When the lights go off and the audience settles in, all you can see inside a spacious back room at Austin Java is a brightly-lit stage and two neon arrows hanging from the ceiling. In the spotlight created by the arrows is a tall guy with a cup of coffee in one hand and a phone with notes open in the other. Brendan K. O’Grady is here every single Saturday. So is his best friend Duncan Carson who takes the stage next. The duo has been running a free comedy show called Sure Thing in the back of the coffee shop for five years now. Every Saturday, there’s a lineup of comics, from Austin and around the country. [Read more…]
The Search for Authentic French Croissants in Austin
Am I the only one infatuated by all things French? Even placing the word “French” in front of a noun makes it sound better. Think of bread, for example…
I would love to wake up in Paris one morning, get dressed to look simple but chic like a true Parisian, then run to the bakery and have a croissant with a cup of coffee. Oh, stereotypes!
How close can I get to my dream while living in Austin? I can definitely find bakeries that make croissants. The only question is: how authentic are those croissants? Out of this question the idea for a croissant crawl was born: one day, four bakeries, four croissants. The winner takes all. [Read more…]
Taste Emotional Italian Food at Chef Curren’s Italic Restaurant
Do you know an easy way to find out how good the food is in a restaurant? Order a dish made of vegetables. When you order a pasta with meat sauce that has been slow-cooked for hours, or a pizza with cheese bubbling on top, you know it’s going to be good. But if a chef can turn zucchini into a dish even a carnivore would adore and make roasted carrots burst with flavor, rest assured you are in the right place. [Read more…]
5 Places That Serve Outstanding Pecan Pie in Austin
Believe it or not, I had never tried pecan pie until earlier this year when I moved to Austin, Texas. There is a silver lining: I got to try my very first slice in the state that proclaimed pecan pie as its official dessert. We can safely assume Texans know how to make it right. [Read more…]