My Austin friends would not be surprised to learn that I still mostly shop at H-E-B (a huge Texas grocery chain). I think the South Congress store is closest to downtown Austin but my life tends toward north Austin and so does my grocery shopping. My favorite H-E-Bs are on Jollyville Road or Far West but I sometimes head to the East 41st Street store with my son and half of the UT student population. Some of you may have spotted me at the H-E-B in my old stomping grounds on Spicewood Springs Road but I will deny it.

Downtown Austin has a small convenient store chain called Royal Blue Grocery. All three stores are less than a 10-minute walk from our apartment. Prices are a bit expensive but these little stores carry a surprisingly wide variety of items. For example, one day I was in desperate need of a tomato for my lunchtime salad and ran over to the closest Royal Blue. There were only two tomatoes in their case, but hey, I only needed one.

About once a week Bill and I walk the mile or so over to Whole Foods on Lamar. This is their corporate headquarters as well as their flagship store. Whole Foods is a bit too expensive for a full grocery-shop, but excellent for picking up dinner or those irresistible mini-cupcakes that someone in my family loves. This store has lots of indoor cafes plus multiple salad bars and buffets. I feel certain that some downtown dwellers eat all their meals at this Whole Foods location. If we lived just a little closer, I would be tempted too… 

Pfluger Bridge is one of several bridges connecting the north and south sides of the Austin Hike and Bike Trail. This bridge spans Lady Bird Lake, which is the section of the (Texas) Colorado River which flows through the city of Austin. Pfluger Bridge carries pedestrian traffic only … plus strollers, skateboarders, roller skaters, cyclists, unicyclists and tight-rope walkers. 

Pfluger Bridge is a busy place. I guess people like to hang out up above water. The benches—and there are plenty of them—are usually full. Sometimes bands or musicians are playing. I’ve heard there are concerts here all night during South by Southwest. Photographers are attracted by the great view of the nearby railroad bridge and the downtown skyline. 

The northern access to the bridge has both stairs and a circular ramp to get to the trail. I tend to take the stairs to avoid the bicyclists zooming down the ramp. Sometimes an artist sets up an outdoor studio near the bottom of the stairs and paints scenes of downtown Austin. 

Back in early February the City of Austin opened an extension to the Pfluger Bridge which goes over the busy street of Cesar Chavez. The extension provides safer access to the trail from downtown. Due to the railroad tracks, you still have to walk along Lamar Boulevard to reach the Lamar-Sixth Street intersection with Whole Foods, BookPeople, Waterloo Records and other popular Austin destinations. At least the sidewalk along Lamar was widened so now you just have to worry about exhaust fumes.

From street level, the Pfluger Bridge extension looks rusty and doesn’t match the rest of the bridge. I am guessing that a) this design was cheaper or b) someone was trying to mimic the nearby railroad bridge. But the walkway on top is lined with dark wood strips which look like outdoor paneling. The wood dampens the street noises below and creates a very inviting entrance to the walkway.

Bill was very happy to hear this week that I LOVE living across the street from the Austin Hike and Bike Trail. This trail makes a ten-mile loop around Lady Bird Lake which separates downtown from South Austin. Most of the trail is packed-dirt/crushed-stone and easy to walk or ride on. The path is level, except for a few tiny upgrades, and more than wide enough for two-way traffic.

Round-trip from the Congress Avenue Bridge to the Roberta Crenshaw Pedestrian Walkway under the Mopac highway is over four miles. (Yes … that walkway has a name!) Often we just walk the shorter one-mile loop between the First Street Bridge and the Pfluger Bridge. This is also my running loop of choice.

Benches, gazebos, memorials and other interesting spots are scattered along the path. Restrooms and water fountains are located every-so-often. Run-Tex provides cold drinking water at two locations for thirsty runners, walkers and dogs. Much of the way is shaded during the summer months. And of course the lake views are great.

Friendly park rangers patrol the area on bikes during the daylight hours.There are very few lights so I wouldn’t want to use the trail after dark. But the sidewalks across the First Street bridge are well-lit so I feel very safe walking back by myself from concerts over at the Long Center.

Bill and I walk on the Hike and Bike Trail almost every day. If you come downtown for a walk, give us a call!

 

Today was the Inauguration ceremony for Texas Governor, Rick Perry, and Lieutenant Governor, David Dewhurst. Rick Perry has served since December 2000, taking over before George W Bush became president. He is the longest-serving current US governor and also holds the record as the longest-serving governor in the history of the state of Texas.

I’ve never been to an inauguration. I decided to run up to the capitol (literally) for one hour between work phone calls.

The Texas A&M band was playing the Star Spangled Banner as I arrived at the capitol grounds. Police were everywhere but there were no checkpoints to pass through. Texas legislatures, dignitaries, the A&M band and who-knows-who-else were seated in chairs surrounding the stage. The general public stood a fair distance away from the stage. 

After brief introductions, David Dewhurst was sworn in. He was a polished, practiced speaker but his speech seemed too long. Perhaps I was impatient since I was watching the time.

I only heard about five minutes of Rick Perry’s speech since I had to run back down Congress Avenue (literally) to get back to work. I was sorry to miss the free barbeque lunch afterwards – it smelled good!

Today is a particularly gray day. Our weather has been cold this week and we’re getting some much-needed rain. Except for the rare ice/snow event, this is what we call An Austin Winter Day. Fortunately these days are followed by a few warm, sunny ones . . . until the next cold front sweeps through.

I’m sure that my northeastern family and friends will have no sympathy for this blog entry whatsoever.

Here is my downtown perspective about Austin Winter Days:

• Rowers are A Hardy Bunch. The kyaks and sculls have been out on the lake all week during this cold spell. I assume the rowers warm up quickly but the poor instructors on the motor boats must be freezing.

• Runners are also A Hardy Bunch. But I already knew this. As An Official Fair-Weather Runner, the treadmill suits me fine this week. 
• The Second Street shops are nearly empty. I hope they made enough money in the warmer weather to tide them over. The guy in the frozen yogurt shop looks even more bored than usual.  
• Now is a good time to sample soups in nearby restaurants. So far my favorite is the Tomato Basil (with a touch of balsamic vinegar) at Annie’s.
• You can’t see the top of The Austonian today. This building is 55 stories tall, with an exercise room on the top floor. So you could Exercise In A Fog if you lived there. (Hmmm…guess I’d better explain that most of The Austonian is missing in the center of the following photo)

• A Few Brave Souls have been using the hot tub on the seventh floor deck of our apartment building. No one has been in the pool though. 
• The dogs in the elevator are soaked when they come back from A Visit Outside. Their owners look miserable.
• Thank you, Paramount Theater, for showing movies to keep us downtowners entertained. Last night Bill and I watched a murder mystery called “Laura” which featured a young Vincent Price.  
• I did pay a visit to the Austin Farmers’ Market this morning. The booths were  huddled together and we all darted between tarps and raindrops.  

 Bill adds: “Winter weather? No problem when there are NFL play-off games on TV!”

A visit to the Austin Farmers’ Market is now part of my Saturday morning routine. This outdoor market in Republic Square Park (between Fourth and Fifth Streets on Guadalupe) is a project of the Sustainable Food Center.

The Austin Farmers’ Market is open each Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM, rain or shine. I try to walk over by 10 AM for the best selection and shortest lines.

One side of the park is mostly farm stands selling produce, meat and dairy. I have been sampling vegetables from different farms each week. I really like Johnson’s Backyard Garden because they have the most variety. According to their web site, Johnson’s Backyard Garden is a “70-acre Community Supported farm only five miles east of downtown Austin.” With a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership, you can receive weekly or bi-weekly deliveries of fresh organic vegetables and fruits. Or you can visit their stand at the market on Saturday mornings.

I love the salad mix from Blackland Prairie Family Farm. The leaves are tender and almost melt in your mouth.

My favorite bakery stand is Serious Sourdough Bakery. The owners bake everything themselves and drive into Austin from Lampasas each week. So far I’ve tried – and greatly enjoyed – the date nut bread, gluten-free biscuits and, of course, the sourdough bread. They also sell pies, but alas, no cupcakes for Bill. 

There are over 50-75 vendors at the market each week. Tamale, kolache and coffee stands are quite popular. SoAP (South Austin People) sells organic soaps. The Mediterranean Chef makes great tabuleh. Bola Pizza drives up with their “mobile wood fired oven”…I didn’t even know those existed! Many people first order a handmade pizza, do their shopping and then pick up the hot pizza to eat at home.

Local musicians provide live music each week – this is Austin after all! I enjoyed recent performances by Four Pegs and a Pub, and La Strada.

So, have I tempted any of my Austin friends to come and join me on a Saturday morning?

Please welcome Guest Blogger, my husband Bill…

I thought it was my civic duty to contribute to Janis’ blog in my area of expertise: cupcakes (and other assorted snacks). This is just a preliminary report and I will continue looking for cupcakes wherever I may find them…whether or not Janis continues to post my guest entries.

So far I think I have just hit the tip of the iceberg. There are tons of places downtown to get cupcakes and snacks. Just within a couple of blocks of our apartment there’s a cupcake store, one smoothie place, and one frozen yogurt place. Another yogurt place is about to open in the Austonian. But for now, let’s focus on cupcakes.

A word of warning: if you are looking for critical reviews of cupcakes, you will probably be disappointed. I rarely find cupcakes that I don’t like.

Delish is closest to us on Third Street between Colorado and Lavaca. They focus on, and have, a wide variety of cupcakes. The staff is friendly and the cupcakes are delish-ious.

1886 Cafe and Bakery is in the Driskill Hotel. Janis thought I was joining her so she could take pictures for her O Christmas Tree blog entry, but my real purpose was to check out this high-end bakery. They make an excellent cupcake. It was huge and took two sittings to eat. Very good – especially if you get hungry while hanging out on Sixth Street. And the “D” in the cupcake below was edible!

Hey Cupcake! has become an Austin institution with several trailers around town and one store on Burnet Road. I’ve tried the trailer on South Congress and also at Fun Fun Fun Fest. They have excellent cupcakes. A must-have if you’re doing the SoCo thing.

Sweetish Hill Bakery has great cupcakes on Sixth Street west of Lamar. We also enjoyed their sandwiches and cakes. The ones pictured here have a holiday theme but I just stuck to the basics for an excellent cupcake. I got excited when I heard of another Sweetish Hill Bakery near The Four Seasons Hotel (which is much closer to us), but was disappointed to find out it’s mostly a sandwich place and doesn’t focus on the desserts. Bummer.

 Whole Foods flagship store is on Lamar between Fifth and Sixth. I’m sure many of you are surprised to see a grocery store on this list but this store is truly amazing for desserts and eating in general. Whole Foods has several things going for it: 
1. It’s a good 15-minute walk from our apartment so I feel like I’m working off the calories before and after I eat. 

2. They have full sized and mini-sized versions of everything (and we’re talking more than just cupcakes here). Having the minis is another way not to feel guilty with my increased dessert’ing being done in support of this blog.  

3. There is a variety of different desserts. Last time I had an excellent mini-sandwich of two chocolate chip cookies stuffed with cream. An excellent value at 49 cents! I could easily have a different dessert here every day, no repeats, for a long time.  

That’s it (for now) for the downtown Austin cupcake scene. For those who don’t make it to downtown or to Austin, here are a couple of other places you might want to check out:

Lick It Bite It Or Both wins the prize for best double entendre name of a cupcake/ice cream store. This is the closest cupcake place to where I work on Burnet Road. My co-workers know that any celebration at work is worthy of a cupcake run.

The Upper Crust Bakery on Burnet Road and 45th Street (I guess Burnet is a hot bed of cupcake places) has been my cupcake of choice for a long time. Either the chocolate ones with cream cheese filling and piece of chocolate on top or the regular chocolate ones are excellent!

Martha’s Country Bakery on Austin Street (sticking with the Austin theme!) in Queens, N.Y. has a great assortment. If I were really to review N.Y. bakeries, I think I’d need to focus on black and white cookies as well as cupcakes.

The Pie Shoppe which is somewhere in Pennsylvania and is highly recommended by the rest of my family!

The new W Austin hotel recently opened two blocks from our downtown apartment. We’ve been watching the progress since moving here in late October. The construction workers were amazingly busy for the last few weeks and I was amazingly distracted while watching from my home office window. But all was ready for opening day.

The W employees are very friendly and happy to give you a tour. The first floor is a series of intimate rooms called the Living Room. Most of the rooms have fireplaces surrounded by cozy couches with lots of pillows. Waiters and waitresses are quick to ask for drink or food orders. According to their web site, the Atmosphere is Casual Sophistication. Indeed.

 

The appropriately-named Red Room.

The Record Room, complete with a floor-to-ceiling wall of vinyl LPs. One of the employees said they are still building up their collection and many of the records on the wall are cheap, lame albums such as Sesame Street Live which will soon be replaced.

The Front Porch, with windows which open onto Lavaca and Second Streets.

The W Austin is a beautifully-decorated, upscale hotel. But we Austinites are really waiting for what’s on the other side of the block: the new Austin City Limits studio which will be opening in February!