I always have a sense of weird nostalgia when we eat at Go Go Gourmet. It reminds me of a french bistro about to close for the day (usually because we're there for dinner, and not lunch), and the friendliness of the owners borders on overwhelming, but is so firmly entrenched in endearing to make me think that Austin is a much larger city than it really is, despite Go Go being a deli that we can (and do) visit by walking. The food is rich in flavor and delicious (truly gourmet food), and the cookies are sooooo much better than the ones we had at El Gringo.

We went to Fino last night and although I've been happy with their food before, last night was disappointing. I got bored eating the fish. There was only three ounces. How can you get bored eating only three ounces of fish? A's duck was good, but the salads were uninspired mounds of romaine topped with slabs (not slivers) of manchego and large anchovies. I like anchovies, but in one forkful (I wasn't paying attention) I got four slabs of cheese and an anchovy. Ick. (hehehe. Ick. That was a joke). So in a fit of weird depression about everything I got up at way too early and made sushi petit fours (little cakes covered with marzipan shrimp).

So we went to Chez Nous last night for our wedding anniversary and the food was incredible and the waitstaff charming. But the atmosphere? Loud. I don't remember it ever being so loud any of the other times we've been there, especially for a Wednesday night. It was no different than eating at, say, Pappadeaux's or El Chile or any of those other very loud restaurants where all the very loud people eat. What happened to the whispery french brasserie feel? And why do we as a culture feel the need to shout everything? Especially while eating? Can't we eat quietly and drink our wine without yelling at each other?

Clee and I went to the new Follett's Intellectual Property on the drag this afternooon after lunch. We were walking by. So... what the he**. We didn't spend much time in there, but my brief impression was that they had done a good job getting the interior looking nice and they have a good selection for the college crowd.

We found out that they do validate parking passes from the CO-OP garage. So, finally, the issue with parking for this location may have been addressed.

Oh, and check out the wordmark. UT. Get it? how creative... <grin>

Here's a story from the Statesman about the store: [story here]

Austin City Limits has gotten to be one of those "must go" experiences for carabou and myself. We usually snap up our three day passes during the early bird phases long before the slate is announced and eagerly await the announcement for what we will get to see that year. This year the festival planners brought us yet another well mixed offering.

We got to see some of our long time favorites (Van Morrison and the Flaming Lips) while getting to see some of the current crop of populars (The Shins, The Raconteurs and Nada Surf) as well as discovering something new (Phoenix from Paris, France). That is what a good festival should be and I think that ACL has gotten to the point where they really have the mix worked out. I heard some complaining about how they didn't get the "BIG names" this year like in the past, but I had no problem finding bands that interested me. Drifting between stages to catch pieces of several acts and deciding to sit down and listen for a while. What fun! That's why we go anyway.