Home > The M.O. > Archives > 2007 > January
January 2007
The Woodland makes a mean burger
My search for the best hamburger in Austin continued Tuesday night, as a friend and I finally headed over to The Woodland, the latest addition to the South Congress culinary landscape.
A friend had raved about the burger at Michael Terrazas’ new restaurant, a yuppified diner that opened just a week before Christmas last year. With the success Terrazas has had with the delicious high-end Starlite, we were fairly certain we would find the dining experience to be a positive one.
The stylish restaurant, with its concrete floors, faux tree “planted” in the center of the restaurant, and DIY-inspired wall tiling, has a certain ReadyMade Magazine feel to it. Sure, we could never make a space look the way Terrazas and company have, but you get the feeling that one of your really stylish and crafty friends could.
The mood at the restaurant maintains a nice energy that does not cross the line into loud and obnoxious, as South Congress Cafe tends to do. There is a line of booths in the “front” of the restaurant, which is actually the left side of the U-shaped dining area, with ample seating available along the bar, as well. We were offered a table in the “back” of the restaurant, which is actually the north side of the establishment. This part of the restaurant lacks a bit of the charm, and the signature paneled wall, and the way the tables are set up makes the space less inviting than the other part of the restaurant.
From our table we got a view of the line, where we saw the cooks working on our dinner. Having a visible line in a restaurant does not bother me, and in fact you can see some lines at work in some of the best restaurants, but when the only tables that have a view of the line are the handful in the “side” or “back” of a restaurant, it ends up feeling like you are seeing the back of a hospital gown. If you want to showcase the line, do it so it’s not only visible to those who have been given a table in the area of the restaurant that already lacks significant ambiance. Were a person to take a date to The Woodland and be stuck in that part of the restaurant, it would probably be a bit of a bummer, especially considering how cool the other area of the restaurant is.
Enough nitpicking.
We started with an arugula and fennel salad that was delicious, although the fennel probably should have been cut a little finer, but who can argue when you have cranberries and goat cheese in your salad? The pork empanadas followed, and though they were cooked well, and the pork held a nice savory flavor, the empanadas themselves left a bit to be desired. They were soft and flaky, but we could not shake the impression that the empanada tasted a lot like certain frozen pizza rolls we had when we were kids. Fortunately the accompanying sauce saved them from being a complete non-event.
Salads and appetizers are all well and good, but we had come for the burger, and on that point we were not let down in the least. We built our own, which just meant adding bacon and bleu cheese to the Wood Classic, and ordered it medium. The burger actually came out of the kitchen medium-rare, but after our first bite, we realized that although it was not how we had ordered it, it was just what we wanted. The Angus beef was juicy and cooked to perfection, if you like medium rare. The bacon was cooked just to the point of being crisp, and the vegetables could not have been fresher. The juices of the meat moistened the bun nicely but did not make it sloppy. French fries, crisp on the outside, but a little too mushy on the inside, accompanied the burger, but our attention was primarily fixated to the burger, one we easily put in the Top 5 in town.
Dessert was a bit of an afterthought following such a delicious piece of meat, but we bashed on regardless and had homemade chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cake was dense and relatively moist, nothing to write home about, but good enough to pique our interest in their selection of homemade pies in the future.
The Woodland offers a nice selection of sandwiches and salads ($6-$9), as well as several main dishes, mostly of the comfort food variety, such as homemade meatloaf ($11) and a Berkshire porterhouse pork chop ($13). Because of some permit issues, the restaurant is not selling beer or wine right now, but if you ask for it, they will be happy to give you a free glass of the house red or white, or even a cold glass of complimentary pilsner.
We’re happy to have this new addition to the SoCo neighborhood, and we intend to go back soon to sample some more of the menu. But that burger’s going to be pretty hard to get away from.
Though the restaurant does not serve lunch, they do serve weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m, and intend to open up for late-night diners in the coming months.
The Woodland
1716 S. Congress Ave. [map]
441-6800
Hours
Dinner: 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
Brunch: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
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A weekend with ColdTowne
I spent most of the weekend being entertained by the hilarity that is ColdTowne. The five-person improv troupe moved to Austin from New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans’ loss is undoubtedly Austin’s gain.
Friday night I checked them out at the Hideout on Congress, as they strayed from the comfy confines of their own theater. The quartet (member Chris Trew was not available for Friday night’s show) came jogging onto the stage to the sounds of AC/DC and the synchronized clapping of the audience. After the music stopped and the kids took a non-geographic suggestion from the audience, the pace slowed down considerably. Pregnant pauses and periods of silence on stage can sometimes feel extremely uncomfortable with improvised comedy, but with the pros of ColdTowne on stage, there is no need to shift nervously in your seat. If you’ve seen them before, you know they’ve got this. Good improvisers are patient and are not scared of the quiet that can creep into their beats. This is the sign of professionals, and ColdTowne undoubtedly are.
Once things got rolling — the non-geographic location was a hotel room — the quartet developed a hilarious scene that involved evangelical ministers “backstage” at a revival, as they alternately chided and supported one another in their attempts to shepherd their flock. Arthur Simone played to his trademark understated absurdity, with Michael Jastroch perfecting a frustrated character looking for respect and Justin York playing a proud buffoon. Tami Nelson played the straight man, as is her wont, and got the biggest laughs of the evening. About halfway into the scene, ColdTowne did one of their favorite bits, when the team decided to put York in an awkward situation by asking his character to “tell that funny joke you told earlier.” Of course, jerking your fellow players around like that is generally a no-no in improv, but ColdTowne is so comfortable with their ability to play together, sometimes they like to raise the stakes and make each other sweat. Rules? Who needs ‘em.
But, as stated, Chris Trew missed Friday night, so I figured, before hopping over to a friend’s party, I should hit up ColdTowne theater Saturday. It became apparent early on that Saturday’s scene was going to be an opportunity for York and Trew to really let loose. The duo played a demented old married couple bent on making life a living hell for their son and daughter-in-law. Another weekend down, another string of successes from one of the best improv teams in town.
(Full disclosure: I enjoyed the performances I saw by ColdTowne last year to such a degree, that I registered for classes in their Conservatory and count members of the troupe as good friends.)
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David Lynch talks
The always enigmatic David Lynch was in Austin this week promoting his latest film and movie projects. Touring for a film and meeting film-goers and theater owners for the first since the debut of ‘Eraserhead’ 30 years ago, Lynch screened his latest, ‘Inland Empire,’ at the Paramount Wednesday night. He followed that appearance with a signing of his latest book, Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity,” at Barnes & Noble today. Thursday afternoon he shared his thoughts on filmmaking, painting, the process of writing a book and meditation with Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith and a studio audience at KLRU.
Lynch admitted to not having spent much time in Texas, but, as with most folks who roll through town, confessed that he has “really liked being in Austin. Not since Eraserhead have I met the theater-goers or owners and set the levels on the sound.” When asked to compare the experience of being on a book tour versus a press junket for a film, Lynch, in typical ambiguous fashion declared the processes to be “different but the same.” Naturally.
While the soft-spoken director, who, but for the shock of finely coifed gray hair greatly resembles an overgrown film school nerd, was typically reticent in discussing the meaning behind his films or people’s interpretations of said, he was more than happy to go preach the gospel of meditation. And I, along with most of the rest of the 300 or so in attendance at the Austin City Limits studio, was rapt with attention.
Critics and the general public for years have debated whether Lynch’s abstractions get in the way of being able to tell a strong story. Viewers vociferously debate the meaning of Lynch’s films, and he seems content to let them each have their own interpretations. “I love a story, but a story that holds abstractions,” he said. “Interpretations when things get abstract vary. Sometimes greatly.”
Though Lynch strayed from giving any revelations about his films’ meanings, he was more than happy to discuss his personal experience with the restorative power of meditation. Lynch began practicing the art of meditation 33 years ago after seeing its positive effect on his sister, and realizing that the best way to find inner-happiness was through mediation. He believes that going inside of ourselves is a process that leads to renewed energy, heightened consciousness and greater creativity.
He called meditation, “the only experience that utilizes the whole brain,” and posited that inner-happiness, love and creativity all come from a heightening of consciousness. For years Lynch “never talked about, [he] just did it,” but after decades of experiencing the joy of this re-creation, he felt it was time to share his insight with the public.
As Lynch gesticulated with lithe hands while discussing the “eternal ocean inside every being,” it was evident that his mind was piqued with the excitement of turning inward, listening to the pluckings of the strings of his soul and returning with another dreamwork.
The Texas Monthly Talks episode with David Lynch will air at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 and at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 23 on KLRU.
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Tweedy opens up at Hogg
Hot on the heels of a night of playful back-and-forth with the audience on Tuesday, Jeff Tweedy returned for more of the same Wednesday night. And then some.
Tweedy kicked off the sold-out show with the cautiously hopeful alt-cowboy song/query “(Was I) In Your Dreams.” He then fought through the first of what would become an onslaught of audience outbursts and moved into “Sunken Treasure,” a song that worked well to showcase a voice that seems to have grown significantly stronger since the Wilco frontman put down the American Spirits and took up jogging.
After displaying some fine dexterity with his picking on an Uncle Tupelo classic, “Wait Up,” Tweedy let the audience know that he was in the mood for another healthy dose of the playfulness he exhibited Tuesday night. He offered up a classic open-mawed scream pose for those in the audience who were desperately trying to take pictures of their hero singer-songwriter. He described the pose as, “The only picture I’ve ever seen of me in a newspaper,” and then implored the audience to put away their cameras so we could all enjoy the rest of the show. After the flashes died, the Bud Light-pounding girl to my left finally retrieved her camera and snapped a few shots. My skin crawled and stomach tightened, a reprimand from the notoriously moody performer was imminent, I was certain. “Was that a flash?” he asked incredulously. Following a brief smirk, the potential meltdown averted, Tweedy continued his set with a beautifully stripped-down “Muzzle of Bees.”
Tweedy went on to entertain the mildly annoying crowd with songs ranging across the spectrum of his sizable catalogue — playing tunes from each of the Wilco albums — including a song (“Not for the Season”) from the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos — along with songs from his two side projects, Loose Fur and Golden Smog.
Seeing a Tweedy, or Wilco, show generally poses one of two seriously problems for me. Either Tweedy will be surly and frustrated with a chatty crowd and pontificate about our need to subjugate our individual needs of self-expression and gratefulness, or, as was the case Wednesday night, he will engage the crowd with his banter, which in turn gives the audience the impression they’ve been given carte blanche to be obnoxious. I think I prefer the former. It can grate watching the self-admittedly neurotic performer chide an audience, but it is much more of a beating when he interacts excessively, as it leads to an unfortunate barrage of requests, admissions of love and horrible attempts at humor from the audience. I know adoration and booze can be an elixir that easily compels open expression, but can’t people remain relatively silent for 90 minutes? If Wednesday night was any indication, apparently not.
But I don’t mean to be a curmudgeon. I had a wonderful time, and although Tweedy’s stage chatter may have led to unnecessary admissions and requests from his devotees, it also offered some wonderful insight into one of the best songwriters of the past 25 years.
Tweedy discussed his notorious neurosis with the adoring crowd. “I’m super neurotic. You mighta figured that out,” he admitted. “I’ve got a problem, and it’s you. It’s you liking me a little bit.”
A young lady responded forcefully, “We love you,” to which Tweedy could only respond, “See, that’s worse. Now I don’t trust you.” Now that’s sharing. “I said we are gonna rap about our feelings and I meant it. And sometimes it hurts,” he later confessed jokingly. Talk about sharing.
Wednesday night he shared stories, laughs and some beautiful tunes spanning the last two decades. So, maybe the audience shared a little too much, as well, but if it didn’t bother Tweedy, I guess I won’t let it bother me.
Jeff Tweedy at Hogg Auditorium 1.24.07
Set List
- “(Was I) In Your Dreams” (“Being There”)
- “Sunken Treasure” (“Being There”)
- “Wait Up” (“March 16-20, 1992” - Uncle Tupelo)
- “Muzzle Of Bees” (“A Ghost is Born”)
- “At My Window Sad and Lonely” (“Mermaid Avenue”)
- “Not For the Season” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos”)
- “Box Full of Letters” (“A.M.”)
- “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
- “Radio King” (“Down by the Old Mainstream” - Golden Smog)
- “You Were Wrong” (“Loose Fur” - Loose Fur)
- “How to Fight Loneliness” (“Summerteeth”)
- “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard” (“More Like The Moon”)
- “Heavy Metal Drummer” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
- “The Late Greats” (“A Ghost is Born”)
Encore 1:
- “California Stars” (“Mermaid Avenue”)
- “A Shot In The Arm” (“Summerteeth”)
- “Jesus, Etc.” (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”)
- “ELT” (“Summerteeth”)
Encore 2 (sans PA).
- “Dreamer In My Dreams” (“Being There”)
- “Acuff-Rose” (“Anodyne” - Uncle Tupelo)
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