SXSW

A few weeks ago Austin was saturated with musicians, hipsters, media, and music lovers with the South By Southwest Festival in town. Jim and I took the day off on Friday so we could enjoy some free music. A lot of the bigger shows in town require the official "SXSW Badge" which I think costs between $120-150 per badge. This badge gets you into the big shows for free (but you still have to wait in line). I'm not sure Jim and I are ready for the badge, but we certainly enjoy going to the free shows. And honestly, there are a TON of free shows each day and night of the festival. If you do you homework, you can also find the free shows with free drinks and/or food. And I do my homework by scouring the Internet... so we found a couple of free drink and food shows for Friday.

Since we took Friday off we decided to head out on Thursday just to see what we could find. We parked near 6th street so we kept walking until we heard music. We ended up at Mugshots where there were solo acoustic musicians playing. This guy's name was Paco and we really enjoyed his music. I don't know if he was local or not, but I would love to see him again.

After Mugshots we headed to a couple of bars but ended up at Shakespeare's. Jim ran into a work buddy so we stuck around there until we called it a night.

View from Shakespeare's balcony

Friday

We started with brunch at the Counter Cafe. Their Eggs Benedict is wonderful... they use a biscuit instead of the traditional English Muffin. We have only been there for breakfast, but one of these days we'll make it over there to try lunch. We have been happy with our food and service each time we have gone.

After our brunch/lunch, we headed over to Molotov. They were the closest and they had free shows and free beer. Yes Please, Thank You!

I'm sorry but I don't remember the band names :( This group had a slight Gospel sound to it and had a saxophones, so of course I enjoyed it! (for those of you that might not know, I played the alto sax in HS-- yes, I was a band dork)

Molotov had two stages, one down stairs and one upstairs. For the most part one would play while the other either broke down/put up the instruments but they also played at the same time. We went back and forth listening to the music.

The group all got around the drums with their own drum sticks and started playing the drums... made for a very cool drum beat.

Love the lights behind this guy

Jim's profile, watching the band

This band also had a DJ to spin the music (huh.. not sure if I am using the right terminology here)

This chick rocked it out on her own... she had a Janis Joplin raspy type voice. Loved it!

Howdy

Like I said above... I'm a sucker for a band with a saxophone (even if it is a tenor)

Who is that hot guy... looking all sexy leaning up on the wall :)

Taking pictures with my big Canon and holding a beer is impossible.

Enjoying the sun and music on the patio

This band by far was not our favorite. It was a hard metal, more yelling than actual singing, type band. Look at the singers red face... its because he is yelling! We listened to 1.5 songs before we decided to walk around outside to see what else we could find.

I had RSVP'd to a couple of other parties, but they were on the other side of downtown, and we were pretty content with staying around Molotov, especially since thy weren't very busy. And did I mention they had free beer? :)

We did end up over at Union Park and listened to a band and enjoyed their rooftop patio. We listened to a DJ and rapper, enjoyed a mojito before deciding to head back to Molotov.

*smooch!!*

Back at Molotov.... Had to laugh because this entire band had long hair and they kept swishing their heads around, so I didn't get any pictures with their faces :)

These guys were rocking it out upstairs.

After an afternoon of free beer, we needed something to soak it up. In comes the ginormous pizza from Frank and Angies. Look at that beast! We giggled when it was put down because the slices were enormous and we had o idea the pizza would be this huge. We had plenty of left overs for that week!

Saturday

On Saturday night we headed to a Yelp event at Iron Gate Lounge. Saturday's temperatures plummeted down in to the 40's that night, so it was a chilly night. I think there were bands playing inside and out, but we stayed inside due to the weather and due to the capacity issues. We didn't want to get stuck outside. Yelp was giving away free Lone Star Beer, a free shirt for those that RSVP'd, I heard there was food but we didn't eat any, and of course the music!!!

We hung out with Matt for most of the night. Dawn had won tickets for another show, so she was off trying to get int to that show (poor Dawn waited for a long time to find out that the show's venue was at capacity and they weren't letting any more people in)

This guy was interesting... he was a one man show. He sang, he worked the turn table, he played the Sax and occasionally he stomped his foot. That takes talent!

Another band at the Yelp event

Early St. Patty's day with Yelp



Last week we headed to an event at Fado's for an early St. Patty's day party. It was a Yelp event so I was able to hang out with all of my fabulous Yelper friends! the Heineken was flowing, the music was rocking, and of course lots of great friends. There was also free food, but it was gone by the time we go there :( I can't remember the last time I went to Fado, but they have since built a great patio. I'm not sure if they knocked down some walls or what, but the patio seems to have doubled and they added a pergola. One of these spring days we'll have to head back and enjoy the patio during the day.

Kari, Lindsay, Dawn and I

Matt, Jim and John Lindsay, me and Kari. These ladies are always cracking me up

Dawn and I

After Fado, we needed to get some food into our bellies so we walked over to Franks. We haven't been there before, but I liked all of the hot dog options. I'm not one to eat many hot dogs, but when you add great toppings it is very appetizing. When we sat down at our table, I looked over at the next table and saw our friend Jennifer! Totally random! :)

Happy Hour at the Four Seasons...

so hoity toity!



I met up with the "Yelp Ladies who Happy Hour" at the Four Seasons last week to enjoy each others company as well as nosh on some half price appetizers and half of wine! Hell to the yes! First off, we had several managers from the Four Seasons come over and welcome us to their location and thanked us for choosing them to host our happy hour. They were very accommodating and really set the mood for the night. The waiters were also top notch and ready to refill our wine or take an additional order of food right away. I like their happy hour because they serve great food, their happy hour doesn't end until 8pm and they have happy hour on Saturday. You go to certain establishments and based on their type of location you know what you are getting into.... go you go Casino El Camino- great burgers, but it is dark and dreary, go to Juan in a Million and you know you'll be seating yourself and it is a very laid back environment, go to Four Seasons and you expect an elegant and top notch service. Four Seasons came through that night! 3 of us were sharing the food below, which is perfect because we each ordered something different

I chose a Riesling to drink. I'm not 100% what type, but I recognized the bottle. It was $5 a glass for Happy Hour which I thought was reasonable, but I don't think I would pay $10 a glass for non happy hour times.

Steak Fries – Rosemary, Garlic, Truffle Aïoli

These were pretty good, especially with the Truffle Aioli. I'm not familiar with the truffle flavor, so I just assumed that the truffle aioli was just a flavored mayonnaise. The steak fries were in various sizes, which meant the larger the fry the less done it was. These were a good snacking item.

Texas Cheese Plate – Chef's Selection of Local Artisan Cheese

I didn't get a good picture of the cheese plate with the honey, but you can see it behind the glass of wine. Usually I love the cheese plate, but this plate was just okay. I liked the blue cheese and I liked the cheese wrapped in a grape leaf (at least I think it was a grape leaf) but didn't care for the other two. I seriously thought one of the cheeses tasted like feet. Yuck. I wouldn't rule out the cheese plate in the future, but I would ask to see what they are serving before I ordered it.

Tuna Tartare – Avocado, Soy Lime Vinaigrette
The tuna was fresh and tasty and went well with the crackers they served with it. I could have used a little more of the soy lime vinaigrette for a little kick but overall it was a pleasing dish.


Truffle Mac 'n Cheese
Oh. My. God. This was really good and even though I could feel my thighs and ass grow as I ate it, I couldn't stop. It was the perfect creamy and cheesy consistency. I thought Dawn and I were going to throw down to get to the last bite! Mac n' Cheese can so easily be done wrong in restaurants, but the Four Seasons really rocked it out



Crab Fondue – Herb Bruschetta
So even though I really loved the Mac n' Cheese, this was the clear winner of the night. I should have asked what type of cheese they used because it was so thick, creamy, and flavorful that I wanted to rub it all over my body. The lump crap was a little lost in the fondue, but when you got a chunk of crab it was a little piece of heaven on the bruschetta.
I will be back to try this again, so worth it!






Table of food

As if the food wasn't enough, we were surprised by the Four Seasons management with a plate full of items to make our own Smores!!!! LOVE IT! We walked outside to the area with the mini fire pit and started to roast our marshmallows. Normally the Four Seasons offers their guests complementary Smores on Friday and Saturday nights, so they made an exception for us on Thursday.

Not only did they have your typical Smores fixings, they also included peanut butter, bananas, and strawberries.

I couldn't decide what I wanted to use, so I just made one with one of each of the items. It was slightly hard to eat, but it was DAMN tasty. I want to make these at home now, I don't want to wait until the next time we go camping.

Dawn and I, with our bellies full of great food, wine, and Smores!!! A perfect happy hour!