After a Fashion

SO SOCO SORRY! Well, last week I wrote about accompanying my friends Steven Aichlmayr and Chris Rodriguez to brunch at the recently opened South Congress Cafe -- and reported that it was a very nice experience, complete with a stylish look, good food, and good service. I loved the interior, and the food was delicious -- pancakes made with Vanilla Coke, French toast with a bourbon-cream sauce, eggs Benedict with snow crab and asparagus -- and the dishes the food was served on were fabulous. But somehow, during the editing process, South Congress Cafe became D&L's Texas Music Cafe. I did go to D&L's, but only for a moment -- it too was charming, but in a totally different way. My editor, the illustrious Kate X Messer, must have been coming off of a weekend crack binge [Duuuuude, where's my crack? -- ed.] or something equally as emotionally traumatizing, and thought I meant a South Congress cafe. Just to clarify, it was the South Congress Cafe where we had a lovely brunch. But to balance the story a bit, this most recent weekend, Chris, Steven, and I, accompanied by the hardest working woman in nonprofits, Rita Garza, had dinner at D&L's Texas Music Cafe (where they had already been getting orders for the Vanilla Coke pancakes, which, of course, are served at South Congress Cafe. Gasp!)... After making a late appearance at last Sunday's Octo Tea Dance -- a fundraiser put on by the Octopus Club that made the Oasis look like Fire Island with the beautiful bodies dancing on the deck overlooking the water -- we made an even later appearance at D&L's for dinner. It is written somewhere in my contract with life that I try chicken-fried steak at every place that serves it, and D&L's was pretty fab, smothered in sausage gravy and served with mashed potatoes. The Pork Chops With Chutney was divine, the rainbow trout was exquisite, and the sides of sautéed baby green beans, broccoli, and asparagus were delicious. Kudos to the chef, and his wife, who makes the desserts -- we had Lemon Satin Pie, marvelously tart, and some sort of incredible apple crisp with homemade ice cream. We visited at length with owner Debbie Mylius, who was charming and engaged us in spirited conversation, and Debbie's partner at D&L, Leone Becker, who graciously informed me she was too busy to read the Chronicle. But to settle any confusion, we've had memorable visits to both the South Congress Cafe and D&L's Texas Music Cafe -- and apologies to both for the mix-up last week [Yes, mine, too. So sorry! -- ed.].

DEATH BY DESSERT While we're on the subject of food, if you're looking for a coronary-in-a-bowl, you'll want to rush right over to Mother Egan's on West Sixth. The heart-attack-inducer in question is their Fried Snickers and Fried Milky Way bar desserts. The candy bars are wrapped in pastry and deep-fried until the utter gooeyness is encased in a flaky, delicate shell -- and then topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup. As you slide the fork in, the confection fairly hemorrhages artery-clogging nougat warmed to perfection. The combination of crisp and gooey with hot and cold is so over-the-top, so sinfully delicious, so ridiculously indulgent that it's guaranteed to keep you eternally young (by whacking years off your life). My sister says the dish hails from Scotland -- personally, I believe it came straight from hell. Try it today.

THE GOVERNATOR So California has elected a fictional character to run their state -- what they wanted was the Terminator, but what they got was Ahhh-nuld. What a frightening thought. We are such a celebrity-worshipping culture, but this is a disturbing new low. Yes, I love celebrities -- for entertainment, but not to lead the government! Maybe to lead me to their dressing rooms where we can have a frank discussion about ... you know -- clothes, boys, hairdos, but definitely not politics. But the election of Ahhh-nuld fits with the testosterone-fueled mood of this current regime: Ahhh-nuld, Dubya, and Hummers (the vehicle that says, "Yes! I have a tiny penis!"). And this whole recall bodes ill for any elected official, and will undoubtedly become a standard form of aggression translating to mean, "Well, yes, we did elect that person, but we changed our minds." And Maria! Omigod, she must be peeing in her pants. But frankly, the photo of her taken the day of the election as she was looking up toward the camera above made her look like, at best, a Romulan from Star Trek and, at worst, a shar-pei. The wrinkles on her forehead were so deep that they looked like several pairs of lips. La Maria, I have a word for you: Botox. But I'd be worried too if I was married to Ahhh-nuld ... but I'm more worried about us. Dontcha know there are meetings occurring right now to manipulate an amendment to the Constitution that will allow a foreign-born person to become president? Imagine the groping and goose-stepping that will be going on then. And you can bet the Shrivernator is already designing the White House interiors. Maybe if we wear veils and starting going to church a lot more often ...

THE FASHIONABLE AGENDA We just had the fabulous Club DeVille Fall Fashion Extravaganza (I'll report on it next week), but the fall fashion season is definitely happening. Through Oct. 19, Flipnotics Clothespad & Coffeespace Cafe continues their 10th Anniversoiree celebration, with some wonderful musical events. Congratulations to them, and go to www.flipnotics.com for more info. Saturday, Oct. 18, is the always-swank St. Thomas benefit for the Austin Children's Shelter, featuring a runway show of the Dolce & Gabbana collection at the gorgeous AustinSeventyOne event venue in the Hill Country. Contact Megan Hartman at [email protected] or 236-2505 for more info. El Interior presents a fashion show of Mexican Indian costumes at Festival de las Plantas, Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park. See www.wildflower.org for more info. Sunday, Oct. 19, the Bedlam Faction brings you the Lunar Lounge Fashion Show & Benefit at Club DeVille. Contact Hildreth England at 698-5595 for details. Also on Saturday, Oct. 18, the new Factory People boutique (1325 S. Congress) opens with a booksigning and Q&A by British DJ Annie Nightingale, 2-4pm, and Sunday, Oct. 19, they present a Charity Shopping Day benefiting the Austin Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol Foundation, 11am-7pm. Friday, Oct. 24, is the Mystique event, promising a circuslike night of fashion, music, and unique performances at Elysium on Red River. New to Austin, Faernyn's Grove presents an evening that includes presentations of Siren Summer's amazing SubKult clothing collection and a performance by Govinda. Call 762-2918 for more details, or go to www.mycorset.com.