Bay Area folks in Austin? (Pittsburg, Barton Creek: apartment, rent, condo)

[austinese]

If it makes you feel any better, the owner of Anderson's Coffee near 38th and Kerbey Lane learned coffee roasting from Alfred Peet in Berkeley.
http://www.andersonscoffee/home.html (broken link)

[Jazzedforhim]

All right...now we're talking! When we get to Austin I'm going to start a thread on best coffee places to go to.

Sell house, sell!

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by austinese

If it makes you feel any better, the owner of Anderson's Coffee near 38th and Kerbey Lane learned coffee roasting from Alfred Peet in Berkeley.

I've chatted with the Anderson's folks a few times and sampled their coffees, heard their stories about learning from The God Of Coffee (Alfred also trained the people who started the Seattle coffee scene, including Starbucks) --- but I honestly don't think Anderson's is very good. I haven't had any of their roasts that can hold a candle to fresh-brewed Peets at the original Berkeley location. Yeah, I'm a coffee snob...

The good news is that a lot of the independent funky coffeehouses in Austin (there are at least 30 of them, all one-of-a-kind and very fun in their unique ways) make great espresso drinks, though you can't get a great cup of basic coffee. Some of the indy places are pretty bad, you have to sample around. I would list what I think are the best and worst of the indy joints but that would probably ignite a war based on conflicting passions about a delicate subject.

The one thing I will say is that the grooviest spot for people-watching, Joe's on South Congress, has the worst espresso drinks I've ever had. I've tried them 3 times over the years and each time I almost spat out the first sip, then tossed the rest of the drink in the garbage. Just because a place looks cool doesn't mean they have good coffee.

[austinese]

Originally Posted by TheHarvester

I've chatted with the Anderson's folks a few times and sampled their coffees, heard their stories about learning from The God Of Coffee (Alfred also trained the people who started the Seattle coffee scene, including Starbucks) --- but I honestly don't think Anderson's is very good. I haven't had any of their roasts that can hold a candle to fresh-brewed Peets at the original Berkeley location. Yeah, I'm a coffee snob...

Does not measuring up to Peets' standards mean that Anderson's is bad, or just not as good as Peets? Anderson's works for me -- I like their coffee, the store has a decent ambience, it's a ma-pa joint , and $6.99 a lb. is not bad (less expensive than Starbuck's). Also, I had an espresso recently at Jo's on 2nd St., and it tasted fine to me -- it was not bitter yet still had depth and intensity -- but then again I'm not a connoisseur like you.

My worst coffee drinking experience, as of late, was a cappuccino at Dolce Vita. I think they just stirred cold milk into a shot of espresso.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by austinese

Does not measuring up to Peets' standards mean that Anderson's is bad, or just not as good as Peets?

Great question --- for me it simply means that I am personally happy enough with the stuff I can get at HEB, Fresh Plus, or Whole Foods that it doesn't make it worth the extra trip to Anderson's.

Originally Posted by austinese

Anderson's works for me -- I like their coffee, the store has a decent ambience, it's a ma-pa joint , and $6.99 a lb. is not bad

That's amazingly cheap!!! I might go back just because of that!

And I agree that their store is GREAT!!! I've bought a lot of tea, gifts, mugs, and other such items from them because I like the people and I like the atmosphere in there. It puts me in a good mood even though I'm never impressed with the coffee itself.

Originally Posted by austinese

My worst coffee drinking experience, as of late, was a cappuccino at Dolce Vita. I think they just stirred cold milk into a shot of espresso.

Now you've got me curious. I've never been there, so I'll put it on my "to-do" list.

[swsrock]

I will be moving to Austin from Vallejo, CA shortly, as soon as my house sells. Look forward to meeting you.

swsrock

[Jazzedforhim]

Originally Posted by swsrock

I will be moving to Austin from Vallejo, CA shortly, as soon as my house sells. Look forward to meeting you.

swsrock

We're in the same boat...Contra Costa County

[SDBreaux]

Originally Posted by satanoid

Yes. About 10,000 of them.

Tips:
1. You'll need some spurs ASAP. Gold ones are preferable.
2. Nobody wears 10 gallon hats anymore. You need to go 20 gallons or higher.
3. You'll want to go ahead and get some bandoleers with shotgun shells on them.
4. Be sure to complain about the heat as much as possible... it'll mark you as a true Texan.

Satanoid, I'm assuming you're not from Texas, and that's fine. But please, in the future, do not generalize every person in Texas as a backwoods country hick. Although I agree Austin is conservative when compared to San Francisco, remember it's liberal to Texans, at least, and where there's a liberal, there's very few mention of shotgun shells. ;-)

BTW: I have no idea what a 10 gallon hate is, or spurs, including a bandoleer.

Say what??

[karnival96]

The Harvester wrote:

I like the micro-beauty here, and the macro-beauty of the sky. But there is nothing here that can possibly compete with the magnificence of the Bay Area or Seattle or anything on the west coast. Hence, property is cheaper here. Prices are the best indicator of the quality and demand for objects, services and locations.

I think you're partially right here. Prices are certainly driven by demand (and supply; or lack thereof). Property in California and on the East coast tends to be more expensive because there are more people competing for less of it and also because the regulatory environment here tends to be friendlier to developers. Most Texas metros don't come close to the population densities of New York, LA, San Franscisco, Boston or DC, even though they may be close in total population. Thus land is more readily available and the cheaper to develop.


It's debatable whether quality or perceived quality would drive the price differential for goods and services in two different regions of the country. People in California pay more for gasoline, for example, which is essentially the same gas that we get here. Some people are willing to pay $100's of dollars for a pair of athlete endorsed sneakers that are manufactured in the same sweatshops using, the same materials and methods as the $30 sneakers on the shelves next to them.


Notice, with regard to Austin, that even though most people who have been here for any period of time would argue that the "quality" of lifestyle available in Austin has declined due to its rapid population growth, its property values have soared into the stratosphere. You could argue that people are actually paying more (even after accounting for inflation) for less quality. By the way, this is even more a truism in California, where almost no one would argue that the quality of life has increased along with the skyrocketing mortgages over the past decade or so.

[austinese]

Notice, with regard to Austin, that even though most people who have been here for any period of time would argue that the "quality" of lifestyle available in Austin has declined due to its rapid population growth, its property values have soared into the stratosphere. You could argue that people are actually paying more (even after accounting for inflation) for less quality. By the way, this is even more a truism in California, where almost no one would argue that the quality of life has increased along with the skyrocketing mortgages over the past decade or so.

During my time in Austin, the home prices have increased a good deal but I don't agree that the quality of life here has declined. I actually like living here more than I used to in that there's much more to do and see. Besides the heat, the most common criticism I used to hear about Austin was that it was not very sophisticated. I've seen definite improvement along this dimension since I arrived here in '83 -- the shopping options, restaurant choices and cultural venues have increased significantly. Areas of town have been revitalized, for example, South Congress and the Warehouse District. And back then, as I recall, there were complaints about the traffic too.

A few years ago, the Statesman's John Kelso wrote a funny piece about how Austin has changed. He apparently discovered an old AAA travel guide in his attic -- one from the seventies. As he described it, the travel guide recommended 3 restaurants for visitors to Austin: the Barn, the Magic Time Machine, and Luby's Cafeteria. The Barn has been closed for years, but Kelso wrote about how as soon as one was seated in this place, a waitperson would come over and drop a huge block of cheese on your table. The Magic Time Machine was located on Riverside just west of I-35 where Jo's Crab Shack is now. I went there once, and although I was somewhat amused by the costumes that the waitpeople wore, the food was not very good.

However, I must admit that the "Drag" on Guadalupe's border with UT has declined over the years. It used to be populated by more ma-pa businesses and have much more of a Bohemian hang-out vibe.