Checking out some of Austin's bars

The same friend that I talked about in this post and her boyfriend took Will and I out one night a little while ago to check out some of Austin's downtown bars and try some local cuisine.  It was heaps of fun going to different venues, having drinks and light meals at each.  I am now totally convinced that this is the best way to experience a new city in one night!

We met at Parkside where we had a bottle of champagne and shared the bass (yum, yum, yum) and kampachi from the raw menu plus the calamari from the starters menu.  The decor here was great - an eclectic blend of urban, country and vintage and the first place I've ever been to that uses dish towels as napkins, which I thought was neat. Then we headed off to Cedar Street where I had a spectacular fig-Manhattan and we all shared the meat and cheese platters (the duck pâté: OMG!!!).  Here the thing that stood out was the outdoor stage and dining area - which I'm totally writing on the calender as an activity for the warmer months. Next we tried Searsucker where I chose the Honeybadger cocktail (awesome) and again we shared a bunch of stuff: duck fat fries, brie, mushrooms - all of which were great!  The music, layout and over sized leather lounges were also fantastic but I found all the dead animals everywhere a little much.  There are cowhide rugs on the floor and real taxidermy on every wall...eek! I love native American animals so I find it sad to see so many of them dead.

I think we saved the best venue til last: we all agreed we were full and went to the CU29 cocktail bar where, I swear, I had the best cocktail I've ever had! It's called the Hawaiian Rose and it's sweet but oddly enough is made from flamed bacon, egg whites frothed in a copper bowl and coconut: simply heaven in your mouth!  I'm actually craving one as I write this.  I loved everything about this old fashioned little bar - the lone musician singing and playing his acoustic guitar, the copper accessories (Cu is the symbol for and 29 is the atomic number of copper so they've incorporated it into almost every decoration), the vintage, authentic touches on everything from bar utensils used to the uniforms worn by the seriously friendly and welcoming bar staff... It's my kinda place!  We will definitely be visiting all of these places again very soon!

Cu29 bar with antique utensils

Hawaiian Rose Cocktail