Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2007 > November > 21
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Your A-List: Best Breakfast
Austinites love the first meal of the day. Often because it’s actually the last meal of the day, too.
Two post-hippie establishments have always stayed open 24 hours in order to serve eggs, pastries, coffee, etc. whether the first of the day or the last of the night. No. 1 Kerbey Lane (27 percent) and No. 2 Magnolia Cafe (23 percent) were the unsurprising leaders in the Your A-List contest for Best Breakfast.
It helps that both swing open their doors at multiple locations. No. 3, Juan in a Million (12 percent), on the other hand, has been filling up Austinites with spicy meals at its solo 2300 E. Cesar Chavez location for as long as this reporter can remember.
Enhancing the theme, No. 4, Omelettry (7 percent), and the near No. 5 (7 percent), The Frisco, are also longtimers, both on Burnet Road.
No. 6, Galaxy Cafe, is the only newcomer to attract more than 5 percent.
No. 7 Las Manitas, has made so much news regarding its downtown location and its jockeying for advantages, rather than its food, the casual reader might expect it to attract more than just 5 percent of the vote.
Fast-expanding Austin Java came it at No. 8, while South Austin faves El Sol y La Luna and Curra’s virtually tied at No. 9 and 10. Earning less than 2 percent were Counter Cafe and Azul.
Write-in candidates: 620 Cafe, Chez Zee, Cisco’s, Flores, La Cocinita, Maudie’s, Mi Madre’s, Opal Divine’s, Star Seeds, Taco Shack, Tamale House and Trudy’s.
Photo by Tom Lankes
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Your A-List: Best Beauty Salon
Retro ruled in the Your A-List competition for Best Beauty Salon. Birds Barbershop on South Lamar Boulevard, which combs a little rock vibe and winking irony into respect for hairstyles past with its Joel Mozersky design, ranked No. 1 with 30 percent of the vote.
Visible Changes, a write-in candidate with two locations, zoomed up to No. 2 with 20 percent, virtually tying No. 3, veteran Avant, also a day spa for two decades. (Gotta try that day spa thing someday.)
Jackson Ruiz, which pioneered contemporary hair for diverse customers, was No. 4 (9 percent). Bunched at below 3 percent of the vote were Salon 505, Ann Kelso, Aziz, Bradz, Joie de Vie, Vain, Electra, Pink, Wet, Maximum FX, Shag and Mint.
And just to prove that Central Texans spread their hair love around, all these shops won write-in votes: Bella Salon and Day Spa, Bob Salon, Cates & Co., Cutting Room, Grateful Head (which I stupidly assumed was a head shop), Innu, James Allen Salon, Jose Luis Salon, Keith Kristofer, La Fuentes, Lake Austin Spa, Lush, Salon Uffizi, Shag, Sirens, Spa at the Lake, Super Star Nails, Thomas Saverio Salon, Urban Betty, Vickmay Skin and Body Salon.
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Feast on the Gulf
In just a few hours, the Gulf of Mexico will beckon. Every Thanksgiving, the Barnes clan descends on the sandy village of Surfside, which perches on ribbon-thin Follett’s Island, just southwest of Galveston. We’ve spent a stretch of time there several times a year since Hurricane Carla flattened the place in 1961.
Our two regular visits come in November and February, since fall and winter are the finest seasons on the Gulf. The beaches are virtually empty. Storms roll in, then recede. The sun pierces the thick clouds for days of croquet, long walks and dog surfing.
Winter is for the Reading Week with friends from around the world. Thanksgiving is for family — one spouse, two parents, five siblings, five in-laws, 12 nieces and nephews and their assorted friends. Games, books and conversations deep into the night.
We’ll leave behind the laptop, but expect a few scheduled blogs, including Out & About No. 1,000, over the holidays.
