Saturday Recap - Chili Cookoff, W Austin, The Pharcyde @ Mohawk

Saturday, January 22

1:00ish - We arrived at the Chili Cold Blood Chili Cookoff, benefiting Caritas of Ausin, at Jo's on South Congress. Gorgeous, sunny day, and lots of chili to be had. There was the usual good looking, South Congress crowd - young families, dogs, 20-30 something bearded guys and fashionable girls,  tattoos and piercings sprinkled throughout. Something that sounded like hard rock country was playing by on the stage surrounded by hay bales. As we grabbed our Lone Stars, we heard that the winner would be chosen in 45 mins. Oh no! By the time we got there and purchased our tickets, about 1/2 of the contestants already ran out of chili. The winner of the cookoff also ran out, so we didn't get to taste theirs either.

Multi-Tasking

Our Faves:

Contigo Austin - Yummy Brisket Chili. All around delicious, excellent texture, good depth. Modest spice, but nevertheless delicious. Garnished with avocado and Fritos.

Our second favorite was actually a combo of La Condesa cornbread (that's all they had left) and Bubblin Red's chili with fresh grated cheddar, creme fraiche and green onions. Really good flavor and depth, the cumin and chili powder and matched perfectly with the sweetness of La Condesa's cornbread.

3:00ish - Continued on with our Saturday eating and drinking festivities with a stop at the new W Hotel Austin. Swanky place...there are multiple bars, lounges and restaurants areas, with modern design and nice pops of color and texture. We wanted to check out Trace, as we've heard great things, but The Living Room Lounge was the only bar/food area that was open at the time we arrived. 

 

The Record Room - Vinyl Galore

We enjoyed drinks and an appetizer over a game of checkers. (I whooped Jason, of course.) I had the Strawberry Stormy - Goslings Rum, fresh Strawberries, sugar, lime, mint and Ginger Beer ($11), and Jason ordered a Fireman's 4. (Side Note: no Lone Star, 512 or Live Oak beers. This is a travesty in Austin. Someone needs to tell them to change this before SXSW.) The Butchers Sliders with House made Fries ($15) were perfect; tasty rolls, dressed with lettuce ribbons and tomato relish, served with crispy, well-seasoned, home made fries. 

The W Austin is sleek, refined and cool, just as suspected, and I can't wait to hang out when the pool area is open. 

5:00ish - Called Olivia's to make a dinner reservation, no dice. I think I might fare better on a weekday or maybe calling ahead. Bonus: I found my belt in Jason's truck! I bought this really cute gray leather knot belt from Anthropologie that I wore on NYE, and I totally thought I left it at Boomerz and someone stole it. My bad.

I read that Pharcyde was performing at the Mohawk, and I could not pass up the opportunity to see them live. You remember their song from back in like '93, She Keeps on Passin Me By. My brother had the CD, so Ya Mama and Other Fish in the Sea all bring back great memories. 

We purchased our tickets from Waterloo, $17/ea. (not bad) and checked out some used vinyl. Went home and watched the Fantastic Mr. Fox and napped. 

10:00pm - Dressed in layers for the outdoor show, practiced my hip-hop moves, then headed to The Mohawk. 

Ahhh, I remember this place when it was the Velvet Spade and we had our Decemberists birthday party here. Awesome venue, we should definitely come here more often. They removed the stuffed grizzly bear in the front (bummer) and tented the outdoor stage area, which is nice. 

They had some opening bands/DJs before Pharcyde, we arrived just in time to get warmed up to some hip hop remixes before they hit the stage.

Pharcyde was the off the hook! And the show was totally old school, like, "When I say HIP, you say HOP!" Their stage presence was awesome, 3 of the original 4 members, one looking like he came out of a Soul Glo commercial with some awesome Jerry Curl action and tight leather jacket. Fatlip talked about his kids told him to wear some skinny jeans for the show and how he's a fan of Bikram Yoga. They are still rockin it out after all these years! AND, I met Fatlip out side Mohawk at the end of the show :) 

1:00am - Breakfast @ 24 Diner - Hit the spot. Jason ordered the 24 Hash with 2 eggs over easy with potatoes, garlic, onions and jalapeno and sausage, super tasty. I had the waffles, which were good, but strangely tasted of Bourbon. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if I didn't already have 3 gin and tonics, beers and that strawberry stormy thing earlier. 

Note to self: salad tomorrow.

Listening to: The Pharcyde, Ya Mama