Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > June > 12
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday Night on the Town
So, instead, I took the evening off to luxuriate in downtown Austin nightlife without a rigorous schedule.
First stop: Townhouse. Mix master Garrett Mikell’s new jewel replaces Back Alley Social, which replaced the Whiskey Bar on West Fifth Street. It’s a shotgun-style room with a long, high service area made formal by tall shelves holding rare and common spirits.
The place, packed with fresh ingredients, smells divine. How often is that the case in a club or bar? Herbs, citrus, infusers and other cocktail makings proliferate.
The scrupulous bartenders hand you a menu with a couple dozen enticing choices. (You could order a vodka and Red Bull, but really?)
Mikell personally mixed me a drink that included brûléed oranges and thyme. Oh my. Mikell is on his way to stardom in his field.
I also talked to Nakia, who has popped up everywhere this week, and John Pointer, another outstanding musician. We talked about the rise of the arrogant male — usually called a word reserved for cleaning discreet body parts — now populating West Sixth Street. That’s unfortunate. I almost never experience attitude in Austin nightlife. I must investigate.
My Saturday route twice took me past Republic Live, where the Biker’s Ball was about to take place. The door staff, who addressed me by name, kindly asked me to join them both times. But as said, enough of ROT this year. My only disappointment was missing Miranda Dodson’s CD release at Stubb’s, which conflicted directly with Colonna’s.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this post gave incorrect addresses for Townhouse and the Ghost Room. The first is on West Fifth Street, the second is on West Fourth Street.
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Molly Prize Dinner at the Four Seasons
“Well, I give up. Sy Hersh is a real reporter. I’m a fake.” I’m sure plenty of journalists were thinking that during Hersh’s keynote address at the Molly National Journalism Prize dinner on Friday.
Nancy Scanlan and Becky Beaver
Hersh, now of The New Yorker, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his freelance reporting on the My Lai massacre, is ferociously intelligent and articulate. He’s also fearlessly opinionated and he interrupted his speech repeatedly to bash President Barack Obama’s record in Afganistan and elsewhere. (He’s furious that Obama for continuing and expanding the Bush war strategies.)
Alec Rhodes and Jane Hilfer
Feelings of inadequacy aside, it was gala evening supporting the resurgence of the Texas Observer. The honors, named for the late Molly Ivins, attracted big guns like former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, former gubernatorial candidate Sissy Farenthold, former state Sen. Babe Schwartz and Waco benefactor Bernard Rappaport.
Barbara Morgan and Paul Stekler
Scads of other politicians and local celebrities crowded into the Four Seasons banquet room. Braving such a full, noisy house was state Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth, who defeated an incumbent Republican in a red district. Her poise and deftness convinced me she could run for statewide office some day.
Mary Margaret Farabee and H.W. Brands
I sat next to the delightfully dry Kaye Northcott, an Ivins buddy who recently retired as editor from Texas Coop Power and plans to spend more time with her Kindle and some deliberative writing. I didn’t get to spend as much time with my other tablemates, such as party co-chairwoman Mary Margaret Farabee and distinguished historian H.W. Brands as well as Jane Hilfer, Barbara Morgan, Paul Stekler and former state Rep. Alec Rhodes.
Stimulating evening from beginning to end: The winners from an increasingly nonprofit-driven field: A.C. Thompson of The Nation; Petra Bartosiewicz of Harper’s Magazine and Chris Vogel of Houston Press. Thompson’s investigative work on vigilantism in post-Katrina New Orleans will blow your mind.
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Atticus Circle Happy Hour at Shagri-La
The other day, a newspaper reader, self-labeled as “liberal,” called my editor. Said the social columnist — that’s me — has a “gay agenda.” Yeah, I have a gay agenda. I’m gay. Get over it. That’s the extent of my agenda.
Anne Wynne and Ruth Gardner-Loew
A group that already embraces this attitude held a happy hour at Shangri-La on Thursday. The Atticus Circle was started by Austinite Anne Wynne and her husband in response to the round of state referendums that enshrined marriage inequality into constitutions. Instead of just steaming, she started a civil rights group composed of straight people pushing for complete equality.
Hillary Molinar and Kanishka Bhaghia
It has already spread to 70 college campuses around the country. Student Karla Gonzalez recently raised $5,000 in three weeks at Texas A&M selling equality-themed T-shirts. At the Austin happy hour, Austin businessman Tim McCabe pledged $2,500 if the attending University of Texas students could match that.
Michelle Gardner, Karla Gonzalez and Lowell Kane
Atticus Circle executive director Ruth Gardner-Loew also spoke at the party, as did UT students whose names I did not catch. Pretty uplifting stuff.
(Have I mentioned I’m pleased UT is going west, into the future, with the Pac-10, rather than east with the SEC? Do I have to enumerate the many reasons why? It would be nice if our good friends at Texas A&M took a step forward rather than back as well.)
UPDATE: A previous version of this post did not credit Karla Gonzalez with raising the $5,000 at A&M.
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