Another Austin Restaurant report

I attended the Nebula Awards Weekend at the Omni Austin Downtown Hotel this past weekend. By serendipity, the Roadfood gathering was also in town and I attended that on Friday evening.

My first meal of the weekend was lunch on Friday. Bad timing left me on my own for the meal, and I walked to the Boiling Pot about 7 blocks away at 700 E. 6th Street. Some folks I know from New York attending the Nebula Awards came in about half way through the meal so I wasn't totally alone.

This is the second location for the restaurant. The original is in Rockport, Texas. The building is interesting - most of the buildings in this area are old and interesting.





There are only a few things on the menu here (other than the wide selection of beers). You select seafood and other items to be cooked, and they are boiled together and dumped on butcher paper on your table. The only eating utensil is a mallet to open shell fish.

I ordered one of the standard selections (you can add things a la carte): a blue crab, 1/2 pound head on shrimp, 1/2 pound sausage, potatoes and corn. Quite good, though I like this place has much for the concept as for the food. $18


The red bottle has cocktail sauce, and the yellow is a sweet honey mustard

My favorite things were the sausage and corn. I liked the mustard sauce, though it was so thin it would barely stick to the sausage.


My friends from NYC.


This neat little shop was a few doors away...







They had some neat Hawaiian Shirts, but none in my size. I got the name of the manufacturer and may look for them online.


More to come.

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by Sfreader




My friends from NYC.

Anyone who drinks Arrogant Bastard has GOT to be a good guy!

Looking forward to more of the story...

I would definitely visit a shop called "Tears of Joy", whether it sold hot sauce or not!

The second meal of the weekend was the Roadfood.com banquet on Friday evening. It didn't start until nearly 7, so I had time to attend the pinning of the Nebula Award nominees and the start of the mass autograph session at the Omni before catching a taxi to Threadgills.

My photos and comments about the banquet are at http://roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=27089 I managed to anger some folks with my comments there, so I will say no more about the event, other than the chicken fried steak was very good and I liked the spinach casserole, but thought the rest of the food was pretty ordinary.

I asked Threadgills to call a cab for me, but after waiting 20 minutes (I would have been back to my hotel by then if I had walked), I gave up and started walking. I got only as far as the middle of the Congress Avenue Bridge when a storm came through. Very windy and after a lighter start, a downpour. I got to shelter without being too soaked, and managed to hail a cab to take me back to the hotel.


Saturday's lunch was at The Iron Works Barbecue. It is in a building that served as a family blacksmith shop and small foundry from 1935 until 1977.




A great many of the buildings that I passed in downtown Austin have plaques about their history.







I had their Sampler Plate which included sliced beef, sausage, one beef rib, potato salad and beans. I liked all three meats, though the sliced beef was closer to roast beef then smoked. The potato salad was very good, but I was unimpressed with the beans and sauce. I didn't realize that they offered French fries (my favorite BBQ side) until I left.



I have tended to not care for Texas style BBQ in the past. It usually included a flavor that I don't care for, which I think is mesquite. Because of that, I have tended to avoid Texas BBQ. But this meat had none of that flavor and I would defiantly have Iron Works meat again.

I sat on a deck overlooking a ravine, and enjoyed watching squirrels and turtles during my meal.





One more instalment to come...

The rest of Saturday was spent at the convention hotel. The Nebula Awards were Saturday evening, proceeded by a banquet which began with Sonoran Tortilla Soup with Tortilla Strips and Pico De Gallo. If I hadn't seen the name, I would have called it chili. I liked it a lot and wished my serving hadn't been so small.

The rest of the meal was New York Strip, Yukon Gold Lyonnaise Potatoes, Baby Seasonal Vegetables and chocolate mousse. All were OK for banquet food.



During the awards ceremony, I accepted a award for someone who was unable to attend the event, giving me and excuse to wear my tux.




There was time to try one more restaurant before leaving on Sunday. Friends Joe & Gay Haldeman asked me to join them for lunch. If Joe's name is familiar, it is because he is wrote The Forever War and many other books. (there is a reason my Roadfood handle is SF Reader)

We walked down to Stubb's Bar-B-Q, but they were already full and totally booked for the next seating. From there, we walked up to the Boiling Pot, but they were having problems in the kitchen and would not open on time.

We finally's settled on Habana Calle.


That is Gay & Joe in the photo



We split an inexpensive appetizer: Tamal Cubano - fresh corn pulled off the cob & ground into masa, then filled with pork.



I had Platano Loco - plantain sliced in half, filled with roast pork, ham, & Swiss cheese. All of our entrees were good. Their pork is a standout.


I had already sliced off the end before remembering to take a photo

On the way back to the Omni, we visited some of the interesting stores along 6th Street, and walked through the beautiful Romanesque style, 1886 Driskill Hotel. The interior is furnished with original western art.





That is all folks!

Nice trip report, SFreader.

Ohhhhh, THAT "SF". I thought you were San Francisco Reader.

For whom did you accept the Nebula, and in what category?

I accepted the Service to SFWA Award for Graham Collins, who was webmaster for SFWA for the past 8 years. I've done the News section of SFWA.org for about a decade.

Keith

That's awesome Keith--nice trip report!

quote:

Originally posted by Sfreader

On the way back to the Omni, we visited some of the interesting stores along 6th Street, and walked through the beautiful Romanesque style, 1886 Driskill Hotel.

I stayed at the Driskill[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12520']last time[/url] I was in Austin and, indeed, it is fabulous.

We walked through the Driskill last Sunday after the Raodfood tour and it was spectacular. We did not go up in any rooms but the lobby and bar area were really special. Great report!

I have only stayed there once and they upgraded me to a suite due a reservation problem. It was very very nice.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN