Jet Austin

Thank You Jet Austin Readers

Jet Austin — 2010-09-10T12:01:57-05:00

Dear Loyal CityBlogs Readers:

Thank you for your interest and for participating on our CityBlogs during the past nine months. Your support has been overwhelmingly positive and we've thoroughly enjoyed providing you with fun updates about many of your favorite JetBlue destinations. Unfortunately, we regret to announce that our CityBlogs are coming to an end. The blogs will stay online until September 15, so you will have a few more days to revisit your favorite posts and comments.

Throughout the duration of the CityBlogs experiment, we've learned a lot. It helped us realize that our customers and crewmembers living in JetBlue communities are often the best resource for the real insider's guide to each destination. As we transition to the launch of our JetBlue Community, we encourage you to continue to discuss and share your knowledge of each city's unique offerings.

Visit jetblue.com/community to join in and get the discussion started about your town.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

The JetBlue CityBlogs Team

Learn Textile Arts at Stitch Lab

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-31T10:00:00-05:00

Photo by Spike Gillespie.

Austin is crawling with clever crafters. If you can name the medium, you can bet we've got artists working in it. The local textile artists count Stitch Lab (get directions) as a Mecca for fabric education. Whether you've never sewn a stitch in your life or you're already a great seamstress (or seamster) looking to rise to greater heights, proprietor Leslie Bonnell and her staff are ready to help.

Classes You'll Love Sew Much

Bonnell, a former costume designer, started teaching sewing out of her home studio back in 2001. She outgrew that space — understandably, considering the glowing reviews of her students. Last year, she opened a lovely new location, situated in a cottage on South First Street. While sewing is the main focus, you can learn other textile arts at Stitch Lab, too.

Stitch Lab offers an impressive number of classes covering a broad spectrum of fabric and fiber art. If you want to sew you can sign up for classes targeted at absolute beginners, or, if you know the basics, garment construction and accessory making. Aspiring milliners can pick up hat-making skills. You can also learn knitting, crocheting, embroidery, quilting, and many other arts. Bonnell and her gang even host classes targeted specifically for kids and tweens. Plus there's a shop inside Stitch Lab where you can buy all sorts of groovy fabric and notions.

From Process to Print: The Works of Romare Bearden

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-31T09:00:00-05:00

Photo credit: The Train, 1975 Etching and Aquatint, 22 x 30 inches, Courtesy of the Estate of Romare Bearden; © Romare Bearden Foundation/ Licensed by VAGA, New York, New York

The Austin Museum of Art (get directions) consistently offers carefully-curated installations of incredible works. I have taken in several shows there this past year and every time I am impressed to find such a relatively small museum packing such a powerful wallop.

Coming right up: From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden. Bearden's bright, colorful, vibrant works explore a multitude of themes, stories, and places including: jazz, trains, family life, Africa, Harlem, and mythology.

Portrait of the Artist

Born in 1911 in North Carolina, Romare Bearden spent three decades working for the New York City Department of Social Services. He died in New York in 1988. Before he gained international fame, Bearden carved out time for his art on the weekends and during evenings after work. He was a co-founder of the Studio Museum in Harlem as well as the Black Academy of Arts and Letters. While the AMOA show focuses on his printmaking, Bearden worked in many mediums including photomontage, watercolor, and oil.

August 28 - November 14, 2010

Restaurant Review: Annies Cafe

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-31T08:00:00-05:00

Annies Cafe

319 Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 472-1884
www.anniescafebar.com

Get directions

For nearly 27 years, Love Nance and Sherry Jameson ran Apple Annies, serving up lunches to the downtown Austin crowd. When their lease was up they faced a decision: close their doors for good or find a new location. They opted for the latter, initiating a major makeover in the process, acquiring a larger, historic space, edging the menu and ambience slightly more upscale, and changing the restaurant's name from Apple Annies to Annies Cafe.

Now just over a year old, Annies Cafe offers patrons a local version of Parisian "zinc bars" — eateries with a bar central to the operation, a focal point for regulars to gather. The pizza oven is out in the open and you can, if you wish, sit close to the heart of the food-prep action and enjoy the bustle of chef and server putting together your meal.

I visited recently for a lovely complimentary dinner. Co-proprietresses Nance and Jameson float through the room like happy fairy godmothers, tending to the needs of each and every customer. Despite "These Tight Economic Times," Annies packs in the crowds — we visited on a Thursday night that was busy enough to seem like a Saturday. The menu includes a good across-the-board selection — from comforting home-style dishes to elegant, chi-chi entrees and oo-la-la desserts. Annies also serves breakfast, lunch, brunch, and an array of specialty coffee drinks.

Ambience

Live Music

We sat up front near big windows that look out over Congress Avenue. A guitarist provided live entertainment — instrumental accompaniment that served as a reminder that Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World.

Appetizer

Bread Basket

All the bread is made in house and the selection is divine, accompanied by honey-sweetened butter. Take your choice of flaky little croissants, thick slices of white bread, or delicious heavy dark bread with a lovely crust.

Wine

Erath '08

Our waiter recommended the Erath '08 to set the evening's tone. This pinot noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon hints of black cherry and orange; a solid red that goes well with a variety of dishes.

Appetizer

Market Slaw

This mixed green salad accented with radish was offered as part of the evening's Dinner Specials. My friend Steph, a vegetarian, loved the slaw, which — like the crowd of diners — was dressed nicely but not overdressed.

Appetizer

Shrimp Orleans

My meal began with the tasty Shrimp Orleans, a great example of Annies' menu. Sandwiched between grilled slices of bread and topped with a pepper-flecked butter sauce, the dish is delicious without being overly-flashy or burdened with too many competing flavors.

Entree

Grilled Salmon Filet

The entrees at Annies are hearty and straightforward and include among other offerings: Steak Frites, Pan Roasted Rabbit, Lamb Shank, and Chicken Schnitzel. For this exceptionally warm summer evening, I decided to go with the Grilled Salmon Filet. Like the old beer commercial, this dish was less filling and tasted great. Served atop organic zucchini and squash and drizzled with a lemon beurre blanc, the meal satisfied without weighing me down.

Entree/Appetizer

Pomme Frites

Though Steph could've selected the Vegetable Risotto for her main vegetarian course, she saw too many side dishes to resist and so opted to put together a meal from these choices. As you can see the Pomme Frites are super-sized, which meant I got to help out and enjoy more than a few of these slender, crispy French fries.

Entree/Appetizer

Asparagus

Steph rounded out her meal with a side of the evening's selected veggie: a dish full of bright green, lightly dressed asparagus. This healthy selection offered a good balance to the more guilt-inducing Pomme Frites.

Dessert

Creme Brulee

Our waiter steered us to the Creme Brulee for dessert and we're grateful she did. Super creamy with that thin, glass-like sheen of caramelized sugar on top, it was a dreamy delight.

Margaret Cho at the Paramount Theatre

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-30T09:00:00-05:00

Image provided by Paramount Theatre.

I am most fond of recommending local performers to catch when you're visiting Austin. I'll make an exception this time though, and direct your attention to the upcoming Margaret Cho show at the Paramount Theatre (get directions). Okay, so she wasn't born here and doesn't live here. But her mighty and much-dedicated local following gains her honorary Austinite status.

Not for the Faint of Heart

I had the great pleasure of catching a Cho show awhile back at the Paramount and the palpable love and raucous laughter of the audience provided almost as much entertainment as the comedian's material.

If you're not familiar with Margaret Cho, do bear in mind that the woman is hardly a fragile little flower. More than a little sassy, she fears no topic and her presentation can be... how to put this... on the salty side.

She got her start at age 16 and has been going strong for 25 years now. Recently, she's been dipping her toes into writing funny songs, many of which appear on her just-released CD, Cho Dependent. She'll be unveiling a number of these not-to-be-taken-seriously numbers at the Paramount on September 12, 2010.

Guy Forsyth at Continental Club

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-30T08:00:00-05:00

Sometimes life presents you with a memorable meal, every detail just right: the perfect food, the perfect wine, the perfect setting, the perfect company. Catching Guy Forsyth at the Continental Club (get directions) is the musical equivalent of such a rare, fine dining event — a member of Austin's music royalty playing in one of the most incredible venues Austin has to offer.

Austin's Favorite Guy

Some folks describe Forsyth's music as Americana roots. Okay, that's a good start. But don't try to pigeonhole this gifted singer/songwriter. He's got an unrivaled set of pipes and when he's belting it out, you'll be all ears. He lords over his guitar, whether he's working acoustic, electric or slide. He can play the hell out of a harmonica. And he has mastered the ukulele and the saw. Yes, that's right, he plays the saw.

His adoring fans are legion. But you know what I like best? He's a really great guy. A longtime supporter of Austin's music and poetry scene, Forsyth is a musician's musician, a prince, a poet, and a gentleman.

This time around, his show falls on the eve of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which I happen to know is one of his favorite days. We can only hope he'll bust out some of his most arrrrrrrgh-iginal pirate-speak for us. But no matter what, this is one show you shouldn't miss.

September 17, 2010

Fall Hard For Retro Weirdness at LOVELY

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-27T09:00:00-05:00

Photo by Spike Gillespie.

If Austin likes keeping it weird, South Austin prefers keeping it weirder. LOVELY (get directions) is a great example of South Austin weirdness at its best. The vintage/consignment shop enchants you before you even walk through the front door. On the front walk an alert, sharp-dressed mannequin stands welcoming guard. A wire tree hung with denim shorts and skirts adds a festive touch on the front lawn. And the porch is an absolute magnet for those of you who can't walk by an outdoor sale without stopping to take a peek. Go ahead, step up those couple of steps and work your way through the racks of wonderful things.

Step Into My Parlour

Inside LOVELY you'll find an equally great selection of clothes, shoes, jewelry, and curios. And even the dressing rooms, curtained with peacocky fabric, are well adorned. Vintage fans will fall hard for the fancy, shiny, dress-up clothes, sparkly costume jewels, and rack after rack of pointy, spiky, flowery heels and flats. Plan on allotting plenty of time at LOVELY where you can easily spend over an hour transforming your wardrobe into something retro-regal.

Defining Slacker

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-27T08:00:00-05:00

Whether by coincidence or fate, I arrived in Austin in 1991, just as a then unheard of filmmaker Richard Linklater released a film that would put him — and Austin — on the map. The movie, Slacker, is a wandering disconnected tour around the city, following one conversation after another, painting a portrait of an Austin filled with lovable, passionate, philosophizing goofballs with an awful lot of time on their hands.

I admit that the first time I saw Slacker I didn't fully comprehend it. But then it didn't take long for me to find myself a part of the slacker culture. Now slacking is a regular part of my life. Well, okay, by proxy — courtesy of my slacker son and slacker boyfriend.

Slack Attack

Please note that being a slacker, at least in Austin, is a good thing — a certain kind of achievement. Slackers value their time over their money, and a day spent hanging out at a coffee shop or floating on a river or just sitting around daydreaming is, among slackers, considered a larger success than, say, taking on a multi-million dollar client. Slackers are often frugal and quite content with cast-off furniture acquired curbside when UT students leave for summer and throw away perfectly useful items.

Many slackers are musicians, with part time jobs in retail shops and restaurants, and lots of daylight hours available for hanging out and talking shop. My son falls into this category, enjoying his half-time clerk job, living for his music, and meeting all sorts of characters at his favorite cafe. My boyfriend is a fulltime slacker, having saved enough to retire, at least for a few years, at the ripe old age of 40, because he doesn't want to wait until he's creaky in the knees to enjoy big chunks of work-free time.

You can be a slacker too, if only for the duration of a trip to Austin. Forget about making to-do and must-see lists. Instead, wander into a coffee joint, take a seat, and let the action (or rather inaction) come to you.

Find Globetrotting Gifts at Pangea

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-26T09:00:00-05:00

Photo by Spike Gillespie.

In Austin, South Congress Avenue — or SoCo — is one of our quirkiest, best-known and best-loved shopping districts. But just a few blocks to the west, South First Street, which runs parallel to SoCo, has been steadily gaining its own ground as a hip shopping area. I only recently heard the nickname "SoFi" applied to South First but I predict it won't be long before that title sticks.

SoFi boasts plenty of groovy boutiques, coffee houses, tattoo shops, and restaurants to keep you happy. One such is Pangea (get directions), a speck of a shop with gifts and clothes from around the world. From loosely woven scarves made by hand in Thailand to other wonderful textiles from afar, you can take a mini-trip around the world when you walk through the door.

Pledge Alleigance to the Flag

Pangea carries authentic Tibetan prayer flags — my favorite item in their inventory. Austin is home to a decent number of Buddhists, both those fully immersed in the religion and lots of us who use its tenets to help keep cool in traffic. So you see these flags fluttering all throughout the city, in gardens, across garage doors and — in my case — hung suspended in my car from a sun visor.

Crowne Plaza Hotel: Covering All the Basics

Spike Gillespie — 2010-08-26T08:00:00-05:00

Photo provided by Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Austin offers plenty of uber-mod boutique hotels, historic B&B's, and sleek downtown mega-hotels. But for those of you who enjoy staying in a place a bit removed from the hustle and bustle, we've got lots of options, too. The Crowne Plaza Hotel (get directions) located in North Central Austin offers rooms, suites, and an executive level for business travelers. You'll find all the basic amenities covered — including a desk, WiFi access, and two-line phone. Workout in the fitness room or take a dip in the big blue pool. And if you're too busy — working or relaxing — to head out for dinner, there's an on-site restaurant and room service available.

Easy Austin Access

If you stay at the Crowne Plaza, you'd do well to have a rental car at your disposal. As the hotel is located near a major highway, the surrounding area is not exactly a walking neighborhood. However, you'll be just five minutes by car from historic Hyde Park, which lends itself well to strolls along tree-lined streets. And there are several good restaurants in the neighborhood — I recommend Asti or the Hyde Park Bar and Grill. The Crowne Plaza is also a great place to stay if you're in town for a UT Longhorns football game or any other event happening on campus — you're just moments away.

Jet Austin

Thank You Jet Austin Readers

Learn Textile Arts at Stitch Lab

Classes You'll Love Sew Much

From Process to Print: The Works of Romare Bearden

Portrait of the Artist

Restaurant Review: Annies Cafe

Annies Cafe

On the Menu

Ambience

Live Music

Appetizer

Bread Basket

Wine

Erath '08

Appetizer

Market Slaw

Appetizer

Shrimp Orleans

Entree

Grilled Salmon Filet

Entree/Appetizer

Pomme Frites

Entree/Appetizer

Asparagus

Dessert

Creme Brulee

Margaret Cho at the Paramount Theatre

Not for the Faint of Heart

Guy Forsyth at Continental Club

Austin's Favorite Guy

Fall Hard For Retro Weirdness at LOVELY

Step Into My Parlour

Defining Slacker

Slack Attack

Find Globetrotting Gifts at Pangea

Pledge Alleigance to the Flag

Crowne Plaza Hotel: Covering All the Basics

Easy Austin Access