Cover Story
Best of Austin 2003
Readers’ and critics’ favorites
Hanging
Hanging 2003, NR. Directed by Elizabeth Spear, James Teems, Starring Stephan Adamson, Ernest Gomez. Grand Prize winner of Chicago’s 2003 edition of the 72 Hour Feature Project, Hanging was made – you guessed it – shot, and edited in 72 hours. Filmed in Austin, the movie is based on actual events at a local emergency…
Austin @ Large: Austin at Large
The boys from the chamber look for an opportunity to muddy the waters once again.
Best Billboard
It’s not surprising that in a duff economy, billboard-barraged Chronicle readers on the road are less impressed with the medium, the message, or the massage, even, than they are with big numbers – lotto numbers that is, jackpots in the millions, pie in the sky, Texas Tea, movie star-type figures, the stuff dreams are made…
Best Classical Musician
Few musicians have the teeming ambition of Graham Reynolds. Beginning with the Golden Arm Trio in 1995, Reynolds amassed a motley patronage of classical, jazz, and punk rock fans with a near-constant stream of symphonies, string quartets, film scores, operas, and sundry works of most every other conceivable stripe. His third symphony premieres this fall.
Best Gay/Lesbian Hangout
Oilcan’s consistently reigns supreme among our readers as their fave gay/lesbian hangout. Could it be those beautiful boys behind the bar? The well-poured and reasonably priced drinks? The laid-back backyard patio? Or the always upbeat dance-floor antics? Likely all four – and a whole lot more.
Best Local Food Trend
Can something so entrenched in Austin’s food culture as breakfast tacos really be called a “trend”? We’re not sure, but our fair city’s overwhelming abundance of cheap, tasty breakfast tacos is invariably one of the first things expatriates miss about Austin.
Best Local Team
Well, duh. Whadidya think? The Aggies? Oh, sorry, we know better than to risk a good horn-goring by even suggesting such a thing. While the occasional year has lead our readers to glorify this hockey team or that minor-league ball club, when you get right down to it, this town bleeds thick, rich burnt-orange. Our…
Best Local Online Personality
Fandom god or Hollywood anti-Christ? Hmmmmmmm … Either way, it’s not surprising that Harry would take this readers award yet again: It’s just too hard to stay away from his Web site and sneak a peek at the latest movie spoilers and Tinseltown buzz. Consider it the little man’s revenge against the Bruckheimers of the…
Best Computer Repair
Imagine this: Your report is due tomorrow morning, and the computer has decided to take an indefinite hiatus. Well, unless you live next door to one of the Dell interns (and maybe even then), you’ll probably need some help. With flexible hours and student discounts, these Nerdz are what we like to think of as…
Best Tailor/Garment Repair
With four locations, Ace Tailors makes regular appearances in the “Best of Austin” poll. Quick and expert service on virtually any style of garment keeps customers returning again and again.
Best Place to Commune With Nature
It says something about our readers’ obsessions, their community history, and their focus, that they commune with nature best in the heart of the heart of the city. Zilker is our Central Park, and it’s sending us an old message that is heard only as long as it is passed on: In wildness is the…
Best Photographer
More than 30 years ago, Alan Pogue returned from a tour in Vietnam armed with renewed conviction and the gift of a camera. Both have served him and the international peace movement well now for many years. They have brought to us images of beauty, suffering, and courage – often indistiguishably mingled – and created…
Best Pawn Shop
Newly acquired as part of the Cash America empire, actual “BOA” winner Doc Holliday’s has earned a special ranking throughout the years with “Best of Austin” voters. Local flavor with a wide assortment of quality merchandise makes this, and now all of the Cash America pawn shops, the first stop for the shopper with an…
Best Legs of a Patron Saint
Old Alexander Fredericke Claire: If you’ve never strolled through UT’s Engineering Library, you’ve probably never had the pleasure of making his acquaintance. “Alec,” as he is affectionately known, has enjoyed quite the rollicking history. Originally “acquired” from Jacoby’s beer garden by a bunch of mischievous engineering sophomores the night before April 1, 1908, the statue…
Most Dada Art Collective
Turning trash into art is not a new thing. Using that trash art to decorate public spaces and reinventing the elevator as an art gallery is. Elevator Art Club, a collective of local guerilla artists, uses the detritus of modern society – pics “acquired” from photo lab Dumpsters, flash cards “collected” from local grocery stores,…
Best Casual Italian Fare
Just a short walk from any of our newest skyscrapers, La Traviata is truly a diamond amid the downtown rough. And much like the opera from which it takes its name, this restaurant is a romance of Italian cuisine built upon beauty and tragedy. We recommend the subtle seduction of the toasted hazelnut and pecorino…
Best Reason to Go Veg
Intimidated by tofu? Squicked out by TVP? Bored with broccoli? Try the Lucky 7, described by veggie mavens as “seven little balls all made of delicious,” and capable of recruiting even the most hardened carnivore to the lighter side of dining. Long beloved by campus-area veg-heads, Veggie Heaven offers a plethora of healthy-eating choices that…
Best New Family Fun Center
The debut of Austin’s Park ’n Pizza has families buzzing all over Central Texas. Finally, there is a place where you can bring the teens and the tots. Finally, there is a place that features indoor and outdoor attractions that challenge the body (batting cages! driving range!) and numb the mind (over 70 video and…
Best Dejected Ladies of the Morning
There was this show. On KVRX. On Tuesday mornings. So early. Sometimes we were asleep. It’s not there anymore. We miss it. It was The Lonely Girls’ Co-op. It starred Amy & Jackie. It was neat. They were, like, real girls. Like at a slumber party. Or a hangover breakfast after a night of binge…
Best New Local TV Show
Like a big, beautiful postcard that you really can’t send out of town (unless you record it and mail it off to those poor unfortunates who do not call Austin home), Austin Now is Austin now, a panoramic, heartfelt TV-tone poem to this city we love. Hosted by KLRU’s Tom Spencer and chock-full of fine…
Best Field Trip
Some days just scream for a good, old-fashioned field trip. You know – to a real field. And the best fields around here are tucked sweetly, organically in the heart of East Austin. Boggy Creek Farm’s driveway is lined with peach trees and sunflowers, and it’s just the right combination of bumpy and dusty. (You…
Sexiest Crossing Guards
In their tight red jumpsuits, fishnet hose, and black high heels, the Red Light Burlesque Girls stop traffic … literally. If you’ve attended one of SoCo’s First Thursdays, then you’ve probably seen or met these sexy ladies. Usually positioned between Jo’s Hot Coffee and Amy’s Ice Creams across the street, they guide pedestrians safely across…
Best People’s Accountants
It doesn’t take a CPA to understand that money influences politics, but it does require a certain bloodhound/watchdog breed to sniff out corruption on the campaign finance trail – and then alert the rest of us. This is where Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice, Fred Lewis of Campaigns for People, and Cris Feldman,…
Best Last-Minute Massage
Some mornings you wake up stiff … and it’s not a good thing. Maybe you slept wrong. Maybe you worked all night at your computer on a crazy deadline. Get thee to a massage, your body cries out, and make it snappy. Austin has more massage therapists per square mile than any city in this…
Best “Soft T-shirt” Selection
First, to define the “soft T-shirt”: a short-sleeved shirt bearing hip, nonspecific insignia (i.e., old rec-team jerseys, colorful ones bought in tourist way stations, those recalling hair-band tours …) whose 99% cotton fabric has been reduced to a sheetlike thickness, with a feeling reminiscent of pure silk. Like stalactites, these “soft T-shirts” must be formed…
Capitol Chronicle
The imposition of probation is the latest attempt of the GOP leadership to put minority senators in their place.
Best Downtown Building
From its humble roots as a plank-board building off Eighth and Congress, our Capitol has grown to dwarf all others, second in size and stature only to its compadre in D.C. And it has only grown larger with its Capitol Extension, an underground maze of offices, replete with cafeteria and gift shop for the kids.…
Best Comic/Improv Group
Mystery Science Theater 3000, who? Move over, robots! Austin’s own homage to B-movie heckling has taken this category by storm. Perhaps it’s the razor-sharp wit that’ll leave you feeling like you sprained your tummy laughing so hard, or perhaps it’s just that it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll end up seeing at least one of…
Best Jukebox
Yeah, sure, the appearance of the clientele may signify the choices at the jukebox, but those punkabillies sure do have musical taste that’s good and broad, not to mention l-o-u-d. Where else can you hear Johnny Cash hot on the heels of the Buzzcocks?
Best Lunch-Hour Spot
We said it before, we’ll say it again: Freebirds is the best thing that ever came out of College Station. The joint that offers you burritos the size of your head (or bigger even) apparently also mandates that all new employees get heavily tattooed and pierced during orientation. Everyone is always in a good mood…
Best Park
It may not be hard for the readers to pick this prince of public spaces, but where to begin to sing his praises? At the acres of welcoming green expanse, under the live oaks like shadowing empresses, in the garden of flowering delights? Or maybe the fields that host everything from soccer tournaments to balloon…
Best Mover & Shaker
His colleagues would not likely describe him as unsung or unwilling to sing: This defender of Austin ideals has been in the thick of the fight against the plan to redistrict him right out of office.
Best Dry Cleaner
Reid’s helps us keep our appearance in tiptop shape. Its devoted clientele and 10 locations make it an easy choice when looking to dry-clean a suit or preserve a wedding gown. With services that cover everything from alterations to shoe repair, Reid’s is a local favorite.
Best Antiques
A fully loaded cocktail bar. A mint-condition 1940s skirt suit. A set of Spode Christmas plates. A crystal perfume atomizer. The list of finds is endless, as is the array of baubles, furniture, clothing, and the curious, from dozens of different local vendors.
Best Recreation Center
It really is fun to stay at the YMCA. Okay, so you can’t sleep overnight there, but with so many branches offering so many classes, so much equipment, and so many opportunities to forge community, you could wander in early and stick around until late. All five locations (six if you count Pflugerville – your…
Best Public-Access TV Show
Staring down the barrel of another workweek is easier with Charlie and Cinco holding down Channel 10 every Sunday night at 10pm. Their hourlong omnibus of obscure short films, old TV talk-show segments, found video of drunk rednecks setting their uncle on fire, and more footage of Bill Hicks than you knew existed justifies the…
Best Pet Store
Since 1955, Bark ‘n Purr’s learned staff has helped us humans make informed decisions about food, grooming, flea treatment, and umpteen other pet needs. It’s the next best thing to having a pet that talks.
Best Lightening Up of a Building
For 30 years, the imposing fortresslike façade of UT’s Harry Ransom Center made this repository of cultural artifacts about as inviting to visitors as the Bastille. But after a $14.5 million overhaul, the Ransom has a new, welcoming face. Glass panels across the front open up the entrance and allow natural light to illuminate and…
Best “Garage” Record Label
Founded by late blues guitarist John Fahey and run by Dell executive Dean Blackwood, the tiny record company headquartered in Blackwood’s garage won three Grammy awards this past year. Their seven-CD retrospective of the first star of Mississippi Delta blues, Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton, took the categories of Best…
Best Cheesecake Case
Chocolate or vanilla, key lime or raspberry swirl? Butterscotch, grasshopper, mocha, or turtle? Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries on top, or some combination thereof? How about some crumbled candy bar with caramel drizzle instead? Mozart’s not only has a great lake view, strong coffee, and wireless Internet access, but it also boasts one of the most…
Best Rockin’ Time in Spicewood
The beige building on the north side of Highway 71 in Spicewood may look like an unassuming little joint, but don’t be fooled; Poodie’s is one of the most rockin’ bars in the Hill Country. Named for its owner, Willie Nelson’s longtime sideman Poodie Locke, it’s a classic workingman’s bar with beer (the word “cold”…
Best Old-Fashioned Fun
Saturdays in some neighborhoods consist of ferrying kids to a series of specialty classes and organized sports. Or endless hours spent staring at a Game Boy. Or vegging out amid a stack of DVDs and CDs. In a tradition that channels the mythical Mayberry, Terra Toys offers a simpler diversion: a good, old-fashioned scavenger hunt.…
Best Encouragement to Use Mass Transit
Riding the bus may not be glamorous, but buying bus passes can be a downright drag! Now, with Capital Metro’s online service, it only takes the click of a few buttons to purchase bus passes and have them delivered painlessly to your mailbox. Park the SUV, take a book, ride the bus, and know that…
Best Parody Newspaper for Future Onion Writers
While thought of in some circles as “The Onion Jr.,” UT’s monthly Texas Travesty nevertheless comes out with a fresh, local twist in many of their hilarious issues, especially in the “Around Campus” section. Making humor out of the mundane, some of the funniest Travesty headlines from the last issue include “Thrilled Ninth-Grader Goes Up…
Best Guide to Greenliness
Paul Robbins’ Austin Environmental Directory earned kudos in our poll way back in 1995. This year’s edition is the directory’s fifth. In that time, Austin has seen many changes, many of which have been related to the computer industry and Austin’s burgeoning status as the “Silicon Hills.” The directory argues that we’ve suffered economically and…
Best Activist Group Performance
We wish we had a better label for Liveable City than “activist group,” but the all-star quality-of-life nonprofit deserves the greatest credit for the biggest progressive coup of the year – driving Borders Books & Music away from the city-subsidized Sixth + Lamar project, across the street from local indie-biz icons BookPeople and Waterloo Records.…
Best Photo Op
It’s true that Barton Springs brings out the “weird” in a lot of Austinites, including elected officials, but Will Wynn turned his buttoned-down image inside out with his fully (and nicely) clothed splash into the soul of the city. He never looked more natural during his entire mayoral campaign.
Best Low-Income Medical Services
The only thing worse than being down on your luck is being sick and down on your luck. The city of Austin’s Medical Assistance Program (MAP) offers eligible enrollees excellent medical care in several different facilities. From prenatal to geriatric, finding your way around low-income health care is easy when you have a MAP.
Best Colorful Collection of Cotton
Walking into the Quilt Store makes us feel as though we’ve stepped onto a rainbow. Boasting more than 300 bolts of fabric, this place is a quilter’s paradise. Even if you’re not a quilter, it’s still fun to peruse the rows and rows of colorful cotton fabric where you’ll find everything from calico to floral…
On the Lege
A week in the Legislature with Tom, Robert, Steve, and Carol
Best Downtown Place to Park
Let’s face it, the days of free parking downtown are G-O-N-E. Permanent loading zones, near-ubiquitous valet … the situation makes the parking that does remain all the more special, like our reader faves: the Bank One garage at Fifth and Lavaca, the William P. Hobby state office-building garage at Fourth and Nueces – aka the…
Best Dance Company
For 14 years, this multiform troupe has been a wholly distinctive presence on the scene, blessing Austin with its utterly appealing blend of ballet, modern, jazz, and that oh-so-sweet rhythm tap. This year, Tapestry got a new lease on life with five new troupe members who brought a fresh set of skills and personalities to…
Best Live Music Venue
Curl under a blanket of stars at both of these beloved local venues. Chronicle readers agree that it’s worth giving up the cold air conditioning for a few hours to see shows on either of these two outdoor stages, simply because both provide the best atmosphere, drinks, and view. The Backyard is a great place…
Best Neighborhood Grocery
The secret, of course, to being a great neighborhood grocery is having a neighborhood that wants one – a store that responds to its customers’ needs, not the other way around. Both Wheatsville and Fresh Plus have done the job for Austin’s urban pockets for more than a generation.
Best Participatory Sport
Ah, witness the tanned and shirtless boys hurling the mighty disc in the park. Sweat beads up on their bald heads, their heaving shoulders. Oh, see the disc fly – soaring, hovering, sputtering to a halt. Huh, what did the disc land in? That is dog poop. Nobody touch the disc, OK? It’s cool –…
Best News Story
It’s deliciously ironic that the first real stand-up move by Democrats since Clinton came from Bush’s home state. Definitely more delicious than a week of Grand Slam Breakfasts at the Ardmore Denny’s. The saga of Tom DeLay’s midcensus redistricting racket and the quorum-busting Killer D’s could go down as the moment when it all went…
Best Florist
Even with the barest and most difficult of guidelines (male recipient, make it smell good), C&F manages to pull off the most improbable and artistic and utterly original arrangements in town – making you end up looking good.
Best Austin/Texas Souvenirs
We’ve gotta say right up front that voters in this category who handed this victory to the Bob Bullock must certainly be members of our Texas State History Museum. Why? Well, a membership entitles members to a 10% discount on any of the many Texana tchotchkes available inside. And our readers, as usual, are right…
Best Restaurant
Who needs animatronic hedgehogs singing Motown medleys when there’s GattiTown? All-you-can-eat pizza, big screen TVs alternately broadcasting sports and cartoons, and a sizable cornucopia of arcade games make GattiTown – and its Round Rock cousin, Gattiland – enjoyable-yet-economical destinations for the whole brood.
Best Radio Station
“Listener-supported” describes our town’s public radio station not only during pledge-drive time but apparently also during “Best of Austin” polling time. Every year, KUT and Austin’s locally inspired KGSR-FM battle for this slot in the readers’ hearts. This year, KUT-FM takes it. Their commitment to engaging programming is a given, from locally produced shows like…
Best Plant Nursery
An oasis off South Congress that provides inspiration and motivation for even those folks with thumbs o’ brown, the grounds of these Great Outdoors are a virtual fairyland at Christmas, a riot of color in spring, and a cool refuge in summer amid the waterfalls, swings, and fragrant herbs.
Best Little Historic House in Texas
William Sydney Porter, aka O. Henry, aka “the Master of the Short Story” and the author of “The Gift of the Magi” – one of the most famous short stories ever – lived in Austin for more than 13 years. From 1893 to 1895 he lived in a homey little cottage downtown with his wife…
Best Birthday Bash for a King
The King is dead. Long live the King. So it is decreed every January and August (Elvis’ birth and death respectively) when the Continental Club plays host to celebrations worthy of the King himself, drawing fans from 7 to 70 years. And we’re not talkin’ cheesy Elvis impersonation night; Shaun Young & the New Blue…
Best Chorizo Migas
Nothing makes weekend mornings better than a cup of coffee and a plate of these migas (with cheese, of course), the perfect amalgamation of egg, tortilla, cheese, jalapeno, and chorizo. To partake in such elemental culinary beauty is a “Eureka!” moment, to be sure. For so common a dish, with ingredients so simple, it is…
Best Salsa Like No Other
At first, we marveled at its blackness, afraid it would singe the tongue off with some hidden spice. Once tasted, the unique flavor of this rich, complex, and rather mild salsa seems perfect on everything one could put salsa on.
Best Performance Art for Kids
Chef and Pat have always made music for children. Then Pat got a ticket, and the Telephone Company seriously started playing to clear up some community service. The Telephone Company uses bear heads, king puppets, and spirit-gum mustaches to illustrate their whimsical, strange songs about the trials and tribulations of facial hair, kings and flies,…
Best Home Accessories
With a rich background in the buying of fine home goods and housewares from Europe and beyond, owners Richard and Heidi Adams have assembled an ever-changing collection of furniture and home accessories to covet. The combination of antique and reproduction, as well as their own designs in sumptuous fabrics and clean lines makes Central Homegoods…
Best Place to Find “Reality”
Some of the most popular reality shows to plague … ummm, appear on national TV have made Austin a go-to place in search of new meat … errrr, talent hungry for their 15 minutes of fame. American Idol, Last Comic Standing, The Real World, A Dating Story, and a few new reality series in the…
Best High-End Bicycle Shop
Austin is definitely a star on the map of the cycling world. Similarly, in the three years Nelo’s has been in operation, it has become a favorite hangout for many Austin cyclists. Owners Jeremiah Alvarado and Nelo Breda have years of cycling knowledge under their respective belts. Nelo even has experience in both professial racing…
Best Bus Driver
The 19-year veteran bus driver for Capital Metro drove a 35-foot-long bus through an obstacle course of traffic cones to beat 33 other top drivers from around the country to win the International Bus Roadeo in Las Vegas last September. Heck, the event name alone almost guaranteed that the title would go to a Texan!…
Best Role Model
On March 28, 2003, tragedy called on Carolyn Mosley Samuel. That afternoon her youngest daughter, 15-year-old Ortralla Mosley was stabbed to death by her former boyfriend, 16-year-old Marcus McTear, in the hallway of Reagan High School. Despite the overwhelming tragedy and despite her obvious grief, Mrs. Samuel was able to see a bigger picture: that…
Best Mothers’ Little Helper
Doulas guide moms-to-be through the strange and transforming land of childbirth, and beyond. The care from this mothers’ advocate during childbirth cuts, by an astounding percentage, the need for complicated medical intervention and the use of pain medications. The mission of these compassionate caregivers is to provide physical, emotional, and educational support to women during…
Best Community Thrift
St. Vincent’s makes us want to sing opera, rip velvet, run down the street in an antimacassar and a crepe-paper tutu. Here’s a thrift store you can visit every darn day (and some do … cough, ahem) and not grow weary of the ambience – it’s a split-level paradise of infinite merchandise, staffed by the…
The Hightower Lowdown
You Can’t Keep the Earl of Sandwich Down; Donning the Mask of Corporate Reform
Best Hotel
Once a decaying 1936 motor court, Hotel San José is now a retro-sleek cornerstone in the ongoing South Congress revival. We can’t wait to see what the proprietors have in store for a recently purchased property in Marfa. Meanwhile, buoyed by a late-Nineties restoration, the historic Driskill remains the grande dame of downtown.
Best Dancer/Choreographer
Playful. Sensual. Electric. Immediate. These are just some of the qualities that Stephen Mills instills in his dances, and they explain why audiences here get jazzed about ballet. The Ballet Austin artistic director has a way with movement that makes the classical contemporary, that gives even the most familiar ballets – say, last season’s Giselle…
Best Movie Theatre
You like quirky? It’s Downtown. You like more mainstream fare? It’s at the Village and Lake Creek. You like to drink beer with your movie? It’s at all three, and we haven’t even mentioned the Butt-Numb-a-Thon! Tim and Karrie League are making it clear that their idea – great film-viewing concept events, great food and…
Best Produce
Part of the HEB family, Central Market has two locations with two wonderlands of produce in Austin. We counted 30 kinds of apples, 20-plus kinds of chile peppers, and more than 10 kinds of mushrooms. Not only do they have the variety and size to beat most other produce sections, the freshness is consistently better…
Best Public Golf Course
“Old Muni” still has her teeth! And our readers love her. Named for the civic organization that founded her back in 1928, this municipal West Austin gem has had her turf spiked by two of the great Bens in golf history – Hogan and Crenshaw. Wouldn’t you like to join their ranks and smack a…
Best Nonprofit Group
The only reason we wish SafePlace didn’t win is that we wish there weren’t a need for the organization. But, since there is, hats off to the sanctuary offered to victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ability, age, national origin, or religion. And extra kudos for all the…
Best Gardener/Landscaping
This place is so beautiful, it’s fun to just drive by it and improve your mood. It’s cool, verdant, lush, fantastic, and named for a Lucinda Williams song – what else do you want from a nursery? Proprietors Selena Souders and Dylan Robertson have turned this corner of Cesar Chavez into more than a gardener’s…
Best Clothing
Buffalo Exchange, strategically located near quirky collegiate students, caters to the funky, bold, and cheap shopper. With their prices on trendsetting retro resale clothing and accessories, it’s possible to pick up a cool outfit for a cool $30. By George, by contrast, is the favorite of the high-end ensemble addict. Their breezy casual chic is…
Best Shoe Store
Some kids love it for the toys, but our kids actually like buying shoes. (Especially the kind that light up.) And Sandy’s is what all stores should be – good quality, great selection, friendly people who like their jobs, decent prices, all that. May it clad the feet of generations yet to come.
Best Radio Station to Listen to at Work
Starting your day with Kevin & Kevin and following it with Bryan Beck, Susan Castle, and Jody Denberg, KGSR is the soundtrack to your workweek. Called “art on the radio” by Rolling Stone, KGSR’s combination of personality mixed with great music from near and far is an Austin favorite. From Coldplay to Lucinda Williams, Bob…
Best Record Store
Run by music lovers for music lovers, Waterloo proves a “record store” can still exist even if its namesake is on life support. Their vast selection of local music, expert employee recommendations, and frequent in-store performances (with free beverages!) make Waterloo a shopping experience that’ll never be replicated by pointing and clicking.
Best Livable Tree House
Have you seen this place? Stories stretching into the towering oaks of French Place, wood everywhere you look, an aura of Never-Never Land encapsulating the whole vision. This couldn’t possibly be someone’s home, could it? But, yes, someone is lucky enough to wake up every morning in Peter Pan’s hideout. French Place boasts many old,…
Best Ceiling Tiles
Some of the top comic artists in the country have wielded the ol’ El Marko to glorify the white acoustic panels that compose the ceiling of this fierce comics shop located on the ground level of the Dobie Mall. “Jeff Smith, Evan Dorkin, Shannon Wheeler, Chris Sprouse, a bunch of other great artists,” says Tim…
Best Cup o’ Joe on a Sunday Morning
Breakfast tacos and a cup of piping hot Oaxacan coffee on a Sunday Morning – ahhhhhh! “Morning” means before 10am, when a decidedly “old Austin” crowd ambles in. Rumor has it one customer sent back the Oaxacan elixir complaining it was too strong. There’s a Micky D’s up the street, bub.
Best Source for Penny-Wise Oenophiles
Economic conditions demand that the days of conspicuous consumption of pricey wines cease. This just isn’t the time to quaff a $100 … or for most of us, even a $30 wine on a Wednesday. Say hello to the wine department at the HEB at Hancock Center. Steve Williams, formerly of Central Market South, is…
Best Place to Get a Whiff …
… of diaper, that is. After making the scene in the Eighties and early Nineties with bands such as the Dharma Bums and Grains of Faith, Joe McDermott’s former audience now brings its offspring to his performances at school fundraisers, libraries, and the like. Songs like “I Am Baby,” “What’s Not to Love About a…
Best Jewelers to the Stars
What do Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Liv Tyler, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep, Cher, Vanessa Redgrave, Britney Spears, Sandra Bullock, and Laura Bush all have in common? They’ve all decked themselves in jewels from David Nakard Armstrong and Anthony Camargo, better known as the jewelry designers Anthony…
Best Place to Sneak Away Between Classes
After hours of learning (or dozing) in class, Little City offers a quiet, comfy place to relax, catch up on reading, or just decompress after lecture with friends. The Happy Hour (M-F 5-7pm) is perfect for caffeine-addicted students crashing after an all-nighter or those on a limited budget who can’t seem to leave. Offering a…
Best Little Bit of Vegas in Town
All too rare is the 24-hour Austin hot spot, but let’s take a short, sweet drive along I-35, headin’ just north of downtown and suddenly … we’re in Vegas, baby! Showplace Lanes lights up the night sky from the west with enough wattage to power all the casinos Bugsy Siegel ever owned. Once inside, it’s…
Best City Bureaucrat
The assistant city manager over public safety, Huffman has impressed us with her calm and careful handling of potentially explosive issues, like the strengthening of the city’s noise ordinance and, especially, APD’s response to anti-war protests. Huffman’s commendable performance gives us a different kind of homeland security.
Best Shout-Out to a Lost Austin Legend
He was the greatest shortstop to play the game since the advent of the Babe, but most people don’t know Negro League legend Willie Wells from Snack Wells. Props to the Bob Bullock for honoring the late Austin native with The Willie Wells Story, which works as a larger-scale commentary on baseball’s pre-1947 color line.…
Best No-Bull Car and Body Repair
Mak and Karl got it going on down at Unlimited, the shop with the funky muffler sculpture out front. They’re glad to show you what’s wrong with your vehicle, and, if it’s minor, they don’t make up some story about you needing major repairs. Their hands are always dirty, too – excellent sign of great…
Best Cool Vintage Wear
An aura of the new hip eminates from this funky vintage store. Recently relocated to a larger location on the main part of the Drag, it is a paradise of old T-shirts, busted bluejeans, retro tops, and other unique treasures from the past. So whether you’re looking for that hard to find Purple Rain or…
Best Motel
After all these years – nay, decades! – it’s still fun to joke about that amazing sign, isn’t it (isn’t it)?! For 65 years, the Austin Motel has been, as they like to say, so close yet so far out. Situated in a now-tres-hip neighborhood, their groovy poolside is the place to be seen at…
Best Museum
C’mon now! What other museum’s tuff enuff to make it in a truck commercial? You think that durn Guggenheim ever got scoped for Truck Month? Seriously pardners, our State History Museum is a right nice destination for the folks and li’l critters alike. “The Story of Texas” is the main attraction, a massive three-story exhibit…
Best Place to Cruise Chicks/Dudes
It’s called Sixth Street, though we like to think of it as the Meat-Packing District. It ain’t the subtlest spot in town to cruise, but who needs subtlety with that many bodies and that much booze – the two ingredients most helpful for all genders, great and small, in the mood for a macking? From…
Best Special-Occasion Restaurant
If we could eat at Jeffrey’s every day, we definitely would. The candle-light ambience combined with the helpful waitstaff and magnificent culinary creations make for one hell of a special occasion. And man oh man … those Crispy Oysters are just to die for. Dress up or dress down, and enjoy this gem of a…
Best Public Sports Venue
Texans like their sports year-round, as evidenced by this split of loyalties between the orb and the pigskin. Dell Diamond is, of course, home to our local legends the Round Rock Express, who keep Austin’s summers sweltering with some hot Texas League baseball, and DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium is the autumn locus for all things orange,…
Best Scandal
It’s deliciously ironic that the first real stand-up move by Democrats since Clinton came from Bush’s home state. Definitely more delicious than a week of Grand Slam Breakfasts at the Ardmore Denny’s. The saga of Tom DeLay’s midcensus redistricting racket and the quorum-busting Killer D’s could go down as the moment when it all went…
Best Hair Salon
Highlights, lowlights, cuts, color, and style – Avant always leads the way with its cutting-edge techniques and expert craftsmanship. From the runways of Austin to the sidewalks, Avant’s work is ever-present. Multiple locations make it very accessible, and since it’s an Aveda salon, we can always be sure the products are as top-quality as the…
Best Comic Books
Dragon’s Lair, the once and future king of comics, consistently rolls high hit points for service, selection, and special events. Since its inception in 1986, the Lair has grown bigger and stronger, swinging down its mighty warhammer on all pretenders to the throne. Aside from their arsenal of comics, cards, and RPG accessories, the proprietors…
Best Summer Camp
Remember when you returned from summer camp with beaded necklaces and your name branded on some piece of leather? Summer camps have become sophisticated, my friend, like the Dougherty Arts Center Summer Camp, where classes for ages 3-12 include lessons in finger painting, art, and video production. Wonder if they check IDs?
Best Radio-Show Team
In last year’s “Best of Austin,” the big media upset was JB & Sandy’s win of this category. Frankly, even they seemed a bit shocked. This year, the nice guys on MIX have done it again. Our readers voted for their smart programming moves, like rerunning the morning program in prime time, bringing in show…
Best Specialty Books
Susan Post and her bevy of erudite feminists have made Book Woman the bedrock of Austin’s progressive community for 25 years. The children’s book section alone – stocked with colorful ways to teach little ones about the Earth, gay families, racial equality, and self-love, is worth some long hours of browsing. If corporate book-marts get…
Best New Digs
Mrs. Baird would be right proud to see that her old bread factory is still nurturing the East Austin community. The former bakery at 701 Tillery is the new home (as of last year) of the Austin Latino/Latina Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization – a delicious mouthful if there ever was one. ALLGO’s new…
Best Gonzo Mini-Entrepreneur
You know the type: a scruffy young guy full of big ideas and irritation about the way things are. But unlike other slackers, who solve the world’s ills over a 12-pack only to pass out on the couch, Henri Mazza acts on his angst. And he works fast, too. Just this year, Mazza has introduced…
Best Grocery Store Alternative
“El Campo in Su Ciudad!” “Honk if You’re Corny!” “Okra Alright!” “Nice Melons!” These are just a few of the catchy bumper stickers you might notice driving away from the recently founded Austin Farmers’ Market Downtown. This event features farm-fresh and organic vegetables, all-natural meat, homemade salsas, local honey, fresh pastries, and even chef demonstrations.…
Best Southern Cooking
“We put the big chef on the outside of the restaurant to convey the homey, relaxing attitude of Southern comfort,” says owner Tony Herring of his fledgling restaurant’s quirky mural. “But we took away the mustache, because we thought it made him look too Italian.” Regardless, the authenticity of Tony’s Southern Comfort Restaurant is as…
Best Place to Virtually Kick Some Boo-Tay
Ever see so much red after a little tiff with your best bud that it seemed like nothing this side of bloody murder could resolve it? Consider this little form of conflict resolution: Head over to LAN’s Edge in Northcross Mall and resolve your differences in a virtual arena. They supply the hardware, you supply…
Best Leather
Can’t find a cool leather belt with your name on it? No problem. Head over to Tandy Leather Co., and they’ll fix you right up. They have all the supplies to make belts, wallets, moccasins, and more: Let your imagination run wild. Whether you’re looking for a kit to make said items or just a…
Best Pop-Art Inspired Needlework
Embroidery is hot. Just ask Jenny Hart. This young Austinite has had her needlework featured in Venus magazine (her embroidered portrait of the White Stripes) and in other large outlets. Her exceedingly cool work references the best of pop culture: Mexican wrestlers, Edith Piaf, and topless, gunslinging cowgirls (last two were collaborations with Jon Langford…
Best Lungs
Since 1998, when Tanya Streeter reportedly discovered her talent for holding her breath a reaallly long time, the 30-year-old freediver has broken each and every record ever set in the “extreme sport.” Streeter can dive more than 520 feet deep and hold her breath for more than six minutes. In 2002 Sports Illustrated named her…
Best Demo
We thought nothing could match Austin’s March 15 response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, for which 7,000 or so fired-up citizens gathered at the Capitol for a rousing chorus of firebrand speeches and a community statement of defiance – and a few days later as the bombing began, a couple of thousand more marched…
Best Unsuccessful City Council Candidates
These Fab Four made the Place 5 race the best City Council field we’ve seen in 10 years. Clarke, of course, went the farthest, forcing Brewster McCracken into a run-off, but Singleton (an old hand at city politics), Tepper (a unique progressive Republican), and Marks (a potential next-generation leader) all helped turn the Place 5…
Best Online Source for Not Stepford Moms
Ever feel like raising children is, yes, wonderful, but also kind of terrible sometimes? You’d never know anyone else feels the same way, to read most parenting publications. They’re chock full of how-blissed-out-am-I-now-that-I-have-this-adorable-baby blatherings. Recipes for low-fat chicken fingers. “Best Birthday Party Ever!” decorating ideas. How to make play dough at home. Useless parenting advice…
Best Costumes and Accessories
They have it all … anything you want to be. Lucy In Disguise, a staple on the SoCo strip for years, is jam-packed with costume ideas for renting as well as purchase. From head to toe to fingertips, you can deck yourself out as Cleopatra, Dracula, a cheerleader, or an alien, or you can assemble…
TCB
If John Lennon had attended this weekend’s ACL Fest blowout he might have screamed, “I’ve got blisters on my feet!”
Best Mural
Two local murals have caught our readers’ eyes – again. The Renaissance Market mural, at 23rd and the Drag, has been an Austin institution since 1974, when it was first created by Kerry Awn and company. The painting has just received its second makeover, the first occurring in 1982 after extensive vandalization. Just down the…
Best Painter/Sculptor
Of course it’s a tie – a tie that binds in our culturally enamored minds these two epitomes of the ridiculous and the sublime. The former word best describes so many of the Blue Genie creations enlivening the skyline of our city; the latter’s a word easily connected to the enigmatic and eye-jarring paintings of…
Best Place to Meet Friends After Work
Strategically placed throughout the River City, Trudy’s could very well take over this town. Instead, it saves us from the doldrums of the adult working world. When you want to take a load off and vent about the new boss to your buddies, chances are there’s a Trudy’s near you. Enjoy a margarita on the…
Best Waitstaff
The slacker service common in many Austin restaurants has no place at Chez Zee. With a reputation like this Austin legend’s, business is hoppin’ most of the time. The waitstaff here exudes a casual elegance that is softened a bit by genuinely eager, friendly attitudes. They may dress like other waiters, but they might as…
Best Skating Rink
It would be enough if Playland simply boasted the full-on roller-skating experience – neon lights, groovy music, a glittering disco ball (shaped like a skate!), and the gratifying sound of wheels on wood. But there’s so much more: Playland hosts regular rock-outs like roller derby, adult-skate nights, and birthday parties for young and old. Still…
Best Sexiest Austin Celebrity
She’s beautiful, witty, and genuine. She’s charming even when she’s angry (remember how cute she was banging that phone on the counter in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood?) or stressed out (which made her famous in Speed) and especially when she’s playing the ugly duckling (Love Potion No. 9, Miss Congeniality). But the best…
Best Health Spa
Austin’s breathtaking retreat on the lake has massaged a win in this category again. Our readers know what the rest of the world knows, as our haven in the hills is no stranger to hifalutin kudos: Condé Nast Traveler includes it in its Top 10 Spa list, and Travel & Leisure calls it one of…
Best Computer Store
In the shadow of the dot-com bust, at the point where MoPac dwindles into the near-northern suburbs, under the sign of the gargantuan piano – rises Fry’s, the store where computer maniacs of every shape, size, and pocketbook go to shop, schmooze, or just drool. From the Hardware Corner to the Land of the Giant…
Best Toy Store
Hand-scrawled sardonic (but good-naturedly so) warnings and didactic recommendations line the shelves here, written up by the clever employees who also are forever stocking more new inventory (Lava Lamps! Day-Glo stickers!) and more new inventory (Satan Ducks! Jesus action figures!) and still more new inventory (Necco wafers! Dino slime!). Toy Joy is the perfect mix…
Best Sportscaster
Always affable, KTBC Fox 7’s Dave Cody wins – just like he does every weeknight on television screens across Central Texas. Having appeared in this category before, his “Best of Austin” awards are testament to his prowess with the sports scores as well as with his audience.
Best Thrift Store
Both of these organizations greatly benefit Austin citizens. Goodwill helps give a leg up to those facing employment barriers. Top Drawer funds services for those living with AIDS. Plus, they both have great stuff. Goodwill is best for those of you who like the enormous sifting process, with eight jumbo stores in Austin (not to…
Best Rebirth
When the old Ruta Maya shut down and the more warehouse-district-appropriate Halcyon took its place, we were depressed, as it seemed to be another instance of old funky Austin being steamrolled over. No matter your opinion on the Fourth Street location, you’ll be stunned by Ruta Maya’s reincarnation on South Congress in the renovated Penn…
Best Hollywood on the Colorado
Who says movies only happen in Hollywood and New York? Austin’s homegrown film industry makes it an A-list location with A-list movie stars that is on par with the most desirable locations in the world. Current projects include Luke, Owen, and just-as-hunky-if-not-more-so bro Andrew Wilson’s The Wendall Baker Story, as well as Secondhand Lions starring…
Best Guiltless Guilty Pleasure
One of many treats found in the glass case at Kerbey Lane, the decadent Mocha Tofu Cheesecake is the only one made without refined sugar, and an excellent treat – minus the guilt. This is perfect for those birthdays and weekend rewards that won’t set the belt back three notches afterward. What it lacks in…
Best Tacos Before a “Day Trip”
Say you spontaneously decide to drive out to Johnson City. Reaching the outskirts of town, you suddenly snap out of your adrenal “Day Trip” and realize that your ravenous hunger is so overpowering that you may not have enough energy to steer around the sloping curves of Highway 71. Not to fear, Rosie’s Tamale House…
Best Rafter-Packed Shopping
Say you’re one of the unfortunate ones – you never had a pack-rat grandparent. You don’t know what it’s like to walk into a room packed to the rafters with stuff. Well, Kids ‘n Cats is dedicated to the art of collecting stuff. Curious stuff. They have an excellent collection of animal greeting cards, items…
Best New Bookstore
When Elana and Julianne, the team behind South Austin’s Escapist Bookstore, had the chance to meet author Michael Chabon (whose book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay inspired the local booktique’s name), they presented him with a camisole and panties emblazoned with the Escapist’s logo: a superwoman breaking through chains. This hero is supercharged…
Best Public Affairs Rumor
Emmy award-winning Paul Stekler has now hosted two public affairs specials on KLRU, corralling some of the best journalists across the state to talk Texas politics. Under Stekler’s lead, the roundtable discussions are not only civil but also informative and highly engaging. Rumor has it that a weekly public affairs series hosted by Stekler is…
Best Orgasmic Sneeze
St. Edward’s Park might otherwise be known as the Austin nature lover’s G-spot. For starters, just getting there is fun, as the park is located alongside the lovely winding Old Spicewood Springs Road. To Austinites, the miles of cacti-laden nature trails – many of which run alongside babbling Bull Creek – provide instant relief from the…
Best District Judge
State District Judge Jeanne Meurer has been a member of Travis County’s bench for so long that even her longtime aides have to think about how long it’s been (16 years); we think that’s a good thing. Meurer is the take-no-crap judge for the county’s 98th District that, aside from other civil matters, presides over…
Best Vote
When the hard-right caucus waved the flag on the House floor to endorse the Bush war on Iraq (HCR 75 authored by The Woodlands Republican Rob Eissler), almost all the members joined the mob, including far too many members of the Central Texas delegation. But a handful did stand up to the pressure and defied…
Best Pane-in-the-Glass Remedy
Let’s say you accidentally put a chair (or fist or rock) through the window of that lovely 1935 cottage you’re renting. And let’s say you’d rather not get the landlord involved. No problem. Cough up roughly 100 clams, and the nice folks at Binswanger’s will drive to your house, finish breaking out what’s left of…
Best Gifts for Teachers, Writers, and Other Communicators
From the banks of the ancient Nile, the stalk of the cyprus papyrus plant provided a light, durable, and, most importantly, transportable surface for visual and written communication: the precursor to modern paper. From Central Park in central Austin, reams of AstroBrite pale in comparison to the wild and woolly array of cardstocks and handmade…
ACL Fest Live Shots
FRIDAYCody Chesnutt “It ain’t rock, it ain’t hip-hop, it ain’t soul.” It was simply a man with his guitar, backed by the “foundation” of drums and bass. Muddy Waters did it; so did Jimi Hendrix and Prince. Now it’s Cody Chesnutt’s turn. “When a rhythm is yours, you can take it wherever you want to,”…
Cold Creek Manor
Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone are home alone in a haunted house in this film that was not screened before press time.
Best Neighborhood
With century homes shouldered beside student rentals mixed in with some swanky renovated near-castles, Hyde Park is a terrific microcosm, highlighting the very things folks love most about Austin. What touches visitors and residents alike is the stunning, lush green everywhere you turn, with canopies of branches reaching high above and across streets to provide…
Best Theatre Actor/Actress
The man behind Petey Fisk, Charlene Bumiller, and dozens more – who along with his co-star, Joe Sears, embodies the entire town of Greater Tuna – is a quiet, unassuming fellow who began acting when he was a teenager three decades ago and never looked back. He’s still acting, taking on roles in shows as…
Best Pub/Neighborhood Bar
Nestled safely away from the shot-bar haze of Sixth Street, from the beery debauch of West Campus, from the distilled effrontery of the Warehouse District, lies the Draught House. Warm light from the windows reflects merrily on rows of steins hanging above the barkeep. Dark wood tables stretch to walls blanketed with antique memorabilia. Bike…
Best Arcade
With its campus location and loyal slacker clientele, Le Fun has become one of the few enduring local businesses on the Drag. Along with its Wells Branch location, Le Fun specializes in arcade games of all stripes and the fine art of separating kids from their quarter rolls. Primarily an adult establishment, Dave & Buster’s…
Best Spectator Sport
Are you ready for some football? Some Texas Schoolboy Football, y’all? How about those rivalries? Reagan vs. LBJ! Austin vs. Westlake! Crockett vs. Bowie! Or how about some hot Longhorn action? That our “Best of Austin” issue conveniently comes out at the dawn of pigskin season is purely a coincidence, really. But you can be…
Best State Department
Like every increasingly beleaguered public servant, TP&W has had to do more with less over the last few years. They have responded by heroically holding the line on open space, finding ways to supplement public dollars with private aid, and remaining dedicated to the caprock principle that the future of Texas must be much more…
Best Home Services/Repair
Whether it’s the bugs that eat your trees or the bugs that eat your house, ABC can handle it. This family-run business can handle just about any pest, from mites to bees to rats … and they can keep your lawn and garden looking sharp, too, with complete lawn care and maintenance. As they say,…
Best Drugstore
Yeah, it’s corporate, OK. But that whole aisle of “As Seen on TV” stuff? The collection of dancing hamsters? The stacks of impulse buys waiting for you at the counter? The $5 radios? And oh, the cosmetics section, how it goes on and on. Take your time getting your prescription filled – for 20 bucks…
Best Video Selection
The best part of the best selection is all the groovy stuff from your own childhood, or even earlier. Vulcan has helped introduce our kids to Jonny Quest, Speed Racer, and Felix the Cat. An important cultural service, right in your own back yard.
Best Sportswriter
So, was the Spurs’ championship run over an injury-riddled field more or less legitimate than the “strike-shortened” championship of 1999? Kirk Bohls knows. What will the big stories be, come football season? Hell, you won’t even have to ask. After nigh-on 30 years covering college football, the latest Horns imbroglio never fails to light a…
Best Used Records/CDs
The used-CD selection at Cheapo is best approached with an open mind. It takes time and patience to dig through the vast “recent arrival” stacks organized by arrival date instead of artist, but this is where to find killer deals on discs you didn’t even know you wanted.
Best Unnecessary Blue Rectangles
Driving under the Lamar bridge had been the same for years. Sure, an occasional train passed overhead, and graffiti additions appeared now and again, but when the blue rectangles arrived, we nearly wrecked our SUVs. Austin Art in Public Places has brought Carl Trominsky’s piece, Moments, to life. Made of industrial road parts, it is…
Best Non-Club-Closing
When the Mercury announced around SXSW that they had just lost their lease, it represented a new low in Austin’s music community. The Hole in the Wall, the Black Cat, now Austin’s most handsome room? Well thankfully the lease was re-upped. Though booker Philip Croley is reducing the number of weekly gigs and changing the…
Best Little Taqueria/Store
The pull of this place is not the odd assortment of goods for sale on sparsely stocked shelves (candles, brown-sugar cones, incense, sardines, pancake mix, peacock feathers) but the delicious, spicy tacos and the home-cooked goodness of watching your food prepared in sight. A family operation turned over by the dueña to her daughters, this…
Best Two-Dollar Hamburger
Ah, que rica! The lettuce and tomatoes are so crisp, the meat so tender and juicy you’d think it had been cooked on an open flame. This burger is fresh, superfly, and just the right size. We never regret aiming for the gringo lunch plate at La Cocinita, while listening to telenovelas on the TV…
Best Sloth
Like some toehr lont-time Austin residents, Sophia spends 16 hours a day sleeping, and the rest of the time hanging out and eating lettuce. Along with her friends alligators, pythons and hairless rats she can be found at Zookeepers.
Best New Place to Keep Austin Austin
Moxie and the Compound is Ye Old House of New Funky. Owner and designer Kayci “Wickedly Hilariously and Supremely Talented” Wheatly has opened a spectacular shop featuring the splendid artistry of at least a few dozen local designers and artists. From wearable art like groovy Clash T-shirts to mosaic lazy Susans and gorgeous journals, the…
Best Reason Not to Hang Up on Telemarketers
There seems to be a checklist of qualifying Austinite experiences: swimming at Barton Springs, sighting a celebrity, guinea-pigging at PPD … and participating in a focus group at Tammadge Market Research. Those who haven’t hung up on the cheery Tammadge spiel have learned that no, they’re not selling anything; in fact, they want to give…
Best Place to Dance Like a Hippie Chick
An instructor here may ask, “Shall we go to the known or the unknown?” or even, “Moby or Terminal Mind?” NIA is the acronym for Neuromuscular Integrative Action; more simply, it’s dancing, both for a healthier body and soul. Nia employs a lot of stepping and rocking motions (which can be as gentle or vigorous…
Best Drug Deal
It can’t be said that the Lege moved on its own initiative – that credit goes to much hard and relentless work by family, local citizens, pro bono lawyers (and journalists), the NAACP, the ACLU, and a host of other civil rights organizations. But Austin Republican Keel and Houston Democrat Ellis put together the legislative…
Best Way to Subvert the Dominant Paradigm
As far as we know, these North Loop anarcho-intellectual-hooligan-bookworms (and bookwormistas) aren’t yet being surveilled by John “Big Daddy” Ashcroft, but that doesn’t mean they won’t hit the big leagues soon. One-stop shopping for everything from Chomsky to Zinn, Punk Planet to MRR, situationist theory to radical social-restructuring ideologies. Plus, they regularly play host to…
Best Place to Go When You Haven’t Got Time for the Pain
The name says it all. Integrative. Dr. Mark White is the genius behind Integrative Pain Services, which has been serving Austin since 1999. Dr. White is an osteopath whose background includes anesthesiology and acupuncture for physicians. He has specialized in pain management since 1996. All of which is to say that Dr. White knows how…
Best Selection of MikWright Products
Nestled in a shopping center on Anderson Lane is an ample selection of the unique line of MikWright products. With a slogan like “greetings that provoke” this line is worth checking out. Retro photos and catchy lines like, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, I want to hear it,” are what it’s all…
Page Two
Welcome to the “Best of Austin,” in what in some ways feels like the worst of times.
Anything Else
Woody Allen’s latest was not screened before press time.
Best New Building (Past Five Years)
Designed by Boston-based E. Verner Johnson & Associates, the Texas State History Museum tweaks the standard pink-granite formula for state buildings with a striking rotunda and an open plaza that revives the northern entrance to the Capitol complex.
Best Theatre Company
Because they use their powers – powers that make one think they must have, when younger, attended Professor Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning and had their natural mutant abilities enhanced through rigorous, team-based training – for good, not evil, those uncanny Rude Mechs again nail the pinnacle of public appreciation for the original shows they…
Best Swanky Joint
The cool part being that even when it’s packed full of the fraternity set, the Brown Bar is actually swanky and not just an ordinary bar pretending to be swanky. One of the few Austin joints where you can dress to impress without actually shocking people. Not to mention generous pours.
Best Birthday Cakes
Dear Lucy, Please make yourself an anniversary cake. This is the 10th straight year you’ve won a Best Cakes award from our loyal readers and your loyal sweet-lovin’ customers. Congratulations! Hyde Park residents are sad you moved, but folks out on Bee Caves Road couldn’t be happier. Love, The Chron
Best Swimming Hole
The springs survived yet another crisis this year, partly manufactured by headline writers but very real in another sense – without the community’s vigilance, the Jewel of the City still lies in harm’s way. In the valley of the shadow of death from a thousand parking lots, the springs continue to gush forth their fulfilled…
Best State Legislator
Now in his seventh – and apparently eternal – legislative session, over the years Rep. Naishtat has quietly and steadily become one of the most effective legislators in the state and a leader among those who focus their energies on support for health and human services. He was among those at the center of the…
Best Interior Design
Known for their historic preservation work with the new Mansion at Judges’ Hill in West Campus and their playful design for the Austin Children’s Clinic (featuring a mural of our 360 Bridge), this fledgling design firm has been making its mark on the Austin style scene with classic Texas flair since the year 2000.
Best Furnishings/Home
Whether your wishes are for a Wassily in black or clear rubber and chrome or a chaise that ol’ Le Corbusier’d be proud to plop his … errrr, corbusier in, both of these popular retail joints can make them come true. Eurway’s sleek, modern take on design has made Austin homes tasteful for the better…
Best Evening Radio Host
Although mostly conservative, Jeff Ward doesn’t surrender to the cliches of the radio ranters, and his evening chat is as likely to be an intelligent discussion of the issues of the day as it is to be a preview of the Next Big Game – handled with equal aplomb. Not to mention, he’s got a…
Best TV Anchor
Cantu is ot only our readers’ favorite, but also the most huggable news anchor in town. The inclination to run up and squeeze him to see if a high-pitched squeak comes out is not beyond imagination. Fortunately, K-EYE’s Cantu is also authoritative and actually sounds like he cares about and understands what he’s reading. Still…
Best Vintage
We hated to see the Red River store go, but from the look of things, Blue Velvet on the Drag is holding it down. Our readers vote them the best in hip threads, kitschy collectibles, and outrageous rental outfits all on the cheap. And its presence next to a skeletal Sound Exchange is all the…
Best Walking the Walk, Not Just Talking the Talk
Talking about the wonders of Austin past is a local addiction. KVET morning co-host Cole has put his money where his mouth is by first reopening Hill’s Cafe, carefully re-establishing it as a South Austin landmark and community gathering place, and then, working with partners, he’s just reopened the Tavern. Not only has Cole chosen…
Best Patio Pop Venue
Possessing a cool subterranean vibe without actually being underground, Cedar Street is the perfect place to end a scorching day. The high, narrow walls focus the breeze and cool you down enough to rock out with the evening’s featured band. In operation since 1995 and located in the popular Fourth Street entertainment hive, Cedar Street’s…
Best Locals’ Place
Abraham Kennedy, a Mexican immigrant, opened this South Congress eatery in the 1950s (a resolution from the Texas Legislature honoring Kennedy, drafted sometime in the Eighties and proudly posted in the restaurant, explains the history), and El Gallo just feels old-school, old Austin. Is it the pink-stucco exterior and the “Open Sunday” sign? The purple-and-chartreuse…
Best Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Hao Hao has some spring rolls with a zip … and how how. Each order offers two lusciously large rolls with a generous hunk of tofu, layers of crispy lettuce, and a hint of mint that kicks it up a notch. And, oooooh, when you add a little chili sauce to the peanut sauce ……
Best Stop to Gamer’s Paradise
Racks upon racks of up-to-date games for every system. Televisions blaring Xbox, Gamecube, PlayStation2, and more … Gamestop offers a vast selection of video games for every console, plus strategy guides for just about every last one of them. It’s virtually a gamer’s paradise. Even the employees get in on the fun, by going a…
Best New Sports Store
Tyler’s specializes in surf- and swimwear, a wide selection of athletic clothing and equipment, a variety of retro sporting shoes, and one of the largest selections of Reefs in Texas. They also carry tennis rackets, skateboards, lacrosse sticks, and any kind of ball you might need. In addition to all of this, Tyler’s is an…
Best Reason to Weather Watch
Is it the chatty, neighborly way she addresses her audience, or her earnest, wide-eyed concern that you know which way the wind is blowing, the day’s pollen count, or if there’s a chance for rain? Somehow, KVUE daybreak and midday meteorologist Pamela McCown manages to make all things weather-related sound like the most vital information…
Best Place to Watch Grown Men Act Like Little Boys
Boys and their toys. Sometimes, when the wind has picked up just enough, it’s possible to catch kids of all ages playing on the huge slope behind Murchison Middle School. With model airplanes that range from balsa wood to the latest in aerodynamic technology, fantasies fly for an afternoon. Daring hang gliders also use the…
Best First Step
The Wheel of Justice moves by very slow degrees, and thus far the OPM has won more public-relations battles than judicial ones – but a journey of several thousand miles has to begin somewhere. Austin’s cops are rightly proud of their standards and practices, but there is plenty of room for improvement – and simply…
Biggest Presidential Surprise
Two years ago, nobody woulda thunk the former governor of a small northeastern state would find himself in the thick of the presidential race – and setting the agenda for everybody else, including the Big Dubya. It’s still far too soon to tell how this will all sort out next year – but in getting…
Best Place to Kick It
Per capita, the Austin area has the highest rates of alcohol and illicit drug use and problems in Texas. Shame and the stigma of being an addict keep too many people from seeking the help they need. At Austin Recovery, you’ll find the nonjudgmental, compassionate care you’ve been praying for. For more than 30 years,…
Best Shoe Shopping
The clothing, in the front of the house, is hip and chic. But if like us, you haven’t worn any of the sizes Fetish carries since you were in junior high, march to the back of the store to the shoe department, hon. There you will find your bliss. One friend of ours proclaims the…
Soccer Watch
One weekend into the FIFA Women’s World Cup … The U.S. team took care of business on Sunday in their opening game, a comprehensive 3-1 win over a very good Swedish side — lots of scoring chances, entertaining, physical play, and three sparkling assists from Mia Hamm. The bad news: Veteran Brandi Chastain, perhaps the…
Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space
This new anime import marks a break with the Japanese traditions and invents a wholly original and kittenish appeal.
Best Online Austin Guide
What’s going on this weekend? What time was that movie playing? Austin360.com could be considered the savior of the last-minute slacker who forgot to make dinner plans or who hoped to surprise that special someone with tickets to you-know-who. Everything – news, events, and movie times – is a click away. While you’re there, check…
Best Theatre Director
It makes sense that the winner of the Best Theatre Company category would include among its ranks the Best Theatre Director. Even if it didn’t make sense in other than an Ionesco sort of way, of course the megatalented Ms. Sides takes the metaphorical cake, having rendered show after show in the Rude Mechanicals’ canon…
Best Video/DVD Rental
No gauche, garish tenements crown Vulcan Video’s campus location; alas, no Villas at Vulcan. There are no friendly phone calls from poor celebrity impersonators, no, “You’d be the man now, dog, if you’d return your late tapes!” Vulcan does have an ever-expanding library of the hard and not-so-hard to find; a friendly, fanatical staff; and…
Best Bookstore
Looking for those new reissues of the classic Trixie Belden series? You’re sure to find it on the second floor of Austin’s favorite indie bookstore. Your little BookKid will love the story time, the bright colors, or if they’re not readers, the multiple things to climb on while you do your own shopping.
Best Tennis Court
Game, set, match! Whether you’re looking for a place to practice those overheads, improve your backhand, meet some new rallying partners, or just hit the ball around with a few buddies, this municipal tennis court is the place to be. With 10 outdoor courts to choose from – and they even accept reservations (two days…
Best Unsung Hero/Heroes
His colleagues would not likely describe him as unsung or unwilling to sing: This defender of Austin ideals has been in the thick of the fight against the plan to redistrict him right out of office.
Best Internet Provider
Meep meep! Look, no service provider is sans glitch, but the Road Runner holds up pretty darn well. With 24-hour tech support available by phone, and even friendly come-to-your-door service if you forget to pay your bill, these folks make the whole home high tech experience seem pretty darn human.
Best Gift Shop
One of the longest surviving independent businesses on the Drag, with a location in the tastefully packed Central Park shopping center near Central Market, the Cadeau kicks up elegant gift-giving a notch, with pretty, decorative picture frames, candles, and upscale fashion – not your everyday teddy bears or knickknacks. Emeralds (not unlike the Cadeau, with…
Best Journalist
Chronicle readers like their reporters funny and downhome – at least if downhome is South Austin, where these two local icons have hung their respective quills lo, these many years. Molly spills most of her ink puncturing Republican pretensions to populism, while Kelso is an equal-opportunity offender – except when it comes to Aggies and…
Best TV Newscast
While they’re not exempt from the co-anchor revolving door, stalwarts Robert Hadlock, Jim Spencer, Roger Wallace, and the laid-back iconoclast Jim Swift make this team the Chronicle readers’ favorite.
Best Bookstore
Catering to all tastes and interests from Dr. Atkins to Zen, BookPeople has served bookworms of every stripe for more than 30 years now with no signs of stopping. Come by for a latte or for a sexy book reading or just to indulge your love of the written word.
Most Beautiful Light Pollution
Streamers of light streak the night sky – no acid required. Along Burnet Road between 45th and 183, the business signage emanates light so bright that you can take a photograph without a flash. Strings of storefronts stay lit through the night, defining this strip of so many Seventies holdovers. The products for sale –…
Best Place to A-List Stargaze in Austin
Matthew! Farrah! Owen! Woody! In its third year, the Texas Film Hall of Fame drew national media to its homegrown event in a dazzling display of Lone Star glamour. Amid a beautifully designed landscape from Big Red Sun, reporters from CNN and People hobnobbed with us locals as if this were L.A. And why not?…
Best Low-Carb-Friendly Store
Otherwise known as “Low-Carb Heaven” (at least to us), Great Health Nutrition Center is a paradise for those who can’t seem to find unique low-carbohydrate products elsewhere in Austin. With everything from bagels to ice cream, this store gives back to those dieters who gave up the goodies for the sake of better health. With…
Best Way to While Away Tuesday Evening
“Rule number one is Mick is always right. I’m Mick, and I’m always right.” If you’re one of the hundreds of trivia fanatics who cram into every nook and cranny of the popular West Sixth Street pub, that announcement is music to the ears. Seating is so precious that teams send scouts hours early to…
Best Thanksgiving Weekend Fun
This is such a good thing to do, a really good parade, and it benefits Blue Santa. Gymnasts, belly dancers, musicians, marching bands – including the perennial crowd pleaser, the Hardin-Simmons University Cowboy Band. Children bring toys (unwrapped only) and pile them into trucks that stop along the parade route on Congress Avenue.
Best Old-School Thrift Store
Expect no real order, no attempt at hipness, no affectation when you enter the world of the Assistance League thrift store. This place is a throwback to when thrift stores were well-kept secrets and not everyone had caught on to the cool fashions and great furnishings and excellent accouterments to be found secondhand. You’ll have…
Best Red River Rag
A tornado is forming on Red River. It’s picking up trailers and dust and spitting ’em back out, and the Rank and Revue is chasing the storm. This year the members of that ever-present Red River rock scene took the writing into their own hands. Rank and Revue may not be the most grammatically correct…
Best Resurrection on Wheels
Definitely an American-born and, some might say, white-trash sport, roller derby has evolved in many ways over the last 70 years. But after its heyday in the 1970s, it had all but disappeared. Not so anymore, buddy. Those feisty women of the Texas Rollergirls bring it back in typical Austin style. With a certain do-it-yourself,…
Best Floor Speech
Rep. Dukes wasn’t alone on this one – Texas House April 29, on HB 15. She was dramatically joined by Houston’s Jessica Farrar, as well as dozens of reps (including Elliott Naishtat and Eddie Rodriguez) who fought to amend a bill designed to restrict women’s reproductive rights by delay, misinformation, and other obstacles. But in…
Most Helpful State Agency
Of all the many state agencies located around town, the staff of the Secretary of State’s Office stands out for their ability to deliver friendly, fast, and efficient customer service every single time you call or visit their Brazos Street offices. The always-friendly staff will help you figure out the answers to questions you didn’t…
Best Reason Not to Have a Cell Phone
Call us old-fashioned, but we don’t own a cell phone. Too much hassle and just a little too precious for our sensibilities. And really, who needs one, when there are so many courtesy phones around town? Inside each Central Market, Whole Foods, Kinko’s, and Austin’s own Wheatsville Co-op, you can find a little-used, 100%-free, please-dial-nine-for-an-outside-line,…
Best Yarn Fix for the Addicted Knitter
Yarnies of all skill levels would do well to pop over to this SoCo haven in order to do justice to their addiction – er, hobby. This heaven on Earth for the practitioner of the textile arts offers up a wide selection of imports from elegant Italian silks to scratchy Japanese wools, as well as…
About AIDS
Last week the Statesman had a major article on drug-resistant bacteria that are becoming an increasing problem in Austin (AA-S, 9/15/03). The bacteria, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, are not usually serious for the average person, but they easily could be a major threat to someone who is immuno-compromised. Staph bacteria are widely found among…
Under the Tuscan Sun
Bella Italia substitutes for the Caribbean in this clunky but enjoyable version of How Frances Got Her Groove Back, starring Diane Lane.
Best Public Artwork
Some mighty mystical powers were at work to knock the two perennial faves – the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue and Nightwing, the rotating bat sculpture on South Congress – out of this category. Somebody must’ve rubbed real hard on a lamp, ’cause the overwhelming majority of this year’s votes were various takes on the theme…
Best Theatre Space
The grand architecture of Austin’s grand dame and premier site for Hollywood-worthy world premieres of hits like Secondhand Lions, School of Rock, and the Spy Kids series makes us feel like we’re in a theeeatah dahling, but the event bringing us in is just as likely to be a classic camp movie as a refined…
Best 24 Hour/Late Night
Rumor has it Kent and Diana were just hoping for a short-term solution to a fabric surplus when they opened the Mag. But once those tables got covered in the crazy collection of ends-of-bolt cloth, people started sitting at those tables, the place filled up around the clock, and the rest is history. The South…
Best Clothing
Somewhere in this tie there lies a joke about the Gap, or rather, the gap. Because Dragonsnaps is all about the original style and designers. And Old Navy, well, they leveled the playing field now, didn’t they? So really, it’s no tie; you can budget for both. Dragonsnaps has that smart, boutiquey feel to it…
Best Activist
When District 51 Rep. Glen Maxey retired from the Legislature after 10 years, the reason was practical: “I’ve got to earn a living.” His departure says more about our state’s parsimonious government – only the rich can afford to endure – than it does about the man. Maxey hit the organizing bricks so quickly he…
Best Visionary
Recumbent in her splendor, Amy Babich puts her money where her mouth is. Or, more aptly, she puts her buttocks where her sentiments are – not merely writing glorious idealist letters detailing the need now! to turn our city into a bicycle utopia, but actually practicing what she beseeches. Catch her any day of the…
Best Laundromat
Fresh, dry, and guilt-free! Hey, that “Eco” in their name stands for something, bub. ECOnomical and ECOlogically friendly! Did we mention how much faster the time goes when you’re surfing the Net? That helps when you have a month’s worth of laundry. Or better yet, try their wash-and-fold service, and save yourself the hassle all…
Best Hardware Store
Despite the rapid incursion of big-box home-improvement stores, Breed & Co. maintains a loyal clientele because their employees are uniformly knowledgeable and always willing to help out the neophyte weekend warrior. If you don’t quite know what you’re doing, stop here first.
Best Local News Web Site
When they say, “Your news now,” they aren’t kidding. The easy-to-navigate online offshoot of the positively addictive cable channel from Time Warner, News8austin.com delivers comprehensive local coverage – hitting everything from traffic and weather to the Lege and Austin’s music scene – constantly updating info 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In fact,…
Best TV Reporter
KVUE’s Quita Culpepper is the kind of versatile e-woman broadcast journalism needs more of. From hard news to live remotes to new gizmo testing on her popular “Does It Work Wednesday” segment, Culpepper projects an air of competence and comfort in front of the camera. And it’s no news flash to anyone who’s encountered her…
Best Apartment Building
Gawking at the enormous dusty-red brick front of the Victorian-style building on 12th and Castle Hill, with its wide expanse of lawn and gingerbread trim, a passersby might not realize that it is actually home to about 15 or so people at a time, inhabiting one- and two-bedroom apartments within. Some apartments are as spacious…
Most Controversial Store Windows
Whether taking on behemoth corporations or taking a stance against war, owner Gail Chovan always makes sure the store windows at Blackmail remind us of the eternal allure of the color black. As conceptual as the store itself, the windows showcase a variety of goods (all black of course) and have captured the public eye,…
Best Place to B-List Celebrity Gawk
Not that the Alamo isn’t also a great place to A-List Stargaze, but … Corey Feldman in a cave?! Need we say more?
Best Lunch-Time Mix
Boasting one of our town’s most blended mixes of old and young, working and retired, blue-collar and white-, the Marimont is a laid-back Austin institution were you can go, have a quiet meal, and not run into everyone you know. “That’s all well and good,” you say. “But I am hungry; what about the food?”…
Friendliest Service
Northwest Austinites are no strangers to the Taco Shack on Spicewood Springs Road. That’s in large part due to the consistently warm and friendly neighborhood service employees at the Shack strive to give. They ask for a name with every order, and after a few return visits, customers are greeted like old friends. This, and…
Best Theatre for Kids That Treats Kids Like Grownups
In teaching kids how to swim in the great waters of theatre, the Vortex Repertory Company likes to start ’em in the deep end of the pool: full productions of literary masterpieces from Moby Dick and A Tale of Two Cities to such mature works of the stage as Machinal, Rhinoceros, and An Enemy of…
Best Permanent Garage Sale
The furniture and architectural salvage items are slung all over the property under the open sky, elements be damned. And the glassware and pottery is … wherever you stumble across it. Oh, except a lot of the bric-a-brac is inside the house, in the kitchen. Inside, too, is where most of the clothing, linens, and…
Best Reunion Since Dean Martin Joined Jerry Lewis at the 1978 MDA Telethon
The KGSR morning show has long been that crucial jolt by which so many Austinites start their day. Kevin Connor has been the mainstay since it started. Now Kevin Phinney has returned from New Orleans recapturing the old magic. Both Kevins are very knowledgeable and love not just music but most forms of popular culture…
Best Shuffleboard – North
The P-Dog has previously earned “BoA” kudos for its wonderful meat-and-potatoes rock/country jukebox, as well as its raucous and delightfully down-home ambience, its bring-your-own-bottle-of-Canadian-blended-for-cocktails-sipped-outta-a-Styrofoam-cup kind of feeling that reminds us of home. But there’s more. Sitting on the right-hand side of that big, fat bar, stands a shuffleboard table. That’s right. The great equalizing table…
Best Grassroots Start-Up
Though not out there directly advocating an agenda, the Austin Progressive Potluckers are making an important impact politically and socially: They help people interact and connect. The Potluckers don’t restrict themselves to one area of social change, either. Each month, they pick a different local group – environmental, political, or even spiritual – and they…
Best Air
Even in her pristine, natural state, Central Texas is an allergy locus. And with air quality steadily worsening in recent years as a result of pollution, Austin can be especially rough for folks with breathing difficulties. The home boys at Home Respiratory have only been on the home-med-supplies scene for a year, but their personal…
Best Sheet-Metal Specialist
Needed: One 4-foot-by-4-foot slab of noncorrugated sheet metal for a senior thesis. Recommended: Pat’s. One of the only places in town that handles even the most modest of jobs. No sheet too small! Plus, the friendly service and helpful advice is thrown in for no extra charge.
Best-Kept Secret Hidden Guitar Shop
You remember those underground genius guys on The X-Files? Well the guys at Guitar Rez (as it is known) are to the stringed axe what those guys were to paranormal phenomena. They are dedicated, have been there for 25 years, and are pretty well hidden in the back of a parking lot behind a steak…
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
Lost in Translation
Sofia Coppola spins a unique tale about a yearning, indelible love-affair-that-isn’t between characters played by Bill Murray and this season’s It Girl Scarlett Johansson.
Best Restoration Project (Past Five Years)
Ahhh!!! No more irony-laden waits in tedious, emission-spewing queues on your way to the natural oasis of Barton Springs. Goodbye, unsightly construction blocking everything in its path: restaurants, shops, coffeehouses … the street. After what has seemed like ages, Barton Springs Road looks and feels great with its attractive, landscaped median and easy-to-see turn lanes,…
Best Bar Ambience
One step into the Red Fez’s Moroccan-themed ambience feels like world travel approximated (with the exception that pretty much everyone speaks English). Beautiful people, good drinks, and an exotic vibe are but a few attributes of the Fez. Well-known DJs spin nightly. Their “Casbah Nights” each Saturday make for an enchanting evening with belly-dancing and…
Best Bakery
For more than 22 years, the Upper Crust has offered its fresh, flaky goodness in many shapes, including fruit tartlets, rich cakes, artisan breads, and pies. A great place to gather for breakfast with friends, its wholesome, neighborhood-bakery appeal is oh-so-deliciously Austin.
Best Day Hike
It’ll take you from Barton Springs to the Barton Creek Mall, so pick your favorite post-hike activity (a swim or a movie?), and you’ll know at which end to begin. Bring a friend for some meandering conversation, or just let yourself zone out – either way you’ll get some exercise without really trying, and you’ll…
Best City Service
What’s not to like? You get to feel virtuous about saving the planet from drowning in your pile of Shiner bottles and cat-food cans, and you get to pick up additional or replacement bins from your friendly and good-looking neighborhood fire fighters. Win, win.
Best Weirdest Thing in Austin
We’re pretty sure most folks sporting those “Keep Austin Weird” bumper stickers aren’t showing their support for the GOP. Nevertheless, ballot boxes confirm that being Republican in Hyde Park is almost as “weird” as being Green in Tom DeLay’s district.
Best Pet Care
With 17 play areas, doggie day care, and lots of room to roam, pups can play instead of suffering the indignities of being cooped up at home or inside some concrete kennel. DogBoy’s boarding cost includes play time, food, and any other special needs. They say, “Unlimited TLC is free of charge!” Believe us, your…
Best Jewelry
Don’t let the displays of ceramic pottery and well-crafted boxes of rare wood fool you: This elegant store is also a prime bastion of more accessorizing bling-bling than you can shake a loupe at. Engagement rings, wedding rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets: You name it, they’ve probably got it – and handmade by such masters as…
Best Local Poster Design
Like an old B-movie drive-in flyer screaming off the pages of Psychotronic, poster artist Jason Austin’s gig art is uninhibited, sensual, psychedelic, and finger-lickin’ good. Austin’s music history in the minds of some is limited to the cosmic Seventies and sincere Eighties. But any punk worth their lugies knows that the most badass era of…
Best Weatherperson
Oh, how we love Jim Spencer! Every day he lays his weather-speak out for us on KXAN, and we eat it up like barbecue on a hot summer day. His nonchalance and intonation make him our readers’ fave among local meteorologists. If Jim Spencer says it’s gonna rain, we break out the umbrellas. And that…
Best Architectural Botox
When you play host to the hippest party of every month (First Thursday), you want to look your best. Unfortunately, the 1700 block of the avenue was beginning to look a little … well, worn. Not that its history isn’t part of its charm, but we all like to look our best. So the block…
Best Artist Who Puts Black and White in Color
Most of us shy away from talking about race. Not Michael Ray Charles. This Austin artist discusses it all the time, through his work. For years his striking, provocative images drawn from dated stereotypes of blacks – Sambos, Mammies, Uncle Toms – have been asking us tough questions we might otherwise avoid: How have blacks…
Best Place to Cure a Synth Infection
Feeling bleak on a Sunday night? Perhaps you suffer from DDD: dancefloor dissatisfaction disorder. How many times is a person supposed to endure “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” before wanting a lobotomy, anyway? Check into the Disco Hospital! Austin’s crack squad of anesthetic aestheticians are on call to heal the masses by exposing…
Best Malts
Nothing complements a grease-gorged double cheeseburger like a cold, concentrated bomb of malted milk and sugar. Dirty Martin’s, which has been serving hungover college kids for decades, knows this through a diligent observation of the lethargic Americans’ eating habits and has concocted the perfect malt. Don’t halfass it with milkshakes – after a night of…
Most Fabulous Gourmet-to-Go
Breeze in for the to-go, or linger in the seating area – but do go to Portabla. Wonderful gourmet food for those too busy to make it themselves include baked goods from Sweetish Hill, moussaka, Italian subs, soups, salads, to-die-for roasted veggies (yes, more asparagus, please!), and daily entrées. The specialty pizzas are spectacular, as…
Best Way to Get Your Opinions Off, While Wearing Your Opinions On … Your Chest
Really, there aren’t too many places in the mall that serve those niche categories of organizations, artists, and crazies who want to make their voices heard. Enter Alan Watts and Pixeltees.com, a Web site where users can create a store with their own T-shirt designs and sell them to the general public. Some “popular” available…
Best Pickin’s on the Edge of Town
From the outside, you’d almost expect Mr. Haney from Green Acres to appear, shilling his many dog-eared wares. Inside, however, Log Cabin Antiques is more like grandma’s attic – before the good-for-nuthin’ family picked over the old dear’s stuff. Log Cabin is the perfect place to start your Saturday thrift/vintage/antique jaunts out to the Hill…
Best Too Sultry for Morning Radio
Sure, Trina’s very smart and funny, really knows what’s going on around town. She also plays great music: Audioslave, Foo Fighters, Evanescence. … Overall she’s an ideal morning deejay. But it’s that voice! Sure, it helps that it’s backed by wit and intelligence … but that voice! With the dawn barely cracking the sky, it’s…
Best Shuffleboard – South
Ever wonder what was inside of that damn briefcase that Vincent Vega rescued for his boss in Pulp Fiction? After a trip to the Horseshoe Lounge on South Lamar, we found ourselves with an all-new hypothesis: The contents were none other than a sparklingly clean set of shuffleboard discs. Trading in our car keys at…
Best Guilty Pleasure
With the starring role as heartbreaker Ryan Atwood on The OC, local boy Benjamin McKenzie may be the next Luke Perry. Nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, McKenzie has engendered a rabid following of fans who equate him with Marlon Brando and Russell Crowe. Though such pronouncements may be premature, McKenzie is a deity…
Best Arachnid Wrangler
Looking for a specific tarantula? A Tiger Rump Doppleganger, perhaps, or a Big Bend Gold Carapace? Craving a live specimen of Hadogenes Troglodytes, the big scorpion with the Dr. Seuss-looking tail, or maybe an Amblypigid with whips over a foot long? We’ve got your source: David Moellendorf, who works out of the Zoo Keeper exotics…
Best Ticket to Ride
This weekend bus route provides a link between popular tourist attractions from the University of Texas to Barton Springs Pool. Designated as Route 470, the bus winds past several museums, public gardens, and popular restaurants, and it services downtown hotels. The special transit service runs every 45 minutes on Saturday, between 10am and 6pm, and…
Best of Austin 2003
Austin, Our Austin How could I call myself a “Best of Austin” editor and not take every opportunity to revel in Austin at its best? The night scene at Barton Springs is the type of serene that can soothe a furrowed brow and turn what was a bad day into a playful, soul-saving reprieve. So…
Naked City
On Monday, former land commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Garry Mauro released a letter announcing his candidacy for the interim chairmanship of the Texas Democratic Party, in the wake of last week’s resignation of current Chair Molly Beth Malcolm. The interim chair would assume office, with the support of the party’s state executive committee, until…
The Weather Underground
Former members of the Weather Underground still know a thing or two about “which way the wind blows” in this always timely documentary.
Best Romantic Spot
Mount Bonnell is not merely a free spot where the have-nots can go to get a glimpse of the homes of the haves. Oh no, it’s so much more. Mount Bonnell, popular for more than 150 years, is the best way to get high without getting high in Austin. Not only is it the highest…
Best Bar Food
It doesn’t matter if you have to wait 20 or 75 minutes for it, the Casino burger is hands-down the best experience you’ll have with a slab of meat this side of butchering the derned cow yourself. Pair that with a hot, greasy basket of those skin-on fries, and you’ve got a damn fine specimen…
Best Breakfast
Whether it’s a full stack drenched in syrup or a hearty cup of oatmeal, a Kerbey Lane breakfast inspires the type of appetites that are as unlimited as the variety of choices on their menu. We recommend any of their delicious omelettes, avaliable with tofu and plenty of cheese! Don’t forget a side of fruit…
Best Day Trip
After hiking up the gentle but breathtaking mound of Enchanted Rock, nothing seems nicer than a relaxing afternoon in a biergarten or a refreshing peach ice-cream cone in downtown Fredericksburg. Celebrating Texas’ German culture, this small tourist town offers quaint shopping and plenty of Wiener schnitzel for the whole family. Check out the Japanese garden,…
Best Council Member
Three years in a row! Everyone really does love a Wynn-er. We suspect that Wynn’s recipe for being the Favorite Local Flava includes healthy scoops of Regular Guy and Typical Austinite, despite the loftiness of his mayoral perch. He’ll need all the popular support he can get.
Best Appliance/TV Repair
Missing parts, frayed cords, short circuits, jammed gears – who has time for all that? Fortunately, Mr. Wizard does. For almost 10 years they’ve been servicing the protons and electrons of Austin; so when the vacuum starts whining or the TV starts buzzing, let Mr. Wizard perform his magic and make it all better.
Best Pharmacy
Your two phave pharmacies have duked it out in this category for years. This year they tie, and no wonder; their personal, old-timey service behind the high counter keeps so many of us out of the chain stores. Plus, both businesses feature locations with fabulous lunch counters, so you can sit and enjoy a nip…
Best Lingerie/Naughty
Psst, Victoria? Here’s the real secret: You ain’t seen nothing yet if you ain’t been to Forbidden Fruit. Yes, it’s the place where the definition of lingerie expands to include masks, gags, clamps, and spreaders (huh?), not to mention your regular run-of-the-mill body stockings, corsets, 75-inch mules, and, of course, handcuffs. Be sure to ask…
Best Local Webzine
Local parents looking for other new mamas and papas have found Austinmama.com. The webzine features great essays on parenting and other topics, profiles of happenin’ mamas in our town, and recipes to try. Readers can connect through message boards or Yahoo! groups; currently, book groups and play groups are forming. The site also links to…
Best Basketball Court
How far we’ve come since the old dungeon days when we half expected to find the dragon Smaug behind one of the dark, mysterious doors. Since its total reconstruction in 1997, Gregory has left its dingy, labyrinthine past in the dust and ushered in a new, golden era of sport. They come in all shapes,…
Best Commission of a Heaving-Bosom
You probably haven’t heard of Angelina Eberly, the 18th-century innkeeper who sealed Austin’s fate as the capital of Texas. She made her mark on state history when she alerted city residents to the presence of rangers, sent by President Sam Houston, who were removing federal documents from the city. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Pat Oliphant has…
Best Bundle of Theatrical Joy
We just can’t help grinning when we’re around Ron Berry. There’s something about this actor/director/camp counselor that radiates jubilation, as if some shiny, happy party is going on inside him all the time. It animates his work onstage, making his comic turns (say, his clownish Odysseus in Water or his goofy ballet for Björk in…
Best Politically Correct Band-Name Change
Smack in the middle of the brouhaha over the proposed smoking ban in Austin’s clubs, a curious thing happened. One of the town’s best new bands, electro-rockers Single Frame Ashtray, dropped their “Ashtray” like a bad habit. Were they trying to appeal to the under-18 crowd? Or maybe they thought their band would be banned…
Best New Custom Calzone
Create your own custom calzones for pickup or delivery! Start with the basic, 7-inch thin crust with ricotta and mozzarella cheese (starting at $3.95), and add your favorite ingredients – from traditional (mushrooms, olives, roasted garlic, sausage) to eclectic (fresh basil, portobello mushrooms, black beans, jalapeños, roasted chicken, shrimp, feta cheese) – for only 50…
Most Mouthwatering Tres Leches
Take a cruise down South Congress to a little tropical getaway of the Caribbean right here in Austin. Habana has a number of enticing options, such as tostones (fried plantains), their famous empanadas, and even yucca. If it’s your sweet tooth you’re looking to satisfy, try a piece of their Tres Leches. (Whole cakes are…
Hottest Magician
In his opening performance, Ray Anderson, who can be found at Esther’s Follies, selects one lucky lady in the audience to embarrass with his randy robot act. After getting the laughs from the crowd, and a kiss from her, he begins the real magic. In his several magical performances, he combines flawless physicality and illusionist’s…
Best Place to Get Your Freaky Stylee On, Baby
John Gomi has what you need, if what you need is the fiercest import and NYC-certified hipster-cool outfits on the planet (and trust us, you need it). Fashionistas and groove-trawlers come from far and wide to hang, bang, and develop new slang at Gomi’s new SoCo locale, where loitering with intent is strictly encouraged. Local…
Best Use of a VU Ditty
Is it Sterling, or is it Lou? The chiming double-time strum of “Ride Into the Sun” (off the LP Loaded) is so distinctly Velvet Underground, that it just doesn’t matter. When you watch KLRU and you see their familiar logo basking in the warm glow of Austin’s own Texas State Capitol, you know you are…
Best Slice of Suburban Serenity
OK, so it’s surrounded by a partial fence and tall buildings, but somehow it remains amazingly serene and comforting. The story holds that cars, bulldozers, and various other man-mades reside at the bottom of the small lake directly off of Braker Lane and Highway 183. Every once and a while, a stream of bubbles bursts…
Best Hot Babe in the Lege
We know, we know … there are many more honorable reasons to admire the Honorable Dawnna Dukes, such as her brilliant mind, her skillful lawmaking prowess, and her passionate advocacy for her East Austin district, as well as for Texans in general. But admit it: Given a choice between watching her and, say, Warren Chisum…
Best Clock Repair
Yep, this Bob Larson is that same Bob Larson of Austin City Council fame. When it’s time to fix our clocks (especially when we’re watching our wallet), we wind up at the Old Timer Clock Shop. Whether it’s a grandfather clock or our grandmother’s Timex, these friendly folks will make sure your second hand runs…
Best Training for “None of the Above” Occupations
It shouldn’t really be a surprise that the community college of the Live Music Capital of the World would offer classes on the commercial music industry – or that they are proposing a degree plan in it. But ACC is pretty special, considering less than 10 (nontech) schools nationwide have programs that teach audio engineering,…
Naked City
A Mayan weavers’ collective brings its anti-NAFTA message to Austin.
Luther
In this Martin Luther biopic, Joseph Fiennes plays the theologian as a smoldering rebel boy.
Best Storefront/Sign
Maria’s arms stretch out to the sky in a welcoming gesture, the crazy-color Madonna of tacos giving her blessing as you enter. Later, you’ll be tempted to extend your arms outward in thanks for the bounty that’s, at that point, in your tummy.
Best Bar Staff
As different as they are comfortable, the staffs at Casino el Camino and Charlie’s have served Austinites for years. The rowdy punks at Casino and the friendly gay boys at Charlie’s do have some things in common: They pour your drinks cheap and sincerely laugh at your jokes no matter your sexual (or libational) preference.
Best Caterer
Again. Year after year. Scrumptious goodies presented with irresistible style are the hallmark of Word of Mouth. Many of their items are often-requested favorites, but the main thing Word of Mouth dishes out is excellence. From intimate dinners to magnificent weddings to enormous charity events, they are the last Word in catering.
Best Dog Walk
There’s no butt-sniffing like Town Lake butt-sniffing like no business at all! If you thought the hike-and-bike trail was a meet market for humans, just check out the intimate canine behavior going on down at the favored hiking loop. Just please remember: Scoop that poop and no peeing on SRV’s leg, eh?
Best Eccentric
His/her eminence, Austin’s queen of political soul, the downtown fixture and two-time mayoral candidate does the work of hundreds in the crusade to Keep It Weird. He has groupies. He has wannabes. If Leslie weren’t here, we’d have to invent him.
Best Auto Service/Repair
Are they still giving out free condoms at the counter of this excellent service center? And were they doing that in a desperate attempt to lessen (as if perceptibly) the future influx of customers – all those Austinites who would, as they do now, flock to this mecca of mechanistas for repairs and tuneups of…
Best Photo Lab
We like to think we’re “good photographers.” So when we brought in photos of Fluffy to Holland Photo, we were surprised at how much they improved our aesthetic. “Would you like us to crop your thumb out?” Oh, yes. “Shall we remove this red eye?” Very nice. But they did more than that – sharpened…
Best Clothing Resale
The concept is even better than what Robin Hood plotted. In this scenario, no one has to steal anything: It’s donated! With an excellent selection of all sorts of things (be sure to check out the sheets), this is an especially good place to check for gently used kids sporting clothes, especially since they knocked…
Best Locally Produced Radio Show
Their fans are legion, their appeal is broad, and the jokes keep coming like a jackpot at a slot machine. This radio show is an Austin institution, and Austinites would sooner skip their morning coffee than skip the Dudley and Bob Show. Their event That 70’s Prom proved that, as hosts, Dudley and Bob are…
Best Bike Ride
Free from the harassment and terror of autos, a ride on the bucolic trail is more likely to provide distraction in the form of black swans, nosy ducks, giggly babies in strollers, and panting pups. All of Austin gets here sooner or later, partaking of the treasure made even better by the water stations courtesy…
Best Everything Old Is New Again
Wanted: mixed retail space, close in, with ample parking. While most urban areas have this wish, developers usually come in, mow down a section of land, erect a generic succession of buildings, and call it a day. But South Austin’s Penn Field is a wish come true. Named for Austin aviator Eugene Doak Penn, the…
Best Classical Champion
If there are Austinites who still think orchestral music is a snooze, well, they just haven’t met Peter Bay yet. In the five years he’s held the director’s baton at the Austin Symphony, Bay has brought an invigorating energy to classical music locally. His enthusiasm for great scores (especially 20th-century works) and meticulous attention to…
Best Reason to Buy an All-Region DVD Player
Upstart Pedazo Chunk – run by Dannie Knowles (webgod Harry’s li’l sis) and husband Lobo – is the only place in town where you can find fresh-off-the-boat Asian horror DVDs, out-of-print VHS gorebombs, and a wealth of Spanish-language titles all in one tiny space. And they’re conveniently located below a tattoo parlor just in case…
Best Non-Sushi at a Japanese Restaurant
Sushi has become almost as “Austin” as the breakfast taco, and we are blessed with so many tantalizing options. Enter Mikado. This new contender in the Austin Sushi Sweepstakes offers more than just raw-fish bliss. Mikado specializes in robata, or Japanese appetizers. The tangy enoki and char-grilled Mushroom Package, while served as tapas and intended…
Best Before-the-Meal Distraction
Like most chain restaurants, these places have those very studied, manufactured interiors; it’s as make-believe as Disney World. That’s why they are good places to bring kids, however. At Tia’s, they up the ante for good distractions by giving the kids a hunk of tortilla dough with a couple of crayons plucked in it to…
Best Spy Kids Deejays
Dale Dudley was in Spy Kids 2 (Head Magna Man) and Bob Fonseca in SK3 (as Agent Damage Report working alongside the Continental Club’s Steve Wertheimer, clearly born for the part). So politically incorrect, they don’t make that chart, their show is funny, smart, and fast. The cast is rounded out by Charlie Hodge (who’s…
Best Film Buff Radio
Every Friday night at 10pm on KMFA (89.5 on your FM dial), Stephen Aechternacht routinely wows film fans and casual listeners alike with his voluminous knowledge of film scores and the crafty ways he presents them. Themed shows on various directors, film genres, and, yes, cottage-industry composer Danny Elfman, segue in and out of one…
Best Weekend Radio Programming
Saturday is definitely a “Don’t touch that dial!” day. Our radios are set to 91.7FM. If we’re up early enough, we begin with Big Band & Classic Jazz. More realistically, we are lolling about in our muumuu, ready at 10am for Jay Robillard’s Lounge Show. Then we head out for something sticky and sweet around…
Best Sports-Themed Dive Bar
Deep in the lair that is Showplace Lanes lives the Texas Sports Bar, a haven for adults, amid a cornucopia of family fun. The Texas Sports Bar has it all and is guaranteed to show every NFL game and then some offered that week on the big screen, for a mere $2 cover, and local…
Best Internet Safety Net and Digital Divide Bridge
It took the Austin Free-Net – not a big corporate donor, not a foresighted government agency, but a community collective of real citizens – to get the Internet into the Austin Public Library. Under the leadership of community activist (and poet) Ana Sisnett, the Free-Net has built on this foundation to bring not just cyber-excitement…
Best Concrete-Staining Artist
Slab foundations don’t seem to enjoy the same cachet as their pier-and-beam counterparts. Pier-and-beam homes have hardwood flooring, usually preferred to concrete. Well, a number of local artists have made the art of concrete-staining accessible to the masses, and now, instead of hiding those hideous slabs, folks are opting to show them off. Many different…
Best Vehicle Inspectors
It’s easy to miss this little inspection shack on Lamar, but it’s worth looking to find it. The inspectors (Hi, Ben!) are chilled dudes, and the in-house dog is ever-cheerful, too. You’re in and out fast, and even if you don’t pass the first time, they’ll break it to you real easy. The whole experience…
Naked City
The comedian says his jail term for selling bongs is really punishment for his attitudes about U.S. drug policy
Best Annual Fundraiser
The Junior League’s Christmas Affair event is the nation’s largest Junior League holiday market. This coming year, the juried craft show will be held at Palmer Events Center and will feature a New Orleans theme. There’s great gift-buying to be done, and, as always, piles of the proceeds go toward the Junior Leaguers’ multimillion-dollar community-outreach…
Best Dance Music Club
Welcome to one of the world’s friendliest Goth clubs! The Elysium serves up a tasty menu of dance-themed nights, including Electroclash, retro Eighties, underground, synth-pop, and more – special event nights like Fetish Night, a visit from Santacon, and the Chronicle’s own Drag Ball, plus an impressive, if dark roster of touring bands, along with…
Best Coffehouse
While both local legendary koffee klatches have delicious drinks and unique atmospheres, each has its own select comforts. For wireless Internet access with your cup of joe and the oasis of their outdoor patio, try Spider House. For people-watching to distract from those textbooks, try Little City. With locations within walking distance of campus, both…
Best Gear/Sporting Goods
Oh Lord, it’s like Target for jocks. You go in swearing you’re going to buy one package of tennis socks and get out, and then … how do they do it? Do they play hypnotic buy-lots-of-stuff subliminal music? Before you know it, you have your three pairs of Adidas soccer slides, sporting goods for the…
Best Effort to Improve Austin
You think? We’ve heard several times now that light rail is dead. Are those reports greatly exaggerated? Or is it still the best effort to improve Austin, even if it is dead? The next year will tell, as the A-train chugs toward its probable last chance for voter approval in 2004.
Best Barbershop
For close to 40 years, the Wooten has been delivering haircuts you can set a watch to. The staff is friendly, and there are creature comforts aplenty – feature films on the TV, ample magazines, and most importantly, the free scalp and shoulder massage at the end of your trim. Undergrads, take a trip into…
Best Printer/Copies
We offer a hearty, “Welcome back!” to Ginny’s, which narrowly missed this award, coming in second to a chain, for years. Locally owned and operated, Ginny’s has been loyally supplying Austin with all of its copying needs for many years now. Whether it’s color or black-and-white copies, printing and binding, faxing, or even T-shirt printing…
Best Indoor Fun Spot
What began way back in 1983 as Austin’s “museum without walls,” hosting child-friendly exhibits at a variety of local institutions, our beloved Austin Children’s Museum has not only acquired and decorated those walls, but has grown into a world-class educational haven for kids. “In My Family/En Mi Familia,” the current exhibit that runs through Jan.…
Best Locally Produced TV Show
From hometown heroes like Willie Nelson and Doug Sahm to the parade of American music royalty that passes through on an annual basis, Austin City Limits is Austin’s ambassador to the world. Serving up an array of the finest contemporary music from country, blues, and folk to zydeco, bluegrass, and rock & roll, with a…
Best Bowling Alley
Although the original Dart Bowl on Burnet Road became a furniture store in the mid-Nineties, the Dart’s superlative legacy continues in the former Capitol Bowl on Grover. The neighborly 32-lane alley is a far cry from Reno’s National Bowling Stadium, but you’ll never get enchiladas, fresh-cut fries, or homemade toast this good in Nevada.
Best Graffiti
Graffiti usually confronts us with content which, due either to its obscurity or its aggression, is challenging–some might go so far as to argue it is downright unpleasant. But some practitioners of the illicit art have plastered the city with images of sweet, subtle, even sublime subversion. The posters, featuring simple images of steaks, broccoli,…
Best New Arts Collaborative
This trio of talented young artists has quickly built up a large following since returning to Austin from art school. Jana Swec, Shea Little, and Joseph Phillips work in concert, creating brilliant color collaborations on the same canvasses. Local art lovers have taken notice and are beating a path to Bolm Studios, Sodalitas’ swanky East…
Best Way for Local Filmmakers to Get Screened
Now that the Austin Cinemaker Co-Op has gone all inclusive on us, Flicker mastermind Cory Ryan (or is that “mistressmind?”) and her bimonthly minifest is the best place for Super 8 and 16mm short films to get seen. Part of a loose-knit national movement, Flicker Austin screens whatever you throw at ’em (more or less),…
Best Place to Scope Sexy TAs
Have your eye on that musky young radical who’s going to be grading your philosophy final next week? Perhaps you should look here first if you’re hoping to butter him up. Better yet, you can look busy at your laptop, taking advantage of the free wireless access while messaging your roommate about the hottie with…
Best Buddy
Imagine a large, brown paper bag full of groceries … but this one has Mickey Mouse hands, an impish grin, and a couple of big blue eyes with a determined gleam, heading right for you in the condiments aisle. Don’t worry, it’s not a nightmare. It’s H.E.Buddy, the mascot of Texas-based HEB grocery stores. Sporting…
Best Austin Weblog
We think some individual Austin weblogs deserve this title, but it’s hard to choose between them, since that would require comparing apples to oranges. Fortunately, you can have the whole fruit basket with www.austinbloggers.org, a site that “aggregates articles about Austin, blogged by our members.” The site is based on a simple idea brought to…
Best Local Literary Zine
What would the world be like without zines? Small, untidy, niche works of doubtless creativity – expressions of individuality and opinion slapped down on newsprint or copied onto reams of pulp in order to enlighten the masses. Well, Two Note Solo transcends that common definition of the typical zine. This Austin lit zine covers all…
Friendliest Deejays
Jammin’ morning team Robin & Jennifer might’ve won their own “Best of” for honoring the second anniversary of 9/11 with a live broadcast from the Blood & Tissue Center. But then we realized how many of Jammin’s events are community-oriented and how much we enjoy the affable nature of all the Jammin’ deejays – so…
Best Spring Garden Party
This is not your grandmother’s garden party we’re talking about here. Every spring the Torchbearers, an organization of young professionals dedicated to preserving and benefiting the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, throws their annual Garden Party. Enjoy a lovely spring evening wandering among the amazing artwork of Charles Umlauf sampling decadent nibblies from some of Austin’s finest…
Best Lobby Victory
It was not a good year for progressive victories at the Lege, but Pasadena popinjay Republican Robert Talton failed once again in his perennial attempt (HB 194) to make the lives of gay families more miserable and the life chances of orphan children just a little more desperate. Despite the ascendance of the GOP over…
Best Emergency Room Assistance
Public ERs get a bad rap – but when you’re feeling bad enough to go to an ER, you’re probably not going to be too happy anywhere. As a public hospital, Brack sees its fair share of horrible emergencies … and treats them with profound caring and consideration. But more often, it’s the everyday broken…
Most Divine Chairs on Earth
When Carolyn Carlson and Dale Sengelmann of the design firm Meringue offer you a chair, they don’t just mean “have a seat.” Meringue’s approach to seating is all about presentation – as long as we have to sit, why not sit in luxury and style? Magnificent fabrics and gorgeous lines make a Meringue chair a…
Naked City
While the Beast makes small concessions, the mayor hints at hope for a negotiated settlement.
Best Architectural Trend
Fantasy urban living has come to life in Austin where you can avoid gas-guzzling without sacrificing your favorite night spot or your day job. And if downtown loft-living doesn’t suit you, you can still live an energy-efficient lifestyle by taking advantage of Austin’s renowned Green Building Program, friend to homeowners and renters alike who want…
Best Art Gallery
Gallery Lombardi has been a favored meeting place of artists and art lovers alike for years. This converted warehouse has provided a place for new artists and old talents to hang their works side-by-side in themed group shows and parties. Their recent “erotica” show opening (much like the one they hosted two years ago) was…
Best Drink Specials/Happy Hour
All hail the delicious yet dangerous Mexican Martini! Combine that with dozens of margaritas, beers, liqueurs, and any other beverage you can come up with, and you’ve got Trudy’s. When the dollars start falling off the drink prices for happy hour, the fun really begins. Just remember your designated driver.
Best Diner
Star Seeds. The all-night institution, bewilderment to the uninitiated, scourge of the Sunday church crowd, server of the drunk and very drunk alike. A just, yet merciless, eatery – no, entity. Migas, you are good and plentiful. Bacon cheeseburger, we are awed by your fortitude. Breakfast taco – you are legend. Your minions strike swiftly,…
Best Gym/Fitness Facility
Does a gym really need to have local flavor if it is responsible for keeping so many locals in shape? Sporting more treadmills and stair-steppers than any other gym in Austin, Gold’s Gym is the place to work out on a time crunch. Gold’s also offers aerobics, Pilates, and kickboxing classes to fit any schedule.…
Best Effort to Keep Austin Weird
You want “weird”? There is a Web site called Keepaustinweird.com “perpetrated,” so they say, “by the creators of beloved original bumperstickers.” Then there are all those T-shirts, koozies, etc. featuring the loopy-lettered logo that everyone associates with the catch phrase. The folks behind those? Absolutelyaustin.com, a clearing-house of local business promotional goodies, as well as…
Best Bicycle Repair
Cracked crank? Loose bars? No, we’re not talking about substance abuse; we speak of the Bicycle Sport Shop and their peerless repair. With a minimum of the elitist gearhead talk, these guys will patch your ride back up on the cheap, and even rent you one for the time being. So you can still make…
Best Rental/Roommate Locator
Habitat Hunters has helped Austinites navigate the turbulent real estate market since 1975, and their success is a tribute to their expertise. Craig’s List, on the other hand, brings a groovy do-it-yourself aesthetic to the housing search. This San Francisco-based online listserv, www.craigslist.com, caters to progressive folk seeking a place to live, someone to live…
Best Party Place
Hmm, find new ways of artistic expression or blast away at your friends and loved ones? We can’t decide, either. The Austin Children’s Museum has inspired young minds for two decades now, and these days they offer boffo sleepovers with tantalizing themes like “Dinosaur Mania” and “Grossology!” For the wee-more aggressive set, Blazer Tag provides…
Best Morning Radio Host
What can we say? KUT’s John Aielli might be Austin’s most lovable nut of a deejay. The guy gets away with more bizarre behavior than Howard Stern could even if Stern took seven hits of acid right before going on air. Who else can play 15 variations of the same song in a row, authoritatively…
Best Liquor Store
With 16 locations to choose from, you’re bound to find a Twin Liquors just around the corner. But geographical convenience isn’t the only reason Twin Liquors has won this category four years running now. You also dig their 70-year local lineage, good prices, in-store tastings, always-eager staff, and distinct personality to every store, which is…
Best Hindu Temple
To non-Hindus traveling out to the Salt Lick, the large spire of Barsana Dham’s temple might resemble an enormous Christmas tree ornament. For the devoted, it represents the holy land of Braj in India and is said to invoke the same sense of devotion here as it does back home. Founded in 1990, the temple…
Best Theatre for a Fresh Look
Whenever theatre starts looking like the Same Old Same Old, we can count on the dirigo group to stage something that makes it fresh and novel again. It may be a new look at a play we know (or think we do) – such as Ibsen’s gloomy Hedda Gabler, which they gave a full-body makeover,…
Best-Kept-Secret Movie Theatre
Galaxy Highland 10 is the Abe Vigoda of movie theatres. Remember how, just a few short years ago, everyone assumed that the beloved star of Barney Miller (and subsequent spinoff, Fish) was dead? Mention the Galaxy Highland 10 to almost anyone who has lived in Austin for any length of time, and they’ll say, “I…
Best Plate o’ Shrimp
The shrimp at Mr. Catfish are traditionally breaded, tempura-light, and grease-free, they taste like the ocean they came from, not like an oil spill. The side salad is garnished with a succulent, red, ripe tomato slice. Its cool crispness perfectly complements the shrimp. (Yes, it’s iceberg, but perfectly fresh.) Order the hushpuppies as your second…
Best Cake-Decorating Supplies
Whether you’re an occasional cake decorator honing your skills or a hardcore wedding or kiddie-birthday cake designer, All in One has every conceivable cake-decorating supply you can think of, from dowels to doilies, pans, decorator tips, pastry bags, and great toppers, too. The staff is superknowledgeable and friendly, offering great advice. If you don’t have…
Best Citywide Scrabble Players
Looking out over the urban landscape, it is easy to be lulled by the marquee signs promising low cell-phone rates, cheap taco plates, and all you can eat … popcorn Jesus? Thanks to Busy Marquee’s deft and stealthy word reconstruction, our expectations for a proper slogan are expanded. Why shouldn’t a national chicken chain sport…
Best Local Reality
There’s a lot to hate about reality TV. But when filmmaker R.J. Cutler gets his hands on a project, the outcome is more than a snarky competition or gutterwise titillation. Such is the case with Freshman Diaries. Filmed right here in Austin, three-person crews followed 17 UT freshmen during the 2002-2003 school year, turning the…
Most Fabulous Media Design
Kat Jones and her expert team of innovators are cracking open the world-class media market right here in our own back yard. With digital work for films including The Cell, Fight Club, and Minority Report, Milkshake Media is shaking up our local scene in a big way. For companies who can choose from the finest…
Best Yoga Instructor With a Great Butt
Todd Rhoades literally made an ass of himself in Ballet Austin’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But, my, what an ass! And we mean that in the best way. Rhoades, a supremely gifted dancer, took up yoga some years back to help recover from ballet-related injuries. Talk about silver linings – he fell in…
Best Local Holiday
Because the only thing funnier than pants is the absence thereof, student group the Knighthood of Buh (the same patriots who campaigned to change the Longhorns to the “Tropicana Pure PremiumHorns”) has been dropping trou on the first Friday of May for the last few years. (They claim, however, not to be the originators of…
Best In-Home Computer Repair
When Donald Lopez bought out Mobile Nerds a few months ago, he brought with him the firsthand experience of working in customers’ homes. His emphasis on reliable and fast service makes the Nerds most valuable for the home computer users (or even in the office). Go ahead. Invite a Nerd over today. You’ll be running…
Most Hopeful Place
Work, kids, traffic, laundry, bills … hard, right? Well, imagine handling all that while coping with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or hepatitis C. You end up with work, kids, traffic, laundry, really big bills, chronic pain, crushing fear, sterile doctors’ offices, a sense of isolation. Now imagine a refuge – a lovely house surrounded by trees, filled…
Naked City
Right-wingers freak out over “links” — that is, Web links — between MoveOn.org and the Commies.
Best Bed & Breakfast
West Campus’ Austin Folk House – named, we assume, for its long hall of folk art upstairs or for the folk music it features in its House Rockin’ house concert series – and South Austin’s Lazy Oak B&B – named, we are certain, not for its proprietors’ state (Kevin and Renee Buck are some of…
Best Author/Poet
Move over Rick Linklater, step aside Lance Armstrong; Austin’s latest hero is Louis Sacher, who wowed the world with his award-winning book Holes, which drove us into a further frenzy of pride when it was released this year as a fantastic movie and chosen by the Mayor’s Book Club 2003 as the book for the…
Best Friendly Bar
It’s not quite Cheers, but it’s close enough. There’s always a sense of camaraderie at this UT-area watering hole, a perfectly cozy place to see those friends you haven’t met yet. Bring Fido – there’ll be plenty of fuzzy pals for him, too.
Best Home Delivery
We’re pleased as pepperoni and extra cheese to know you like your pizza local. Austin’s Pizza is an entirely homegrown affair but four years young, with a scrappy attitude and sumptuous pies (offering old standbys and exotics like broccoli, peanuts, and soy cheese) – and did we mention their delivery folks are the cutest in…
Best Local Athlete
What, exactly, is there left to say about the man who conquered the Tour de France five times straight? That he’ll do it again next year? Mais, oui – but as much as he stands out as a heroic example of athletic prowess, excruciating dedication, and courage, Monsieur Armstrong has become a much greater “Best…
Best Employer
Ever wonder what it feels like to work at Round Rock-based Dell? Their Web site describes the experience thusly: “Excitement. Being in the right place at the right time. Walk the hallways and you can feel it.” Meanwhile, at the other end of the tax bracket, Whole Foods has long provided steady paychecks and a…
Best Car Wash
Oh, Genie Car Wash, hear our three wishes: fine people who can clean our dirty wagons, a price tag that won’t break our bank, and a big ol’ mascot that keeps our geography-addled brains from forgetting your location. Our wishes are granted? Vroom-vroom!
Best Shoe Repair
This previous Critics Pick has made its first appearance as a winner in our Readers Poll. We can’t tell you how long we’ve been going there, but for the longest time we would have to catch ourselves before calling proprietor John Salazar Jr. “Sammie.” We knew better than that: He’s not Sammie! And neither is…
Best Party Supplies
Party planners can’t help but jig at the Pig, the one-stop shop for every single party thing you can think of, plus about 10,000 other things you didn’t think of, but, come to think of, heck yeah, you need some of those (and those, and those). Three Party Pig locations will keep you up to…
Best News Source
Awww, you shouldn’t have. We do our best to give you the information you need to be citizens rather than spectators. Apparently it works. (So remind us … why is “liberal bias” such a bad thing, anyway?)
Best Music Business
Whatever your musical need, Ray Hennig is here for both the serious rocker and the inexperienced first-timer still trying to build up the proper guitar calluses. However, don’t go there looking for froufrou; the “Wall of Famous Musicians” is about as close as it gets to decoration. Do go there for the excellent service; a…
Best Ivy-Covered Wall
The house at 801 Park Blvd. will send shivers up your spine. Not the shivers of today’s blockbuster thrillers, not even those shivers born in nightmares. This stone-walled, ivy-covered home creates shivers that were cooked in the witch’s oven before she tried to bake Hansel and Gretel. Shivers that Little Red Riding Hood felt when…
Best Theatrical Activism
The title says it all: This is theatre of the real, the stuff of which life is actually made – love, sex, hate, fear, food, and brain injury. Actual Lives features the work of adults with disabilities performing their own stories from their own experiences. Led by deaf performance artist (and Esther’s Follies co-founder) Terry…
Best Bakery in an Unexpected Location
In all the hustle-bustle that is downtown Austin, sometimes it seems impossible to find a laid-back place to relax and have a bun – you know, a place where you won’t run into everyone you know. Head north a bit, up I-35 to a little shop that offers just such a respite. Cinnamon’s Bakery, located…
Best Portal to Good Ol’ Austin
Celebrating 50 years, Matt’s El Rancho is truly an Austin institution. A favorite of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, El Rancho is famous with tourists and locals alike, not to mention the most popular place for students to take their parents. El Rancho helped define Tex-Mex in Austin and is still run by the Martinez…
Best In-Town Alternative to Schlitterbahn
With two big water-park slides for the older kids and a fun pirate ship with a minislide for the little guys, the East Communities YMCA pool area is a real cool-off haven. There are lots of bubbling little fountains, plenty of lifeguards, and a cool tile-and-concrete surface combo that offers great traction. There’s a regular…
Best Commitment to Democracy
This 24-hour, cable-only, local news station bills itself as “a public service to subscribers of Time Warner Cable.” They proved their commitment to that motto by airing interviews of every single candidate in the 2002-2003 municipal and local legislative races, and showing the Austin League of Women Voters candidate debates live. Democracy needs an educated…
Best Low Tech Weather Source
There are gadgets that gauge the weather from Cedar Park to Central China. You can log onto the Web and get real-time reports from San Saba to San Tropez. So what’s so great about being able to pick up the phone and get the same information? Because sometimes we just are tired of typing and…
Best Duck Farm
Fine feathered friends for sale! Buy five fowl get the sixth for free! Many colors to choose from. All ducks organically grown.
Cutest Butts on Sixth Street
Roughly five hours a night, three to four nights a week, of lugging drunken revelers to and fro is bound to build up some maximal gluteus maximus. Pedicabs – or bike taxis – provide the great service of carrying revelers around Downtown, thereby saving many feet from blisters and many lungs from added pollution from…
Best Nationally Syndicated Talk Show Host to Run a Sex Shop
Sure, there are a lot of sex shops in town, but 365 is owned and operated by Janina Valdez, aka AM radio talk-show host Dr. Natasha. Originally from San Antonio, Valdez moved first to NYC and then L.A. before coming back to roost in Austin. Valdez hosts the syndicated Saturday-night (9pm-midnight) call-in sex show, which…
Best Inner-City Paradise
Enter between the stone lions on Tillery, and you are in an unexpected Eden. Hop on a golf cart and be treated to a tour of a 10-acre tree farm where the majority of the plants are native, and a staff of 45 men tend to trees as tenderly as they would babies. They won’t…
Most Indulgent Place to Spend a Day
With a quirky luxury that’s funky and fabulous, Bella’s attention to detail provides a luxuriously indulgent experience from head to toe. From cutting-edge hairdressing and wondrous products to top-notch skin care and deeply satisfying spa treatments, Bella has a stellar reputation among its enormous clientele. With a cafe and beautifully appointed lounging areas, you’ll never…
Luv Doc Recommends: 22nd Annual Pecan Street Fall Arts Festival
So maybe you’re not a big Texas football fan. So what? Austin is full of things to do on a Saturday afternoon that don’t involve coming early, being loud, and wearing orange. For instance: down at the newly renovated Palmer Events Center they’re having the Bridal Extravaganza, a huge exposition of all things matrimonial. Oops,…
