On the road again: Austin, day 1
If you've read my travel reports before, or if you travel on business much, then you know how today went: I dropped myself and my luggage into the matter-transportation chute of the U.S. airline system, and many hours later I popped out, tired-looking and scuffed but not fundamentally the worse for wear.
In fact, today provided a generally good example of its type, with flights that were mostly on time, first-class upgrades, plenty of Diet Coke, and a passable airport lunch (at Maui Taco at RDU). I really have no right to complain, so I won't.
Dinner tonight was at a place I quite wanted to try: Wink. I've read about its emphasis on local food and fresh food; it's definitely a place that proudly embraces the slow food movement. The chefs, Stewart Scruggs and Mark Paul, own the restaurant and are definitely fine cooks. The meal was good, well above the fare at most restaurants, but I would have to rank it below the upper echelon nationally (and also below Raleigh's own Mint restaurant, which I've praised before).
On the book front, right now I wish I could take off a week, go to the beach, stay in my favorite house alone, and write, sleep, exercise, and eat, with no human contact except lunches at my favorite place. Everything is racing toward the climax in Overthrowing Heaven, and I just don't have the time to give it that I'd like to devote to it. Sigh. I will finish it eventually.
Finally, this hotel's bandwidth sucks. Downloading pictures or other large email messages seems to take forever. I would happily pay a few bucks more a day, as I did in San Francisco, for better bandwidth. Hotels should get wise to the bandwidth cravings of hardcore travelers and soak us for extra bucks. A lot of us would pay just to minimize the ever-frustrating download waits. Wouldn't you?
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6 comments:
Chuy's has the BEST Mexican in Austin. Rudy's has the BEST BBQ--probably not as good as pig-pickin' but VERY good. It's a chain, but qualifies as a hole-in-the wall. Nothin' fancy about it.
Roy's downtown has AWESOME fish if you are willing to fork out the money that it costs to have it flown in fresh each day. The only thing that fell flat there was the bread was not hot. No one deserves a cold roll in a place like that.
Carrabbas has excellent, somewhat reasonably priced Italian. Their Cesaer salad is AWESOME and their Chicken Marsala divine!!!!
Will you be doing any booksignings while in town?????????
Thanks for the Mexican tip. On the BBQ front, I have to say that now you're in religious territory. I like many of the places for different reasons, with County Line (prefer the one by the lake), Green Mesquite, Sam's, and Salt Lick all holding special places in my heart.
I haven't contacted any bookstores about signing. Maybe I should. Got a recommendation?
It probably depends on what part of town you're in.
BookPeople in downtown Austin is considered the premier bookstore in town. Of course it is nowhere near me, so that doesn't help ME much.
Years ago, Frank Campbell used to be THE go-to guy at Barnes/Noble in the Austin area--he handled all the promo events. If he's still the guy, he could probably tell you which stores would be the most populated/largest sci/fi sellers. He may not be the right person now though...
I already own Slanted Jack (unsigned sadly. Very sadly unsigned.) So the key is to find a store that carries your One Jump Ahead where you can sign all available store copies and then I can buy it!!!!!
County Line has great atmosphere and awesome bread. Their beef ribs are second to none. Their milkshakes are...incredible. However, their portions have shrunk over the years...and their prices have gone up...and that can be so disappointing for some of us used to the older portions.
Salt Lick is okay, not my favorite place (Kinda loud and overpriced, especially if you compare it to Rudy's. Rudy's can be loud. Rudy's isn't overpriced. Rudy's has an...interesting atmosphere. Think Picnic. Sort of. It's all about the food at Rudy's.)
Haven't tried the other places so we'll designate you the winner.
You've obviously been to Austin before, so I probably can't offer much advice--but if you do have questions, feel free to shoot me an email!!!!!!
I don't have the time, alas, to set up a signing this week, but if you know anyone who would host me on a drive-by, I could try it Thursday.
We're considering a dinner at County Line by the Lake on Thursday night. If we do that, I could publicize it and you and any other fans in the area could join us. Interested?
Man, that would be the ultimate and I wish I could make it, but unless something were to change on my schedule, I can't figure out how to make that work.
If there are any other lucky fans out there, and they take advantage of your generosity, I gotta say, I'm ENVIOUS!!!! Sort of like winning the e-bay auction to have dinner with Warren Buffet only you're taller. And younger.
Thanks for the kind words. I have to say, though, that Buffet would be way more interesting--and massively richer.
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