A mostly East Austin visit

July 20, 2019July 18, 2019 / Greg / Leave a comment

Luckily for me, this was my second visit to Austin. On my first a few years back, I had plenty of time to check out all that Austin has to offer. I had seen and experienced enough to know where I’d focus my very limited time on this past visit – food and craft beer. While I’ll need a third visit to Austin to make my first pilgrimage to Franklin Barbecue, I did manage to get to another of the city’s best reviewed barbecue joints. In East Austin, about a fifteen minute walk from where I was staying sat La Barbecue, a perfect amalgamation of restaurant, craft beer store and tap room. A real slice of heaven for someone like me.

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A million bats under my feet

January 6, 2016January 6, 2016 / Greg / Leave a comment

The last word on my Austin visit back in October goes to one of that city’s most famous attractions. Each summer evening, the world’s largest urban bat colony flies out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge into the night. And by largest, I’m taking about more than a million bats taking flight over the course of a few minutes.

Wanting to get a prime spot on the bridge, I arrived about 30 minutes before sundown where a good crowd had already taken their places:

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Favourite travel experiences of 2015

December 31, 2015January 13, 2016 / Greg / Leave a comment

Another year has passed, and I again feel fortunate to have watched a great deal of the world pass below me out an airplane window on journeys east and west of Halifax. After a stretch of years traveling where food wasn’t as much of a focus, for a second year in a row, many of my favourite travel experiences have to do with food and drink or have a meal as a focal point to a memorable moment. The other unifying theme this year was “quiet” with many of my favourite experiences being unexpected, subtle, or reflective in nature. After time spent in British Columbia, Southern California, Mexico, Texas and Spain, here are my favourite travel experiences from 2015.

1. Tapas with my wife in Madrid – Thinking this would be a more difficult trip for my wife to enjoy the food culture of Spain (as she must eat a strict gluten-free diet on account of Celiac disease), we were both blown away by Taberna la Concha in the La Latina neighbourhood near our rented apartment. The dedicated gluten-free menu and the quality of the food gave my wife an authentic Spanish experience. It was so good, we went back another night and had a second amazing experience. To see her face light up on those two nights (like mine was for the other nights of the trip) was a great thing to see.

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Touring the Texas State Capitol

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 / Greg / Leave a comment

I hadn’t formally planned a tour of the Texas State Capitol building when I visited Austin, but while wandering around the grounds, I considered popping my head inside to check on a tour and to steal at least a few minutes of air conditioning on a baking hot afternoon. That air conditioning was needed because I first explored the grounds outside what is a truly beautiful building.

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Texas through tacos and barbecue

December 21, 2015December 21, 2015 / Greg / Leave a comment

I have a confession to make. Nearing the end of a week in Texas spent sampling some really good craft beer and eating almost solely at barbecue and taco joints, I thought about ordering a salad. Luckily, I didn’t follow through on that crazy idea until I got back home.

On my first day in Houston, after taking in an exciting Astros game, a short walk got me to Jackson Street BBQ. It was almost next door to the ballpark, and even if I tried to get lost, my nose would have been able to follow the smell of smoky meat right to their front door. My first Texas barbecue experience was delicious as I tried the sampler plate with sausage, ribs and brisket, a side of beans, and an Oktoberfest ale from Saint Arnold Brewing:

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Exploring public art in Austin

December 5, 2015December 5, 2015 / Greg / Leave a comment

Aside from the baking hot temperatures and the smell of barbeque wafting around what seemed like every corner, I didn’t feel like I was deep in the heart of Texas during my Austin stay. The city felt beautifully out of place compared with all of my preconceived notions of “Texas-ness”. In exploring a few parts of the city on foot, the vibrant and plentiful public art reinforced the “Keep Austin Weird” vibe that I fell for within an hour of first arriving.

Right across the street from my motel on South Congress Avenue was the “I love you so much” mural on the wall of Jo’s Coffee (a place I would later laze away a few hours with a book). The simple mural by Amy Cook was a scrawled love letter to her partner Liz (the owner of Jo’s Coffee). Simple and profound, I felt the love directed to me each time I walked past.

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Texas craft beers and bars

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 / Greg / Leave a comment

One week in Texas, split between Houston and Austin, gave me plenty of opportunities to sample a number of craft beers from the state. The refreshment of the beverages (and the air conditioning in the bars) was much needed as the temperatures were pushing into the 30s the entire trip. Here are a few of the beers I got to try and a couple of the craft beer bars I visited in Houston and Austin:

Mongoose Versus Cobra – Houston

On the way back from a Sunday afternoon Houston Texans game, I got off the train a couple of stops early so I could pop into Mongoose Versus Cobra. This was my kind of bar – very laid back and mellow. Here I tried two Texas beers – on the left, an Uncle Billy’s Lazy Day Lager, and on the right, a Buffalo Bayou 1836. I liked the 1836 the best with its malty taste and dry finish. It was unique and reminded me of a cross between a British bitters ale and an American pale ale. I couldn’t resist perhaps the perfect beer snack of chicharrón with chile sauce, salt and lime.

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Last morning in Houston

November 11, 2015November 17, 2015 / Greg / Leave a comment

When I traveled to Houston back in late September, I spent most of my short visit attending sporting events and sampling local craft beers in a couple of nice bars. As my last day in Houston was dawning I realized that I hadn’t seen much of the city. Against a backdrop of ominous clouds, I took the train out to Hermann Park with exploration on my mind.

Off the train and just inside Hermann park, I came upon the Mary Gibbs and Jesse H Jones Reflection Pool, the most prominent feature in the 450 acre park:

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More football in Texas

November 7, 2015 / Greg / 3 Comments

When Sunday morning rolled around in Houston and I pulled myself out of bed, I realized I was heading to my third sporting event in the city in just a touch under twenty four hours. My plan was to spend the morning tailgating outside the stadium, but I had to put that idea aside as I was shaking off some sort of bug that I had picked up the previous day. Luckily, I was feeling human enough to make it out to the stadium for a little bit of pregame poking around, if not for hours of beers and barbecue (still a little bit sad about that).

On a quick walk around the stadium, I noticed that people really take their tailgating seriously. Most had a full smoker of some sort set up which made it easily the best smelling parking lot I’d ever been to. There were also a lot of neat games and booths set up by the team – you could measure your wingspan relative to JJ Watt and run an officially timed 40 metre dash.

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Football night in Texas

October 31, 2015October 31, 2015 / Greg / Leave a comment

So after about eight hours en route to Houston and after taking in an Astros game downtown, I had enough time to grab a quick bite and head to my first ever US college football game. This was something I wanted to experience, not just because I’m a football fan, but because I’ve always thought that it would be a unique slice of American culture. So, in Texas where football is a religion like hockey is in Canada, I walked into the stadium at the University of Houston for a Saturday night game between the hometown Cougars and Texas State on a perfect night for football: