First stop, lunch. I had done a little research to see what Austin offered in terms of food. One of the top rated places was FoodHeads. Turned out to be a house converted into a restaurant, kind of like Bacon the night before. There are a lot of these places - houses turned into businesses of all kinds, all over the country - maybe all over the world. I like them. Small. Interesting. Usually places with good stuff, eclectic clientele. Everything here was cool. The flowers in the vases were real and fresh - mom wanted to liberate one - the staff all seemed pretty happy to be there - lots of people were enjoying themselves and the food. On the way in, I asked two young women what they had eaten - one suggested the salmon bagel. That is what I ended up ordering for mom. I have had a hankering for a tuna melt for I don't know how long - so I picked a half sandwich, half salad (Greek) combo for my lunch. After I had paid and was getting us water, mom asked the cashier for coffee! I haven't seen her be that autonomous in a long time! The cashier let her help herself (a lot of self serve going on here). I later paid for the coffee and tipped her decently. The cashier, not my mom.
We found seats inside, which, though noisy, were a bit cooler than the ones outside. The food came in a timely fashion and was well presented. Mom's bagel was soft and well filled. My tuna melt was good - I just wish the whole thing had been grilled - I like grilled bread - and the salad was a decent example of a Greek salad. Neither mom nor I thought much of the coleslaw. Just not to my taste - way too dry and kinda boring. If I lived in Austin, I would probably frequent the place.
Off to Target! Mom was running low on facial tissues, the house was running low on bathroom tissue and I wanted some duct tape for my own, secret nefarious reasons! (Ok, Sam needs some to mend his dryer apparently.) I like Target. Have I mentioned that I applied for work at a Target once? I applied for a job on the floor - I have never worked retail and thought it would be a good experience. Perhaps even fun, social and a new way of looking at life. They didn't even give me a chance. They told me I had to interview for their management program. That wasn't a good thing - all of the other people who showed up to the interview were ex-military. Not my kind of crowd generally. I guess I didn't do well enough to get to the third round of interviews. Gee, too bad...
After our busy day, it was time to head back to the abode for some down time - mom to read, me to write, ponder and watch an episode of Stargate Atlantis. Oh, and the Flying Saucer for a beer or three.
Mom decided to stay home and read, while I walked to the Flying Saucer. Not the brightest idea I have ever had, but I really needed the exercise and down time of walking. Despite the near 100 degree heat. I wore my hat. And sadly, my sandals. Apparently I forgot to pack my sneakers. Sigh. Anyway, I took my GPS just in case my bump of direction led me astray. It didn't. Yay. I got there near my favorite Saucer time - 4:00 - when the shift starts to change and it isn't too busy but about to get busier. I sat at the bar and chatted with a nice bartender named Cara - apparently she had worked at the Nashville Saucer (one of my favorite Saucers) but I hadn't seen her there. I had intended to only have two beers but stayed for three. All of them were quite good. I started with the Fire Sale - Brooklyn Pennant - a light summer ale sort of beer. Next, a Smoked Porter from somewhere near by. And lastly, a Deschutes Porter (from Bend Oregon) that was great! Yay! I also remet Derron who is a big fan of Diary of a Plate Addict (yes, there are a few (hundred) copies left - please, don't hesitate - buy a copy (or four)). Yippee for fans!
The walk home was not nearly as arduous as the walk there - and I went a different route, which is always enjoyable for me. Mom was waiting patiently for my return. I think she was getting a tad peckish. After a bit of a cooldown, we headed to dinner - a brewpub, of course. The Saucer doesn't count as a brew pub, so we hadn't been to one in a long while. Again, after some research, gotta love the internet, I chose Black Star - a food and beer co-op. Not really sure what that means, but it sounded like a cool place. And it was less than half a mile away! I would have walked, but...we got there and it was a cool place. Too cool: a line out the door. And I couldn't see making mom do another "stand in line to order" type thing. Oh well, their loss. Maybe I will try it again one day when I am in Austin again.
Out comes the iPhone to find another nearby brewpub. And we were in luck - NXNW - North by Northwest - was only a few miles away. Off we went, stopping to get gas ($3.07 - hey, I have seen a few stations in Texas offering $2.95!!) and zipped to the restaurant. We got a parking space and went in - apparently there was a wait for the dining room, but we could sit immediately in a little area off the bar if we wanted. Yay! We sat!
Lovely service staff, boring beer, tasty food about sums up North by Northwest. Good place, but not a place I would frequent if I lived in the area. Kristin, our server, though busy, was quite attentive. Yay! More (eventually) on the brewpub blog.
After dinner, I had an assignation at the Saucer to sell Derron a copy of Diary of a Plate Addict! Huzzuh! (I am going to write this from now on, because it is palendromical.) Then it was night time for the Schoen-Renés!
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| FoodHeads place of business |
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| 'Nuff said. |
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| A flowering prickly pear cactus |
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| Unfortunately the caboose was too small for mom... |
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| North by North West |
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