The People's Republic of Austin

It's a blue day in a red state.

We are here in Austin to play a showcase at the PASIC conference.

On the way, we stop for lunch at Rudy's BBQ.

This is a no-frills bbq throw-down. You order your food by the pound, which is placed on butcher paper and garnished with half a loaf of white bread.





While waiting in line, you can watch your brisket being sliced on the Cutter Cam.








As usual, our eyes are too big for even our stomachs, so we order way too much food:

Spicy beef, brisket, sausages, half a chicken, ribs, beans, creamed corn, cole slaw, potato salad, with onions, pickles, and extra "sause."























This is one of Franco's favorite BBQ places.

He gets a little teary.








So how was it, you ask? Totally solid. Their "sause" is packed with cracked black peppercorns and has the perfect balance of sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness. Their brisket is Texas-style, covered in about a half-inch thick layer of rub and smoked until it's completely black. Hoo-yeah.

Moving on to dinner at...




Chuy's!













With Archie (Franco's brother), Carol, Josh, Luke, & Jakey!










Chuy's is an Austin Tex-Mex institution. The decorative theme: Elvis. Why? Because when the restaurant opened in 1982, the owners only had $20 to decorate the place. And what did they get with their $20? A velvet painting of Elvis.

This is also where the Bush twins (or was it just one twin?) got busted for underage drinking.











I get a chicken enchilada in tomatillo sauce & a chicken tostada-ish thing (it's under the lettuce).










Yurika gets the veggie enchiladas, made with blue corn tortillas.

It's a lot of food. But it's good. So we both manage to clean our plates.













On a completely unrelated note, Yurika says her pants are getting tighter. Mine, too.

Hm.