Vivo on Manor Road in East Austin

This old house converted into a restaurant went through a few false starts before it became Vivo several years ago. In Spanish Vivo means I live and it is pronounced similarly to Bevo the UT Football Mascot. Whether that is deliberate or coincidence doesn't matter, what does matter is its close proximity to the University of Texas and the fine food and atmosphere that they provide. They have a huge multi level deck, a full bar, a private dining area and lots of very interesting quality artwork all around. There are more plants outdoors than many nursery's have for sale and the margarita was strong even though it was pretty pricey at nine dollars. This part of Manor Road on the East side of Austin has become an alternate restaurant row and there are plenty of places to choose from. Acroos the street is Hoover's and Clementine Coffeehouse. Down the street in one direction is El Chile, a popular Mexican Restaurant and The Red House a fine bar that I still need to check out myself. In the other direction is East side Cafe, Mia Madre's and El Chilito plus there is an Italian Restaurant close by as well. I think Vivo is the most interesting of them all and I look forward to going back for dinner soon. As a bonus they also have a good sized parking lot and they are away from the congestion of Downtown yet still close to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALwW-kk_EOo

http://www.vivo-austin.com/

The Peacock Lounge on Pedernales at East Sixth in East Austin

When I first went to this bar a couple of years ago it was considered trendy and had just had a makeover form whatever else it had been in a past life. It was nestled more deeply in East Austin than I had ever been before and the first lofts along the railroad tracks were just beginning to sell. Since that time developers have built many hundreds of additional units that now line one side of Sixth Street for about a quarter of a mile. It won't be long before the same thing happens on the other side of the street that is currently vacant lots and warehouses. But once you reach Pedernales going east the new stops and a much older neighborhood consisting of small homes on one side of the street and commercial buildings on the other commences. That's where you will find The Peacock Lounge in a little one story cinder block building facing their new neighbors. It draws a young tattooed and pierced crowd starting around dark and does a good business until closing. They have music sometimes, host a variety of special events with regularity and they're nice to nosey old guys who drop in with their cameras in tow. Actually, I can only confirm that they were nice to me and extrapolate that they are equally nice to everybody. I think it is a safe bet. Watch the video and click on their website if you want to know more. http://www.peacock-austin.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bko3Cx9Y_8

Texas Chili Parlor on Lavaca near Fourteenth Street in Austin

I've been here many times in the past and no times in the present until now. They have some of the hottest chili in the world down to almost mild. I used to always get the hottest to show how tough I was until I finally came to the realization that I really wasn't that tough at all. Especially the following day, it's worse than waterboarding . It hurts like hell but it makes you more of a man, even if you are a woman. After you feel the pain of an unusually hot bowl of chili you can handle pulling your own teeth. The heck with the dentist. O.k. Old Hippie Joint of the best kind. The parking can be tough during the weekday but you can usually find a vacant meter and at night it is much less of a problem. Central location, cold beer, good food if you don't make the wrong choices, and excellent ambiance. I should go here every day and I probably would if I didn't have this ass backwards blog that nobody reads that has required me to find a different place every day. These are self imposed demands so why can't I just say forget it? Because, that would be letting down the ten or twenty regular readers that I think I have and I can't do that. It's kind of like the same force that made me order the hottest chili for so many years. It's called stupidity. This place is a can't miss, and I didn't and you shouldn't either, if you ever get to Austin. Watch the video and check their website if you want to know more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5krXMcG5So http://www.cactushill.com/TCP/home.htm

Hoover's Cooking 2002 Manor Road in East Austin Texas

I've been to Hoover's only a couple times and I've never really had a meal in there even though I work about 100 yards away. It's not because it isn't good, I can guarantee that, I've heard many people sing his praises and restaurants don't last around here unless they have what it takes to keep you coming back. I think the problem has been that I only have a paltry half hour for lunch and that won't work, and I want to get away from where I work just as soon as I possibly can so I'm gone as soon as the day is done. It's about time I stopped in for a beer, I've been thinking about it for for a year at least. I have had their appetizers though and they make some kind of exotic margarita from Mango or something that was so good that I can't remember what it was but I had a few of them once about a year ago which is why I have been thinking of going back. I used to go in here frequently to buy a stamp or banana and sometimes it smelled like a dead animal but that was when it was Roy Lee's Grocery Store and the East side was looking pretty bleak. Now students and instructors live in many of the homes around there and they are amazingly expensive. I remember when they were amazingly cheap but they still cost too much for me to buy a rent house. No chance of that now just about anywhere within the city limits. O.k. enough banter. Check out their blackboard and see if anything looks good. It all looks good to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uO53u-d-Lc