you can imagine, the view is absolutely spectacular, and the restaurant itself is pretty damn fun too, what with all the funky statues dotting the grounds, kitchy decor and friendly staff.

Here's an example of the restaurant's eclectic outdoor art:

We love the Oasis, but we hadn't been since the restaurant was damaged in a fire back in 2007.  Hearing the news up here in Dallas, we were afraid our old friend might be gone for good, but The Oasis was back up and running shortly thereafter.  They also took advantage of the unfortunate event and began a series of renovations.  According to the nifty informational brochure I picked up on Saturday, they added more than 8 new party rooms in the process and can now accommodate gatherings of up to 2,200 people.  Wow!

We were a little bummed that the patio was uninhabitable that day due to high winds, but we snagged a seat at the window, which was the next best thing.  We munched fried shrimp and fish tacos while enjoying this amazing scenery:

After lunch, we took a drive and watched shadows and sunlight dance on the water as we dipped and curved through the hills surrounding the lake.  It was a beautiful afternoon, and a wonderful trip altogether.  I can highly recommend any of these spots for your next visit to Austin.  Enjoy!

C&S

 

Quick Poll: Destination Dining

While flipping through the latest issue of Rachael Ray Magazine (uh-huh, I read it - but I've already confessed), I came upon a very interesting stat.  In a recent survey of some 13,000 of their readers, 40% reported that their vacations "revolve around food".  Wow.

Being the hungry little thing that I am, it should come as no surprise that any time I leave home - for a week or for the day - I've spent a considerable amount of time mapping out where I might find some local, adventurous or just downright delicious bites to eat.  But up until now, I thought this peculiar quirk was relatively rare, shared only by the most obsessive of my fellow foodie friends.  Guess not.    

I will hereby no longer feel even a little embarrassed when asking to divert several miles off the tourist trail to sample a regional delight (Natchitoches Meat Pie, anyone?).  And I won't even blink when suggesting a hotel based solely on the chocolates that it places on your pillow.  So there.  From here on out, I'm a proud 40-percenter!

Now, what about you?  Do you fall into this category of galavanting gourmets?  When did you last take a vacation, and did it "revolve around food"?  If so, how?  

C&S

New York Eats

"Did you visit the Statue of Liberty?"

Nope.

"Did you walk in Central Park?"

Nuh-uh.


"Did you go to the top of the Empire State Building?"

I'll give you three guesses...



This most recent trip solidified the fact that I will always go to New York City to eat. Any other pursuits take a backseat for me when I visit NYC, a city that is picky (in the most wonderful way) about the quality, artistry and authenticity of its food. Luckily, there is also much walking and shopping - both excellent activities for working up an appetite.


Rather than bore you with a slideshow type point-by-point rundown of my trip (not that you get to know *every* point anyway!), I'll instead present a list of the best, best, best and a couple of the overrated...




Food, etc.:


Ideya Latin Bistro
"Home of the Perfect Mojito"
349 West Broadway/SoHo

See that motto? It really is perfect. After one of those blissful drinks, I stepped outside for a smoke and watched a young man shadowdancing to the salsa music pouring out of the restaurant. SoHo is so alive, and this place is so SoHo. (a word of warning, however: cheap chardonnay + top shelf mojitos = wacky delirous)


Gari
370 Columbus Avenue/Manhattan

A couple of very wise friends treated us to dinner here, and promised that it was a well kept sushi secret. We ordered the omakase - a Japanese word meaning, in this context, to entrust your meal to the discretion of the chef. We were rewarded with sashimi and sushi like I've never experienced - think salmon nigiri with caramelized onion and tomato and silken hamachi with spicy jalepeno sauce. Perfection. (Not cheap, but if you're into cheap sushi we need to have a talk anyway...)


Luna Park
50 E. 17th Street/Union Square Park

This is where the pretty people go to get happy. Fun stuff! It was packed the night we went - every inch of the large outdoor venue was full of gorgeous suits and sundresses. Surprisingly the service was still great... kind of like being waited on in the middle of a concert at Smirnoff.


Greenwich Village Food and Cultural Tour
www.foodsofny.com

You are so not too cool to go on a guided walk through the Village and be a little bit tourist-y for the day. Sample the best of the best in food and learn all about the architecture, history and people of Greenwich Village, incubator of the most influential artists, poets, actors and musicians in American history.



Shopping, etc.:


H&M
Multiple locations throughout NYC - indeed, throughout the world. Except here. When, oh when, will our H&M arrive?

Century 21
22nd Cortlandt St./downtown - there is a reason why everyone tells you to shop here.

Uniqlo
546 Broadway/SoHo - Uniqlo is unique, and the entire district around it is full of great shopping. Have a cab dump you off here, and bliss out for several hours of shopping fantasy.

Greenwich Village
I spent two days exploring the Village. Get yourself to Bleeker St. & 7th and you'll be in the heart of everything. Wander and lust. Be forewarned, however - one day might not be enough!


Overrated:


Grom Gelato
2165 Broadway, Upper West Side

I'm going to catch flack for this, but here goes: I just didn't see the big deal. The line for this place is usually about 45 minutes. It was even featured on the Today Show. The gelato was wonderful, don't get me wrong, but revolutionary? exceptional? worth 45 minutes? Not so much.


Chelsea Market
75 9th Avenue

I was somewhat disappointed in Chelsea Market, heavily hyped home of the Food Network. Disinterested store employees and dusty imported canned goods were my main impressions of the place. If you do go, tack a couple of hours onto the official opening time. Chelsea Market is a sleepy place and the stores really didn't "open" until 30-45 minutes after the advertised time. I had a bad scone, looked at some souvenirs and then called it a day.


Photos (top to bottom): 1. Talented hands crafting mojitos at Ideya 2. Look at those post-mojito smiles! 3. The crowd at Luna Park 4. Red couch for sale at the outdoor Flea Market in the Village 5. Beautiful pastries at Rocco's, 243 Bleeker St.