Music: Nouvelle Vague

Last Saturday, I was wondering what would be more fun than spending the evening watching a couple of French ladies dance and sing lounge style covers of 80's New Wave hits. Answer: nothing. Thus, I was compelled to go down to The Mohawk with the gf and some amigos in order to see Nouvelle Vague in action. The show was a lot of fun. I was hooked at the opening number, wherein they covered Depeche Mode's "Master and Servant". My favorite, though, was their version of the Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere". The Talking Heads' is one of my favorite groups, but when you replace David Byrne with the two ladies in the above photo and their Snidely Whiplash mustache sporting guitarist... man, it is groovy stuff.

Scary French facial hair aside, Nouvelle Vague's music is quite good. The fact that their songs are interesting interpretations of familiar New Wave songs is an added bonus. Check them out on iTunes and download a few of their songs (starting with the two I mentioned above).

Retro: The McDLT

So, I was talking to the gf a couple of days ago and I made a reference to the McLean (as the linked ad explains: the 1980's McDonald's attempt at a healthy burger). While in this conversation, I mentioned the McDLT. I was horrified to find out that she didn't remember this amazing product. I then thought: what if in the way law school replaced my knowledge of Spanish with my less useful knowledge of torts and contracts, her law school experience replaced memories of a burger delivered in packaging designed to keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool with information about property and civil procedure? Aye Caramba! I knew it was time to remedy the situation, so I turned to the internet for help.

While searching for some links to the McDLT, I came across an ad for the burger which features Jason Alexander (aka George Castanza of Sienfeld dancing and singing a song about the McDLT. I lack the ability to appropriately describe this, so watch it for yourself: 1980's Jason Alexander McDLT ad

I'm glad that Mr. Alexender's success on Sienfeld means we will (probably) never again have to see him in a dance routine about McDonald's products.

Bonus: The McDLT didn't die because it wasn't delicious, but rather because McDonald's decided to discontinue Styrofoam packaging. Without the convenient Styrofoam packaging to fold over and thus easily form the burger with a piping hot patty and cool, crisp veggies, the McDLT was basically pointless.

Food: Taco Deli

Man, do I love TacoDeli. I been going there since 1999, right before I went to law school. I avoided it at first, mostly because every cafe/restaurant which had previously been in that location would crash and burn promptly after starting up. I didn't want to get hooked on a doomed taco. Fortunately I was wrong about the location, and once I visited I was instantly hooked. Moreover, thousands of other people are apparently hooked. TacoDeli has won six Austin Chronicle readers' choice awards. It's even quite popular on FourSquare (I'll have to check on GoWalla).

I'm most fond of the steak frontera funditos (pictured above). I also like the Mexico City and the al pastor tacos. Furthermore, the have excellent queso and they stock the fridge with delicious Mexican Coca-Cola (the kind with real cane sugar).

The gf and I ate lunch there today. I was initially concerned about the weather; however, the patio was quite comfortable in the sun and their were plenty of outdoor propane heaters on standby. The only unpleasant aspect to the entire meal was the loud woman who kept describing her last child birth experience in graphic detail (i.e., only an obstetrician would not mind hearing this while eating). It was freaking out me, the gf, and several other diners.

I plan to hit TacoDeli quite often once the weather warms up. Tacos are great before heading into Barton Creek for photos, biking, and other amusing activities.

Blown Out Boot

Yes, you apparently can blow out your cowboy boots while at The Tavern. I wear my Lucchese cowboy boots very often, and apparently I heap abuse upon them. I bought this pair last April, and I didn't expect to have severely damaged them within a year of purchase. Fortunately, for about $75, Austin Shoe Hospital can re-sole, re-heel, and re-condition these bad boys.

If you don't yet own a pair of cowboy boots, I highly recommend Lucchese. The first week is very uncomfortable, but once broken in you will find your Lucchese boots to be among the most comfortable shoes you own. And they look cool.

I'm not joking when I say I wear mine everywhere. I wore them last week, when I walked for three hours taking photos. I've worn them on multi-mile hikes around Vegas. I generally wear them whenever I go downtown. Moreover, I'm currently looking into buying a new pair to add into the boot rotation.

Austin Pub Quiz

[video: Duffy, your trivia host]


I had a good time at The Tavern last night, playing Austin Pub Quiz's 8 round trivia game. I excel at the grab bag and nerd rounds; however, I generally crash and burn at the movie quote, TV trivia, and TV theme song rounds. Fortunately, I know some ringers in various categories. I'll be playing in the finals next week, though I'll probably take some photos during the rounds in which I'm dead weight on the team.

Events: Plucker's Party With a Purpose to Benefit HYP

If you're looking for a good time on 2/18/10, look no further than Plucker's Party With a Purpose benefiting Habitat Young Professionals. Plucker's will donate 20% of non-booze sales to Austin Habitat Young Professionals... and there will be a beer pong tournament for which the winning will receive $1000 donated to the charity represented by said team. Plucker's is super cool for organizing and sponsoring this event. Come out to support HYP and Pluckers, as well as to engorge yourself on Jamaican Jerk flavored wings.

[note: I started eating at Plucker's when I discovered the Jerk flavored wings and because Plucker's will serve an order of only the little drums. Mmmmmmm.]

Groundhog Day < Armadillo Day

Armadillo Day at J. Black's

Apparently, Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow and thus we can expect six more weeks of winter. I'm nonplussed, as winter in Austin is a mild and sometimes delightful time of year. I was much more concerned during last August when Archie the Armadillo (the fat one on the left; pictured with his posse and their liquor) waddled in front of J. Black's Feel Good Lounge on West 6th whereupon he saw his shadow (thus predicting, accurately, several more weeks of hot weather). After months of triple digit temperatures, I was ready for things to cool off. Unlike the mild winter, I find late summer in Austin to often be brutal enough to send me indoors for extended periods of time. I'm hoping that this year's Armadillo Day will have a different outcome.

Speaking of armadillos: despite being considered pests and being seen most frequently as road kill, it is astonishingly hard to find a licensed armadillo handler to wrangle armadillos for an event.

Found: Sign

[photo: by WDFloyd's iPhone]


Niiiiice.

Found: Dr. Pepper with Real Sugar

I realize that this may not be Earth shattering news. After all, the famous Dublin Dr. Pepper has always been made with real cane sugar. However, Dublin Dr. Pepper is often sold at a premium and can be relatively inconvenient to obtain in Austin. The green bottles in the photo, however, were in the cooler at the 7-11 on 15th and San Antonio. No special effort necessary; they were on the shelf next to the Diet Dr. Pepper and priced exactly the same.

I'm not on the anti high fructose corn syrup bandwagon, nor am I convinced that it's Satan's own sweetener. I do, however, think that real sugar tastes MUCH better. Compare, for example, a Coke bottled in Texas (corn syrup) to one from Mexico (made with real sugar, and extremely delicious). Same thing with DP. I picked up one of the green bottled Dr. Peppers and drank it after my Leadership Austin meeting. It was very good, a definite cut above it's corn sweetened cousin.