Austin - The Best City Ever

Austin is awesome. I had so much fun here, and keep in mind two things: 1. This is a college town, and I was here in August, and 2. It's Tuesday. Still, Austin is a great, great time. Here's the recap:

We headed to a place called Trudy's for happy hour, and Trudy's can be explained like this: Take any generic Mexican restaurant in New York City, cut the prices in half, double the portions, add friendly waiters and a packed house, and you've got Trudy's. Jeff and I went with Michelle and Leslie (Boo stayed home), and we met up with some UT Law friends, whose names were Danielle and Katie. Here is a picture of the only drink I had while I was at Trudy's. It was 7 bucks, and included the contents of the glass and the mixing cup. I would guess it was about 25 ounces all in. 

(This is one order of the "Mexican Martini". That is a full-size shaker. At Trudy's, after you order your second Mexican Martini, they take your car keys before they bring you the drink.)

(Post-Trudy's, Pre-Iron Works.)

After Trudy's we went to Iron Works, where I ate the largest Beef ribs I've ever had. We washed them down with a couple of local beers, met the owner, bought a couple of t-shirts (I now have a Lakefront Brewery shirt, a Pizza My Heart shirt, and an Ironworks shirt. I think I've hit the major roadtrip food groups: Pizza, BBQ and Beer.) The owner, Charlotte, is an institution, and pretty much every Texas Senator and Congressman has signed and dedicated a note and headshot for her wall. Even George W. Bush has his mug up at the place.

(You want authentic? This was authentic.)

(Austin Amber and Lone Star Beer - Two of Texas' finest.)

(The Beef Ribs at the Iron Works. I included the 20 dollar bill in the picture for two reasons: First, I wanted to demonstrate that all this meat could be had for well under $20, and second, I wanted to use the bill for perspective purposes to illustrate how MASSIVE THESE RIBS WERE.)

(Charlotte, the owner and proprietor of Iron Works, is on the left. Miguel, our waiter, on the right. Leslie, Jeff and Michelle in the middle. Everyone looks great, except Charlotte. She may win the award for least photogenic.)

Then we went to the infamous 6th street. Of all the cities for which I collected recommendations, the single most consistent recommendation I received was for 6th street in Austin. So, needless to say, I was pumped.

(The infamous 6th street. On weekends, the entire street is blocked off so that no cars can ruin the UT Students' fun.)

(Our Texan ladyhosts: Leslie, Michelle and Danielle.)

We started at the Cheers Shot Bar, where the bartender took very good care of us. Here are multiple videos, and I recommend you watch both of them:

(WATCH THIS VIDEO. Our bartender was a serious pro.)

(Here's the background for this video: Danielle bought Jeff and I a couple of shots of "The Blue Wave" because it was our "Welcome to Austin." Here's what a "Blue Wave" turned out to be. You get two shots placed in front of you, but out of your reach: One is light blue and one is clear. The bartender makes you bang on the bar and yell "Give me the blue, give me the blue, give me the blue!" and hands you the blue shot, which you take - it tastes like a Kamikaze - then the bartender makes you bang on the bar and yell "Give me the wave, give me the wave, give me the wave!", then he throws the second shot in your face. You later find out the second shot it water.)

(The bouncer at Cheers Shot Bar asked me for backup ID, as he does with all out-of-state licenses, by saying, "I need something else with your name on it", and so I gave him my 2-day old Wynn Players Card, which was good enough for him. That shiny card on the bottom is my NY drivers license.)

Last, but certainly not least, we went across the street to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. I'd never been to a dueling piano bar, but this could have been the single most entertaining establishment I've visited on the trip thus far. They played everything from "Piano Man" to "I'm On A Boat", and they almost let me on stage with them to play the drums to "Shook Me All Night Long", but since I was unwilling to do it naked, the whole plan fell through.

(Pete's dueling piano bar. Picture: Dueling pianists at their pianos.)

(The pianists called me out in front of the bar for looking like "Woody" from Toy Story, but they told me that if I wore this hat, they'd buy me a free drink. No brainer.)

(The guy at Cheers Shot Bar made me show him a backup form of identification. So, I was prepared for Pete's. Here is the bouncer at Pete's with my license, along with 6 forms of backup identification i.e. everything in my wallet that has my name on it.)

(Good local beer called Shiner Bock. Solid body with a slightly sweet aftertaste.)

(Jeff and Michelle at Pete's.)

(Jeff being serenaded on stage at the piano bar.)

By the end of the night, we were big fans of Texas. Everything really is bigger here. Except Jeff's alcohol tolerance.

(Jeff on the cab ride home, drunk as a skunk.)

Now we're headed to New Orleans via Houston, and we're hoping to make good time so we can really take our time and enjoy our Gumbo and Jumbalaya once we arrive.