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Fishing Pier Coming to Lady Bird Lake in Rainey Street, Downtown Austin

by | May 23, 2012 |2 Comments
Rainey Street Pier Core Health

The focus is on inclusion.  That’s what Nicole Harmon of Core Health Foundation, a non-profit spin-off of Core Health (a for-profit facility focusing on rehabilitation of those suffering with brain injuries), tells me. The project is a fishing pier, located on the northern shore of Lady Bird Lake, just south of the Holiday Inn off I-35 in the Rainey Street District.  The project has been in the works for over 8-years, but was officially approved in 2010, and construction is expected to be complete in 2013.   And while the driver and primary purpose of this project is for [Read more...]

Filed Under: austin lifestyle, austin neighborhoods, austin parks, Austin photos, images, development, downtown austin, Downtown Austin Districts, lady bird lake, life, life in austin, miscellaneous, Rainey Street District, Real Estate, urban family

Wanderlust LIVE – Open House on April 13th

by | April 2, 2012 |6 Comments
Wanderlust LIVE Austin

We wrote about the changing face of the Railyard district not too long ago, and one of the new establishment mentioned was Wanderlust, a new Yoga Studio and Live Music Venue that’s opening soon on the northeast corner of 4th and Brazos.

Well, we’ve recently learned a bit more about the concept and wanted to share…..

So a short summary of the back-story – apparently, Austin locals Ashley Spence Clauer and Joanna Kutchey were so inspired by the Wanderlust Festival, that they decided to bring it to Austin!

And here are some excerpts from a press release sent by their marketing department directly to our office:

Located in a revamped historic warehouse in the heart of the entertainment district of downtown Austin, Wanderlust LIVE’s impeccably designed space is not your average yoga studio.  Featuring two studios—one for regular classes and one with a built in stage and top of the line sound and lights—the 6,000 square foot Wanderlust LIVE will offer Austinites a new place to rock out, consciously.

……

Truly bringing the festival experience home, Wanderlust LIVE will feature organic eats by Austin’s Blenders and Bowls—serving healthy and delicious organic acai bowls, natural fruit smoothies, coffee, tea and more. The studio’s outdoor patio seating will provide ample space to eat, relax after class or sip a beverage at Wanderlust happy hour.  At all live music and other special nighttime events, attendees also may enjoy organic beer and hand picked biodynamic wines. And inside, the Wanderlust LIVE Boutique will offer specialty yoga gear and apparel.

It looks like this place is going to have a few uses – retail, restaurant / bar, live music venue, and yoga studio.  What’s not to love?  And, they’ll be hosting an open house on April 13th, the Friday before they open to the public.

I know that I’m getting a little excited about it after reading about it – and will definitely want to check it out!

 

 

Filed Under: austin neighborhoods, austin news, austin recreation, austin retail, austin small business, downtown austin, life in austin, miscellaneous, Railyard District, retail, small business, urban family

Cinco De Mayo Party Worth Checking Out

by | April 25, 2011 |3 Comments
Cinco De Mayo Puppy

If you haven’t made your Cinco De Mayo plans yet – I would check out this event at La Condesa / Malverde in Downtown Austin’s 2nd Street District.  It’s a hip spot with a killer vibe, and I always enjoy myself when I’m there. And there’s no cover, so there’s that….

Malverde has long been one of my fave places to go when I’m feeling a bit hip and want to enjoy a swanky view.  There’s always good music, good people, and good drinks.  The same goes for the restaurant below, La Condesa.  The interior finish out of the place is a reason to go to the restaurant in and of itself, IMO.

The event begins at 5pm (appropriately) at La Condesa.  There promises to be lots of yummy food and drink to enjoy.  Don’t siesta on this fiesta!

Flyer after the jump: [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2nd Street District, austin restaurant reviews, downtown austin, Downtown Austin Districts, life in austin, miscellaneous, small business

Live (Work, or Play) in Downtown Austin? Join DANA (Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association)

by | March 18, 2011 |Leave a Comment
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Jude and I are both on the board of the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA) – a grassroots community organization dedicated to improving the lives of those who live, work, and / or play in the Downtown Austin Community. It’s an organization that we believe in, and an organization that is affecting positive change in our community.

For our readers who are downtown residents (or, who spend a significant amount of time downtown for work or for pleasure), I urge you to become a member of the organization.

A little info: [Read more...]

Filed Under: austin condos, austin lifestyle, austin neighborhoods, austin news, austin parks, austin recreation, austin small business, development, downtown austin, Downtown Austin Districts, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, high rises, life, life in austin, miscellaneous, small business, urban family, urban planning

Dress Shop Austin

by | March 4, 2011 |2 Comments
Picture 5

Perhaps you’ve noticed the elegant fashions in the window next to Annie’s on an evening stroll down Congress Avenue. Perhaps you’ve seen the sign with the simple, but apt, words “Dress Shop.”

Perhaps you haven’t.

But you should.

Dress Shop is, you guessed it, a dress shop selling dresses, jewelry, handbags, and ladies undergarments. It’s located 315 Congress Avenue, right above the Elephant Room, and just south of Annie’s. And the dresses are [Read more...]

Filed Under: austin small business, Congress Avenue District, downtown austin, life, life in austin, miscellaneous, retail, small business

Fat Guy Cycling Club – Downtown Austin Bicycle Rides

by | February 21, 2011 |Leave a Comment
fat-guy-cycling-club

My friend Zeke had a vision.  He had a vision to make workouts fun and accessible to guys who don’t usually work out and who generally don’t really like working out.  He had a vision to blend exercise with exploring.  Zeke (and the other founding members of the group) made his vision into reality with a small (but growing) bike club call “Fat Guy Cycling Club.”  The group does weekly (weather permitting) bike rides around central and downtown Austin, usually followed by a pretty manly lunch.  Downtown Austin Blog loves his concept, and asked him to write a very short blurb on his group….

[Read more...]

Filed Under: austin transit, downtown austin, life, life in austin, miscellaneous, urban family

Cafe Crepe in Downtown Austin Now One of My Favorite Restaurants / Eateries Ever

by | May 14, 2010 |Leave a Comment
The kind lady modeling/presenting in this picture has asked me to let everyone know that she is NOT a drinker, lest this picture be leaked into the wrong hands and the meaning twisted to claim otherwise.

I’m gonna go ahead and file this under ” T ” for “Things I’m Really, Really Pumped About.”

The kind lady modeling/presenting in this picture has asked me to let everyone know that she is NOT a drinker, lest this picture be leaked into the wrong hands and the meaning twisted to claim otherwise.

$4.00/glass, $10/half-liter. Party.

Cafe Crepe: 200 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, TX, 78701-4028, (512) 480-0084

Filed Under: austin lifestyle, austin recreation, austin restaurant reviews, austin small business, downtown austin, life, miscellaneous, picture of the day

Congrats To Emily – She Had A Boy!

by | January 18, 2010 |Leave a Comment
emily-had-a-boy-2

Hooray for downtown Austin families! While walking on the trail yesterday, we discovered this banner hanging from the Legacy apartments We don’t know Emily, but we couldn’t resist helping her family with the announcement!

Filed Under: austin apartments, miscellaneous Tagged With: ,

The U-Haul Indicator

by | January 8, 2010 |1 Comment

My colleague, Simon Cawley, shared this with me. The U-Haul indicator is a simple test of migration patterns in the U.S.  Put simply, it costs more to rent a U-Haul moving truck when the destination city is more popular than the origination city.

So what does it cost to leave Las Vegas?

Try $1,880 if you want to rent a 26-foot U-Haul truck, fill it with your worldly goods, and drive it to San Antonio. (In these comparisons, Nov. 3 was selected as the moving date.) But if you wanted to leave San Antonio (August unemployment rate: 7%) and move to Las Vegas, it would cost you only $437 for the same equipment.

Want to move from Chicago (9.7% unemployment) to Houston (8.4% unemployment)? It will cost you $1,970.  But it will cost only $449 to make the trip from Houston to Chicago.

Los Angeles (11.8% unemployment) to Houston was $2,051, while Houston to Los Angeles was only $555.

Not surprisingly, there is a significant Texas premium. :-)

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Filed Under: miscellaneous

G’Raj Mahal Cafe (Not Garaj Mahal) – **MENU**, HOURS, and REVIEW: Indian Restaurant Now Open in Downtown Austin

by | December 13, 2009 |4 Comments
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7/2/2010: Most-up-to-date menu below. Note that G’Raj Mahal is currently open from 5pm-12am on Weekdays, 5pm-3am Fri-Sat.  CLOSED Mondays. Also looks like all delivery will now be going through Longhorn Delivery (contact info on menu). G’Raj Mahal is BYOB!!!

Sidney, the owner also wanted me to let everyone know that the lamb is halal, blessed, and grassfed – for those following strict diets.

REVIEW:

If somebody asked me what I thought about eating Indian food made in a truck, my *go-to* response would be  – “less good choice.”  At least, that was until I tried G’Raj Mahal Cafe (no website yet, but you can find them on Facebook), located at 91 Red River Street in Downtown Austin.  Ummmmm…super yummy!

This gem opened a couple of weeks ago, and when I had the opportunity to try it out the other day, I was very pleasantly surprised.  I had the Vegetable Goan Coconut Currie with the Classic Vegetable Samosa, which was all washed down with a Mexican Coke:

Looking at the menu, I initially thought the pricing seemed way super high.  After all, this is food made from a trailer.  However, the food was made to order, tasted fresh and high-quality, and the portions were generous. While I still think it’s a bit on the pricey side, I also believe that it’s worth it.

**UPDATE 12/14/2009: The owner (Sidney aka Ms. GM) just contacted me to tell me: “FYI…We reduced our prices this week slightly for the entrees as much as we could. However, we use such high grade ingredients, we are somewhat restricted to obey our food costs. We will soon have a late night menu with $5-8 items like naan wraps, lamb burgers, Indian “taco” salad, and spicy goan sausages.” Once I’ve received the updated menu, I will post it.

G’Raj Mahal Cafe does table service and take-out.  The table service I experienced was friendly (even deferential) and the overall vibe was good.  I would note that there is no indoor seating, but the outdoor seating is covered, and what I would describe as breezy, surrounded by peacefully flowing pieces of gauzy white fabric.  Here’s a shot of the typical table:

Overall, I think it’s a good, unique addition to the downtown Austin restaurant landscape, gives the east side of Congress a quality casual dining option, and is a small business that I will support.  It’s just a few steps from our residence at The Shore Condos.  My only real complaint so far is that it’s only open for dinner (from 5pm-3am everyday).  I think a Saturday/Sunday lunch (business permitting) would be awesome.

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Filed Under: austin recreation, austin restaurant reviews, downtown austin, life, miscellaneous, Rainey Street District, small business, urban family
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