Keep America Weird

When was the last time you bought a vinyl record? We hear that @WaterlooRecords has a great selection of vinyls to choose from. Tell us what your favorite independent record store is.

Let’s Keep America Weird one record store at a time… 

~ @SouthernessYank

Really? The locals like bad service? Guess I’ll have to eat at the hotel.

-spur

Eastside Cafe has long been a favorite of mine.  Operating out of a historic house on Manor in Austin, they offer a creative menu, great wine list, and the freshest ingredients, many of which are grown on property.  Demand is high, so call ahead, or simply pass the time at “pitchforks and tablespoons” (the adjacent store) or breeze through the garden.  

-Weirdo One 

Gruene Hall is the mecca of Country Music Players.  The legends who have played “at the oldest dance hall in Texas” are too numerous to fathom, though the hundreds of pictures on the wall will give you and idea.   It still operates so the next time you find yourself between Austin and San Antonio, step in for some Central Texas culture.  

- Weirdo One

Like a giant neon Hello Kitty sign rising up in a desert wilderness, Toy Joy beckoned to us just outside of Austin’s convention district. And much fun was had by all.

- Spur

You gotta love Austin. By the baggage claim at the airport, there’s an automatic flower machine. So in case you really pissed someone off by leaving, you can grab a bouquet for the one waiting at home…

-Spur

Walking the streets of Austin, looking for a healthy alternative to the mixture of alcohol and bbq from days earlier, I enlisted the help of my best friend YELP!.  Up pops Koriente, an East 7th Street (but west of I-35) option which offers healthy Asian inspired dishes without the ol’ MSG fillers.  Working the counter was Sam, with her cheery disposition and “I’ve never met a face I didn’t know” personality.  I particularly enjoyed watching Sam gush over the Digable Planets MC who was in town for a nights performance!  By chance we bumped into Sam again the next day at the Austin Farmer Market and promise a KAW post.  Here you go girl!

-  Weirdo One

Because rock stars have kids too.

-spur

West, Texas is well known for two things:  That city just North of the 1-35 W (Fort Worth) and I-35 E (Dallas) fork & the Czech Stop.  Famous for their yummy Kolaches (pronounced kuh-lah-chee and defined as a sweet bun with jelly or pulp fruit filling),  these local heros have been introducing hungry tourist to Czech treats for 17 years.  First introduced to me by my cousin, a UT Austin grad and current Dallas resident, he mandated that I break up the continuous suburb that is I-35 with one of many homemade sandwiches, cookies, cakes, jellies, jams, etc.  I would estimate I have pit stopped at the Czech Stop easily 100 times over the years, and have never ordered the same thing twice.  But if you don’t trust me, check out what their loyal customers have to say on their guest book.  

- Weirdo One

On October 9 & 10, the Bayou City Art Festival returns to downtown Houston. A couple of years ago I took these shots and scored the coolest necklace/earring combo from an Austin jewelery maker. Fun times…

— thing two