Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > May > 20
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Your A List: Best Ethnic Eatery (excluding …)
The winner is Indian! And modern Indian at that. Clay Pit, nestled near the Capitol, served up 28 percent of the vote.
Fogo de Chao, the all-you-can-eat upscale Brazilian churrascaria across from the Austin Convention Center, came in second with 17 percent.
Aster’s Ethiopian and Buenos Aires nearly tied at just under 12 percent.
Sao Paulo’s landed nicely with 8 percent and Phoenicia sailed in with 7 percent.
Making 5 percent or less were Habana, Tino’s, Sarah’s Mediterranean Grill and El Greco.
Quite a global mix. Or at least a world away from when I arrived in 1984.
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Your A List: Best Local Album from the Past Year
Regular readers of this column know that my favorite local album of late was Alpha Rev’s “New Morning.”
The Sour Notes won with “It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty,” reaping 42 percent of the vote.
Shearwater skimmed into second place with “The Golden Archipelago” at 25 percent.
Veteran Bob Schneider held his own with “Lovely Creatures” at 11 percent.
Critics’ darling White Denim squeezed in 6 percent for “Fits.”
Roky Erickson and Okkervill River — a killer combo — was not far behind for “True Love Cast Out All Evil.”
Taking 4 percent or less were Harlem (“Hippies”); Brownout (“Aguilas y Cobras”); Balmorhea (“Constellations”); Brazos (“Phosphorescent Blues”) and Strange Boys (“Be Brave”).
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Your A List: Best Hair Salon
Birds Barbershop, the retro-cool tonsorial parlor which expanded quickly from South Lamar Boulevard to three other Austin locations, took 56 percent of the vote.
Jackson Ruiz and Avant tied for second with 10 percent each.
All the rest — Bradz, Wet Salon, Salon 505, Zig Zagg, Beauty Store Salon and Spa, Maximum FX and Electa — combed out 5 percent or less.
Note: I didn’t vote in this category. Yet Keith at Birds on South Congress Avenue shaves my head and face once every two weeks. It’s the quickest make-over in town. That’s not me in the photo. Or Keith.
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Your A List: Best Outdoor Music Venue
That’s because the venerable concert corral in Bee Cave went off-grid while Direct Events moved across the highway.
This week’s winner is certainly an outdoor trendsetter. The Mohawk on Red River Street stomped up 36 percent of the vote.
Stubb’s — down the street and much larger — sweated out 23 percent.
Zilker Park, mainly home to the Austin City Limits Music Festival, managed 10 percent.
Tied at 7 percent were Auditorium Shores and Threadgill’s.
Tied at 5 percent were Cedar Street Courtyard and Emo’s.
Scoot Inn, Tim’s Porch at the Backyard (Direct Events’ smaller venue at the old location) and Club de Ville came in under 4 percent.
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Badgerdog Literary Publishing Party at the MACC
My ties to Badgerdog Literary Publishing were weak. The name resonated. The nonprofit publishes the literary magazine American Short Fiction, I knew that. Social all-stars Linda Ball and Forrest Preece support it vigorously. That was about the extent of my knowledge.
Kelty Christman and Nik Bhattacharya
Until Wednesday night. An intriguing mix of folks gathered at the Mexican American Cultural Center to lionize the group. An Evening in Andalusia was the theme. Some powerhouses spoke: Tom Staley, the outgoing director of the Ransom Center; Sarah Bird, Austin’s pride among novelists. Other social connectors, such as Mary Margaret and Ray Farabee, attended, as did major donors like Bill Dickson and Jeff and Gail Kodosky.
Jill Myers and Melanie Moore
I learned that Badgerdog conducts creative writing camps for young people, and we heard some of their creations Wednesday. The centerpiece of the evening, however, was a reading from Bird’s “The Flamenco Academy,” staged with flamenco artists of rare gifts. The performance recalled those sweaty, glorious evenings at Capitol City Playhouse during the 1990s, when Jose Greco’s and, later, Jose Greco II’s companies settled in for summer residencies.
Sarah Bird and Tiffany Yates
The social discovery of the party, however, was Tiffany Yates. A former reporter and critic from Florida, she’s a literary copy editor who moved to Austin two years ago. What a delight! We’re going to the Ransom Center very soon, so she can experience this Austin treasure first-hand.
Update: An earlier version of this post incorrectly named the Badgerdog periodical Short American Fiction.
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