Graduation is a four-letter word for college seniors. The endless questions from anxious parents, praying hopefully that their 120k investment pays off for the kid…mostly in the way of a Ferrari and a New York City penthouse. For masters’ graduates, the future has been swept under the rug for far longer. When their peers were scurrying, crying, and worrying about their interviews or faltering job prospects, these captains of industry (in their minds anyway) retreated into their books, thesis writing and nights of drinking. My graduating cousin, Cristiana, in turn, felt liberated. From Tulane to UT-Austin, non-stop, she’s actually relieved to find work and a new environment when she moves to Seattle in the fall. She asked me to come visit for the graduation weekend, arguably the busiest time for UT-Austin’s 50,000 students. People graduate, people move out, people move in, the expiration of the last year reverberates through the town.
From the major delays prevalent in the US airline industry today, I unfortunately never even made the graduation ceremony. Landing in Austin after missing a connection from Houston late in the evening, all I wanted to do was grab a slice and drink a brew. But this is Texas, and they do things differently here.
I walked with the graduate (my cousin, Cristiana) to “The Parlor” for a late nite pie & brew with Boyfriend, her parents, her roommate’s parents…you get the picture. We ordered the Dejay & Pete’s, and while I loved their vegan options, no one would go in with me.
It is Tejas, after all. I’m a pizza baker’s daughter, and while this pizza - think crispy, thin crust and a mountain of toppings - did impress, I’m siding with my parents on this one.
The happy graduate and her father enjoying some pizza pie
Staffed by the famous Tony Sansalone and Scott Halverson, the 1886 Café & Bakery simply has the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. I know I probably shouldn’t say that, but I don’t have the patience for indecisiveness and redundancy. So, I applied for one university early decision and visited two others in the event that I had failed so horrifically in high school that I didn’t get into my first choice. University of Texas-Austin was one of those schools and 1886 was a major deciding factor. I went to Texas with my father some time before the applications were due. We share an affinity for chocolate in the way monks love God. Hell, isn’t chocolate a religion anyway?
1886 is a classy, white tablecloth sort of place nudged inside the Driskill Hotel with a beautiful patio overlooking the pedestrians on Sixth Street, the main thoroughfare. Since vacation is no time for a diet, I proceed and order the “Hippy Hollow” skillet and the aforementioned chocolate cake.
My cousin gives me a knowing smirk as I tuck into my egg-and-potato skillet delight. What I don’t know and what comes to light later, the “Hippy Hollow”…might actually be an elderly nudie beach near Lake Travis.
In this badass, not-monkeying around hard-drinking establishment, Chris Marsh has made a shrine to Johnny Cash the likes of which have never been seen (outside of a private trailer park, that is). “Mean-Eyed Cat”, named after one of Cash’s classics, has been lauded by everyone from Conde Nast Traveler (my personal fave…well….I think we know why) to CMT News.
Growing up in Maryland, we have loads of crabs, and crab-smashing parties. BBQ escapes me somewhat and I guess I can’t be called a real Southerner for that. Trying to make for my lack of eduation, it’s been my goal to (try, anyway) visit the best BBQ smokehouses in the country. At Syracuse, I always was a sucker for the Chicken Diablo platter (before I was a red-meat eater) at Dinosaur BBQ and haven’t been able to find a decent BBQ place (besides Dino) in the city since I graduated. Needless to say, Salt Lick was a delicious, delicious surprise.
Boyfriend with a delicious plate of snaaasauge!
Salt Lick is about 25 minutes outside Austin proper but it’s so worth it. Just look at this sausage! We pulled into a extremely large (think state-fair large) parking lot where, literally, the Po-lice was helping park cars. There were 18 of us in our party, sitting around huge platters of BBQ chicken, grilled sausage, coleslaw & brisket, savoring every last bite.
With my delicious Lone Star beverage...love those riddles!
Ohh baby when I came back to Manhattan I was cravin’ some TEXAS bbq (the only BBQ in my opinion)…lucky for New Yawkers, we have our very own Salt Lick bbq stand, courtesy of Big Apple BBQ Block Party . Yes, I waited for 30 minutes to enjoy a delicious brisket & white bread sandwich. If you know what I’m talking about, who wouldn’t?
More pictures coming!
Secret Service...hawt.
Aww Matt!
VP Biden...speaking his speech...
A happy grad & fam & roommate. Matt will be off to the University of Colorado-Boulder for his Ph.D. in the fall!
