Night Clubs

  • A Changing SOLA: Welcome “EL Burro”

    Bwahhaaaa… the place is already closed and gone.  Awaiting the next iteration.

     

     

    Last month, South Lamar (SOLA) lost a 15+/- year old dining establishment. A a “cheap and cheerful” go-to spot called La Feria. It wasn’t expensive, it certainly had character, however, it was not a hopping place. The neighborhood was sad to see it go.

    So out with the old and in with the new. Venture a few blocks up the street and you’ll find El Burro, a sister restaurant to Vox Table. Being a resident in the hood, I had to give it a whirl, of course. The place is cute, has a great bar serving super-effective margaritas and the menu is what I would call “upscale Mexican.” The menu is limited in scope, but there’s certainly plenty of items to choose from. Our waiter was exceptionally well-engaged with our table, and most notably, he took the time to explain the menu, options and dining concept. It was certainly more costly than you’d expect to pay for a typical Mexican dinner, but this is Lamar Union after all and I am sure they are being placed over a barrel paying for rent. It’s obvious that the Italian restaurant, Cantine, located across the street from El Burro struggles to bring in guests and I hope the same fate is not shared with El Burro. It is worth a visit and know that you’ll get a delicious and stiff margarita from the bartender. My meal was really quite delicious. It isn’t TexMex, but it isn’t Fonda San Miguel either; it’s something in between.

     

    Photo of food
    Gorditas, reinterpreted.
  • Hotel Van Zandt logo

    Hotel Van Zandt and Clementine’s, Cocktail Hour

    I joined two friends for cocktails on Rainey St. and we decided to pop over to the Hotel Van Zandt to see the new place and check out the bar. Both friends are in the fine dining industry and were curious to see what the Van Zandt had to offer. Of course, good help is hard to find in Austin and there was no surprise in seeing staff migrating from one entity to another. There were a number of familiar faces from The W Hotel who were now at Van Zandt. We settled into wine, some signature cocktails and a spread of charcuterie; well-balanced, great breads, and sultry cheeses. Nicely done.

    The music and social programming director, Lauren Bucherie, stopped by the table and introduced herself. She filled the table in on future happenings and entertainment. I always appreciate staff taking the time to talk to a table and get to know the clientele. Kudos.

  • photo of Lonesome Dove's Old Fashioned

    An Old Fashioned Taste Off

    I’ve started to enjoy the taste of an Old Fashioned. While never a whisky or bourbon drinker, I suddenly find myself really liking the taste of them. So I thought it would be fun to go out for a taste comparison. I grabbed a buddy and headed to two of Austin’s hot spots, LaV and Lonesome Dove. LaV won hands down on presentation and taste. The solid ice ball helped cool the cocktail, but didn’t water it down. The Lonesome Dove version was very cold, but the cubed and broken ice melted and diluted the drink too much. Both were equal on price point, just slightly shy of $13.00 each. LaV’s bartender chose his favorite Rye and the Lonesome Dove bartender took our request for Bulleit.

    It was a fun way to hit a couple of local hot spots and have an interesting time doing it.

     

    11/1 Update: Eddie V’s makes a nice Old Fashioned as well, Ask for Gary in the bar. He knows what he’s doing.

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    Midtown Mexican; La Mancha Tex Mex on Hancock

    Service Manager, Joey Carmona, always serves up a great time at La Mancha Tex Mex Tavern on Hancock. I entertained a few friends for a weeknight dinner and we sampled a number of items from the menu: street tacos, quesadillas, and fajita tacos. All were superb. The street tacos a bit heavy on cilantro, but the meat was very tender and quite flavorful. I would be remiss if I failed to suggest the infused tequila. Tonight’s medley featured tequila infused with jalapeño and pineapple. It was smooth, delicious and took the edge off of a rough Tuesday.