Spring = Music

Austinites are lucky when it comes to the live music scene. The local scene is amazingly active, with dozens if not hundreds of shows going on most days. It also attracts a great variety of regional artists -- blues, rock, latin and music from Louisiana are popular -- and big-time acts in almost every genre. Plus the festivals -- SXSW, ACL, and lots of other smaller ones like Mess With Texas, the Reggae Festival and the Fun Fun Fun Festival.

There is a noticeable lull, though, during the late fall and winter. Come April or so, the season starts to kick into gear again, and by May there's something good going on almost every weekend.

A few weekends ago, we caught our first show at Stubb's Barbecue. Stubb's sells a pretty well known brand of its sauces in stores across the U.S. Stubb's also has a popular, spacious barbecue restaurant downtown in the heart of the club district along East 6th and Red River. The restaurant has two stages: a small indoor room and a large outdoor venue, but small enough so that you know you'll find a good spot no matter when you show up. Plus the BBQ is supposed to be decent. No wonder people like Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth call Stubb's their favorite club to play in the U.S.

We went to see the Raconteurs on the first night of a two night stand at Stubb's. The Raconteurs are most well known for being the second band of Jack White of the White Stripes. They play a straight-ahead classic hard rock style that lends itself well to the stage. Now that they have two albums out, they were able to play probably a bit longer than they did when they first toured in 2006. They played 19 songs over one set plus one encore. Two thumbs up for the show and the venue.


Video for Steady As She Goes

Eight days later, we caught a Wilco show at Stubb's, who were also there for a two night stand. We had seen them a few times before, but this show was one of the best. The band has featured a lot of departures and additions over the years, but the current line-up has been together for a while now and can really play beautifully live. Also, Wilco recently played a five night series at a hall in Chicago where, over those days, they ran through their entire catelog of songs. Since then, they've been incorporating older songs into their set, including a few songs we'd never seen them play before. For Hoodoo Voodoo, from the first volume of the Mermaid Avenue collaboration with Billy Bragg, Pat Sansone picked up a guitar and had a memorable duel with "guitar god" Nels Cline, trading riffs like welterweights. Jeff Tweedy traded instruments with John Stirratt, who took a rare turn at lead for It's Just That Simple from first album A.M. Great stuff.

You can find setlists and all sorts of other information on Wilco shows at WilcoBase, including the Austin show.

A few weeks later, we went to another legendary venue for the first time, Antone's. Stevie Ray Vaughan took a big step toward becoming a star and legend there. That night, we saw a great show by Gary Clark, Jr. I had barely heard him, but had read good things. Clark played guitar with a bass and drum rounding out his trio, and ripped through a an energetic, eccestric set of bluesy, hard, roots rock, with occasional moments of more modern rock that conjured up U2 of all bands to a few of the people in our party. Maybe you've heard of Clark from his role in the movie Honeydripper? Potentially a star on the rise.


Gary Clark Jr. with the Honeydripper All-Star Band

The highlight of the night might have come after the show. On the way home, we stopped with some friends at Mrs. Johnson's Bakery, an Austin landmark. Mrs. Johnson's stays open well past midnight, serving a tempting variety of doughnuts, kolache and other treats to the many people working their way home after a night out. Drive-through only. Plus they always throw in a free doughnut, even if you only order one yourself. Rachel and I both liked the cake doughnuts were great -- "[A] delicious cake doughnut, of which I crave more," raves Rachel!

More and more good shows are popping up on the schedule. The schedule for ACL (Austin City Limits music festival) was just released too, so there's that to start studying. Stay wired.

Barbecue Update: Sam's Bar-B-Cue (Perry's Visit)

Jon's brother-in-law, Perry, came into town in early May for a business seminar. We only found out a few weeks earlier and were excited to have another visitor. He let us know via email that he'd be expecting to eat some BBQ. On the night of his arrival, we picked him up downtown and decided to stay nearby. I'd heard good things about Sam's Bar-B-Cue, so we made the short drive to the east side of the city. Sam's is in a small building on East 12th Street. There are only a few tables inside, but there are also a few benches on a deck outside. The two people working there were extremely friendly and happy to accomodate our requests for whatever assortment of meats we wanted to try. The brisket was some of the best I've had. Not quite as smokey or spicy as Louie Mueller's, but still very tender and flavorful. I thought the chicken was outstanding. The sausage is local and good, with the more granular texture that is typical in these parts, and Perry enjoyed his pork ribs. The sauce was sweet but tasty -- my only complaint is that they put too much on my food. Just a bit on the side would have been better. A worthwhile experience -- fun, tasty, and a little bit adventurous.



Perry and Sam's server (Wanda?)


Perry's plates


Washing down dinner at the Gingerman




A short video about Sam's

Barbecue Update

Hard to believe, but it's been six months since I posted about Texas barbecue, and five months since we left for Texas via White Castle and O'Charley's. From the sound of it, we've spent 97% of the time eating, looking for places to eat, discussing food with our friends, planning or attending food-related events, or doing some other culinary activity. Well ... crunching the numbers, that's probably a little on the high side. The posts don't lie, though -- we're certainly somewhat food oriented.

Surprisingly, we really haven't sampled all that much 'cue in those five months, but I thought I'd update readers on some of our BBQ-related thoughts. This one's in honor of Perry Zinn-Rowthorn's upcoming visit to Austin.

BEST BARBECUE WE'VE HAD SO FAR

Hand's down, we both agree that the best barbecue we've eaten is at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX, home of my employer. Maker of righteous brisket that they rub with a magical blend that is purportedly comprised of little more than a blend of salts and peppers, the brisket is magically moist, tasty and a little bit spicy when it emerges from one of the pits that fills the entire main room up with smoke.


Board full of business cards darkened by smoke from the pits at Louie Mueller

Thankfully they've put a second dining room next to the main one, which is a little smoky but more tolerable than the main room. You do order in the main room, and even that can leave you smelling like smoke for the rest of the day. When you get to the front of the line and they take your order, they rip off a couple of feet of butcher's paper and put it on the counter, along with the Holy Grail of barbecued brisket: a small cube they cut off -- it really sort of falls off -- and place on the corner of your paper for you to enjoy while carve up your order. The brisket, offered in choices of fatty or leaner, comes sliced a bit thicker than most places, and is moist and tender, with a sick crust and great smoky-spicy flavor. The smoked turkey breast has the same crust, though a little thinner probably from shorter smoking time, and is great to eat on a sandwich. The chicken runs out quickly but is moist and a little more mild than the turkey or brisket. Louie Mueller usually serve three kinds of sausage: chipotle, jalapeno and regular, all Elgin variety. The pork loin is supposedly great. I haven't tried any ribs. Louie Mueller also makes steaks and some other things, including a nice side of pintos. If you have time, make it out to Taylor for the best.

NEXT UP

The two best places are outside Austin, each about 30 minutes on a good day. Kreuz Market, in Lockhart, is an institution. It is often touted as the best in the area. We went one day when Don & Sheila, Jon's parents, were in town. It is in a huge red building with two dining areas with the requisite picnic benches. Your order is taken in the back, along side the amazing array of pits. We ordered from a lady who looked like one of the original employees from 1948. With four of us, we ended up deciding to taste several things, including brisket, spare ribs, two kinds of sausage, along with beans and slaw. I thought the jalapeno sausage was the best thing. Nicely firm casing and a less mealy inside than most Elgin sausage. The brisket great, although not as flavorful, in my opinion, than Louie Mueller's. Sides were good. Definitely worth checking out if you like the meat. Kreuz serves lots of things, like shoulder clod (leaner beef than brisket), pork and beef ribs, pork chops, ham and homemade wieners.


Sign at Kreuz Market -- I'd listen to the people there, they know what they're talkin' about.

A LOCAL FAVORITE

One of our favorites within the confines of Austin is the first barbecue place we ever visited. In fact, if my memory is correct, we went there on the first night of our first visit here in September 2005. Ruby's is near the UT campus, and serves more natural, organic meats, along with salads, tacos, Cajun food, vegetarian items, and soup and side dish specials. Very nice brisket sandwich. Good turkey and chicken, too.

THE REST

• Mann's Smokehouse, also within the city limits, is in small building under the highway to the north of the city center. The spot isn't the prettiest, but Mann's makes a mean jalapeno sausage and very good smoked turkey. The friendly people there threw in free brownies last time, which were excellent -- just the right richness.
• Iron Works is solid barbecue and conveniently located near the heart of downtown.
• I've only eaten frozen barbecue from the Salt Lick, in nearby Driftwood, but it was decent. Not in the same league as Louie Mueller or Kreuz, if you ask me. The huge place is in a nice spot out in the country just south of Austin.
• Rudy's, a chain, isn't as bad as some people say.
• Also a chain, Bill Miller probably isn't too different in quality from Rudy's, but has more of a fast food vibe. I thought the BBQ chicken sandwhich, with pulled chicken, a little sauce and optional pickles and onions on a poppy seeded bun, was actually pretty tasty and a good buy.
• Green Mesquite, just south of Lake Austin, serves up lots more than BBQ. We ordered a BBQ sampler one of the two times we've been there, and it was pretty good, if not memorable.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well, we've tried quite a few places, but there are a ton more left. Just in Lockhart, home of Kreuz Market, there are two other legendary BBQ joints: Black's and Smitty's each of which has a large, dedicated following. We're trying to plan a "barbecue crawl" with some friends, which should provide an opportunity to do some more investigative eating. Of course, we'll have to fill you in.

Big Birthday Party for ... Eeyore?

Austin's bizarre. Really, it is. But that shouldn't be surprising for a city that uses "Keep Austin Weird" as an unofficial but widely used motto.

That weirdness was on full display this past Saturday during the annual celebration Austinites call Eeyore's Birthday Party. This year was billed as the 45th annual, although I'm pretty sure it started in the seventies some time. I'm not really sure how to describe what Eeyore's Birthday Party -- or "Eeyore's" for short -- is all about. From what I can tell, it's an excuse for the kooks and goons out there to dress up in costumes (often skimpy or involving insect wings), engage in recreational drug use, form a gigantic drum circle and bow down before the Eeyore of Liberty statue. Oh, and the event, while free, did raise over $15,000 for various nonprofit groups through sales of food, drink and souveniers. But really, it was mostly an excuse to people watch, which is what Rachel and I were there to do. Wanna see what I mean?

Two typical guys

Event security

The drum circle at 2:30 or so

Little drummer boys

Coonhound (Redbone) that we've seen before at Redbud Isle

Eeyore of Liberty

Sweet shoes

Kid in a makeshift Eeyore float

Jesus Christ, Superdelegate

I have no idea what that is!

Girl Oblio

A few of the winged creatures

More visitors, more food, more fun

Rachel's mom came to visit recently, so we spent some time exploring new (to us) Austin sights and revisiting a few old (for us) favorites.

If you like sculpture, you can check out the Elisabet Ney museum, which is tucked away in Austin's Hyde Park neighborhood. Ney was a 19th century European sculptress who rendered the "great men" of frontier Texas in stone. If we've dragged you through the State Capitol, you'll have seen the life-size figures of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston by Ney. She also sculpted a number of European notables, including King Ludwig II of Bavaria, King George V of Hanover, Otto von Bismarck, and Arthur Schopenhauer.

While you're in Hyde Park, step back in time and drive past the Avenue B grocery. Actually, go in. Mr. Avenue B grocery man is really friendly and we hear he makes a mean sandwich. (I am going back to try the Queen B, which is all veggie and has avocado on it. He says that's a local favorite.)

Also in the Hyde Park neighborhood is the first built of Austin's moon towers, of which 17 remain. Thirty-one towers were built in the mid-1890s to provide artificial lighting in the city. The moon towers are official archaeological landmarks and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, but you may know them from the movie Dazed and Confused, which was shot by Texas native Richard Linklater.

Moon tower

We also visited the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on the outskirts of Austin. The late Lady Bird was dedicated to protecting and preserving native plants. She was responsible for the campaign that led to the slew of wildflowers that bloom on the sides of roadways. The Wildflower Center is both a showplace for native plants and a research institution.

And of course, we ate. Highlights were a weekend brunch/lunch - enchiladas verdes, chili relleno and huevos rancheros - at Habanero Mexican cafe. We haven't gotten there that much since it's on the south side of town, but really we should go there more. And we dragged Mom to Billy's on Burnet for fried green tomatoes and beer out at the picnic tables. And the crowning glory was Louie Mueller Barbeque in Taylor (home of ERCOT, where Jon works), where you can get probably the most delicious cube of brisket anywhere in the US, if not the world. While you order, you get a little square, juicy and warm, on your tray.

On the way back from Taylor, there was no stopping me from seeking out a symbol of Texas. The Longhorn. Shown below, in all his glory. Except of course, that he's confined in a field next to a Westinghouse facility.

All in all, it was another good weekend where we dragged our visitor all over town, fed them til they popped and dropped them off at the airport, wondering when they could come back. P? Rob & Barb? Are you ready?

Film & Food at the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

We had a fun night of food, wine and film on Thursday evening at an event at the Alamo Drafthouse downtown. As part of the annual Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, MacMurray Ranch winery in Healdsburg (Sonoma), California hosted a showing of the Caine Mutiny with a special menu paired with MacMurray Ranch wines. MacMurray Ranch was started by Fred MacMurray, who plays the role of Lt. Thomas Keefer in the movie. His daughter, Kate MacMurray, who works at the ranch, discussed the wine, her father and the movie after the film was over. The food, which was delicious, was prepared by guest chefs from local restaurants and the Alamo's own chefs.

The Caine Mutiny is based on a Herman Wouk's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It takes place during World War II and deals with the ethical dilemma faced by those in charge of a ship during a typhoon, with lives on the line and no time to consider the options before making important decisions. The movie was very entertaining. Humphrey Bogart turns in a great performance as Lt. Commander Queeg. Fred MacMurray was excellent in his role, and Van Johnson and José Ferrer were good as well.

Of course, a sure-fire way to enjoy a movie is to match it with Crottin de Chevre with Mâche & Pinot Noir-Poached Figs paired with a nice glass of Pinot Noir!


Great scene with Humphrey Bogart at the end of The Caine Mutiny