#162: Play On West 6th

The Bar

Play On West 6th. 620 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 11/22/20 @ 6:30pm.

The Drink

Playdialyte shot. Vodka, sweet & sour, lime juice, Sprite, Pedialyte. $9.

I had just consumed a shot at WYLD only a block away merely a few minutes prior, but I drink what they tell me to. As the bartender was telling me about the ingredients in the shot she mentioned that there's been a trend of including Pedialyte in cocktails to get ahead of the game on hangovers, which Pedialyte is supposed a big cure for. There is no such thing as curing an existing hangover, as we know, but it never hurts to hydrate while you're drinking, and to that end I'm sure the splash of Pedialyte in my shot didn't hurt. The shot itself was fine; she mixed it over ice, which I appreciated, and she tried to comp it when I told her I was blogging it, which I appreciated even more.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Play replaced Lux at the start of the year. At first when I walked in the two seemed identical in my memory, but then I just realized how drunk I must have been, since the two aren't very similar in decor or vibe at all. Yes they both cater to more of a high-roller clientele, but whereas Lux was a reserved lounge with understated decor, Play is an "upscale sports bar". I would personally consider that phrase an oxymoron, but they were really dedicated to it - one the one hand, the staff were conflicted about me just walking in and wanted me to make a reservation so they could have me spend a lot of money on bottle service and so forth; on the other hand, they were all dressed in sexy referee uniforms, which made it hard to feel too threatened. I've already discussed how weird the breastaurant market niche is, but it has its upsides - after they'd decided I was on the level thanks to my noble vocation of freelance  alcohol blogging, they tried to comp my shot and insisted I take my standard drink consumption picture on the gilt throne you see above. So I take it all back! I am not sure what the ownership situation is but it doesn't seem like it's the same as Lux.

#161: Wyld

The Bar

Wyld. 706 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 11/22/20 @ 6pm.

The Drink

Gummy bear shot. Vodka, sweet & sour, DeKuyper Razzmatazz liqueur, Sprite. $5.

The bartender had some good patter about what a good cocktail bar WYLD is, but what she ended up making me was a shot. You can probably guess how it tasted. Not that I'm complaining: when it comes to shots, short and sweet is the way to go. I have been a regular patron of DeKuyper products since college, both for good and for ill - one of the lowest points in my drinking career, and quite possibly the entire 326 year history of the DeKuyper brand, was splitting nothing but a handle of their peach schnapps with a friend when we didn't have any other alcohol on hand. If nothing else, you can always rely on DeKuyper to add some sugar to your drink. 

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

In June WYLD replaced Brew Exchange, whose business model of constantly fluctuating beer prices was perhaps better suited to a less results-oriented drinking culture, or at least an environment where patrons are more willing to play minigames to order a beer. In contrast, WYLD is a more straightforward West Sixth bar, with the added twist that it's 18+, which is an interesting choice for a bar in this part of Sixth Street. There didn't seem to be any underage patrons when I was there, which is perhaps for the best: what would you even do at a bar if you couldn't drink? WYLD has a mechanical bull in the middle of the bar, which could be entertaining if you've never seen it before, and aren't into the poker lounge in the back. For myself, I watched the unexpectedly entertaining end of Cowboys @ Vikings along with the bar staff after finishing my shot, buying another round in celebration with them. 

#160: Qi Austin

The Bar

Qi Austin. 835 W 6th St Unit 114, Austin, TX 78703

Visited 11/22/20 @ 4:30pm.

The Drink

Wild Orchid. Gin, beet and lemon simple syrup, Cointreau, coconut cream, Sichuan peppercorns, lime zest. $13.

"Balance" is a subjective but valuable quality in a cocktail, whether it's the result of distinct flavors harmonizing with each other or the individual voices blending smoothly together. The Wild Orchid leans more to the first tendency, with multiple discrete sweet ingredients counterposed against the botanicals in the gin and the Sichuan peppercorns. In a town like Austin jalapeños are the typical go-to source for adding heat to a drink, but naturally the bar of a scrupulous restaurant like Qi would lean on something a little closer to home, even in a drink like this. Sichuan peppercorns, which have been used in cuisine for millennia, are genetically unrelated from chili peppers like the jalapeño, and so its distinctive numbing effect on the mouth works via a completely different mechanism from capsaicin's heat. I appreciated when that familiar tingle appeared as I drank this cocktail at the same time as the rest of the ingredients cooled and sweetened against it, the different tendencies working perfectly together. Even a simple gin and tonic fan such as myself can enjoy a cocktail like this. It looks great too.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Qi is a new restaurant in the shadow of Whole Foods from the same folks who brought us Lin Asian Bar further west down the street. Much like its older sibling, Qi serves excellent Chinese food, but while Lin is focused on dim sum, Qi is more high-end, so expect to see more truffle fried rice and scallop caviar than egg tarts and fried bao, though Qi also does dim sum as well. I had salt and pepper tofu at the bar and it was fantastic. In terms of ambience Qi feels exactly like a nice Asian restaurant, with clean exposed wood cross-braces amid attractive red and yellow floral patterns everywhere. I wouldn't go here to get drunk, but I will definitely come back for more drinks when I eat.