A treat of an Austin evening

The temperature outside tonight stayed unseasonably cold, but it was still so warm compared to home that it felt like early spring, and I was happy to venture out.  I was doubly happy because even though it would cost me sleep, I treated myself tonight to a delightful Austin evening.

For dinner I went to one of the Kerbey Lane Cafe locations right near the University of Texas campus.  The food was as good as I'd remembered, simple, down-home fare that is just right on a cold night.  I opted for breakfast for dinner and had a Kerbey Lane classic, Eggs Francisco.

Click an image to see a larger version.

What you're seeing is an English muffin covered with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomato, avocado, and queso, to which I added extra bacon.  Oh, yeah, it was as good as it sounds.

From there I headed to the Cactus Cafe in the student union building on campus to catch a concert by a performer whose work I love, Stephen Kellogg.  The small venue provided seating for almost everyone and was jam-packed with about 150 folks.

I'd not previously heard the opener, Anthony D'Amato, but I enjoyed his performance enough that I'm going to pick up some of his music.

Kellogg and his band played for about 90 minutes on the tiny stage.

Sorry for the blurry photo.  That's SK in the front, and the drummer is hidden behind him.

I loved the show.  Perhaps one night when it's not so late and I don't have early morning meetings, I'll write about where this show took me, but it was a wonderful experience.  The second song in the set was one of my all-time SK favorites, "Fourth of July."  He and his band also turned in a very powerful and very moving version of his "Thanksgiving."

If Kellogg comes anywhere near you on this tour, do not miss him.

After the show, I clearly had to grab some Amy's ice cream, so I did.  It was as delicious as always.

Had I been able to go back to my hotel and crawl into bed, my head filled with the songs, it would have been a perfect night.  Instead, I worked for several hours, but even so, it was still a great night and a true treat.