Christine, Jack and I met Debbie and Raymond at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner on Friday night. Everyone’s dinner was good, if the portions were just a tad big… next time, we’re just getting one apetizer and 4 deserts. The cheesecake was fantastic. We didn’t stay long as Debbie and Raymond were both a little under the weather, but it was good to see them nonetheless.
On Saturday, Peggy and Payton came up to babysit Jack for us. Payton and I hung new blinds and valances in the nursery, and we enjoyed visiting, before Christine and I headed out for a fun night together.
We left the house around 6:30, and headed to Z-Tejas for dinner. We didn’t have reservations, and someone forgot to tell us that it was Prom night in Austin. We parked the car, took about 10 steps toward the door of the restaurant, and headed back to the car. There was at least 50 people standing outside waiting for a table.
So we drove down Capitol of Texas Highway, trying to figure out what to do… since it was prom night, that pretty much shot our chances of eating anywhere with a cool view… so we decided to head downtown to see what might be fun.
We eventually had a valet take our car on 4th street, and walked into Malaga, but the air conditioning was tool cold, and was blowing right on us. We really kind of wanted to sit on a patio, and they didn’t have one, or at least, didn’t ask us if we wanted to sit outside. (We noticed that they do have a small patio on our way out that had an open table on it).
So we walked next door to Fadó’s and quickly found a seat on the patio. Patrick Fleming was playing live music, and we were sitting under an open sky. The music on his website gives a good idea of how good he is, like this original: Nowhere, USA. I ordered a Black and Tan (what else do you order at an Irish Pub. We ate a Ahi Tuna Ceviche from the apetizer menu, and then sat back and enjoyed the music. Patrick did a good job covering a lot of popular music and he was fun to watch (we were sitting right behind him).
After Patrick Fleming went off the stage, we stayed to listen to a couple of songs by The Blaggards, an irish punk band from Houston. Go to their website and watch their irish punk version of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” … they’re pretty good and a lot of fun to watch in person.
On Sunday, we got up, and I cooked breakfast: Eggs and sausage, with homemade wheat bread toast. Peggy picked up the bread at Hruska’s on the way up from Houston on Saturday. If you haven’t stopped at Hruska’s in Ellinger on the way up from Houston… you need to next time. It’s on Highway 71, and is a little like stopping at the Czech Stop in West, Texas.
After Peggy and Payton left, Christine and I watched Super Size Me, the story of Morgan Spurlock and his 30 day McDonald’s only diet. Scary stuff. It’s a pretty compelling story, and will definitely make you think twice about ordering that Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, or those 44 oz. drinks at the fast-food joint of your choice. I’m convinced that Jack will never eat at a fast-food restaurant in his life, and I won’t eat at one by choice again. I’ll find the place selling salads and apples at the airport, instead of making that quick stop at McDonald’s or Burger King in the future.
Check back for some cute photos of Jack and Payton and the rest of us.