#119: Via 313

The Bar

Via 313. 1802 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702

Visited 9/7/18 @ 7pm.

The Drink

Old-Fashioned. Russell's Reserve bourbon, simple syrup, Luxardo cherry, orange peel. $10.

I once read some reviews of Beatles albums that I unfortunately cannot find now where, confronted by the psychologically daunting task of finding something new to say about the most comprehensively overanalyzed discography in rock history, the reviewer simply decided to give every album an 8/10 and just talk about how Ringo's drumkit changed over time. That's how I feel about encountering the Nth iteration of the Old-Fashioned: do I focus on the whiskey/bourbon, the syrup, the cherry? The ice cube? Let's just say that I liked the result: when I asked for the drink, the bartender decided to give me the bourbon variant instead of the rye whiskey (which they make with Balcones Texas rye), which was interesting since Russell's Reserve is a spicier bourbon, though still sweeter than a rye. The entire idea behind going with a bourbon instead of a rye is that you don't want that peppery bite which opposes and balances the syrup, but this managed to neatly split the difference between the two philosophies. After so many different variants on the humble standby cocktail, perhaps a return to the mean was all for the best. Despite being a pizza joint at heart, Via 313 does not skimp on their cocktails one bit.

The Crew

Kyle, Aaron, Travis, Geoff (not pictured).

Notes

I was excited to visit this stop, but if I'm being honest with myself, a lot of that anticipation was for the pizza factor rather than the bar factor. Via 313 is a dedicated fixture on every self-respecting best pizza in Austin list, and it's unquestionably the best pizza on Sixth Street (sorry Roppolo's and Paparazzi, and RIP Rounders), so a chance to grab a drink here is also a chance to grab a slice, or 2, or 3, etc etc. Very few people will ever come to a pizza joint like Via 313 purely for the booze, but one of the great things about pizza is that it goes so well with booze, it's as if the two were made for each other. This thick, bready, deep Detroit-style pizza in particular goes really well as a pregame or midgame snack, and I'm surprised it's not more common for specifically this reason. Interestingly, this market niche crying out to be filled opens up an opportunity for little old Via 313 here in Austin: the megachains from Detroit don't really focus on the native style (Little Caesar's sells Detroit-style as an afterthought; Domino's doesn't sell it at all), so it's entirely possible that given a few years of solid growth, Via 313, which has only existed since 2011, could soon become one of if not the largest Detroit-style chain in the country, if it isn't already.

This outpost of the Via 313 empire replaced the irritatingly-capitalized COLLiDE atx, which lasted for less than a year in this space even though I foolishly proclaimed at the time that it looked primed for success. However, if we pretend that what I actually predicted was that "a" pizza place here would do well, then it turns out that my misplaced prognostication was entirely correct! Something feels slightly off about the interior design of the new space (not cozy enough to be a pizza joint, just don't have the vibe to be a real bar), but there's a decent patio outside, and anyway it's hard to focus on much else once you've sat down for a drink and you've got some pizza on the way. Who chooses a bar based on the wallpaper? It's kind of funny: most people would never imagine telling their friends "guys, let's grab some drinks at Via 313!" and expecting a night full of rounds, but they lacks imagination! Via 313 had its genesis as a food trailer parked outside of Violet Crown, where I consumed it many a time, and I am glad that they're all grown up. The more pizza and booze the better!