When you have young kids, you don’t spend much time at Sunday brunch.

I mean, why lose your mind when you don’t have to?

Now that my youngest is almost 10, however, I’m starting to get a life. 

Threadgill’s is an institution here in Austin, Texas –  there are even two great locations, north and south, so you can have your fill of good food and live music.

My family and I went to the North Austin branch on Lamar Boulevard (“Old No. 1″) for their Bluegrass Brunch one weekend this summer.

In the words of original proprietor Eddie Wilson:

“….the 1930’s through 1960’s in Austin [is] the theme of the original Threadgill’s on North Lamar Blvd….Boasting the bragging rights to owning the first beer license in the county and being the place where Janis Joplin [a Texas native from Port Arthur] cut her teeth in the 60’s and Jimmie Dale Gilmore crooned in the 80’s, Threadgill’s original location offers delicious food in a quaint and comfortable atmosphere….”

The brunch is a buffet with lots of choices, including a wide variety of Southern-style vegetables (a Threadgill’s specialty, as is chicken-fried steak) plus migas and cheese and garlic grits.

Yes, there is such a thing as “Texas Black-Eyed Pea Caviar.”

Yes, I had a Shiner Bock beer with everything, including sweet potato pancakes, if I recall correctly.

I managed to take notes without dumping maple syrup on the paper, but then seem to have misplaced the notepad amongst the singing and picking and eating. (Update – found my notes! Looks like I remembered everything, except that I did write about this drink on the bar menu….The Janis Joplin, made with Southern Comfort and Jack Daniels. “As soft as she got,” said the menu. $6.25/drink. Whoa.)

Meantime, on the small stage in the main dining room was Danny Santos y los Bluegrass Vatos, playing a variety of enjoyable bluegrass and Tejano-tinged tunes.  The audience was a mix of colors and ages including bikers, corporate-looking types and families like ours.

It was a very congenial gathering;  the music and food were good and so was the air-conditioning.  At a time of year when it’s tough to enjoy the Texas outdoors….the triple digit days are never-ending….Threadgill’s gave me an excuse to hop in the car on a Sunday.

(This post will join other entries in WanderFood Wednesday at the Wanderlust and Lipstick site.)

Related posts:

*** Austin Rocks: even the airport is cool
*** A New Year’s hometown discovery: Austin’s ArcAttack
*** Texas temple of gastronomy (The Whole Foods Market flagship store and corporate headquarters is in Austin)

Related posts:

1. Austin Rocks: my favorite local bar is the Driskill
2. Austin Rocks: Even the airport is cool
3. San Antonio Sunday: Brunch at The Guenther House
4. Texas temple of gastronomy

This entry was posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 10:53 pm and is filed under City or urban travel, Sheila projects, US travel, food & drink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.