Mean Eyed Cat

Mean Eyed Cat - Austin, TX
1621 W. 5th St

A great, little, Johnny Cash themed bar tucked between brand new, shiny, corporate monstrosities. I was worried for this bar when those 2 buildings started going up over a year ago but so far it seems as though the Mean Eyed Cat has survived.

The Mean Eyed Cat is a cool little joint that is covered wall to wall, inside and out, with Johnny Cash art and memorabilia. There is always something new on the walls each time you go in. The crowd is a motley crew of laid back people of all ages who are just looking for a cold beer and good tunes. The jukebox plays everything from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Journey and of course the man in black himself. Although, I have never been there for it, I know they do occasionally have live bands on the patio. I've always seen the same bartender there (I'm ashamed I can not remember his name at the moment) and he is a very cool, funny, easy to talk to, charismatic guy.

The only issue I take with the Mean Eyed Cat is that they only serve beer and wine. The more I think about it that definitely fits their whole scene, but I'm just not much of a beer drinking gal. Also, almost all of their bar food (they only have about 7 things on the menu) is very spicy and again I'm not much for spicy foods.

One final note, the exterior may look a little rough and the large amount of bikes that sometimes add up in the parking lot may deter you but I assure you this is not a combative, aggressive, rough and tumble type of place.


Pros: Good music, Great wall art, Cool bartender, Location, relaxed atmosphere, mixed group of people
Cons: Only serve beer and wine, spicy and overpriced bar food, not a huge selection of beer

Bottom line: A chill place you would take your dad.

Cuatros

Cuatros - Austin, TX
1004 24th St.

Cuatros is a great place to grab a beer and watch the game (on their ridiculous Wall O TVs) with the guys, or meet the girls for happy hour after a grueling day at work. It's a very relaxed and fun place; the majority of the restaurant is a patio (covered and uncovered) They are very dog friendly, bringing your pup a water bowl and Milkbone on arrival (the owner, Cuarto, is usually there with his dog, Cinco). The staff is really friendly and their happy hour is pretty much unbeatable (7pm - close M-Th, 3pm - close Friday, and all day Sunday). The drinks are tasty, strong and I guarantee they'll have something you're in the mood for. Unfortunately, the food is not so good. You want the food to be good, you hope it's good (who doesn't get the munchies while drinking?) but it always comes out really bland and over priced. Also, parking is usually a nightmare on big game days.

Pros: Drinks, Happy Hour, Staff, Environment, Dog Friendly
Cons: Food, Food Prices, Parking

Bottom Line: Great place for drinks and game watching but eat before you come.

Transformers 2

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Yup, I do movies too. :-)

I didn't go out of my way to see the first Transformers. One of my brothers got it for Christmas the year it came out and we ended up watching while in a turkey induced food coma. I thought it was a tad long but all in all pretty good. So, I had no intention of going out of my way to see the second one, but one 100+ degree, lazy, Sunday afternoon in late June, found me at a theater near me watching it.

It was entirely too long, for starters. There was a lot that I thought could be trimmed off and saved for DVD extras (I'm told that the verison in IMAX is even 20 minutes longer). Second, it tried to continue a love story between two people who really don't have any chemistry between them. Not to mention the majority of that love story is Mikela (Megan Fox) asking, no, more like telling, Sam (Shia LaBeouf) to tell her that he loves her. It gets annoying pretty quick. The rest is very over the top and cheesy, and not a lot is explained (like how a transformer can turn into a person). Finally, the music throughout the entire movie seemed like it was the same 3 or 4 Green Day and Linkin Park songs.

The only complement I have for the movie was that the special effects were pretty amazing. Though, I'm sure 10 years from now we'll look back and think it's complete crap (have you watched Independence Day lately?). Also, my boyfriend got all giddy for the fight scenes but most of the time I couldn't tell who was who; it just looked like one large hunk of metal rolling around on screen to me.

Bottom line: Don't waste your money. It's a brain dead action movie. However, if you're really curious as to how it is all you need to do is rent the first one and play all the scenes where Megan Fox is running in slow motion.

Wahoo 4 Wahoo's!

Wahoo's Fish Taco - Austin, TX
509-A Rio Grande St.

If you couldn't already guess I love this place. It has a very relaxed, laid-back, beachy feel to it. The staff is really friendly. I highly recommend the salsa and guac. Everything is amazingly fresh and delicious. Contrary to what the name implies they have more than just fish tacos. I prefer the Kalua Pig Bowl sans beans. Also they have a pretty good selection of beer, large portions and great prices.

There is only street parking, so during certain hours it could be difficult to find parking.

Pros: Food, Prices, Staff, Covered Patio
Cons: Parking, Not Sure if they're Dog Friendly

Bottom line: Definitely a place you and your friends should try at least once.

El Sol Y La Luna - Over Priced, Over Hyped

El Sol Y La Luna - Austin, TX
600 E 6th Street (at Red River St.)

I went for lunch last week because I had heard good things and had a gift certificate. First, it was freezing cold in the restaurant. Then you have to pay $3 for chips and salsa. What kind of Mexician restaurant makes you pay for chips and salsa? The queso ($6) isn't much more than just melted velveeta with pico sprinkled on top. The food did come out pretty quick but my enchiladas were room temperature at best and my companion never received one of their sides. Also, we got to witness the owner/manager completely violate the personal space of our server to ask if someone had left a cell phone there earlier in the day.

Pros: Decor, probably a good place for an over priced margarita (if you're into that kind of thing)
Cons: Food, price, parking, freezing

Bottom line: Save your money and go some place better like El Arroyo or Hula Hut.

Plan B 2.0

So after throwing around the idea for a while I have finally decided to start a blog. This will be less of a pseudo diary type of blog and more of an outlet for me to dispense my opinions, reviews and advice. Just call me the Dear Abby, Roger Ebert, Carrie Bradshaw, and Ruth Reichl of Generation Y. In the only slightly sarcastic words of my father, "why should we [my family and boyfriend] be the only ones who get to hear them?"

So bear with me whilst I try to figure out Blogspot and find my voice.