On the road again: Austin, day 2

I had no real choice. Honestly, I didn't. When some client friends suggested a different BBQ joint, a nearby Rudy's, as a lunch possibility, what could I do but agree? I am not the kind of person who will refuse to suffer moist brisket and jalapeno sausage with friends, not I. So I did.

Much work and many meetings today, so much so that despite the timestamp on this post, which I forced to be Tuesday though it is actually now many hours into Wednesday because of my insistence on a tidy flow of posts, I am only now able to begin the slog through email. Much more work ahead.

Dinner was an odd but generally good tasting menu at Olivia, which has garnered a fair amount of attention in the last year. The meal was odd in that it ignored the usual progression of a tasting menu and simply focused on smaller portions of key dishes on the main menu. All the food was good, but no course achieved greatness. One of the better treats was a bit of conversation: The chef nearest where we sat at the chef's table/bar turned out to have worked for three months at Alinea, so we had a lovely but brief chat about Chicago restaurants.

The book progresses, and I am still enjoying it more than I'd feared I would, so that is a hopeful sign. I remain too close to it at this stage to be objective, but as I rework page after page, I feel better and better about it. I hope that trend continues.

To work, to work I go.