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June Outdoors Issue 2014
That's why we've devoted this issue to engaging with the great outdoors and the ruggedly beautiful landscape that surrounds us. It's no coincidence that our sources this month (including a foraging florist, a kayaking photojournalist, and a restaurateur who encourages you to kiss his bass) are well accustomed to navigating our waterways, digging in Texas dirt, and kicking up a trail of caliche dust.
T HE Outdoors is sue Our Home on the Range. june 2014 Introducing the very best mobile real estate search. Download our free mobile & tablet app today! w w w. a m e l i a b u l l o c k . c o m Richard Caprioli (512) 294-8968 email@example.com Seven Oaks, $3,950,000 Chelsea Kumler (512) 351-5083 Barton Creek New Construction, $2,495,000 firstname.lastname@example.com lacey bowen (512) 507-5224 email@example.com 5505 Ridge Oak Drive, $879,900 151 Secretariat Drive, $975,000 Marisa Alderete Hopper (512) 917-0336 email@example.com 速 (512) 328-3939 | TurnquistPartners.com 11604 Hare Trail, $939,000 Kathryn scarborough (512) 970-1355 firstname.lastname@example.com www.KathrynScarborough.com 101 Lakeway Hills Cove, $1,070,000 (512) 328-3939 | TurnquistPartners.com Collage Studio DESIGN PORTRAIT. Sophie is in love with Ray and Contemporary Art. Ray is designed by Antonio Citterio. www.bebitalia.com Scott + Cooner Austin Showroom - 115 W. 8th Street Austin Texas 512 480 0436 - www.scottcooner.com DESIGN + BUILD Laurel Prats 512.636.7579 email@example.com www.laurelprats.com www.pgmdesignbuild.com Awarded 2014 Custom Home Builder of the Year by the Austin Business Journal cluB room with wine and cigar lockers A Wild Place for a Ranch. Fifteen 100-acre ranches 20 minutes from downtown Austin, adjoining 10,000 acres of pristine wooded hills that will never be developed. Resort-quality amenities and activities. O Bar Ranch, for people who love wild places and open spaces, spirited architecture and the warm camaraderie of family and friends. owners' suite and Bunk house equestrian and polo arena pool and pavilion 10-horse Barn and paddocks concierge services tennis courts outdoor kitchen and dining arBor 10 miles of trails Only O Bar. The Private Ranch Club. O Bar ranch 512 . 7 1 8 . 1 9 6 4 w w w. o B a r r a n ch a u st i n . com CENTURIES OF BRILLIANT DESIGN .com European Antiques • Home Goods • Decor Monday-Friday • 10am-4pm • Saturday 10am-2pm • 9603 Saunders Lane • Austin, Texas 78758 • 512.949.9394 SERVING CENTRAL '87 TEXAS SINCE M O T O R I Z A T I O N & A U T O M A T I O N S P E C I A L I S T S interior motorized solar screen SOLAR SCREENS | AW N I N G S | ROLLING SHUTTERS | INTERIOR SHADES | INSECT SCREENS tel. 512.402.0990 www.txsunandshade.com 11813 Bee Caves Rd., Austin, Texas 78738 Showroom Hours: 10-5 M-F & 10-2 Sat. 4409BalconesDrive.com RimRockTrail.com 17012FlintrockRoad.com PENDING | 516SantaluzPath.com 305GoldenBearDrive.com realtyaustin.com/luxury | 512.241.1300 Contents 44 june 2 014 88 32 T R IBE Z A 78 78 48 features Ranch Refuge 48 Call of the Wild 62 Hunting Down Dinner 70 Road Trip: Bastrop 78 d e pa rtm e nt s Communit y on the cover: B ison from madrono r anch, photo by w ynn myer s. Style Social Hour Column: Kristin Armstrong Exposed TRIBEZA Talk Arts 18 28 32 44 Profile in Style Behind the Scenes Inspiration Board Style Pick Last Look 88 94 102 104 112 Arts & Entertainment Calendar Arts Spotlight The Nightstand 34 40 98 Dining Without Reservations 106 10 june 2014 tribeza.com CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: weather up drink photo by michael a. muller; texas boot company photo by nicole mlakar; alan lazarus photo by wynn myers; erich schlegel and daughter photo courtesy of erich schlegel; madrono ranch photo by wynn myers; mckinney roughs teepee photo by nicole mlakar. Editor's Letter 12 june 2014 tribeza.com Paula Disbrowe firstname.lastname@example.com Paula disbrowe photo by wynn myers; hair + makeup by franchska bryant. Georgia pellegrini photo by ashley horsley; bastrop photo by nicole mlakar. O ne of my first realizations about life in shoot with Georgia Pellegrini and Texas, particularly life on a Texas ranch, photographer Jody was that wealth is measured in land and Horton. Unexpected treasures found water—the size of a spread or the depth of a while wandering in well, for instance. More than luxury cars or downtown Bastrop. flashy baubles, whistles of awe and respect come from river access that nourishes grazing livestock or a pecan orchard, or the number of mountain laurel and cactus blossoms that you can call your own. To some extent, that's true of urban life in Austin as well. For many of us, the places that make our growing city truly rich offer the refuge of nature. Summer in Texas means swinging off a rope and splashing into an ice-cold swimming hole (Blue Hole or bust!), a steamy outdoor concert followed by the essential body-cooling plunge into Barton Springs, picnics among the peacocks at Mayfield Park, and admiring blooms and native succulents at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (I can't wait to visit their new Family Garden; see page 36). That's why we've devoted this issue to engaging with the great outdoors and the ruggedly beautiful landscape that surrounds us. It's no coincidence that our sources this month (including a foraging florist, a kayaking photojournalist, and a restaurateur who encourages you to kiss his bass) are well accustomed to navigating our waterways, digging in Texas dirt, and kicking up a trail of caliche dust. That's just the adventuresome spirit that prompted parenting guru Carrie Contey to trade her mod urban nest for a more remote South Austin home, a soaring space that thrillingly connects with the changing light, the seasons, and the sprawling vistas that stretch from her new perch. In "Call of the Wild" (page 62) writer Clayton Maxwell discovers how living a more streamlined life close to nature made Contey feel more connected and created an inspiring dream lab for her clients. Not everyone can boast a granddaddy's ranch to escape to, but there are other ways to seek solitude among the live oaks and cedar trees. In "Ranch Refuge" (page 48), novelist Amanda Eyre Ward writes endearingly about her stay at Madroño Ranch, a residency program for artists near Kerrville that offers unfettered time to work and the creative inspiration of the Hill Country landscape. As anyone who frequents our farmers' markets knows, our food sources also tether us to our region. In "Hunting Down Dinner" (page 70), Elizabeth Winslow asks two chef-cookbook authors fiercely devoted to local, seasonal eating (hunting, foraging, and preserving local bounty) why revisiting our traditional foodways (i.e. the ways our grandparents cooked) matters. To embrace the thrill of discovery that draws us all down unknown paths, this month we're launching a new travel column, "Road Trip" (page 78). Our first destination is a fun and quirky romp in and around Bastrop. Even though it's only 30 minutes away, the quaint historic town and is a great place for families to reconnect with our Texas heritage and to paddle along the lovely Colorado River. We didn't forget about your beach reads. I'm thrilled to announce another new monthly column, "The Nightstand," written by my friend Claiborne Smith, the editor of Kirkus Reviews, one of the most respected literary journals in the country. Each month he'll hand select essential books from our best local writers, as well as a few standouts from national stars. We hope this issue inspires you to make the most of the season. It's the brink of summer, what are you waiting for? Pack a book, a picnic, a swimsuit, and hiking shoes and get outdoors. An early morning ELEMENT IN DOWNTOWN AUSTIN BE IN YOUR A u s t i n a r t s + c u lt u r e George T. Elliman EDITOR-in-chief PUBLISHER Columnist Kristin Armstrong Illustrator Joy Gallagher WRITERs Emma Banks Jessica Dupuy Clayton Maxwell Jaime Netzer Leigh Patterson Claiborne Smith Karen Spezia S. Kirk Walsh Amanda Ward Elizabeth Winslow Photographers Miguel Angel Casey Dunn Jody Horton Kate LeSueur Nicole Mlakar Michael A. Muller Wynn Myers Leah Overstreet Jessica Pages John Pesina Bill Sallans mailing address 706a west 34th street austin, texas 78705 ph (512) 474 4711 | fax (512) 474 4715 www.tribeza.com Founded in March 2001, TRIBEZA is Austin's leading locally-owned arts and culture magazine. Printed by CSI Printing and Mailing Copyright @ 2014 by TRIBEZA. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the publisher, is prohibited. TRIBEZA is a proud member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Paula Disbrowe Ashley Horsley art director Events + Marketing Coordinator Maggie Bang Senior Account ExeCutives Ashley Beall Andrea Brunner Lindsey Harvey principals George T. Elliman Chuck Sack Vance Sack Michael Torres Interns Hayley Albrecht Emma Banks Christina Ewin Harrison Robinson gables.com/parktower 111 Sandra Muraida Way | Austin, TX 78703 Brand New Boutique Apartment Community 866.995.0871 Piaget Manufacture movement 880P Mechanical self-winding chronograph Flyback, dual time 100 meter water resistant Titanium with black ADLC treatment Sapphire case-back, rubber strap www.piaget.com 2727 Exposition Blvd. #110 Austin, TX 78703 512-473-0078 A room with a stunning view calls for One special piece can transform any space. Let us help you find yours at Four Hands Home. Tucked away just off 290 at 2090 Woodward Street. Exclusively in Austin. four handshome.com Social Hour social hour austin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 An Evening with Diana Kennedy This four-course dinner at a private home on Windsor Road honored the life and works of cookbook author and culinary legend Diana Kennedy. Kennedy herself attended and each guest left with a signed copy of her award-winning cookbook, "Oaxaca al Gusto or My Mexico." Proceeds from the event are helping to fund a documentary film on Kennedy and her legacy. MJ&M Fashion Show at Neiman Marcus Over 180 fashion enthusiasts gathered at Neiman Marcus at The Domain for the MJ&M Fashion Show on April 25th, featuring designer Badgley Mischka. The event, hosted by Camila Alves McConaughey , Sally Brown, Amy Ingram, was part of Mack, Jack, and McConaughey (mackjackmcconaughey.org), the joint fundraising effort of actor Matthew McConaughey, recording artist Jack Ingram, and Texas coaching legend Mack Brown that benefits Children's Charities across the United States. Diana Kennedy: 1. Katie Lesnick & Elise Avellan 2. Diana Kennedy & Margaret Martin 3. Eric Maycotte & Melanie Harris de Maycotte 4. Lindsey Byrd & Isabel Avellan 5. Joaquin Avellan & Anne Elizabeth Wynn MJM: 6. Chris Hendel & Chuck Steelman 7. Natalie Thigpen & Rachel McCoy 8. Candice Young & Ava Raiin 9. Christy May & Porter Thompson 10. Katie Andrews & Ashley Rachner 18 june 2014 tribeza.com P h oto g r a p h y by j o h n p e s i n a 1710 Windsor 4101 Churchill Downs The Bluff House 1201 Gaston Central Austin Estate 2800 Stratford 2015 Stoneridge 2801 Robbs Run M A K E A SPL ASH T HIS SUM M ER Laura Gottesman, Broker l gottesmanresidential.com l 512.451.2422 l austin N ATA L I E K O P P , REALTOR速 512.657.5596 | email@example.com AN AUSTIN POINT OF VIEW gottesmanresidential.com ELIZABETH BUCHANAN, BROKER ASSOCIATE 512.695.4289 | firstname.lastname@example.com CAROL BURDETTE, REALTOR速 LAURA GOTTESMAN, BROKER carolburdette.com i lauragottesman.com 512.451.2422 i gottesmanresidential.com Magnificently poised on over 5 acres in the shadow of the University is a spectacular estate that is widely considered the finest in Austin. This stunning home was designed by master architect Henry Bowers Thomson and built in 1929. The property includes a gate house, guest house, and Belvedere. centralaustinestate.com social hour austin LaV Supper Club The first of Tribeza's Supper Club Series, dinner at LaV on April 22 was hosted at one of Austin's most beautiful new restaurants that also boasts the most impressive cellar in town. Guests enjoyed luscious varietals, bistro favorites, and a lighthearted evening of fun served in impeccable French style. 1 2 3 4 New Fiction Confab at Lenoir This year's New Fiction Confab featured seven critically acclaimed authors of local and national fame. Every year the writers spend a day in Austin's libraries leading workshops and reading from their latest works. Umlauf Garden Party The 16th annual Garden Party featured artist Margo Sawyer and raised funds for the Umlauf's Sculpture Garden and Museum educational programs and long-term restoration project. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 LaV Supper Club: 1. Kathrin Kersten-Schneider, Matthew Redden & Kelly Kersten-Schneider 2. Leo Anzaldua, Joe Gage & Justin Boyd 3. Kristin Stouffer & Ane Urquiola 4. Mary Tally & Jamie Barshop New Fiction: 5. Courtney Schmoker & Kelly Goodpastor 6. Gemma Marangoni Ainslie & Clay Smith 7. Adam Lefton & Mary Miller Umlauf: 8. Stephanie & Paul Henry 9. Megan Podowski & Reed Calhoun 10. Carla Umlauf & Tom Umlauf 11. Miranda Hoffman & Chrissy Bricker 12. Tim Lopez & Jenna Reeves 22 june 2014 tribeza.com P h oto g r a p h y by j o h n p e s i n a It's all about the details... LAKE AUSTIN ESTATE Near the heart of the city, this beautiful estate is perfectly sited on 1.5 acres above Lake Austin. Follow the gentle slope of the grounds across a carpet of St. Augustine grass to the boat house in a protected inlet. Built with expert craftsmanship and attention to detail Dalgleish Construction and Gary Furman of Furman + Keil Architects, combined extraordinary materials to create this ultimately warm, welcoming, sophisticated and fun family home. Included in the many features are a separate guest suite, a large wine cellar, pool, cabana and a sport court. WWW.3905ISLANDKNOLL.COM CAROL BURDETTE, REALTORÂŽ gottesman residential real estate 512.431.0280 i carolburdette.com gottesmanresidential.com social hour austin STAR Bash – Women & Their Work Nonprofit Women & Their Work hosted its annual STAR Bash on April 26 to benefit the art education of underprivileged children, bring more art to Austin, and maintain a culture of art appreciation in the city. Attendees enjoyed food and drink, a silent auction, a raffle, and musical entertainment by jazz band the Ephraim Owens Experience. La Condesa Cinco De Mayo Block Party 1 2 3 4 La Condesa held their 6th annual Cinco de Mayo Downtown Block Party on Sunday, May 4th. The convivial event was sponsored by Univision, Dos Equis, Tecate, Tequila Cazadores and TRIBEZA, and included appetizers, free flowing margaritas, dance competitions, and a VIP reception at Malverde. Hosted by Kendra Scott and nonprofit LifeWorks, the White Party raised funds for the nonprofit, which focuses on improving the lives of youth and young adults in Austin. It's an evening to wear white, mingle with friends, and raise money for a good cause. The White Party at the Long Center 5 6 7 8 The Kentucky Derby Party benefiting the LIVESTRONG Foundation Held in the newly refurbished Hotel Ella, the inaugural Kentucky Derby Party was an evening to remember: gourmet food and drinks, a silent auction, live music, and a live stream of the derby itself. Money raised went to the LIVESTRONG Foundation to benefit those afflicted by cancer. 9 10 11 12 WATW: 1. Clayton Maxwell & Jennalie Lyons 2. Sarah Medina & Grace Steinel Jones 3. Becky Beaver & John Duncan 4. Micky Hoogendijk & Emma Hoogendijk La Condesa: 5. Mayra Garza & Shawn Ullman 6. Jazmine Sausameda & Joshua Frescas 7. Tyler Dunson & Alexis Lanman White Party: 8. Lauren Vandiver, Kendra Scott & Lara Schmieding 9. Marisa Tom & Nate Jaffee 10. Olivia Watson & Alyssa Garcia Livestrong: 11. Alicia & Tony Capasso 12. Dani Lachowicz & Kristie Keating 24 june 2014 tribeza.com P h oto g r a p h y by j o h n p e s i n a & M i g u el a n g el Bottom left to right: Tom Neville, EVP; Robert Hearn, SVP; Paul Holubec, Austin Chairman; Alan Nirenberg, EVP; Jason Thurman, Congress & Mopac President; Jon Levy, Westlake and Bottom left to right: Tom EVP; David Robert Hearn, SVP; Paul Holubec, Austin Chairman; Alan Nirenberg, Loan EVP; Jason Thurman, Congress &Hill Mopac President; Jon Levy, Westlake Lakeway President; Back Neville, left to right: Story, AVP; Tommy Ward, AVP; Brandon Ferguson, Commercial O cer; Wade Morgan, SVP; Shands, Commercial Loan O cer; and Lakeway President; Back left to right: David Story, AVP; Tommy Ward, AVP; Brandon Ferguson, Commercial Loan O cer; Wade Morgan, SVP; Hill Shands, Commercial Loan O cer; Michael Ramirez, AVP; Frank Jackel, EVP; Mike Litton, SVP; Cody Naumann, VP; Sean Mills, SVP; Eric Kelley, SVP Michael Ramirez, AVP; Frank Jackel, EVP; Mike Litton, SVP; Cody Naumann, VP; Sean Mills, SVP; Eric Kelley, SVP PlainsCapital Bank was proud to support the restoration of this iconic Austin PlainsCapital Bank was proud to support the restoration of this iconic Austin mural. Helping return the mural to its original glory meant helping preserve the mural. Helping return the mural to its original glory meant helping preserve the character and culture of Austin. character and culture of Austin. We believe in taking care of our customers and in giving back to the communities We believe in taking care of our customers and in giving back to the communities we serve. we serve. 512.457.7500 512.457.7500 PlainsCapital.com PlainsCapital.com social hour austin Olive & June Supper Club Part of Tribeza's own Supper Club Series, this Italian feast at Olive & June, held on May 6 made for a delicious evening. Guests dined on fresh, vegetable-driven dishes and sumptuous dessert from chef Shawn Cirkiel. 1 2 3 4 Austin Restaurant Week Kickoff Party Austin Restaurant Week is an eight-day culinary event hosted over a two-week period, benefitting nonprofit Meals On Wheels and More. Tribeza produced this year's Restaurant Week and helped launch the week with a kickoff party at Olive & June on May 6. Bon appétit! CultureMap Tastemaker Awards 5 6 7 8 The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are an annual celebration of Austin's top culinary talent, hosted on May 7. Attendees wined and dined with the best of the city's restaurant scene at Brazos Hall on East 4th street. 9 10 11 12 Olive & June: 1. Marcella & David Davis 2. Taylor Terkel & Ryan Steed 3. Veronica & John Hottenroth ARW Kick-off: 4. RT Moreno & Zelina Serna 5. Brockett Davidson & Melissa Culbertson 6. Cameron Breed & Tiffany Peters 7. Travis Huse & Lisa Smith Tastemakers: 8. Dennis Gobis, Carley Dunavant & Shaun Baldwin 9. Shawna Fletcher & Katie McCoy 10. Theresa Grillo & Dave Manzer 11. Kimberly Bolton & Susie Felts 12. Suzanne & Matt McGinnis 26 june 2014 tribeza.com P h oto g r a p h y by j o h n p e s i n a OPENING L ATE SUMMER 2014 Austin's upscale gay bar, lounge and dance club. Hosting the LGBTQ community in the heart of downtown. Join us for the fun. HighlandLounge.com 404 Colorado Street, Austin, Texas 78701 28 june 2014 tribeza.com community column Lake Lessons BY K R I STI N ARMSTRO NG I llu s tr ation by Joy G a ll ag h er My gr andfather is dying. At 96 he is the last of the Mohicans in our family. All my other grandparents are already gone. He is in assisted living in Peoria, Arizona. He and Grandma left the frozen tundra of Minnesota many years ago. The snowbird friends they used to play cards with and drink cocktails with are long gone. He cannot see due to macular degeneration, and his formerly keen blue eyes are rheumy and blank behind thick, useless glasses. He no longer attempts to read the Wall Street Journal with a shaky, handheld magnifying glass, or listens to the news with the volume on full blast. He can't hear, despite his hearing aids turned up to an audible hum. He has no appetite since Grandma died, and his well-worn clothes are swallowing his shrinking form in his La-Z-Boy recliner. His Manhattans have been replaced with servings of Ensure. He calls out for Grandma, gripes at the nurses, and no longer takes our phone calls. He has 24-hour care. He lives in a place where people dine silently at four in the afternoon, where wheelchairs park in the lobby at random with openmouthed occupants staring straight ahead. Despite being a "nice" place, it smells stale, like loneliness and medicine. I long to take him outside, but everything is too cold for him. Even Arizona. So I go outside often, by myself and with my children, in his honor. I make it a point to walk the dog, hike the greenbelt, run at the lake—and I pray for him. I don't picture him in Peoria. I remember him as the purposeful man who owned banks and drove a white Lincoln and came home for lunch. I spent childhood summers at my grandparents' lake house in northern Minnesota. I waited for him after work, in my terrycloth shorts and Wonder Woman bathing suit. He would park and I'd hug him hello and we would walk through the garden, where he would pull vegetables at random and let me eat delicious, dusty carrots. Like Mister Rogers, each day he would change into his prescribed outfit: shorts, socks, white loafers, and an unbuttoned short-sleeved dress shirt. He would light a cigar and start the grill. It was a very happy hour; ice clinked in cocktail glasses, and we ate Wheat Thins and Triscuits and small cubes of cheese. He flipped pork chops and I sat on the cement steps, cleaning fresh corn, ripping silky shreds into a brown grocery bag. After dinner we played cards, slapped mosquitoes, listened to Patsy Cline, and stayed up late. I painted rocks, big white ones that I pulled out of the lake. Each one was a master creation, and I proudly sold them to all the neighbors as signed limited-edition paperweights. Grandpa was my best customer; he told me that with my business sense I was going to be quite a successful young lady one day. We were outside all the time. He took me fishing for walleye and taught me how to drive his boat. He showed me how to tell when things were ripe and ready to pick. He mowed the lawn and when he was through, he would walk straight into the lake in his shorts with a gold bar of Dial soap and bathe, explaining that the lake was as clean as any bathtub. I believed him and sudsed off beside him, with minnows tickling my toes in the sand. At summer's end, I left sadly, waving and making the letters "C" and "U" with my hands from the rear window, all the way down the gravel drive. See you. See you. See you. Those summers are my happy place, part of my internal center and mental refuge. I go there when I need to breathe and remember when things were simple. Back in the days where kids had to be reminded to come inside, not urged to go out. Back in the days when you spent time with, rather than made time for, the people you loved. We can re-create these days of old for ourselves and for our children. We can resurrect the spirit of family and dust off forgotten or forsaken traditions. Step one is to Go Outside. Go outside into nature and remember how necessary and healing this is. And go outside of ourselves, fully connecting with the experiences and the people that make memories out of passing time. My grandfather, Carl V. Lind, passed away the morning after I wrote this essay. C U. i llu s t r at i o n by j oy g a ll ag h er For a limite d- e dit i on p r int , c onta c t jo ygall agh e r@g m ail .c om . tribeza.com june 2014 29 S a i n t Ja m e S LOV E HE A L S JEW ELRY YA NSI FUGEL TR AC Y R EESE YOA NA BA R A SCHI PE ACE OF CLOTH NICOLE MILLER N IC + zOE THR EE DOTS 1601 w 38th st at 5 jefferson square (512) 458–5407 gardenroomboutique.com monday– saturday 10am to 5:30pm Austin's Only Full-Service Urban Lifestyle Provider Real Estate » urbanspacerealtors.com Interiors » urbanspaceinteriors.com 801 W 5th, ATX 512 457 8884 Luxury Furnishings + Interior Design by Urbanspace Interiors 1. FIND THE PERFECT PROPERTY 2. SEAL THE DEAL 4. LIVE YOUR AUSTIN URBAN LIFESTYLE 3. DESIGN TO PERFECTION community profile exposed On assignment for National Geographic in Austin, Texas. From left, Assistant Dive Safety Officer Roger Banks, photographer Erich Schlegel and Dive Safety Officer James Piper after the bubble curtain shoot in the underwater test tank at Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas. Erich Schlegel f r eel a n c e p h otoj o u r n a l i s t I f you happened to find yourself stranded on, say, Matagorda Island, you'd want to tap the skills of someone who knows how to pitch a tent, rustle up dinner, and generally navigate the wild. That would be photojournalist Erich Schlegel, who has traveled the globe capturing the human story in outdoor adventure for the better part of 30 years. Who better to serve as tour guide for our outdoors issue? This month Schlegel heads out to document the grueling Texas Water Safari, a 260-mile canoe and kayak race from San Marcos all the way to the coastal town of Seadrift. For the remainder of the year, he will work with Ultralite Films on a documentary film titled The Disappearing Rio Grande, capturing the geography, landscape, and culture influenced by this historic Texas waterway from its source in Colorado to its end in the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville. But photography wasn't always the direction Schlegel's professional life was headed. After completing his undergraduate business degree from Southern Methodist University, he thought he would follow in his father's footsteps in international business consulting, a career that had Schlegel's family stationed in Latin America for much of his young life. But before applying for a master's degree in business, he was stopped short by his father, who suggested a different path. "One day, he asked me what I'd really like to do," says Schlegel. "I'd always been interested in photography, but I had never really thought about it as a career to pursue. I looked at him and said, 'I'd kind of like to get into photography.' And he said, 'Then why don't you do that?'" Schlegel credits his father's response as being the best advice he's ever received. "He wanted me to answer the question for myself, and I will thank him for the rest of my life for that." He got his first full-time gig as a photographer for the Brownsville Herald, covering everything from traffic accidents to sporting events, including a bullfight in Matamoros, Mexico, that almost ended his life when one of the bulls jumped its pen and chased Schlegel around the ring. "There were a few guys there from the Herald, and when they saw me running for my life, it really earned me some chops with them," Schlegel recalls. As he matured in his career, he spent a few more years in Brownsville before moving on to a job at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and later landing a spot at the Dallas Morning News in 1988. During his tenure there, he covered three Super Bowls, nine Olympic Games, and a smattering of international conflicts in Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. In 2000, he moved to Austin to work remotely for the paper, but in 2008, following the economic recession, he faced company-wide layoffs and began a career in freelance photography. "It has not been a smooth road," says Schlegel. "It's a feast or famine sort of career, and I don't sugar coat it when I talk to young people who are interested in getting into this. But if you can make it work, it can be very rewarding." j. du pu y p h oto g r a p h y co u rt e s y o f er i c h s c h l eg el 32 june 2014 tribeza.com exposed Erich Schlegel 8 Questions for erich How would you characterize the type of photography you do? I'd probably call it outdoor photojournalism, but it's not just landscape photography. I like to key in on people. It's the human aspect of the places that really bring a story to life. What are some of the favorite places you've visited? I have three. I love Belize for its variety of recreation and culture. You've got rivers, mountains, caves, and barrier reefs along with the Mayan ruins and culture. It has some of the best snorkeling, diving, and fishing all in this tiny little place. I love Cuba for photography because it really is like going back in time to the 1950s, yet it's just a few hours away. It's surreal. And I also love Nepal. You can never grasp the majesty of the Himalayas until you see it first hand. Is there a favorite place you love to photograph? That's easy. Texas. I've traveled all over the world, but I love coming home. I could go shoot a beach in Morocco, but with this Texas Water Safari, I can shoot the Texas coast right here, and people really don't realize what a wonderful resource it is. I like going to places where not many people go like Caddo Lake or remote places of West Texas. What kind of snacks do you always have on hand? I never go on a trip without Jolly Ranchers. I think I packed five bags with me on my trip to the Amazon. (Regular and Passion Fruit varieties.) That and beef jerky, if I can pack it. There's also a new Austin-based company making meat-based energy bars called Epic Bars that you can get at Whole Foods. They have beef, bison, turkey, and lamb flavors and are pretty good if you can't have beef jerky. What do you like most about your job? Being able to find the real, honest emotion from people in some of the most amazing places. It's great when you can photograph a beautiful place, but it really means something when you can balance that with the human component of what's happening. What do you like least about what you do? The unpredictability of freelance life. You're always wondering where the next job will come from. What's your favorite time of day to shoot? I'm a morning person, so I'd have to say early morning, before anything has been disturbed from the night. What would be your dream job? I've always wanted to go back to Nepal and do a story on the sherpas in the Himalayas that they call the Icefall Doctors. They maintain the trail between the "Base Camp" and "Camp 1" on Mount Everest. Other than the death zone about 28,000 feet, it's the most dangerous place on the mountain. Schlegel and his daughter Thira, then 13, now 14, wade the Rio Grande River upstream into Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Schlegel takes his daughter on different adventures during their summer vacations together. june Calendars arts & entertainment Entertainment Calendar Music NEON TREES SAY ANTYHING June14, 7pm Emo's Austin TOADIES Film HANNA RANCH Through June 22 Topfer Theatre at ZACH Theatre BETHANY Children SCOOBY-DOO LIVE! MUSICAL MYSTERIES June 2, 6pm Stubb's BBQ HOWIE DAY June 14, 7pm Stubb's BBQ TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE June 2, 7:30pm Marchesa Hall and Theatre THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP Through June 7 The Long Center June 8, 3pm The Long Center June 17-22 The Long Center June 4, 8pm One World Theatre AUSTIN SYMPHONY PRESENTS: THE CLASSICAL MYSTERY TOUR – A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES June 15, 9pm Emo's Austin June 5, 7:30pm Marchesa Hall and Theatre EMMA MAE ERTH'S DINASOUR ZOO LIVE Comedy NORM MACDONAL June 6-7, 8pm Palmer Events Center ANDREW BIRD & THE HANDS OF GLORY June 16, 8pm Paramount Theatre PAULA COLE June 13, 8pm June 15, 2pm Marchesa Hall and Theatre JULES AND JIM June 5 - 7 Cap City Comedy June 11 - 14 Cap City Comedy JIMMY PARDO HILL COUNTRY GALLERIA INDEPENDENCE DAY FESTIVAL CRISTELA ALONZO June 28, 4pm Hill Country Galleria HUGH LAURIE WITH THE COPPER BOTTOM BAND June 6, 8pm Paramount Theatre June 18, 8pm One World Theatre BLAKE SHELTON June 19, 7:30pm Marchesa Hall and Theatre DREAMS THAT MONEY CAN BUY MARIACHI VARGAS EN CONCIERTO June 7, 8pm The Long Center June 20, 5:30pm Austin 360 Amphitheater at Circuit of Americas CUT COPY June 25, 7:30pm Austin Film Society Screening Room J'ACCUSE June 20 - 21 Cap City Comedy BRENT MORIN Other X GAMES June 25 - 28 Cap City Comedy JIM JEFFERIES June 5-8 Circuit of the Americas ROY LOZANO'S BALLET FOLKLÓRICO DE TEXAS FIESTA 2014 KUTX LIVE: SLAID CLEAVES June 8, 8pm Paramount Theatre June 21, 7pm Stubb's BBQ JACKOPIERCE June 26, 7:30pm Marchesa Hall and Theatre June 27, 8pm Paramount Theatre EDDIE IZZARD AND THE FORCE MAJEURE June 21, 8pm Paramount Theatre ACL TAPING: ED SHEERAN June 11 ACL Live at Moody Theater ANDY GRAMMER June 21, 8pm Paramount Theatre TEXAS HERITAGE SONGWRITERS' ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME AWARDS SHOW Theatre 5O SHADES! THE MUSICALTHE OFFICIAL PARODY June 27-28 The Long Center 12TH ANNUAL KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD FESTIVAL + 5K June 28 The Long Center June 13, 7:30pm The Parish June 3-4 The Long Center TRACY MORGAN June 22, 7pm ACL Live at Moody Theater VANYA AND SONIO AND MASHA AND SPIKE June 28, 8pm Paramount Theatre 34 june 2014 tribeza.com arts & entertainment C A l e n da r s Arts Calendar june 5 THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN – JONES CENTER Bill Miller: New Work June 21 - July 27 YARD DOG ART GALLERY Film: The Institute Screening, 8:30pm JUNE 7 LORA REYNOLDS GALLERY Jason Middlebrook Through July 5 event pick WALLY WORKMAN GALLERY Luci & Ian Family Garden he Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is in full bloom, and this season it's larger—and even more beautiful—than the last. Their new Family Garden, which opened in May, doubled the size of the center's garden spaces with its nearly five acres of native plants. And it's cultivating more than just fragrant flowers; the garden also serves as a playground with education resources, a model for sustainable landscape design, and more than a dozen interactive features (including a maze made of native shrubs, giant tree stumps for kids to climb on, giant birds' nests made from native grape vines, and a grotto with caves and a waterfall). Executive Director Susan Rieff says the garden will offer a new range of experiences for children and families, where kiddos can explore nature freely. The idea has been in the works for several years, and now it's finally come to fruition. "A few small groups of children have come out and played in the space already to give us a sort of preview of what to expect," Rieff says. "The kids have all had a wonderful time, and they have surprised us with how they have interacted with some of the features in ways we didn't anticipate. It's been fun to watch." Along with the opening of the garden, the center plans to host its annual Nature Nights for six Thursdays this summer, beginning June 12. Rieff says the Wildflower Center has always been guided by Lady Bird Johnson's mission of "harmonizing the needs of man with the needs of nature." With the Family Garden, they are serving the needs of parents with kids who want permission to play in the dirt. "It's really hard to have a bad day!" Rieff says. "I get to work with anincredibly talented and dedicated staff, who are supported by more than 800 volunteers. And I have the deep satisfaction of knowing that the center is doing vitally important work and advancing Mrs. Johnson's vision for a more sustainable world." e. banks T P.A. Jones: Above & Below Opening Reception, 6pm Through July 4 JUNE 12 THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN – LAGUNA GLORIA BLANTON MUSEUM OF ART Between Mountains and Seas: Arts of the Ancient Andes Through August 17 In the Company of Cats and Dogs June 22 - September 21 HARRY RANSOM CENTER Orly Genger Artist Talk, 7:30pm JUNE 19 BLANTON MUSEUM OF ART The World at War 1914-1918 Through August 3 MEXIC-ARTE MUSEUM Third Thursday, 5:30pm Young Latina Artists 19: Y, qué? June 13 – September 7 Women of the Serie Project June 13 – September 7 DAVIS GALLERY Ongoing THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN All Summer Long June 7 – August 30 RUSSELL COLLECTION FINE ART GALLERY photo courtesy of the wildflower center Susurrus June 4 - 28 A Secret Affair Through August 24 Orly Genger Through August 24 Five Generations of Pissarro June 1 - 30 GALLERY SHOAL CREEK Tony Saladino + Karen Hawkins Through June 14 36 june 2014 tribeza.com BALLET AUSTIN ACADEMY DREAMS BEGIN HERE. • Classes for boys & girls beginning at age 3 • Now registering for summer classes • Fall registration opens June 10 ENROLL TODAY BY VISITING BALLETAUSTIN.ORG OR BY CALLING 512.501.8704 www.poshpropertiesaustin.com 512.947.9684 version of Puccini's La Bohème arts & entertainmentR museums, R R g a l l e r i e s & t h e at e r the very first version of Puccini's all female La Bohème Art Spaces Museums 3809 W. 35th St. (512) 458 8191 Driscoll Villa hours: Tu–W 12-4, Th-Su 10–4 Grounds hours: M–Sa 9–5, Su 10–5 thecontemporaryaustin.org. the contemporary austin: Jones Center The Contemporary austin: laguna gloria R Hours: Tu–Su 1–5 frenchlegationmuseum.org George Washington Carver Museum 1165 Angelina St. (512) 974 4926 Hours: M–Th 10–9, F 10–5:30, Sa 10–4 ci.austin.tx.us/carver Harry Ransom Center arts pick iz Cass felt so compelled to produce an all-female version of La Bohème that it was only a matter of time before lofty ideas led to cross-dressing, et voila, La Femme Bohème was born. It is a dream turned into reality, one Cass says she has June 2 1, 8:00 p.m. T June 22 , 3:00 p.m. envisioned for the past five years. North Door • 502 Brushy street 78702 • tickets $10 This is the first ever production of La Bohème with an all-female cast, and one that sPoNsoreD By promises to bring a whole new dynamic to an opera already filled with emotion and anguish, centering on themes of friendship, love, hardship, struggle, and creative expression. A woman's perspective will help to tell the story in a new way, Cass says. "La Bohème is a total human experience story," Cass says. "I wanted to show how at the core of it all, we share so many things. We have much more in common than we don't have in common." Cass says women are often misrepresented as divas in the opera world, whereas her cast is made up of "amazing, passionate, artistic women." But there's more to this production than empowering the ladies; it's also a way to celebrate diversity and expose just a few of the many layers of complexity in a person's life. "Being an opera singer and now producer, I totally identify with the pain of struggling for your art and for love," Cass says. "How life can be complicated and reality can hit you like a ton of bricks. This production, having characters that straddle the gender norms, takes that idea a step further." La Femme Bohème clearly wrestles with broad, complex themes, but there's also beautiful simplicity in the idea of sharing the human experience-good and bad-with one another. Compassion is one powerful tool. e. banks La Femme Bohème June 2 1, 8:00 p.m. North Door • 502 Brushy street 78702 • tickets $10 T June 22 , 3:00 p.m. 700 Congress Ave. (512) 453 5312 Hours: W 12-11, Th-Sa 12-9, Su 12-5 thecontemporaryaustin.org austin galleries 300 E. 21st St. (512) 471 8944 Hours: Tu–W 10–5, Th 10–7, F 10–5, Sa–Su 12–5 hrc.utexas.edu LBJ Library and Museum L sPoNsoreD By (512) 495 9363 By Appt. Only austingalleries.com 5804 Lookout Mountain Dr. 2313 Red River St. (512) 721 0200 Hours: M–Su 9–5 lbjlibrary.org 200 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. (512) 471 7324 Hours: Tu– F 10–5, Sa 11–5, Su 1–5 blantonmuseum.org Blanton Museum of Art 419 Congress Ave. (512) 480 9373 Hours: M–Th 10–6, F–Sa 10–5, Su 12–5 mexic–artemuseum.org O. Henry Museum Mexic–Arte Museum 409 E. 5th St. (512) 472 1903 Hours: W–Su 12–5 The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum THINKERY Austin Children's 304 E. 44th St. (512) 458 2255 Hours: W–Sa 10–5, Su 12–5 ci.austin.tx.us/elisabetney French Legation Museum Elisabet Ney Museum 802 San Marcos St. (512) 472 8180 605 Robert E. Lee Rd. (512) 445 5582 Hours: W–F 10–4:30, Sa–Su 1–4:30 umlaufsculpture.org Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum 40 june 2014 tribeza.com image courtesy of la femme boheme 1800 Congress Ave. (512) 936 8746 Hours: M–Sa 9–6, Su 12–6 thestoryoftexas.com 1830 Simond Ave Hours: T-Fri 10-5, Sa-Su 10-6 thinkeryaustin.org Museum arts & entertainment M u s e u m s & Ga l l e r i e s Galleries Art on 5th 3005 S. Lamar Blvd. (512) 481 1111 Hours: M–Sa 10–6 arton5th.com Artworks Gallery 2830 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. (512) 477 9328 Hours: M-F 10-5, Sa 10-3 flatbedpress.com Gallery Black Lagoon Flatbed Press 4115 Guadalupe St. Hours: Tu - Sa, 12- 6 mondotees.com The Nancy Wilson Scanlan Gallery (512) 453 3199 By Appt. Only fluentcollab.org Wally Workman Gallery By appointment only bay6studios.com Big Medium (512) 970 3471 By appointment only roijames.com Space 12 1214 W. 6th St. (512) 472 1550 Hours: M–Sa 10–5 artworksaustin.com 4301-A Guadalupe St. (512) 371 8838 Hours: Sa 1-5 galleryblacklagoon.com 2832 MLK Jr. Blvd. #3 (512) 454 6671 Hours: Tu–F 11–5, Sa 10–3 galleryshoalcreek.com grayDUCK gallery Gallery Shoal Creek 6500 St. Stephen's Dr. (512) 327 1213 Hours: M-F 9-5 sstx.org Okay Mountain Gallery 1202 W. 6th St. (512) 472 7428 Hours: Tu–Sa 10–5 wallyworkman.com Women & Their Work 5305 Bolm Rd., #12 (512) 939 6665 bigmedium.org Clarksville Pottery & Galleries 3121 E. 12th St. (512) 524 7128 T-F 10-5 space12.org Austin Art Garage 2200 S. Lamar Blvd., Ste. J (512) 351-5934 Hours: Tu–Sa 11–6, Su 12–5 austinartgarage.com Austin Art Space Gallery and Studios 1619 E. Cesar Chavez St. Sa 1-5 or by appointment (512) 293 5177 okaymountain.com Positive Images 1710 Lavaca St. (512) 477 1064 Hours: M–F 10–6, Sa 12–5 womenandtheirwork.org 1510 S. Congress Ave. (512) 912 1613 Hours: M–F 11–5, Sa 11–6, Su 12–5 yarddog.com Yard Dog 4001 N. Lamar Blvd., #550 (512) 454 9079 Hours: M-Sa 11-6, Su 1-4 Co-Lab Project Space Fredericksburg 208 E. San Antonio St. Hours: M-Sa 10-5 (830) 990 1727 agavegallery.com ARTISANS AT ROCKY HILL AGAVE GALLERY 613 Allen St. (512) 300 8217 By appointment only colabspace.org farewell Books 7739 North Cross Dr., Ste. Q (512) 771 2868 Hours: F–Sa 11–6 austinartspace.com 1214 W. 6th St. (512) 628 1214 Hours: M-Sa 10-5 capitalfineart.com Laboratory capital fine art 608 W. Monroe Dr. (512) 826 5334 Hours: W 11-6, Th 4-8, F-Sa 11-6, Su 12-5 grayduckgallery.com La Peña 1118 W. 6th St. (512) 472 1831 Hours: M-Sa 10-5, Su 12-4 Russell Collection Fine Art 227 Congress Ave., #300 (512) 477 6007 Hours: M-F 8-5, Sa 8-3 lapena–austin.org Lora Reynolds Gallery 1137 W. 6th St. (512) 478 4440 Hours: Tu–Sa 10–6 russell–collection.com Stephen L. Clark Alternative Spaces ARTPOST: The Center for Creative Expression 913 E. Cesar Chavez St. (512) 476 DOMY Hours: Mon-Sa 12–8, Su 12–7 domystore.com Julia C. Butridge Gallery 234 W. Main St. (830) 990 8160 Hours: M-Sa 10-5:30, Su 11-3 artisansatrockyhill.com FREDERICKSBURG Creative Research 2832 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. (512) 322 2099 Hours: Tu–Sa 12–5 uts.cc.utexas.edu/~crlab 837 W. 12th St. (512) 477 4929 Hours: M–F 10–6, Sa 10–4 davisgalleryaustin.com Davis Gallery 360 Nueces St., #50 (512) 215 4965 Hours: W-Sa 11-6 lorareynolds.com Lotus Gallery 1101 W. 6th St. (512) 477 0828 Hours: Tu–Sa 10–4 stephenlclarkgallery.com 1011 West Lynn Hours: Tu–Sa 11–5 (512) 236 1333 studiotenarts.com Testsite studio 10 Gallery 4704 E. Cesar Chavez St. artpostaustin.com 330 Bee Cave Rd., #700 (512) 306 9636 Hours: Tu–F 10–6, Sa 10–4 austinpresence.com Bay6 Gallery & Studios Austin Presence 1110 Barton Springs Rd. (512) 974 4025 Hours: M–Th 10–9:30, F 10–5:30, Sa 10–4 ci.austin.tx.us/ dougherty/gallery.htm Pump Project Art Complex 314 E. Main St. (830) 990 2707 Hours: M-Sa 10-5:30, Su 12-5 fbartgallery.com INSIGHT GALLERY ART GALLERY 1009 W. 6th St., #101 (512) 474 1700 Hours: M–Sa 10-6 lotusasianart.com Mondo Gallery 702 Shady Ln. (512) 351 8571 pumpproject.org Roi James 214 W. Main St. (830) 997 9920 Hours: Tu-Sa 10-5:30 insightgallery.com WHISTLE PIK 502 W. 33rd St. 5305 Bolm Rd. (512) 553 3849 3620 Bee Cave Rd., Ste. C 425 E. Main St. (830) 990 8151 Hours: M-Sa 10-5 tribeza.com june 2014 41 TRIBEZ A Talk A n i n s i d e r ' s g u i d e to A u s t i n ' s h i d d e n g e m s . b y l e i g h pat t e r s o n sneak peek she doesn't leave home without 'em: Jad e' s su m m er e ssential s fo r th e spri n g s Paw Paw o i n tm e n t : I pretty much have a tube of this in every bag I own. It's made close to where I grew up in Australia, and I use it as a lip balm, on mosquito bites, and dry skin. The smell reminds me of my friends and family at home. U n o : Anyone who knows me knows I will play Uno anywhere, anytime. If this pack could talk it would probably say, "Stop drinking so much tequila and buy a new pack that actually has all of the cards." Keys : I have a '71 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible, and it's so much fun driving to Barton Springs in it—swimming noodles sticking out the back. Plus, I know I'll be warm enough to jump right in when I get there. Ea rly Bird g r a nol a ba r : Slightly sweet and a little salty, I got addicted to these in Brooklyn. Luckily, we now sell them at F&N. G ather Journal : Reading Gather Journal always makes me hungry. It is dedicated to the aspects of gathering—dining, drinking, harvesting, and cooking—and has definitely helped inspire many dinner parties in our backyard. Throw : My husband gives me a hard time about buying so Wh at ' s in my Ba rton Spring s bag? Jade Place-Mathews Jade Place-Mathews is one part of the well-traveled, stylish trio who own Friends and Neighbors (2614 E. Cesar Chavez, friendsaustin. com), a new East Austin destination that's part clothing boutique, part coffee mecca, part artisanal sundry shop, and part evening hangout, all stationed in different rooms of an old house. Place-Mathews, who also coowns Hillside Farmacy with her husband Greg Mathews, shared with us the components of her Barton Springs bag. Bring on the sunshine! many textiles when we travel. Austin is the perfect place to use them all the time as blankets, towels, or sarongs. Sung l a ss es : I can't go anywhere without my Persol sunnies. Hat: I found this on our last trip to Mexico: it's not fancy, but it fits perfectly and covers my neck and shoulders. As I get older, I'm starting to get more paranoid about the sun. Bag : This Mara Hoffman bag is huge with sturdy leather straps—I can pile it full for a day at the springs. 44 june 2014 tribeza.com p h oto g r a p h y by m i c h a el a . m u ll er Rig ht foot forward This summer we're sitting poolside with Hari Mari , the Texasbased sandal company with a do-good slant—$3 from every pair supports kids battling cancer. And lest you wonder if it's too soon to upgrade last year's pair, we have four words for you: memory foam toe posts. ad u lt s n ow co n e s : A tipsy riff on everyone ' s childhood favorite Here's a summer treat from the nice people at Weather Up (1808 E. Cesar Chavez St.), who are serving up boozy snow cones from their SaniServ Slushy Machine all season long. Here, owner Kathryn Weatherup shares a couple of inspired flavor suggestions for her favorite icy combinations. The Av enue Hari Maris shoes retail for $60. Find a full list of Austin stockists—including Stag, By George, and Whole Earth Provision Co.—at HariMari.com. Reposado tequila Calvados Cocchi Americano Fresh lemon juice Passion fruit syrup (cane sugar and fresh passion fruit juice) The Tais Toi (pic tured) Armagnac brandy Oloroso sherry Blackberry and mint syrups Fresh lime juice tribeza.com june 2014 45 New Location Summer 2014! 512-472-1768 www.austinshadeworks.com AUSTIN SHADEWORKS 48 Welcome to Madrono Ranch. june 2014 tribeza.com refuge Just outside of Austin, a r e s i d e n c y on the range offers writers unfettered time to c r e at e, a n d d r aw i n s p i r at i o n f r o m t h e r u g g e d ly beautiful landscape. by a m a n da e y r e wa r d | p h oto g r a p h y by w y n n m y e r s tribeza.com june 2014 49 A cheery artist's cabin provides a temporary home on the range. As you turn off the paved road and enter the ranch...your heartbeat slows just a bit. 50 june 2014 tribeza.com I a r r i v e d at Madroño Ranch w i t h a pa c k a g e o f i n d e x c a r d s, a b ag o f co f f e e , a j u g o f w i n e, and thirteen cans of s o u p. F r o m t h e s e i n g r e d i e n t s I h o p e d to construct a novel. It was fall in Texas, hot and dry, and I'd also tossed a swimsuit and sneakers into my car with the thought that maybe I'd start jogging again, and swim afterward. (I planned to be in pajamas for the rest of my hours.) As a mom of three wonderful and mischievous children, I was tired. When I drove off the paved road into the ranch, I rolled down my car window and inhaled, smelling sage. I had heard about Madroño Ranch, which is owned by Austinites Martin and Heather Kohout, from my friend Juli Berwald, a bi- ologist and science writer. Juli wrote the first chapter of her book about jellyfish, Spineless, at Madroño. She remembers, "While I was at Madroño, the swifts were nesting in the eaves of the Lake House. Early in the morning the babies would start chirping for food…they were my alarm clock." Madroño Ranch is rugged and lovely, comprising 1,500 acres and located on Wallace Creek a few miles north of Medina. The property includes a lake of about 25 acres and numerous other streams and draws; steep, rocky terrain; and grassy, rolling hills. It's home to a number of plant and animal species, including bison and chickens; the madrone trees (madroño in Spanish) for which the ranch is named; feral hogs; raccoons; whitetail, sika, and axis deer; bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, and perch; bald eagles; wild turkeys; and many more, according to the ranch's website. The Kohout family first began their relationship with the property when Heather Kohout's mother, Jessica Hobby Catto, bought 600 acres. As the years passed, Martin and Heather bought more of the property as it became available, enjoying time there with their three children Elizabeth, Tito (Christopher), and Thea. Martin and Heather, both bookworms, fell in love at Williams College. "We didn't start dating until the spring of our senior year despite some very determined and, in retrospect, probably creepy stalking on my part," confides Martin. "Since the college closed the dorms during spring break, and I couldn't afford to fly home to California, I asked Heather if I could stay at her house while she was visiting her folks. She said yes, and when she returned after spring break, well, something just . . . happened, and I stayed. Maybe it was the lilacs." The Kohouts wanted to share their ranch but weren't sure how to begin. "We were uneasy with using the property as a pet, which is what having a nonworking ranch usually devolves to," says Heather. "Everyone needs to work in a relationship, but the Texas Hill Country is a tough place to make a go of it under traditional agriculture and ranching paradigms, which tend to require slow (or swift) destruction of the land. How do we open the place up carefully? How do we share it? How do we start thinking out loud with Very Practical People and visionaries about managing such a place? A residency program seemed like a good start." tribeza.com june 2014 51 Owner Heather Kohout loves "all the living water.â€? 52 june 2014 tribeza.com tribeza.com june 2014 53 Miles from urban traffic, the only delays on ranch roads are caused by wandering livestock. 54 june 2014 tribeza.com Also in residence: chickens. As wells as various forms of Texas-inspired art. tribeza.com june 2014 55 " I w e n t f o r wa l k s t h r e e o r f o u r t i m e s a d ay, d r a w i n g i n s p i r at i o n f r o m t h e l a n d s c a p e . I t w a s i n c r e d i b ly c e n t e r i n g , inspiring, and productive." "Given our backgrounds in various aspects of the word biz, we came up with the idea of giving time and space to writers, specifically environmental writers," says Martin, adding wryly, "whatever that means; we didn't really know what that meant then, and we still don't." With the help of an advisory board (which includes Jesse Griffiths of Austin's Dai Due Butcher Shop and Supper Club, who also hosts "ethical hunting schools" at the ranch), the Kohouts began accepting applications. More than forty artists have now visited Madroño. Geologist Julia Clarke worked on a chapter for the Princeton Guide to Evolution there. "An electric vermillion flycatcher outside the window and low flybys from belted kingfishers during a swim in the pond provided only a small part of the inspiration—diversity! I recorded 80 species of birds, flocks of dusky grey wild turkeys, a silent encounter with an excitable group of wild hogs, and the lonely honks of a single Chinese goose repeating on the canyon walls. Local, introduced, beautiful with or without names," says Clarke. Novelist - da l i a a z i m Dalia Azim adds, "I went for walks three or four times a day, drawing inspiration from the landscape. It was incredibly centering, inspiring, and productive." My first evening at Madroño, I marveled at the wide sky as it changed from blue to orange and then transformed into glittering night. The main character of my novel, Homecoming, is a girl named Carla who leaves her native Honduras to find her mother in Texas. That evening as I typed, Carla also looked up at a bowl of stars. The next morning I brewed coffee and laced on my sneakers. I puffed along, reaching a wire fence. Undeterred, I hopped over and soon saw what the fence was meant to contain: a herd of bison that snorted at me as I stood, panting, in my running shorts. I couldn't remember if bison were aggressive, so I sprinted back to the house. I amended my workout plan: after every ten pages, I would jump in the lake. Many visitors find the bison inspiring. Artist Shelby Prindaville says, "The Madroño Ranch residency provided a wonderful oppor- 56 june 2014 tribeza.com Artist, Graham Burns, at the Madro単o Ranch, sips coffee outside his cabin. tribeza.com june 2014 57 Bison range freely on the 1,500-acre Madro単o Ranch. 58 june 2014 tribeza.com tribeza.com june 2014 59 Grass-fed Madro単o Ranch bison meat. Jesse Griffiths, of Dai Due Butcher Shop and Supper Club, runs a series of ethical hunting, fishing, and cooking classes throughout the year at the ranch. 60 june 2014 tribeza.com "I love the cleared f i e l d s i n t h e c o l d, s h a r p w e at h e r , e s p ec i a l ly w h e n t h e b i son are huffing their w h i t e b r e at h s a n d making those grunts t h at s o u n d l i k e t h e y emerge from the center of the Earth." - h e at h e r ko h o u t s tunity for me to begin a body of work focused on bison, one of the quintessential American icons." And during his visit, says writer David Todd, "I was mostly working through a chapter about the fall and return of buffalo in the state. I felt very fortunate to get to write about the century-long recovery of these wonderful 'crooked-backed oxen' right there in the midst of the very alive, snorting, steaming, shaggy Madroño bison! How lucky could I be?" I fell into a wonderful rhythm of writing, swimming, and eating lazy (soup) dinners while watching the sunset. The ranch foreman, Robert Selement, who lives on the property and has worked there since he was a teenager, delivered wood, and when he noticed it went untouched, he asked me, kindly and without judgment, if I needed a lesson on starting a fire. (I did, and the fire was wonderful.) When I came to a place in my book where I felt stuck, I explored the ranch. Heather describes her beloved land beautifully: "I love all the living water. I love the deep draws with their secret ferns and gnarled madrones and love. I love the rocky valley filled with old maples and hardwoods. I love the side of a hill overwhelmed with cedar that still has moss growing even in the summer. Moss! I love the cleared fields in the cold, sharp weather, especially when the bison are huffing their white breaths and making those grunts that sound like they emerge from the center of the Earth." Somehow, in the stillness of the ranch, I found my story. By the time I filled the recycling bin with metal cans, an empty wine jug, and more than a few discarded pages, I had a draft of Homecoming to send to my agent. It still feels like a miracle to me. I am not the only one to feel that Madroño Ranch might, perhaps, be magic. Remembers Heather, "Once, when I got annoyed at some peacocks that had shown up unexpectedly at the main house and wouldn't let me in peace to watch the sun rise on the porch, I huffed off to the lake with my binoculars and sat there. I saw something appear in the water about 25 yards away and watched. What was it? Wasn't a snake, because it wasn't moving. Could be two turtles, but they looked odd. I checked with the binocs. It was a small alligator. I've been accused of all sorts of things since that sighting, and most of them probably aren't true. No one's ever seen the alligator again." For more information, see madronoranch.com Amanda Eyre Ward lives in Austin with her family. Her fifth novel, Homecoming, will be published by Random House in 2015. dripping springs, alive with moving things, especially those vexing warblers. There's a view from a rise near the top of the road above Robert's house that looks east that I tribeza.com june 2014 61 Cantilevered out over a ravine, Contey's home is balanced between gravity and flight. 62 june 2014 tribeza.com call of the wild b y c l ay t o n m a x w e l l | p h oto g r a p h y b y c a s e y d u n n | s t y l i n g b y a da m f o r t n e r A r e i m ag i n e d da n c e s t u d i o co n n ec ts to t h e s o ot h i n g r h y t h m s o f H i l l C o u n t r y a n d p r o v i d e s a d r e a m y s ta g e f o r l e s s - i s - m o r e l i v i n g . tribeza.com june 2014 63 Simplicity reigns in this streamlined kitchen of slate and bamboo. W hen you first walk into parenting guru Carrie Contey's new living room, about 20 miles west of Austin, you sense immediately how this building began as a dancer's dream laboratory. Great expanses of windows open the loft-like space to the outdoors, bringing light, breeze, and the green of the surrounding tree-covered hills into the room. Boundaries between inside and out feel deliberately porous. Such openness has a physically energizing impact—as if leaping like a dancer or maybe gliding like the turkey buzzards just outside Contey's windows is within the realm of possibility. This home is all about possibilities. In 2005, Austin Community College dance department chair José Bustamante, wanting a studio where he could experiment with video projection, collaborated closely with Austin architect Rick Black to create a choreographer's playground. Brainstorming during sometimes seven-hour meetings that lasted through dinner, Black and Bustamante laid out a plan for what would become a 1,620-square-foot dance studio with 21-foot ceilings downstairs, and a wide-open kitchen/dining/living area with one bedroom and two baths upstairs. The upstairs walls are movable wooden panels that open to overlook the dance studio below. "The inspiration for the project was to provide space that dealt with the sense of gravity," says Black, who, like Bustamante, saw this as an art project as much as an architectural one. "That seemed interesting to José from the point of view of a dancer—the sense of weight and hovering." Like a dance posture, the 1,170-square-foot upstairs living space cantilevers out from the building's sturdy metal frame—achieving a striking balance between gravity and 64 june 2014 tribeza.com A vase of cherry blossoms creates balance with the home's handsome steel beams and window frames. tribeza.com june 2014 65 Contey watches the ever-changing scene outside: light and shadow, turkey buzzards, clouds rolling in. 66 june 2014 tribeza.com Contey's airy, unadorned bedroom is a prime spot for sunrise watching. tribeza.com june 2014 67 With soaring ceilings and nothing but her desk and a bike, Contey's office is a fresh clean slate. " I wa k e u p e v e ry m o r n i n g w i t h the sun since my bedroom w i n d o w fac e s e a s t. I a m v e ry awa r e o f t h e s ta r s. I c a n s i t a n d watc h t h e c lo u d s f o r h o u r s. I f e e l m u c h m o r e i n t u n e w i t h h o w t h e wo r l d i s m o v i n g ." flight. A butterfly roof lifts the structure upward and funnels rain to a 10,000-gallon water tank. Handsome custom-made steel beams and window frames anchor the roof, while the clean sparseness, high ceilings, and expanses of windows make it float. It feels like more than chance that Contey, who bought the house from Bustamante last November, should now be the steward of such a balanced creation: helping families with young children find their own equilibrium is her life's work. With a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and a specialty in prenatal and perinatal psychology, Contey launched her coaching practice in 2004. At the time, she supported parents in their early years of raising children through one-on-one and small-group meetings in her south-central Austin home. Over the past decade, Contey has developed her practice into a broader form of parent coaching, creating an online community that spans the globe, and her comprehensive program for new parents, Evolve, has taken off. "Just talking about parenting and self-care wasn't enough," says Contey, who structured the Evolve program to support parents in all areas of family life: parenting, personhood, partnership, and prosperity. Contey works with clients for more than a year, interacting with them through daily e-mails, a community site, livecasts, and in-person gatherings. "In this way, I can consistently whisper in their ear, 'Hey, slow down, get connected, be playful,' and help them really find a new way of thinking and being," says Contey. "Through the work we do together, they rewire their own brains and create more mindful ways of connecting with and guiding their growing people. And ultimately family life, and life in general, becomes more fun." It is because of this Web-based evolution of her work that Contey has been able to realize her own dream—living a more streamlined life close to nature. In the midst of one of her regular work/play road trips this past summer, driving alone in her car, she hit upon the clarity that inspired this move away from ever-more-dense Austin to its outskirts. "I was on the open road, it was beautiful weather, and the message that kept blaring at me was 'Bigger nature, smaller living space, less stuff.'" Upon her return to Austin, she found this property while browsing a modern housing website. Bustamante, who'd been so busy with his fulltime job in Austin that he wasn't able to stay out at the house enough, was ready to pass it on. Carrie acted fast, drove out to see it, fell in love, and ended up signing the papers the day before Thanksgiving. And her love affair with the house has only grown deeper over time. "It feels like it is changing me to be living in such nature," she says, looking out over the newly green spring landscape from her back patio. "I wake up every morning with the sun since my bedroom window faces east. I am very aware of the stars. I can sit and watch the clouds for hours. I feel much more in tune with how the world is moving. It's changing me, and how I want to work. Just being here puts me in a state of complete awe. What I'm consuming each day . . . it feels like a satisfying feast that nourishes me deeply." Black and Bustamante were very deliberate in building the house in relation to natural cycles. "We figured out some ways to bring the breeze in low and ventilate up high in order to take advantage of thermal convection," says Black. "We oriented the building away from the afternoon sun and toward the ravine that lies to the east. Apparently the moonrise is amazing there." And even though it takes only about half an hour without traffic to drive in to Central Austin, Contey does not go to town much. She doesn't miss city living. Friends come out, her neighbors all watch out for one another, and she travels plenty for work and play. Rather than feeling isolated, she feels the opposite: more connected—with her work, the landscape, the people she loves, and with what makes her hum. "If I am asking my clients to slow down and connect with their people and get more in tune with what they love about their life," says Contey, "I need to be living that myself every day. If I am going to help others find and create their most joyful lives, I'd better be practicing what I preach." tribeza.com june 2014 69 hunting d ow n d i n n e r b y e l i z a b e t h w i n s l o w | photography by j o d y h o r t o n Styling for Georgia Pellegrini by Ashley Horsley | Hair + Makeup by Lindsey Harvey Call it a culinary time warp—across the country chefs are returning to old-fashioned methods of food preparation. We asked two gun-toting, butcher knife-wielding enthusiasts why reconnecting with our culinary past matters. 70 june 2014 tribeza.com With a series of books, a blog, and adventure getaways, Georgia Pelligrini wants to make sure other women know hunting's not just for the boys. tribeza.com june 2014 71 72 june 2014 tribeza.com I t's a cultural cliché to say that everything old is new again, and yet in the culinary world, that's never been truer. Food preparation methods that date back to pioneer learned to cook and forage for edibles in the woods, but then she headed off to the big city to make her fortune. The hectic life of an investment banker made her miserable, though, so she sought out ways to get reconnected to a past in which she'd felt happy and free. Stints at New York's Blue Hill Restaurant and a culinary internship in France taught her about paying the karmic price for food—she killed a turkey with her own hands and learned to dress and cook it. Inspired, she picked up her pen to share her adventures with others. And now, in addition to publishing three books, she leads women on adventure getaway weekends and offers modern gals the opportunity to get their hands dirty and learn updated pioneering skills that make for a more connected and authentic life. There's a resurgence of interest in traditional techniques for hunting, growing, foraging, and preparing food. Where do you think this cultural yearning is coming from? ful way to preserve your harvest whether it's fruit preserves or pickled ramps you've gathered. What are some "forgotten" ingredients we should all be revisiting? days (and were born and practiced out of necessity) are currently being resurrected and championed by some of our most forward-thinking cooks. Not that many generations ago, it wasn't possible to not know where our food came from (hint: it wasn't from plastic-wrapped packages at the supermarket). That's because we were likely actively involved in growing, slaughtering, preserving, and preparing it. Being hungry meant getting busy, like it or not. But in the mid 20th century, that began to change. Convenience foods replaced time-honored recipes and from-scratch cooking, factory farms usurped small family farms, and fluorescent lights and nine-to-five schedules replaced the daily rhythms of the seasons. Are we better off? Two chefs who champion traditional techniques and butchering skills think not. Through hunting and foraging classes, supper clubs, and cookbooks, each seeks to be a guide through our culinary her- Purslane is wonderful. You can find it in the sidewalk cracks. It has more omega 3s than fish, and a naturally tart flavor, so you don't really need dressing when you make it into salad. I have a simple and delicious recipe for purslane with red onion, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, salt, and olive oil. I love wonderfully bitter dandelion greens as well. What are some trends you're seeing within the general return of traditional foodways? I think people are finding ways to get back to the land, whether by keeping backyard chickens, a beehive on their rooftop, or planters in their driveways. We're finding ways to be more hands-on and to create a relationship with whole foods and connection. Can you describe some traditional techniques that you've tweaked to adapt to modern life? I have a great recipe for cheese that you can make in 30 minutes. You can make homemade fresh butter in 15 minutes using a mixer. Many of my recipes have a fun modern twist—I use red wine to make popsicles, and preserve strawberries with balsamic and black pepper in homemade fruit roll-ups. What other aspects of your daily life are impacted as you embrace a return to traditional foodways? I think it's an antidote to the very technology-driven times we're all living in. Trying economic times are a great equalizer—it makes us ask, "What do we really need?" People are craving what's really lasting, they want to use their hands, roll up their sleeves, get back in touch with things that are more grounding. What are your three favorite traditional food techniques? itage, perhaps tweaked for modern life but best not forgotten. Georgia Pellegrini Owner, Adventure Getaways; Author, Food Heroes, Girl Hunter, and Modern Pioneering Georgia Pellegrini grew up fishing for trout for breakfast on her family's property in upstate New York. At the side of her grandmother, she I'm a big proponent of brining—brining is the key to making wild game more palatable and preserving the vegetables you've gathered or grown. I'm also very intrigued with smoking foods. There are so many different ways to flavor smoke with herbs, or by using different woods when you're smoking cheese, fish, or meat. And of course there's canning, a wonder- I now see possibility in the backyard and on urban streets. I see the natural world differently and have a symbiotic relationship with it—I know how to interact with it instead of keeping it at arm's length. tribeza.com june 2014 73 Chef Jesse Griffiths passes essential skills for catching and cooking your supper to the next generation. 74 june 2014 tribeza.com Filleting just-caught white crappie is quick work for practiced hands. Right: Griffiths preps dinner with his young daughter Paloma. tribeza.com june 2014 75 Jesse Griffiths Chef/Owner of Dai Due Butcher Shop and Supper Club; Owner, Dai Due Hunting and Fishing School; Author, Afield To scores of devoted customers, Jesse Griffiths is the moral compass of our local food scene. He founded his business on the simple principle that people can eat extremely well on foods sourced solely from our own food shed. This hardly seems groundbreaking now, but that's due in large part to Jesse's own tireless work educating and inspiring us with alfresco supper club dinners, cooking classes, guided hunting and fishing excursions, expertly cut local, pastured meats, and handmade pantry items like Hefeweizen and horseradish mustard and sauerkraut made from organic cabbage. Over the years he has fed us well, but more than that, he has opened up a world of possibility by showing us how delicious our very own corner of the world can be. This summer will mark the opening of Dai Due's seven-years-in-the-making brick and mortar location on Manor Road, with a full retail butcher counter and a restaurant serving a menu of locally-sourced, wood-fired dishes. There's a resurgence of interest in traditional techniques for hunting, growing, foraging, and preparing food. Where is this cultural yearning coming from? or killing a deer in the winter. I'd say that this is far more natural than not knowing anything about your food. The ability to remain aloof about your food has only been an option for a couple generations out of thousands, so I'd reckon that we are just waking up from a little nap and remembering that food is and will be a profound priority. What are your three favorite traditional food techniques? falling on their cars when they are driving to the store to buy fruit. What are some trends you're seeing within the general return of traditional foodways? Nose to tail is becoming normalized. It's not just chefs posturing and trying to outdo each other anymore. I feel that the focus on offal and other meats like goat and rabbit really expanded some palettes, and it is now a viable menu option for the mainstream. In places where it was traditionally incorporated, in ethnic foods, it's more sought after and accepted, too. They were naming boy bands Menudo decades ago—that's cultural acceptance of tripe. I'd like to see Head Cheese go triple platinum. Can you describe some traditional practices that you've tweaked to adapt to modern life? Fermenting, hands down—a controlled rot of food. It totally dismisses the hubris of man being in control and lets nature just do its thing while serving us extensively. It's prevalent in every culture, it keeps the nutritional integrity of food—or even increases it—and it can get you drunk. That one's easy. Regionally, I love smoking things, too, especially meat. Smoke has a strong history in Central Texas because of our resources and cultural influences—barbecue happens here for a very good reason. I think that the way food is consumed is also a technique. Before refrigeration, if you had caught a bunch of crappie or trapped a lot of crawfish or killed your fat hog, you had to get everyone together and have a party out of necessity to consume it all before it went bad. Feasting is a technique then, I guess, that serves us both culturally and physically. What are some "forgotten" ingredients we should all be revisiting? I can't go on extended hunts and fishing trips with a family and a business. I make quick morning hunts for ducks and doves now, or try to hit the creek for just a couple of hours for some white bass and then go to work. It's the only way I can get out, get some food, and keep up at the same time. What other aspects of your daily life are impacted as you embrace a return to traditional foodways? We eat game and fish almost exclusively at our house. It has an obvious importance to us. We have to plan most of our meals ahead, so that slows you down a bit. Eating vegetables seasonally was always fun and challenging, but explaining why we can't have mulberries in August to a three-year old is a pretty fun exercise in describing patience. Anything that you can find in your neighborhood that is edible should be revisited. It's painful to see loquats and plums, banana leaves, agaves, figs, agarita, nopales, and mulberries rot on the ground. People will complain about the fruit There's a collective desire right now to have more of a connection to food, whether that means knowing who's making your sandwich, who grew the food it's made from, gathering your own eggs, 76 june 2014 tribeza.com A few hours at a closely-guarded local fishing spot means pan-fried fish with sauteed spring artichokes, peas, carrots, leek and kale for supper at Chef Jesse Griffiths's house. tribeza.com june 2014 77 t r i b e z a t r av e l e r r oa d t r i p: b y pa u l a d i s b r o w e | p h oto g r a p h y b y n i co l e m l a k a r 78 june 2014 tribeza.com Just 30 miles east of Austin, you can explore an entirely different world. Here, are our favorite fun, funky, and delicious reasons to get lost in the Piney Woods in and around Bastrop. At Dinosaur Park, realistic replicas of prehistoric friends surprise and delight along the trail. tribeza.com june 2014 79 A teepee at McKinney Roughs Visitor's Center offers a shady spot to play and sparks a spirit of adventure. Pack your hiking shoes and a water bottle, because just 13 miles east of the airport, McKinney Roughs Nature Park (1884 State Highway 71 W, 512-578-7427) offers 1,100 lush acres to explore by foot (across 18 miles of wooded trails) or on horseback (bring your own horse). The park is home to hundreds of native plant and animal species that flourish within the rolling box canyons, expansive wildflower meadows, and lazy river bends of the Texas Colorado River. After you pay your entrance fee ($5; free for children 12 and under) and get the latest trail info at the visitors' center, check out the Mark Rose Natural Science Center, where you can get up close and personal with the area's indigenous species (including snakes and turtles) through interactive exhibits and learn more about the diverse confluence of ecosystems (including Post Oak Savannah, Blackland Prairie, East Texas Piney Woods, and a riparian zone) within the park. Next stop, time travel. Sure, you can go to a museum to see skeletons, but at the fun and funky Dinosaur Park (thedinopark.com), you can walk along trails and behold dinosaur replicas roaring from behind plants, trees, and rocks. As you amble past your new friends (e.g. a velociraptor and a triceratops), you're also likely to see real-life wild rabbits, lizards, and roadrunners. Kids can channel their inner Indiana Jones at the park's fossil-dig and playground. Be sure to bring comfy shoes for the half-mile long gravel trail, and snacks (food and drinks are not available) for an afternoon picnic. A well-themed gift shop ensures that you won't escape without a souvenir or two. The park is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 10-4; admission is $7 per person, children under 24 months free. Most of us hop onto Highway 71 east to catch a flight. But there are plenty of alluring reasons to forge ahead, past Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and plan a day or a weekend exploring one of the most compelling areas in Central Texas. Perched on the banks of the Colorado River, with a quaint downtown surrounded by more than 6,000 acres of loblolly pines, Bastrop, TX, has true grit. After enduring the devastating wildfires of 2011, the place dubbed "the most historic small town in Texas" has worked hard to preserve its character, promote heritage tourism, and enhance its creative community. "Our historic downtown is home to more than 18 independently owned restaurants, many featuring locally sourced ingredients from Bastrop County growers and producers," says Nancy Wood, director of the Bastrop Main Street Program. "There are 10 fine art galleries in the three blocks of the commercial district, each with unique art, jewelry, tableware and collector items. With the Colorado River running right through downtown, there's the opportunity to rent a kayak or canoe for a short trip be back in time to enjoy a late lunch," she continues. "We like to say, "come for a visit and we'll capture your heart!" Resident Maura Ambrose, the artist we feature on page 102, echoes the enthusiasm. "I love living in Bastrop because it feels like a small community of people working hard and enjoying the simple life," she says. "With an abundance of farmers and cattle ranchers, a lot of the work here is done in cooperation with the land, and I can relate to that lifestyle." It may be the best time yet to visit this beautiful, resurgent community. What follows, our picks for making the most of the adventure. 80 june 2014 tribeza.com Hear them roar: a colorful Stegosaurus and towering Tyrannosaurus Rex greet visitors from the path. Hikers hit the trail at McKinney Roughs State Nature Park, which offers year round science-based programs for kids. tribeza.com june 2014 81 What says summer more than a drippy, cherry-topped cone from The Sugar Shack (pictured at right)? Street tacos and potent margaritas beckon at Viejo's Tacos y Tequila. A vintage setting and hand-cut steaks make for a romanic evening at Baxter's on Main. 82 june 2014 tribeza.com You'll find boots galore (and everything else you need for ranch dressing) at the Texas Boot Company. In Bastrop, there are enticing options round the clock. For breakfast, join locals downtown at Maxine's Café (905 Main St., 512- 303-0919) for hearty, from scratch cooking like Jack's Eye Opener ($5.75), flaky buttermilk biscuits topped with scrambled eggs and sausage gravy, or spicy migas ($9) with bacon or sausage served with breakfast potatoes, flour or corn tortillas, and homemade salsa. When you're ready to refuel after a day of gallery hopping or kayaking, Viejo's Tacos y Tequila (www.viejosbastrop.com) beckons with an appealing patio and signature drinks like the Basil Antigua ($9) with silver tequila, elderflower liqueur, fresh lime, hibiscus-infused agave nectar, fresh basil, and mint. (Purists can order a flawless top shelf margarita.) Round out your happy hour with their modern riffs on tacos, like Carolinas Pollo Frito ($4) with fried chicken, guacamole, mango, cilantro, and salsa verde or the Pirata ($4) with steak, Manchego cheese, and avocado. With exposed brick walls, soaring beaded ceilings, and throwback 1920s décor, Baxter's on Main (baxtersonmain.com) sets the stage for a date night. Go for the cozy table by the window in the bar—it looks out onto Main Street—then settle into warm spinach-artichoke dip, hand-cut Angus steaks (ribeye and filet mignon), fresh Gulf seafood, and an appealing wine list. We love the small town vibe (and sweet tooth nirvana) at Sugar Shack (sugarshackbastrop.com), a family owned and operated sweet shop where you can tuck into chocolate-dipped strawberries, Blue Bell ice cream, waffle bowl sundaes, and handmade candies (chocolate-covered Rice Krispies treats, anyone?) by the pound. Kazem Khonsari's Lost Pines Art Bazaar (lostpinesartbazaar.com) offers a surprising and thoughtfully curated mix of Persian culture with a Texas twist, including richly hued handwoven rugs, fine antiques, metal and wood art pieces, and western bronze sculptures. You'll also find fair trade and handmade home décor items, such as Rifle Paper Company recipe boxes and Ten Thousand Villages serving sets. Art Connections Gallery (artconnectionsgallerybastrop.com) is a window into Bastrop's robust art community. The historic building doubles as a working studio for three artists, while showcasing the collective vision of over 60 local arts and crafts workers. You'll find fine art photography, wood carvings, and paintings (including oils by owner Deborah Johnson). Other works include fiber and paper art, colorful glass objects, handcrafted furniture, handmade jewelry, ceramics, and books and CDs by local writers and musicians. Expect to smell leather when you open the door at Texas Boot Company (thetexasbootcompany.com), where you'll find everything you need for a night of roadhouse fun. The store boasts the area's biggest selection of western wear, including boots by classic brands like Ariat, Justin, and Lucchese, as well as cowboy hats, plenty of denim, pearl-snap shirts, hand-tooled belts, and more. tribeza.com june 2014 83 Grogeous Persian art, and Western bronze sculptures offer a compelling mix of treasures at Lost Pines Art Bazaar. Sure, you can be home by nightfall, but it's a lot more fun to linger. If you're game for a weekend, book a room at Hyatt Lost Pines Resort and Spa (lostpines.hyatt.com, rooms from $269), which offers a luxurious setting to sink into the area's diverse charms. The well appointed, nature-themed rooms have super cozy beds, and the grounds provide plenty of room to roam (thanks to 405 acres adjacent to McKinney Roughs and alongside the Colorado River). The best way to refresh upon arrival is to grab an inflatable tube and cool down at the Crooked River Water Park. If you and your little cowpokes yearn to be in the saddle, there are scenic trail rides ($85) and easy pony rides ($40 for kids 2 to 10) at Renegade Trailhead equestrian facility. When you're ready to put your feet up—and have them scrubbed and polished— head to Spa Django for a fragrant, rosemary-scented massage. At Wild Hare Youth Spa, moms and daughters can have their toes painted side-by-side with treatments like the Berry Serene Pedicure ($55). The rest of the day is easily rounded out with photo ops with their mascot longhorn steers, activities like raft rides, biking, and extraordinary birding tours. When the light fades, grab a margarita and a seat on a leather couch in the lobby for their new live music series. (We heard Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay, two of our favorite Austin singer-songwriters.). What's the most delicious ending to day brimming with Texas swagger? Slice through a fat ribeye at Stories, which serves seasonal fare in a fine-dining setting (they even have gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids). Save room to end the evening as you should— under a sky full of Texas stars, with s'mores and tall tales around a campfire. Aren't you glad you got away? 84 june 2014 tribeza.com Happy toes at Hyatt Lost Pines Crooked River Water Park; resort riders saddle up for a guided trail ride. Light fades on the Colorado River, abundant western style give Lost Pines' entrance a distinct sense of place. Photos courtesy of Hyatt Lost Pines Resort tribeza.com june 2014 85 a curated collection of vintage and handmade rentals lootvintagerentals.com // 512.464.1184 // 3700 Thompson Street Austin TX 78702 // photo by Paige Newton Photography Architectural Gem on Camino Alto Zen Garden Paradise with UT Tower and Lake Austin Views Charlotte Brigham Broker, MBA 512.423.5707 | firstname.lastname@example.com profile in style Alan Lazarus c h e f a n d co - o w n e r o f V e s pa i o a n d E n ot e c a r e s ta u r a n t s It all started with a hunt for morels, the wild posed to be a guesthouse. After they furnished the space in their style—a mix of mod and folk touches, well-worn favorite books, surround-sound for listening to the Rolling Stones and Crosby Stills and Nash on vinyl, and nostalgic photos from New York, where Alan grew up—they pretty much adopted the space as their master bedroom. "We almost never sleep in the main house," Alan admits. A chef at heart, (for years Alan worked as the national corporate chef for Whole Foods, before cashing in his stock options to open his restaurants), one of Alan's focus at the creek house is preparing simple, satisfying meals to be eaten outdoors. On most weekends, they arrive with produce from their garden in Allendale and something to grill. They also buy local eggs down the road and Wagyu beef from Chisholm Ranch across the creek. In between bowls of gazpacho (inspired by a neighbor's ripe tomatoes) and big salads prepared from whatever is in season, there are plenty of other ways to while away the weekends. They read in the hammock, play guitar, hike, and paddleboard. Susan works on her tile mosaics, and Alan spends shameless amounts of time fishing for bass, sometimes from a chair submerged in the creek. When friends visit, there is late-night wine drinking and guitar playing, and marathon matches of the board game Cards Against Humanity. For Lazarus, the creek house means unfettered time with his family, and a home that his kids will eventually inherit. "It represents sanity; coming here feels like a staycation every weekend," he says. The house has the unexpected bonus of enriching their friendships. "We thought we might see people less, but we actually connect with our friends more because when they come out and spend the night, we get to know them much better," Alan says. "The worse part about every weekend is coming home." P. disbrowe P h oto g r a p h y by w y n n m y er s mushrooms that beg to be panfried in brown butter and served alongside grilled ribeyes. When a friend came through the back door of Vespaio in 2010 with a basket of them, Alan Lazarus, the chef and co-owner of the beloved South Congress restaurant, caught a whiff of possibility. He was surprised that the mushrooms grew in the Texas Hill Country and asked his friend if he could come out to her property to do some foraging. The elusive mushrooms were located just outside of Wimberley, nestled among live oaks and wild mountain juniper on Lone Man Creek. Alan and his wife Susan Clark Lazarus, had been contemplating purchasing a second home, and they were immediately drawn to the rugged landscape. As luck would have it, there was a creekfront property for sale up the road. They immediately looked at the house and made an offer. Although there were five pending contracts ahead of them, Lazarus shared a simpatico sensibility about preserving the land and found himself with that increasingly rare Texas treasure—waterfront property adjacent to a 32-acre nature preserve. In other words, it is guaranteed that the land surrounding his new home would remain wild and undeveloped. "We're so lucky that we landed here," Alan said on a recent afternoon as we dipped our toes in the cool, impossibly clear spring-fed creek. Over the last few years, he and Susan have added a deck that looks out over the creek (the perfect perch for morning coffee and evening aperitivos) and have converted their garage into a guesthouse with an expansive glass door that—even when closed—provides a near seamless connection to the outdoors, including the occasional glimpse of axis deer and wild turkey. Or at least it was sup- 88 june 2014 tribeza.com profile in style 3. 1. 2. 4. 1. "It's catch and release, so I kiss them and release them." 2. A bed in the master suite that looks out over the water. 3. A bookshelf in the main house holds artifacts found on the property, photos of friends and family, and cookbooks. 4. A 1968 Guild guitar, mod orange office chairs and folk textiles create a kick back style. 90 june 2014 tribeza.com 5. 7. 9. 6. 8. 10. 5. A tile mosaic egret counter created by Susan. 7. The glass pane garage doors are frequently open to the outdoors. 8. "We love taking an outdoor showers, ours has a view of the creek." 9. An old birdhouse in the cedars. 10. Chillin' and fishing. P h oto g r a p h y by w y n n m y er s tribeza.com june 2014 91 MAY 3 – AUGUST 24, 2014 Orly Genger: Current Laguna Gloria A Secret Affair: Selections from the Fuhrman Family Collection Matthew Barney, Louise Bourgeois, Maurizio Cattelan, Katharina Fritsch, Robert Gober, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Subodh Gupta, David Hammons, Jim Hodges, Anish Kapoor, Jim Lambie, Ron Mueck, Juan Muñoz, Marc Quinn, Charles Ray, Thomas Schütte, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Kiki Smith, Gillian Wearing Jones Center and Laguna Gloria Jones Center 700 Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78701 thecontemporaryaustin.org Laguna Gloria 3809 West 35th Street Austin, Texas 78703 Director's Circle: Michael and Jeanne Klein, Suzanne Deal Booth and David G. Booth, Michael A. Chesser, Johnna and Stephen Jones, The Still Water Foundation, Melba and Ted Whatley, Texas Monthly, Anonymous 2014 Exhibition Sponsors: Deborah Green and Clayton Aynesworth, Susan and Richard Marcus, Jane Schweppe, Diane Land and Steve Adler, Sue Ellen Stavrand and John Harcourt, Don Mullins, Austin Ventures, Amanda and Brad Nelsen, Pedernales Cellars, Gail and Rodney Susholtz, Lora Reynolds and Quincy Lee, Janet and Wilson G. Allen, Shalini Ramanathan and Chris Tomlinson, Teresa and Darrell Windham, Oxford Commercial, Vinson & Elkins LLP , Lindsey and Mark Hanna Additional Support Generously Provided By: ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Pedernales Cellars, Luxe Interiors + Design, The Texas Tribune, Hotel Saint Cecilia, Hotel San Jose, W Austin, Four Seasons Hotel Austin, The Austin Chronicle, KUT/KUTX Support for Orly Genger provided by The Moody Foundation. This project is funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and in part by the City of Austin Economic Growth & Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com. Orly Genger, Current, 2014. Lobster rope and latex paint. Dimensions variable. Installation view, The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria, Austin. Courtesy the artist. Photograph by Brian Fitzsimmons. A u s t i n a r t s + c u lt u r e Follow Us! V i s i t w w w.t r i b e z a .c o m Stay up-to-date on upcoming events, behind the scenes of our issues, and social media contests! style behind the scenes In Bloom: Rosehip Flora F o r a f l o r i s t w i t h a f o n d n e s s f o r l at e n i g h t f o r ag i n g, l i f e i s a b lo s s o m -s c e n t e d, p e ta l-s t r e w n a dv e n t u r e. Knipp loves to arrange with succulents—though she laughs that they're considered a Texas look, because they were native to California first. most of the time, she finds much of her inspiration, and some of her materials, from the abandoned yards and gardens of Austin. You read that right: Knipp, owner of Rosehip Flora, is a forager. "I have kids, so I drive a lot around Austin," she says. "And I'm always scanning the landscape—I can't help it. If a color pops out at me, or a different texture or foliage, I make a mental note of it, and then if I need it or want it, I go back in the dark of night and I get it." She grins mischievously. This is obviously the fun part for her. But, Knipp explains, she'd never take from someone's prized garden. Instead, she sticks to abandoned lots or seriously forlorn-looking plants. And she never decimates a plant. "I want to go back to it," she says. "I want it to look great the next year so I can have that option again." Knipp enjoys foraging because it's local and sustainable but also because it expands her palette, so to speak. "I clip stuff that wouldn't necessarily travel well from California or Colombia or Holland." A former coffee-shop manager (Ruta Maya on South Congress) who holds a master's degree in conflict resolution and mediation, Knipp first fell in love with flowers in grad school, working part-time Knipp started designing flowers for friends' weddings before opening up her own full-service floral shop 12 years ago. T he studio where Erin Knipp crafts her floral arrangements is cool, tiled, and perfumed—an organized, temperaturecontrolled environment. But though Knipp works indoors for a florist to help pay her bills. "I answered the phones, swept floors, greeted customers . . ." She loved the job—and though she didn't do 94 june 2014 tribeza.com P h oto g r a p h y by l e a h ov er s t r ee t much arranging, she learned by watching. When she moved back to Austin and her friends started getting married, she found herself offering to do their flowers. "I was doing it for my own gratification and as a gift to them," she says. But that gift quickly grew into a business; the vast majority of Knipp's work is devoted to weddings. Her favorites, she says, are those where she is given creative freedom. "I want a bride who trusts me and my aesthetic and will appreciate being pleasantly surprised on her wedding day," Knipp says. The satisfaction she finds in arranging— as she says, "all alone, picking posies"—may have once surprised her, given her education and the lack of entrepreneurs in her business-oriented family. But she followed her gut, embraced a passion for flowers, and twelve years later, Rosehip Flora is in full, glorious, and definitely local bloom. j. netzer Her East Austin shop has ample table space for spreading out and getting specific with her options. Knipp says that about one third of the flowers pictured here have been foraged. Erin's tips for a perfect summer centerpiece 1. Use succulents and cacti; indoors or out, they add a touch of green when everything else is turning brown. Hearty plants hold up best outdoors and prefer indirect sunlight. 2. Find a container that suits the venue or occasion. With succulents I prefer to use containers that are low profile and generally more sleek or modern. This keeps the focus on the plants. Line the container with pea gravel to absorb excess moisture. 3. Shop for a variety of textures, shapes, and colors, and consider how they will blend in the container. Don't crowd the pot; plants need room to grow. 4. For a floral touch you can also "plant" a small vase among the succulents. Go native and find roadside wildflowers to fill the vase. This will add color while also offering the flexibility to change out the flowers as needed. 5. Top-dress the arrangement with any number of elements: moss, sand, rocks, tumbled glass. This is another chance to bring in color and whimsy. Knipp has been arranging flowers, or as she calls it, "poking posies," for more than twelve years. tribeza.com june 2014 95 WHAT READERS ARE SAYING... 63% COPY OF TRIBEZA TO A F R I E N D H AV E G I V E N A K E E P PA S T I S S U E S OF TRIBEZA 61% H AV E P U R C H A S E D SERVICE THEY SAW IN TRIBEZA AN ITEM OR E N J OY LO O K I N G AT T H E A D S IN TRIBEZA 83% ADVERTISE WITH TRIBEZA | A DV E R T I S I N G @ T R I B E Z A .CO M January 2014 survey results "We are making impressions in the metal just like the story that you are documenting has made an impression in your life. You have to embrace those moments and Cherish Who You Are®." – Heather Moore 6317 Bee Caves Road, Suite 370, Austin, Texas 78746 • 512-328-6600 • annagrayaustin.com PA JONES Jun e 20 1 4 Wa l ly Workm a n Ga llery WWG 1 2 0 2 W. 6 th St. Au st in, TX 7 8 7 0 3 wal ly work man.com 512.472.7428 the n i g h t s ta n d Claiborne Smith is the editor in chief of Kirkus Reviews and the former literary director of the Texas Book Festival. Above the East China Sea By Sa ra h B i rd 336 pp., $25.95 Bird's new novel opens with the suicide of a pregnant girl, Tamiko, in Okinawa in 1945 as the Japanese government spreads propaganda that the incoming American soldiers are going to rape and kill the women there. Fast-forward seven decades to present-day Okinawa, where Army brat Luz James, the daughter of a severe military sergeant mother, is mourning her sister, killed while serving in Afghanistan, and battling suicidal thoughts of her own. This is Bird's most provocative and thoughtful novel yet, about a place that has haunted her imagination since her own experiences with the island. By C l a i b o r n e S m i t h Su m m e r r e a d ing : it's a phrase that conjures images of fluffy, frivolous page-turners forgotten the day after finishing them or paperbacks abandoned for the next beachgoer to read at the condo you rented. But why should lazing away on vacation mean you lose your good taste in books? Have at the latest Danielle Steel if you'd like, but these Austin writers (or writers with ties to Austin) offer in their new books all-encompassing worlds that are gripping, funny, dark, and thoughtful. We all know by now the virtues of eating local, but take it a step further this month: read local. 98 june 2014 tribeza.com c l a i b o r n e s m i t h p h oto co u rt e s y o f k i r k u s r e v i e w s The Nightstand the n i g h t s ta n d Fourth of July Creek By S m i t h H en d erso n 480 pp., $26.99 The pleasurable feeling of being menaced by a suspenseful story that entirely grabs you and won't let you go starts on page 1 of Henderson's debut novel, as a social worker shows up in a Montana town to investigate (and attempt to help) a troubled teen whose mother is hopped up on speed. Henderson, an alum of the Michener Center for Writers at UT, is a Montana native. His determined social worker, Pete Snow, uncovers Thunderstruck & Other Stories By Elizabeth McC r ac k e n 240 pp., $26 Surf Texas By Ken n y B rau n 144 pp., $55 an assortment of vicious cases until his estranged daughter disappears and the FBI starts sniffing around. After eyeing the pages of Surf Texas, lingering on its black-and-white images, you put the book down feeling a little waterlogged and sun-baked. That's a compliment to the deeply immersive quality of Braun's photographs: he makes you feel as if you're in the water with these bands of surfing brothers. A surfer himself, Braun has shot for Texas Monthly, Wired, Southern Living, and Pentagram Design, among others. Feeling ambivalent about sunbathing with the crowds at South Padre Island this summer? Spend time with Surf Texas and you'll feel as if you were there (without the sting of sea salt in your eyes). A cursory description of the events that occur in McCracken's new collection (her first in 20 years) makes her stories sound like tabloid fodder, more like a horror novel than a thoughtful offering from one of the most respected literary writers publishing today. Murder, disappearing children, a ghost child, abuse: welcome to McCracken's world! But horror and deep insight, humor and grim happenings intertwine themselves in her writing. McCracken is a National Book Award finalist who teaches at the Michener Center; her stories wittily evoke strange associations while serving up honest revelations. tribeza.com june 2014 99 style i n s p i r at i o n b oa r d I n s pi r at i o n B oar d: Maura Grace Ambrose folk f i b e r s Since she was child, Maura Ambrose, owner of Folk Fibers, has embraced a passion for vintage objects and fabrics. When she traveled from her home in Carey, North Carolina, to her grandparents' in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Ambrose spent countless hours in her grandmother's attic, discovering lost treasures and antique fabrics. "I've always been drawn to items of history," explains Ambrose, "but it all started in my grandmother's attic." As Ambrose grew older, she took her interest to the professional level by studying in the Textile Design & Arts Fiber program at the Savannah College of Art and Design. After graduation, she worked a number of different jobs—from the corporate offices of Urban Outfitters to a small organic farm. In 2011, Ambrose started to prepare her own natural dyes and stitch quilts full time. (We featured her in the Makers' Issue of Tribeza in 2012.) Since then, her homegrown business has flourished—and Folk Fibers has gone beyond the local and garnered national attention: she was nominated as a Tastemaker Honoree by Martha Stewart and has over 52,000 followers on Instagram. Nowadays for Ambrose, organic inspiration still comes in the form of vintage objects but also in the handmade tools that she uses to create her dyes and quilts. "I get a sense of connection with my materials when I'm working with my hands." K. WALSH 102 june 2014 tribeza.com m au r a ' s 1. 2. 3. 5. Inspiration Board 7. 4. 6. 12. 9. 11. 19. 8. 18. 13. 15. 20. 21. 16. 16. 14. 10. 1. Quilt box: "My handmade cedar boxes are built by Austin local Kelly Dewitt. My husband, Chap, laser-etches the logo, which is designed by Ryan Rhodes and Renee Fernandez, who also live in Austin." 2. Bunny: "One of two rabbits that have joined us on our move from Philadelphia to Austin." 3. Indigo-dyed woven cloth: "This fabric was a collaboration with my friends Leslie and Jay from Tangleblue [a textile consulting business in San Francisco], using linen I dyed in the indigo vat." 4. Feathers: "Hawk and turkey feathers collected on a four-month road trip that my husband and I took a couple years ago in our VW camper van." 5. Mortar: "I use this tool to grind indigo." 6. Awl and spindle: "I found these handmade tools at the Golden Nugget in New Jersey." 7. America's Quilts and Coverlets: "An antique book that I bought in Maine." 8. Blue thread: "Cotton bamboo yarn that I dyed with indigo." 9. Clothespins: "Old-fashioned clothespins are beautiful and useful objects." 10. Kentucky quilt: "A quilt I made using naturally dyed and vintage fabrics, available for sale in my online shop." 11. Chinese printing block: "A hand-carved woodblock I found in San Antonio, a source of inspiration for sashiko stitching patterns." 12. Star: "Vintage fabric remnant to be used for a quilt." 13. Slippers: "Hand-stitched, rabbit-themed children's shoes." 14. Postcard: "Amish horse and buggy postcard from a friend living in Pennsylvania." 15. Indigo cake: "Natural indigo cake ready to be ground up and used for dye." 16. Madder: "Chopped-up roots ready to be soaked and used for dye." 17. Cactus postcard: "Flora and fauna found in West Texas." 18. Sashiko sample: "Muslin fabric with red sashiko stitches showing samples of patterns to aid in teaching stitching workshops." 19. Wooden rabbit: "Hand-carved by my late grandfather-in-law, Harvey." 20. Turtle shell: "I found this walking in a pecan grove in Austin with my old farm boss Brent Johnson." 21. Travel clothesline: "A vintage keepsake that includes tiny clothespins, cotton cord, and two glass-head pushpins." p h o to g r a p h y b y b i l l s a l l a n s tribeza.com june 2014 103 style pick Architect Jean-Pierre Trou designed the large wooden containers to give the space character and division. A clever use of storage containers create a juice bar and Rogue Running retail space. The containers are made from reclaimed shipping pallets, inspired by the building's proximity to the railroad tracks. A former garage (note vintage light fixture) created an industrial-chic setting. Pure Austin 410 Speed Shop a h i p n e w d ow n tow n t r a i n i n g faci l i t y i s a n i n s p i r ed p l ac e to s w e at. ough and tough: these are the two qualities that most in- ored sneakers and other gear) and embody the themes of movement spired principal architects Jean-Pierre Trou and Aaron and strength that are so important to both brands. "The space had a lot of character already. The warehouse look fit Vollmer while designing Pure Austin's latest fitness hot spot, 410 Speed Shop. The gym is a former car repair shop turned perfectly with their brands. We just needed an element that could tie premier training facility, but it's stayed true to its roots with the help of everything together," Trou says. "The containers help in the organizaTrou and Vollmer, who vowed to honor the iconic history of the space tion of the program elements, defining retail areas and training areas, as well as creating communal spaces, such as the juice bar." throughout the design process. 410 Speed Shop has one goal in mind: to foster a sense of commu"We wanted to create a statement, something iconic that resembled both the history of the space as well as the core values of both brands, nity amongst both athletes and nonathletes that moves people to be inspired about life and fitness. Pure Austin & Rogue Running," Trou says. "When you walk inside 410 Speed Shop, you should feel like you want The spacious building is situated adjacent to railroad tracks, and that theme is carried over to the interior as well, where Trou and to work out; you should feel like you can't wait to wear your running shoes and go for a run," Trou says. "We want you to get Vollmer have created "containers": large reclaimed ship410 Pressler Street pumped, inspired, and to come back with a friend. So ping pallets that give the space more division and char(at 5th St) it becomes a destination." e. banks acter (one of them holds Rogue's vast array of candy-col- R pureaustinspeedshop.com 104 june 2014 tribeza.com P h oto g r a p h y by b i l l s a l l a n s Media sponsor: Blanton Museum of Art / The University of Texas at Austin / www.blantonmuseum.org Copper is a unique, locally-owned restaurant and cocktail lounge in The Domain that serves contemporary American cuisine spiced with native Austin influence. Join us for lunch, dinner, dessert, or our incredible "six half" happy hour & reverse happy hour. Stop in to see why we're one of the best kept secrets in the Domain. 3401 Esperanza Crossing Suite #104 at The Domain | copperaustin.com without r e s e r vat i o n s The rooftop patio at Silo is a prime spot for sipping beer on a warm summer evening. The California Burgeriitto: carne asada burger, pico, grilled avocado, queso fresco, tater tot patty, sour cream on a kaiser bun. Silo on Seventh After years of renovations and delays, owner, David Rightmer, finally opens his burger heaven on Seventh Street. 1300 E 7th St (512) 524 0866 I Q u e s t fo r a B e t t er B u rg er At The Silo a bit of old Austin meets new Austin; the two-story restaurant is housed in a former tortilla factory. The stone building was first erected in 1922, but parts of the structure burned down, while the main retail store and old corn silo stayed intact. (In the downstairs dining area, two of the original packages from Tony's Tortilla Factory are framed and displayed along the exposed metal beam that runs across the center of the restaurant.) Upstairs, the rooftop deck offers a prime perch for alfresco dining on early summer evenings. On our first visit, Michael and I sat at a table as the sun began its descent and soft pinks played across the silhouetted skyline of downtown. Right away we were drawn to The Silo's friendly service and lowkey atmosphere with little hipster pretense. We were each seduced by a different burger. I went for the traditional half-pound burger (the Silo, $8.95) featuring Stella's relish, a homemade relish with finely chopped zucchini as its starring ingredient. The burger was perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside with the right amount of red juiciness on the inside. The dense, toasted brioche bun soaked this all up, in addition to the mouthwatering mix of relish, mayo, mustard, and ketchup. n our nine years of living in Austin, my husband, Michael, and I have been on something of a culinary pursuit to track down the best burger in the city. Admittedly, we had been spoiled by the monumental burgers that Manhattan has to offer (from the classic on an English muffin at P.J. Clarke's to the Parisian variation topped with melting Roquefort at Café Luxembourg). When we first arrived in 2004, Austin's selections were, let's just say, less than impressive. More than once, we met with sad plates of overcooked patties or belt-busting, Texas-sized burgers, both resulting in a post-repast, brick-in-the-stomach state. But like other versions of dining in Austin, the rapid proliferation of new restaurants along Congress and other areas of town has spawned a wide array of new options—from the bustle and (often) wait of Hopdoddy to the artisan burger at Salt & Time butcher shop and restaurant. This spring another burger joint opened in town, after two years of renovations and delays from the considerable backlog of city building permits (another sign of the boom), on the corner of East Seventh Street and Lydia: The Silo on 7th. With its burger-centric menu, this low-key restaurant definitely brings something new to the table. june 2014 tribeza.com Michael went for bold and spicy: the Navasota ($10.95), which consists of a patty made from pork butt topped with Muenster, grilled avocado, tomatillo, garlic, cilantro, serrano, and chipotle in adobo sauce. His burger offered up a fiery kick with a complex layering of fresh flavors, from the thinsliced tomatillo to the paprika-spiked adobo sauce. For a side, we split the sweet potato tots— crispy nuggets of goodness seasoned generously with salt and pepper. As we ate, the sun settled beyond the western cityscape, and the string of yellow lights crisscrossing the deck glowed more brightly. Early eighties Depeche Mode pulsed on the sound system. Other menu selections range from a sloppy joe to a grilled portobello mushroom. Appetizers include tempura-battered, fried deviled eggs and pulled pork sliders, among other standard barroom fare. For beer geeks, there is a comprehensive selection of more than thirty-six varieties, including Texas craft beers. If you have room for dessert, there are scoops of Lick ice cream. The verdict: Silo on 7th is a burger destination that stands out amid the other options in town. This new restaurant presents bold, tasty burgers in a casual, friendly atmosphere. Brunch is also served on Sundays and Mondays, and lunch is served daily, with a modified menu being offered soon. k. walsh P h oto g r a p h y by j e s s i c a pag e s 106 Com nd ! s u h t i w e t a r e celeb SUN 8PM JUN1 ST HAPPY 2 BIRTHAVERSARY PARTY!! between 3rd & 4th (above the elephant room) 315 CONGRESS 512.482.8200 www.swiftsattic.com The World at War, 1914–1918 Drawing on the Ransom Center's extensive collections, this exhibition illuminates the experience of the war from the point of view of its participants and observers, preserved through letters, drafts, and diaries; memoirs and novels; and photographs and propaganda posters. Through August 3, 2014 21st and Guadalupe Streets Free admission, donations welcome www.hrc.utexas.edu STOREFRONT NOW OPEN 2406 Manor Road 10-6 Tues - Sat I 12-5 Sunday www.RAVENANDLILY.com fair trade . handmade . one-of-a-kind APPAREL + JEWELRY + ACCESSORIES + GIFTS Dinner & Drinks dining guide From brisket to briny oysters, our favorite places to eat and drink al fresco. 360 UNO TRATTORIA & WINE BAR 3801 N Capital of TX Hwy (512) 327 5505 Great espresso bar and a mostly-Italian wine list, complete with an outdoor patio for sipping. BENJI'S CANTINA APOTHECARY CAFÉ AND WINE BAR 4800 Burnet Rd (512) 371 1600 Apothecary's dog-friendly patio and excellent wine selection make it the perfect weekend afternoon destination to sip wine and enjoy a bite with friends. BANGER'S SAUSAGE HOUSE AND BEER GARDEN 79 Rainey St (512) 386 1656 Banger's brings the German biergarten tradition stateside with an array of BOTTICELLI'S 1321 S Congress Ave BLUE DAHLIA BISTRO 1115 E 11th St (512) 542 9542 A cozy, French-inspired bistro serving up breakfast, lunch, and dinner indoors or in the quaint outdoor courtyard. CLARK'S OYSTER BAR 1200 W 6th St (512) 297 2525 Small and typically crowded, Clark's' extensive caviar and oyster menu, sharp aesthetics, and excellent service make it a refreshing indulgence on West Sixth Street. Indoor EAST SIDE KING 1618 E 6th St (512) 422 5884 Chefs Paul Qui, Moto Utsonomaya and Ek Timrek offer out-of-this-world pan-Asian food from three food trailers dispersed around town. 716 W 6th St (512) 476 8226 Rooftop dining on West 6th, Benji's offers a fresh, innovative approach to Tex-Mex where seafood and Mexican influences adorn the menu. BOULDIN CREEK CAFÉ 1900 S 1st St (512) 416 1601 Affordable, wholesome vegetarian cuisine, including soups, salads, and sandwiches. Their patio is always full with the weekend brunch crowd. CRU WINE BAR 238 W 2nd St (512) 472 9463 An excellent place for a date; drink a bottle of wine at one of the cozy sidewalk tables. EASY TIGER 709 E 6th St (512) 614 4972 Delicious bakeshop upstairs and beer garden downstairs—this is the kind of place where you can relax while sipping a local brew on the patio and warm aromas of croissants and freshly baked pretzels and beer cheese waft over you from upstairs. EL NARANJO 85 Rainey St (512) 474 2776 Husband and wife team Iliana de la Vega and Ernesto Torrealba serve EL ALMA 1025 Barton Springs Rd (512) 609 8923 Enjoy chef-driven, authentic Mexican cuisine on their outdoor, upstairs patio. artisan sausages and over 100 beers on tap. Spend an afternoon getting to know your neighbors on their huge patio with community tables. They have a small dog park, too! (512) 916 1315 An inviting trattoria with warm Tuscan colors. Small bar up front and cozy booths in back. Escape from the hustle and bustle of South Congress in their backyard patio. CONTIGO 2027 Anchor Ln (512) 614 2260 Taking cues from Contigo Ranch, the restaurant offers fresh, quality bar food in a relaxing, patio environment. and outdoor seating is available. EAST SIDE SHOW ROOM 1100 E 6th St (512) 467 4280 When you step inside, it's like stepping into a completely different era. Enjoy delicious vintage cocktails, '30's- and '40'sinspired music, and cuisine by Fermin Nunez. On nice nights, head back to the small outdoor patio. EDEN EAST 755 Springdale Rd (512) 428 6500 Weekends at the farm have never been more delicious: Chef Sonya Cote of Hillside Farmacy teamed up with Springdale Farms to create a (literal) farm-to-table concept restaurant on the East side, serving a seasonal prix fixe menu under a the canopy of a majestic Texas elm tree. 108 june 2014 tribeza.com FRESH LOCAL Finn & Porter is fresh and modern. Locally sourced and exquisitely presented. Known for the freshest seafood, steaks, sushi and produce the state of Texas has to o er. Prepared by Chef Peter Ma ei, with his talent for selecting the best of the season and allowing its avor to shine. 500 e. 4th street | austin, tx 78701 finnandporterAUSTIN.com up authentic cuisine from Mexico's interior. Dine al fresco on the charming Rainey Street patio. EAST SIDE KING 1618 E 6th St (512) 422 5884 Chefs Paul Qui, Moto Utsonomaya and Ek Timrek offer out-of-this-world pan-Asian food from three trailers. EASY TIGER 709 E 6th St (512) 614 4972 Delicious bake shop upstairs and beer garden downstairs. Enjoy the signature house-made sausages. EDEN EAST 755 Springdale Rd (512) 428 6500 Weekends at the farm have never been more delicious: Chef Sonya Cote of Hillside Farmacy teamed up with Springdale Farms this year to create a (literal) farmto-table concept restaurant on the East side, serving a seasonal prix fixe menu under a the canopy of a majestic Texas elm tree. EL ALMA 1025 Barton Springs Rd (512) 609 8923 Enjoy chef-driven, authentic Mexican cuisine on their stunning rooftop patio. EL NARANJO 85 Rainey St (512) 474 2776 Husband and wife team Iliana de la Vega and Ernesto Torrealba serve up authentic cuisine from Mexico's interior. Dine al fresco on the charming Rainey Street patio. EPICERIE 2307 Hancock Dr (512) 371 6840 A café and grocery with both Louisiana and French sensibilities by Thomas Keller-trained Sarah McIntosh. Mediterranean plates for sharing. Sip a handcrafted cocktail al fresco on the lovely patio. FRESA'S 915 N Lamar Blvd (512) 428 5077 Tasty chicken al carbon, refreshing agua frescas, GUSTO ITALIAN KITCHEN & WINE BAR 4800 Burnet (512) 458 1100 Upscale-casual Italian; solid pasta specials, incredible desserts (orange olive oil cake!), and an interesting wine list. HAYMAKER 2310 Manor Rd (512) 243 6702 It's comfort food meets sports bar meets beer pub in Cherrywood, an easygoing place to get a craft beer and elevated bar food. Get the namesake: The Haymaker is an open-faced roast beef sandwich, topped with tribeza.com june 2014 FOODHEADS ELIZABETH STREET CAFÉ 1501 S 1st St (512) 291 2881 A charming FrenchVietnamese eatery with a colorful menu of pho, banh mi, and more. Vibrant and comfortable surrounding patio. FINO RESTAURANT PATIO & BAR 2905 San Gabriel St (512) 474 2905 616 W 34th St (512) 420 8400 Fresh, inspired sandwiches, soups, and salads in a charming, refashioned cottage and porch. and the best guacamole around. G'RAJ MAHAL 73 Rainey St (512) 480 2255 With an extensive yet cozy covered patio, G'Raj Mahal is one of the best places to spend a summer evening feasting on authentic Indian cuisine. 109 v i e w t h e e n t i r e r e s ta u r a n t g u i d e o n l i n e at t r i b e z a .co m flavorful slaw, tomatoes, a fried egg, decadent gruyere sauce, and—wait for it—french fries. HILLSIDE FARMACY 1209 E 11th St (512) 628 0168 Hillside Farmacy is located in a beautifully restored 50s-style pharmacy with a perfect porch for people watching on the East Side. Oysters, cheese plates, and nightly dinner specials. JACK ALLEN'S KITCHEN 7720 Hwy 71 W (512) 852 8558 Savor country favorites from Chef Jack Gilmore on the covered patio. JOSEPHINE HOUSE 1601 Waterston Ave (512) 477-5584 Rustic, continental fare with an emphasis on fresh, local and organic ingredients. Serving lunch, afternoon snacks, and evening cocktails, the shady porch is the perfect spot for a late-afternoon paloma. JUSTINE'S BRASSERIE 4710 E 5th St (512) 385 2900 With its French bistro fare, impressive cocktails, and charming décor inside and out, Justine's has Austin looking east. Expect a crowd, even late at night. HUDSONS ON THE BEND 3509 RR 620 N (512) 266 1369 Best handling of wild game in town—delicious quail salad, rattlesnake cakes and grilled venison chops with lobster tail. LA BARBECUE 1200 E 6th St (512) 605 9696 In the heart of East Sixth, La Barbecue whips up classic barbecue with free beer and live music. LA CONDESA 400 W 2nd St (512) 499 0300 Delectable cocktails, tasty tacos and appetizers, delicious main courses, all inspired by the hip and bohemian Condesa neighborhood in Mexico City. LENOIR 1807 S 1st St (512) 215 9778 A gorgeous spot to enjoy a luxurious Frenchinspired prix-fixe meal in an intimate dining room and table that seats just 34 diners. The recently added outdoor wine garden makes for the ideal al fresco dining experience. METTLE 507 Calles St (512) 236 1022 Created by Rainey Street proprietor Bridget Dunlap, Mettle offers a diverse, often-experimental menu exciting for omnivores and vegetarians alike. MULBERRY Subtle design elements make the space cohesive and modern, and its creative twists on classic, comforting dishes from a pork belly/sirloin burger to seasonally topped flatbread pizza are downright delicious. Expect the freshest fish and oysters flown in daily from both coasts, carefully prepared with simple yet elegant flavors. Go early on a nice day to eat oysters and people-watch on their fantastic front porch. POLVO'S OLIVE & JUNE 3411 Glenview Ave (512) 467 9898 Celebrated Austin Chef Shawn Cirkiel created this southern Italian-style restaurant with a menu that highlights local, seasonal ingredients and includes Southern and some Northern Italian favorites. The beautiful tree-covered patio is the perfect spot for a summer meal. PAGGI HOUSE 200 Lee Barton Dr (512) 473 3700 Eclectic fine dining in an inviting setting of one of Austin's famous landmark homes. A spacious patio overlooks Lady Bird Lake. PERLA'S SEAFOOD & OYSTER BAR 1400 S Congress Ave (512) 291 7300 A South Congress staple: 2004 S 1st St (512) 441 5446 Between the salsa bar, patio seating, and delicious margaritas, this is one of Austin's beloved Tex-Mex icons. QUI 1600 E 6th St (512) 436 9626 Chef Paul Qui's new HQ is one of the hottest new spots in town for Japanese food: an unparalleled dining experience set under an airy, beautiful backdrop. SALTY SOW 1917 Manor Rd (512) 391 2337 Salty Sow serves up creative signature drinks, including a yummy Blueberry-Lemon Thyme Smash. The food menu, heavy with sophisticated gastropub fare, is perfect LUCY'S FRIED CHICKEN 5408 Burnet Rd (512) 514 0664 & 2218 College Ave (512) 297 2423 This South Congress favorite opened a new outpost off Burnet Road. Different location, same straight-up Southern goodness, from Moon pies to fried green tomatoes to corn muffins to the crème de la crème: fried chicken. MANDOLA'S ITALIAN MARKET 4700 W Guadalupe St (512) 419 9700 Casual Italian fare and a well-stocked gourmet grocery, alongside a deli, bakery, and espresso bar. Grab a gelato and unwind on the patio overlooking the Triangle. 360 Nueces St #20 (512) 320 0297 Mulberry is a wine bar and New American style restaurant that has received praise for its cozy atmosphere, unique design, carefully prepared cuisine, and an expertly curated wine list. NORTH 11506 Century Oaks #124 (512) 339 4440 Guests enjoy modern Italian cuisine in a sleek interior with sliding doors that make for a seamless indoor/outdoor space at this Domain standout. The fig and prosciutto pizza is the perfect midshopping snack! NO VA KITCHEN & BAR 87 Rainey St (512) 382 5651 110 june 2014 tribeza.com for late-night noshing: think triple-fried duck fat fries and crispy Brussels sprouts. SALVATION PIZZA 624 W 34th St (512) 535 0076 A cozy spot that serves up delectable flavor combinations of New Haven style pizza pies in an inviting bungalow. SWAY 1417 S 1st St (512) 326 1999 The culinary masterminds behind La Condesa cook up Thai cuisine with a modern twist. An intimate outdoor area, complete with a Thai spirit house, makes for an unforgettable experience. TAKOBA 1411 E 7th St (512) 628 4466 Bold, authentic flavors with ingredients imported straight from Mexico; cozy outdoor seating. TAPASITAS 800 W 6th St (512) 436 9633 With such an amazing Happy Hour, this is a great place to start your evening with quality cocktails and delicious tapas. Take in the downtown skyline seated on their rooftop bar. THE GROVE WINE BAR 6317 Bee Cave Rd (512) 327 8822 3001 RR 620 S (512) 263 2366 Lively, popular Westlake wine bar and Italian restaurant. The wine list boasts more than 250 wines by the bottle. WEATHER UP 1808 E Cesar Chavez St (512) 524 0464 Cozy and intimate inside, and laid-back outdoors seating, bartenders create high-end, handcrafted drinks from scratch. WINEBELLY 519 W Oltorf (512) 487 1569 Tapas on Oltorf in a cozy setting: rich small plates are spins on old favorites and the wine cocktails are a welcome surprise. WINFLO OSTERIA TRACE 200 Lavaca St (512) 542 3660 At W Austin, TRACE focuses on responsiblyand locally-sourced ingredients from Texan farmers and artisans. Great outdoor seating and excellent service. VIA 313 PIZZA 1111 E 6th St (512) 939 1927 Deep-dish, Detriot-style pizza from an East Austin food truck - perfect for a late night out. 1315 W 6th St (512) 582 1027 Classic Italian fare made simply and with locallysourced ingredients with a darling patio on West Sixth. YELLOW JACKET SOCIAL CLUB 1704 E 5th St (512) 480 9572 Step out for a drink and stay for the classic fare, from sandwiches to frittatas. ©2013 Bob's Steak & Chop House Austin's prime spot for prime steaks. We know you've heard about us … the food, the atmosphere, the service. Bob's Steak & Chop House exceeds its reputation from the moment you walk in last one to become addicted to Bob's. the door. Come in and see for yourself. Don't be the 301 Lavaca Street Austin, TX 78701 512-222-2627 www.bobs-steakandchop.com tribeza.com june 2014 111 style last look Splendor in the Grass There's no better (or more romantic) way Wine: A light Beaujolais-Villages Le Pot pairs well with the entire mix, especially on a sultry summer evening. White (we love the Sancerre), sparkling, and an assortment of beers are also available. Antonelli's Cheese Shop 4220 Duval Street (512) 531 9610 antonellischeese.com Chocolate: Made by northern California's Dick Taylor with beans from the Dominican Republic, this bold bar is the producers' favorite. "Don't save it for dessert," urges Kendall, "It goes great with cheese, too." Olives: Vibrant green Castelvetranos from Sicily are more fruity than briny. "They're a customer favorite," says Kendall. Add them to your basket for a well-spent fee. to savor these warm summer evenings than with a picnic. The wine sipping, baguette slicing, and slipping off of shoes is easy. The hard part about picnicking is typically the task of pulling together the perfect spread. If you're seduced by the idea more than the schlepping, call the nice folks at Antonelli's Cheese Shop, where you can rent a fully loaded picnic basket for $75. Theirs includes three varieties of cheese, two meats, wine or beer, an Easy Tiger baguette or crackers, buttery marcona almonds, and an artisanal chocolate bar. (You can supplement the mix with extra goodies like olives or fruit preserves.) They've even covered the serving essentials by including a wooden cheese board, utensils, corkscrew, dishes, jam-jar glasses, and napkins. All you need to do is remember the blanket (and return the nonedibles— remember, you're renting). Owners Kendall and John Antonelli opened their Hyde Park cheese shop in early 2010. Since then they've expanded across the street, and their curated offerings appear on menus throughout the city. When it comes to packing their own summer baskets, they choose "whatever is tasting the best at the time," says Kendall, "and cheeses that make sense seasonally, which means avoiding ooey-gooey or stinky cheeses in the Texas heat." Their favorite picnic spots include "Lady Bird Lake, Springdale Farm on market days, and Sand Beach Park by Seaholm Power Plant," Kendall says. But when the thermometer rises, "sometimes we just toss down a blanket on our living room floor and crank up the A/C." k. spezia Cheddar: Clothbound cheddar made in Vermont by Cabot, this firm cheese is produced from the milk of a single herd of Holstein cows. It is especially tasty with brown ales. Ossau-Iraty: Rich and nutty, this semi-soft fromage from the Onetik Cooperative is one of only two sheep's milk cheeses granted the prestigious AOC status in France. Of ancient origin, it was traditionally made by shepherds in the region. Goat Gouda: Citrusy with a slight scent of caramel, this California cheese from Central Coast Creamery is handcrafted in small batches. It's firm texture holds up well in the Texas heat. "You don't want a cheese that turns into messy, stinky pool," says Kendall. Tartufo Salami: Made in California by Alle-Pia, this delicate pork salami has a subtle mushroom essence. Currently Antonelli's is their only Texas distributer. Bresaola: These shaved petals of dried beef come from the well-established, highly respected Salumeria Biellese in NYC. 112 june 2014 tribeza.com P h oto g r a p h y by k at e l e s u eu r Shown: the Mellow sofa with pillow that aren't. TOILE WITH SCENES OF PEASANTS? LET'S ALL NOT GO THERE. DONKEY-RIDING 115 West 8th Street Austin 512.480.0436 scottcooner.com