Cover Story
Best of Austin 2004
Readers’ and critics’ favorites
Hop
Hop 2002, NR, 104 min. Directed by Dominique Standaert, Starring Kalomba Mboyi, Ansou Diedhiou. In this Belgian comedy, an illegal émigré boy from Burundi finds refuge with a craggy boho couple after his father’s arrest.
Re-Animator
Re-Animator 1985, R, 86 min. D: Stuart Gordon; with Jeffrey Combs. This gory horror thriller with comedic touches is a classic.
Mobilus Media Sampler
Mobilus Media Sampler Three works produced and directed by the award-winning team of Ellen Spiro and Karen Bernstein: “Roam Sweet Roam,” “PopACTION,” and 9/11 shorts.
Jerkbeast
Jerkbeast 2004, NR. Directed by Brady Hall, Calvin Reeder, Starring Brady Hall, Calvin Reeder, Brian Wendorf. It’s a rock & roll monster movie that chronicles the rise to stardom of the worst rock band in the history of the world. The band comprises a foul-mouthed monster on drums, a brainless necrophiliac on bass, and a…
Help Me … I’m Possessed
Help Me … I’m Possessed 1976, PG. Directed by Charles Nizet, Starring Lynne Marta, William Greer, Deedy Peters. In this horror film, a mad scientist conducts mad experiments on his patients at his remote sanitarium in the desert.
Soccer Watch
UT against the ropes; first Europe, then the World
Come and Get Your Lead!
TCEQ turns up the heat in the toxic-TV-tube saga
The Brown Bunny
Vincent Gallo’s notorious film turns out to be an anti-action road trip that has the feeling of a fever dream.
Best Traffic Light/Intersection
It is the heart of downtown – the intersection of Austin’s business days and its boogie nights. Mammoth businesses – the Bank of America and ABC Bank on the southern end, Schlotzsky’s Deli and Starbucks on the northern end – loom over more personal, more Austin-like features: trumpet-blaring evangelicals, jugglers, buskers, Sixth Street revelers, and…
Best Annual Festival
People come to Austin from all over the world every year for these festivals, and yet for us, they’re just a hometown affair. It’s tens of thousands of people who suddenly become friends, united by the chords of genius musicians or the artistry of edgy filmmakers, holding conversations lubricated by beer and nighttime confessions. Lives…
Best Porn Rental/Purchase
Oh, Dreamers. How can we count the ways? As any true fan of dirty movies will attest, you are the one and only. Who else has the smarts to park within stumbling distance of the Crazy Lady, so that after a couple of cheap lap dances and expensive drinks we can take our merriment home…
Best Clothing
Where else can you buy those hard-to-find little girls’ size 4 sky-blue leggings? The recently relocated Dragonsnaps features handmade original clothes and accessories sure to catapult your kid to the head of the class, or at least to the head of the fashion-forward. Sadly, the big old beloved dragon planted on the front of the…
Best Local Comic Book
These two local underground comics have nary a superhero in sight and rely on autobiographical material (Snakepit) and lowbrow humor (Lawless Comix) to entertain their growing number of readers. Snakepit chronicles Ben White’s rock & roll lifestyle three panels per day, while Lawless is a collection of local strip artists expressing themselves in an uncensored…
Best Bowling Alley
The bowling’s the best in town; it’s true! There’s the little blowy thing at every lane for your sweaty paws, the little dancing guy on the score screen that makes fun of you when you choke, and quite the shoe selection. But with $2 whiskey & Cokes, $3 grilled cheese & fries, and legendary enchiladas,…
Best Activist
See Best Nonprofit Winner, Texas Freedom Network COMBINE THESE TWO!
Best Appliance/TV Repair
Having problems getting a picture on your television set? Step one: Make sure it’s on. (Step 1.5: … and plugged-in.) Step two: Call Bond’s if that doesn’t fix the problem. This family owned and operated TV and electronics repair shop prides itself on timely and thorough service. Who knows, maybe they’ve even figured out the…
Best Printer/Copies
Ah, the rows of gleaming copiers and crisp paper choices create a colorful haven for procrastinators everywhere, as does their convenient card system that can be loaded up with credit or cash when you have it and used at all hours when you don’t. Whether it’s printing a résumé, putting the finishing touches on that…
Best Independent Bookstore
Once again, the son of Grok affirms its special place in the hearts and literate minds of Austinites. In an era of ever-widening corporate jaws, BookPeople manages not only to survive but to thrive. Around for 30 years, this independent store has moved a number of times, growing to fit its current three-story location on…
Best Region-Free, Ginseng-Fueled Neighborhood Hangout/Video Store Expansion
Worried that your unslakable code-free DVD habit is ruining your social life? No time for other humans when you still haven’t listened to Peter Bogdanovich’s Targets director’s commentary? Lusting after bizarre Asian candies but not sure how to score your fix without mainlining it over to the Pacific Basin? Buddy, this is your lucky day.…
Best Sustainable and Delicious Business
David Ansel is a man with amazing hair, none of which you will ever find in his equally amazing soups. Ansel started out a couple of years ago with about two cents and an idea: Make delicious (mostly vegetarian) soup and deliver it by bicycle to a small list of subscribers. He was an instant…
Best Place to Keep Your Kids From Seeing the Light of Day
This Eastside entertainment giant has everything anyone could ever possibly want – whether you just got out of diapers or into them. Face it; where else can you roller-skate backward for hours and hours, bowl a couple of strings, grab lunch (you got your pizza, your hot dogs, your soda pop), check out a recently…
Best Reminder of Public Television’s Pertinence
We hear – almost daily, it seems – about the dangers growing up poor in Texas. Thousands of kids dumped from CHIP insurance, resources for mental health and a juvenile “correctional” system stretched dangerously thin. But it’s entirely different to put a face to the statistics, which is what the searing documentary Are the Kids…
Best Bathroom Graffiti
This is a ballsy title to claim, but Beerland is a ballsy club. You can talk about your Emo’s, your Holes, and your Chili Parlors, but Beerland’s men’s room hasn’t been around as long as those others, and the walls and stalls are nearly full. That means it’s fresh – at least artistically.
Best Cultural Arts Meeting Space
The wonderfully off-the-beaten-path coffeehouse/arts center/meeting space isn’t likely to stay a secret much longer. Located just east of I-35 on Oltorf, it offers an impressive array of meeting rooms for a handful or a hundred – plus a built-in theatre. Downstairs is a coffeeshop with Blue Bell ice cream, salads, cappuccino, panini sandwiches, and plenty…
Best Kick in the Grass
Emma Goldman is credited with saying, “If it doesn’t include soccer, I don’t want any part of your revolution.” Hold back that quip about lawlessness and organized sports: Anarchism and soccer have a richly intertwined past. Four years ago a cadre of local activists emerged from smoke-filled basements and played a game of soccer. They…
Best Broken-Window Fixers
Last spring APD Cmdr. Robert Gross and his command staff were planning how to make the newly created NCAC a success. They knew that this was their chance to do something different – to apply what they’d learned from their experiences in the police department and to chart a new course of action. And that’s…
Best Unsung Act of Kindness in the Heat
Without fuss or fanfare, Kruger’s Diamond Jewelers have set up a water cooler and cups in the outdoor foyer of their longtime downtown Austin store. The cooler comes out as soon as the sun begins its relentless beat-down, free to anyone, man or beast. Owner David Kruger says the water cooler has gone up for…
Best Reel-to-Reel Repairman Who Makes House Calls
Having seen a neighbor’s reel-to-reel tape machine in elementary school, young David Huff fell in love with the aesthetic and sound of these machines, simpler than today’s digital systems. Now, 40 years later, David has the disctinction of being one of the last purveyors of what might be a dying art. Much like those who…
Best Eye for Unusual Imports
Just off of South Congress, this charming import emporium goes far beyond the realm of the usual with its enticing selection of jewelry, clothing, accessories, and home decor. Especially notable is their selection of guayabera shirts for men – a common style, perhaps, but these are unlike others you may have seen. Their women’s clothing…
Best Women’s Accessories
They’ve always been noted for their shoes, including the collection designed by owners James Rowley and Gustavo LaGrave, but this West Lake Hills boutique has embraced all parts of the body now, from the feet up. Under the supervision of Lainey Diaz, the accessories area has become a hot draw. Silken scarves, fetching handbags, and…
Oops!
Last week we reported in “Naked City” (“Tomstown Hits the Fan”) that “TRMPAC executive director John Colyandro; Jim Ellis, a chief aide to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land; and national GOP fundraiser Warren RoBold were all indicted for money laundering, a first degree felony.” Colyandro and Ellis were indeed indicted for money…
No N***az in the ‘Statesman’
The daily keeps ‘Boondocks’ away from gentle readers
Best Urban Public Space
Maybe it’s the Austin Farmers’ Market, or the budding “synergies” of the CSC project finally bearing fruit, but the Warehouse District’s public square is taking shape as the kind of civic front porch Edwin Waller intended when he laid out Austin more than 150 years ago.
Best Bar With Arcade/Video Games
This tie is an interesting one, covering both ends of the bar-game spectrum. On the one hand, you’ve got the Ritz, a big-league, two-story megadome offering an unparalleled assortment of air hockey tables, pinball machines, foosball, video games, pool, and more. It’s a shoo-in, really … a ringer. Then comes the slightly mystifying Beerland, the…
Best Video/DVDs
Renting from Vulcan is like borrowing a video from a friend. Except this friend has an insanely vast collection of movies on video and DVD. With an awesome cult collection and movies to awe even the most pretentious film fan, the Vulcan staff and their weekly specials aim to please their “friends.”
Best Party Place
It’s a classic – the roller-skating birthday party. But Playland has kicked it up a notch with 27,500 feet of newly resurfaced roller-skating heaven, otherwise known as the biggest rink in Austin. Plus hot jams. What more could you want? Batting cages? Mini-golf? Well, slow down, because that’s for the afterparty at Austin’s Park ’n…
Best Local TV Programming
C’mon, people, just when it’s getting good? OK, we promised we wouldn’t rant about the impending doom for our beloved local music video station. Instead, let’s accentuate the positive: the show and the people! Angela Miller’s World Groove spins reels of global goodness, the Jolly Garogers’ Pirate Speaks!! speaks for aaaaarrrrrrrr! itself, and AMN Classics…
Best Camping
Only 30 miles to the west, Pace Bend is a popular spot for campers of all types. The steep cliffs overlooking Lake Travis attract the more adventurous, thrill-seeking types, therefore causing a lot of hooting and hollering as people fling themselves down a good 30-foot drop to the water below. For those who prefer a…
Best Citizen
Former White House resident, founder of the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982, an inexhaustible force on Austin’s Town Lake Beautification project, and even a “Texas Ex” (she attended the University of Texas during the 1930s), our beloved Lady Bird Johnson has been an Austin fixture for most of her life and an integral part…
Best Auto Inspection Station
Fast, efficient service gets you in and out of this inspection station in a matter of minutes … but throwing in a pleasant and friendly carside manner makes Alan’s an Austin favorite.
Best Recording Studio
Hidden all the way down South Congress (near Exposé and Ruta Maya International Headquarters), Kurtis and the gang at Million Dollar Sound have been quietly supporting Austin’s rock scene for years. Your musical dreams will come to fruition with the sound of a million dollars on the budget of a broke soon-to-be rock star.
Best Promoter of the Bard
Clayton Stromberger is a driving force in getting kids in Austin to live, breathe, and love Shakespeare. From his afterschool workshops to his outstanding job of leading the youth Shakespeare at Winedale program in the summers, it’s always a Bard Day’s Night when Clayton is in the room.
Best Spicy Margarita
Austin is “loaded” with great margaritas! They are so ubiquitous and have become such a staple in our local cuisine that even fairly pedestrian versions can at least hit the spot on a hot summer night. But don’t you ever wish for one with a bit more pizzazz? Aaahhhh, then whip out the lime and…
Most Delicious Bobó de Camarão
While the words literally translate to “Crazy for shrimp!,” for those who haven’t mastered Baiana culinary lingo, that means “Yuca and Shrimp.” Not just yuca and shrimp, though. We’re talking about a creamy tomato sauce, onions, peppers, and spices galore swimming in a bowl fit for a king. Palates scream for this stuff, and stomachs…
Best Place to Show your kids an industrial view
Right next to the swings that harness our little one’s energies lies a whole expanse of metal pipes and doodads that create the energy that power our very houses. When little precious leaves the light on, you can point to the rusted metal facings rising on the banks of the river and tell her that…
Best Retired Meteorologist
After Mr. Smith’s bow from the airwaves earlier this year, we felt compelled to examine and honor the life of Fox’s former morning forecaster. Graduating from the University of Houston in 1960, Gordon enlisted in the Army, where he worked behind the scenes on several USO tours featuring the likes of Bob Hope. Coming back…
Best Building to Consider for Preservation
There are no commercial buildings in Austin more than 200 years old and not too many that are more than 100 years. America’s history is short, and Austin’s even shorter, so a structure with character that is even a half-century old and in a condition aching for pre-emptive preservation is worthy of note. The Trafton…
Best Excuse to Drink Guinness in November
After years of being rained out and flooded in various locations, the Austin Celtic Festival found a home at Fiesta Gardens four years ago, and the sun began to shine. This confluence of Celtic music and culture offers not just music from the Seven Nations but a variety of activities and events for all ages.…
Best Kite Extravaganza
It’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, it’s a giant flying cat … kite. Just one example of something you might have heard in passing at this year’s 76th annual Zilker Park Kite Festival. Each year, in early March, the air and trees of Zilker fill with kites of all shapes and colors at…
Best City Board
An obscure-sounding backwater? Hardly; the RMC has become the de facto nerve center within city government for Austin’s ambitious effort to become an international capital for clean energy – perhaps the most important accomplishment of the Wynn Era. Expertise and vision: exactly what a city board is supposed to offer. The RMC meets the third…
Best Volunteer-Run Organization
Founded in 1999, the Inside Books Project sends free literature and educational material to Texas’ incarcerated population. IBP is run by a core of eight unpaid collective members who oversee the day-to-day administrative operations along with a base of more than 40 volunteers who prepare the bulk of thousands of packages sent to prisoners each…
Best Rentals
Spontaneity may be an essential part of rock & roll, but the equipment required is often too ungainly to schlep around town without a guarantee of usefulness. Inevitably, you find yourself sitting on a back porch, looking out at a yard that would make the perfect location for an impromptu show. There might be folks…
Best Gifts and Home Decor
At their new home on the SoFi Strip (South 1st), Napa Home positively blooms with charm and good service. The bright, sunny interior is the perfect backdrop for their delicious selection of gifts and home decor – exquisite, unusual pieces in high style, expertly selected by owners Julia Elam and Randy Phillips. From luxurious bed…
Most Surprising Mix of Genres
Musicmania is infamous for taking its place as the record store for the rap/hip-hop set – kind of like what Thirty Three Degrees was for experimental music listianados, but less nerdy. They have the entire gamut of rap music, movies (including porno flicks) with black actors and actresses, and the only place in town we…
Rhapsody
The monumental impact of Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo (“Phases and Stages,” July 23, 2004) isn’t ultimately in its 31 covers as it’s in the caliber of roster. Having Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Lenny Kaye, John Cale, Ian McLagan, Bob Neuwirth, Ian Hunter, and Charlie Musselwhite, to name but a…
Big Bend’s Vanishing Point
Clearing the air over the queen of Texas parks
Best Waiting Room/Lobby
Like a step back in time, the renovated lobby of the Driskill hotel recalls an Austin unmarred by miles of traffic, manufactured subdivisions, chain restaurants, and strip malls. This homage to Lonestar aesthetics offers rich leather couches, cozy dining areas, and intimate lighting; the room acts as a destination rather than a segue – a…
Best Bartender
Be it a quiet weeknight or a floor-sweating concert, the man to know behind the bar is Kevin “Kumbala” Crutchfield. While serving as the haunt’s chief sudsman, Kevin is also the storied bar’s co-owner and responsible for the revitalization that occurred when the Longbranch reopened approximately a year ago. Cheers!
Best Brunch Crowd
Celebrating 15 years in Austin, Z’Tejas affords a delicious weekend that includes specialties from their lunch and dinner menus as well as inventive breakfast favorites. Brunch-goers form an eclectic mix of families, baby boomers, and young people, who somehow all come together for a pleasant, quiet, slow-paced weekend morning of mimosas and eggs Florentine.
Best Place to Commune With Nature
With botanical gardens, a nature center, countless play areas, and even an annual kite festival, Zilker Park never gets old and neither do her visitors. Children (and adults, for that matter) of any age find a favorite place here, from the Blues on the Green music fest during the summer at Rock Island to soccer…
Best Local Zine
Two Note Solo’s Henri Mazza may be the last best hope for a truly weird Austin. Unlike the bumper-sticker/T-shirt poseurs, Henri puts his money where his mind is, even when there’s not much cheese to spread. Thus, Two Note Solo is a Web site, a multimedia production company, and when times are fat, an actual…
Best Community Garden
Among the biggest community gardens in the nation, with close to 250 cultivated plots, Sunshine Gardens helps support the Sustainable Food Center of Central Texas and provides a perfect place for people without yard space to flex their green thumbs. Prices are cheap, and planting space is plentiful. Gardeners work diligently and purposefully to maintain…
Best Effort to Improve Austin
More than 10 years on, the Save our Springs Alliance still holds the soul of the city in its hands. And 2004’s been a good year for S.O.S., with a courthouse winning streak versus Lowe’s and a victory over the EPA with a diazinon ban.
Best Auto Service/Repair
A few years ago, Jim Ernst and crew took home a Critics Pick for Best Place to Pick Up a Used Honda or Toyota. They earned that distinction for expertly specializing in – and offering great deals on – cars from the small-import genre. First and foremost, however, the Auto Depot is an excellent repair…
Best Rental/Roommate Locator
Started in 1995 by Craig Newmark to tell friends about the cool happenings in San Francisco, the Craigslist phenomenon has now spread to 45 other cities, including our own, and is still growing. From Austin to Boston and even London, this helpful online bulletin board is a simple and hassle-free (no pop-up ads!) way to…
Least Frenetic Art Crawl
No boutique strip, loud bands, street vendors, or public urination (that we saw, anyway) – just an amazing swath of art in its natural setting: a sprawling series of sweet East Austin homes, studios, and warehouses (you know, the kinds of places where artists can afford to live and work). EAST’s biannual showcase can run…
Best Bite of New Orleans
I know VBW has food locked in but this bunch of New Orleans-raised folks flipped over their hot roast beef pobobys, made the right way – they even ask if you want it “dressed,” N.O. lingo for “all the way.” Smothered pork chops, fried chicken, boudin, jambalaya … it’s all good! Going during lunch? There’s…
Best “Faith”-Based Giving Results
The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation had faith in the concept that if you offer the right tools and support, more children from AISD College Readiness Program’s target populations (first-generation college students, minority groups, students with special learning needs, students with limited English proficiency, etc.) could truly have faith in their greater likelihood of being…
Best Public School Model
Located in the heart of Austin’s Eastside on Chicon Avenue, this “inner-city” school has been reformed as a self-paced opportunity for high school juniors and seniors seeking a fresh start and a new environment. Although classes may entail only a half day, some students feel that with the focus on smaller class size, independent learning,…
Best Televised Moderator / Gardener
Best known for his long running gig as PBS’ Central Texas Gardener (“the CTG,” to y’all in the know) and his more recent stint as the host of acclaimed local news magazine Austin NOW, less is known about Spencer’s 20 plus years behind the scenes at KLRU. When not cementing KLRU’s status as one of…
Best Directions
The quest of the ages is where to find Love. Sometimes desires run along the lines of something a bit more base and a simple Tryst will do. And then there are those down-and-dirty times when what one seeks is simply a good Shag, baby. City of Austin road crews accommodated motorists with explicit directions…
Best Film School for Your Average Joe
As one student puts it, “Steve Mims moves about the classroom like a cat. A true professional in a dog-eat-dog world.” You don’t even have to be an artsy-fartsy college film student. These classes are intended for anyone interested in digital video and filmmaking. What you’ll learn will have you competing with the pros in…
Best Neighborhood to Make Out In
Gone are the days of kissing at Makeout Point, but sometimes you need to express your love… right now. Pick a neighborhood, any neighborhood. Our favorite is one with few streetlights, lots of windy roads and dead ends, and neighbors who stay to themselves. Beverly Hills doesn’t put these virtues on the home buying asset…
Best City Bureaucrat
As budget officer, Rudy Garza – City Hall’s fastest-rising star – got nicknamed “Dr. Gloom.” Despite this ominous moniker, Garza ably earned kudos for his performance under exceptionally adverse fiscal conditions. Now assistant city manager over public safety, Garza has been entrusted with a whole new, different set of daunting challenges. We think he’ll do…
Best Way to Stick APD With the Tab
That’s right: The Austin Police Department provides the liquor; you provide the liver. The APD Training Academy conducts three seminars a year to train cadets in the “intricacies” of field sobriety test administration. To accomplish this, a pool of willing guinea pigs skilled in the fine art of tippling is required. And all of this…
Best Rim Job
Nestled next to the train tracks off East Fifth, a little wooden shop quivers in the shadows of the impending lofts that are a part of the yuppification, rather, revitalization , of the Eastside. The East Side Pedal Pushers have been quietly fixing the hard-ridden wheels and steadily pumped derailers of Austin’s Eastsiders for about…
Best Horse Casita
We were sad to see Terra Toys and Dragonsnaps vacate their South Congress premises. They not only took their charming wares and togs with them, but their signature dragon sculpture and mural, too. Fortunately, the wall has not been condemned to drab anonymity; the new tenants, Mi Casa Gallery, commissioned a lovely mural that keeps…
Best Film Location
The grounds are a bit run down, part of the aesthetic and part of the charm of the Sri Atmananda complex that rests like an old but elegant dame at the corner of Red River and 41st. Like Norma Desmond, she’s shrouded in her fading vanity, cracked facades, overgrown foliage, and all. But unlike the…
Will TRMPAC Mess Stick to Baxter and Stick?
The GOP freshmen play defense in the campaign-cash scandal
Plead Ignorance
In the wake of the TRMPAC indictments, the big players are scurrying for cover
Best Window Display
Using vintage furniture, muted colors, newsprint text, and elegant clothing, Blackmail’s windows present a minimalist look that cooly beckons shoppers to come inside. The setup is always artistic, stylish, ephemeral, and creative, reflecting the store itself and the people who patronize it.
Best Beer on Tap
With 82 draught choices, the Ginger Man is undoubtedly the place in Austin for beer variety. They also boast more than 100 bottled beers from all over the world, in addition to wi-fi, pool, darts, cozy couches, an eclectic jukebox, and two large porch areas. Mondays are logo pint night, where customers can keep the…
Best Catering
Feeding Austinites at special events for close to 20 years, Word of Mouth prepares everything from finger foods to multitiered bridal cakes. No matter how large or small the occasion, this Austin original can provide food to make it memorable. Bon Appétit even named them one of the 10 best wedding caterers in the nation.
Best Recreation Center
Hancock Rec offers more than just a great afterschool program and fun club. It has youth sports (inter-rec center soccer, girls volleyball, and co-ed flag football leagues), a convenient nine-hole golf course, a playground, plus some of the area’s most lovely and affordable grounds for weddings or parties. There’s something for everyone: Club UBU for…
Best Locally Produced TV Show
Celebrating three decades of being America’s favorite place to see roots music from blues to rock, swing to country, ACL is the crown jewel of Austin-based television. Spawning an annual festival and legions of fans, the show looks forward to another 30 years of ACL’s own brand of down-home hospitality .. and that twinkling backdrop!
Best Day Trip – Dry
After years of hearing the mysterious creaking and groaning of this enormous geological formation, the Tonkawa Indians believed the rock to harbor spirits and claimed to see ghost fires burning atop the ridge. While fire is closely monitored by park rangers nowadays, and the spooky noises have been chalked up to the decidedly unghostlike expansion…
Best Elected Official
After years of being part of the local landscape Doggett really needed to feel your love this year, after redistricting put him at genuine risk for the first time in his House career. And love there was; barring an act of God, Doggett’s career representing Austinites will continue into its fourth decade in November.
Best Barber Shop
Though original owner Robert Bristol (who died earlier this year) had left his shop in the early-Nineties after many years, the Crestview Barber Shop is flourishing as new attentions have many clients exiting salons and entering barber shops for more traditional cutting and styling methods. Its classic setting is a look back to another era,…
Best Shoe Repair
We’re hard on our shoes here in Austin – from extreme sports to the ballroom of the Four Seasons, we’re on our feet all the time. Be they Chuck Taylors or Manolos, we invest a lot in our shoes, and fortunately we have both Sammie’s one-stop shop for shoe repair, run by a friendly son-and-pop…
Best Air Hockey
Ever find yourself wandering around Downtown on a Saturday night, dazed and perhaps confused, wondering where you might play a good ol’-fashioned game of “whack the puck”? The Ritz on Sixth has two tables, four paddles, and two sweet hovering discs just calling out yer name. Go on, let your killer instincts challenge your better…
Best Brunch Setting
This is, bar none, the most exquisite place to have brunch. There is no better eggs Benedict in town. There is no better muesli (a cold cereal with oats, cream, nuts, and apples) anywhere – it’s chef Elmar Prambs’ little gift to us from his German childhood. Sit outside on the patio on one of…
Best Balloon Master
We found ourselves at the Filling Station on a Sunday afternoon with a teenager and a preteen, representing two of the most difficult age groups to amuse. Yet here came Gusto the Great across the room, making balloon toys and doing “close-up” magic for the little, er, adolescent nippers. Gus, as he’s known away from…
Best Red Carpet Fanfare
Not to dismiss our darling celebrities – sure, they deserve a little star treatment every now and again – but when we heard that these kid-powered, youth-empowering film programs were hosting their own red-carpet debuts, we thought that the glitz and glamour were definitely called for. Perhaps the level of cinematic expertise wouldn’t fly in…
Best Underground Comic Publication
Hitler would’ve called it degenerate art. It certainly depicts humanity’s underbelly – Mr. Hyde rather than Dr. Jekyll. For nearly six years, this coterie of gifted local and national artists has held its jagged mirror up to the world and given us a bimonthly dose of the absurd, the whimsical, and the psychological. If you…
Best Facades, Face Lifts, and True-to-Forms
Space is the place. Austin’s public spaces are precious. When we think of public space, natural and architectural wonders like Zilker Park, the UT Tower, the Barton Springs bathhouse, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the LBJ Library all come to mind as places to gather and celebrate our home. Through Austin’s Nineties tech…
Best Locally Produced Literary Anthology
Don’t let the title fool you into thinking this is a joke punk cynical jackoff. Edited by Hoa Nguyen and Dale Smith, the ‘Poss is one of the most lively and intensely literate anthologies produced in the world. Always smart, challenging, and never complacent, their reputation among serious, professional poets is sterling and deservedly so.…
Best Open House
This past March marked the fifth year that thousands of visitors flocked to the University of Texas at Austin for what is touted as “The Biggest Open House in Texas,” and it is. The event is an opportunity for the public, especially school children, grades K-12, to explore everything burnt orange. There are numerous hands-on…
Best Entrepreneurial Spirit
Is it possible to transform a corporate big-box dump into entrepreneurial Austin cool? Indeed. In 2002, Andrew Perkel, a 12-year veteran of the Austin Police Department, and friend Bill Talley teamed up to transform the old and vacant Sam’s Club on North Lamar into Marketplace Austin, a modern “flea market,” with the goal of removing…
Best Whistle-Blower
Veteran Austin Police Department Detective Jeff White has gone where no APD officer has gone before: He filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the department in connection with the infamous mid-Nineties Mala Sangre scandal and has stuck with it – through all of the stress and future career uncertainty that comes with it. Still, he’s hanging…
Best Survivor of the Brave, New, Meat-Free World
Since inheriting West Austin’s Tarrytown shopping center several years ago, rabid animal-rights activist Jeanne Daniels has waged a crusade to cleanse the strip mall of any selling of meat or animal by-products. Neighborhood favorites – the Grocery, Formosa, Texas French Bread, and 50-year-old family restaurant Holiday House – were all out faster than you could…
Best Kickass Trophies
Searching for the perfect gift for that kickass person in your life? Tired of giving out plants and soap and candles and gift cards from the same-old same-old retailers? Then head on over to Longhorn Trophies and order up a kickass trophy. For under 20 bucks, you can surprise your favorite people with a shiny…
Best of Austin 2004
The Hope That the Present Has Brought Us EASTSIDE, MIDSUMMER, 2004: The lovely park setting at once honors and belies the area’s history. At dusk, the last orange light of day paints the new old-school brick with a twinkly sheen. At dark, street lamps take the place of natural light and lend an air of…
TRMPAC Indictments Come Down, ‘More Work’ Remains
Ronnie Earle and the Travis Co. grand jury announce the initial results of the TRMPAC investigation
Austin @ Large: The Fall Season
Will the City Council schedule bring breakout hits or fabulous flops?
Best Actor/Actress
Well, of course it’s a tie. And if you wanted these talented women to pretend it was a tie between two Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling from Brooklyn, they’d make it look so real you’d be able to smell the blood and sweat dripping onto the squared circle. Two retired Ministers of Finance from the old…
Best Cocktails/Cocktail Menu
Many choices face someone wanting to go have a drink downtown. But in terms of cocktails, Saba and Brown Bar rise above the rest, both in terms of menu diversity and drink quality. For cocktails with a Latin, tropical flair, look to Saba, especially during happy hour, when all their specialty drinks are half-off. For…
Best Coffee/Tea Selection
Mercilessly serving Austin’s undercaffeinated, overeducated hipster masses for years, Little City’s outposts attest to the power of xanthine in a college town. Their Guadalupe and Congress locales are terrific study spots, what with wi-fi, specialty drinks, plentiful refills, and ample people-watching opportunities when motivation wavers. So go holler at that sexy thang slyly hiding behind…
Best Restaurant
Somehow, our summer swimming outings just weren’t complete unless they ended in a trip to EZ’s, a fast-food type restaurant that started in San Antonio. Besides serviceable kids fare and better-than-usual burgers and curly fries, EZ’s prepares an oven-roasted rosemary chicken that many home cooks would love to emulate, a nice grilled trout, and has…
Best Morning Radio Hosts
What’s a morning crew without the sidekicks? For the past two years, readers have told us that JB & Sandy are nice-guys this and good-wake-up calls that, yada yada. But this year, we’re gonna spread the love: first to Debi O’Keefe, whose distinct Brit lilt is now a staple all over Austin radio; then to…
Best Day Trip – Wet
Back in the day, the ol’ Florida Citrus Commission had a saying: “A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine!” We’d like to offer this Lone Star revision for 2004: “A summer without Schlitterbahn is like a summer in Hell!” The Texas summer – even one as mild and perfect as 2004’s…
Best Ex-Elected Official
Ex-electeds in Austin tend to drop out of radar range pretty quickly, but the Kirkster continues to capture attention – currently leading the pro-rail campaign, he’ll soon take the helm at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, and then …
Best Bicycle Repair
With all the bicycling Austinites like to do around here, it’s no wonder we need skilled bike geniuses to keep us on the road. Luckily, we’ve got plenty to choose from, and you, sweet readers, deraill(eur)ed the previous years’ gridlock of our regular two hot contenders, Ozone and Bicycle Sport Shop, and have chosen humble…
Best Tailor
Back in the day, jeans were always too short – grunge was in, but jeans weren’t long enough to get grungy. Today’s jeans are overcompensating, with hyperlong being the norm, and the city’s mud puddles are all on our pants, soaked up Brawny-style. Maybe that’s why Austin shows Ace Custom Tailors the love every year.…
Best Audio Production Go-To Guys
Hard to top Corey Roberts and Bob Kellough for perfectionism in the realm of audio recording, mastering, editing, producing, and performing. Whether for albums, radio, TV, or film projects. (Amazing what they can do with that ubiquitous low-budget DV film where the filmmaker was much too busy thinking about how it “looked” to worry about…
Best Burger, Fries and R.C. Cola for 2 Bucks and Change
Alonzo’s location on Airport boasts the cheapest breakfast tacos in town, barbacoa, beef fajitas, and some of the oddest hours in the business (6:20am-1:45pm, anyone?). Yet when you find yourself at the order window in this old-school curbside eatery, the meal to beat is the “Johnny Boy” combo – a suprisingly hefty hamburger, fries, and…
Best Club to Care More About Kids Than Their Alcohol Sales
Being in high school is a bummer and it becomes ever more depressing when there’s no where to go after you leave the house. Luckily Emo’s becomes the bastion for kids with good taste in music. From their free all ages day shows during sxsw to the fantastic line up of bands they have ushered…
Best Summer Place for Learning Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic
For an educated city like Austin, it is surprising that there aren’t more academically oriented summer day camps. If your child needs to brush up on some of those math and reading skills, look no further than KAMICO Academy. A private school during the regular school year, KAMICO opens its doors during the summer to…
Best Underrated Morning Crew
Like a big glass of ice-cold morning OJ, KAZI’s Thursday morning crew is a refreshing pick-me-up from the exhausting noise on most FM radio AM shows. And like that glass of pure vitamin goodness, KAZI’s Thursday and Friday morning show is more nourishing and feels less filling than the pop-tart broadcasts that come out of…
Best Look Back at the New Eastside
Perhaps this masterpiece, this soul-sending work of art should also be given an award for Best Mural That You Really Have to Look For. Sankofa is the name of this two-paneled complement that resides behind John Yancey’s now well-known mural that has become synonymous with – almost a logo for – Austin’s re-emergent “East End.”…
Best Muggle Reimagining of Magicians
When critics went apeshit over Alfonso Cuarón directing a more adult Potter film – well, adult in the sense of serious drinking and salty language – little did they know someone had beat him to it. Brad Neely’s Wizard People, Dear Reader is a hilarious homemade commentary CD, meant to be synced up to the…
Best Place to Experience the River Wild
Peering into the primitive majesty of the woods surrounding Twin Falls may not reveal a crazed Kevin Bacon brandishing a handgun, but may indeed create enough of a “natural” distraction to make you lose your grip on the inadequate stick or slippery rock you were relying upon for support and balance. Thus begins a spiraling…
Best Fearless Underdog
When Tom DeLay stuck it to Austin with redistricting, Democrats felt angry but powerless – just as DeLay intended. Despair reigned as no donkeys filed to run in Congressional District 10. But after the primary, a humble UT instructor decided that injustice must be fought, damn the odds, and Lorenzo Sadun filed as a write-in.…
Best Amp & Guitar Repair
Good, reasonable, and … uh … maybe not exactly cheerful, but do you want your shit fixed or not? Chances are owner Walter Hutcherson has been repairing guitars longer than you’ve been playing them, so if on occasion he seems a little gruff, it’s because he’s seen a thousand other ignorant punks just like you…
Best Use of Turkey Poop
As they like to say of themselves, “We make the dirt that makes the daisies dance!” This is not inflated self-congratulation. These folks really know how to blend their dirt, aiming for good loft (i.e., dirt fluffiness). Try one of their turkey-poop-enhanced Thunder Blends if you want to make your neighbors very, very jealous of…
Best Locally Made Yoga Togs
HEY LIZ: WHEN YOU WRITE THIS BLURB, PLEASE TYPE ALL CONTACT INFO YOU CAN FIND (WEB ADDRESS, STREET ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER) IN THIS FIELD, AT THE END OF YOUR TEXT. — NOT THE LOCATION FIELD. THANK YOU, DIANA
Counting the Felonies
A list of the persons and corporations indicted in the TRMPAC investigation, and the charges against them
The Hightower Report
Get ready for the sweatshop tsunami; and Congress gives itself a raise
Best Architecture
Sleek and gorgeous, the Frost Bank Tower, along with the Capitol, is the most identifiable mark on the new Austin skyline, and the tower is Austin’s first world-class skyscraper. Adding a fresh, stylish element to our cityscape, this 515-foot monolith, designed by Duda/Paine Architects, has a silvery-blue glass used nowhere else except NYC’s 3 Times…
Best Art Gallery
Conveniently located between the UT campus and downtown, Women & Their Work has been celebrating female artists in Texas for decades. A nonprofit organization dedicated to educating our city about contemporary art and extolling the women who create it, their small, exquisite gallery is truly the finest in Austin. Their gift shop can provide just…
Best Dance Club
For those afflicted with 4ADD, Elysium takes Best Dance Club for good reason. The staff is sexy; the owner, John Wickham, is one of the friendliest mofos in town; and the music … the music is key. From tribal electronica and progressive beats, to the smooth, murky blade of goth, the music is what defines…
Best Gourmet/Specialty Grocery
Belying its size, Wheatsville carries a surprising array of both local and imported organic and nonorganic products and promises special orders of anything you can’t find. While that’s impressive in itself for a neighborhood grocery, the deli and outside patio ensure that you’ll run into someone you know, making Wheatsville the glue that binds in…
Best Shoes
Sandy’s keeps shifting around from space to space in the same West Anderson Lane shopping center, and apparently with each move there is a bit of a retooling. We were glad to see they’d done away with selling toys. (Like there isn’t enough tension when you’re buying shoes for kids!) The ladies shoe selection seems…
Best Photographer
Alan Pogue is Austin’s favorite photographer. No, wait … Todd Wolfson is. It’s a candy mint. No, dammit, it’s a breath mint. Though distinctly different – Pogue is most recently known for his courageous and unflinching look at our country’s forays in Iraq, and Wolfson’s sensual saturations of hard color and contrast are helping make…
Best Gear/Sporting Goods
Whatever ball it is you like to bounce, you can bet your jockstrap and/or sports bra they’ve got one at Academy. These sporting goods stalwarts bring their A-game when it comes to stocking their shelves with the finest quality and widest selection of goods at competitive prices.
Best GLBT Leader
Two of the hardest-working activists in the scope of GLBT rights, it is an incredible honor that we can call them our own. For those new to town, meet LGRL’s director Randall Ellis and lobbyist Bettie Naylor, two Texas stars from two generations of Lone Star activism. Naylor’s fire was lit during the early feminist…
Best Car Wash
Americans may be “in love” with their cars, but Texans are positively obsessed with them. We are auto stalkers! Well, like any good lover or totally obsessed boyfriend, we like to keep our preciouses pretty. Here’s where the jolly Big G works his magic. If you wish for that certain sparkle for your trophy car,…
Best Tattoo Artist
Specializing in Japanese, neo-Japanese, and abstract art, Monsieur Gunn is a maestro of magnificent tattoos. His finely crafted designs, subtle shadings, and brilliant colors have earned him national renown, and practically made him into a local hero. His devotees are rabid about his work, and some will not consider anyone else when it comes to…
Best Coffeehouse Stage/Sound System
This ain’t no bohemian, bebop, black beret, bongo-bangin’, beat generation box in a basement. Ruta Maya’s stage is a coffeehouse colossus, a centerpiece for the self-centered, an Olympus for the onanist, a maniacally massive monolith fitted with top-notch lighting and a full throttle, ear-piercing, hair-throwing sound system. It’s finger clickin’ good.
Best Coolest Snow Cones
The heat index must be around 200 degrees, sweat is pouring down your face as you ride your bike down South Lamar. What are those people doing in that line of umbrellas? They are waiting to cool off with some of the tastiest snow cones ever to stain a pair of lips or new white…
Best Creative Use of Latex
Even the balloon-phobic will insist on setting their anxiety aside when Smarty Pants walks into the room. This fez-sporting kids entertainer keeps the adults laughing at least as hard as the kiddies as he whips up wacky creations like Ballooncula, the vampiric balloon monster. A punster, too, he refers to his art as Airigami –…
Best Way to Jazz Kids up
Ever since School of Rock opened parents’ eyes to their kids’ musical possibilities, places like the Austin School of Music have been besieged with calls. ASM’s programs offer not only year-round classes and a rock summer camp but specialize in a jazz camp. Directors David Sebree and Tamara Beland (who has recently departed from the…
Best Independent Hardware Store
This family-owned business has been serving the Austin community for more than 30 years. With its gourmet kitchen shop, cooking classes, and stellar gardening department, Breed & Co. offers a lot more for your home than just hammers and tape measures.
Best New Fountain
There’s plenty to like about this Manor Road descendant of San Antonio’s mom & pop La Fiesta Patio Cafe. This puffy taco palace is sort of La Fiesta 2.0, as the upgraded Vivo is definitely less “down-home” than its predecessor. While the vibe is still comfy, Vivo is graced with romantic low lighting, table linens,…
Best Way to Get the Word Out Cheap
What can we say about friendly Fritz, the affable Motorblade guy, who started out god knows how many years ago – that nutty guy you see Rollerblading his way (or tooling around in his cool Rollerblade van) from venue to venue, slapping up gig posters and other event announcements? He’s a force unto himself, the…
Best Place to Learn Pilates
What is it? A sport? No. An activity? Well, more like moving yoga. It’s exercise, OK? Pilates has hit the U.S. and already has kind of a bored-housewife aura to it (and Mecca attracts more than its share of the golf-visor crowd). It’s not a pursuit for the budget-crunched, either. But Mecca’s Pilates staff makes…
Best Freebies
Chad Hopper has been putting boxes of art and toys up for grabs around town at various locations like Wheatsville and Waterloo since 2001. Chad and his posse of friends who comprise Palfloat, a small art collective he started in 1997, make the art. With a Santa Claus precision (except he’s thinner), this stealth artist…
Best Child Care
Serving preschoolers from 18 months on up, JCC’s Early Childhood Program is more than a day care. It’s a structured environment where kids can do stuff from learning to speak to creating their first artwork. They offer different periods throughout the day, like science, art, and reading time. With small classes, the kids make good…
Best Used Saabs and Service
Time and again we’ve purchased used Saab’s from Doc’s — always a great price and willing to deal. In addition, Doc’s is a certified Saab specialist, able to pinpoint any troubles with a quick and sure hand. Coupled with their speedy repair service, Doc’s ensures safe and stylish driving at a very reasonable cost.
Texas Joins the Inadequacy Club
School-finance decision consistent with national trends
The Scenic Route
Bob Smeaton on ‘Festival Express’
Best Bathroom
At most, restrooms are an afterthought; at the very least, they are merely bearable portals for one (or two) of life’s little necessities. These two winners are exceptions. What relief! The Headliner’s Club offers a panoramic view westward with its wall of windows in the mens’ room, while the Driskill hotel envelopes the user in…
Best Author/Poet
For some, the act of prosody is one best conducted under dark of night, a wee-hour’s dare that urges words forth through the sheer power of desperation, deprivation, or solitude. For others it is a meticulously mathematical balance between form and function. For Zell Miller III, the act of versification is proof that not only…
Best Gas Station Beer and Wine Selection
If nothing else, the Whip Inventory is Whip Incredible. Whip Instead of the usual convenience store cache of watered-down big-three bubba beer and box wines, the Topiwala family stocks nearly every sort of suds imaginable as well as a vast volume of vino. So, if you’re a wino looking to get your grape on or…
Best Home Delivery
Austin’s Pizza doesn’t have to offer minute-by-minute gimmicks to get your pizza promptly to your doorstep. They just do their jobs: You order, they pop it into their brick oven, and then, miraculously, one of their courteous delivery staff appears at your stoop and the doorbell rings. Their menu is simple, cheap, and straight-forward, but…
Best Sports Program
Sometimes you gotta go with the classics. Not only has the YMCA been around since men were wearing those funny full-bodied bathing suits, but it’s been encouraging that whole mind-body-spirit thing all this time, too. The Y promotes respect and friendship as much as the spirit of competition, and we think that’s just plain sportsmanly…
Best Public Access TV Show
Sure, that irreverent Austin Access program The Show With No Name is a perennial winner for its hodgepodge of new, old, and found video, comedy, and callers. But of course, the main reason is that when sexy host Charlie’s dopey grin is lit, who can’t help but stop the channel surfing? Too bad the last…
Best Gym/Fitness Facility
With locations all over town, this affordable workout facility features a friendly staff, abundant class options, and a variety of machines to allow for great workouts without any yuppie frills. In addition, the downtown location at Sixth and Congress caters conveniently to the disciplined among us who give up their lunch hours to battle the…
Best Job
Whether sage on the stage or guide on the side, a teacher’s impact is felt for a lifetime. And in a town where there are certainly more lucrative and glamorous options, we’re proud that our readers’ hearts (and minds) are in the right place! (Or perhaps there are a lot more teachers, or appreciative students,…
Best Computer Repair
Hovering above South Lamar’s mortals like Bill Gates’ vision of nirvana is the PC Guru. If Paul Mullen’s calming, Crumb-like caricature adorning the store does not yet bring you comfort, wayward computer, surely his work will. Renowned on both sides of the pond for computer expertise (Mullen got his nick in the UK as a…
Best Antiques/Collectibles/Vintage
Visiting Uncommon Objects is like going to your eccentric activist grandmother’s house, if she decided to slap price tags on all her possessions and drag out the fantastic vintage clothing she sported in her youth. This store seems to never end, with room after room of every collectible, attire, classic signage, and international treasure you…
Best Dancing Elves
As if Lala’s isn’t already the stuff of urban legend: The venerable bar opened in ’72 tucked into an innocuous strip mall, Christmas decorations adorning the joint year ’round, dusty pennants and hats lining the walls, a jukebox filled with real 45s. But have you ever noticed, Bloody Mary in hand, that the miniature stuffed…
Best Display of Chinese Roast Duck
MAX promises he will do this so… HOLD FOR MAX or he is a Ded Duck!!!
Best Distraction While Waiting for a Grilled Cheese
Can’t take another meal with your kids at some dreary chain restaurant? Sworn off fast food? Try Austin Diner for a change. Besides a great kids menu, they have several boxes of orphaned little Happy Meal-type toys that children find fascinating, as well as games and puzzles to play with. It’s a way to get…
Best Way to Rock This Town
How cool is this? You’re 10 years old, a veteran of summer music camps, can play enough 13th Floor Elevators songs for a mini-set, and Roky Erickson shows up for your gig! Natural Ear Music Camp founder Michele Murphy and camp director Alvin Crow were thrilled with his appearance, but the spotlight was on the…
Best Liquor Store
There’s nothing within legal boundaries that could be done to make Grape Vine Market a better liqour store. It’s an 18,000-square-foot alcohol fortress that boasts Austin’s biggest beer selection and around 1,500 liquors. Should nuclear winter come, who wouldn’t want to celebrate new Earth with around 4,000 wines as well as appetizers and lunches prepared…
Best New Public Building
We’re reserving judgment on City Hall and the Carver complex until we can actually go inside. But once again, the best tax-dollar contribution to the local built-scape is a library – a facility designed, and executed, to bring diverse people and interests together. At Ruiz, this is almost literal; the library is not just a…
Best Web Site to Guide You to the Cool Punk Rock Show
After the demise of Sound Exchange (and the Texas Showlist along with it), Dan Machold took matters into his own show-loving hands and started the Austin, TX Showlist. This no-frills Web site gives you the lowdown on the when and where for all the punk, garage, hardcore, indie, experimental, etc. shows going on around town.…
Best Place to Pretend You Are Barry Bonds
Softball in a sandlot is fun, but softball under the big lights? It’s an entirely different ballgame. The pressure is on. No excuses. Put up or shut up. From the beautiful fields to the trained umpire staff and an actual, working scoreboard, this is the real deal. For just a second, with your ball soaring…
Best FUNdraisers
Two joyous nights. Nowhere else but Austin. Were you not there? Shall we evoke? First night, April 23: Women & Their Work recruited Austin’s H2Hos synchronized swim team to perform at their April fundraiser in a mansion in West Lake Hills with an “invisible-edge” pool. Seasoned arts patrons lined the upper-story balcony to catch a…
Best Free-Range Free Ranging
As many a classic rocker will be happy to relate, the road can be a cold, hard, unappetizing place – especially if you attempt to maintain a healthy, perhaps even fringe-y, regimen thereon. Luckily for all you globetrotting freaks, there’s TravelOrganic.com. With an eye toward the organic and the sustainable, this operated-locally, thinking-globally site lists…
Best View From the Stirrups
Ladies, we all know the routine in the gynecologist’s office, and there’s nothing more boring than looking at those laminate charts of the body’s organs while on your back. Dr. Robert Cowan seeks to elevate the experience with his theme examining rooms. Now, some of you might enjoy the UT room with its burnt orange…
Best Mom & Pop Drum Shop
Since the demise of the Wal-Mart of music stores (Mars), you have no excuse not to head down South Lamar to Tommy’s for all your drumming needs. And I mean all your needs. From getting your heads tuned to finding that impossible-to-find piece of hardware, these guys have got you covered and offer the kind…
School Finance, Coast to Coast
Plaintiff VictoryStates where plaintiffs have successfully challenged the school-funding system: Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Connecticut • Idaho • Kansas • Kentucky • Massachusetts • Missouri • Montana • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • New Mexico • Ohio • South Carolina •…
Arts Review
Two years after her debut with the Austin Symphony at age 14, Caitlin Tully offered a superb, assured performance, with a cool mastery of a demanding Sibelius concerto
Best Bed & Breakfast
The Austin Folk House boasts a comfortable blend of old and new in the heart of West Campus. They’ve complemented the tried-and-true B&B ingredient – lovely antique decor – with a lively folk art collection, and have added live music and ever-evolving, indulgent breakfast spreads (thanks to former Zoot chef Michael Hinojosa) for a true…
Best Dance Company
Ballet Austin and Tapestry have been delighting Austin audiences, young and old, for years with time-honored traditional presentations and ground-breaking new shows. 2004 will be Ballet Austin’s 42nd year of dancing The Nutcracker, and Tapestry frequently performs shows that are progressive, inimitable blends of tap, ballet, modern, and jazz (watch for In the Pocket at…
Best Gay/Lesbian Hangout
Oh Toto, this must be election season, coz we’re not in our regular club anymore! Since Sidekicks/Xtreme – with its two clubs, two stories, five bars (including the new patio bar), hot staff, and 11,000 square feet of elbow room to get yr mack on – stole this election from our incumbent Oilcan, we’ve been…
Best Local Food Company
For more than 30 years, White Mountain has been meeting the dietary needs of Austinites with wholesome foods that accommodate active lifestyles. Their Bulgarian-style yogurt is the staple of many robust diets, and it’s always made from the highest-quality ingredients found in the Central Texas area. Also, look for wheat and gluten products by White…
Best Summer Camp
From curious kittens to wise old owls everyone can learn so much and how! Painting and drawing photography, too pottery, metals, and dance for you Animation and drama and so much more students range in age from 3 to 4 … … To 40 and 50 and more and then When you finish one class,…
Best Radio Station
KGSR satisfies our readers’ musical jones with a variety of local and national artists back-to-back-to-back with amazing songs you will not hear anywhere else. And for when you’ve got your thinking cap on, there is KUT. The incomparable quality of local programming and the reliable draw of NPR and PRI has Austin tuned in to…
Best Outdoor Event
Hosting more than 100 bands deep in Zilker Park, during one September weekend, the Austin City Limits Music Festival is a fledgling Austin tradition that we obviously all hope to cultivate. Even though 2004 is only its third year, the ACL Festival has already gained an esteemed reputation in the industry, causing the biggest names…
Best Local Blogger
“With the exception of in my workplace, I live a very out and proud life. I may not go around wearing a ‘Transexual Menace’ T-shirt (though there is one in my closet) or outing myself to strangers (I generally seem to pass pretty well, at least in straight spaces and to some queers), but all…
Best Day Spa
Austin’s premier day spa and hair salon for the past 30 years, this readers’ fave offers a variety of regularly updated services consistent with current trends in skin and hair care. Their excellent specials keep prices competitive, especially around holidays, and their staff is always kind, professional, and innovative.
Best Clothing
Celebrating 25 years of keeping the rough edges off the Austin style scene, By George owners Matthew and Katy Culmo have not only cultivated, but are, an Austin institution. BG’s multiple “Best of Austin” awards are a testament to Austin’s continuing love affair with beautiful clothes. By George, they’ve got it!
Best DIY Venue
This Eastside haunt has transubstantiated itself from an abandoned house of worship to Austin’s most diverse underground venue quicker than you can say Ray Parke Jr. Home to everything from proggy-free-form jazz and experimental fare to noisier no-wave and post-punk rock like the Nervous Exits (whose lead squealer John Yauchland calls the Ghost home and…
Best Houston Transplant
Isn’t it funny how the Mexican food can be so-o-o different in another Texas town? Welcome Berryhill Baja Grill, a Houston restaurant that recently expanded to Austin. From their dining room enjoy a killer view of the hills along with their signature homemade tamales and yummy fish tacos with tempura breading. This same delectable tempura…
Best Fairy Godmother to Austin’s Kid Filmmakers
If your child has aspirations of the cinematic sort, Anne Goetzmann Kelley wants to help – in the most resourceful, creative, and supportive ways. Since taking the helm at the Center for Young Cinema – which merged with the Austin Cinemaker Co-op into Motion Media Arts Center last year – she’s probably done more than…
Best Web Site for Kids’ Clothing
There are some of us who haven’t seen a real-life child in years but who still regularly visit this Austin-based kids clothing Web site just to see what strange new additions have been made to its fantastical landscapes. The site takes you all over the world so that you can envision your little angels wearing…
Best Music Gear
If your momma don’t dance and your daddy don’t rock & roll, then they’ve obviously never been to Guitar Center. With its vast amount of equipment on display, Guitar Center is like an in-store that never ends. Just don’t count on any free beer or talent. From keyboards to turntables and accessories for everything in…
Best Reason Not to Toss That Old Cabinet
It would be easy to play the social-guilt card here, but the fact is Austin is blessed with not one but two Habitat for Humanity RE-store locations. More than just a thrift shop, the RE-store offers amazing selections of new and gently used doors, cabinets, lumber, flooring, drywall, electrical, and other items for refurbishing your…
Most Noble Cyber Effort
This idea’s time had come when the Internet went public: making Web site browsing accessible to people with disabilities. The Texas organization Knowbility, in conjunction with another local system management and web hosting business Primus Networks, offers the annual AIR Interactive for the Arts competition. Austin area arts and cultural groups that qualify receive professional…
Best Place to Walk Off the Pain
“It is solved by walking,” St. Augustine said. While not much is known about how labyrinths figured into the times of antiquity, we do know this: Like most other forms of mysticism, the use of labyrinths was quashed in “enlightened” times. Yet the forms of labyrinths remained behind, on hilltops, on tabletops, in churches, in…
Best Grassroots Effort
It’s hard not to like the cause – clean energy is such a natural fit for Austin, both practically and philosophically. But we can say that very same thing about a lot of causes. The Solar Austin Campaign has done an exceptional job maintaining focus and discipline, working both inside and outside the system to…
Best Head Massage
Oh, yeah. Strong hands working aromatherapeutic oils through tired, frizzy hair. Working those pressure points and relaxing the temples. Exhaustion becomes relaxation, and heaven’s gates open. Kelly Behrends, owner and sole proprietor of Platypus Hair Salon, knows a thing or two about a killer head massage. He sliced shears for five years at Avant before…
Best Way to Get Your Dog Clean
Most dog owners, unless they own a freakishly well-behaved show dog, know two schools of DIY dog-bathing. There is the disastrous bathtub method (which inevitably gets everything in a 50-foot radius soaked, including you, and requires you to sacrifice all your good towels). Then, there is the traumatic backyard hose-down, which makes you feel like…
Best Offer Your Inner Corleone Can’t Refuse
Even the least crafty of you can pinpoint why your favorite off-the-rack outfit falls short of perfection. That’s your inner craft mafioso crying out for this “family” of Web sites helmed by local do-it-yourselfers. They personalize clothing and accessories to suit their own whims and yours, whether you desire a kimono-cloth guitar strap or a…
Planned Parenthood � Almost There
Choice supporters cut the ribbon on new facility
Maddin Comes Alive
‘Cowards Bend the Knee’: the autobiography of an original in all senses
Best Billboard
In such a media savvy city, who can accurately ascertain which outdoor advertisement resonates the loudest? While Austin’s active culture jammers garnered honorable mention, e.g., “The Marines sign that someone keeps putting a Hitler ‘stache on” (as if the Manchurian, MK-ULTRA intonation of “The Change … Is Forever” wasn’t creepy enough), y’all chose two of…
Best Film Location
You can bet that if a major motion picture is being filmed in Austin, Austin Studios at the old Mueller airport will be responsible for bringing it to a theatre near you. With recent production credits that include The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Life of David Gale, Friday Night Lights, Cheer Up, and The…
Best Jukebox
Cut it out, Casino. You’re making everybody else look bad. Year after year, readers vote this darkened dive’s box the best in town, and who the hell are we to argue? Hipster hometown heroes, rawk, indie, punk, new and no wave favorites, and the odd funk or trad-country disc round out the winning selection.
Best Locally Produced Food Product
The state Lege should dub GoodFlow limeade the Official Refresher of the Great State of Texas. In beekeep speak, GoodFlow means, “good honey crop,” and we are here to tell you people that in Austin, Texas, “good flow” means “good crop, honey!” What began as a small OJ squeeze in Bastrop almost 30 years ago…
Best Teen Hangout
Remember what it was like before you were old enough to drink? You hung out in coffeehouses, didn’t you? And wouldn’t you have hung out at a beautiful, parent-free zone filled with swimming, sunbathing, and guitar-strumming hippies if you had the chance? Well, lucky for them, Austin’s teenagers have both these bases covered. With the…
Best Radio Station Programming
Spin your dial to the west for the finest quality radio programming in Austin. Student-run KVRX has the genres that all but define college radio (indie rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop, electronica) and then some (lo-fi metal, dark jungle, death country, psychedelic metal, and of course, Celtic funk). You’ll also find plenty of variety at Austin’s…
Best Place for a Picnic
Austin has many superb picnic destinations, but with more than 350 acres of grass, shade, and gardens, Zilker Park has the best of these destinations concentrated in one location. Bring your kids to play on the playscape while you dine, or take your basket to the hills and cliffs overlooking Barton Springs. Wherever you choose…
Best Local Political Blog
Named (natch) for the 40 Acres’ famous colors, the Burnt Orange Report has quickly risen to stand toe-to-toe with some of the Blogosphere’s biggest. Its exhaustive list of progressive resources is a blessed boon for those feeling a bit “bushed” from the last four years of Republican stranglehold. Founded a year and a half ago…
Best Dry Cleaner
It’s tough to hand your most expensive clothes over to strangers, but Austinites have come to trust Reid’s. With their clean record and friendly staff, Reid’s assures that we can have our silk and our barbecue.
Best Comic Books
Whether you call them graphic novels or funny books, whether you geek off the X-Men or Eightball or Betty and Veronica, Austin Books can satisfy your sequential storytelling needs. Last year’s expansion doubled the space, transforming the mild-mannered shop into a superstore of U.S. mainstream comics and indie books, manga, European albums, trade paperback collections,…
Best F-ing Arena Band to Play an Empty Bar
They’ve got what it takes to fill the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater fit to bursting: the amps cranked, the hair flying, the smoke machines, the merch, the hot ladies in cut-offs showing their titties. Well, OK, not everything, but you can hear them from the parking lot; they do have wind-blown manes (courtesy of the electric…
Best New Fish Takeout
Poised to make a big splash as soon as its neighbor (the newly remodeled Carver Library) opens, this small takeout on Rosewood serves some of the best seafood in a town lacking in good, affordable oceanic options. The fare here is fried, but batters consist of a delicate cornmeal. The fish is fresh, flaky, and…
Best High School TV Show
Mad props go to the Austin Music Network for closing the generation gap on public/community television. AMN offers a place on the tube for what real teens in Austin are really paying attention to, as welcome relief from the typical teen music programming inundation of VJs and cute boy bands. Plus, this innovative show features…
Most Well-Rounded Summer Day Camp
Champions is already a fave among families who think having fun is a lot more important than developing that killer competitive spirit. Their summer program in gymnastics is tops among the many options we have in Austin. Besides tumbling, kids do simple crafts, make their own snacks, and sing “camp” songs and “team” yells. It’s…
Best Naughty Business
With a staff so erudite in the ways of the carnal, Forbidden Fruit will make anyone (yes people, anyone) feel like he or she belongs in a world of leather, fuzzy restraints, and imaginative bedroom adventures. FF has three locations, with different items in each one to adequately indulge even the most outlandish fantasies. They…
Best Setting for Special Events
An event can transcend its setting, but when the event is that important, why settle for anything less than a true Texas best? Austin abounds with lovely event venues, but winter, spring, summer, or fall, it’s hard to beat the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. So close, yet so secluded, the center offers indoor spaces…
Most Relaxed Film Equipment Rental Place
Question: How many employees does Mopac Media have? Answer: One, and he is also the owner. With this type of streamlined business model, we think Mopac Media is one of the easiest film equipment rental places to use. Kevin is always available to answer our questions and help us with the equipment we’ve rented. We’re…
Best Reason for a Recluse to Die and Give the County Her Land
Knowing there isn’t a single highway nearby to ruin our reverie, a trip to Brightleaf is the best reason to gussy up the stick pony and tear through the underbrush in search of the Nazis and their stolen musem artifacts. When Georgia Lucas bought her first tract of this stretch of land near 2222 in…
Best Local Authors
Snapshot, Austin: 2004. Where were you? What was life like? What was life like before this … that led us to this? In 2003, the UT Humanities Institute sent squads of talented, local writers to collect the stories of Austinites from all over Travis County. From community groups, independent bookstores, and social clubs they came:…
Best Honest, Cheap Car Repair
Limited budgets leave little room for unexpected, extra expenses – like car repairs. But when that dreadful feeling occurs, when your engine begins to sing a new noise or nothing happens when you turn the key, Unlimited Auto Repair is the place to turn. These three guys will look at your car in a timely…
Best Way to Stay Cool
It was mid-June and the AC died at home. Not broke, died. We did our homework, consulted the city’s Web site, and gathered three bids to compare, because Mom always said three bids should give a good range, right? Well, bid No. 4, from QLS, offered four options, two at nearly $1,000 less than the…
Best Place To Buy Local
a website that matches goods and services to locally-owned providers THIS ONE WILL NOT GET WRITTEN BY JEFF TONN. ASSIGN TO NEW WRITER?
Page Two
State reps Jack Stick and Todd Baxter deserve their very own ‘Best of Austin’ category
Changing Channel 15: Who’s Got the Remote?
The AMN/AMP/ACTV saga goes down to the wire
Best Civic Beautification
Our readers’ overwhelming vote for what’s happening along the East 11th corridor says that a broad range of Austinites recognize the jewel we have where the sun comes up in Central Texas. The new Charles Urdy Plaza featuring the dual mural Rhapsody by UT studio art prof John Yancey and Sankofa (see cover) by longtime…
Best Live (Club/Party) DJ
Cutting his teeth as Nasty’s resident DJ on Hip Hop Mondays, Mel has branched out from old-school and soul to all things Eighties with his stupendously dope Rock the Casbah nights. Chicken George has spun with some of the greatest in the game – one show in Houston alone featured Soul Survivor Pete Rock and…
Best Karaoke
You think you’re bad, huh? Flossed a few times on some Jimmy Buffett, really killed at the company party with “Baby Got Back.” Yeah, you’re big time. Right? Wrong. Let the pros at Common Interest show you how to really rock a mic. This is all they do. Karaoke every night, with thousands of songs…
Best Outdoor Seating
Never mind the yerba maté, the bigass weekend waffles, and Italian sodas. Never mind the comfy couch, the wi-fi, and low lights. That’s all inside, within the folds of one of Austin’s most beloved and intimate coffeehouses. Now outside is the cafe’s life mate and compatible counterpart: Under a canopy of crepe myrtles, various flora,…
Best Toys
Don’t go to Toy Joy unless you have several hours to spare. You don’t have to be 9 to appreciate tiny plastic dinosaurs, masks, stickers, or Coke-bottle glasses. The store’s inventory is not limited to fascinating toys; purses, clocks, candy, and jewelry are scattered throughout the entire store. If you don’t walk out of Toy…
Best Sportscaster
That’s right folks – he’s done it again. After a brief dethroning by Fox 7’s Dave Cody in last year’s poll, he’s baaack. The UT alum affectionately known for his Spanish soccer-announcer-style, “K-VeeYooo 20-Fooooour Sports,” Barnes has been providing our nightly play-by-plays since 1989, with no intentions of quitting anytime soon. Expect to see him…
Best Place to Get It On Outdoors
Stretching over several miles of Hill Country nestled deep in Southwest Austin, the Barton Creek Greenbelt offers randy couples a prime locale for lovemaking in the style of our animalistic ancestors. Private alcoves set back from the trail itself even allow for joyful ebullience and nudity. Just be sure to bring a blanket to protect…
Best Local Web Site
This self-titled “mama-centric community center” ain’t no soccer-ball-on-the-minivan, Tupperware-partying pastel puff piece, it’s all about celebrating lives of women with both children and hungry minds: vital, intelligent, interesting people whose contribution to society is more than just the fruit of their loins. Along with community-oriented discussion threads, recipes, restaurant reviews, and listings of locally produced…
Best Florist
Negligent spouses and S.O.s everywhere are thanking the woman-owned Enchanted Florist for getting them back out of the doghouse. With same-day delivery and a huge selection of bouquets and arrangements (including the sure canine redeemer: flora-laden champagne baskets!), there’s no excuse for missing your anniversary this year or any other. “Chico” will be so happy…
Best Computer Store
A veritable Toys ‘R’ Us for tech geeks, Fry’s is the destination for all things Mac, PC, and in between. An adept staff assists buyers with all their needs, be it a memory uprgrade on the old desktop or installing a new AirPort card on the iBook. Coupled with outrageous specials on everything from CD-Rs…
Best Martinis and Manicures
Are your nails appearing a little rough around the edges? Looking to wash away the cares of the day with a little martini magic? Then hop over to Cuba Libre on any Thursday night between 5 and 10pm and put your name on the list for a $10 martini and manicure combo. It has the…
Best Phoenix From the Ashes
Fire in the hole! This über-relaxed West Campus bar suffered a tragic loss from an electrical blaze, which started in, of all places, the loo. Not only did this fluke of potty pyrotechnics rack up around $350,000 in damages, but it caused the cancellation of the ever-so-popular Free Pool Monday. What’s a pledge to do?…
Best Junior Western Duds
You want made in the USA? You want made in Austin? You want clothes for your kids that will make everyone else green with envy? Check out Ramonster Wear, a clothing line lovingly designed and painstakingly sewn by Kathie Sever, dud designer extraordinaire and mother of company namesake, the adorable, unstoppable Ramona. With stamps of…
Best “Unreal” Reality Show or Best Reality Show Spin-off
Did Fox’s American Idol deserve the flattery of this kind of imitation? Austin’s homage, Gimme the Mike!, followed its more famous predecessor’s formula, but took the high road by reversing the trend of most spin-offs: being more wholesome and less complicated than its inspiration. Admittedly, this squeaky-clean approach made for a less desperate fan base,…
Best Pet Store
This homegrown pet heaven has been around since 1955, offering organic, holistic, and specialty foods (even frozen goodies for your furry friend!), pet supplies, toys, and grooming services for felines and canines – not to mention ferrets, gerbils, hamsters, and guinea pigs. And, of course, your pets are welcome to shop right along with you.
Best Sign of Great Promise
For many years Rowell’s Shoe Repair was a most-beloved local business that did more than its fair share to keep Austin weird. Then, sadly, proprietor Steve Martin closed shop. For years the building sat unsold until recently, when local wedding photographer Lisa Shepherd and her handy husband, Don, took over. They’re revamping the place, shooting…
Best Austin Slacker Pastime
We Austinites are a laid-back bunch. We like beer, spicy food, exercise, open-toed shoes, and, most of all, sleep. Luckily our city has a plethora of secret napping nooks, and these winners are our favorite three. They’re generally quiet (though sometimes you do encounter rogue ducks, drunk ruffians, or screaming children), and they provide both…
Best Team of Arborists
Austin Tree Specialist is an excellent choice when it’s time to prune an unruly cedar elm or diagnose an ailing live oak. This team of trained experts can be trusted with the delicate task of chainsaw surgery and earth-friendly tree cures. Pat Wentworth is the proud owner of Austin Tree Specialist and a former president…
Best Mild-Mannered Community Superhero
Tireless champion of community causes and hero to Austin nonprofits, this tireless do-gooder (Shivers Cancer Center Foundation, United Way Capital Area, Travis County Hospital District, to name just a few) leaps tall buildings with a single bound, and he never even takes his glasses off!
Best Laundry Curb Service
Like Sonic, but without the corn dogs, Home Steam Laundry sends attendants out to your car window to deliver a smile along with that order. The friendly crew of longtimers gets to know regulars over time, as automobiles act as distinct calling cards. Attentive service and affordable prices on their long list of dry cleaning…
Best, Cheapest, and Fastest Bikini Waxing
One of the many benefits of Austin’s abnormally long and intense summers is the ability to swim long after our northern neighbors have packed their swimsuits away for the winter. Alas, for many women, swimming means hair removal. UT Nails makes the hair removal experience less painful, less tedious, and less expensive than what has…
Best Plumbing Supply House
One of the most frustrating pitfalls of do-it-yourselfdom is not being able to find that last, seemingly insignificant part needed to fix a leaky faucet. Josco Plumbing Supply stocks the arcane bits and pieces of plummery that the big-box stores don’t bother with, and they’ll even give you tips on installation. You can save yourself…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Strange ranchfellows; and the real king of the Jews?
Weed Watch: Czar Stumps to Save Oregon
John Walters turns up the heat against medical marijuana initiative
Best Hotel
Spare, cool, and retro, Hotel San José is a gem of local lodging. It’s been around since 1936, when it was featured as “an ultra-modern tourist court.” Seventy years and some incredible vision later, it maintains that ultramodern feel with gravel paths, a cool bar and patio, and brilliant, clean-lined/streamlined design.
Best Live Theatre
The secret to Zach’s success? It ain’t nothin’ but the blues … and a little pop and soul from those fabulous Beehive gals, and country ballads by Patsy Cline and maybe a touch of comic relief from David Sedaris’ little elf, and certainly Artistic Director Dave Steakley’s uncanny balance of pop-music pizzazz and artistic adventure,…
Best Live Music Venue
Shows at Stubb’s are a breath of fresh air – literally and figuratively. The sloping outside arena allows almost everyone a good view of the stage, and ample room, cheap drinks, great bands, and fantastic barbecue keep patrons lining up to come back. They even offer a Sunday Gospel Brunch, allowing customers the opportunity to…
Best Place to Dine Alone
For those of who oft dine solo, here is some good news: Zen has made it easy! Zen has made it popular! No more stealth trips to the drive-through, furtively gobbling up burgers and tacos in the driver’s seat! No more pitying looks from happy couples having interesting conversations about their even more interesting lives!…
Best Video Game Rental/Purchase
Their stock is on the rise and they’re part-owned by Barnes & Noble. Face it, this Grapevine, Texas, native is a corporate giant. Its customers are gamers – mostly kids and shut-ins – wadda they know? Well, they know that it’s the nation’s largest video game and entertainment software retailer, with more than 1,500 locations…
Best Sportswriter
In a recent profile of starting UT quarterback Vince Young, Suzanne Halliburton described the maturing, increasingly dominant Longhorn as “football fluent.” The same might be said of Halliburton – who of course is also basketball fluent, swimming fluent, and most importantly in recent years, cycling fluent. Despite reams of TV and other media coverage this…
Best Place to People-Watch
Our beloved springs are not only a great place to swim, play, work, or take your precious Poochie, but also a great place to bask in the sheer number and variety of human eye candy at all hours, not only in weekend prime time. Barton Springs has its die-hard regulars, like the early-morning folks who…
Best News Story
A story so big it’s taken two years to swallow: While the dirty deeds were all done in 2003, the bitter aftertaste has stuck in Austin’s mouth (and craw) all through this election cycle. And the Supreme Court hasn’t even weighed in yet.
Best Graphic Designer
And you thought he was just a DJ. Like Clark Kent, Peter Parker, and, um, that guy who spins vinyl at night but does something else that no one knows about during the day (no, not Keoki), Brown has something of a secret identity that we’d like to expose, heh, heh. In his positions as…
Best Convenience Store
Tucked away in Hyde Park’s wee commercial district is Pronto Food Mart. This tiny little jewel racks up the votes with a great beer and wine selection, surely. Not only is it in a great hideaway location, but even the employees are well known (who’s that sassy Roller Derby queen?). The service here is friendly…
Best New Crooner
What do you get when you take a one-time Waterloo records employee, add a dash of Dwight Yokum and a sprinkle of Chris Isaak? Easy, you get the countrified crooning of nice guy D.B. Harris. A relative A-town newcomer (Harris moved from Alabama in 2000), the self-professed Nighttime Man has been performing since he was…
Best Pizza Most Worthy of Its Name
Okay, the proprietors are from Boston, not New York. But this is still the only pizza in town that comes close to the slice you remember getting in NYC. Besides the so-good cheese slice and all the usual topping choices, they have an incredible feta and spinach pie, as well as a pie with gyro…
Best Kiddie-Facility Face-Lift
For those Austinites under 3 feet tall, or anyone who’s not yet mastered the doggie paddle, Austin’s public wading pools are a great way to escape the heat. Most of our town’s pools were built in the Thirties or Forties and are in desperate need of some cosmetic and structural surgery. The city’s plans are…
Best Access Video Show
You never know quite what to expect from host Denver and his Friday Night Videos program on public access TV. Anything from a “think piece” on the Astrodome (a shot of the sun gradually going down on the Astrodome with no dialogue, just music in the background), to a Smith’s tribute, to a program on…
Best Rock Star Clothes
They landed on South Congress about a year ago. And just like when that house in The Wizard of Oz fell on the Wicked Witch of the East, nothing has been the same since. FactoryPeople has brought a bright, hard edge to SoCo and to our entire fashion scene, not to mention a bevy of…
Best Sign of the Old East Austin
Standing sentry over her long-abandoned club, this classy reminder of the Eastside nights of yore has been around as long as we can remember. Around the corner, current spots like the White Swan and Aristocrat keep the 12th & Chicon nightlife bumping, but the nostalgic, ghostly quality of the Fresh Up makes us long for…
Best Cat House
The phrase “cat house” conjures a smorgasbord of titillating images, but the scene we envision is the gaping maw of an African lion a mere three feet from where we stand. Or the good-natured tousling of a pair of Siberian tiger siblings and the ground-jarring thud they make as they body slam each other to…
Best Trainer With a Heart and Smarts
For the uninitiated and unfit, getting a trainer is always a scary prospect. Not so with Marc Frazier. A patient, kind, and certified massage therapist, Marc has a professional’s understanding of that complex network of structural systems that operates underneath your skin – and he wants you to get it, too. The muscles you’ll develop…
Best New Bohemia
It’s an old story: Impoverished creative classers slip into neglected neighborhoods, blend as best they can, and for a small moment everything’s a nirvana of established families and hospitable, arty energy. While we’re skeptical about declarations of neighborhood hotness, Govalle does seem to be at a tipping point. The sweet spot is 701 Tillery, home…
Best New Bar in Town
Check out the extremely cool new service for Mac users at the Apple Store in the Barton Creek Square Mall. You make an appointment with a “Genius” and sit at the bar. The genius then helps you troubleshoot your Mac problems. Even though it’s situated in a mall setting, the vibe is a vacuum of…
Friendliest Paint Store
No dig at the “big-box” home centers intended, but they can’t match Republic Paint. Looking for just “that” color for the bathroom? They’ll find it. Aren’t sure how to prepare your oil-painted surfaces for a new coat of latex paint? They got you covered. Want only low-odor coatings? No problem. They have tools, gadgets, and…
Best Reason to Wake Up Early on a Saturday Morning
There’s no better way to start your weekend than a nice stroll around the Downtown Farmers’ Market, where you’re sure to find Larry and Pat Ross hawking their surprisingly beautiful and hearty plants. But come early – the Blooming Idiots pack it up early before the Texas sun starts to wither their wares. Whether it’s…
About AIDS
A Taylor High School football player hospitalized twice last September with a drug-resistant staph infection. Six UT players with the same thing a year earlier. And last week another 20 cases reported here in Central Texas in a month. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections – potentially “flesh-eating bacteria” and historically associated with hospitals – are…
Ashcroft’s Porn Wars Come to Texas
Adult-video magnate’s bust part of DOJ anti-obscenity effort
First Daughter
This movie’s tortured young protagonist and clueless dad just happen to be members of the First Family of the United States.
Best Motel
The Austin Motel has been providing affordable, one-of-a-kind lodging in the heart of downtown for decades. They fill up most weekends, so reserve early to impress your favorite out-of-town guests. With a fantastic swimming pool, comfortable outdoor seating, and short walking distance to the best places on South Congress, the Austin Motel is certain to…
Best Local Filmmaker
DGA? We don’t need no stinkin’ DGA! While Austin’s cinematic secret weapon has resigned his membership in that catty director’s club, fans of hi-octane moviemaking will no doubt be blown through the rear wall of the theatre upon seeing his upcoming adaptation of Frank Miller’s cult comic Sin City, with assists from QT and Miller…
Best Local Music Label
Our readers choose two number ones for one common thread: a fierce dedication to Austin artists. Perverted Son gets the nod by supporting such bands as Tia Carrera, Brown Whörnet, Gorch Fock, and Oh, Beast! Veterans of the Red River district know these names. No question, Perverted Son is one of the backbone record labels…
Best Place to Meet for Lunch
This regular Chronicle poll topper tops the charts again with its atmosphere and food, keeping Austinites coming back year after year. The outdoor goodness of the open-air stone patio and indoor Roy Rogers-Ranch-style coziness offers the perfect workday respite. Menu faves include the famous Shady Grove Nachos and the Hippie Sandwich. If you want a…
Best Video/DVD Selection
We all know the responsible thing to do is to monitor what the kids are watching. And we also all know that cable’s just too damn expensive. So, what’s a loving parent to do? It’s Vulcan Video to the rescue! This Readers fave offers a wide variety of educational and fun movies for your little…
Best TV Anchor
Known by Austinites as “Uncle Fred,” Fred Cantú has been part of the local news scene for more than 20 years. Currently, he anchors the afternoon and evening news at K-EYE, Austin’s CBS affiliate. A resident of South Austin, he gets up early each day to take his grandchildren to school. Watching him present our…
Best Place to Skate
Welcome to an in-line skater’s heaven. At 23 feet wide and 3.1 miles long, this paved paradise winds and heaves with inclines and declines ranging from the mellow to the intense. Remember, though, the loop is off-limits to joggers: This baby’s made for wheels, and fast ones at that. Open seven days a week, sunrise…
Best Nonprofit Group
This award didn’t come a moment too soon: Just last week Samantha Smoot announced she is stepping down, after six splendid years as president of the Texas Freedom Network. There are many here in the great state that feel a bit bowled over by the recent surge of religious extremity in politics, both stateside and…
Best Hair Salon
For a salon experience “comb”ining the “cutting” edge with organic basics – “head” to Avant salon. They can do any kind of cut, and they use exclusively Aveda products. Your holistic experience begins with an herbal tea and is followed by a scalp massage, wash, cut, and blow-dry. The finishing touch? A new sense of…
Best Drug Store/Pharmacy
Why do people love People’s so? Who couldn’t love a place that offers cholesterol and osteoporosis screenings, in addition to a fine deli that serves healthy, fast breakfast and lunch items. Especially notable are their grass-fed, hormone-free meat products. Also try their tasty smoothies. Aside from their array of local products, natural foods, and alternative…
Best New In-Store Store
Not only does Sound on Sound carry Austin’s best stock of metal, hardcore, and punk vinyl, but in its mere half-year’s existence it has earned a reputation for throwing some of Austin’s best live shows in a record store. SoS’s in-store showcases are the perfect ticket for those not willing to face-down the traffic nightmare…
Best Place to be a Faux Vegetarian
You eat meat. Lots of meat. But today, your vegetarian friend is dragging you to Wheatsville because she says, “You have to try their Southern-Fried Tofu! It’s absolutely the best thing you’ll ever put in your mouth! C’mon, lunch is on me!” You think, “Tofu … isn’t that a type of couch/bed?” Of course you…
Best New Prank
First, let us unequivocally state that we here at The Austin Chronicle do not condone the perpetration of acts illegal or of questionable legality. That said, the fine art of “bageling” requires obtaining, sometimes through partially legal means, a large quantity of bagels or other bread product and “decorating” someone’s yard with them. The noble…
Best Aspiring Journalists
With a little determination and lot of moxie, two former UT students recognized the need for a publication to reach a large but untapped audience: Latina girls. With a few dollars from various angels, Laura Donnelly and Alicia Rascon launched Latinitas, one of the most successful Webzines made by and for Latinas. Under adult guidance,…
Best Shoe Selection
No outfit can be completed without an amazing pair of shoes, and Fetish has been capping fashionable local ladies’ feet for years. Thankfully, we finally have a Nordstrom as well, which provides a wide selection of both men’s and women’s shoes for all seasons. The minute you enter either of these establishments, you will have…
Best Use of AOL CDs
Was it an Amish artist, ousted, perhaps, for contact with the high-tech world, who adorned the picket fence surrounding a tiny house on East 31st Street with compact discs? Or just a diligent homeowner, creatively keeping pesky birds at bay? Painted in a somewhat traditional and primitive folk art fashion, the colorful creation is reminiscent…
Best Doggy Hookup
Forget about humans, it’s all about the dogs at this leash-free park located at the western start of Town Lake. The coves on this little island are the best places for doggies to sniff and be sniffed without having to worry about what’s yanking their collar or pesky people getting in their way. Not to…
Best Urban Wilds
Still untapped and untrammelled; close to town, must make appt to visit. Interesting story of woman who owned the land, left it to the state w/ specific instructions that it never be developed. Only low impact activities allowed by visitors.
Best New Partnership
Relationships are hard work. But with compromise and understanding of your partner’s concerns, you can work it out. Texas Campaign for the Environment and Dell started as adversaries of sorts, with TCE pressuring Dell to increase recycling of electronic waste. But Dell insisted it really cared about the environment, and when Round Rock’s personal computer…
Best Place to Get a Little Scratch for a Trip to Mexico
During the Great Depression thousands of young men and women hopped trains, mostly looking for work: early summer hay to harvest in California; corn and wheat in the Midwest; in the early fall hops, berries, and fruit in the Pacific-Northwest; and Texas cotton to pick in the winter. Today they do the same thing, sort…
Most Honest Punk Rock Mechanic
Paternal advice for years consisted of, “Just take it to the dealer.” Fret not, those of you lacking deep pockets and motor finesse. Mike Yost will fix what ails you … and only what ails you. No brake checks or oil changes or wiper substitutions unless you ask for it. You say, “Fix my taillight,”…
Best Reincarnated Soul of Sound Exchange
Less than two years ago, a wander into the Drag’s beloved Sound Exchange always promised the revelation of some obscure wax necessity. Cruel memories of rummaging through reasonably priced records are but a tease. Fortunately, since the opening of a little record store over on North Loop called Sound on Sound, things have been looking…
Letters at 3AM
In their behavior and beliefs, Ralph Nader and George W. Bush are twins separated at birth: Nader’s candidacy is an act of perfidy
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Festival Express
Hurtling across Canada during the summer of 1970 was a trainload of musicians – among them Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, and Buddy Guy – who partied and played music ’til the very end of the line.
Best New Building (Past Five Years)
SEE BEST ARCHITECTURE
Best Museum
More and more Austinites like hanging out and looking at what’s hanging on AMOA’s walls. Sometimes we’re drawn to superstar shows like the record-breaking Andy Warhol retrospective, but we also like work by their own, and director Dana Friis-Hansen makes sure the city gets in-depth looks at sterling local artists such as Michael Ray Charles,…
Best Lounge
Pushed up against a limestone cliff, hearts race as liquid descends. The music and the warm breeze envelop all who come to be rapt. Club de Ville offers all that, and more, so you don’t even need a bag of chips. The vibe here is sexy yet unpretentious, at this, our readers’ pick for the…
Best Tortillas
God bless Taco Cabana and her wonderful tortillas. They’re always warm and fresh, thanks to those gigantic, round-the-clock platters with the harrowing press. The tortilla press, an industrial strength Rube Goldberg in plain view for the public to see, smushes those little orbs of dough and cooks them into perfect, sizzling flatness. Every time we…
Best Afternoon Radio Host
In a field where most practitioners lie somewhere between “extreme” and “more extreme,” Ward has for years amplified the voice of the radical middle during his afternoon-drive gig on Austin’s flagship news station.
Best TV Reporter
This lovely, erudite, native New Yorker has made Austin her home for many years, and joined KVUE in 1998. Since then, her weekend daybreak reports and Wednesday “Does It Work?” segments have brought a fresh and appealing approach to the most serious of subjects, as well as a large fan base that eagerly awaits Ms.…
Best Pool Tables
Slick Willie’s has been an all-time favorite for felt fanatics here in Austin. The South Lamar location boasts a whopping 32 tables and caters to an all-ages crowd, while Burnet dominates with 35 tables for 18-and-up six-pocket fun. No matter what your age, you’ll be able to pick up a sweet game of eight ball.…
Best Scandal
Initially cranked out by multiple and seemingly credible sources, then running on the fumes of wishful thinking (well, he is awfully cute), this rumor far outlived its expiration date, keeping pub and watercooler conversations lively – as well as a few news outlets. What was amazing was how fast it spread – across Austin, around…
Best House Painter
“The Redstart is sometimes described as nervous or fidgety as it appears to be constantly in motion, often showing its wing marking and spreading its tail.” Yes, well that would describe the bird called the Redstart, and not necessarily the paint design team that has taken this first-ever award of this new Readers Poll category.…
Best Fashion Accessories
Whether for a birthday gift or simple self-indulgence, Emeralds offers adornments for every occasion. Their shoe selection is truly one-of-a-kind, and they arrange their purses throughout the store to guide clients in the creation of fabulous ensembles. Like the name implies, they have jewelry to satisfy even the most daring. While greeting cards may not…
Best Place to Art Trip
We weren’t sure what we might find here – the Guacamole Queen’s old peasant blouse? Doug Sahm’s cowboy hat? Stevie Ray Vaughan’s bell-bottoms? Surprise! It’s a wonderfully curated display of art that featured underground comic pioneer Jack Jackson this summer and, more recently, poster artist Jim Franklin, plus a seldom-seen Ken Featherston wall mural. It’s…
Best Place to Be Treated to Lunch
For the fortunate ones out there with a sugah daddy/mama or for those finally cashing in on that longstanding promise to “do lunch,” La Traviata should top the list when suggesting desirable afternoon dining spots. The atmosphere at La Trav speaks gently of European grace, as do the extensive wine menu and ample, yet not…
Best Nonprofit Fitness and Health Program for Kids
Founder and executive director of Youth InterACTIVE, Baker Harrell knows what your kids want. And he provides it, through a series of programs for youth that keeps their minds, bodies, and spirits active. Believing that health and fitness are key to the development of creative, adventurous, self-confident, and inspired individuals, YI offers the Fit Like…
Best Austin Blogger
For some time now we’ve been meaning to throw much-deserved props Prentiss’ way, for his techno-savvy, sometimes political, all-the-time entertaining blog. So bravo goes to this self-proclaimed aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada, who must never sleep, for keeping his blog always chock-full of the quirkiest, funkiest, and most humorous bits and pieces that make…
Best Thrift Store
With Lord-knows-how-many locations in the Austin area, Goodwill is your destination for all things thrifty. Whether searching for that blissfully vague irony T-shirt, a costume on the cheap, or furnishings for the home, Goodwill is always awash in a steady stream of new-to-you goodness.
Coolest Patio to Rent for a Party
Looking for the hot spot for your party to drop? Try the patio at Red’s Scoot Inn. Recently, the kids of Austin have been flocking to this Eastside joint to satisfy their personal partying needs. It’s all about freedom: Once booked, you are in control of the scene. Book your favorite bands, invite the local…
Best Drunken Bar Game (Where One Is Allowed to Throw Sharp Things)
Meeting people in bars is almost always shady. Conversations inspired by alcohol and cigs rarely get past the tedious “What do you do, where are you from, are you allergic to cat hair,” etc. The beauty of darts is that it offers an “out.” Playing darts can shift the glaring focus from those first uncomfortable…
Best Water Boys
The RunTex folks aim to satisfy all your fitness needs, right down to the last drop. Sweaty hoofers on the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail can help themselves to free cold water and sports drinks from the dozens of 10-gallon barrels that RunTex provides at two locations. There’s the familiar flatbed truck stand on…
Best Place to Digest Redistricting
You can count on the elderly for two things: getting out the vote and getting in the dinner line before 5:30pm. The local nexus of the two lies at Austin’s hallowed Marimont Cafeteria. Like a tubby kid ogling the pie cart, the newly Repub majority Lege of 2003 decided to carve up Texas’ congressional districts…
Best Place to Look for a Job
Looking for a job is a pain. The WorkSource Career Center makes it a little less painful for those lacking the necessary resources to fully launch an effective job hunt. The center provides access to free phones, computers, and a large database for job searching. They offer classes on interviewing as well as résumé workshops…
Best Artist-Budget-Friendly Art Supply
The phrase “starving artist” sometimes seems a contradiction in terms, because an artist cannot create without supplies, and art supplies usually cost the equivalent of a first-born son. Asel Art Supply offers students a 10% discount on everything, and, thankfully, Asel’s definition of “student” is quite liberal (on a lucky day, being a student of…
Best Rogaine Competition
Ever wanted to see what you would look like with Cher’s hairdo? Well then, Pat Painter’s is the place to go. The walls of Pat’s shop are lined with wigs galore. And you can put them right on your head. They specialize in the needs of chemotherapy patients and your average follically challenged folk. But,…
Day Trips
The best small towns in Texas
Stick Makes Teachers Sick
Education Austin walks the blocks for Mark Strama
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
This nonpartisan documentary seeks to identify the sparks that made John Kerry and so many others of his generation so eager to serve their country.
Best Part of Town
Tired of hearing about the greatness of 78704? Hey, there’s a reason why people tattoo these numbers on their arms and plaster them on the backs of their vehicles. South Austin is indubitably one of our city’s shinier gems, with posh little boutiques, vintage shops, and outdoor cafes to while away an afternoon. Even sitting…
Best Painter/Sculptor
Er, how about best collagist, although what Letscher does with tiny little pieces of paper – from antique books, from modern magazines, from forgotten theses on resublimated thiotimoline – might be appropriately considered the finest marriage between both painting and sculpting. His work often flies beyond Austin’s gilded cage these days, but this local-born artist,…
Best Movie Theatre
The real secret to the Alamo Drafthouse isn’t the booze or the food, it’s the love. Any schmo can sneak a ham sammich and a 40 oz. into Tinseltown, but Tinseltown’s never going to show a whole night of weird Asian cinema, jerky amateur video clips, or Harry Knowles’ Butt-Numb-a-Thon. Gutsy moves like that take…
Best Arcade
This Guadalupe institution has all you need to get your pulse pumping – tons of 2-D and 3-D fighting, racing games, first-person shooters, and a thumping sound system. Not to mention the helpful staff, adorned in those oh so clinical white lab coats! Meeeeeee-ow! With Einstein’s, no wonder everyone’s always looking for change on the…
Best Evening Radio Host
OK, here’s the low-down: If Hot 93.3 truly has taken over as Austin’s sickest (that means “best”) hip-hop station, you can bet D-Train is playing conductor on this twisted ride, cause this deejay is dope. He’s got mad game, and we don’t mean Monopoly. Know what I’m sayin’?
Best Weatherperson
Oh, those boyish good looks, that goofy wide-eyed grin, that voice! Why has this award evaded Murray for the entire time we’ve been doing this poll? Can we let you in on a little secret? We know for a fact that he came awfully close for at least the past few years. Well, Mark, congratulations:…
Best Sport
The noble sport of Roller Derby actually dates back to 1935 and has suffered its share of ups and downs. Leave it to Austinites to not let this odd distaff relic fade away. Our town keeps the mean spirit of Roller Derby alive, and puts a new spin on the old sport. In wild flashes…
Best Scenester/Mover & Shaker
As the music editor of the Red River district’s family publication Rank & Revue, Wendy WWAD keeps the rest of this town apprised of the many goings-on of her rocker cohorts. Anyone who has ever attended a metal show in Austin has seen her, front and center, pumping her fist in the air, singing every…
Best Laundromat
Who said doing the laundry can’t be fun? Well, you might enjoy it more if you knew that you could get your undies clean and save the environment all at the same time. Ecomat’s “wet cleaning” technology not only rids your clothes of those nasty barbecue stains, but it also helps them last longer by…
Best Furnishings/Home Decor
Whether you’re looking for a Texas-shaped ashtray or a green-and-orange-striped velour chair, it would be prudent to first hit Room Service, Austin’s full-service station for housewares and home decor alike. The variety of eclectic items that litter the store is guaranteed to have you mumbling, “I have got to have this” over a velvet and…
Best Place to Catch a Buzz and Download Porn
At Lovejoy’s, “Celebrate your vices,” whether it be drinking or surfing the Web for barely legal hotties in bondage doing interesting things to each other. Not being your typical Sixth street bar, this beer hall offers Wi-Fi and attracts people from every crowd and creed. If you’re a purist, solely there for the brew, Lovejoy’s…
Best Place to Enjoy Warm Salsa in a Dingy Strip Center
Tucked away in a dingy strip center at Stassney and Emerald Forest lies this little treasure. It may be small in size (seven tables), but it’s bursting at the seams with flavor and hospitality. The migas are divine, and they serve a delicious warm salsa with their chips. BYOB for all you vaqueros who like…
Best Place for Kids to Go to Shows
Since adults rarely think about such a thing, the best places for kids to go to shows are those places they create for themselves. A show on the pedestrian bridge that brings the cops is not so much a statement on the hooliganism of today’s youth, but proof that today’s youth are resourceful at finding…
Best Freudian Headline Writing
Well, we expect those Longhorny students to have it on the brain; as for Perry … perhaps this says something about those rumors we heard? Or maybe those aren’t misspellings – perhaps it means the DPS will take over textbook selection for UT. Must abstain, must abstain, must …
Best Used Records/CDs
Lamar Street neighbors Cheapo and Waterloo have got what you need, cost-conscious consumer. Both shops feature Austin’s finest selection of previously played popular performances from punk to polka. From Cheapo’s enormous inventory to Waterloo’s keenly knowledgeable staff, your ears will be thanking you for the gifts you have bestowed upon them.
Best Art Direction
Always greater than the sum of its acronym, Austin Latina/o Lesbian Gay Organization exceeds the breadth of a traditional queer community group. Now, since their move to the old Mrs. Baird’s bread factory on Tillery, their sharpened focus on the arts has sparked new energy. The new Tillery Street Theater as a viable event, performance,…
Best Enduring Use of Expensive Downtown Property
The only virgin property left this close to 78701, Butler Pitch & Putt is a cherished landmark, a pocket of nature in the shadow of new skyscrapers, restaurants, and residences. As every other property development opportunity in central Austin is pounced upon, Butler steadfastly remains because (thank you, God) the city designated it as park…
Coolest Return to Form
Chaparral’s decision to leave Northcross Mall back in the earlier days of this century sent icy shivers up the spines of neighbors, skating fans, and small-mall aficionados alike. That sad, sad day seemed to be a sure death spiral for this last standing remnant of Austin’s human-sized malls. Well, lace up those boots and find…
Best Power Couple
Austin has a lot of power couples, of diverse vocations, ethnicities, ages, and orientations, but Fitzpatrick (Chamber of Commerce exec and Austin ISD trustee) and Vassallo (city public information officer and former chief-of-staff to Kirk Watson) probably sit closer than any other married couple to the top of the local political food chain. And as…
Best Place to Pamper Your Hands and Feet
“And I love the row of pedicure chairs – I feel like a queen on her throne when I’m there!” a neighborhood salon owner raved about the facilities at this wonderful new nail care salon just below the river on South Congress. And she was right! This clean and sanitary place restores your confidence and…
Best Bibliophilic Robin Hoods
Over in Swanksville (aka West Lake), the folks run a very lovely library, a place that – never mind the Joneses – doesn’t care what kind of car you drive or how big (or not) your income is. In a Robin Hood-esque fashion (though without breaking any laws) the fine folks on the second floor…
Best Sunglasses
Yes, their clothes are charming and stylish. Yes, their handbags and jewelry are cool … but it’s the sunglasses that are to die for. Christian Dior, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana – the selection is not huge, but the effect is. Owner Amy Weaver has the eye, as they say, and thoroughly understands that true fabulousness…
To Your Health
Are vitamin D supplements necessary for everyone?
Campaign Reform, On the Air
A new TV ad urges citizens to help ‘clean up Texas politics’
Zhou Yu’s Train
Chinese romance stars beautiful Gong Li as a modern woman with two male lovers.
Best Recently Restored Building
Nobody wants to revisit a childhood home to find it’s been replaced by a convenience store. As it turns out, people don’t feel any better when it happens to familiar public spaces, either. Our landscape is our home, and the Penn Field, Harry Ransom Center, and Driscoll Villa renovation projects have proved that as a…
Best Stand-Up Comic
Eventually, everybody’s gonna have to figure out whether to spell Walsh’s first name with an O or an A, because it’s likely to become a household one. Of course, it may be relegated to that room in every residence that’s reserved for laughing one’s ass off (surely your own apartment has one of these, right?),…
Best Place to Drink Alone
“Scotch. Double. Cheapest shit you got.” Warm and fuzzy as they feel on their own, sometimes it’s reassuring to mutter those words (let’s call them “precious daggers”!) to an actual human, as opposed to slurring them into your cracked bathroom mirror. So when nursing that broken heart/psyche/liver, remember Casino. Cheap drinks and ample distractions, like…
Best Birthday Cakes
Baking wedding cakes, grooms’ cakes, kids’ cakes, and even specialty cakes, Lucy’s has been a Texas tradition for almost 30 years. Pop in during business hours Monday through Saturday, and Lucy’s staff will sit down with you and personalize your cake so that it is perfect for whatever your special occasion demands. Especially mouth-watering: the…
Best Journalist
Molly Ivins’ 2004 shows no sign of slowing with the release of Who Let the Dogs In?: Incredible Political Animals I Have Known, a collection of Ms. Molly’s previously published column inches dedicated to Shrub Bush, his oily cronies, and the slithering slime slogging into the White House. Our living legend and matriarch of Texas…
Best Basketball Court
Ahh, Westenfield Park basketball court, where there’s always a pickup game going on, and it’s almost always half-court, allowing twice the game-playing and, therefore, twice the fun – and guaranteeing no flashbacks to that time in fifth grade when you threw the ball in the wrong basket in front of everyone. Of course, you still…
Best Swimming Hole
The water may be friggin’ freezing, but Austin has once again voted the Springs its all-time favorite swimming hole. The loyalty is not surprising, really, for what other town has such a beautiful, chlorine-free spot right smack-dab in its heart? Or for that matter, as its heart? So come on, jump in – the water’s…
Best Unsung Community Hero(es)
This tale of two Charlottes spans the generations and the Austin public service community. Charlotte Hale’s name has been associated with Project Transitions for so long that it’s impossible to think of one without the other. Together the two represent the sweetest steady anchors for people with HIV and AIDS. Through Hale’s compassion and leadership,…
Best Local Web Designer
SEE GRAPHIC DESIGNER TO BE COMBINED
Best Gardening Store
The staff boasts that the Great Outdoors is not just a plant store but an authentic Austin “destination,” and they’re right about this veritable Eden. Stroll around under the magnificent oak trees, stop for a cup of coffee or a leisurely lunch, select a plant to satisfy your sensibilities, breathe deep the refreshing air, listen…
Best Place to Discover the Historic Punk Scene in Austin, Texas
A trip to Idle Time is both a personal journey for Dixon Coulbourne and an Austin history lesson for those unaware of the fabulous punk scene that graced the streets and stages of River City from 1977-1985. Browse through the pages and learn that the Texas Showdown was a Tejano-cum-punk club, that Jon Dee Graham…
Best Reason Not to Grind Your Own White & Blue Corn Tortillas
A few short months ago Central Market on North Lamar started making white corn tortillas so good you can eat them out of the package (not hard, stiff, or tasteless). Not long after, blue corn tortillas appeared on the shelf. They’ve already added fat-free, butter, and no-fat varieties, besides the traditional whole wheat and Southwestern…
Best Place to Be Yourself
The first thing older folks say upon first entering the Out Youth drop-in center is, “I wish I had something like this when I was a teenager!” Gay or straight, the issue remains: Austin is severely deficient in viable and safe hang-out options for older kids. So you can imagine that for young people who…
Best Job Sticking It to the Man
For years the FCC has struck fear in the hearts of independent radio stations nationwide, deregulating the airwaves to the point of corporate stranglehold. For the past two years, a local band of briny brigands has struck back. Operating from an undisclosed location somewhere in South Austin, pirate radio station KAOS 95.9FM offers an alternative…
Best Amusing Sign for a Serious Service
We knew the military had a critical shortage of troops, so when we saw this sign, we couldn’t help but wonder to what lengths the government was going for their latest batch of recruits. Though our active imaginations tell us otherwise, don’t expect to see black-clad, silver-haired spies and ninjas stealthily creeping around any time…
Best Art Show and Party
The entries – by hundreds of artists – are all in a 5-by-7 format. The range of work in every possible medium is staggering, from some of the finest artists across the country … and everything is $100. But that’s just the exhibition. For the opening fundraising party, the works are tagged and prospective buyers…
Best Excuse Not to Outlaw Speedos
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun Jordan knows how to take even the most aquaphobic landlubber and transform that person into Flipper. With the winning skill combo of patience, encouragement, and humor, Jordan and his champion staff work with swimmers of all ages and levels, from adult masters to junior tadpoles. Swim-ply marvelous!
Best “Other Elected Official”
By “other,” we mean “not a City Council member,” but Austin ISD trustee Fitzpatrick has the kind of commitment to the city – not just to the schools – that we like to see at all levels of local government. On a board that has for too long not had the kind of vision, power,…
Best Rock Lit Luminary
It’s been a good year for Jesse Sublett. After reading his latest book, Never the Same Again: A Rock ‘N’ Roll Gothic, you’ll think he’s entitled to a couple. The scorching memoir details his early days as one of Austin’s punk pioneers, before his life was derailed by the murder of his longtime girlfriend. Suspected…
Best Place to Work out and Avoid Jocks
Walking into Body Business, we were amazed at the plethora of, well, normal people who were working out on the machines. Gone were the teenagers with rock hard abs and the burly men who made that “Uggggghhhhhhhh!” noise with every repetition. Also, there seemed to be a lot more … girls. Body business was founded…
Best Convenience Store That’s Convenient for Wine
Our shopping expectations at gas station convenience stores are justifiably low. Along with the quarts of oil and bags of chips, we expect cold water, soda pop, and cheap beer. And if we’re foolish enough to go in search of wine we expect to peruse a selection that features such vintages as MD 20/20 and…
Best Treasure Trove
Tesoros – treasures – what a perfect name for this magical little import shop. The fanciful display windows lure you in, but the explosion of colorful knickknacks and exotic gifts from around the world can keep you there for hours. Shopping for a unique gift? They have everything: handmade folk art, crafts, jewelry, clothing, bamboo…
The Common Law
Cash rental payments
GOP Ducks KLRU Forum
Face-to-face dialogue between opponents? Can’t have that!
She Hate Me
Spike Lee strikes out with his new “joint” about an unemployed whistle-blower who makes a living impregnating sperm-deprived lesbians.
Best Signage
The newly remodeled Zee features a fanciful addition to the front facade, complete with one very merry necktie and one endearing rabbit. Created by the good folks over at Blue Genie Art Industries, the bouncy bunny is the perfect ambassador to this popular bistro. Perhaps the Chez should consider adding carrot cake to its already…
Best Theatre Director
P.T. Barnum’s got nothing on this guy, boy howdy, and we’re not even talking about his directorial skills. But we must, and Neulander’s got those in spades. In fact, he brings such heart to the innovative mounting of the edgy, original plays his Salvage Vanguard Theater produces, it’s no wonder our readers have picked him…
Best Place to Find a Lover
Darkened fumbling, furtive hand grabs, and of course – shhh! – the popcorn trick. Yes, post-pubescence cineplex trips are fraught with darkened, unseen excitement. Nowhere more than Austin’s Dobie Theatre. Whether you’re feeling an art deco ache, library lust, gothic gargoyled gush, or you just wanna ***k like an Egyptian, the Dobie’s four screens and…
Best Bookstore
Rather than just a section, BookPeople’s kids department is more like a store all its own. Adults and kids alike can have a blast here. All the seating in Book Kids is pint-sized, and the selection of both gifts and reads is diverse, extensive, and thoughtfully selected. They also have frequent story times and children’s…
Best Local (Non-Chronicle) Publication
Your Longhorn education is might not going to waste … at least your literacy is not, as long as the Texas Travesty is in print. You’ll find yourself subduing snickers in a 300-person lecture hall while thumbing through the Travesty’s humorous pages. The Travesty is UT’s inside joke that pokes fun at everything from Greek…
Best Bike Ride
Austin is an anomaly of a city. Yes, it has big buildings, nightlife, and the rush of traffic, but these concrete elements somehow seem at home within their lush, green setting. This contrast ensures that Austin’s Town Lake Hike & Bike Trail affords one of Austin’s many nonurban pleasures all within minutes’ access to the…
Best Tennis Court
Attention Andy Roddick and Serena Williams wannabes: Caswell offers a variety of lessons and programs for all levels of play. As Texas’ oldest operating tennis facility (built in 1946), these courts hold a lot of history beneath their nets. Step into their pro shop or smack a few on the Laykold, but avoid that tennis…
Best Visionary
Austin’s most worthy citizen, indeed. Kocurek, who died in March, had a rare knack for bridging this town’s political and cultural gaps, and his decades of contributions to Austin’s civic consensus – reflected most recently by supporting the efforts to create a hospital district, as well as his work with Envision Central Texas, whose board…
Best Pet Care
Years ago when Taurus Training was but a pup of a business, owners William and Melanie McLeroy barely had a physical address for their workplace. Now they have two, with their original location on South Lamar going strong, plus a brand-spanking-new place! Which means there are a whole lot more happy dogs in Austin. Happy…
Best Gas Prices
RaceTrac gets the checkered flag in this new category. This summer, our American gas habit came home to roost as we were hit by some of the highest prices seen in a long time. And with eight fueling stations around Austin, the ‘Trac makes it easy to get your fix. RaceTrac has consistently offered some…
Best Place to Watch Funny Little Movies
Here to rescue us from the run-of-the-mill online movie is TheLateTrain.com, making live-action shorts nothing like the office-humor animation so prevalent on the Web. Combining AtomFilms.com’s technology with RedVsBlue.com’s DIY approach, this local group of filmmakers applies its talents equally to spoofs – including such gems as “Sock Full of Bees” and “Two Guys &…
Best Slacker Coffee Shop
Who in the hell are these people? No seriously? 3pm and they’re still out there in their flip-flops and ratty T-shirts reading the paper, playing guitar, writing poetry, and debating philosophy with passersby. Have they no shame? Don’t they have to be at work? Don’t they have jobs? Most importantly, how can they afford the…
Best Place to Be Yourself in School
The moment you enter the one corridor that makes up Austin’s Griffin School, you sense something different. OK, “different” is obvious: Hair colors abound; the fashion sense would fit any Bowie, Sonic Youth, OutKast, or Yeah Yeah Yeah’s video and music that you probably won’t hear on your local commercial radio station blares as the…
Best Left-Wing Nut
Like a cranked-up Max Headroom, this animated, gray-shocked talking head hosts one of ACTV’s most mysteriously compelling programs. OK, for the record (especially to pre-empt the eye-rolls from our conspiracy-munching libertarian pals): Similar to our BOA endorsement of Alex Jones way back in 1997 (Best-Looking Crank), this award is for showmanship and the ability to…
Best Apartment Complexxx Location
Okay, we all know that there are tons of apartment complexes with great locations. So why name the Waters the best? Well, the Waters conveniently sits just off of South I-35 at Slaughter in a little valley surrounded by natural wetlands – that’s a plus. And it’s not uncommon to see a deer or two…
Best Brush-Up on Your College Degree
UT Classics professor Michael White came into national prominence in 1998 with the PBS miniseries From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians. An expert in first-century philosophy and culture, White explains the rise and development of Christianity as a product of its era — and sends those folks in the “it’s all in the Bible”…
Best Guerilla Show Spot
We ain’t sayin’ how we know about it. We ain’t sayin’ why we know about it. And we ain’t sayin’ anything more about it. We’re just sayin’… So if you find yourself in close proximity to this Town Lake landmark and hear the fresh, yet familiar sounds of teenage kicks, well, just remember you heard…
Best Brake/Break
The typical acknowledgment of road crews ranges from the classic Bronx cheer (if they’re lucky) to the old standby: the one-finger salute. But this is Austin. As the brutally clogged intersection of Sixth & Lamar cleared, local eateries including Rounders Pizza, Z’Tejas, Portabla, Sweetish Hill, and others feted road construction workers with a sit-down lunch…
Best TV-Rejected Weatherman
As a kid in Mississippi, Troy Kimmel feared the weather. Now he’s a well-known weatherman with more than 13 years of experience teaching meteorology at UT under his umbrella. This is but one of the things that makes him one of our favorite cloud jockeys. Reportedly, a dispute back in 1997 over vacation time factored…
Best Real-Deal, Gimmick-Free Screenwriting Seminar From L.A.
We’d been sitting in a standard-issue downtown Austin hotel meeting room, taking notes fast and furious like stenographers, for two nine-hour weekend (!) days, as L.A. screenwriting guru John Truby showed film clips and mapped out the 22 essential building blocks for creating story structure, revealing the key to shaping heroes and antiheroes that audiences…
Best Diet Hardware
Sure, we all know what we’re supposed to be putting on our plates at the front end of our diets: lots of protein, vegetables, etc. And more importantly what we’re supposed to forgo: bread, pasta, rice, etc. And every eatery from Wendy’s to Ruth’s Chris is making sure there menus are high protein friendly. But…
Best Way to Enjoy Vinyl
Sometimes you find top-notch quality where you least expect it. Up a bumpy dirt road, at the top of a hill in Dripping Springs sits the best place to get refurbished stereo equipment in the Austin area. William Green runs Circle Stereo out of his home, where he refurbishes all the equipment he sells. Whether…
Luv Doc Recommends: Burlesque for Peace: Burlesque the Vote
Following the sexcapades of Billy Jeff Clinton, the first Porn President (B.J. to his close friends), politics in America have taken a serious nose dive. After suffering through the collective blush of the Lewinski affair, Americans chose to depart from an era of peace, prosperity, and freedom (aka Oval Office hummers) to embrace a more…
