East Austin - New Restaurant - East Side Show Room

Last night my hubs and I went out with some friends to celebrate his birthday. We made plans to meet friends at the Shangri-La on East 6th for drinks... but when we got there it was closed. (I know I don't get out much anymore, but I thought the under 30 set still went out on Sunday nights? What's up with that?)

Quite serendipitously, East Side Show Room, this new bistro - lounge - gallery - venue recently opened up at 1100 East 6th Street, and they were open for business. We popped inside and found a wonderfully quirky part French bistro part 19th century curiosity shop inspired scene.

This picture makes it look a bit like just any other bar... but trust... the place was gushing with ambiance and character. Exposed brick walls all around. The specials were written in chalk on the iron beam overhead.

I ordered from their specialty drink list and had a "Pink Pony" which (if I remember right) was a type of gin, crushed ice, cucumber liqueur, and grapefruit juice. It was yummy. The food menu uses only locally procured ingredients. We had a cheese plate that was excellent. Next time we'll stay for dinner.

East Side Show Room is just another addition to the lovely East 6th dining destinations popping up these days. Hope there are many more to come. Oh, and there's a quaint patio out back for dining or siping.

Vino Vino Yum Yum

Quite a serendipitous evening last night when the hub-man and I lucked into sharing a babysitter with friends (like hitting a clearance sale...1/2 price!!) and our early evening engagement ended ... well... early -- We took the opportunity to head over to Vino Vino to catch Miles Zuniga, singer/songwriter for Fastball doing a solo performance. His performance was strong, witty, heartfelt, and lively... and included special guests like new Austinite Freedy Johnston (Bad Reputation).

Of course, Vino Vino on Guadalupe in Hyde Park remains one of my all time fave local restaurants. Even my husband, a jaded veteran of the wine industry, is consistently thrilled with Vino Vino's enormous old world selection (and prices) of wines by the bottle (seen lining the walls in the pic above). They also have a beautiful menu offering small plates, "bigger" plates, and a selection of fine cheeses. My hubs was in love, quite literally, with a bottle of Corbieres (a French AC Red Wine) for $20 and the bison slider (mini-burger) for $5.

Restaurant Review - Peche

Myself and 3 girlfriends hit "Peche" in downtown Austin last night for dinner. Located in the old Malaga space on 4th street between Colorado and Lavaca, this is a bistro in every sense of the word. A quintessential French brasserie menu down to the moules, frites, and croque monsieur. The restaurant also offers an interesting selection of European alcoholic drinks and is especially known for serving absynthe. The prices are right too with entrees between $12-$15 and excellent wines by the bottle as inexpensive as $22.

The girlfriend who organized the evening is a frequenter of Peche (forgive me, there are two accents on "Peche" but can't seem to recreate them with my English keyboard) and she was able to give us full run down on the menu before ordering. She considered the Steak and Frites (cost $14) as the "Best dinner deal in town..." I don't eat red meat so I can't confirm. However, 2 of the 4 of us followed her recommendation and ordered this as their meal. Both were pleased. I had the Coq Au Vin (cost $13). I am 95% sure they serve this chicken dish "on the bone" in France which is why during the 2 years I lived in France I never ordered it (my #39 on list of weird food aversions). However, at Peche, it's happily "pulled" chicken over a parmesan palenta. A moderately stylized version of the dish, yet altogether good.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the restaurant to post (sigh...next time) -- but basically the decor is unchanged from the old Malaga except for the addition of some slightly ostentatious black crystal chandeliers suspended high above the bar, some giant leather couches (that we all decided were almost TOO soft and cushy to sit on and eat and carry on a conversation) and a green faux painted wall at the entrance.

Overall, worth a visit. Of course, we went the night of the national college football championship so it was empty -- but apparently quite a hotspot for the trendy downtown crowd.

East Side's El Chilito Now Downtown

My daughter is addicted to the taco's from hipster/gringo taco joint, El Chilito in East Austin, located at 12th and Chestnut. She loves the breakfast tacos and the chicken (pollo asado).

This morning I happened upon a NEW El Chilto on Congress Ave, just north of 9th St next to Little City Coffee in downtown Austin. (Only about 300 yards from my office building.) There was a line out the door at lunchtime. I think it's going to be a hit with the downtown set. Click here for full story on ABJ.

My New Favorite Place to Work

This is my new favorite place for breakfast and to take my laptop and work...the Blue Dahlia on East 11th St on the East Side. They serve big cups of coffee in real porcelain mugs with little tiny metal pitchers of cream on the side. Good music. Free wi-fi. They will let you sit at one of the big wooden tables and let you work away for hours ...and after you feel like you visited a cafe in Paris, not Austin's East Side. Seriously...it's my new favorite place. I've been there 3 times this week.

They also have this awesome covered outdoor seating area in the back with lush landscaping, overhead fans, and loads of candlelight (at night). Incidentally, they are open for lunch and dinner too...but I haven't tried that yet.