5209 North Lamar

 Former Texas Battery Building

So, this week I went on a personal Austin adventure.

Back in the 70s and 80s my dad owned a successful Austin business called Texas Battery Associates.  He sold car batteries, mostly to organizations with fleets of cars.  Some of his customers were the City of Austin, Austin Police Department, and the local Air Force base (Bergstrom) which is now where the new Austin airport is located.  Batteries paid my college tuition, and I’m so thankful!

The Texas Battery building was located at 5209 North Lamar.
When I drove around that area of North Lamar this week, it seemed it was in the midst of a redevelopment.  There were new loft condominiums and new service based businesses like coffee shops and dry cleaning, but also still some empty building tagged with graffiti.
That’s how it appears today, but I was more on a walk down memory lane and couldn’t help think about how it was back in the 70s and 80s.

 I remember going to my dad’s “office”, which was really more of a warehouse with a couple of offices up front.  My dad had a great bunch of people who worked for him, and I can remember most of them.  There was Gladys (the secretary), Davis (the ex-con warehouse worker), and Jerry (Dad’s right hand man).  When my dad was sick, and in his last days, Jerry came to visit him.  He shared with me that my dad was the best boss he ever had, which was very nice to hear, but not a surprise.  My dad was a hardworking, smart and honorable man. 


Texas Battery Associates (Dad on left)

Not only were the people associated with Texas Battery memorable, so was the location.  At this time North Lamar had just changed from being the main North/South route through town, Hwy 81.  This is because I-35 was recently completed (yes, I'm old!).  At that time, there were a lot of motor coach type businesses up and down North Lamar.  There were two iconic restaurants within walking distance of "the office"  One was Leslie’s Chicken Shack. The Chicken Shack had a huge chicken on its neon sign that was dressed up in what appeared to be his Sunday best. What chicken is fully dressed without his walking stick?  I don’t remember eating there, maybe we did, but I don’t have a memory of it...like I said, I'm old!
 

The other “restaurant” was right next door, it was called Taco Flats.  It’s still a subject of Austin lore. Some say Willie lived in a shed at the back of the property.  Who knows, I guess it could be true, although I never spotted the red-headed stranger.  It was pretty much just a shack. They had a beer garden (mostly packed dirt, very little garden about it) behind the shack. They served beer, and a lot of it.  They also served tacos.  I can remember a lot of  weird stuff and funny signs on the walls.  Another thing I remember is the rat trap on the counter that said, “Fresh meat daily”.   Other Austin bloggers say additional signs read, "We reserve the right to serve refuse to anyone” and "Now over 2000 tacos returned".  Taco Flats wasn’t the best neighbor, especially when they started having their notorious jalapeño eating contests.  Let’s just say people who eat a lot of jalapeños tend to need relief from their upset stomachs, and the empty parking lot next door seemed like a good place.  Blech!


Hector, owner of Taco Flats (notice the "Eat at McDonald's" sign to his left)

 

The building on North Lamar now houses The Front Door Company and you can buy a loft for $200,000 next door.  Is Austin really as weird as it was back in the good ol’ days?

South Austin Food and Music

Last week was packed full of Austin experiences.
On Thursday evening I met a couple of friends at Strange Brew, a coffee shop/live music venue.
It was my first time there, and I was impressed. Not only was the music great, but so was the crowd.
Austin is known to be the "Live Music Capital of the World", so you can hear music almost anywhere.
I'm serious, even my favorite grocery store has live music!
Not every venue is a great place to actually hear the music, however.
I've been to more than a handful of shows where the crowd is so chatty, you can't even tell there is a performer on stage.
That was not the case at Strange Brew. The crowd was there to hear music, not to catch up with friends.
It was a wonderful change.
And the venerable Van Wilks, always puts on a great show!

                                           

Then on Friday morning, I met an old friend for breakfast at Magnolia Cafe on South Congress.
I've been here a number of times, and there are two things you can count on;
                                                       1. You're going to wait for a table.
                                                       2. The food will be great.

The atmosphere is interesting (including a "Sorry We're Open" sign), and you have great people watching. Their slogan, "Everybody knows, everybody goes" is very true.
Locals and visitors, professionals and hipsters, all types of people frequent the Magnolia Cafe.
She had gingerbread pancakes, I had a breakfast taco, and we had a great time catching up.  Win!


Friday night, the family visited Full English Cafe.   

It's an odd little place just off of Manchaca Rd. 
Driving up we weren't sure what we had gotten into.   
I expected a place that serves High Tea to be at least a little bit fancy, it wasn't!
But, they were having fish and chips as their dinner special and reviews were good, so we were game.
You should know, they only serve fish and chips when they run this dinner special.
You can't order anything else, which didn't win any points with my kids.
They looked at the online menu at home and were ready to try the pasties, but no such luck.
Also, while we were there they ran out of fish and chips, so I'd recommend getting there by 7pm.
The fish was very good, the chips were just okay.
I did hear several other customers, who said they were from England, comment on how delicious and authentic the fish was.
We wrapped up dinner with a slice of Guinness chocolate cake, which was fabulous.

So, I think I met my "Only in Austin" requirement for the week. 
Next week I'll need to find some non-food/drink related excursions...maybe something outside to enjoy the beautiful weather we are having.

Toy Joy

                                                                                    

Valentine’s Day is approaching, so my “mom errands” today were focused on the Valentine  theme. I was looking for a little something to give my kids because, of course, they need more stuff than they already have.

I decided to skip the Target-scene and opted for a store called Toy Joy.
It's an independently owned toy store near UT (that's The University of Texas, if you have the misfortune to live anywhere but Texas). Toy Joy is housed in a bright building with over a hundred plastic nuns (yes, nuns!) perched like gargoyles around the rooftop.  The exterior makes you want to go inside and see what this place is all about. So I did….

As you enter, you realize it's as much a store for grown-ups as it is for kids. It’s packed full of merchandise, and I do mean PACKED full.  Stacked boxes and bins approaching the ceiling and many items actually hanging from the ceiling . I saw things I hadn't seen in years.

They had a whole display of Troll dolls, and another "shrine" with more varieties of "Ugly Dolls" than I ever knew existed. They had wall hooks that looked like human fingers and ice cubes that looked like brains...a new take on brain freeze. I saw a lot of different types of Rubik's cube puzzles that seem to baffle our former president, George W. Bush.(at least according to the sign next to them).

They also carry Rody Pony, apparently this toy is a Japanese phenomenon. I'm out of the loop on this because my kids are too old for them.  Good thing, because if they weren’t I would have had the urge to buy one of these cute, but overpriced bouncers.  Instead, I carefully selected a few disgusting gag toys for him and a couple of Hello Kitty things for her. It was worth the trip out of suburbia to find a some unique things for my kids...because you know, they don't have enough stuff!


Happy Valentine's Day!

Toy Joy
2900 Guadalupe St Austin, TX 78705
(512) 320-0090

                 

Avenue B Grocery



Avenue  B Grocery

Avenue B Grocery is Austin’s longest continuously running grocery store.  It was built in 1909, even though my math skills are rusty; it’s over 100 years old!  It’s located in an Austin neighborhood called Hyde Park.  As hard as it is to believe, Hyde Park is the original “suburb” of Austin.  It was established in 1891 and was connected to downtown Austin by streetcars.  Now it’s one of the most centrally located neighborhoods, and home to many families (with healthy bank accounts) and a large number of University of Texas students.

So, today when I picked up my dear son from school, we went to Avenue B Grocery to kick off the weekend, and celebrate that he didn’t fail that he did a great job on his weekly spelling test.


When you drive up, you immediately get a nostalgic feeling.  An old painted clapboard building with tin signs rusting on each outside wall. Then you walk through the double doors, and it’s like you have walked into a place frozen in time. As the doors swing closed behind you, you will immediately notice the creaky wooden floors and the distinct smell of a hundred year old building…at least my kid always comments on the “scent”.  Antique metal candy displays (hopefully the candy itself isn’t as old!) and an old chest freezer full of ice cream treats are always kid pleasers.

 

Avenue B also has a full deli with just about any type of sandwich you might want.  One of my favorites is the Queen B (avocados, 3 cheeses, mushrooms and jalapenos-yum!). The outside picnic tables, under the large shade trees, are a perfect place to sit, relax and take in the whole experience. While you enjoy your sandwich, you’ll probably see some interesting neighborhood people, and maybe even a cute dog or two.  Today we supplied the cute dog.

We weren't there for sandwiches today however, my son just opted for a full- leaded Dr. Pepper and a candy bar.       
 Is there a better way to celebrate the arrival of the weekend than with caffeine and sugar?
                                                      Let the weekend begin!               

                            

 

Only In Austin

I live in Austin, Texas.  I am a native Austinite. I still remember Holiday House, Aqua Fest, and driving around town before there was Mopac.

I have actually lived the majority of my life in places other than Austin.  I've been back for 8 years now, and love it!  I'm married and raising my two kids to appreciate the special city in which we live. 

Like many people in and around Austin, I live in suburbia.  Strip malls and big box stores that would be exactly the same, whether you were in the suburbs of Wichita, Boston or Austin. I'm not a fan. So through this blog, I plan to document the places, spaces, sounds and tastes that make Austin... well, Austin.  I'll be challenging myself (and my family, when I can drag them along) to have at least one, "Only In Austin" experience each week.  Then I'll try to document it on this blog.

Now, where to start?