bluegrass to lonestar

I just realized that I have been a lazy blogger and forgotten to write about a few places I checked out in the past month or so. So I’m just going to offer up my brief summary of my experiences with them.

Foodheads
Foodheads is a sandwich shop located in an old house on 34th st.  They have a list of specialty sandwiches on the blackboard behind the counter as well as a create-your-own menu with way too many options.  Every sandwich I’ve tried has been pretty tasty and coffee isn’t too shabby either.  It’s a nice little place to sit and have lunch.

Tom’s Tabooley
Tom’s is on the drag and because of this I was not expecting much. It turns out they have amazing french fries.  The falafel was pretty good but needed a flavorful  sauce.  I had to add some Nancy’s yogurt to it.  Their dolmas are awesome and they serve local roasted coffee.

Zocalo Cafe
Lauren’s Mom took us to dinner here before she left town.  It’s a modernish take on Mexican food, lots of shiny metal inside.  We ordered some queso that turned out to be the thickest cheese dip I’ve ever seen.  I’m talking scary, what exactly is in this, thick.  I got some black bean empanadas and Lauren got fish.  Everything was decent but I can’t see going back.

Mother’s Garden Cafe
Mother’s is a entirely vegetarian place in our neighborhood.  We stopped in for dinner one night to check it out.  Some guy was playing a sitar entirely too close to our booth but other than I liked the place.  I got a veggie burger and Lauren got a TLT (tempeh lettuce and tomato).  The sandwiches do not come with sides, a trend I see a lot in Austin, but they do give you gratis chips and salsa to munch on while you decide what to get.  The veggie burger was one of the better ones I’ve had, but Lauren’s sandwhich was way better.  I’d like to check out the brunch sometime, it sounds like it’s my speed.

Wednesday night I flew back to Louisville for the holidays.  Oh how I missed you.  The flight was mostly uneventful except for an hour delay in Chicago to correct a “mechanical problem”.  They failed to tell us this bit of information until we were seated on the plane, but they did give us an extra packet of peanuts for our trouble.

I was exhausted and decided to sleep when I got to my parents house.  I flipped on the light to my old room to throw my stuff down and did a double take.  My room is no more.  It is now a computer/office room complete with new carpet and paint.  This was quite shocking.  I don’t know why I expected my room to always be here but I guess I kind of did.  It seems I will be in my sisters old room for the duration.

Thursday I got an early start as Donnie and I went up the pub formerly known as Sportstime to visit with Hill and try some of the Saturnalia beers on tap.  A couple hours and a couple delicious pints later I was caught up on the local gossip.  It seems nothing much has changed around here.  I grabbed a couple tacos from my favorite Mexican joint and I was in heaven, please take notes Austin.  We watched the Colts and UofL games and washed them down with some High Life.  It’s pretty easy to fall back into an old routine.

Thursday night I biked down to the Longbranch Inn to have some drinks.  There was a chill in the air and the Longbranch was nice and cozy.  It’s a pretty small place with a row of tables on one side and the bar on the other.  They do not have any beer on draft but they have a decent bottle selection.  I stuck with the old familiar, Pabst, never let’s me down.  The walls are adorned with dead animals.  They seem to enjoy the taxidermy.  Lots of good tunes came out of the jukebox, and I plan to visit again.

I went on a 50 mile bike ride Friday out of town to the East.  It was incredibly fun and exhausting.  I had not yet ventured out of the city and so it was a welcome change of pace.  Texas seems to be pretty flat, at least in the areas I’ve been to.  I did not really like this at first but it’s growing on me.  It’s nice to be able to look out forever across some farm or random field.  A church sign offered the thought provoking advice that “Wal-mart is not the only places that saves.”  There was a day owl, some sweet birds and lots of roadkill along the way.  I stupidly forgot a camera so there is no visual to go along with the description.

Jonny’s birthday was Wednesday and to celebrate it we went to the Alamo Drafthouse.  Why? Because Mr. Grass wanted to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and that is what Mr. Grass got.  The drafthouse is a local theatre chain that serves food and drink during movies, and also features special event nights where they play older movies, or campy B-films.  Jonny, Laura, Arturo, and I biked down to the theatre early enough to snag decent seats.  The movie also included all-you-can-eat pizza.  The options were limited to meat, veggie, pepperoni, and cheese (with green food coloring).  We ordered a couple veggie pies and settled in.

The movie was hilariously awesome and I stuffed myself with pizza.  I used to watch the hell out of it as a kid, good ‘ole VHS, and still remembered most of it.  We left the theatre and we’re immediately met by the magic that is 6th St.  A bar across the street was offering us a lone man playing acoustic versions of Coldplay to an empty house.  We decided to forgo this obvious delight and head over to Side Bar for a pre-drinking drink.  It was cozy and empty, and the bathroom offered us a confusing lesson on prejudice.

After the drink, we headed north with a quick stop off at the corner convenient market so that Jonny could get food.  A man offered us beer as we stood outside with our bikes.  Maybe he thought we were underage?  In hindsight we probably should have accepeted.  Free is free.  We met up with everyone else at Barflys, a bar upstairs from a burger joint.  We pretty much took up the entire back room of the bar.  The place is pretty great, all beer and well-drinks are $2.50.  Pool and foosball were played, some lovely tunes came out of the jukebox and Jonny did a birthday jig.