Austin is to Texas what Sante Fe is to New Mexico and what Seattle is to Washington. It thrives on its artistic personality in both its music scene and other forms of the arts. There is always the next O Henry or Larry McMurtry sitting at a coffee bar or the bar at the historic Driskoll Hotel enjoying a bourbon. So, when asked to be at a conference with my friends at MWM Architects, I of course accepted. The hotel of choice was the Hotel San Jose on South Congress, south of Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) which places it in the equivalent of Austin's version of the Left Bank in Paris. When checking into the hotel on Sunday afternoon after setting up the booth at the conference, I mused that I would literally clear the courtyard for us by putting on a Speedo and going out there and finding a seat. The manager looked at me and said, "I doubt that clears the courtyard." I said, "You haven't seen me in a Speedo" (neither have I though) to which he replied, "You haven't seen our courtyard."
There is a point when people seek to be so different than norms within a society that when you see them all in one location, they really become the norm, which means they aren't really all that different, no matter how hard they try. Piercings, tats, painted toenails on a man, colored hair might cause a glance or a look in a mall in a suburb, but here, when everyone is painted up and attempts to demonstrate how far they can push an envelope, it hardly draws attention.
So, in this environment, our team attempts to find a place to eat. Now, when it comes to food, I'm a conventional sort, but in an unconventional area thriving on being different, a steak house or a seafood place are not going to be what image you conjure in your mind. Still, I was surprised when one of the architects said, "There is a great sushi bar not far from here that I really want us to eat at."
Sushi? Really? Is this a joke? Are you videoing my face to post it on social media as a laugh hoping it goes viral? "Oh, they have meat dishes too," was an attempt to reassure me, "But I think you will like it." Since I don't have the car, and (a big and) since they are buying the meal, it would be most ungracious to simply say, "I will stay here and find a taco bar or something," tempting as that may be. So, we go to the sushi bar, us and the younger cool crowd with variations of styles of cool clothing for 20-something young artistic types. I'm not hip (probably never was) and in this environment, my age and my lack of hipness are apparent (when I asked for a fork it really became apparent). So, servings brought in bowls of things not cooked with vegetables and such to our table, along with saki was the order of the evening. I was only comforted with two things, being with friends AND seeing Japanese beer on the menu. I chose the beer and prayed that there be at least two dishes that I didn't have to kill before I ate it or chase it as it flipped off the plate.
Perhaps beer was one of our gifts to the Japanese after World War II, along with baseball. So, perhaps the Japanese gift to us in return was a sushi bar (along with ceasing their warring ways after 2000 years of conquering). Beer one from Japan was White Hitachino Nest from the Kiuchi Brewery in Ibiraki, Japan and the other was Kirin Ichiban from Tokyo, Japan. I have had Japanese beer before, and I will note that it has a distinct flavor. I preferred the Kirin, since it was on tap and came in a draught format. I felt as though I noted a hopiness in both beers but the Nest White specs cite a low bitterness unit (which measures the hopiness of a beer). Kirin on the other hand notes it is a malt. Nest White is 5% alcohol and if Kirin is a malt, perhaps it is stronger. The Kirin site does not mention the level of alcohol. Both beers were good, but just know I won't being going to Spec's to see if they carry it.
In conclusion, I know that I have one year to practice holding chop sticks to not completely embarrass my friends and appear to be a Neanderthal among the enlightened. Most interesting about the sushi bar was the "hot rock" they brought to the table to cook the beef items we ordered off the menu. One of the architects forcefully told me I needed to eat the tuna (not cooked), so I obliged her which leads me to the next interesting item: I cannot distinguish between a slice of tangerine flavoring the tuna and the uncooked tuna. It all looked the same.
"Domo arigato" means "thanks a lot." To some my age or close, it was also one of the worst songs on one of the worst albums ever put out by Styx and was pretty much the end of their days. Thanks for the meal in one of the more interesting places to visit in Texas and domo arigato for the beer.
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