#29: Austin Ale House

The Bar

Austin Ale House. 301 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 2/8/17 @ 8:30pm.

UPDATE: Austin Ale House has closed.

The Drink

Texas mule. Vodka, ginger beer, lime, jalapeños. $10.50.

Sometimes it seems like no bar actually serves "the classics" according to the dictionary definition, and the Moscow Mule is a great example of this phenomenon. Not that a minor change like adding muddled jalapeños in any way harms the drink - far from it! This mule was marvelous. It's even far closer to the textbook mule than, say, my "Manhattan with mezcal" at Café Josie was to what any bartending guide would call a Manhattan. I just wonder what it is about certain drinks that makes them more likely to be riffed on than served straight. Whatever allows bartenders to best show off their skills is fine with me.

The Crew

Aaron, Chris, Travis, Rome, Michael.

Notes

This venue is more of a craft beer joint than a cocktail bar, which is ironic considering what I was recommended. Its main interior feature is a big garage door that opens out onto Lavaca, which might be refreshing with a summer breeze but was a bit chilly in early February. There was a weird mixture of celebrity paintings on the wall that alternated with paintings of buffaloes which resembled the Bills' old throwback logo, which I appreciated given that I'm a fan since that's where my mom is from.

I know that I haven't mentioned food much on this journey so far, but I do have to give a shoutout to the excellent chicken burger on ciabatta with fries that I had here - it was phenomenal. One of the more underappreciated facets of the modern era is that the cheap, plentiful, and well-made drinks that are available now are usually accompanied by food that's of a much higher quality than you could get even 20 years ago. I recently read a good book which went into this relationship somewhat, but I feel like a definitive take on the transformation of middle class eating and drinking opportunities has yet to be written, though there have been some good attempts.