bluegrass to lonestar

During a trip up north to get Halloween costume supplies we stopped at Mighty Fine for dinner.  It’s a weird hybrid restaurant not quite fast food, but not quite sit down casual.  The place was a garish Americana inside with giant red-checkered picnic tables to eat at and walls lined with tubs or condiments.  Not really my ideal atmosphere.  We ordered cheeseburgers and fries.  We requested medium for our burgers so they were cooked to order.  I recommend this for people who don’t want a burger that’s been setting around.  The fries were skinny crinkle-cut, a combo I hadn’t seen before.  They didn’t turn out so well.  They were overcooked and bland.  The burgers on the other hand were pretty good, or mighty fine if you will.

Friday night Black Heart Procession was in town. I have wanted to see them for years but never managed to. Turns out I wasn’t missing much. It was a huge let-down. The show was at the Mohawk as usual, but there weren’t many people in attendance. Those that were seemed to be completely devoid of interest. I felt bad for the band. They mostly played stuff off the new album, and the new songs were pretty terrible. Everything about them was just obvious. The few old tracks were great to hear live but it was just a disappointment overall.

The Tour de Fat rolled into Austin Saturday for the last stop of their festival. We didn’t wake up in time for the bike parade, but we stopped by later in the afternoon to check things out.  Our first stop was the beer tent for a pint of Hoptoberfest before we wandering around.

There were food booths, custom screen printing, and funhouse mirrors. They also had a bike pit full of rideable bike art.  The main draw seemed to be the Squirm Burpee Circus, a faux vaudville act with  juggling and balancing acts, which was in full swing when arrived. They were pretty entertaining, especially the finale which involved juggling live chainsaws, bowling balls, and eggs.

After the circus act, they did a car/bike trade. A person from each city hands over the title to their car in exchange for a custom commuter bike.  It’s a pretty amazing gesture. After the presentation we watched March Fourth, a marching band from Portland, play a few songs from a lively set before we headed out.

We biked over to the Draughthouse Saturday night to have a few pints. The place is a German style brew tavern, all dark wood and authentic paraphenalia on the walls. They brew their own beers and offer a ton of other drafts to try.  I sampled their Saison made with rye and Lauren got a 512 Pecan Porter. The pints are actual 16oz pours which is a bit annoying. I’m used to pubs offering 20 oz imperial pints so I can’t help but feel a bit ripped off.  All-in-all it’s a nice little place.  I really like the cozy and mellow atmosphere inside.

They also offer free bratwurst and knackwurst on Saturday nights.  They had my favorite mustard on hand, so we’ll definitely have to go back another time for a free dinner.

We went to El Tauquito Friday for a belated birthday dinner. The menu is simple, tacos and quesos. We ordered some queso con rajas (roasted chiles) and I went with the Especiale which is six taquitos (3 al pastor y 3 carnitas). Lauren got jalepeño chile relleno tacos.

The tacos were great especially the carnitas, but the star of the show was the salsa bar. Four salsas (roasted, jalepeno, pico, and a red), roasted serrano and limes. The red was outstanding but they were all delicious.