If Pigs Could Fly...

I know many faithful readers don't think we can get further away from downtown than our feet can easily take us but sometimes we drive and go to dinner. This wonderful joint is on 53rd Street and we ate there last month. I like the flying pig logo.

Goodbye, Srping

Shot this about the first week of April when we wandered a bit in the neighborhood of North Loop and 53rd Street. Wildflowers are fading now so we are sending the month off with this shot of a vacant lot catering to birds and wild flowers.

Quick Way to Brighten Up a House

Let's face it...lots of homes in our car culture are 'garage forward' with mostly disastrous results for aesthetics. The owners of this house in North Central decided to feature the door as a canvas for a modern art painting. Or maybe they were just trying out new colors for the house!

Bottle Tree

Detail of yard art in North Central Austin.

Zip up Your Curb Appeal

Just when you think you've seen every way to make your little cottage look a little different someone comes up with a way to use two colors in a new way. Kudos. This home is in a rather obscure little area near the Triangle in North Central.

Bowling?

We stopped into Dart Bowl on a winter afternoon. There were some people bowling but I liked this photo where the lanes were clear.

Try This Combo

This home in our old neighborhood has a nice example of using purple and yellow trim. I like it. You?

A Door to Old and New Mexico

In our old neighborhood is a beautiful building where you can enter a restaurant suffused with Old Mexico...recipes, decorations but also drink edgy cocktails and view amazing modern Mexican art. We have to drive frequently to this North Central Austin legend, Fonda San Miguel, for a 'fix.'

Rustic Planter

On Monday and Tuesday we participated in an annual event that benefits AIDS Services Austin called Dining for Life. Incredibly simple in concept, restaurants agree to donate a portion of their sales to ASA on Monday and/or Tuesday at lunch and/or dinner. People dine out at these restaurants to support the cause. Monday we returned to our old neighborhood to go to Fonda San Miguel. I snapped this picture of a log planter and some of their distinctive exterior tile. We had a great meal with some specials that included oysters, mussels and a watermelon-based salad. A flashy guest bartender from Spain out-did Tom Cruise, slinging one of the best Manhattans I've ever had.

Atrium Bar

This is the atrium bar at the Fonda San Miguel restaurant. A very pleasant place for some apps and drinks.

Tortilla Makers

Our own little slice of Mexico is Fonda San Miguel on North Loop. The ladies at the tortilla station were busy last night preparing a basket of fresh corn and flour tortillas for every table.

Cupcakes are All the Rage

This is a relatively new shop on Burnet Road (near Phil's). We also have a cupcake trailer on South Congress (I assume it's still there). The trailer and the shop have the same name (and cupcake) so maybe it's a chain of cupcake shops. I wonder if there are other cupcake shops in Austin.

Burger Joint

An Austin original, this is Hill-Bert's Burgers. It used to be on North Lamar and has now taken over a former Taco Bell on a little dead part of 35th. The old car (Jetta I think?) towing a burger? Can't explain. Haven't had their burgers in years but used to be excellent.

Art on Burnet

On Burnet, a bit north of 45th Street this old stone house has turned into the Art Pad. A place to send the kids for projects this summer? Or a spot to get your inner creative mojo going?

Wet Land

The little park behind Central Market on Lamar, extending to Guadalupe, has a wet land with a pond promoting these aquatic plants, ducks and fish apparently. When my visiting little ones threw pizza crusts into the pond for the ducks, hundreds of little minnows would attack them, propelling them across the water like little boats.

Almost a Year Ago in Hyde Park

I'm feeling a little lazy today about...City Daily Photo blogging anyway. So I'm showing you a picture from May 2007 of a little tour we took in Austin's Hyde Park. I'm never sure whether they were copying an English name or a New York one but many cities seem to have a Hyde Park area (or park for all I know). There are interesting old homes sprinkled throughout the neighborhood. Sadly, I'm not sure the exact name or location of this one at the moment.

Not Lance's Bike Shop

Big news about a month ago was that a building across the street from our new home (the 360 condos) was being converted into a 'commuter bike shop' by none other than Lance Armstrong. This is NOT that shop but a place on the funky shopping strip along North Loop where you are obviously invited to peddle up and sit a while. I'm not a biker but I wish them well. I'm going to use my legs when gas is too expensive and walk. I'm a little afraid to bike. But this looks like an inviting place to get a pair of wheels.

Room Service Vintage

There is a little shopping district on the eastern part of North Loop (which honestly isn't a loop and is pretty central these days) that has included various vintage stores and other little independent shops over the years. A collectibles shop called Hog Wild, a place called Music Exchange (where you can buy used instruments and consign same) and this store, Room Service Vintage, have been the stalwarts.

No Electioneering Beyond

In Texas at least (the only state where I've ever had a permanent residence and voted) the polling places in schools, libraries, retirement homes and other convenient spots have a boundary beyond which you can't place signs or approach voters to talk about your candidate. The officials put up a sign saying "no electioneering beyond this point." At our polling place yesterday this sea of signs washed up against that boundary. If you pay attention to the news, you will know that Democratic and Republican voters not only voted in a number of elections, including for delegates to national conventions for president and local ones, but attended caucuses where other delegates were committed for Dems. The most important thing you can learn from this picture, though, is that there is a candidate named 'Larry Joe.' What could be more Texas than that? You have to wonder if he was christened Lawrence Joseph or just Larry Joe.

Neighborhood Joint

Billy's on Burnet (we actually call it 'Billy Burger') is an amazing spot with many, many beers on tap, bar games, lots of TVs, an outside deck and really good burgers. Although I usually get the vegetarian Reuben with avocado standing in for meat. With fries. The array of beers on tap is a great temptation to me here, too.