downtown austin

Austonian Interior Photos

Jude Galligan | November 3, 2009 |

Downtown Austin Blog was provided with early access to the still-under-construction Austonian in order to snap a few photos of the luxury building’s interior finishes. The unit you are looking at above is the northeastern corner, “D” floor plan, on the 11th floor. This will become a staged model unit within the next few weeks. Beginning at the unit’s front door – made from Italian walnut – the standard finish packages are the highest quality we’ve seen in a downtown Austin residential tower, thus far.

We were impressed with the kitchen features: Scavolini cabinets, white carrera marble counters and back splash, built in Sub Zero refrigerator, Wolf gas-range, Miele coffee maker, Dornbracht fixtures. American walnut floors through out. All units outfitted with solar shades. From the 11th floor you have a clear view of the Capitol.

Link to DAB’s coverage of the Austonian

Downtown Austin Photo Gallery

Jude Galligan | November 1, 2009 |

With a wide-angle lens, unmerited photographic hubris, and perfect weather including a moon dancing above downtown Austin’s skyline, the photos below were taken yesterday evening.

Downtown Austin Open Houses

Jude Galligan | October 31, 2009 |

(Looking for this week’s open houses? You’ll find them here.)

Open houses in downtown Austin for Sunday, November 1st

The great thing about downtown Austin open houses is that you can generally walk from building to building. Take a stroll downtown now that summer is over and the temperature is cooler. If you’re into adaptive reuses of older buildings, checkout DAB’s list of downtown Austin lofts. Looking for FHA approved condos? We’ve got the info here.

This weekend you can browse at your own pace at Austin City Lofts, The Shore, Villas On Town Lake, Spring, and the Austonian sales center.

Sunday
1) 603 David St #911, 2bd, 2ba, $425,000, 1-3pm [Urbanspace] map
2) 800 W 5th St #201, 2bd, 2ba, $649,900, 1-3pm [Urbanspace] map
3) 80 Red River #103, 2bd, 2ba, $309,000, 1-3pm [John Horton Realty] map
4) 300 Bowie St, Spring sales center, model units, 1-5pm map
5) 200 Congress Ave, Austonian sales center located at 300 W 6th, 12-5pm map

Piranha Killer Sushi…fairly killer, akshully

AG | October 31, 2009 |

I love sushi. However, I DON’T love spending a ridiculous amount of money on said beloved sushi. Enter Piranha Killer Sushi (beware, this is one of those websites with the music….), a sushi restaurant on 2nd & San Jacinto (right next to Max’s Wine Dive) with a nice vibe and a reasonably priced (for sushi) menu.

Here’s what I ate (with pricing info) in order of appearance:

I also splurged and had a kettle of hot green tea and an appetizer salad. My total for EVERYTHING was around $30, which sounds like a lot, until you remember that it’s SUSHI we’re talking about – and that I had a bunch of other stuff, too! And the sushi is good! Not great, but good. My shrimp tempura roll…well, okay, the tempura part tasted a little wonky and not like at other more expensive places, and honestly, my “spicy” sauce on my spicy tuna roll wasn’t totally awesome either, but I could still tell the quality of the fish was fairly good. And nothing was bad or tasted gross or anything like that….I’m gonna put it like this – the food is appropriate for the price point. It ain’t Uchi, folks – but then again, it ain’t Uchi (i.e., I don’t have to be an NBA player to afford a solid meal there). I guess the real test would have been to have some sashimi or full-on sushi, which I did not do because I only really like/eat rolls generally at any other sushi place.

While the taste may not have been absolute perfection, the presentation was a step in that direction, for sure. All of the food was presented in a fun, clean, and crisp way. It was colorful and looked fresh and appetizing (see above photos).

And the atmosphere holds the same attributes as the food presentation. The vibe is light, clean, and airy. I dig the Eanes®-style chairs, the natural-like wood grain finishes and furnishings, and the overall DWR-esque-with-a warm-twist style (very clean and modern, but warm and light):

Bottom line: for the money, I think it’s a good call, and a place that deserves and at least one try for those looking for a decent, not too expensive sushi joint in downtown Austin.

The Skinny:

Location: 207 San Jacinto, Austin, TX, 78701

Hours:

Monday – Wednesday: 11am to 10 pm
Thursday: 11am to 11pm
Friday: 11am to ext. hours
Saturday: 12pm to ext. hours
Sunday: 12pm to 10pm

Link to Menu

’til next time….

The Austonian: Views From 54th Floor

Jude Galligan | October 30, 2009 |

Yesterday, the marketing team at the Austonian invited us to tour the building. This was my third time [near] to the top, and this time I remembered my camera! The 54th floor is the top residential floor. Floors 55 & 56 will be common area for the building. Construction elevators to the highest floor in the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi are fun. 🙂