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Inside Once Over Coffee Bar (Credit: Katie Spence)
It sits quietly and unassumingly. You’ve likely walked right past without stepping inside because it seamlessly blends with its surroundings.
Once Over Coffee Bar is a well-kept secret that proudly claims the “Tiniest Dog Park In Texas,” along with stellar coffee and beer. And it happens to be owned by a likable, down-to-earth couple who live within walking distance of their patch of caffeinated utopia. [Read more…]
Think it might be time for a trim?
In case you haven’t seen me lately (or ever), I’m about 16 months deep into growing my hair out, which has increasingly become a pointless and comical experiment gone wrong. You know when your hair gets longer and goes through “awkward stages”? Well, it has pretty much been awkward every step of the way for me.
When my hair isn’t down/taking the shape of Darth Vader’s helmet, I’ll often put it up in what’s known as a “man bun.” Or, in my case, “thousands of frizzy hair strands stretching outward as if to literally run away from the devastation that is my head.” My own mother makes fun of me.
Anyway, you get the point. Luckily for me and everyone around me, I got word of this place in Austin called SHED Barbershop and decided to book an appointment. I thought I was going in to get a haircut, but what I actually got was an unbelievably fun night at one of the hippest joints in town. Don’t worry; I got the haircut, too. [Read more…]
Check out Sugar Mama’s Instagram for great pics of tasty treats!
Guest article by Angela Bowers
Imagine a world in which cupcakes, icing, cookies and sweets of all shapes and sizes fill your horizon. They taste as sweet as they look and live in a space equally as precious with comfortable couches, inviting music and adorable red and Tiffany blue décor. [Read more…]
Gully Cat Tattoo, located at 2006 South 1st Street in Austin
Austin is the nation’s hub for individual expression and creativity. We don’t erase graffiti; we make landmarks and t-shirts out of it. We listen to passionate local music. We eat food with personality. We drink beer with soul.
We love creative expression so much, we even wear it on our skin. Live here long enough, and you’ll forget until you go out of town that Austin tattoos are as common as Austin breakfast tacos.
Gully Cat Tattoo has accommodated Austin’s lust for creative expression for 14 years and Mike Terrell–shop owner and Austin native–has been a tattoo artist for nearly two decades. His little shop is just what you’d hope to find on South 1st: a colorful old home turned into a business. This local business adds to the funky vibe that makes South Austin what it is. [Read more…]
Editor’s Note: To the community’s surprise and disappointment, Alcomar closed at the end of May 2018 due to a rental dispute.
A teal octopus swims across the facade of Alcomar on South 1st Street
Back to my old haunt: South 1st Street. When I wrote my neighborhood guide to this rich area, two painters had a ladder propped against what used to be El Chile. With a sinking feeling, I watched as they painted a giant white octopus on the newly-blue building.
Fortunately, however, El Chile has not disappeared—not exactly, anyway. The South 1st location now houses their newest concept: Alcomar. The menu is full of tapas, featuring primarily seafood, and each dish is delicately crafted with interesting and varied ingredients. [Read more…]
Sights and colors along South First Street in Austin (Credit: atmtx via Flickr CC)
South Congress may be infamous for its popular cluster of high-end boutiques, trendy restaurants, and food trailers—but just one street over is a slightly more humble neighborhood with a quirky assortment of shops, food trailers, and murals of its own that just beg to be explored.
For those who haven’t dug too far into this south-central territory, I’d like to share some highlights of what South 1st has to offer.
There are several places on South 1st to get a decent cup of joe. But I want to highlight Once Over Coffee Bar in particular, as it’s spring and their porch is the perfect hideout. [Read more…]
Summermoon Coffee on S 1st Street
Coffee. Some drink it black. Some with cream. And others get fancy frou-frou drinks with extra foam, double shots or even chocolate.
However you take your coffee, I guarantee you have yet to reach coffee heaven. Summermoon Coffee will get you there [Read more…]
Elizabeth Street Cafe on South First Street in Austin
Influenced by the colonial history between France and what is now Vietnam, Elizabeth Street Cafe offers the quaint atmosphere and charm of a French bistro while serving complex and flavorful Vietnamese style food.
The appearance of the restaurant itself is picturesque, with sea green shutters, striped canopies and a pink door. Bright blue iron chairs topped with sea green cushions dot the patio. A large striped canopy and outstretched umbrella shade the waitresses, themselves a crucial part of the atmosphere, clothed as they are in Vietnamese inspired dresses with [Read more…]
Welcoming interior at Winebelly
Winebelly is true to its name. It invites the purple-tongued, the cheek-flushed, the loud-laughers, and you are unlikely to leave without a satisfied stomach.
A comfortable wine bar on Oltorf and South 1st St, Winebelly’s dark paneled bartop wood and golden booths invite guests to relax. At the same time, the venue maintains the class and food quality demanded of any successful wine joint.
The tapas bar was opened in 2013 by the same family who owns the Hai Ky Vietnamese restaurants in Austin. The Winebelly tapas and vino bar is vastly different from the Vietnamese go-to, but its local Austin roots are unmistakable.
Local ingredients are used in many of their plates and local beer, including the potent Devil’s Backbone, is served on tap and in bottles or cans at decent prices. [Read more…]
Your friendly neighborhood bar, set to the background of South 1st traffic
Editor’s Note: Porter Ale House closed on July 27, 2017.
The craft beer scene in Austin is blowing up. For every new brewery that opens, there are at least three bars that pop up, eager to serve you the best local beers that Austin has to offer.
Continuing the tradition Eric started with his Best Burger Joint in Austin series, I’m profiling and reviewing the best craft beer joints in Austin, with the occasional stop or two at bars that have room for improvement. I’ll take into consideration everything from beer selection to ambiance to overall value, and everything in between.
Please join me as I try to catalog your favorite watering holes in Austin, and let me know what you think in a comment below.
The 78704 zip is home to plenty of good bars and some of the best restaurants in town, but it was never quite considered a craft beer destination. The opening of ABGB last year started to change that reputation and the recent debut of Austin’s first dedicated craft beer bottle shop, Whichcraft, further solidified this status. Further south, just within the boundaries of the 78704 zip code on South 1st near 71, Porter Ale House and Gastropub is another welcome addition to the now thriving craft beer scene in South Austin. [Read more…]