360 Nueces Street
Austin, TX 78701
512.320.0297
Here is the thing about birthdays: they just keep coming. I am no fan. I hate to be a party pooper, but are they not the single most overrated day of the year? It’s like that one childhood Christmas where you are totally convinced that yes! This is the year of the pony! But instead of a darling behooved friend for life you awake to unwrap a pencil case from your brother. It was probably used. As my own birthday rapidly approaches, I try to avoid the flurry of hype that surrounds what will prove to be an entirely ordinary Tuesday. Very recently, my equally birthday disdaining best friend also marked the day of her expulsion from the womb. Whoo.
Naturally, I had to host a gathering of quasi-willing friends to congregate at an establishment we would normally never visit. Because isn’t that what you always do on birthdays? Dress up in high heels that would never otherwise see your ankles and do something you would never do under any other circumstance? This is the one day of the year where you are allowed to ingest an explosive amount of sugar and butter cream frosting, then expect complete strangers to buy you drinks, get hideously intoxicated, throw up in a cab all over your specially purchased birthday dress and call your ex-boyfriend sobbing. So fun! Gosh, why don’t we do this everyday? Because it is a pain in the ass. There, I said it. Party pooper.
Moving on.
On this particular Friday night, I chose to host at Mulberry, a new wine bar on the fringe of downtown Austin and housed in the swanky 360 Building. The interior is warm and simple, but also beyond small. Tiny. Miniscule. Probably ideal for a cozy dinner with your significant others -or at least your first “outing” with that special individual from Craigslist Casual Encounters- but not for a group of 10.
To accommodate, we reserved a table on the patio. Every member of the staff was helpful and kind from start to finish. From the reservation hostess, to the seating host, to our server, we felt right at home. In fact, I might admit that they stole our grumpy, anti-birthday hearts. Our server was attentive and very knowledgeable, a key ingredient to wine bar enjoyment. I will not claim to be a wine expert, but their list certainly seemed well-rounded and maybe even a bit eclectic. Offering a diverse selection of wines and champagnes by the bottle and glass, we mostly stuck to a blush champagne and pinot noir for our table. They carry several Tuscan red wines and far-flung whites, although I was most pleased to see Mulberry offer the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Although no one in our group ordered that sweet nectar of the gods -a.k.a. beer- I did notice Mulberry has a nice collection on tap. Amongst others, there is one tap dedicated solely to seasonal beers and being an Austin bar, the obligatory tap of Fireman’s #4 Blonde Ale.
I was also pleasantly surprised with the food menu. The fare was light, but not insignificant. Raw oysters, antipastos, artisan cheeses and even lamb populate the menu. Our table mostly indulged in various sandwiches, including a fantastic warm eggplant and goat cheese pressed sandwich. The shrimp crostini was also memorable; light and minimally seasoned, it was about the best thing you can ask to eat on a balmy summer night. Beyond the food, what most impressed me about Mulberry was its ability to improve our mood with atmosphere. Sitting outside under a dark, Texas sky enjoying bubbly champagne, great munchies and even better friends caused a ripple effect. At Mulberry, we enjoyed a slow, long evening of embarrassing childhood stories and chitchat that lasted well into the night. All while being waited on hand and foot by our own wine aficionado.
Hmmph. I suppose birthdays are happy after all.
by Phyllis Anastasia Gasper
[Photos: Kent Wang]
