Ulf "Wolf?" K.'s Profile

Uhm, I dedicate this review to the scrumptious brownies of the Hideout.

Best brownies downtown.  Bestest brownies downtown.  Just damn spectacular, absolute favorite brownies downtown.  Did I mention their Up Before You Brownies kick some major hiney?

Should you, god forbid, ever get bored of having brownies every time you go there, fit in one of their pistachio muffins every once in a while.  They are green, they are soft, they will make you go ahhh.  The pistachio muffins, that is.

As for everything else there...I personally have a hard time concentrating on anything but those brownies and the occasional pistachio muffin, so I couldn't even comment on the coffee drinks, the other foods, the service, the interior, the performance/theater spaces ...or anything really that might distract me from what's really important in life:  which would be those brownies.  Oh, have you heard...?  Yeah...they're GOOD.

Tekgnar is Laurie Pevey's skate shop, which prior to moving to its current location at MLK was situated at Rio Grande and 5th and called Blondie's.

Now I'm not much a skater myself, but when I decided a few years ago that a longboard would be a welcome addition to my personal transportation arsenal I walked into Tekgnar after a movie at the Dobie and told the couple of guys working the store at the time what I was looking to get out of a skateboard.  After a brief and very friendly and helpful consultation and about 15 minutes' worth of assembly time I walked out and subsequently skated away as the proud owner of a 4ft, all-maplewood Sector 9 Supercruiser with Randall 180 trucks, Lucky Titanium ball bearings and a set of Sector 9 76mm wheels.  I was a happy camper.

I've since gone back to buy two more longboards and those two respective visits have been equally pleasant and successful.

As far as I can tell, they've managed to keep their focus on skate gear.  Apart from decks, trucks, wheels etc, you'll find a pretty wide assortment of skate-appropriate shoes and clothing as well as the obligatory magazines and DVDs.

So upon my personal, anecdotal evidence I'd predict that you won't have endure any attitude by the kind folks working there, even if you are a complete skating virgin and that you'll most likely find what you are looking for, if it's got anything to do with skating (that's skating as in skateboards, not inline or skates, mind you.)

This is Dan Plunkett's (formerly of 33 Degrees Records) current boutique record store that in terms of size is right in between the original 33 Degrees (back when it was just down the street from the Crown & Anchor) and the 33 Degrees that was located on Guadalupe until it closed for business sometime in I believe 2003.

The naming of the store strikes me as a tongue-in-cheek hint to the effect that this ain't your momma's record store (unless your momma was cool and listened to Robert Wyatt back in the day.)

So yes, boutique means that they're never going to aspire to go head to head with Waterloo Records as far as the inventory breadth and depth goes.  Which in turn implies that if you pay them a visit with a shopping list of particular artists and albums in your pocket or head you should brace yourself for potential disappointment.  Such is not their forte.  Rest assured, you'll still find the majority of what pass for current hipster indie artists on their shelves.  As well as plenty of artists that you'd be hard-pressed to find at, say, a Waterloo Records.  Their 2 or 3 listening stations are very accessible, but I recommend bringing your own set of headphones, as the store-pairs I've encountered there are of the tinny-sounding, dollar-bin variety which don't do any music any favors.

I personally find the interior of End of an Ear more welcoming and friendly than that of the last incarnation of 33 Degrees on Guadalupe.  Dan and his sales peeps are very unassuming and humble in my experience so I definitely recommend striking up a conversation given the opportunity.  You never know, you just might end up going home with an amazing album by an artist you never even heard of previously.

The weekly in-stores are a welcome Russian roulette of most often local acts.  One may blow your mind, another may merely go *click* and leave you shrugging your shoulders.

Once you're through End of an Ear, I suggest you seek out the Opera House around the corner from them (exit right and turn right, down the parking lot) - a thrifty fashion store that often has an art exhibit in their one room called The Cave.  Said Cave can be an entertaining and fitting book end your End of an Ear visit.

Motive 807 is a great specialty sneaker store.  They carry a lot of hard-to-find shoes by Nike, Adidas, Puma, Vans, New Balance, etc.  Pairs typically range from the $60s into the $200s.  The vast majority of the sneaker fashions featured hark back to 70s, 80s, and early-to-mid 90s, which for many these days are the classic decades for en vogue kicks.  

Every time I go I stumble across a pair outside of my price range that I would love to splurge on, but then prudently resist.  Every other time I find that below-$100 pair that delights me.  Besides sneakers, you'll find a small selection of t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and specialty magazines.  The owner and his staff are courteous and very knowledgeable.  For me it's the only shoe store in town that I have a hard time walking out of without a new pair to take home with me.

First, a little prayer (mind you, I am not religious in the least, but sometimes a little prayer hits the spot even for this here atheist:)  May this be my only Yelp review in which I refer to the establishment in question in absolute terms rather than adopting a relative, in-my-humble-opinion-type perspective.

Musashino is the very best sushi bar in Austin.  Full stop.

IT'S THE SUSHI, STUPID!

When everything is said and done, wouldn't you rather enjoy superior sushi over superior wallpaper, lamps, background music, or wait staff?  I certainly would.  And I don't consider Musashino's decor, music, wait staff or average wait distractingly bad (but yes, there is certainly better to be had here in Austin) whereas I deem Musashino's sushi the absolute best one can get in the greater Austin area.

Smokey's (owner and head chef) sushi has not been topped in the twelve years that I've followed the sushi bar micro-cosmos of Austin.  With every high-end sushi bar opening I was prepared for a new heir to Smokey's throne:  Umi, Kenichi, Uchi, Maiko (yes, each one of those four initially attempted to position themselves as the new best sushi bar in town, respectively, as bewildering as that might strike you, dear reader, in this early spring of 2007.)  It never happened.  Musashino still reigns supreme.

Recommended:  O'Toro and Kama Toro nigiri, Uni nigiri, Monkfish Liver nigiri, Shima Zushi sashimi, Saba hand roll, Spicy Mussel hand roll, Evil Knievil roll, Futo Maki, and of course Omakase (chef's choice.)

Not recommended: neglecting nigiri, sashimi and hand roll selections in favor of rolls, rolls, rolls, and nothing but rolls (sadly I see too many people make that mistake.)  Make sure you order a balance of different types of sushi.  It'll cost you, yes, but this is where a top-notch sushi bar such as this one shines the brightest.

p.s. The avocado kama appetizer (avocado stuffed with shrimp and crab, topped with spicy sauce) on Musashino's menu is a creation of Tyson Cole, now of Uchi, formerly of Musashino.

The best variety of bubble tea flavors and the best tapioca pearls make for the overall most satisfying bubble tea experience in Austin in my humble opinion.

Give some of their special flavor combinations on their menu a try sometime.  For more plain pearl milk teas you can't go wrong with the taro or the lychee in my experience.

They do tend to overdo it on the sugar - just ask them to go easy on it.  On the other hand, I never did take issue with the amount of ice - the styrofoam cups they use are of the large variety so that even generous amounts of ice leave plenty of room for tea.

Come see the Lamborghini of espresso machines!
Come witness a fine barista prepare an espresso beverage for you!
Accept said espresso beverage and take your first sip immediately!
Consider the "best cup of coffee in town" label bandied about this place and who knows, you might just agree.  I did.

If you see a curly-haired barista wearing a baseball hat with a recycling patch and sporting a tattoo of a rocking chair on the inside of one of his lower arms, ask him to sing a little song for you.  He likes to improvise.

If you've had Aster's take-out which has been available at Wheatsville, Whole Foods and Central Market for a few years, you'll have a rough idea of what awaits you at the restaurant, except there are plenty of meat options and everything is fresh (which makes a big difference for the injera in my opinion - that spongy, tart, crepe-like bread that doubles as an eating utensil.)  I can't compare it to Aster's restaurant from 10 years ago, as I didn't eat there back then.

There's a fenced and roofed porch area to the side with a number of booths and larger tables further in the back which I find a tad noisy with all the I-35 traffic going by just outside.  Inside it's more peaceful with about a dozen tables (the hourglass-shape wicker tables appear to have been phased out since their initial weeks of operation - I suppose nobody was going for the Ethiopian folklore experience of eating a meal hunched around one of those.)

When I went on opening day, I shared a large double-serving of the vegetarian combo platter with three friends and was very happy with everything.  The wait staff was attentive and forthcoming.

The service and quality of the food were for the most part great on subsequent visits as well (Ethiopian is my second-favorite cuisine, so I'm on my way of becoming a frequent flier there.)  Omnivore friends of mine were very pleased with their chicken and beef dishes (the one or two lamb dishes haven't drawn favorable mentions yet.)  I like the Ethiopian spiced hot tea, even though I miss being able to order tej (Ethiopian mead) as I tend to when eating Ethiopian in New York City.

They ought to pass out steaming hot wash cloths to clean ones hands with, as is common in good sushi restaurants.  `Keep forgetting to suggest that to them.

I'm so very glad that Austin has an Ethiopian restaurant once again.  The more African food (and there hardly was any to begin with,) the merrier!

I found the food to be fair quality for what it is ($25 all-you-can-eat sushi buffet with a decent-size selection of rolls and nigiri at the time of the review.)  I would recommend to stick with the rolls and steer clear of the nigiri.  Service for my friends and I was expedient and responsive sitting at the sushi bar (which is a prerequisite if you want the all-you-can-eat offer.)  

The low-point of the evening was seeing one of the sushi chefs accept a cash tip from a parting customer (which I consider to be a major faux pas on that part of the sushi chef - they should *never* handle money), witnessing that sushi chef drop said bill into a container under the counter and proceed to pick up rice without stopping to wash his hands (from faux pas to really gross and I imagine on the threshold of California health code violation.)  Eeks.