Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2008 > June > 11
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Your A-List: Best Country/Western Bar
Poodie’s Hilltop Bar & Grill, a good-time stop-off on Texas 71 near Lake Travis, came in second with 20 percent of the vote. Gruene Hall, which goes back even further than the Spoke, shook with 14 percent, even though it’s arguably in San Antonio’s orbit rather than Austin’s. Ginny’s Little Longhorn, shoehorned into a Burnet Road slot, got 10 percent and Rainbow Cattle Company, the Fifth Street gay-and-more bar, earned 6 percent.
Grouped at 4 percent and lower were a varied bunch of dance clubs, restaurants, outdoor venues and historical halls: Dallas Nightclub, Midnight Rodeo, Nutty Brown Cafe, Luckenbach Dance Hall, Boomerz, Patsy’s Cowgirl Cafe, Ropers and Saengerhalle.
Write-ins: Cotton Club, Coupland, Pacha
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Your A-List: Best Coffeehouse
Longtimer Ruta Maya, which occupies a capacious cavern at Penn Field off South Congress, came in a distant second with 9 percent of the tally. Mozart’s, which roasts up divine beans on Lake Austin, got 8 percent. Irie Bean Coffee Bar, which has brightened up South Lamar Boulevard, took 6 percent, while Austin Java, which serves major food at multiple locations trailed Irie Bean by just a couple of votes.
Spider House and Jo’s virtually tied at the next spot, while Caffe Medici drew the No. 9 slot. Taking 2 percent or less were Flipnotics, Bouldin Creek, Thunderbird Coffee, Little City, Quack’s, Flightpath, Dominican Joe, JP’s Java, Green Muse, Cafe Mundi, Halcyon, La Dolce Vita, Progress Coffee and Clementine Coffee Bar — but lots and lots of people voted.
(Out & About note: The only one I’ve never visited is Thunderbird. Guess where my next meeting will be.)
Write-ins: Bobalu’s, Enoteca, Epoch, Mandola’s, Sodade’s, Starbucks, Summermoon, Trianon, Wake the Dead
Photo: Bob Khosravi at Kick Butt Coffee.
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William Finn and ‘La Boheme’
Two recent double-disc releases offer arguments for the dying practice. The off-Broadway cast album of “Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn” makes available the music of a composer virtually unknown to the general public, but cherished by musical queens for “Falsettos” and his free-floating, conversational songwriting. As a writer, Finn is all knees and elbows, which makes his work all the more endearing, especially performed by a micro-cast and single piano.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Arts, Music
