Written by:
Lauren Johnson
Photographer:
courtesy Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau
» Order
this Issue of Curve:
11.7
No matter what the season, a road trip to the capital city of the Lone-star State does a body good.
I have decided to start a public-relations campaign to move Austin, Texas, onto a major United States interstate — but it has to be one running east-west.
I figure it this way: If Austin were one of the towns people drove through on coast-to-coast trips, the entire reputation of Texas would change — for the better. As it is, folks making that 3,000-mile trek are subjected to either Amarillo (on I-40) or my hometown, Houston (on I-10), neither of which does much to dispel that oil-and-cattle-as-defining-images reputation Texas seems determined to preserve.
Austin is the Berkeley of Texas. In the early 1980s, it was a gangly teenager of a college town with a university that was growing faster than its ability to provide housing, supported mainly by the infrastructure of its role as state capital. Its reputation as the only Texas “hippie town” was underscored by how conservative the rest of the state was, especially in the Reagan years.
Even today, the recent influx of yuppies and dot-commers has longtime Austinites on edge, and has sparked a campaign to “Keep Austin Weird.” This sentiment is apparent all over town, posted on car bumper stickers and overheard in conversations at coffee shops and restaurants. For me, keeping Austin weird is a necessity for preserving its place as my all-time favorite road-trip destination, topping even Palm Springs (from Los Angeles) and New Orleans (from Houston).
On our recent Austin road trip, we settled in at the Hotel San José, located on South Congress Avenue, just a mile or two from the Capitol building. Imagine a Zen garden populated by native Texas plants, a tiny emerald-colored swimming pool, and a lobby bar that serves imported beer and wine. Now imagine local folks stopping by for a drink on the patio, where they munch appetizers of bread, cheese and olives, and you will begin to get the picture of a weekend at the Hotel San José.
The rooms are sparsely furnished in an almost Scandinavian modernism, with extra touches such as high-speed Internet access and bottles of Evian water. In each gleaming white bathroom are bottles of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap and two rations of organic shampoo and conditioner. For your dog — and by all means, bring your dog, as the pet fee is an ultra-reasonable $10 — there are complimentary shiny green bowls and a large, overstuffed sleeping cushion.
Owners Liz Lambert and Margaret Tucker are partners in life and work. Tucker, diminutive in casual white slacks and a T-shirt, is a sharp contrast to Lambert, who is much taller and more imposing, dressed all in black.
Chatting about how the San José came to be, Liz grins across the table as she ribs her partner: “k.d. says that the reason we opened the hotel is because Margaret always wanted to be a maintenance man.” (The k.d. to whom she refers is, of course, k.d. lang.) Tucker alters the explanation slightly, saying that both she and Lambert got their law degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, moved to New York, and after many years moved back to Austin for what she describes as a “lifestyle change.”
The hotel, popular with both straight and gay guests, is a hub of activity in its South Congress neighborhood. Just next door is Jo’s, a small coffee “stand” also owned by the hotel, with a wooden patio area and bright-red metal chairs. What looks like an impromptu block party is really just a group of hotel patrons mixing it up with the locals out on Jo’s lawn. The assembled guests were drinking coffee and beer, hanging out and laughing at Jo’s staff, a group of lovely young ladies who were, on this particular day, sporting hats they fashioned out of paper coffee cups and rocking out to the Urban Cowboy soundtrack. (OK — we are still in Texas.)
Just a block away from the Hotel San José is El Sol y La Luna, a Mexican restaurant that serves breakfast anytime and boasts excellent hot sauce and hands-down the best coffee of the road trip. Cheap and fast, it’s a good spot for a quick bite of lunch or breakfast as you admire the local art hanging on the whitewashed walls.
Austin is without a doubt the culinary capital of Texas, for those who care more about quality ingredients and recipe variety than they do the size of their steak portion. Whole Foods, the now-national natural grocery-store chain, started right here in Austin in 1980. The food culture of Austin has given birth to many excellent restaurants over the years.
Gay-owned Starlite is a relative newcomer, having opened in December 2000. Located in a renovated 1930s house with simple décor, Starlite serves innovative versions of dishes that have become California-cuisine standards. Try the spinach salad, a surprising, warm version that’s more entrée than starter, or the pan-fried snapper served with wasabi potatoes, perfectly cooked so the fish is crispy on the surface and still pearly white inside.
Old-timer Eastside Café is still lesbian-owned and -run after 13 years of growing its own vegetables in the back garden and serving them up in chalkboard specials. Choose from a multitude of fresh vegetables to go with your fresh rainbow trout or your beef tenderloin with horseradish cream sauce. Outstanding on this latest trip were the German-style red cabbage and the broccoli with lemon, as well as the casually friendly staff.
Make it a three-day weekend when you road trip to Austin; you need to be there for Monday night at the Forum on Congress, located just a spitting distance from the Capitol building. Monday is women’s night at this gay men’s bar; the “no men” policy is in effect from 9 to 11. This is the place for dancing and partying, in contrast to the easy coffeehouse atmosphere at Gaby and Mo’s, a self-described lesbian-owned coffeehouse/café/beer joint/music-and-performance-art venue. The counter gal here graciously put me on the Gorilla Girl Bar e-mail list, after explaining that this is Austin’s other lesbian bar, a floating affair that usually takes place on the third Thursday of the month.
Austin is an outdoor town; its parks, trails, and lakes are among the most inviting in the state. Zilker Park, smack-dab in the middle of the city, boasts paths for walking and biking as well as the popular Barton Springs swimming hole, where people come to escape the nasty summer heat. But fall in Zilker Park is only slightly less busy. The weather in Austin in the fall is probably its most welcoming, with temperatures generally in the 60s or above. Just east of the swimming hole is a fence that marks the beginning of an unofficial dog park, where owners go to let their dogs run free, only to scurry to re-leash them at first sight of a park official. Joggers, bikers, and casual football-gamers fill the park well into December.
If my campaign to move Austin fails, you’ll have to veer south a bit from I-40 or north a bit from I-10 in order to experience this sweet departure from stereotypical Texas. If you like a friendly place where you can eat, drink, and be weird in good company, Austin, Texas, is a capital choice.
IF YOU GO:
Where to Stay
Hotel San José
1316 S. Congress Ave.
(800) 574-8897
(512) 444-7322
http://www.sanjosehotel.com
Where to Eat
El Sol y La Luna
1224 S. Congress Ave.
(512) 444-7770
http://elsolylaluna.citysearch.com
Jo’s
1300 S. Congress Ave.
(512) 444-3800
Eastside Café
2113 Manor Rd.
(512) 476-5858
http://eastsidecafe.citysearch.com
Starlite
624 W. 34th Street
(512) 374-9012
Where to Play
The Forum
408 Congress Ave.
(512) 476-2900
http://www.theforumaustex.com
Gaby and Mo’s
1809 Manor Rd.
(512) 457-9027
http://www.gabynmos.com
Where to Surf
Austin City Search
http://www.austincitysearch.com
Out in Austin
http://www.outinaustin.com |
