Tag Archives: Austin

Eating Out is Fun?

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Red always thought that the Texas Restaurant Association had the best slogan/motto ever created.  Well, because eating out is in fact usually fun.  Or at least it was when eating out was not something that you did every day and was something of a special treat.  The slogan was apparently first used by the National Restaurant Association in 1947 and later used by the TRA from 1956 onwards.  It does seem to have faded from use.

Well Austin has taken the TRA mantra to heart.  When Red was recently in Austin, there appeared to be a restaurant every 75 feet.  Red has been unable to get a fix on exactly how many restaurants there are in Austin, but the number seems to be extraordinary.  Driving down lower South Lamar alone, Red counted over 50 restaurants in what used to be essentially a dry gulch.  In order to sustain the number of dining establishments observed, everyone in Austin must eat out at least 7 times a week. Is eating out still fun?

Red Takes a Stand

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Red happened to be in the Capital City this weekend and took his family to eat at Red’s of all places.  When offered a seat on the patio, the hostess neglected to inform Red that it was the designated “Dog Area.”   Red knows that his general dislike of the canine species puts him at odds with much of the civilized world on either a domesticated animal or culinary basis.  And if people want to eat with their dogs – or eat their dogs for that matter – Red is perfectly okay with that.  But a restaurant should not assume that Red is okay having his spinach salad while a Black Lab is sticking his ass in the air and farting in Red’s general direction.  Red gets that people love their dogs, but that doesn’t mean I have to.  All I want is informed choice.  If you are going to seat someone in a mixed-species kennel at least give them chance to opt out and wait for a table where the only annoying creatures are the wait staff.