363 days later...

Tomorrow marks a year Leah and I have been married; One down, three to go!  We spent the weekend at two of our favorite locations enjoying two of our favorite pastimes.  We are often asked what it is like to be married, and I like our answer – it feels the same, nothing has changed.  Marriage does have its benefits though, one of which we have spent numerous hours reminiscing.  Our wedding reception was an amazing experience that we were so happy to enjoy with many of you.  We can never recreate a party like that, but we tried to have a good time this weekend in its honor.  We began our adventure on the Riverwalk in San Antonio and finished in Austin.  We need to be careful about going to Austin, as one of these trips we may decide never to return…

Here’s Leah looking mischevious on our balcony overlooking the Riverwalk.  I spent the afternoon rooting for Tiger Woods in vain and watching the passers-by.  Shortly after this picture was taken, we embarked on our evening.  First stop, as always, was Bohanon’s.  They have a great bar, but service has gone downhill.  We always root, once again in vain, to avoid a very self-absorbed bartender who never fails to tell us about the three bars he owns in Manhattan.  Curious that this restaurant mogel is always there ready to scowl when we order the happy hour cocktails.  We’ve come to believe he may have a few additional mental issues.  That said, we have a hard time resisting the awesome cocktails and atmosphere.  Their $5.00 cocktails are now $7.00 and are made as well as possible.  If you order off the regular menu you’re looking at twice that price.  From Bohanon’s we sat down briefly at Little Rhein Steakhouse and left abruptly.  We’ve tried to eat there many times, but it just seems very over-priced.  We left at two strikes – first, the waiter asked if we wanted sparkling or bottled water, creating the immediate implication that we are cheap when we insisted tap water would be fine.  When Leah noticed a glass of sparkling wine cost as much as the bottle – $8.75, sure, but still… we had to go.  I can barely get that stuff down with the extra help of knowing we saved money on the bottle.  To drink the virtually undrinkable and pay a 4.5 time markup is hard to stomach.  We headed to an Irish pub and then…

Boudros!  The best restaurant on the Riverwalk, hands down.  Blackened prime rib for me and overly salty lobster for Leah.  We’ve never gone wrong here…

The next morning we stopped for some breakfast in San Antonio and took off for Austin.  Our target was one of the most revered barbequie places in Texas and therefore the world.  Franklin’s barbeque is a hole in the wall, and a great one.  They start serving at 11 and they go until it is gone.  Sadly, by 1:00 they had sold out of the ribs and pork barbeque, but they still had their brisket.  This is the best brisket we’ve ever eaten – absolutely perfect.  If you can only go to one barbeque place in Texas, go to The Salt Lick in Driftwood.  The barbeque is almost as good if a bit more inconsistent, but the atmosphere makes the trip worthwhile.  Franklin’s has exceptional brisket but its very crammed and it’s difficult to get comfortable in the atmosphere.  The service is very friendly, and its one of the many times that Leah and I noted that the friendliest people of any big city live in Austin.

Leah waiting outside the door for barbeque.  We waited about 45 minutes in line… We would have waited much longer…

Brisket by the pound… the way it should be done….

They gave free samples when you got up to the front.  The burnt ends of a brisket are always a crowd-pleaser.

Good stuff….

That night Leah and I checked in at a hotel about a block off sixth street.  We started our evening at a great winebar called Backspace.  They have HALF PRICE wine from 5:00-6:30.  There’s something really awesome about ordering a $14.00 glass of wine and not feeling guilty about it.  We started the night off right.

Backspace….

Olives, sans caper berries, just how Leah insists… (she really does…)

Our next stop was a place at which we initially intended to eat dinner, and we very much want to do so some day.  We went to Parkside, where until 7:00 they offered half price drinks.  The bartender appreciated our guile, as we ordered a Macallan 18 year and a Highland Park 18 year single malt scotch.  As an example, Macallan 18 year is normally $26 a glass, which is actually cheap.  A bottle runs about $200 at the liquor store.  Jason likes to say half of my enjoyment in most things comes from the quality of the deal I get.  At cost, this generated a great deal of enjoyment for me.

Leah got the classic ceviche which had sea bass and salmon with avocado, etc.  I am always entertained when people like to claim citrus juices “cook” fish.  Let’s be honest, its raw fish with some juice on it.  She really liked it.  I stayed away.

We played pool and darts.  A year of marriage has taught me that it’s not important to talk about who won, just to note that we had a great time.

Austin is known for its live music, and perhaps the highlight of the night and the weekend was choosing the right bar to walk into.  These guys were awesome – and they played real music – radiohead, pearljam, sadly no Tool… In Laredo we are accustomed to Drake and Lil Wayne 24/7 – this was a very refreshing change.  Did I mention that we love Austin…

Our anniversary weekend was a great success.  We spent our time doing our favorite things and doing them well.  Austin is like New Orleans, but with far far better food and slightly less bestiality.  Thanks to everyone who was able to party with us last year at this time; we hope we can have many times like that in the future.  We recommend having some of those times in the great capital city of the Lonestar State.

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