More Vino Vino, Please.

Wine selections at Vino Vino (Courtesy of Do 512)

 There’s always that ethereal moment in a restaurant, where the gourmet entrée just melts in your mouth and you taste culinary fireworks.

Food-comma is the name for that unearthly moment of complete satisfaction and gastronomic deliciousness.  It is that rare, cosmic event that awakens our desire to go back for more. 

Dimly lit, roomy, and echoed by the clinking of wine glasses and animated chatter, Vino Vino is a food-comma inducing neighborhood bistro that prides itself on quality.

“Our business is all about details. Good products bring in good people,” explains proprietor Jeff Courington.

Hailed as one of the “Best New Restaurants” in 2006 by Columbus Monthly magazine, the Vino Vino experience is carefully crafted.

           The eatery tries to create a “perfect symbiosis between the kitchen and wine,” explains Esteban Sullivan, a waitress at Vino Vino for two and a half years.

And as the name suggests, it is all about the wine. 

 

           The bistro offers a lovingly selected assortment of wines. Oenophiles and wine novices alike can appreciate the menu’s vivid descriptions of the old world wines.

If you want a splurge, order a glass of the 2008 Marchesi Frescobaldi that is “infused with notes of ripe cherry, chocolate tones, strawberry and a spicy finish," according to the menu.

Although the menu and plates are modest in size, Vino Vino offers an affordable mix of hand crafted seasonal dishes.

The delicately baked goat cheese appetizer covered in marinara sauce exemplifies Chef Esteban Escobar’s genuine knack for care in his food. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try some of the more exotic items like the hand-made pâté and sausages.

             Vino Vino is a cozy restaurant that personifies the care and attention to details of the wine it carries. Grab a glass after work, or head on over with your girlfriends for a casual but flavorful dining experience.

A Space in Time

                                                      (Courtesy of Epoch Coffee)

A late-night hang out place is as rare as a sober frat boy on Sixth Street.  Too often do we satisfy our nocturnal cravings at any dingy pizzeria with fluorescent lighting or pack down french fries at Whataburger.

            Although eateries like Katz Delicatessen are open 24-hours, many hungry coffee-drinking  insomniacs are unaware of a more unconventional venue--Epoch Coffee.

            Voted the Best 24-Hour Coffeehouse in 2006 by the Austin Chronicle, Epoch is the ultimate  all-night java house that caters to the sleepless, hipster, caffeine junkies in all of us.  Epoch’s assortment of baked treats, java drinks, pizza and free Wi-Fi lures customers at all hours.

            The brain child of three ex-baristas from Mojo’s Daily Grind, an edgy coffee shop that used to be on the drag, Epoch became the go-to spot for their “punk clad, graffiti loving, [and] alternative regulars,” say owner Kevin Gary. The other two tattoo-clad owners, Chris Clarkson and Joe Rodriguez, nod approvingly as Gary explains the difference between Epoch and Mojo's.

            Unlike Mojo’s’ hardcore core vibe, Epoch welcomes any Austinite in search of a different but interesting scene.

            “It’s a pretty eclectic, unique, thoughtful, calm place for people to learn through social interaction of whatever they are working on,” explains Jessica Douglas, an Epoch barista for three years.

            The typical Epoch patrons are the “philosopher types who read Nietzsche, hang out, smoke on the patio, talk or get work done,” says Douglas.

            Epoch’s multifarious décor only ferments the locale’s artistic ambience.

            Complete with a Starbucks sign strategically mutated to spell out a four-letter curse word, Epoch is furbished by a collection of vintage and mismatched chairs, tables and dangling lamps.

            “It [Epoch] feels like your quirky grandma’s living room with much better background music,” says Marielle Bouffier, an Epoch regular.

            Yet unlike your grandmother’s living room, Epoch has a few quirks of its own.

            Don’t expect pristine restrooms or life-changing coffee. Although the restrooms are sub-par and the coffee is decent, the restroom walls boast amusing socialist commentary, and the coffee serves it purpose--getting you through all-nighters.

            Expect to see longhaired men playing four-way chess, tattooed anarchists chatting up a storm, and quiet intellectuals typing furiously, all while indie music plays in the background. Also, expect the music to get stranger as the night progresses.

            “The definition of Epoch is a space in time,” says Douglas. “[It makes you] nostalgic for a time we never even lived in.”

Cheer Up Charlies: Quirkiness at Its Finest.

             (Courtesy of Third Coast Coffee Roasting Company)

Cheer Up Charlie's patrons indulge on coconuts outside of the eaterie. 

Whether you’re a lesbian hipster, Japanese horror film enthusiast or just someone in search of a new hang out spot, Cheer Up Charlie’s is a new bar on East 6^th Street  serving up an unconventional assortment of drinks, snacks and events that caters to just about everyone.

            Just last year, Cheer Up Charlie’s was nothing more than Tamara Hoover’s small smoothie and sandwich stand.

              Hoover, the owner and proprietor of Cheer Up Charlie’s, credits the success of her small business venture to the free margaritas she gave out at 2:00 a.m., during the 2009 South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival.

            ”It has all been a step by step process. But after the margaritas, that’s when we got the huge crowds,” Hoover said.

            From then on, Cheer Up Charlie’s has become a regular hang out spot for the hipsters, artists, musicians, and gay members of the Austin community.

             And after one vegan chocolate and a sip of Kombucha tea, it doesn’t take much to want to become a regular yourself.

            Cheer Up Charlie’s’ variety of refreshments makes it one of a kind.

            After drinking the most popular drink, coconut milk served inside its the own shell, customers can attach their coconut shell on the patio wall. 

            More than anything Cheer Up Charlie’s’ drink menu centers around carrying carefully crafted products.

            “We had a lesbian party last week. They were so  pissed off  because we did not carry Bud Light,” Hoover said. “Cheer Up Charlie’s is all about supporting quality versus commercialism.”

            Cheer Up Charlie’s  also offers a selection of  vegan snacks that are surprisingly tasty.

            Their almond butter vegan chocolate is a wonderful blend of  dark chocolate with a creamy center that tastes anything but chalky.

            Named after a song in the Willy Wonka movie, Cheer Up Charlie’s reflects  the whimsical, and unexpected nature of the film.

            “We call ourselves the ‘Queer Ice House’ meaning that we are not exclusive. We are not gay, lesbian, straight but rather just queer,”  said Eli Welbourne,  one of Cheer Up Charlie’s’ bartenders. “We are a queer, alternative events space.”

            The bar’s eclectic and casual décor captures the essence of  their self described queerness with items such as a log sculpture  that spells out the word “love” and a couple of rainbow colored tennis shoes  that hang from a cord in the patio.  

            “Cheer Up Charlies feels like the people who create the space. Those who create things in our community are the ones that become our regulars. All of those people contribute back into this space and leave their mark whether through art, music, or even event ideas,” Hoover said.