DT Weekend 4-29-10

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WeekenddtApril 29, 2010

classyThe Issue

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TABLE OF CONTENTS2

editor’s note

Rachel MeadorJessica BilleaudShatha HusseinGiulio YaquintoLauren GersonNausheen JivaniJessica BilleaudTori DaughtreyMelanie GasmenJoe HollowayBrennan LawlerMark LopezHan ParkMichele PieriniMarla SeguraChris KoshoRene HuynhEric OuDanielle Villasana

editorassociate editor

art directorcover artistphoto editor

copy editorwriters

photographers

contact us at [email protected]

music

food & drink

arts

In search of Austin’s smoothest jazzby JOE HOLLOWAY

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4 Skilled pianist offers new electro tracksby MICHELE PIERINI

5 Dr. Dog’s unique blends gain fameby MARK LOPEZ

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Fashion guru keeps it classyby MELANIE GASMEN

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Rage on Minimum Wage columnby HAN PARK & MARLA SEGURA

Austin’s spin on the classic tea partyby TORI DAUGHTREY

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Wine & Dine columnby BRENNAN LAWLER

characters

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Dreams brought to life through balletby JESSICA BILLEAUD

Photo by Eric Ou

Something pretty unbelievable happened yes-terday. Jessica and I were holding down the Life and Arts office in The Daily Texan dungeon when in walks the always stylish Texan adviser, Doug Warren, looking distressed. He said he received an e-mail from a New York tabloid desperate for a stringer (freelance journalist) to go down to the courthouse, apprehend the highly anticipated Sandra Bullock divorce papers and fax them to the LA office. There’s 100 bucks in it, he said.

I felt a little dirty accepting such a sum to help further publicize this woman’s already exposed life. Celebrity gossip is one of those cheap forms of entertainment I try to steer clear of, but I reasoned that this is public record, and everyone knows this woman’s business already, so I might as well make this cool cash.

Five minutes later, we’re parking at the court-house. They’ve also offered to cover our expenses, so we fed the meter $2, just to be safe. The next part of the process was the most shocking. With the case number and $3, you too can have a copy of her petition for divorce, or anyone else’s. Papers safely in hand (completely void of juicy details) I called the woman in LA She asked me to read to her the one sentence in section seven of the docu-ment. Faxes sent, the task took us 20 solid min-utes. Jessica and I went about the rest of the day in complete disbelief. $100 for Sandy B’s boring six-page divorce papers. No wonder the paparazzi are so ruthless.

Tabloids are not classy. DT Weekend is.Love,

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Photo by Danielle Villasana

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ROCK OUT AS YOUA ROLL OUT THE WEEKEND

G E T M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N A T C A P M E T R O . O R G / R O C K & R A I L

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FREE!

3

OUT&ABOUT 3

American Whiskey FestivalThursday, 7 p.m.Opal Divine’s on South Congress AvenueTickets: $30

Feel fancy and free at the Whiskey Festival, sampling the finest American bourbon, Ten-nessee and Canadian Rye Whis-kies alongside experts who can help to validate or correct your musings on the subtle quali-ties of everyone’s favorite dark liquor. They will also provide hors d’oeuvres to satisfy your drunchies (drunk munchies).

Bluetech Presents: Satori SocialEmancipator Thursday, 9 p.m.Republic LiveTickets: $18

Bringing you up and tak-ing you down should prove to be the vibe of tonight’s show, which fuses heavy and mel-low elements of electronic genres. Opening acts Ab-boriginal and G.King provide heavy mashups of dubstep and IDM to get you moving. Down-tempo, “trip-hop” beat-maker Emancipator will mel-low you out, offering a unique trans-like mood and fellow Oregon-natives close out the night to enhance the ethereal feel — classically trained pia-nist Evan Bluetech showcases his new live band, Satori So-cial, offering a fresh sound of soul-infused electronic music. Satori Social excels at com-bining elements of dub, lo-fi, soul, funk and electronic mu-sic, and the show’s promoters promise an intense light show to enhance the entire musical experience.

Romulus AteThursday and Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.UT’s Lab Theatre Tickets: Free

Romulus Ate is an original

piece of performance art that incorporates original live music, new choreography, lighting designs and extreme costumes all crafted by UT students into a 45-minute stage spectacle. The show electrifies the audience on a conquest of the senses in this music, light, and dance spectacular. The 11-person ensemble, transformed via costume and makeup to represent a strange breed of space people, is a blend of dancers, musicians, and technicians who transform the stage into a performance universe, from which every element of the piece is con-trolled and executed.

Orange and White BallSaturday, 9 p.m.Texas Union BallroomTickets: $30

This weekend you have an opportunity to relive or re-invent that pivotal life event called prom. The UT Co-op-sponsored ball is an annual University tradition dating back to the 1920s as a way to unite students and create lasting memories. Chances to get all dressed up are few and far between, plus now that you’re grown, you can booze freely at this school function. There will be a cash bar, so make sure to bring your ID and most importantly, your groove thing.

Third Annual Texas Cannabis CrusadeSaturday, 10 a.m.Texas Capitol, Wooldridge Square Park

The Texas NORML folks al-ways put on these education-al and entertaining events. The crusade/protest/party has outgrown the Zilker Pe-can Grove after three years and is relocating the day of live music and “positive vibes” to Wooldridge Square Park, which conveniently lies in the Capitol’s shadow.

This Week’s Recommendations

By Rachel Meador and Jessica Billeaud

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MUSIC4

By Michele PieriniClassy is not an adjec-

tive usually applied to tod-dlers. However in the case of 3-year-old Martin Dosh, it was the only word to describe his precocious infatuation with learning how to play the pi-ano. Luckily for us, he finally got those lessons, becoming the multi-faceted artist we now know simply as Dosh.

This year, will release his fifth studio album called Tommy. It sounds like typical Dosh: lots of sampler and loop action paired with drums and keys. He said that this album was different because it took much longer to put together. Dosh began thinking about arrangements of music for Tommy before he had finished his last two records.

“The initial sparks took me five years to figure out what could make them sound cool,” Dosh said.

Once the formulation of the album’s concept was done, he spent most of 2009 recording it. The material was enriched by several contributors, in-cluding Andrew Bird, Ryan Francesconi, Mike Lewis, and

Jeremy Ylvisaker. “Different collaborators col-

or it differently, there’s more stuff going on,” Dosh said. “It’s more soupy, thicker.”

Lewis is considered an of-ficial member of Dosh as he has been a part of the live band since 2006 and has had a significant role in the record-ing process. While Ylvisaker contributes to Tommy, he only plays live when the band has shows in Minneapolis.

In 2005, Dosh toured with Bird after being introduced to each other through some mutual friends. Dosh and Bird bonded over their shared heavy use of loops. Bird is fa-mous for his experimental violin playing. Dosh enjoys playing with Bird although looping live music can “end up a train wreck.”

“We relate to each other musically with our own self-contained music universes,” Dosh said. “Andrew’s not afraid of taking risks in front of 2,000 people.”

At the age of 25, Dosh was forced to move back in with his parents. A couple years before that he started experi-

menting with home recording after one of his roommates sold him a four-track. In his parents’ basement, Dosh set up a makeshift studio where he taught himself the basics. He would record the drum track first and then go back and record the piano and key-board separately.

“I’d look for the best tidy lit-tle drum break and just loop it,” Dosh said. “I would dissect stuff I’d painstakingly worked on.”

These days, Dosh records his own material profession-ally under the moniker Dosh Family Recordings. This outlet gave him the opportunity to produce albums quicker and more control over the release, instead of waiting for an inde-terminate amount of time.

“It’s a lot of work,” Dosh said. “But when I retire from doing so many shows, I’d like to help someone else put out their own stuff.”

Skilled pianist offers new electro tracks

Photo courtesy of DoshPianist and electronic genius Dosh is touring in support of his newest album Tommy, which features interesting collaborations with artists such as Andrew Bird and Mike Lewis.

what: DOSHwhere: EMO’S (INSIDE)when: FRIDAY, 9 P.M.tickets: $12

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MUSIC 5

By Mark LopezWhat do you get when you

mix an upbeat vibe, psyche-delic tendencies and some good old-fashioned harmo-nies? You get Dr. Dog.

Dr. Dog, a band from Phila-delphia, which formed in 2001, has been making its way into the music mainstream over the course of nine years.

The band has toured with The Raconteurs, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Strokes, The Black Keys and Delta Spirit.

Dr. Dog, which is heavily in-fluenced by ’60s psychedelic rock, has garnered compari-sons to The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Band. That can’t be too bad.

“We play rock ’n’ roll music. It really is just that,” singer and guitarist Scott McMicken said. “We don’t really pull out any other tricks. It’s straight-ahead rock.”

The band’s album, We All Belong, which was released in 2007, is the album that placed them on the map, consider-ing all the work and press that went along with its release, such as a headlining tour and several performances on net-work television.

They performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Late Show with David Letter-

man and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

“It was really nerve-racking, and it’s on national television, so there’s already that bubble around it,” McMicken said. “For television, you want it to be great. All the energy of a single set gets crammed into one song, and you want it to be super ... faster, harder.”

It’s also not hard to note the fact that one of the main in-fluences of the band are The Kinks, in which the band defi-nitely plays on the whimsical aesthetic that made The Kinks such an influential band in its heyday.

Dr. Dog has almost too many influences to name; however, McMicken was able to name a few that probably would not come to the forefront of some-one’s mind while giving one of their records a listen.

“What you might not hear is Tom Waits, Television, R. Stevie Moore, Motown and soul stuff,” McMicken said. “Or even new music, some of my favorite bands are M. Ward, Cold War Kids, Elvis Perkins and lots and lots of new songwriters and cool bands.”

But what makes Dr. Dog a good band to see is the fact

that the bandmates tend to play with many inspirations and instruments to convey their sound.

Depending on which album you decide to listen to, you can find rhythmic guitars, ex-cellent percussion and some good old trombone and cello to sing you to sleep at night.

The band is currently on tour to promote its new-est endeavor, titled Shame, Shame, which was released on April 6.

Concerning how the album differed from its previous re-leases, McMicken said, “We focused less on experimenta-tion and more on playing the songs good and playing them together. It’s liver, louder.”

This also isn’t the first time the band has graced the Aus-tin scene with its traveling shows. They’ve played South by Southwest several times.

If what you like is an old sound with a new twist, then Dr. Dog may be that band that satisfies that inkling.

what: DR. DOG where: EMO’S (OUTSIDE)when: SATURDAYtickets: SOLD OUT

Dr. Dog’s unique blends gain fame

Photo courtesy of Dr. Dog Dr. Dog travels to Austin on Saturday for the band’s sold-out performance, featuring the captivating harmonies and feel-good sound its known for.

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MUSIC6

By Joe HollowayIt was late in the night when

I traveled deep into Austin’s concrete jungle in search of that classiest of creatures, the Elephant Room elephant. The sun had long ago dipped behind the distant horizon and even the mixed yellows and red of the Texas sunset had disappeared. It was dark. Would I be able to find the elu-sive pachyderm?

I had heard tale of his un-paralleled class, his sophis-tication. He was said to wear a purple tuxedo, play a mean saxophone, and a martini glass was never far from his hand. Enchanted, I rounded up my sidekick, a friend my mine named Sarah, and set out to travel the many miles to the elephant’s rumored habitat.

The trip was made fleet-ing, however, by the ease with which my four-wheeled steed covered vast expanses of paved flat ground. When at last I came close to the ele-phant’s supposed domain, the intersection of Third Street and Congress Avenue, I had to leave my steed behind. The rest of my search would be better conducted on foot.

It didn’t take long before I saw it, a sign that read “The El-ephant Room,” beneath which lay the entrance to a cave of sorts. Surely this would lead me to the elusive creature. We entered the cave.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the lighting of the cavern, the only light emanating from small torch-es on tables. When my sight adjusted, what I saw was far

beyond what I had expected. I was overwhelmed with class.

A 20-piece jazz band played on a small stage in the back of the room, a piece of parch-ment on the table espoused a wide variety of intoxicating beverages one could request and golden idols to the el-ephant himself crested walls lined with paper money. I like the elephant’s style.

I took a seat at one of the tables, and it wasn’t long be-fore my companion and I were approached by a waitress who told me her name is Kelly. In-

trigued by my surroundings, I struck up a conversation. By now, I notice that several members of the 20-piece band have taken a seat, and people from the audience seemed to be replacing them at the request of a man who called himself Michael Mordecai.

“Monday’s are Michael Mor-decai’s Jazz Jam,” Kelly told me. “It’s like open-mic night. All the jazz musicians in Aus-tin always come out.”

No sooner did she tell me this than I decided the quest for the elephant could wait. I

would simply sit back, enjoy the music, the company and order a few of those famed beverages. I was, however, still curious about the room itself and this jam it was home to.

“Well, the Elephant Room has been here for 19 years,” Kelly said. “The Jazz Jam’s been going on for 30 years though. It just migrated over.”

I determined that the golden elephant heads served mostly as decoration, but that didn’t explain the dollar bills stapled to the walls below them.

“A lot of them are signed by

the musicians,” Kelly told me. “Sometimes, I wonder if the bartenders get desperate if they snatch them down.”

There would be plenty to choose from, but I still won-dered what could have started such a practice.

“It’s an old New Orleans tra-dition that if you write your name on a dollar and you’re down on your luck, you can come back and get it to use to-wards a drink,” Kelly said.

With my thirst for knowledge satisfied, my ears quenched by melodious jazz and feeling a generous buzz from the bever-ages, I eventually decided it was a good time for my sidekick and I to take our leave. Before we as-cended the stairs out of the cave, though, I asked Kelly one more question: does the mysterious elephant even have a name?

“Oh I’m sure he’s called dif-ferent things by many different people,” she replied simply.

Well-played, Mr. Elephant. Well-played.

what: ELEPHANT ROOM where: 315 CONGRESS AVE. when: MONDAY - FRIDAY, 4 P.M. - 2 A.M., SATURDAY - SUN-DAY 8 P.M. - 2 A.M.

iILLU

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In search of Austin’s smoothest jazzThe Elephant Room has been an Austin staple for nearly 20 years, offering jazz music in a cozy, retro base-ment bar.

Photo byDanielle Villasana

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Mi Casa Tamale & Cantina

Malaia

Aces Lounge

BJ’s

Buffalo Billiards

Cain’s

Melting Pot

Cuatros

Trudy’s

Dizzy Rooster

Drungo’s Ice House

El Sol Y La Luna

Pie Guys

Little Woodrow’s

Library

Oil Can Harry’s

Santa Rita

Terra Burger

El Arroyo

Pure Ultra Lounge

$2 tequila turtle

$2 Any LIquor

DJ Digg all night, $1 wells & domestics

All Day NFL $1 off Pints & Cock-tails, $2 off Apps, 1/2 off mini pizzas

$3.50 Vodka & Lemonade

$2 off Sun Fun Day, $2 Top Shelf

Bar - 1/2 Off Cheese & Chocolate Fon-dues/$2 Dom, $4 Wells, $7 Martinis

$4 Zing Zang Bloodys

3-Close $3.95 Killer B’s

$2 Wells & Domestics All Nite

1/2 off Apps, $1 PBR/$10 Bckts

NA

Michelades For Your Hangover!

$2.50 Drafts All Day--Over 150 beers

$1.50 Doms & Wells; $3 UV Vodkas & Feckin Irish Whiskey

Karaoke hosted by Shawn 10pm-2am

$4.50 Bloodys, Mimosas, Mango. Brunch

N/A

$2.50 Bloodys, Mimosas, Drivers All Day

25 cent Wells ALL NIGHT

Closed

$1 Domestic Beers, $2 Wells, $3 Bombs

Industry Night $2 wells & domestics

3-7 & 9-11PM HH, $1 off Pints and Cock-tails, $2 off Apps, 1/2 off mini pizzas

$2 Light Drafts, 1/2 off Pool

3 - 11 $2 Pints Dos XX and Miller Lite

Bar -1/2 Off Cheese & Chocolate Fon-dues; Ladies Night - 3 Course Meal $24

ALL Mexican Beer $2.50 after 7PM, $3.25 Michelada

$5.00 Mex. Martini’s


$2 XX bottles 7pm - Close

Closed

Pint Night - Any Draft Pints $2.50, $1 Lonestars

$2.50 Texas Beers All Day, Pearl and PBR $1.25

$1.50 Doms and Wells

Martini Mondays with Rixy Karaoke hosted by Shawn

2 for 1 Fajitas, $5.50 Mex Marts during HH

$1 Grab-n-Go Breakfast Tacos&Coffee

$1 Tecate all day

Closed

$2 you call it $1 bud lights, $2 tequila turtles

$1 Domestic Beers, $2 Wells, $3 Bombs

Jumping from Jets $2 domestics

$2 Pints, 1/2 off Wine, $1 off Cock-tails, $2 off Apps, $2 off mini pizzas

All Night HH, 1/2 off Apps

$1 Bottles Bud, Bud Lite, Miller Lite, Coors Lite


$2 Random Beers after 7PM

Top Shelf Tuesday’s


$2 Pints 7P - Close

4-7 HH Drinks & Apps

$2 Dos XX, $2 Ritas or 2 Lg Pies and Lonestar Pitcher $22

Big Beer Night

$1.50 Doms and Wells

Switch Girls Night

$2 Tecates, $2 Tacos


$1 Wells, $2 Beers

$2 margaritas $1 bud lights, $2 tequila turtles

$1 Wells

DJ School $2 wells & domestics


$2 Highlife Draft & Lstar Tboys

7-11 $3 Ritas


$1.50 Pints, $6 Pitchers

$3.95 Famous House Mar-garita


$1.50 Lonestar Pints

HH 4-7, Sept 16 Mariachi Tamazula 7-9pm

Reggae Night - $2 Red Stripe, Anything Jack $3

$2 Pints Of Lonestar All Day--Poker Night 8 & 10

$1 Miller High Life and PBR Cans; $1.50 Doms; $2 Import Drafts

Mascara hosted by Erica Andrews

$2 Drafts & 25 Cent Wings


$1 Any Liquor

$2 you call it $1 bud lights, $2 tequila turtles

$2 Domestic Beers, $2 Wells til 11pm

18+ w/ DJ Protege $2 wells & doms til 11p


$2 Wells and Select Drafts

7-11 $6 32oz Teas

Bar -1/2 Off Cheese & Choc Fon-dues; 20% off dinner with College ID

$1.50 Select Dom

Palomas $4.75


$2 Off ALL Pitchers

4-7 HH Drinks & Apps

$9.99 Lg Pies, Upsize to 32oz mug for $1 Drafts

$4 25oz Mug Beers, 32 Beers on Tap

$1.50 Doms and Wells, $2 Imports

Flesh Amateur male strip off contest $2.50 wells; $3 beer; $3.50 Tuaca

1/2 Off Appetizers w/student ID, $2 Wells


$1 Ritas 2-6P, $2 Ritas 6-7P

$1 Any Beer ALL NIGHT

$3 yager bombs $2 Tecate, $2 tequila turtles

$2 Domestic Beers,$2 Wells til 11pm

18+ DJ Showcase w/ special guest DJs every week

NA

$3.50 Vodka/Lemonade

7-11 $2 off Dos XX & Miller Lite Pitchers


$7 Select Pitchers

Strawberry Margaritas $4.50

$2 Wells & Dom

1/2 Off Select Apps, $10 Bckts

Sept. 12 Street Salsa 10:30-1:30am

Miller High Life Buckets and any lg specialty pie for $20

$3 You Call It 7-10P, $2 Lon-estar Pints

$3 LIT All Night

Dance Dance

$4.50 Bloodys, Mimosas, Mango. Brunch

N/A

$2.50 Bloodys, Mimosas, Driv-ers All Day

$2 Wells, $2 Beers till 11pm

$1 bud lights, $2 tequila turtles

$2 Domestic Beers, $2 Wells til 11pm

8+ DJ Showcase w/ special guest DJs every week


$3.50 Vodka/Lemonade

7-11 $3.50 Bombs

Bar - 1/2 Off Cheese & Choc Fondue; Martini Madness - 3 tinis for $15

$7 Select Pitchers

Sangria Margaritas $4.95

$2 Wells & Dom till 10

$1.50 Lonestar Pints

4-7 HH Drinks & Apps, Sept.11 Oliver Rajamani 8-10

Miller High Life Buckets and any lg specialty pie for $20

Austin’s Best Happy Hour

$2 U “Call” It until 11P, $3 LIT

Dance Dance

$3.75 Mango, Straw, Swirl Fro Ritas

$1 Grab-n-Go Breakfast Tacos& Cof-fee, Sept.18 1/2 Price Organic Burgers

$1.95 Domestics, $2.75 Ritas 2-7P

$2 Wells, $2 Beers till 11pm

LONGHORN SPECIALSLOCATION SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT

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8

FOOD & DRINK8

Fun fact: I was voted “most classy” my senior year of high school. I know it’s lame to hold onto things like letter jackets and class rings, but that is the kind of moniker that sticks. And despite the grammatical conundrum, I still try to live up to my glory days of class.

And there are few things classier than being just a touch snobbish about food and wine. If you can do it in a charming atmosphere, surrounded by elegant touches like an onyx bar, and a huge live oak shad-ing a bevy of candlelit outdoor tables, even better.

That’s where El Arbol comes in. The restaurant is a new ad-dition to the Central Austin scene, and serves up some of the best Argentinean food you’ll find around. The entire three-story restaurant has been artfully decorated to in-voke the spirit of mid-Century Argentina, wrapped around the 150-year-old “arbol” of El Arbol. Dark leather booths and dim interior lighting hint back to a time when class was a more common commodity.

If you really want to go classy, you need to start with a drink. If you’re not feeling very ad-

venturous, try the classic mar-garita ($10). It’s got plenty of Cazadores Añejo tequila and fresh lime juice. If you’re look-ing for something a little more delicate, try the primavera, a sparkling wine with muddles strawberries that refreshing and sweet for $8. While you’re enjoying your drinks and pe-rusing the menu, you’ll enjoy

snacking on El Arbol’s bread and fresh spreads, one made from chickpea and basil, the other an anchovy spread — both are flavorful and delicious.

The main courses at El Arbol range from oak-wood grilled steaks, veal and chorizo to an offering of fresh Gulf seafood. For a hearty meal, try the Pastel Del Choclo ($15), a classic Chil-

ean dish that’s a lot like shep-herd’s pie. It’s a large serving of a spicy and sweet mixture of sirloin, egg and raisins, all topped with a corn puree.

But it is the art of the em-panada that El Arbol has truly mastered. They’re made fresh every day with an original house recipe dough that is flaky and tender and is filled

them with fresh and tasty fill-ings. There are three flavors for you to try, and trust me, you’ll want to try them all. Probably twice. The carne suave ($4) is probably the most bland of the three, filled with sirloin, pota-toes, onion and spices. For the veggie-crowd, they have the espinaca, a spinach empana-da filled with mozzarella and parmesan cheese that’s gooey and perfectly paired with the fresh spinach. The Mendoza empanada ($3) is a definite treat for the adventurous — it’s filled with pork, onions, raisins, green olives and al-monds for a nutty, savory and sweet taste that can’t be beat.

Stick around for dessert, and try the rice pudding empanada ($5), the Alfajores, a baked phyl-lo with dark chocolate, dulce de leche and a delicious coconut whipped cream ($8). El Arbol also offers an apple crêpe ($6) that takes up an entire plate and is covered in vanilla ice cream and dulce de leche.

So, if you’re in the mood for upping your own yearbook-worthy classy cred, drop by El Arbol — the place has got good food and class to spare.

By Tori DaughtreyThere’s Starbucks’ Tazo Tea,

Saxby’s tea, The Coffee Bean’s tea, Lipton’s Tea, Medici’s tea, even HEB-brand tea. But, you haven’t tasted tea until you’ve tried Zhi Tea.

Zhi’s cool, lime-green walls and calm atmosphere invite you to let go of the outside world and relax in East Austin, while sipping some refreshing Oolong or “black dragon” tea within the arms of a comfy, black sofa.

Fully equipped with a “sniff-ing bar” in addition to a sooth-ing environment, Zhi Tea re-minds you, “It’s the journey” of tea drinking that matters,

not the accomplishment of an empty cup.

Indulge your senses by em-bracing the luring aroma of 100 percent organic, free-trade tea steaming in your mug. Pause for a moment, and let your tongue recognize the fla-vor of pure tea, the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

“We try to retrain the senses and help people engage with their food,” store owner Jeffrey Lorien said. “It’s so important to get as many sense experi-ences of tea as you can. Tea is such a beautiful thing.”

Each employee at Zhi Tea is an authentic tea lover and acts as guide for your personalized tea

journey, lending expert advice catered to individual tastes.

“I try to get a sense of what they [customers] like,” Lorien said. “If someone says they like red wine, steak and pota-toes, I’ll recommend an earl grey. If they like Thai food and Sushi, I’ll recommend a more exotic tea.”

Located at the edge of East Austin, nestled between urban

Chic treehouse diningWINE&DINE

A column by Brennan Lawler

what: EL ARBOL where: 3411 GLENVIEW AVE.when: VISIT www.elarbolres-taurant.com for hours

what: ZHI TEA GALLERY where: 4607 BOLM RD. when: MONDAY - FRIDAY 9 A.M. - 6 P.M., SATURDAY 10 A.M. - 2 P.M.

Photo by Eric OuEl Arbol offers exquisite dishes such as the anticucho de corazon, a grilled beef heart. Diners can enjoy sitting out-side on any of the three levels under an ancient oak tree or inside on the first-floor dining room or second-floor bar.

Austin’s peaceful spin on the classic tea party

Photo by Chris KoshoLaura Buchanan takes a break a Zhi Tea, a tea shop in East Austin that specializes in rare tea from all over the world. CONTINUES ON PAGE 9

9

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FOOD & DRINK 9

Sunday is funday and likely the best night to hit up one of those places that seem too ex-pensive to be fun that you see on the street out of the window heading downtown on Thurs-day for liquor pitchers. The list of such fancy establishments includes The Belmont. The only other experience we’ve had at The Belmont was when they had 12-ounce cups of Shiner Bock for some random hosted party. It was nice and all, but it’s hard to appreciate a bar’s at-mosphere when you’re trying to guzzle as many Dixie cups of free beer as possible .

This time, we actually sat down at a table and had a serv-er who helped us out greatly, taking the time to point out some of her favorite drinks that turned out to be pretty good. A far cry from the usual standing up against a crowded bar for what seems like forever and flailing your arms to get a bar-tender’s attention, this place is classy — there are cloth nap-kins and a plate for every little bit of food along with a dainty garnish for every drink. Joking about being bougie and actu-ally being bourgeoisie are two different things.

Most importantly, the drinks

were fantastic. We tried the French 77 (Saint Germiane li-queur, champagne and lemon) and the Sinatra — basically vermouth and whisky with a cherry — a man’s martini. On the other side of the spectrum, The Monroe (watermelon, vod-ka, and sugar) was very sweet and light, while still coming through with that unexpected buzz that you don’t get from $1.50 wells night.

The decor is unique. It’s styl-ized to echo the simple sophis-tication of America’s classiest era — the 1960s in Hollywood. The outside seating is very re-laxed and inviting. There is a brand new brunch area on the roof and on the ground level there is a spacious and arid stone patio surrounded by a tall stonewall covered in vines.

It’s especially enjoyable dur-ing the day. Maybe even more enjoyable if it’s a hung-over af-ternoon and you’re still in the saucy-from-the-night-before mood. You’ll be better able to justify spending a little out of your means. We recommend taking advantage of the great happy hours deals Monday through Friday 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and all day Sunday half-off cocktails, beer, wine by the glass and appetizers.

The Belmont, in accor-dance with the theme, offers several twists on the classiest drink conceivable: the marti-ni. Simple, elegant and noth-ing but alcohol, the martini evokes images of James Bond 007, the Rat Pack (which The Belmont capitalizes on), and only the classiest of alcohol-

ics. The signature cocktails fo-cus on little twists on classics, which seems to fit the bill. What’s classier than a classy

RAGE ON MINIMUM WAGE

A column by Han Park &Marla Segura

what: THE BELMONT where: 305 W. SIXTH ST.when: VISIT www.thebel-montaustin.com for hours and information

Drink in style at swagged-out bar

farming fields, Zhi is an ideal final destination. Lorien uti-lizes this environment as an oasis just minutes from bus-tling downtown junctions.

Proud owner of the 2009 Local Hero Award from Ed-ible Austin Magazine, Zhi Tea guarantees award winning tea each cup.

“Out of town, custom tea, teas for companies,” listed Lorien. “We want tea to be an enjoy-able experience for everyone.”

Zhi ensures this policy by shipping all over the conti-nental united states.

“That’s why I moved to Aus-tin,” Lorien said. “I wanted to be able to ship to the East and the West Coast in a day or two.”

If you’re planning on tak-ing your tea experience home with you, Zhi’s loose leaf tea is packaged neatly in take home tins, lining the store’s walls. Each tin contains about a quarter pound of tea and is roughly $12 or 20 cents a cup.

“Most store-bought teas are 25 cents a bag,” Lorien said. “Plus, our tea is awesome.”

If that wasn’t enough to convince you, this Saturday, Zhi will have a pre-Mother’s Day sale, offering 20 percent

off all teas. Save some pocket change, and satisfy your caf-feine cravings with a delicate and delicious alternative to coffee.

Try White Blueberry of Ca-cao Chai tea for a truly unique tea experience.

When your cup is empty and you tummy full, leave a little gratitude in the com-ment book, and contribute to the overwhelming pages of anonymous “thank you’s” and teacup quotes.

“I wish I were a teacup from which you drink your tea be-cause every time you take a sip, it would be a kiss for me.”

TEA: Local tea ripe for the sipping

Photo by Rene HuynhMiguel Maldonado concocts countless swanky cocktails at The Belmont, which is a restaurant and bar downtown with especially glamorous decor.

FROM PAGE 8

CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

10

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11

CHARACTERS 11!

By Melanie GasmenBefore I met with the coined

“Style Avatar” of Austin, Ste-phen Moser, I imagined him with a sassy walk, decked out in furs, jewelry, or at least wearing his trademark black sunglasses.

He did wear his sunglasses, but this wasn’t the outlandish-ly dressed, 52-year-old fash-ionista, who’s usually splat-tered in benefit and award show pictures with the likes of Paris Hilton and Luke Wilson.

Moser, hiding his blonde hair under a straw hat, wore a linen button down with his initials stitched in the top corner of his breast pocket and brown loaf-ers that lounged on a chair.

Now working at The Austin Chronicle for 11 years, his col-umn, “After a Fashion,” thrives on the glitz, glam and gossip surrounding Austin’s social circles, chicest boutiques and classiest affairs.

Unbeknownst to onlook-ers, the man that sat outside Jason’s Deli, lighting a smoke, has 35 years of designer ex-perience, including working backstage at the New York Pra-da and Versace fashion shows.

This Stephen, who planned on gardening later that day, was low-key and exuded a calm persona. His look repre-sented his feat at keeping a low profile, after two years of “living in the deep end.”

He received the dreaded call on his 50th birthday, amid shedding over 150 lbs after a weight loss surgery and planning a huge bash that featured over 300 guests. His doctor diagnosed him with prostate cancer and gave him six months to live. She sug-gested a number of radical treatments, including chemi-cally castrating him, but Mo-ser declined.

“I thought, any minute I’m going to drop dead,” Moser said. “I asked my family if I could I could die at home in their arms instead of being in the hospital.”

Moser coped with the threat of death by exploding on the party scene and losing “social stock” by hanging out in drug dens rather than answering his friends’ e-mails.

“I was living the high-life

and didn’t care about myself or anything else,” Moser said.

His fame sloped when he was arrested on arson charges in 2009, after allegedly setting fire to a car, while donning a white fur coat and black leath-er boots.

“I knew I had to get a grip on myself,” he said. “I was at a bad place at the time, but I’ve been working extremely hard to get to the where I am now.”

Moser definitely cleaned up

his act since then, continu-ing to socially rehabilitate by moving to Manchaca to live with his mother, sister and five dogs. He doesn’t drive be-cause of the amount of medi-cation he takes.

“I feel trapped out here in a way. I have low energy, a lot of fatigue, and it’s harder for me to want to leave my house,” Moser said.

Prior to designing his line,

Made in Heaven, he traced his roots back to when he was 5 years old and obsessed over everything glamorous. Even earlier than the most desolate times of his childhood, before his parents divorced and his homophile father’s suicide, he started designing clothes for Barbies and trolls.

His designing skills bloomed in high school, landing him a job as a costume designer for Zachary Scott and the famous

transvestite, Divine. After de-sign school, he moved to New York City, where his designs, including antique-fabric wom-en’s vests, were featured in posh store windows, like Henri Bendel. He also graced the pag-es of Women’s Wear Daily and W magazine.

In 1997, he moved back to Austin to live in a place “with more gracious living” and en-tered in the Chronicle’s ro-

mantic column contest, where he wrote the required pieces but attached his own fash-ion columns. He was hired on the spot.

“I started getting into the right parties and wrote some of the bitchiest and funniest articles,” he said.

Moser believes the epitome of classy was encompassed in art collector Deborah Green’s Women and Their Work gala. He said the guest list was daz-zling, the food was amazing, servers had fantasy makeup on, and people in Lycra one-pieces slithering everywhere.

“And Deborah was stand-ing by the door greeting each guest — that’s classy,” Mo-ser said. “Doing something for someone else is classy.”

Moser’s advice on keeping it classy is not gawking when you’re at a swanky party, but don’t withdraw either.

“Wander around and talk to people, because you’re just as interesting — well, ideally,” Moser said.

He advises students not on the social circuit yet to look at what adults wear and purchase similar attire. His final tip is to drop what you’re wearing now after you graduate.

“People stop evolving their style, and that’s why you see middle-aged women with fountain bangs and men still wearing mullets,” Moser said.

Fashion guru keeps it classy

drink with a twist? The clas-sic drink without changes of course, but you could get that at the bar right down the road. It’s all about get-ting that something special, like finding a golden ticket. It makes you want to sing, like you got something spe-cial, unique and completely different. You find that, and you just wanna sing. Then you realize why people actu-ally spend good money on nice drinks.

Honestly, the concept of classy is something out-side of our understanding. There’s a difference between going out for a night of fun and doing something classy; it’s really just like putting on your parent’s clothes when you’re 12 years old, looking snazzy and adorable but not really fitting the part. Classi-ness is just one of those things you have to grow into. The Belmont is one of those places. While it didn’t break our collective banks, The Belmont made us feel like we were 16 years old spend-ing our parents’ cash on a first date. Sure, it’s classy, but it doesn’t really fit. What is it about spending money that you don’t have that makes you feel like you’re the big man? Huh?

Class has become such a foreign concept in popu-lar culture where we focus on Tiger Wood’s sex scan-dals. That isn’t classy. It’s Ron Burgandy telling you to stay classy while going com-pletely wild on a city, mak-ing crazy shit go off. Let’s go back to that. Sure, it’s fun to get sloshed and scream out every lyric to every dance song coming off the P.A. But sometimes, it’s just good to let the groove roll off your back and into your lap. It doesn’t feel right, but it feels just as good.

DRINK: Belmont bar offers glitz and glamour

FROM PAGE 9

‘‘Doing something for someone else is classy.”

— STEPHEN MOSER fashion columnist

Fashion columnist and local celebrity Stephen Moser has recently adopted a more reserved, peaceful life-style, although his trademark sunglasses and all-around fabulousness remain intact.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Moser

12

ARTS12 ARTS

By Jessica BilleaudThe word dream is not stat-

ic — it encompasses count-less meanings and thoughts: eeting traces of memories of a deep sleep or carefully con-structed ideas of future hopes. Or something else entirely.

Local choreographer Alexis Pangborn seeks to bring all kinds of ethereal visions to life through movement of the body — using ballet to illus-trate the different emotions brought about by dreams.

Pangborn’s � ve pieces are one-fourth of Austin Classical Ballet Company’s “Awaken-ings” program, which runs Fri-day and Saturday. Performed all on pointe, the performance is a fusion of pure classical ballet and contemporary ballet — the four separate dances are threaded together in their ex-ploration of human emotion.

“It started with the music. To me, Chopin’s music is rem-iniscent of hopefulness and a belief in dreams,” Pangborn said. “All the pieces have a sort of dream logic, and an ele-ment of reality — life or death intrudes.”

In one of her dances, balleri-nas oat on stage like sprites, inducing a ghostly, airy mood, while another piece uses choppy, tedious movements, creating a state of frenzy. Pangborn’s idea sprang from Shakespeare’s line in “Ham-let,” “I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of in� nite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.”

As with all of the pieces throughout the entire “Awak-enings” program, moods are eeting, allowing the entire work to touch upon the de-sires, fears and varying emo-

tions everyone shares. The � rst piece of the pro-

gram, “Not Again,” uses stark, architectural movement in its three dances, titled “Longing,” “Labor” and “Loss.” Its geomet-ric, contemporary movement is followed by a more classical style in the second piece, “Cho-sen,” which portrays a dramat-ic, passionate love triangle.

Both pieces were choreo-graphed by Jennifer Felkner, di-rector of Austin Classical Ballet, which houses a school and a professional company trained in the Russian technique.

“The classical training gives a stronger foundation for tech-nically dif� cult movements,” Felkner said. “It makes for more of an exciting, explosive and dramatic performance.”

The program culminates in the fantastical pieces of Pang-born’s, providing a owing,

moody end to “Awakenings,” as if the dancers are spellbind-ers, lulling the audience into a peaceful, dreamy state.

Seasoned dancer Theresa Couch offers insight into how she translates the choreogra-phy into an emotional perfor-mance — in Pangborn’s most frantic piece, the dancer thinks of the dreams in which you’re falling and you suddenly jump awake.

“In another piece, I’m sort of translating in my own head the idea of a nymph or a fairy,” Couch said of Pangborn’s most wistful work, in which the dancer playfully teases a dreaming boy.

“The dancers themselves have shaped the piece with their own beauty, personal-ity and distinctive expres-sive qualities,” Pangborn said. “It’s really taken on a life of

its own.”This weekend, skilled clas-

sical ballet fuses with contem-porary movement, creating a packed performance exploring movement and its connection to emotion. As with a night of deep sleep, the darkness � lled with dreams streaming into one another, the range of emo-tions evoked in the � rst hazy moments of the morning are all present here, brought to life by leaps, arabesques and emo-tional release of the dancers.

what: AUSTIN CLASSICAL BALLET PRESENTS “AWAKENINGS” where: CARVER MUSEUM-BOYD VANCE THEATRE, 1165 ANGELINA ST.when: FRIDAY, 8 P.M., SATUR-DAY, 2 P.M. AND 8 P.M.tickets: $15, AVAILABLE ONLY AT austinclassicalballet.com

Photo by Danielle VillasanaAustin classical ballet company member Jeanne Marie Marks rehearses her solo under the watchful eyes of choreographer Alexis Pangborn and other company dancers, who have been preparing for this weekend’s performance of “Awakenings” for six months. The show will consist of both classical repertoire and new choreography.

Dreams brought to life through ballet

DT Weekend 4-29-10

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