320 East 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701
512-476-1320
I will preface this piece by making a disclaimer: I am a card-carrying-fuel-efficient-Honda-driving-tree-hugging-Stevie Ray Vaughn-loving-weirdo-Austinite. I am 10,000% biased in favor of this city. There are many things that I hold in my heart as delightfully Austin. We have our own little version of Burning Man, we harbor citizens just crazy enough to be entertained by watching millions of wild bats feed on bugs and hold a mushroom and body paint infused party to celebrate Eeyore’s Birthday (yes, I do mean the fictional, clinically depressed donkey). We also have The Alamo Drafthouse.
Lovingly known as “The Alamo,” this is certainly a regular stop for anyone in Austin. No, not the first of it’s kind, but who doesn’t love a theater where you can catch a flick and enjoy barbeque pizza with a cold one? Besides the food and alcoholic refreshments, it is also worth noting that the clips shown before each film are specially pieced together to “go with” the movie. Just watch them. Trust me.
In addition to our bizarre wildlife spectacles (and people) Austin also offers the Hey Homo! Brunch at The Alamo. On a particularly pleasant Sunday, I went with a motley crew of friends to drink in the dark and watch a most special screening of Steel Magnolias. While our drag queen host entertained us pre-movie, we ordered up some damn good brunch. Now to be real, was this my best brunch in Austin? Perhaps not, but still high in the ranks. My Bloody Mary was big enough to swim in. It also featured an antipasto-like garnish of cheese cubes, olives and pickled okra, which proved quite a belly pleaser in itself.
To offset the liquid heat of my vodka soaked snack, I ordered crème brûleé French toast. Good call. This yummy toast was sweet and satisfying. The super thick cut sourdough bread was bathed in vanilla custard and fired up on the griddle. We also passed around French fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza. The pizza was perhaps the most notable; for some reason, I have always been slightly surprised to regularly hear people talk up the pizza at The Alamo. I can now say I understand the buzz: this rad pie was definitely fresh, with generous cheddar and provolone cheeses, smoked chicken, red onion and barbeque sauce,
I will admit that yes, there might be better food to be had in Austin. But what really makes the food at Alamo memorable is the entire afternoon experience. It really is pretty nice to enjoy the comfort of your living room, while being waited on hand and foot. Bonus points for sitting behind a grown man in drag and another dressed as an Easter bunny. Well, we were watching Steel Magnolias, after all. Hot damn and a biscuit, it’s not your grandmother’s matinee anymore!
by Phyllis Anastasia Gasper
[Photos: Chat Clussman]
