Daily Archives: 09/19/2009

(Community Matters) Our friend, professor, author & UT Michener-alum Carrie Fountain is reading from her new book of poetry, Burn Lake, on Thur, Sept 24, at 7:30 pm in the Maloney Room in the Main Building at St. Edward’s University.

Carrie recently won the National Poetry Award for this compilation, being released by Penguin in early 2010.

(Community Matters) hmm, I’m wishing I had woken up on the coast, in Port Aransas, to the sunrise and was now at Bundy’s drinking coffee, eating a homemade cinnamon roll.

(Community Matters)

I woke up hungry so am already planning what to order tonight as we celebrate Jill McRae’s birthday (1 week ago) at Justine’s.

hmm, Escargots a la Bourguignonne, Soupe de Ardennes, Fillet de Poisson, Asperges Blanches with Sabayon Sauce and definitely the Tarte dEva. hey – I’m not being pretentious, their menu is in French. Wonder if we can bring in wine for an uncorking fee. ooops, just noticed on yelp, they have a full bar and I don’t think the bill passed this session which would allow patrons bringing wine in if there’s a full bar license, rats.

(Community Matters) This new East Austin restaurant, East Austin Showroom is beyond fabulous and is already a hipster favorite. Hearing about it for weeks (just opened last month), at 1100 E Sixth St. it’s literally around the corner from my East 7th St Thinkwell office.


I’m not sure why this thought occurred to Steven, but I concur, felt like we’d joined the cool young crowd in Marfa on an especially good weekend. Our waitress, Lindsey couldn’t have been more welcoming or patient in giving us the total run down and walking us through not only the food menu but also the cocktail menu – helped that she’s a foodie.

I should have known something was up when the amuse bouche arrived – I though, what a treat but how can they afford this.

I didn’t realize the chef had spotted us, nor that it was our friend Sonya Cote who’s cooked at the house several times. What an unexpected treat – especially the delicacies including beef carpaccio, feta with a basil pesto, chevre with a pear compote, fried duck liver on marinated cucumber and mozzarella & fresh tomato. Not to mention my starter cocktail – a pisco fuego.

Chef Sonya Cote (right)

Sonya formerly cooked for Spirited Foods and Dai Due. I remember her telling me there was a restaurant in the works. Together with Mickey & Mindy Spencer (twin sister & owners), they scrapped the walls, repaired the site and opened just a month ago. Mickey is an artist/welder and repaired/created a lot of what’s in the beautiful building restoration.

Dessert was a peach tarte with basil ice cream. Of course, normally served together but ST was skipping dairy. the peach tarte – out of site. I don’t think the crust was especially nutritious, way too good & perfect to not have lots and lots and lots of butter.

What an unexpected treat on Friday date night. We can’t wait to return. And, tonight we’ll be trying another East Austin newbie also generating lots of buzz

(Community Matters)

La Shana Tova

(Community Matters) Kip Keller forwarded this link to a Think Progress story from an insurance company insider about their long planned campaign to kill reform while charming the public and pretending to be for reform.

It’s really a duplicitous PR campaign. They will talk about, in broad terms, how supportive they are of health care reform, but they will be working behind the scenes to kill very, very crucial parts of reform legislation like the public option.

What kills me is how effectively the insurance companies are convincing families to work against their own self interest. The rest of us are doing something wrong if the same people who cancel policies on families of sick children and mothers with breast cancer and who routinely deny coverage for drugs and procedures already on approved formularies can convince these folks to protect the existing system and we’re not able to explain the value of reform.

(Community Matters) If you haven’t become a founding member of the Texas Tribune, may I suggest you do? 🙂

A wee bit late; nevertheless, Steven and I joined the Texas Tribune staff & spouses for dinner at Julie & John Thornton’s. This new venture, a collaboration between the Thorntons and the Evan Smiths, really does have the opportunity to change the world, at least the state we live in. During the summer, I helped out by organizing administrative matters. What a terrific chance to get to know and support such an outstanding initiative.

What is the Texas Tribune?

A non-profit, nonpartisan public media organization. The mission is to promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern, and we’ll do this in two principal ways.

First, through the original journalism that we’ll report, write, compile, record, shoot, etc., and post online at our destination site, texastribune.org, and in the pages and on the sites of our distribution partners. (Ubiquity is a goal; we want to put robust public interest journalism in the hands of and before the eyes of as many Texans as possible.)

Second, through on-the-record, open-to-the-public events: conversation series featuring elected officials and other newsmakers, conferences on major topics of interest to every Texan, an annual ideas festival, and the like. The point here is that the in-person experience is itself a distribution platform, and once the event is over, the audio and video of what took place becomes content of its own, likewise available on our site and other sites.

(Community Matters) Last night launched Jack McDonald’s official fundraisers @ the cool, Westlake abode of John Hogg & David Garza.

Jack McDonald & John Hogg

I’ve heard and read about John & David’s house – the descriptions haven’t done it justice – simply stunning. One of the best views in the city

Charles Duggan, Kirk Rudy, Phil Spertus & Rick Fromberg (Jack’s campaign manager)

Rick’s a veteran of several tight-district races – experienced and battle tested beyond his years. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him.

Rep. Elliot Naishtat, Lulu Flores, Alexa Wesner

Lindsay & Kevin Burns

Nancy Scanlan & Jodie Scheske

Have enjoyed seeing Nancy a couple of times during the last week. She’s away so often it’s a treat she’s been in Austin this last month. Jodie just back from his annual jaunt to Cape Cod. For three years we’ve been promising each other to book a quiet dinner – shame on us for not. Jodie’s an early and important Jack supporter.

I obviously got so caught up chatting about Jack, I failed to take enough pictures. Tons of other friends in attendance including of course, Carla McDonald and Diane Land & Steve Adler, Alisha Welden, Blaine Wesner, Andy Brown, Linda Ball & Forrest Preece, Frank & Margaret Krasovec, Tim McCabe, Robbie & Tom Ausley, Erin & Jon Driscoll, Rep. Mark Strama, Rep. Donna Howard, Nona Niland & David Braun, Amy Rudy and lots other. A very successful event on all fronts.