Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2007 > October
October 2007
Karen Kuykendall (1937-2007)
Karen Kuykendall — distinguished actor, prominent hostess, arts leader, cabaret diva, revered wit, longtime real estate agent and mother of three — died at home late Wednesday from complications from cancer of the lungs and spine. She was 69.
Growing up in Green Pastures, when it was a dairy farm on the outskirts of town, Kuykendall saw her South Austin family home become a restaurant in 1946. She counted among her relatives blacklisted humorist and First Amendment advocate John Henry Faulk (her uncle), Green Pastures Restaurant founder and cookbook writer Mary Faulk Koock (her mother) and Travis County District Attorney Henry Faulk (her grandfather).
Kuykendall acted in scores of plays, many at Zachary Scott Theatre, including “Angels in America,” “Full Gallop” and “The Rocky Horror Show.” She helped introduce Austin to theatrical cabaret through her Cafe Manhattan shows with stage partner Sterling Price-McKinney, and she served on the boards of many arts groups, including Ballet Austin, Austin Musical Theatre and Conspirare. She sold real estate for many of her close friends, including the late Gov. Ann Richards, and threw soirees in her art-packed Clarksville-area home that attracted admirers from all walks of life.
She was among the first inductees into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. Upon receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Austin Circle of Theaters on Oct. 21 before undergoing hospice care, Kuykendall said, “There is no place I feel more at home or more alive than on stage.”
“Fortunately for us, Karen lived by the adage ‘all the world’s a stage,’ and she made an unforgettable impact in every arena of Austin life,” said Dave Steakley, artistic director of Zachary Scott Theatre Center, which has named the stage of its planned new theater after Kuykendall. “Karen embraced theater as a full-contact sport. She was bigger than life because she saw that as her job, and with extravagant physical and vocal flourishes she would tickle our funny bone, drain the last drop of irony from Cole Porter, and move us to the furthest reaches of our heart.”
Born Karen Koock on Nov. 19, 1937 — one of seven children of Mary Faulk Koock and Chester Koock — she was a fifth-generation Austinite. Her father’s family was well to do and owned the Koock & Voss hardware store on Congress Avenue. Both of her parents sang prodigiously, but Kuykendall may have inherited her distinctive social graces from her mother, Mary, who opened Green Pastures on Live Oak Street while the family lived in upstairs quarters.
“Mary was a natural-born party-giver,” said Kuykendall’s sister, Martha Koock Ward. “She threw parties even as a little girl.”
The family, which forged a long history working with the deaf, ex-convicts and others in need, was proud that its restaurant was open to all races long before federal law required it.
Although descended from staunch Methodists, Kuykendall grew up a Catholic because her mother had converted after attending St. Mary’s Academy. Kuykendall attended St. Ignatius School and St. Mary’s, and later attended Dunbarton College in Washington, D.C.
In 1958, she married Marshall Kuykendall of the famed Texas ranching family, who later became a well-known land broker and advocate of property owners’ rights. They divorced in the mid-1970s.
Even as a young girl, theater romanced Kuykendall, who performed in children’s productions before taking leads in what was then Austin Civic Theatre — now Zachary Scott — in the late 1950s. Her younger brother, Guich, also caught the acting bug and has pursued a Hollywood career since appearing in Steven Spielberg’s “The Sugarland Express” in 1974.
For decades, Kuykendall devoted her sultry voice and witty style to singing what is known as the American Songbook in intimate cabaret settings.
“Karen is probably the first person people think about in Austin when they hear the word ‘cabaret,’ ” said Stuart Moulton, director of Austin Cabaret Theatre, “an intimate, glamorous and seductive celebration of theater and song.”
“On the stage as in real life, Karen totally defied convention,” said frequent singing partner Price-McKinney. “While other performers might feel pressure to emulate the popular idols of the day, she eschewed what she considered an insecure approach. No matter what the role or occasion called for, she always looked inside, personifying herself. And rarely, when she had to stoop to look for inspiration elsewhere, she only stole from the best, taking only the details that suited her particular agenda. Her choice of material, her grasp of it, and the manner in which she conveyed it were nonpareil.” Kuykendall marshaled her social and civic skills for selling real estate as well.
“She was intuitive about people and intelligent about situations, which made her a great entertainer and Realtor,” said Carrie Bills, owner of Green Mango Real Estate, which employed Kuykendall when she was not working for Wilson & Goldrick. “Clients wanted to work with her, not only because she was a very hard worker and brilliant, but so they could be with her. I never met anyone who was not taken by her. I was in love with her from the moment I met her 20-plus years ago and created an office for her just so I could be with her.”
Kuykendall was also known for her zingers and even heckled the artists and fans who saluted her during a fundraiser for Zachary Scott’s planned Kuykendall Stage just weeks ago.
She is survived by siblings Ken Koock, Gretchen O’Boyle, Bill (Guich) Koock, Tim Koock, Judy Koock Strassman and Martha Koock Ward, as well as her children Marshall Kuykendall Jr., Mary Alice Naiser and Sarita Kuykendall, and grandchildren Wylie and Jennie Kuykendall and Haley and Catherine Naiser.
Memorial services are pending. Memorial contributions can be made to the Karen Kuykendall Stage Fund, care of Zach Scott Theater, 1510 Toomey Road, Austin, 78704, or online at www.zachscott.com.
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Your A-List: Best Place for a First Date
First dates have been ruined by “The Bachelor.” How can you compete with helicopter rides to the tops of skycrapers or diamond earrings dispensed poolside?
At least at the Alamo Drafthouse, the local movie chain you chose as the No. 1 Place for a First Date with 21 percent of the vote, the management provides the entertainment and the grub. It’s dark. You’re close. Close enough to touch. As long as you both can agree on an amenable movie. There aren’t a lot of obvious date flicks out right now, unless you count “Dan in Real Life” (Alamo Lake Creek) or one of the TV runs (“The Office,” “Heroes”) at Alamo Village.
Which makes No. 2 so attractive, since you can order chocolate for your sweet in the low light and low murmurs of Chez Zee (14 percent of the vote).
(In a side note: The Alamo was the winner at 11 p.m. Tuesday, the time when votes are officially tallied each week, but Chez Zee’s loyal supporters weren’t willing to give up the fight. They kept on voting and helped the eatery narrowly edge the Alamo before the next week’s batch of polls went up online late Wednesday. Alamo is still our official winner, but we congratulate both. And thanks, as always, to everyone for voting.)
No. 3, Hula Hut, tempts with high spirits and lake life, while its near tie, Peter Pan Putt-Putt, can counter with clean fun and heavy putting. (No, I won’t apologize.)
Classy, lakeside coffeehouse Mozart’s, appropriately named Italian trattoria Romeo’s, vivacious Vivo, chummy Enoteca Vespaio, late-night Hyde Park Bar & Grill, exotic Mars, sizzling El Chile, lake-loving Dave & Buster’s and contemporary Clay Pit (order on the hot side) round out the official slate.
Two write-in candidates merit a mention: The ultra-hip Hotel San Jose — and if things go well … — and the high-end eatery Jeffrey’s both would impress on any first encounter.
The Alamo at the Ritz opens tonight, so single ones, time for puttin’ on the ritz.
Photo by Brian K. Diggs
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Your A-List: Best Tennis Courts
This is a rare case when the sole write-in candidate, Westwood Country Club, probably deserved a little official love from Your A-List. After all, it’s good enough for Andy Roddick. So it ought to have been good enough for the Best Tennis Courts slate.
The actual co-winners, in a virtual tie with 23 percent of your vote each, were the Caswell Tennis Center and Austin High. The first beckons with its location at the base of West Campus and its recent makeover, while the second is close to the Lady Bird Lake hike-and bike-trail and, on weekends, offers luxurious parking.
No. 3, the South Austin Tennis Center with 12 percent of your vote, almost became an even more important center, but the neighborhood intervened. Two University of Texas courts, the Intramural Fields and the interscholastic Penick-Allison Tennis Center, came in No. 4 and No. 5.
Rounding out the list were the World of Tennis (6 percent), Austin Tennis Academy (4 percent), Little Zilker Park (4 percent), Old Settlers Park (4 percent), Pharr Tennis Center (3 percent), Jester Center Courts (3 percent), Williamson County Park (2 percent) and the Georgetown Tennis Center (1 percent).
You may have noted that several of these spots are private or semi-private. Not to worry. There are ways to work any system, and a dedicated tennis player could end up on any of these courts on a given day.
Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez
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Boxers weigh in at Richard Lord’s
You must search for Richard Lord’s Boxing Gym. The old-fashioned sweat-box, plastered with posters and crammed with punching bags, trophies and beat-up looking characters, is tucked behind several sets of nondescript buildings at 5400 N. Lamar Blvd. It’s the kind of place where you pay close attention to “No Parking” signs, lest you end up with cauliflower ears. Inside, unpunched youngsters vied for equipment and time in the ring, which is ticked off with a bell not unlike an actual boxing event, while gym owner Lord oversaw the preliminary weigh-in.
Jamie Leshikar, scaling in at 147 pounds, could be fighting somebody heavier or lighter in her welterweight class on Saturday at the Erwin Center, since several potential fighters have dropped out. The daughter and sister of black-belt Judo fighters was attracted to boxing because it’s “the most physically and mentally challenging sport,” she said. “Also I’m just mean and aggressive by nature.” The McCallum High School graduate, 26, wants to contend for world championship and figures she’s got a least 10 years of fight in her.
Adauto “Gallito” Gonzalez sparred in Lord’s ring, mugging for the camera with a jaguarlike grimace. Hailing from St. Luis Potosi, he was forced to drop his Mexican wins from his U.S. resume, but surely intimidates opponents with his 7-2 record and two knock-outs here. The “Little Rooster” leads the undercard Saturday with six rounds vs. Justo Vallecillo (3-4, 2 KOs). The Main Event is the Texas Welterweight Title Fight matching Gilbert “Boogie” Vera (7-0-1, 4 KOs) vs. Ray Lino “Randy” Gatica (7-0, 4 KOs).
The event is 7:30 p.m. at the Erwin Center. Tickets are $20-$100. Info: 471-7744 or uterwincenter.com.
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Year’s best movies + Paul Michael Bloodgood’s ‘Divas’
It’s that time: Rushing around to see the movies that might end up on Best of 2007 lists come December. Top film so far: “No Country for Old Men.”
Also high up: “Knocked Up,” “Eastern Promises,” “Michael Clayton,” “Manufacturing Dissent,” “The Darjeeling Limited,” “Transformers,” “Crazy Love,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Once,” “Shooter,” “Superbad” and “Hot Fuzz.”
Looking forward to: “Sweeney Todd,” “Love in the Time of Cholera,” “American Gangster,” “Into the Wild,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Lions for Lambs,” “Rendition,” “Confessions of a Superhero,” “We Own the Night,” “His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “In the Valley of Elah.”
If you think there’s a movie that belongs on the list and will screen or become available on DVD before the end of the year, send in your candidates. Soon.
Best short seen this year: “Ballet Divas: Self-Proclaimed,” a 32-minute mockumentary from Ballet Austin’s Paul Michael Bloodgood. The conceit will delight anyone remotely familiar with annual productions of “The Nutcracker” — diva attitude from the boys who appear briefly in the party scene, bowing in 19th-century costumes, social dancing and flourishing their gloved fingers. Bloodgood elicits howling snippets from the company members, even Brent Hasty, company director Stephen Mills’ partner, as an addled diva fan. It should be snapped up by film festivals and other ballet companies ASAP.
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Fall TV winners + Owen Wilson
With the finale of the summer season’s finest achievement — Glenn Close’s “Damages” — out of the way, full attention can move to the fall season already long underway. (Thanks to TiVo, almost all is possible, including playbacks of a summer guilty pleasure, “Burn Notice,” with compulsively watchable Jeffrey Donovan.)
Last fall’s three breakaways were “Ugly Betty,” “Heroes” and “Friday Night Lights.” Despite some ratings and plot disruptions along the way, they remain on track for Season 2, at least until the writer’s strike destroys the lot.
Unlike uneven “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Brothers and Sisters” and “Desperate Housewives,” recorded but not aways actually seen, the Big 3 from 2006 have joined permanent TiVo selections of the Keller Barnes household, such as “House,” “Law & Order,” “Without a Trace,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Life on the D List,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report.”
The Big 3 so far this season, for quality, not ratings quantity: “Chuck,” the lovable comedy about a computer geek turned accidental spy, “Bionic Woman,” which updates the campy classic with “Galactica” savvy, and “Pushing Daisies,” which combines elements from “Six Feet Under,” “My Name is Earl,” “Ed” ” and “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” The supporting cast on “Daisies” is so potent, it must be restrained from outshining the show’s stars, including Lee Pace (pictured right).
The jury is still out on “Dirty Sexy Money,” which benefits from the skills of Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh and some playful subplots, but suffers from writing and art direction far below the standards set by the marginally similar “Damages.”
As those among you who have followed the Owen Wilson post-trauma trauma already know, his “first interview” with Wes Anderson on MySpace turned out to be a collection of clips featuring the frequent Austin visitor talking about anything but his reported suicide attempt. He’s well, that’s all that matters, and appeared to have a great time in Austin a couple of weeks ago. At least no paparazzi lying in ambush here. Since reporting Wilson’s hospitalization in August, Out & About has treated this subject with utmost sensitivity, trying to balance the readers’ self-evident interest against the star’s privacy. That will continue.
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The Pump Project and Town Lake Park
The Pump Project Art Complex on Shady Lane has evolved from a hive of activism into a well-outfitted space for almost 40 artists and their admirers. The preview party on Friday showcased not only resident artists, but some splashy guests. Leanne Venier, who praised sense of community as wrought by manager Josh Green, showed some small, energetic abstracts, but, like most artists, she was more excited about her mort recent work, exhibited across town at Artspoken Gallery. Jazz and tastier-than-usual party wine lent this East Side event a dressy air. Imagine the surprise upon learning that the band, the Stumps, which included a seductive horn section, were playing their first public performance.
The scene from above
Artist Nick Henning scanning “Glassroots Rebirth” by Kevin Ivey
Ryan Davis, Emelie Houssart and Leanne Venier in front of Davis’ expressive canvases
Maria Alonso and Lorie Solis
One of three saxists in the Stumps.
Does the no-leash policy for Auditorium Shores spill over into the recently opened Town Lake Park? Frisbee-frisky dogs and their humans think so. As long as they stay well away from the tots squeeling in the pool-less fountain and the kids launching kites and toy planes from the windy hillock, the park’s two most popular features. Nick and Nora prefer the long trails and watery delights of Walnut Creek Park, Bull Creek Park, Turkey Creek Loop, Red Bud Isle and places where they can roam more freely. At Town Lake Park, they headed straight for the pond, ignoring the sign which clearly forbade them to swim there. Gotta work on those Lab reading skills.
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Richard Garriott, Austin Shakespeare, Allandale
Richard Garriott is a card. Austin’s leading game-maker is, no doubt, a man of prodigious invention. And he’s an enthusiast of anachronism. But when asked about his recent operation to remove a mole-like spot on his liver — the better to travel in space a year from now — he gamely raised his shirt to give everyone a gander. Garriott, pictured below, who related how an entire truck of Tabula Rasa had been stolen in Canada (they can be traced through serial numbers), was sitting in the royal box at his Elizabethan-style Curtain Theater for “Words by Shakespeare,” an evening of song and poetry showcasing the new regime of Ann Ciccolella at Austin Shakespeare. Of course emcee Robert Faires tripped lightly through his part (he and Evan Smith should engage in am emcee-off) and the first act’s songs culminated in an endearing duet from Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me Kate,” sweetened by Jill Blackwood and Jamie Goodwin. Well, inspired by Shakespeare at least.
The Allandale Masquarade Ball was everything you’d expect from a neighborhood holiday shindig: Rootsy Austin band, endearing capers on the dance floor, kooky costumes and folks of all ages making only slight fools of themselves for a cause: Covering legal expenses for their high-profile fight over redevelopment of Northcross Mall. (Would something like the Domain have been better? Who will know?) Two standouts: A tango demonstration by Allandale resident Laura Pellegrino and her consort, whose name escapes me, but both are pictured below, plus the savory and sweet edibles from big-hearted Russell Millner and Alan Kirkhart of Russell’s Bakery. These longtime Austinites know where a lot of culinary bodies are buried.
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Rio Rita + Collier Talent Agency mixer
Beerland owners Randall and Donya Stockton possess a vivid sense of stagecraft. It’s evident in their punkish Red River Street club, which feels like a Weimar-era cabaret. That brio carries over into their lounge/coffeehouse, Rio Rita, on East East Sixth Street. (We use the double directional for all the development east of Interstate 35.) Rita echoes the retro touches of the Peacock down the street, but the feel is funkier and even more relaxed. Excellent brie and ham sandwiches to be had there, too.
The first thing one notices at a Collier Talent Agency mixer is the magnitude of human beauty, mostly male, but also female, among Heather Collier’s clients. Don’t get me wrong, she represents some talented folks, among them theater hard-hitters Cyndi Williams, Helen Merino, Barbara Chisholm and Jill Blackwood. But she’s got the market cornered on movie-ready scruffy twentysomethings with cheekbones. Below, find some Collier folks who traded trade secrets at the Mohawk on Friday.
John Metcalf, who represents tech company Tiny Pictures, purveyor of Radar.net, which shares your daily photogs with friends, like Twitter; and Bianca Malino, formerly of St. Edward’s University drama, who is preparing to audition for the pilot season.
Heather Collier with one of her gems, Espie Randolph, who helps keep Esther’s Follies funny evey week.
Kyle Henry (the genius behind Cannes entry “Room”) and partner Carlos Trevino (one of the geniuses behind Physical Plant and other theater companies).
Steve Uzzell, currently in “A Ride with Bob,” and Bob Tolaro, who will return to the “Tuna” fold for the Christmas season.
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Cole & Bobby, Steven Tomlinson, the GoodLife Team and Tim League at the Alamo Ritz
Someday, Cole and Bobby, the movie-reviewing UT college students with the three-year-old Web site bearing their names, will be famous — or infamous. Their conversations are like ongoing stand-up comedy routines, one finishing the other’s sentences, debating limitless cultural points in good humor. They spoke to my entertainment journalism class for more than an hour, passing along their energy and passion, along with the wisdom of seeing free movies back-to-back, eating huge buckets of popcorn, ripping through multiple reviews at 4 a.m. and fearlessly taking on any journalistic assignment, even about fashion on the Drag. Sure they could revise their prose more often, but after watching them in head-spinning action, they have gained a new set of devoted fans.
You know who has a loving husband? Playwright and business teacher Steven Tomlinson. For Tomlinson’s 46th birthday, philanthropist and social connector Eugene Sepulveda sprung two surprise parties, one in New York City, attended by the friends garnered by the duo during Tomlinson’s run in “American Fiesta” back in the spring, then another Thursday for locals at Julio’s, the couple’s favorite neighborhood eatery. That’s him glowing above, before sharing tips on how to lure a quiet class into hearty discussions (he’s an expert on the subject).
Ever wonder what happened to that cool site for the original Big Red Sun on Cesar Chavez St.? It’s now a real estate office cum community center run by the GoodLife Team, which is specializing in urban projects. A sharp-looking crowd lingered in the signature BRS courtyard — a bit funky, a bit Zen — while listening to music and sipping better than usual party wine. We learned a lot about the company’s forward looking aesthetic and ethic from publicist Jeff Salzgeber, who also helped out the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. Pictured above is Krisstina and Garry Wise, The GoodLife Team, JoAnn McKenzie with WaxmanCavnerLawson and Hil Stroup, Executive VP of Texas American Title Company. Photo by Brian Birzer.
Tim League is coughing a lot these days. The dust swirls like a snowstorm around the Alamo at the Ritz as last-minute preparations are made for its Nov. 1 opening. The movie-and-a-meal mogul (above) is prepping the two venues, one 90-seater and another 190-seater. (Wife and business partner Karrie is making the long counters herself) The interior picks up some of the Spanish Mission decor of the original Alamo Drafthouse site on Colorado Street, and the new Sixth Street incarnation looks to be an even classier — and, at times, campier — film experience. This is going to be the jewel of Sixth Street and may help revive its fortunes for those not exclusively interested in shots and meat on the hoof.
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Join me Out & About
A portion of the planned Out & About nightlife for the next few days:
THURSDAY
GoodLife Team Grand Opening: 1114 E. Cesar Chavez St.
Grape Stomp and Harvest Party: Mansion at Judges’ Hill, 1900 Rio Grande St. (benefits Ballet Austin)
Building Bridges Art Celebration and Auction: Hilton Austin, 500 E. Fourth St. (benefits Arc of the Capital Area)
FRIDAY
Collier Talent Agency Mixer: Mohawk, 912 Red River St.
Pump Project Art Complex Opening: 702 Shady Lane
SATURDAY
Words by Shakespeare: At Richard Garriott’s Curtain Theater (benefits Austin Shakespeare Festival)
Allandale Masquerade Ball: Caswell House, 1404 West Ave.
SUNDAY
Fire & Brimstone Halloween Party: The Vortex, 2307 Manor Road
MONDAY
UT Opera Gala: Bates Hall, UT campus
TUESDAY
HRC Get-Together: The Belmont, 305 W. Sixth St.
WEDNESDAY
White Ghost Shivers Ball: American Legion Hall, 2201 Veteran’s Drive
Pangaea opening set
Club titan Michael Ault had hoped to open his concept ultra-lounge, Pangaea, by Halloween, but the official date has now been set for Nov. 16. Interest in the safari-themed spot inside the renovated space formerly occupied by Alamo Drafthouse has spread statewide. While some readers complain that Pangaea is out of step with Austin culture, others eagerly await this addition to the nightlife scene. It joins other recently opened clubs with grand themes, including Michael Girard’s Imperia, Mike Yassine’s Qua and Matt Luckie’s one-year-old Belmont. So the club arms race began long before New Yorker Ault ambled into town.
Your A-List: Strongest Drinks
This is one of those titles that makes one wonder if the winner will want all the attention.
In fact, we called Stephen F.’s Bar and Terrace, perched so deliciously above Congress Avenue in the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel, and could find not a soul to comment negatively or positively about the honor of serving the city’s Strongest Drinks, according to 26 percent of Your A-List voters.
There’s no question that Stephen F.’s is a classy place and they serve classy drinks in a setting that, unlike many other hotel bars, is not stuck in the ebb and flow of lobby traffic. Instead, on a gorgeous day like today, one is tempted to order just one Woodford Reserve, neat, to nurse on the entirely civilized terrace, watching the world go by — from a distance.
Some of our other favored watering holes were rewarded for their care and generosity with the cocktails: Cedar Door (16 percent), Club de Ville (12 percent), Brown Bar (9 percent), Lucky Lounge (8 percent), Casino El Camino (8 percent), Whiskey Bar (6 percent) and Red Fez (3 percent). These are the establishments that shot bars on Sixth Street want to be when they grow up.
Scruffy, loveable Hole in the Wall also made the list with 6 percent, as did The Mohawk with 2 percent. Zax, which I associate more with “pints and plates” than cocktails, and Red House took the last two places.
Write-ins: Baby Acapulco, Barfly’s, Boomerz, Club Illusion, Guero’s, La Feria, Matt’s El Rancho, Oilcan Harry’s, Rain, Side Bar, Trudy’s, Vivo and Z’ Tejas.
Photo by Ha Lam.
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Your A-List, Best Men’s Clothing Store: Capra and Cavelli
If you want to drink like an adult, go to Stephen F.’s Bar and Terrace. If you want to dress like an adult, go to Capra & Cavelli, which won Your A List poll for Best Men’s Clothing Store with a trimming 35 percent of the vote. Truth be told, Austin could use a lot more options for men’s fashion. But C&C has long filled a crucial high end niche, and Esquire magazine recognized it as one of the Top 100 clothing stores in America. The shops, now located downtown in the Austin Hilton as as well on 35th Street, are not about the latest fads. They thrive on tailoring and fabrics and classic lines and, of course, service.
Voters chose a popular chain, Banana Republic, for the No. 2 spot, with 19 percent of the tally. Buffalo Exchange took third (13 percent), Service Menswear fourth (10 percent) and Urban Outfitters fifth (9 percent). Keepers, which competes with Capra and Cavelli for class, took 5 percent, while Flipnotics, Blackmail, Creatures and Crown all drew less than 4 percent.
Hey, all these places are valuable, given the overwhelming emphasis on women’s wear in this town. We appreciate each one.
Write-ins: Estilo, Hutson Clothing Co., Jos. A. Banks, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Nordstrom and Texas Clothier.
Pictured: Kenneth Miller, merchandise manager at Capra & Cavelli. Rodolfo Gonzalez photo.
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‘Tuna’ does opening night
The noise of joy said it all. Waiting in the upper lobby for the opening night of “Tuna Does Vegas” to conclude — I had been across downtown for a Kirk Watson event — I heard the familiar Texas twangs of the Tuna characters and the equally familiar gales of laughter from the audience. That and the nearly sold-out shows reveal as much about the series’ fourth edition as will the reviews. (Which I suspect will glow.)
“It’s good to be home,” said Joe Sears, one half of the Tuna creative duo during the short post-show party. “But don’t tell Houston. And don’t tell Washington. And don’t tell Galveston.”
“It’s especially good to be home when you’ve lived in hotels for 24 years,” said Jaston Williams, the other half, both beaming over the first night performance and response.
We ran into John Bernadoni, who helped lead the rescue and renovation of the Paramount Theatre in the 1970s, and — the only personality whose party picture turned out — Sue McFarland (left), who ushered at the Paramount and Bass Concert Hall for decades. She’s happily on the mend from a spine malady. Every time I saw Sue in the lobby of some theater, she’d hug me and say, “I read your story in the paper.” In fact, other than Kip, she may be my most loyal reader. And, stunningly, she hardly ever disagreed with my opinion — to my face.
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Kirk Watson skewered, sweetly
The jibes were gentle during the Caritas roast of Sen. Kirk Watson last night at the Four Seasons Hotel. Receiving the Harvey Penick Award from the city’s trusted social service nonprofit meant enduring some elbows from emcee and super-lawyer Roy Q. Minton, tax reformer and “Dream Team” running mate John Sharp and super-wife Liz Watson. Not only that, the Bar & Grill singers grilled the lawyers in the house with songs about, among other things, lawyerly work obsession and federal judges’ infallibility syndromes.
We’ll share some of the zingers from the event, chaired by Lowell Lebermann and Sue Meller, once we’ve downloaded our digital voice recorder. But first, consider the Triple A List of previous Penick winners, named after its first recipient, the golf and life coach: Rep. J.J. “Jake Pickle, baseball coach Cliff Gustafson, Rep. Barbara Jordan, first lady Lady Bird Johnson, publicist and leader George Christian, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, UT football legend Darrell Royal and his wife Edith, businessman and political backer Lebermann, golfer Ben Crenshaw, investors and philanthropists Angela and Morton Topfer, basketball coach Jody Conradt, singer Larry Gatlin, billionaire do-gooders Michael and Susan Dell and educator/administrator Pat Hayes.
Now that’s a list. Sad that we have lost six of them already.
Jason Schwartzman: The complete interview
On a wet, windy Monday, Jason Schwartzman curled his gray topsiders into a chair, framed by arches overlooking the Hotel San Jose courtyard. The floppy-haired, almond-eyed co-star and co-writer of “The Darjeeling Limited” was in Austin for a promotional tour.
Still, he managed to revisit some of his favorite South Congress Avenue spots before answering questions from St. Edward’s University entertainment journalism student Alex Daniel and yours truly.
Jason Schwartzman: I kind of conned the powers that be into letting me come down here for three days. I knew it would secretly work out … as long as I got to Austin by Saturday, then I knew I’d have something to do Saturday and Monday, which meant I got the third day off.
Out & About: What did you do while you were in town?
Well, it’s been nice. My girlfriend (Brady Cunningham) and I have been apart since I’ve been going around the country (on the tour). And so she met me down here Saturday. The first thing I did is go look for guitars, so I spent a half day just guitar-looking and then she got in and then … what did we do? Well, we just walked, you know, we walked up and down (South Congress Avenue), which was nice, we got some food, came home.
Did you go out and hear in any music?
I’m just missed some shows that I wanted to see, like the Fiery Furnaces are gonna be here soon, and that I would have been excited about seeing. And it’s weird because I just came from D.C. where I just missed the Shins so I kinda got lost a little bit. We just relaxed and watched TV and read. I love all the stores (on South Congress). I usually go around to other areas, but this time I just wanted some rest. We come to Austin a lot.
Where’d you eat? What did you like?
I love that place down the street, Vespaio, it’s just so good … everything’s homemade there. And Enoteca, that’s great too. Were else do you like to eat here?
I live right behind (Vespaio) so I eat up and down the block. The Woodlands, a block beyond Vespaio, is still new and good.
That’s a great name — The Woodland. I saw that Mother’s burned! I can’t believe that, because that was always one of my favorites. Was that arson or…?
It was an accident. A homeless person that camped out behind the place accidentally burned it down. A lot of people said ‘where are we gonna get our veggies now?’ And they looked at each other and said, ‘Oh, virtually every restaurant in town offers significant vegetarian alternatives.’
What about that place, Mr. Natural, is that good?
Yeah … it’s OK.
And what’s the other place that does different food every day? Casa de Luz? How is it?
It’s serious. (Laughter.) It’s chewy.
Seriously … healthy?
If you think that’s healthy, yes.
Well, what’s chewy?
It’s not fancied up or anything. It’s almost meditative, one might say.
Right. So you have to create what it tastes like in your mouth. You have to imagine what you’re eating. Well that’s my favorite kind of food. (Laughter). I didn’t go over to the East Side Cafe, is that what it’s called?
There are six or seven restaurants over near there that are really good. And there’s new places on East 11th Street and on East Sixth Street. The whole east side is booming.
Do you like that?
I do. I like the change. This street, for instance, was completely trashed out when we moved here 10 years ago. (The San Jose) was a hooker and drug den and there weren’t many good restaurants or shops on South Congress.
So you really got in right when…
Yeah our house was on the market for like five months because people didn’t want to live in such a dangerous neighborhood, and then all of the sudden we’re the hipster part of town. How did that happen? We didn’t plan it.
That’s crazy.
So I hear you might bring your new band Coconut Records here.
Well I would do that. I don’t know if I could ever honestly do it. There’s so many reasons. One is there is no band. It’s just me. And I always say it’s not because I was trying to hog the ball or be showy or anything. I can’t play the instruments proficiently enough to be a shredder, but I recorded all these things because there was no one else around to help do what I was trying to. The long story is that when I left the band (he was drummer for Phantom Planet), I always just continued writing songs.
How long ago did you leave the band?
I left in 2003. I taught myself to play the instruments, to communicate the ideas that I had about what the songs they were writing, if I could give my two cents. And then I started to write. But I felt like I was just beginning. So when I left the band, my mission became learning how to write, to keep writing, to do it every day, and just trying to get better. So I would write these little songs, even just 30-second ideas, and I’d put them on my computer, and after three years of it, I had just a ton of these. Most of it was really bad, but there were some things that I really liked, that I thought could be made into something.
But I wasn’t sure what point was there to be because I knew that the touring kind of life and being on a label again. I knew i just didn’t want to do it. The touring part, I love playing live, but the label part and just … I thought, what do I do? Form another band? Get another bunch of guys around me?
So I watched this documentary on Brill Building and I was thinking that’s the way to do it: Carole King, Jerry Malcolm, writing all these songs and other people perform them. Because my favorite part of being in a band was being in the recording studio.
So I talked to my friend about it who produced one of my records, and I said, ‘So what do I do, do I sell these songs?’ And he said, no because most of the bands you’d want to play your songs want to write their own songs. So I was like, oh, good point. And he said, Why are you stressing about all of this? You think that just because you record something you have to put it out. You don’t put anything out, you don’t have to form any band, you can just go record these songs for fun, and if they’re bad they’re bad, and if you like them you like them, but why are you thinking so far ahead?
And I said, ‘Well who do I get to play with me?’ And he said, ‘Anybody you want! Or nobody! I mean just do it as an exercise in believing in yourself. Just don’t have fear, just go make something.’ And I thought, ‘That’s weird. I’ve never sung before I’ve never done any of these things.’
And so my friend had a home studio, and I went in there, and we just sort of recorded songs. We tracked a whole song in one night and it was such a great one. And he asked, ‘do you have any more?’ And I was like, man, ‘I’ve got a lot.’ He said, ‘Come back up here, let’s record music!’ Got my dog, got some clothes, went over to house, and a week later we walked out with 14 songs recorded.
And I sat on it for five months. Just thought, wow, that was great. I listened to it, gave it to my friends. It was exactly what I wanted. And my little brother, who is in this band called Rooney, said ‘You should put this out.’ And I thought, ‘Ah, I don’t want to put it out because to put it out means a bunch of big wigs coming in and then you gotta let them down cause I’m not really gonna probably tour, cause I just didn’t like that part.” And so I thought, ‘Who’s gonna sign me?’ And then I thought about it, and I thought, ‘Why don’t I just put this out myself?’ And so that’s what I did. (It’s called ‘Nighttiming.’) You can buy it on iTunes. Coconut Records is the name of the band and then Young Baby Records is the name of the label.
How’s it doing?
It’s doing pretty well. It’s out and people buy it, and it’s just great. If you buy it there, because it isn’t on a record label, and because we didn’t have the funds to do crazy packaging, the fun thing about doing it like this is that we’re doing kind of limited pressings right now, so if you buy it you get a Polaroid picture that I’ve taken. And then the idea is that all of these Polaroids are going to be digitized and they’ll be part of a video slide show that we’re doing. So the idea is why not just give everybody something individual? Kanye West can’t do that because they can’t take 3 million Polaroids, but I can do it because I’m just making a couple thousand, which is even ambitious. And people who have been buying the records are like, hey when are you coming to my town? And I say gosh, because there’s no band, and because these songs weren’t really written to be played live really. There’s not a lot of rockers on the record, so it might kind of be boring. And to be a really good band takes years of playing with the same group of people, and I feel like enough bands are out there working hard to get good, and what? I’m just supposed to walk out there with these songs that I’m not even sure if they’d be good live? And I’m not afraid of it, but it’s completely not what I was thinking I would do with it. But maybe, who knows?
How did the writing process on “The Darjeeling Limited” worked for you, Wes (Anderson) and Roman (Coppola, Schwartzman’s first cousin)?
Well, I was living in Paris, working on this movie ‘Marie Antionette.’ And Wes was on a press tour for ‘The Life Aquatic,’ which ended there in Paris. And I said, ‘if you want to move in with me and see Paris for a little bit, if you’re not in a rush to go home, you can come stay with me as long as you’d like.’ And he moved in with me for about two and a half months. And a couple days into doing that he said ‘I’ve got this idea for a film about three brothers on a train in India, and I want you to be one of the brothers.’ And I was freaking out because Wes and I had been best friends since ‘Rushmore’ but we haven’t worked together, so …
Is that when you guys met?
We met on ‘Rushmore.’ So I was so happy, really, because I’d missed working with Wes, and I thought, man, it will be so much fun to work together again because now we’re friends. I mean in ‘Rushmore’ we were just meeting each other, but now we’ve got 10 years of great friendship. Because my memories of ‘Rushmore’ are usually integrated with feelings of fear, being so afraid of not being good in this movie and I had no acting experience and Bill Murray’s around. I still am nervous a lot when I work but at least with Wes we could make new memories which won’t be so fear-related. Now, the writing thing didn’t seem like it was part of the initial pitch.
You thought were just going to be acting?
I thought I was going to be acting it. And then later on he said, ‘I want to write this movie with you and Roman.’ So he said, I’d like this movie to be the most personal script I’ve ever written. And I’d like to make it very sparse, very raw, and more kind of based on personal things in my life and in our lives, and make it almost too personal. And he even said ‘Let’s go to India, let’s live in India, let’s write this movie based on things that happened to us there, and he said because I think we need it.’ Kind of like Owen’s character in the movie.
And so the spirit of the writing process was always based on storytelling. It never seemed like when we were writing this movie we were saying ‘Now these three brothers go here and then they get kicked off the train.’ It never felt like we were writing the movie. It felt like these three brothers were on a real journey of their own, like we were just describing it.
Does that make sense? It always felt like we were asking a lot of questions. So we would always ask, ‘These three brothers, what are they doing right now?’ And when we were in a rut, the thing that seemed to get us out was always a personal story. We’d ask, ‘Roman what happened to you? What could make sense to this?’ So Roman would say, ‘Well one time this happened to me and then that’d jog my memory and I’d say ‘Oh yeah! Well, I had a thing happen to me where.’ And then somewhere in hours … this prefaces two years of this … over two years of saying everything that’s happened to you, you say, ‘Oh wait! Maybe that’s what happened.’ And you just get these little things and they just seem to make sense. And we wrote it in sequence, so it just felt like this kind of storytelling, looking for stories that just sort of…
And that paralleled your …
Yeah! I think it’s a lot like my character in the film.
And I think that’s really cool to, when your character admits that his stories are based on him, and that’s kind of cool that that’s actually based on you.
Yeah. So the process isn’t just three guys writing, but also three guys talking a lot.
Well when you were coming up with these stories, were a lot of them based on things that happened to you while you were in India?
Well I’d say between half and three quarters were already written and then another kind of ghost half was just lingering. We went to India and Wes said we shouldn’t come home until we finished it. So in India, not only did we live out things we already wrote about — went on a train, visited these different things — not only did we walk around and act out the scenes that took place at temples, to see which lines could work, kind of modify the lines we’d already had, India informed the second half. So in the first half, we informed India, which is what these brothers do, it was kind of our own personal things that were happening, and then the second half was kind of a symbiotic experience. A lot of the things that happened to us in India become the movie. And also we did a lot of casting, we ended up seeing a kid with a cricket ball inside his hand and we said, ‘Hey will you be in our movie just as a kid with a cricket ball.’ And so I don’t think Wes ever wanted to cast India — ‘cast India’ — is kind of funny, because there’s so many castes there — but he just wanted to use whatever was natural to incorporate.
Did you write the short film ‘Hotel Chevalier (available at www.hotelchevalier.com) with the purpose making it the first part of ‘Darjeeling’? Or did it get written into ‘Darjeeling’ after the fact?
It was kind of a weird timing thing. We’d already begun writing the feature film, but we were only a month and a half to two months into it. So we had the opening scene and a bunch of discussed ideas, and Wes called me on the phone and read me this short film. And it was nothing like what we’d been writing, because our movie was about three guys in India, and now he’s reading me this thing about a guy with an awkward encounter in a hotel in Paris.
So I was loving what I was hearing, but I was curious as to what I was experiencing. And he said, ‘Do you like that?’ And I said, ‘Oh I love it. What is it?’ And he said, ‘It’s a short film I want to make with you and Natalie Portman and I want to make it as soon as we can.’ (We ended up making it many months later.) And I said great, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know yet what it is but I just wrote it and I feel like we need to make it.’ The more we talked about the character and what he was going through and we talked to Roman, and we all realized, you know what? This guy is the same character as the character I’m playing in the movie!
And then we thought, ‘OK, well, now we have a short film where I play the same character as I do in the feature film. So how is this going to work? So as we kept writing the feature film we were trying to get the short made and keep writing the feature film. So by the time we went to shoot the short, which ended up being a year before we made ‘Darjeeling Limited,’ we had about a fourth of a script written.
And we thought, ‘Well this will definitely not be part of the feature film, because we already knew we wanted to have one flashback, so we didn’t want to have two.’ So we thought, ‘Maybe this film will just be a short movie that will be a companion piece to the film that will kind of inform the audience as to what’s happening with my character.’ Then we were kind of on the fly because we realized well we hadn’t finished writing the feature film, but there’s got to be stuff from it that we want to sprinkle in from the short. So for instance, in the short, film Natalie puts something into my luggage, it’s a brown package. And in the feature film I open it and it’s a bottle of perfume. Well when we shot the short, we thought she puts something in the luggage but we didn’t know what it was. So we shot three different takes of one small brown package, one medium package, and one large brown box. And later we thought oh OK it can be perfume so let’s get the medium package
And then we were really in a pickle when we finished the film because we loved the Bill Murray opening and Wes wrote it first and it was always the opening it WAS the opening. So we thought what will this short be? Does it go before, or …? And then we thought why don’t we just put it out online, have it be downloadable andk, ideally, how Wes wanted it be is everyone goes to the theater and watches the short film and has a glass of white wine and discusses it and then they watch the feature film, but you can’t do that in the theater these days. Because he wanted space between the two. So then we decided to make it downloadable, but next week it’s going to come out in front of the film.
Note: “Hotel Chevalier” will screen before “The Darjeeling Limited” at certain Austin theaters, including Alamo South, beginning Friday.
Permalink | | Categories: Movies
Out & About errs
One benefit of Internet reporting is that you can correct errors right away. Some mistakes make it into hard-copy print, however, which is much more difficult to erase.
Take the following excruciating examples from the past couple of weeks:
The Austin club magnate spells his name Matt Luckie, not Lucky.
The Foundation closed months ago, despite its ghost appearances on VH1’s “The Pickup Artist.”
The swank lounge on Fourth Street is called 219 West. The equally swank, but long-gone restaurant on West Sixth was called 612 West.
Andy Brown (right) is running for Travis County Democratic Party Chairman, not National Democratic Party Chairman.
Permalink | | Categories: Media
Tributes to an Avatar
The exotically wrapped gifts piled up like tributes to an eastern potentate. Which was apt, because Austin’s bejeweled Style Avatar — the title is derived from the Sanskrit — celebrated his 50th birthday in lavish style, attended by hundreds of his devoted followers Friday. The jutting terraces of the Cat Mountain Clubhouse lit up for Stephen Moser, who is looking sleeker every day.
The Avatar flanked by Mark Ashby (Mark Ashby Design) and Nina Seely (Ralph Lauren)
Mayor Will “GQ” Wynn delivered a plush proclamation in honor of the official Stephen McMillan Moser Day. Big guns in the local fashion industry — Linda Asaf, Anthony Camargo, etc. — were there, as was the evening’s host with the most, Cliff Redd of the Long Center for the Performing Arts. We met shopper to the stars Nina Seely, who said that, the first day of fall, cashmere was bounding off the shelves at Ralph Lauren. Also working the crowd with agility was Andy Brown, candidate for the Travis County Democratic Party chairman. (Check his Web site for his endorsements.)
Scads of smart people grabbed my arm for a chat, and I was overcome by that disconnected feeling no social columnist should ever acknowledge: I could positively identify only one in five faces. Clearly, in each case, we had spoken before, and I was able to pick up the conversational threads after a beat or two, but I must have looked ridiculous on each first encounter. The ways in which I can humiliate myself are countless.
Images — better than the ones I took — are promised from Moser’s talented photographers. I’ll post as soon as they arrive.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Style
Willie Nelson gets his reward
The Hollywood posse that included the Wilson Brothers, Woody Harrelson and Jessica Simpson — in town to shoot Willie Nelson’s music video of “You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore” — did not make an appearance at the Erwin Center dinner honoring the musician for his peace efforts Friday. But Austin musicians, academics, sports leaders and media figures saluted Nelson as he accepted the first Bridging Divides award for conflict resolution.
“He’s the antenna of the age in terms of socially engaged artists,” said Gavin Garcia, executive director of Humanitarians Engaged in Respectful Dialogue, the nonprofit group that sponsored the event in conjunction with the University of Texas. “He’s made a huge footprint in the peace and conflict area.”
Also lionized in the center’s Lone Star Room was Madeline Maxwell, the School of Communications professor who helped start the UT Project on Conflict Resolution.
The highlight of the evening was a surprise performance of the Nelson-penned “A Peaceful Solution” by five of his six children.
“It all came from a dream I had,” said Amy Nelson, among the most musical of the siblings. “Or at least the title did.”
The song has already been recorded by more than 60 artists. (That’s Paula bussed by her daddy, with Jimmie Dale Gilmore sharing the stage.)
Gilmore and his son Colin — now a regular team on the benefit circuit — performed, as did Ray Wylie Hubbard and the Lucky Tomblin Band. Coaching legends Darrell Royal and Jody Conradt were also in attendance, as was documentary maker Andrew Shapner, director of “Before the Music Dies,” who was filming his comic take on spiritual philosophy, “Happiness Is …”
A video tribute to Nelson included praise for his independence and humanitarian efforts from Dennis Hopper, Bob Dylan and regular fans, including farmers who have benefited from Farm Aid.
Evan Smith, perhaps the town’s most recognizable emcee and editor of Texas Monthly, announced that Nelson would, for his upcoming 75th birthday, appear on the magazine’s cover for a record seventh time, just beating out his sometime political target, President George Bush.
Photos by Jay Janner
Permalink | | Categories: Fame
La Dolce Vita and Arts on Real
The Austin Museum of Art people must bribe the weather gods, because they scored a Perfect 10 for La Dolce Vita, the grandaddy of Austin food and wine tastings. Last night, the Mediterranean weather fit gracefully the Mediterranean villa on the Laguna Gloria grounds, illuminated by the moonlight glowing orbs.
By coincidence, my first bite was a juicy shrimp corn dog from Moonshine. My first taste of the vine was a pleasant, none too oaky chardonnay from Becker Vineyards. We wished we could stay the whole evening, wandering the F. Scott Fiztgerald partyscape, but were booked at another event across town.
Before scampering, we ran into Zachary Scott Theatre’s new managing director Elisbeth Challener, who moved here from Silicon Valley with management consultant and software outsourcer hubbie Brett Bachman. At a later event, caught up with Zach Scott designer Michael Raiford, who filled me in on the current renovations of both company spaces, crucial because its new theater, with the Karen Kuykendall stage, won’t open for five years — at the earliest.
Brett Bachman and Elisbeth Challener
HRW textbook marketer Sergio Durante (“Like Jimmy, with the nose to match,” he says) with volunteer decor madman and philanthropist Larry Connelly
Striking in matched black Robert Van Delden (whose family owns Union Park and its new Boom Boom Room, which Van Delden says is decorated in “‘70s porno velvet’”) and Tam Tran from the Beauty Store Spa and Salon out in Westlake
Thomas Fuqua of Worldwide Express with museum volunteer Margot McCann, who — bless her! — introduced the portable plates cum stemware holders to La Dolce Vita
This foursome teased each other mercilessly, about everything: Matthew Boyda, Caitlin Bowdish, Laura Radney and Brent Lane
As the real moon rose, we raced over to Art on Real to see Blake Yelavich’s hit adaptation “Cellbloq.” The term “gay theater” might seem redundant, but Austin is lucky to host a company that maintains such a playful and indulgent relationship with its core community. A new set of theater posters in the lobby recall Naughty Austin hits from the past, including its greatest, “Pageant.” The current show, starring adult entertainers Matthew Rush and Parker Williams, is as silly as it is salacious. Just what the audience ordered.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Fun
Three parties, one night
The night started with a boom at the Guitartown event at the GSD&M Idea City on West Sixth Street, which looks like a glistening movie set at night. People in the music business know the Gibson Guitar folks can throw a party and they decked out the terraces, lobby and courtyard with small and large versions of their public art guitars for the night’s high profile auction.
Right away, we ran into Sam Hurt, whose strips, “Eyebeam” and “Queen of the Universe,” ruled the comics pages in the 1980s and ’90s. He’s been painting a lot lately, spending more time on each piece, but he’s contributing a new “Eyebeam” to the Austin Chronicle. He hung with David Murray of Murray Music, who shared spiky stories about touring — and sharing bunks — with Mike Judge, who later used Murray songs on “Beavis and Butthead.”
We chatted with Rick Culleton, owner of Discount Electronics out on Anderson Road, who is celebrating the store’s 10th anniversary, in part, by bidding on a giant guitar (he arrived with a $20,000 budget). He was one of the anxious partiers carrying numbered auction paddles. … And we met, at long last, glamorous news anchor Michelle Valles, along with Melanie Ridings, program officer for the Topfer Foundation, which is up to $60 million in the endowment, and pays out $6 million to $7 million most years to worthy groups.
By the way, we hear Bobbi Topfer’s March of Dimes event Sunday at the Four Seasons raised $840,000, in part because Mercedes Benz of Austin owner Bryan Hardeman put two Cabriolets up for raffle, bringing in $150,000. For its part, the Guitartown event snagged $589,000 for local charities. And they say Austinites are not generous.
The second stop: Grand Opening for Michael Girard’s Imperia on Colorado Street, the all-purpose, honeycombed Asian restaurant, lounge, bar and meeting venue. We talked with managing partner CK Chin, who beamed with pride amid the sophisticated panels of black and cream, courtesy of celebrity designers Dick Clark and Joel Mozersky. Chin is pleased with the steady flow of customers, many of them ultra-fit and clad in slinky wear, and he hopes to blow out a Chinese New Year celebration in 2008.
Made the acquaintance of Rob Smith, originally from Australia, who is promoting 42 Below vodka, an ultra-smooth New Zealand product, unfurled by Bacardi in three cities: New York, Los Angeles and Austin. He credits our town’s demographics. … We talked to Internet honcho Enrique Rangel and horror movie queen Tara Wood, who just sold her latest Austin-filmed production, “Pineapple,” and said of the joint: “It’s just what Austin neede: classy, loungy. Every place Michael Girard opens is right on the heartbeat of what’s next in this city.”
Finally, it was back to Qua on Fourth Street, for what seemed to be its fourth opening party. The underwater-themed club is already a hit with the 25 to 35 set, despite protests from PETA about the sharks and rays swimming in the tanks below the dance floor. The animal rights group says several sharks have already died; club spokesman Bill Noll said they were being treated humanely and that an aquarium specialist dons a wetsuit daily to clean the tank and care for the sea creatures. The owner is also bringing in an acoustical consultant to see if the animals would be harmed by dancing, which is now restricted by roping. (We’ll let the owners and the activists slug it out. Both sides have points, and I understand that our environmental reporter is investigating.)
We chatted with movie producer Anthony Colby, whose Austin-filmed romantic drama, “Changing the Odds,” bowed at the Chicago Film Festival. Colby attended Reagan High during the glory football years in the early ’70s and “Odds” is his third cinematic venture. … Ken Domuczicz, an MD from Boston who has lived here for three years, compared the club to something out of Miami or Barcelona. “It has a real European feel,” he said. … We also watched the staff wiping frequent spills from the black, shiny (marble?) floor tiles. All the dark glow inside this club looks urbane, but it might be hard to maintain.
Photos by Bret Gerbe and Larry Kolvorod
author=Michael Barnes author_email=mbarnes@statesman.com
Your A-List: Best Liquor Store
Austin has ordered another shot of Spec’s. The Houston-based beverage giant, only a recent transplant to Central Texas, already won the Your A-List vote for Best Beer and Wine Selection. Now, with 41 percent of the tally, it grabs Best Liquor Store as well.
Why? One possible reason: encyclopedic stock. We recently (and randomly) tested Spec’s selections against a California discount chain, BevMo, and found that the Texas company competed in almost every category, except for West Coast regional specialties.
Ranking second on Your A-List was the homegrown Twin Liquors, with more than 50 stores and 28 percent of the vote. The deliciously named Whip-In took third with 16 percent.
Interestingly, Avery Fine Wine & Spirits drew 85 write-ins, which puts them in fourth place, ahead of five other seeded picks. (“Best of” contests like this thrive on campaigns.)
Wiggy’s and Reuben’s (the latter owned by Twin) both took 6 percent. Centennial, Spirits and Warehouse Liquors snuck onto the list with less than 2 percent apiece.
Other write-ins: Best Liquor, Costco, Davenport Wines and Spirits, Favorite Liquor, Grape Vine Market, King’s and Travis Heights Beverage World.
Permalink | | Categories: Your A-List
Your A-List: Best Movie Theater
When Entertainment Weekly dubs the Alamo Drafthouse mini-chain, “Best Theater In America,” you can bet at least one of the complexes would take the Your A-List vote.
And one did: Alamo South Lamar snatched 31 percent of your votes, while Alamo Lake Creek took 9 percent and Alamo Village 8 percent. So, those theaters owned by the orginal partners and the franchisee (Lake Creek), Alamo — with its generously spaced seats and rails, discreet food and drink service, winking pre-show entertainment and advanced booking philosophy — combined for a near-majority of the total.
The Dobie, owned by California-based Landmark Theatres, didn’t do badly at all. The campus-area art house with the miniature versions of movie palace interiors, gained 29 percent of the votes.
Three from the Regal chain — Gateway, Westgate and Arbor — lagged behind with 3 to 5 percent of the tally.
Round Rock 8, Tinseltown Pflugerville, Galaxy Highland, Paramount Theatre, Regal Metropolitan, AMC Barton Creek Square, Bullock Museum IMAX, Cinemark Round Rock, Cinemark Southpark, City Lights, Georgetown, Tinseltown South Austin, Chestnut Square, Bastrop, Regal Lakeline Mall, Starplex and Showplace all took less than 3 percent.
It might surprise some readers that the Paramount and Bullock would score so low. The first hosts the city’s most glamorous premieres, the second is home to the region’s only IMAX. Yet both venues play multiple roles in the community, and may not enter the regular moviegoer’s consciousness as other than special-event locales.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Your A-List
Star-studded Willie Nelson video: Why Jessica Simpson, Woody Harrelson and the Wilsons are in Austin
It takes a Western village to make a music video, if you’re Willie Nelson, working out of his themed movie set on “You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore” on Tuesday. Among the friends making appearances west of Austin: Owen, Luke and Andrew Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Turk Pipkin, Joe “King” Carrasco, Ray Price, Dan Rather, Jessica Simpson, Bobbie Nelson and Mario “Weary Boys” Matteoli. Over the weekend, many of the same stars joined Nelson on his bus for a jog down to the Big State Festival in College Station.
Photo by Laura Skelding/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Permalink | | Categories: Music
Everybody loves Herb Caen. Me? Comme ci, comme sa.
My column last week about San Francisco chronicler Herb Caen sparked some warm memories — and, inevitably, other responses — from readers. Believe it or not, we edited them down a bit.
“Thank you so much for today’s column on San Francisco!! It was the picture of Herb that caught my eye. He was the epitome of San Francisco even though he was a ‘Sacamena kid’; as he was fond of saying. As a San Francisco native, I read his column, every day from 1965 until the day he died and miss him terribly… there will never be another Herb. Everyone recognized that he couldn’t be replaced. I live in the Austin area now, and would love it if there were a daily column as rich in Austin lore as Herb’s was in San Francisco. Are you up for the challenge? If today’s column is a typical example of your writing skills, you can do it!” — Sharon Rinaldi
“Thank you for the article on San Francisco and Herb Caen. I was born and raised in San Francisco. In my home, we first perused the front page of the Chronicle and then turned to the second section to read the left hand column. When he went on vacation he was sorely missed. I hope you will be able to find more of his books. They are the true story of how San Fran used to be. Thank you again. — Mary Anne Campbell
“Thank you for your wonderful article in today’s paper. Being from the CA Bay area, it brought back so many wonderful experiences we too, have enjoyed; Herb Caen’s column, being one of them. I get so tired of reading the Kelso, knock the Californians for coming to Texas jibberish. If Texans were half as accepting of people’s differences as most Californians, I would be happier living here. I will miss your column and your open mindedness, as we will be going home soon.” — Carol Grace
“This is a fan letter and, ironically, the only other one I have ever written was to none other than Herb Caen. I’ve been reading your columns and thoroughly enjoying them. I am fortunate enough to have lived in San Francisco from 1969-1993. I’ve now been in Austin for eight years and have always compared the two cities because of their beauty, water access, fabulous food and a very eclectic populace. I lived downtown at the Golden Gateway Center and watched the Bank of America being completed; the foundation pour of the Transamerica Pyramid and the building of Embarcadero Center, among other things. I haven’t had abalone in about a million years and my mouth watered for it. Such an incredible delicacy… I won’t bore you with a lot of my memories, but Herb Caen was the most important person in San Francisco and I read his column each morning. When I wrote my fan letter to him, it was basically to tell him that I wished he wouldn’t take his much-needed vacation each year as we citizens were all left without our daily dose of his incredible humor. I look forward to reading your columns for years to come!” — Donise L. Hardy
“Your recent excellent column featuring San Francisco columnist Herb Caen triggered memories of a long-ago incident. While stationed by the Navy in San Francisco in the early 60s, we all read Herb Caen, and discussion of his eclectic column was a daily event. I continued to follow Herb in the Honolulu newspaper after transfer to Hawaii in 1963. In about 1965, while waiting In the Disneyland Hotel for the shuttle to L.A. International and back to Hawaii, I slipped into the bar and ordered a beer with tomato juice. A woman nearby asked what was that I was drinking. I said, ‘Beer and tomato juice.’ ‘What do you call it?” Having never thought about it having a name, nevertheless I responded with a superior air, ‘Beer and tomato juice.’ The next day an item in Herb’s column in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin announced that down in Orange County (maybe it said Disneyland) a new bar drink was being featured—the ingredients, beer and tomato juice and called, ‘Beer And Tomato Juice.’” — Bill Groce
“I grew up in the Bay Area, 58 years worth, and spent my whole life reading Herb Caen — the SF institution — leaving to move to Austin the year before he died. Buddy, you are so far off emulating Caen, it’s laughable! There is absolutely no resemblance to the Herb Caen I knew and loved and your attempt at simulation of him. You’ll never make it, dude! And using Livermore, for God’s sake, as the northern California Plano, is the most absurd thing I think I have ever read! Get real! I bet you get all kinds of mail on that stupid statement. Livermore? That is such a joke! So they have a winery there — so what? That doesn’t make it a Plano or anything else like that! Get real!” — Bobbie Mabry
“I lived in the Bay Area for awhile and always read Herb Caen, so thanks for your tribute to him in today’s paper. Enjoyed reading it!” — Sheila Scarborough
“As a native Californian and Bay Area resident until our move to Austin 10 years ago, I really, really enjoyed your column today. I especially loved reading about Herb Caen as he was such a favorite of mine. His witty and easy-going three dot journalism had an influence on my own writing at the time … maybe I should just say I tried to emulate his style and I’m afraid the three dot part has stuck with me all these years. I’m also proud to say that a tidbit I sent him about something I spotted during my morning commute into the city appeared in his column in 1983, my name and all. Then, he actually sent me a note typed on the trusty Royal … on his letterhead and signed Herb, thanking me for sending him the item and hoping that I saw it. That note is a real treasure of mine. He was known for personally thanking every item contributor. Now, those were the good ol’ days. When he retired from the column because of his illness in 1996, I sent him a letter thanking him for all he’d done for us in the Bay Area and for being the terrific guy he was.” — Michelle Grant
“I loved your article about San Francisco and Herb Caen. Thanks!” — Matt Dow
“I really enjoyed the column about your Northern California trip. I lived there for 10 years before moving to Austin and return frequently. (I moved here in 1989 so please don’t blame me for the influx although I realize I may have started a trend). I have been a fan of Nancy Oakes since some friends met us for dinner at her L’Avenue, way out on Clement St, before she opened Boulevard. When I couldn’t decide on an entree, my friend said, ‘I just order whatever comes with the porcini mashed poatoes.’ They were so good I’ve been trying to recreate them ever since ( I can get pretty close). I try to eat a Boulevard at least once whenever I’m back. These same friends have a house outside of Healdsburg and one summer we stopped at Seghesio vineyards on our way back from the grocery to try their Zinfandel. We took a couple bottles home, they were about $12.00 at the time, and we pretty much went through Seghesio like water for the rest of the week. I could find it a couple of places when I got back to Austin but, unfortunately, I think we single-handedly drove up the price and now I can only afford it on a semi-splurge basis!” — Fritz Wiedemann
“I have been reading your columns for your entire writing career for the Austin American Statesman and really like your writing style. I know from today’s column that you have a new Out and About column to write and I want to share my thoughts and feelings with you. The last two columns —or maybe they were your first two — left me feeling rather negative. The column about the new club coming to Austin was too pretentious and too condescending to the owner — I was not impressed with his heritage, money or killing of animals on safari. The nature/mood of the club sounds way too New York or too L.A. — both places that we Austinites would rather not emulate. Today’s column praising San Francisco sounded like a travel brochure written by the San Franciso Chamber of Commerce. I have never been to SF and am definitely planning a trip there one day so I couldn’t relate to the article at all. I did not see the analogy between SF and Austin. Why make the comparison anyway? I was born and raised here in Austin and love our city. I don’t want us to become just another high dollar yuppie mecca that looks with nostalga at the Austin that “was.” For example, South Congress used to be so wonderful, unique and eclectic — now it is becoming another strip of expensive boutiques and restaurants and losing its charm. Austin is a charming city and we have charming people. I want the people that move here to become charming also not make us snooty. I don’t feel that you have found your stride yet and writing from your heart. Maybe you could make that column whatever your passion is and what reflects your style. You are a great writer and, in my humble opinion, have the ability to make this a great column.” — Bonnie Carothers
“I enjoyed your column today, especially all the SF references and your mention of Sonoma County and Boulevard. Now that enough time has passed, I have this to say: for all the hype of Boulevard:, I can have three wonderful meals at Castle Hill for what I paid at Boulevard. Austin eateries are just as cutting edge and creative and your dining dollars go a helluva lot further here than there, although I too enjoyed the Zin there. Better more interesting meals were had at Visit Thai on Lower Haight (which is one of the most interesting neighborhoods in SF) and in little joints on Valencia. I did Napa in 1975 and while I’m amazed how the No Cal wine country has matured; the Hill Country today reminds me a lot of Napa then and makes me hopeful, especially with the funky (Driftwood Winery) butting up against the fab (Mandiola’s) just down the road. As for records in SF, Amoeba Records has volume but not necessarily the cool of real indie record shops. It’s so big that it has put a lot of indies out of business there. Next time, check out Jack’s which is mentioned in my blog, and 101 Records in North Beach. They don’t have Amoeba’s volume, but pack plenty of atmosphere and guarantee plenty of discoveries.” — Joe Nick Patoski
Permalink | | Categories: Media
Owen Wilson, Shirley MacLaine, Ben McKenzie, Peter Bay and more
Notorious: Looks like Owen Wilson — never more likeable — is back on the mend. He spent part of the weekend in Austin, staying at the Four Seasons Hotel with brother Luke. Another Texan, Woody Harrelson, tagged along with the siblings to the Big State Festival in College Station. …
What you may not have heard about the Shirley MacLaine Paramount visit last week: She wants to conduct a three-day workshop on spirituality here early next year. We’ll keep you posted. …
Former “O.C.” star Ben McKenzie was spotted at Gruv club, the former Fabric, on Fifth Street on Friday. And for all the stir about the velvet rope at Pangaea, I’ve noticed perhaps a half dozen clubs, including Gruv, with social dividers at the door recently.
Austin Symphony Orchestra conductor Peter Bay and his wife, Sarajane, are expecting a little prodigy in the spring, right after the opening of the Long Center. Sincere congratulations.
People magazine confirms that Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan are engaged. Still no comment from the couple.
All this, on top of Elton John, Andy Roddick, Mia Hamm, Lance Armstrong, Brad Buckman, John Milius, Oliver Stone, Terry George and so much more this week in Austin. Yes, Leslie, the city is changing.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Fame
Elton John plays for Andy Roddick
A stray tourist cutting through the sixth floor of the Austin Hilton on Sunday could be forgiven for thinking out loud: “That party hired a pretty darn good Elton John impersonator.”
It was the real Sir John, performing gratis for the Andy Roddick Foundation fundraiser, which, in just a few years, has become a heavy charity hitter. Pounding an amplified piano that sounded like an entire band, John donated, by my count, a dozen songs, which is 11 more than Norah Jones did at “The Hottest State” premiere last month.
As I reported earlier today, three groups of as-of-yet-unidentified bidders pooled $428,000 to dine at one of John’s homes, a surprise — and seemingly improvised — final auction item. That’s some serious dollars, although the rocker knows how to work these events, having raised more than $125 million for AIDS charities.
Celebrities, including Lance Armstrong, soccer whiz Mia Hamm and Boyd Tinsley (from the Dave Matthews Band), cheered at tiny Tanner Putnam handed a check for $1,200 to his idol, Roddick. Putnam gave up his ninth birthday gifts and raised money from friend to benefit the foundation.
Gov. Rick Perry thanked Roddick for making Austin home and invited Sir John to settle here. Maybe the guv didn’t realize that the musician’s marriage to David Furnish wouldn’t be valid in Texas.
I shared my Siberian media table with radio innovator Bobby Bones, People magazine correspondent Alicia Dennis and Austin Monthly publisher Lyn Brady.
Karen Landa, Daley Dewey, Mary Herr and Rusty Tally (the Long Center duo recently engaged)
Kellie McCann, Carmen Effron and Caroline Cruickshank
Quick note: It was bound to happen sooner or later. Sunday, I showed up at the wrong party. I talked my way into the March of Dimes fundraiser at the Four Seasons, thinking it was the Roddick event. Had an amusing few minutes as the “Havana Nights” theme swirled around me.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Out
Toasting Chef Donald at Caswell House
You can tell a party hits the spot when the newspaper’s social columnist stays much later than planned. That’s what happened at the Caswell House during a 25th anniversary salute to Lowell Lebermann’s chef Donald Wertz on Saturday. Word of mouth provided the grub, with some assistance for Wertz, who beamed like a daddy throughout. One appetizer — spiced quail — was a particular hit, which was appropriate, since Wertz reports that’s the Centex Beverage kingpin and philanthropist’s favorite dishes.
“He’s old-fashioned,” says Wertz. “And so am I.” The chef recalls his audition meal 25 years ago: Mint smoked leg of lamb.
The party also served as a reunion for Lebermann’s clean-cut aides, who escort and read to the man who lost part of his vision in a childhood accident; the later, before starting businesses and supporting Democratic causes. Almost all — if not all — of the aides were brothers at Kappa Alpha, Lebermann’s own fraternity, and, because of their preppie looks, were affectionately called “seeing Izods.”
They’ve mostly gone on to careers in law, banking, real estate, etc., but enjoyed telling anecdotes, including those involving the ghost of Frank Erwin, who previously owned Lebermann’s Woodlawn home. (He’s renovating another down the street.)
Rachel Tice, Michael Green, David Kalb and Scott Flack
Patrick McCord and Kathy Sangster
Jamie Carsey, Will Casey, Rick Knight and Cay Knight
Donald Wertz
Host Lowell Lebermann, extolling the skills of Chef Donald.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Food
Visiting royalty at the Symphony Jewel Ball
Tromping through preparations for the Symphony Jewel Ball at the Austin Hilton on Saturday was something like researching an exotic tribe on an isolated island. The Symphony Guild has been throwing these royally themed events for 53 years, this time attracting more than 1,300 dressed-to-the-nines partyers and raising in the range of $250,000 for the Austin Symphony Orchestra.
The cast of characters is startling enough in our egalitarian age: Belles, princesses, queens, kings, escorts, diamonds, etc. This year’s Diamond, who reins as queen during the ball and is always a college sophomore, junior or senior, is Chandler Jones. By way of happy coincidence, the King Brio is her father, Bass family lobbyist Buddy Jones.
(The King is elected by the Symphony Knights, a younger organization meant to match the service of the all-female Guild. The princesses royal and their escorts are children or grandchildren of particularly active Guild members, who spent more than a year planning the ball, while other Texas guilds send representatives as well.)
The big addition this year is the new robe for Diamond Chandler. The old one was retired after 31 years of service, replaced by a Victorian dazzler designed by Guild member Missy Harris with help from former Austin designer Bill Shoop. It’s a creamy brocade embroidered with musical instruments in silver thread and was constructed in New York, California and India.
You gotta admit: The symphony backers spare no expense. I stayed for the reception, but not for the full presentation and ball, having another engagement. But I’ll definitely return next year for this singular social setting.
Natalie Windner, an Austin journalism student, practicing the traditional “deep Texas bow”
Escort Trey Thigpin, proud mater Robin Thigpin, and another Escort Jon Moscoe, whose mother and sister I had met at “The Hottest State” premiere. Small town.
Diamond Chandler’s robe, which would make Queen Victoria green.
King Buddy with unidentified knight-errant
Classy Madame Bovary dress worn by princess mother Kelly Hiten
Subtle fashion modeled by the helpful Sidney Jones, not closely related to the King and Diamond (“I can’t keep up with those Joneses.”)
Secretary of the (real) Texas Senate Betty King, in a stunning black beaded top
BBQ and surfing at the Austin Film Festival
The one event everyone attending the Austin Film Festival refuses to miss is the Friday afternoon barbecue. Formerly held at the Governor’s Mansion, this year the cue-and-brew party spilled out over the mild lawns of the French Legation. (Bets on who many visitors or locals know anything about the history of this embassy dating from the Republic of Texas era?)
We caught up with publicist Karen Frost and her friend Jeff Henke; production designer Cary White from “Friday Night Lights,” who informed me that FNL has banked only a few scripts, with a writer’s strike looming, and producer Elizabeth Avellan, whose “Queen of the South” and her break-up with director Robert Rodriguez were the subects of a recent New York Times story; Michael Bartlett and Hiram Bleetman from England, promoting “The Zombie Diaries” and the blog makingthefilm.com; Terry George, Academy Award-winner for “Hotel Rwanda” who is pushing his latest, “Reservation Road” (off the record, we discussed the campfire that is “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), and left waving goodbye to Texas Film Commission location scout Lindsey Ashley and husband John (want to know much more about her fascinating job).
Karen Frost and Jeff Henke
Elizabeth Avellan and Cary White
Terry George
Michael Bartlett and Hiram Bleetman
John and Lindsey Ashley
Later, in our next festival advenutre, we watched “Big Wednesday” at the Bullock Theater — hair-raising surf action, but the booming music, epic camera work and homophilic stoicism caused my accidental seating companion to whisper “is this a surf Western?” After the screening, writer/director John Milius, more of a teddy bear than the gruff he-man of repute, talked about his own serious surfing (he lived out of his car for two years), the autobiographical elements in the story (there was a surfer named “Masochist,” for instance), and how his stars, Jan-Michael Vincent, Gary Busey and William Katt didn’t know how to surf (Katt was passable; Busey not at all). Milius taught them to paddle and turn, but when a really big surge headed in their direction, they wisely scrammed.
Permalink | | Categories: Movies
Andy Roddick at home in Austin
“Austin helps me find my balance,” says America’s top-ranked tennis player, Austinite Andy Roddick, who mellows here during the few weeks he is not competing ferociously on the pro circuit.
We spent a chunk of Friday with Roddick, his brother John, his sister-in-law Ginger and their friends at the Westwood Country Club near his Mount Bonnell-area lakefront house. For the first hour, Andy practiced at top intensity, as if returning to the finals of the U.S. Open, with brother John, his touring coach, and lanky University of Georgia rising star John Isner. Shirtless and dripping sweat on this brilliant but warm fall day, he grunted with each deadly swing, and when he missed his mark, which was rare, Roddick swore (mildly) at himself.
During short breaks, the Roddicks horsed around, indulging in their agile wit. John R. shared some childhood anecdotes that motivated Andy R. to vault high-speed balls in his direction when they returned to the court. (We’ll share the printable ones when we publish a more complete profile later this year.)
Later, over Andy’s “best chicken salad in the world,” we talked about books (he’s reading the last “Harry Potter”), movies (he likes anything with Will Ferrell), restaurants (his favorite: Moonshine), festivals (it steams him that he must miss SXSW and ACL every year), shopping for jeans with his dimensions (enormous thighs and glutes, tiny waist), home cooking (omelettes, etc.), recreation (his Motorcraft X45 — but no waterskiing or anything that endangers his knees — and a newfound obsession, golf, mostly at Spanish Oaks or Barton Creek), the Davis Cup (he’s one of the few American tennis stars who take it so seriously), Austin as a tennis town (surprise: UT dominates all sports here), his blog (where he zings he friends regularly) and his 10 years of youth in Austin, including school at Kirby Hall, family of high-octane athletes, and his unusually high heat tolerance.
Oh, and why this is the only place he ever wants to live. We promise much more in a future profile.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Sports
Meeting of minds at the film festival
“It’s like a singles bar,” said the well-established producer.
“Without the hierarchies,” said the Ph.D. in psychology.
The Austin Film Festival brings out the anthropologist in the screenwriters, producers and fans who crush into the openings and panels, mingle over big drinks at the Driskill Hotel bar and contribute to the early-fall buzz on downtown streets.
We caught the opening night selection, “Chicago 10,” Brett Morgan’s smashingly effective mixture of documentary footage about the riots at the 1968 Democratic convention and the following show trial, and animated re-enactments of the courtroom drama (helped enormously by an ear-shaking soundtrack). Refer to John DeFore’s capsule review on the Austin Movies blog, and expect a longer version when the film opens for what will inevitably be a long local run.
Then I spent time conversing with filmmakers, documentarians and techies about the looming writer’s strike (key issues: webcasts and writing for reality shows), Flash solutions to encrypting personal entertainment products, the differences in the body language at SXSW and AFF (the latter appears more collegial), and sharing a coach cabin with Jenna Bush and her Secret Service agents en route to Austin.
UT art history major Abigail Winograd with distant relative Herschel Weingrod, writer or co-writer of “Trading Places,” “Brewster’s Millions,” “Twins,” “Kindergarten Cop” and “Space Jam”
Documentary-maker Carrie Amestoy and fellow Georgian screenwriter/journalist Phillip Ramati, quarterfinalist last year for “Nightstrike,” which was optioned by English producer Alistair Clarke
Juan Conchas, co-founder of Movies in a Flash, and Holly Wonder, psychologist and screenwriter, both excellent conversationalists on technology and humanity
Toy developer Susan Kei and “Splitsville” screenwriter Rick Williams, both from LA
They also liked “Chicago 10” — Michelle Jordan, who works at Sillouette, and Brett Bays, formerly of Storm the Tower, memorable subject of an XL cover story about a band traveling on the road with an infant. “Turns out babies don’t like eight-hour drives,” he jokes.
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Food and Film shindig at the Driskill Hotel
Some annual Austin shindigs have built reputations that elaborate with each incarnation, and the Food and Film party that kicks off the Austin Film Festival is a guaranteed guest magnet. Spreading out through the ballrooms and upper lobbies of the palatial Driskill Hotel, it offers samples of chefly artistry as well as drinkes from distributors eager to push the next Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
This year, the hands-down favorite was 360 Vodka — no relation to this Web site — a corn-based beverage from Atchison, Kan. with a green reputation, amplified by its promo coaster, made of biodegradable material and flower seeds, so you could toss them in your garden, and, lo, color!
I ran into scads of people, mostly members of the esteemed media, not filmmakers, but I expect to encounter more of the movie types the rest of the festival weekend.
Olga Campos and Grace Sharington
Alex Earle, Elissa Underwood and Blake Taylor
Carla Spears, Gigi Bryant (who I met at a wild Dave Steakley party), her husband Sam Bryant and Magik 95.5’s Mo Browne
Katy Gunn and Ben Colvard
Tammie Ward and (glad to be out of politics and looking great for it) Joanie Bentzin
Jennifer Wijangco (last seen with Scott Porter from “Friday Night Lights” at another party) and Max Redd (scion of the Long Center’s Cliff!)
Permalink | | Categories: Food
Qua launch parties — with sharks
Every club seems to need a water element these days, and Qua, the $2.5 million venue on Fourth Street, invites the passerby with a bountiful flow of liquid tumbling over stones. Right away you realize the patio has been cut out of the building’s facade, creating an almost tropical grotto with its own small, curved bar and nestling areas.
The eye is drawn, however, inextricably downward to the bluish glow of water deeper in the club. Past massive, jeweled columns — plus more bars and niches — one finally glimpses Qua’s aquatic marquee act: The sharks and rays making cursive figures beneath the transparent dance floor in a 7-foot-deep tank.
It’s at once retro — remember tanks tucked underneath dance floors in the ’70s? — and up to the moment, since Austin clubs now compete fiercely for thematic dominance. (Imperia and Pangaea are only the latest entries, along with Qua.) The underwater theme is a tad campy, but also alluring, especially when the crowd is as attractive and multivaried as it was Wednesday night for the second of three opening night parties. (The public is welcome Friday, but you must be 25 or up. No kiddies allowed.)
We chatted with club designer Benny Siegert, who also contributed the distinctive looks for Vicci, Treasure Island and Pure, owner Mike Yassine, who has quietly put together a club empire to rival Matt Luckie’s or Michael Girard’s. My gracious guide for the evening was photographer Bill Noll, who understands what a social columnist is looking for.
I will not be ordering the $4,000 bottle of Cognac, imprisoned behind glass at the rear of the club, which offers a limited bottle service. But I will return to the relaxing vibe, which, we hear, lured Willie Nelson into its underwater lair last night.
Owner Mike Yassine and photographer Bill Noll (to clarify, these are not his amateurish snaps, but rather your columnists’)
Qua’s shark tank, before dancers
The first, brave ones
One of several bars at Qua
One of many niches at Qua
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Nobelist Doris Lessing’s Ransom connection
More breaking books news from Pat Beach:
Upon awarding Doris Lessing the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature Thursday, the committee called her “that epicist of the human experience.” A portion of that epicist’s archive resides at the Ransom Center at the University of Texas.
The prize is sure to enhance interest in — and the value of — Lessing’s archive, which includes a heavily revised manuscript of her 1985 novel, “The Good Terrorist,” master galleys of “Canopus in Argus” and rare typescripts. The Ransom Center acquired Lessing’s papers in 1999, bolstering its collection of 20th Century women writers’ archives, including Anne Sexton and Carson McCullers.
To browse a preliminary inventory of Lessing’s papers, go to www.hrc.utexas.edu.
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Your A-List: Best Gym
So what do you want from a gym? Equipment. Training. Hygiene (thank you). A social community. Convenience.
While almost all Austin gyms can offer the first four, perhaps the reason you chose Gold’s as the Best Gym in the Your A-List poll is the final element: Convenience. With a good dozen outlets in the Austin area, the veteran chain squeaked into first place with 19 percent of the vote.
Not far behind, at 17 percent, was Pure Austin Fitness, which offers only a couple of locations, but one right across the street from lifestyle magnet Whole Foods, and 24 Hour Fitness, at 16 percent, with three modern facilities.
Taking 10 percent or less were Lifetime Fitness, YMCA, UT’s Gregory Gym, Castle Hill, Hyde Park Gym, The Hills Fitness Center, Premiere Lady, Curves, South Austin Gym, Oxygen Fitness, World Gym, 1-2-3 Fit and Liberty Fitness. Write-ins were Austin Fitness Center, Body Business and Wild Basin Fitness.
You may not believe this, but I don’t spend a whole lot of time in gyms. But since a recent national travel poll cited Austin as the American city with the “Most Athletic” population, perhaps many of you readers do. Good for you.
Permalink | | Categories: Your A-List
Your A-List: Best Live Music Venue
Austinites like it outdoors. The two Best Music Venues in the Your A-List poll are Stubb’s (29 percent of the vote) and The Backyard (23 percent). The first is smack dab in the middle of the Red River entertainment district downtown and includes an indoor stage as well as famed barbecue eatery, right on Waller Creek. The second is way out in Bee Cave — not so far out any more, right? — once surrounded by wooded hills, now by an upscale shopping center.
But both allow Austinites to let their hair down under the stars, which can be problematic during the steamy summer months. Luckily, both are blessed with convenient drink stations, and the stages — expansive at the Backyard, focused at Stubb’s — can be viewed from the ground level or up above, perched on special terraces.
Antone’s, the venerable blues club credited with sparking much of the modern Austin music scene, came in third with 12 percent of the vote. Emo’s, the three-stage lode star on Red River, copped fourth place with 9 percent. Other candidates included the exquisitely tuned Parish (5 percent), rollicking La Zona Rosa (5 percent), grand dame Paramount Theatre (3 percent), jazzy Elephant Room (3 percent), cabaret-style Beerland (2 percent), Malibu-esque One World Theatre (2 percent), newcomer Mohawk (2 percent) and under-renovation Bass Concert Hall (2 percent.)
Drawing less than one percent of the vote were Red’s Scoot Inn, Ruta Maya, Flamingo Cantina, Red 7, Room 710 and UT’s Hogg Auditorium.
Write-ins included the “Austin City Limits” studio, Cactus Cafe, Continental Club, Donn’s Depot, Ginny’s Little Longhorn, Hill’s Cafe, Hole in the Wall, Momo’s, Nutty Brown Cafe and Saxon Pub.
I’ve been to every one of these venues, and I can attest, there’s a place for every musician and every fan on this list.
Permalink | | Categories: Your A-List
‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ review preview
Amend the epitaphs — Gloriana, the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth Regina — with St. Elizabeth of the Armada.
The sequel “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” — an undisguised platform for Cate Blanchett’s scenery chomping, and why not? — hews neatly to the previous 50 or so movies about the triumphant Elizabeth I (themselves, variations on poems, novels, plays and operas). To the standard themes, however, add another: The beatification of English Protestant standard-bearer Elizabeth as a sort of glowing, waxen totem from the Mediterranean Catholic tradition.
Follow the drama in five acts.
1. Elizabeth in Love: Among the unmarried queen’s suitors and purported lovers, Sir Walter Raleigh figures in only a few dramatizations. And, as far back as Vivien Leigh’s 1938 “Fire over England,” a fetching lady in waiting has served as romantic competitor for Queen Bess; this time, it’s calf-eyed Abbie Cornish. As Raleigh, however, Clive Owen generates sparks with neither mistress, his motionless man mountain falling flat against an emotionally fluent Blanchett.
2. Elizabeth vs. Mary: Playwrights and screenwriters can’t resist a showdown between handsome, headstrong Catholic Mary Queen of Scots and her bonier, strategic-minded Protestant rival. Here, at least, they don’t meet face to face. Blanchett’s Elizabeth pretty much ignores her scheming, imprisoned relative until Mary’s beheading looms, so to speak, over both their heads. Bulbous-featured Samantha Morton plays Mary with an erect dignity and a Scottish brogue (odd, since Mary was raised in France), and handles her climactic arrest with the fury of a cornered animal.
3. Elizabeth vs. Elizabeth: This is often the most telling conflict from the Elizabeth legend. Was she a confident leader, winning domestic and foreign hearts with her wisdom and courage, or a love-lorn woman riddled with doubts about her attractiveness and legitimacy? Not surprisingly, Blanchett is willing to polish up any facet of the queen’s personality, sounding and even looking a bit like regal predecessor Glenda Jackson in certain scenes. (That said, it’s hard to take Blanchett’s insecurity about her looks. Even uglied up, bone structure will out.)
4. Elizabeth at War: Movies have always excelled at battle action, and CGI can make war epic, if not always specific or human. We feel relief when the Spanish Armada finally sets sail, giving us sun-streaked skies, billowing sails and all the familiar romance of the sea. Unfortunately, the battles are muddled, historically and visually, mixing storms, fire ships and cliff-side preparations into a confusing brew. And does anyone buy Raleigh navigating the crucial fire ship into the Spanish fleet, diving from the flames at the last minute?
5. St. Elizabeth: The symbol of a powerful virgin queen has survived since pagan times. (Recall another Virgin elevated to reining status.) In this movie, the religious allusions pile up like prayers for loved ones in Purgatory. Without plausible explanation, almost every scene is shot on a Gothic church set, which stands in for palace, castle, where ever. Elizabeth is often illuminated with beatific beams and she watches over the Channel naval battle like a deus ex machina atop the cliffs of Dover.
In the strangest interlude, the camera swoops around the triumphant Elizabeth as she stands alone, open-armed, glassy-eyed in creamy light, exactly like certain Catholic representations of virginal saints.
Historical dramas rise and fall on their plausible dialogue, and screenwriters William Nicholson and Michael Hirst treat the exposition with brisk assuredness, but then loose control over the stagey declarations — “I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare if you dare to try me” — as the movie progresses. Despite the ongoing mess, director Shekhar Kapur elevates the camera and the tone whenever possible, even if the music is often more portentous than the actual dramas that follow.
A movie made in heaven? Emphatically not. A campy romp with cinema’s favorite queen? Bless me.
Permalink | | Categories: Movies
Denis Johnson short-listed for National Book Award
Since we don’t have a Books Blog (yet), this news from interim books editor Pat Beach goes here:
For the second consecutive year, an Austin-area writer has been named a National Book Award finalist.
Texas State University-San Marcos professor Denis Johnson was nominated for “Tree of Smoke,” a meditation on Vietnam and Pres. Lyndon Johnson. It’s his first novel in nearly a decade. Also nominated in the fiction category were Mischa Berlinski (“Fieldwork”), Lydia Davis (“Varieties of Disturbance”), Joshua Ferris (“Then We Came to the End”) and Jim Shepard (“Like You’d Understand, Anyway.)
Austin author and New Yorker magazine writer Lawrence Wright was a finalist for the 2006 prize in nonfiction for “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,” which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.
The winners will be announced in Manhattan Nov. 14.
Permalink | | Categories: Books
Carl Besetzny is Austin’s Cosmo Bachelor
While viewers follow the travails of Brad Womack, the Austin bartender who must choose a babe-mate on ABC’s “The Bachelor,” another strapping local has been chosen for the Cosmopolitan Magazine Bachelor Contest.
Construction and design consultant Carl Besetzny, 24, builds restaurants and retail stores. He’s lived in Austin for about a year and represents Texas in the pageant, I mean contest. Besetzny’s sister Amanda entered his name and photo, but that information went in one ear and out the other.
“Then about a month later I received a call from someone claiming to be with Cosmo from a distant area code,” he says. “What I thought was a prank turned into me flying out to L.A. and doing a photo shoot at a ranch up in Los Olivos.”
He took his sister along to Los Angeles for the shoot and stayed out all night as her designated driver — another Texas gentleman! — for her 21st birthday celebrations.
Contest collaborator “Entertainment Tonight” is scheduled to run a “Cosmo Bachelor 2007” segment tonight, then the “Today” show will follow with a flesh parade Oct. 18. You may vote at Cosmo’s Web site through Oct. 11.
If you want to contact him directly, ladies, Besetzny has provided an e-mail address: carl@6dgr.com. What turns him on? “I love a woman in white pants,” he says on the Cosmo site. “They always grab my attention.”
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Media
Pangaea pandemonium
Our Page 1 story Sunday on the new safari-themed ultra-lounge, Pangaea, and its owner, Michael Ault, unleashed the types of responses one expects when anything substantially different comes to Austin.
Not all of the opinions represent our city’s “live and let live” philosophy. Here are but a few. Yours are welcome in the commentary box.
“The velvet rope thing is snobbish but, hey, if that’s what (Ault) wants he’ll (hopefully) be paying the city taxes to do so.”
“Give me Saxon Pub any day over that type of place.”
“Austin has plenty of room for a place like this. It certainly doesn’t detract from anything, it just adds something else to the mix.”
“It could work if the music is banging and they take it the bohemian route … keep it accessible … but clearly they dont intend to do that… they better recognize if they wanna survive in the ATX.”
“I hope Ault succeeds there, and makes lots of money. And I hope that the Austinistas that work for him make good money too. What’s not to like about that?”
“The guy obviously has enough $ to keep it afloat for some time … but hopefully, after the luster wears off in 1-2 yrs, sales will dip so low that he’ll just yank it out.”
“Why do people insist on glorifying people like this Ault guy? What is the point of this article? None of this is new to Austin, it’s the same thing as Cuba Libre, Vicci, Belmont, etc etc etc. Clearly this guys ego isn’t big enough already. Why are you people so excited that you are about to give him lots of your money to wait in line with a bunch of douchebags and buy overpriced weak drinks? He’s a rich elitist who opens lame clubs so he can make money off other rich elitists.”
“I have visited Michael Ault’s concepts all over world. Each location is exceptional in its own way however Pangaea is by far his best. Downtown Austin is very lucky to have this kind of quality establishment. Can’t wait!!! Good luck Pangaea Austin!!!”
“I have mixed feelings about this. I tend to go to places like Antone’s and La Zona Rosa to hear good music. I doubt the bands I like would play at such a place or even be asked to play. I guess these folks need a place of their own but you won’t see me standing in line at Pangaeas.”
“I personally think anything that draws people to consider moving downtown metro Austin is a good thing. If you don’t like these types of bars then stay out and be thankful that it’s drawing the people you dislike out of your bars. Austin needs to accept that it’s growing and if we’re going to grow then it’s better to grow up rather then out. It’s better for the environment, traffic, etc. So I’m in favor of anything that draws people downtown whether it’s my taste or not. Next we need baseball.”
“Another step closer to Sodom & Gamorah. Another useless waste of time. Thanks Mr. Ault for putting our carpenters to work building this memorial to decadence.”
“I wouldn’t really call Austin a modern day Sodom & Gamorah just yet. For one, those were two cities — the analogy works much better for Dallas and Fort Worth. I see Austin as more of a contemporary Nineveh — a mighty capital city whose downfall was a result of its own pride. And let’s face it, Austinites are nothing if not unbearably proud of the bohemian lifestyle here. I was talking about this very thing the other day with the barista at Whole Foods over some organic loose-leaf yerba mate. But who knows, you could be right. If the first person to get turned away from the line outside of Pangaea on opening night looks back and turns into a pillar of salt, I’ll apologize.”
“Is it illegal to throw tomatoes at people in line for this place? Maybe it will go away…FLIP FLOPS FOREVER!!!”
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Out
Northern California is a place where…
The Castro, one of the last surviving gay neighborhoods in the country, is graying and growing thick around the middle, while entering that second phase of gentrification when guppies give way to yuppies. Children trail pods of lesbian parents and shopkeepers prep for the area’s themed-like-clockwork street fairs.
The Haight still reeks with would-be hippies, a few of whom could pass for the real thing from their parents’ era — including one extravagantly bearded man in a kilt and bare midriff striding down the sidewalk like a Pict warrior.
Amoeba is still the best used-CD store in the country, bigger than the combined Cheapo, Half-Priced Books and all of Austin’s other music resale shops put together. I found 14 rare musicals.
Waterfront bars like the Hi Dive go from seedy to hip in the course of just a few hours, as the population on the Embarcadero follows the moon and the tides.
Even using recycled water, it seems lavish to sprinkle the medians several times a day. The locals landscape the heck out of everything, including a low-end shopping center anchored by a discount liquor store, which displays half its stock in locked cases “because we still have a shoplifting problem.”
Even Livermore, the Plano of Northern California, is home to a gorgeous hillside winery. OK, the wine at Wente Vineyards is mediocre, but a birthday brunch under the sycamores, with the professionally spackled lawns yawning before mission-style resort buildings (above), satiated the senses with braised lamb hash, tomatoes with mozzarella, cabernet onions, cured olives and basil, topped off by a candle-mounted chocolate cream pie.
Here, they slip a hike-and-bike trail into any open space three jogging bodies wide. And thank goodness, or else we’d return to Texas popping our buttons.
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Boulevard life
Every visit to the Bay Area, we plan one knock-it-out-of-the-park meal. Once, it was French Laundry in the Napa Valley, another time Chez Panisse in Berkeley. This time, our foodie friend Paul Talley chose Boulevard, a California French fusion spot on lower Mission. The pre-earthquake Art Nouveau mosaics and flame-drop light fixtures cast a low, glittering glow for the special-event diners. (Our three-topper is in the foreground of the picture.)
I won’t bore you with chef Nancy Oakes’ entire menu, but several discoveries stick in my memory: The pre-dinner cocktail, a Black Briar, blended Woodford Reserve bourbon, blackberries, Pasilla pepper puree and Syrah syrup — a dark coral color that was sour, bitter and sweet, all at the same time, and very grown up. Then there was the abalone discs (rare) and elk medallions (available everywhere in the West), so tender they felt like toasted butter on the tongue, accented by a Seghesio old-vine Zinfandel from (where else?) Sonoma that was fruity but just dry enough to stand upright. Who knew Zins — and not one of the expensive selections — could be so complicated?
Then out into the Indian Summer night for a last drought of bay air.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Food
He inked my heart …
With his scruffy mutton chops and neatly cuffed jeans, Kevin Dillon could easily slip into an ink shop — or onto a barstool — somewhere on South Congress Avenue. His quarters at Cold Steel Piercing and Tattoos on Market Street, crammed with memorabilia from horror movies, kitsch art and pictures from freak shows, feels like an old-fashioned parlor, and his gentle, joking way lures repeat customers from across the country.
Austin? “I’ve been to that big ol’ swimming hole and that street they close at night,” Dillion says. Turns out, he scored a 3-day South by Southwest badge (the only way to fly) one year. He also recalls fondly: “That street where they have all those floatly papier mache things on top of the buildings.”
Ironically, while Colt McCoy and Jamaal Charles were bumbling toward defeat in Dallas, Dillon was inking a burnt orange heart, decorated with my husband’s name, onto my right shoulder. (It looks more blood red than burnt orange here during first minutes of healing. Later, it turned organger.) Because he already wears a corresponding heart on his left shoulder, Kip asked for the first line from Homer’s “Odyssey” — “Tell me, Muse, of the man of twists and turns, who was driven far off course” — curved across his back in ancient Greek.
Dillon doesn’t receive that request every day.
Permalink | | Categories: Travel
‘Miles notwithstanding’ in Sonoma
Sonoma oozes quaintness. Yet the plainer sister of Napa comes by its tourist attractions honestly. Rugged, gold-tinged hills rise above the spacious, rough-cut city plaza. The adobe barracks and mission — the northernmost and last of the Fransiscan outposts — are actually made of adobe, not just dressed up with stucco.
Locally curdled Sonoma Jack pops up on dishes, and even mechanics offer wine tastings. (You can tell things have turned too precious when the Bakery for Dogs sits next to the Segway store and the umpteenth sushi bar.) The wide streets open up to classic California bungalows with porches so deep and shady, you almost wished it got hot here.
For Sonoma is near the southern aperture of its valley, nearest the bay, and therefore cold, or cold enough for Pinot Noir. We learned that at Buena Vista, the “oldest premium winery in California,” dating back to the 1850s. The stone storage and tasting rooms are rustic enough, tucked in a wooded ravine. We tasted some of the Pinots, the favorite varietal of Miles from “Sideways,” but we prefered the Syrahs and Merlots, “Miles notwithstanding,” a phrase we picked up from our wine presenter, and repeated boorishly.
Gundlach Bundschu, a mouth full of Braunschweiger if I’ve ever heard one, claims to be the “oldest family winery,” perhaps in the country. It stretches over hundreds of acres and a dozen microclimates, producing a dizzying array of selections. We like surprises and we tripped on two in a dry Gewurtztraminer and a complex Zinfandel.
After some contention, we chose Ravenswood as our third and final stop of the day. Nonvintage and mid-range Ravenswoods — whose labels look like something out of Tolkien — can be found at any H-E-B, but the ones we swished around our etched glasses are available only at the winery or through its shipping club. A black-red Pickberry and a gem-like Todd Zinfandel were among our faves.
Over the years, California wineries have become almost punitive about their tasting prices and their club requirements. Used to be, establishments would strip the cost of the tasting from the total wine purchase, and club members could earn discounts without being stung with excessive case order rules. It’s all probably for the best for business, but it doesn’t cull out the busloads of tourists who trust only their well-traveled Chardonnay or Cab.
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Herb Caen’s San Francisco
I left my heart … well, you know where.
Every journalist who attempts a column like this one invokes the name of Herb Caen, who posted acute observations about San Francisco six days a week from 1938 to 1997. (Compare that to my measly 18 years hacking away in the American-Statesman newsroom, three years blogging and two months producing Out & About in its present form.)
Despite his renown, Caen’s books are mostly out of print. In order to frame our annual October visit to the City by the Bay, we purchased a few and found, to our surprise, that … Caen’s a lot better than he had any right to be, especially for a columnist who produced some 1,000 words a day, week in and week out, all about the same subject.
What a subject. San Francisco — like Austin — never stops changing and evolving, not always for the better. And Caen reported on every steel ball banging up against every gaily colored Victorian folly, then lamented the soulless concrete towers that inevitably rose in their place. He wasn’t a mere nostalgist. He knew when something beautiful and humane was replaced by something designed to make a naked buck.
Sure, his list-logging, pun-happy prose tinged purple when describing the fog on the bay, the city’s priceless views or its restless culture, insular and yet cosmopolitan at the same time. And, yes, his attitudes about gender, race and sexuality made him a prisoner of his times, but even those anachronisms enriched his descriptions of life on the seething streets.
What I like best about Caen is not his passion for San Francisco — I can match him enthusiasm for enthusiasm in an embrace of Austin — but his global curiosity. He’d spend one night at the opera, the next at Candlestick Park, the next at the city’s classiest restaurant, the next inside North Beach dives. There wasn’t a character, high or low, who didn’t interest him.
Take the following sample of Caen’s open-eyed reporting, dated March 12, 1961. (It could be about an equally egalitarian Austinite, Oct. 9, 2007).
“The other midnight, in a Chinatown bar, I met a real San Franciscan. He was a middle-aged longshoreman from the Mission, and he wore a zipper jacket and open shirt. While he quietly sipped a Scotch, he talked of Harry Bridges, Bill Saroyan and Shanty Malone. He was curious about Leontyne Price and Herbert Gold. He wondered if the Duke of Bedford’s paintings were any good, he missed Brubeck, and he discussed Willie Mays down to his last spike. He seemed to know everybody in town, by first names — and it was only after he’d left that we discovered he’d bought a round of drinks for the house. For a want of a better phrase, he had that touch of class — the touch of a San Franciscan.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Travel
Your A-List: Best Beer and Wine Selection
Austin has embraced another newcomer with open arms, determining that Spec’s carries the Best Beer and Wine Selection through the Your A-List poll. And it wasn’t even close: Spec’s beat the next contender, home-grown Central Market, 31 percent to 19 percent.
Just months ago, Spec’s imported its Houston-honed store model to town, quickly planting flags north, south, west, east, and manning them with family members. Houstonians, restaurateurs and tourists have known for decades that the downtown H-Town Spec’s Warehouse pioneered the concept of mixing acres of beverages with gourmet food and reasonable prices.
On a recent visit to the Brodie location, nostalgic for the French countryside, I was looking for a selection of Burgundies. Yep: There was a whole aisle for red Burgundies and a whole aisle for white Burgundies. In prices from $10 to more than $200. Mmmm.
The local competition was hard to beat. Besides Central Market, which revolutionized grocery shopping in Texas, there’s studiously staffed Grape Vine Market (14 percent), beer-heaven Whip In (13 percent) and organic amusement park Whole Foods (10 percent). Most readers would be surprised that local do-gooders Twin Liquors, which just opened its 50th Central Texas store, polled at only 9 percent.
Smaller local hot spots include Twin-owned Reuben’s (3 percent) and idiosyncratic Wiggy’s (1 percent) as well as write-ins Austin Wine Merchant and Davenport Wines & Spirits. Come to think of it Austin is blessed with more than its share of great beer and wine shops.
Permalink | | Categories: Your A-List
Your A-List: Best Place to Ride a Bike
Mountain bikers smacked more leisurely cruisers, racing roadies and flipping BMXers, as Austinites picked the Barton Creek greenbelt as the Your A-List Best Place to Ride a Bike. The rocky trail, shared with runners, hikers, swimmers and canines along the sacred creek, took a healthy 25 percent of the poll.
Other off-road vote-getters included Lady Bird Lake and Shoal Creek hike-and-bike trails (17 and 8 percent, respectively), Walnut Creek Park (6 percent), Muleshoe Recreation Area (2 percent) and Pace Bend Park (2 percent).
Of course, everyone can ride whatever wheels they like at the second-place winner, the Veloway out in Circle C, which 22 percent of A-Listers chose.
Road addicts preferred the Dam Loop (9 percent) and the Driveway (2 percent), as well as the piney park road linking Bastrop and Buescher State Park (8 percent).
Write-in candidates included some alluring oddities: City Park (which one?), the entire city of Austin, Lake Pflugerville area, Lime Creek Road, one-lane farm roads around Fredericksburg, and Slinky (?).
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Your A-List
Twists on ‘Heroes’ & ‘Ugly Betty’
Exhausted last night, I skipped a charity gala and settled into TiVo’s generous offerings from the fall season, including evolving favorites.
MINOR SPOILER ALERT
Two of last season’s best new shows, “Heroes” and “Ugly Betty,” are off to typical sophomore starts, trying to catch up to their reputations for mixing smart comedy with heartfelt drama, while introducing new plot directions.
The first catapults Hiro into the legendary past, and allows a pumped-up Peter Petrelli (right) to recover from his explosive destiny. Both characters face much confusion in new environments. The cheerleader’s Texas family has relocated to California and must keep their identities undercover. Other characters are rejoining the action in fits and starts. Clearly, it will take a while for the new story lines to gel.
Meanwhile, “Ugly Betty” picks up the heavy dramatics of the season closer, which included a fatal shooting, a coma-inducing car accident and Betty’s break-up with Henry — all tear-duct teasers. The humor resides in quick marriage and bloodline mix-ups. I’m not sure the writers can sustain so much serious material with such soap-operatic story development, but it’s still better than almost anything else on TV.
Linda Asaf’s showroom launch
If there’s a better-liked Austin fashion designer than Linda Asaf, I swear I don’t know who it would be. That creator of such alert and richly textured women’s wear now has her own showroom on West Sixth Street in a lovingly rendered bungalow. Friday, we encountered dozens of her devoted admirers with tasting mixes of Izzie beverages and Tito’s Handmade Vodka — an inspired concoction.
We admired the shiny red Fluevogs worn by the newly engaged Eva Helms and the Nilmon dress modeled by Kelley Oswalt. We spent considerable time with Clint Sawin and Patrick Landrum, whose interior design office is right across West Sixth Street. Club magnate Michael Girard was there with Imperia managing partner CK Chin, and we all billowed to the trace music provided by Johnny Robinson.
Michael Girard, Linda Asaf and CK Chin
Patrick Landrum and Clint Sawin
Kelley Oswalt
Johnny Robinson
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Style
Joe DiMaggio’s opening at the Domain
The retro lounge/restaurant concept is alive and well at the Domain. Friday, we attended the launch party for Joe DiMaggio’s and were impressed, not only by the open space and restrained baseball decor, but also the Marilyn Monroe-themed lounge area, which can be curtained off from the louder bar. As with other Domain eateries, a curving patio cradles diners next to fountains and fires. Only the second iteration in this particular chain — the first is in San Francisco — it reminds one of Sullivan’s in its heady first days. It’s certainly a welcome addition to nightlife in North Austin, as several customers assured us.
We spent time with owner Jeff Dudum and ran into the ever Out & About Kevin and Melissa Conners. Our first encounter, however, after an espresso martini, was with Dell Inc. employee Denise Hopewell, originally from Cleveland, whose great uncle was Austin community leader Andy Anderson. That’s a handy conversation starter.
Opening operations manager Rick Delamain and owner Jeff Dudum
Denise Hopewell, grand-niece of Andy Anderson
Andrea Perkins and Anar Shah
Three terrific women who know how to have a good time at a restaurant opening: Rebekah Robinette, Dot Speyer and Jessica Roseberry
Ryan Reynolds at the Driskill Hotel
Ryan Reynolds is taller than you might expect — so many Hollywood leading men tend toward the Tom Cruise range. His lanky frame looped over a couch in Room 513 of the Driskill Hotel as he listened intently to scattershot questions aimed at the star of “The Nines” and the movie’s pale, writerly writer/director, John August, who sat at attention nearby.
The three-part psychological thriller is something of a breakthrough for the hard-working Reynolds, whose public image was shaped early on by his fratty appearance in “Van Wilder.”
“It’s a great role, certainly unorthodox if you look at the rest of my career,” Reynolds says.
Adds August, who wrote “Go” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”: “He’s actually better than his movies. I talked to his other directors, and they said he worked his (expletive) off, always very well prepared.”
Earlier this year, Reynolds worked on “Fireflies in the Garden” in the Austin area with Willem Dafoe and Julia Roberts. To relax, he hung out at Bess, the West Sixth Street restaurant owned by his friend Sandra Bullock. He also purchased a long board at a South Austin skate shop and scooted all over town. (Now picture that.)
What did he and Scarlett Johansson do when she visited him on location in Austin? “I’m not going to get into that stuff,” says the Canadian actor. “We love Austin because it’s a green city, and it has some of the best restaurants, and it’s beautiful. It’s like a warm Vancouver.”
When he speaks, Reynolds’ small, soft, almost opaque eyes expand with easy empathy. It’s almost as if you can see from behind his eyes, or perhaps that’s due to his role in “The Nines,” as three frustrated “creators.”
Reynolds benefited from some acting preparation near at hand during the shoot, which was broken in three discreet parts, making his appearance almost unrecognizable at times. One character, a gay developer of television shows, is based directly on August’s own experiences.
“He’s a character under great pressure,” Reynolds says. “And that’s exactly what John was going through. I learned a lot about screenwriting during the process. This is who John is: He’s in this epic struggle.”
Reynolds and August went on to discuss how closely the three roles related to one another. And the rushed discussion — I was late due to traffic — ended with my gushy praise for the movie, which is smart, smart, smart. You can quote me on that.
Permalink | | Categories: Movies
Cantanker show at Women & Their Work
You know Cantanker, the lively journal of Austin contemporary art that has matured into an essential aspect of the cultural scene. The young and incredibly energetic team behind the publication threw an issue-release party, including an economically dry performance about producing tears, at Women & Their Work on Saturday. We intended to stay a few minutes, but almost ditched our later parties for all the intelligently playful conversation. Did I say the walls blinked with art, mostly small-scale?
Performer Amelia Winger-Bearskin with Matthias Rode (correct me if I’m wrong)
Lisa Choinacky and Molly McCommons behind the notions counter
Andrea Schutz, Brett Kaufmann and Rooney Kaufmann
Dancer Leona Scull-Hons
Xochi Solis, Michael Garcia and Leslie Castro
