Since 1978 El Mirador has been catering to almost exclusively Oaxacans, without help from the tourist dollar.  It must be doing something right!  There’s the breathtaking cliffside open air view of the city below and surrounding mountains, just up the road and across from the Auditorio Guelaguetza.  Perhaps more important is the consistency of its food (I’ve been dining there for about ten years.)   Descending the staircase from the parking area you enter the main level with a relaxed mixed décor of rustica pine tables and chairs in the interior, and PVC Coke chairs with linen covered tables on the patio.  There’s a juke box, glass case filled with stuffed animals which muchachos can purchase to impress their señoritas, and multicolored cut-out tissue banners.  The lower level has a club style modern ambience, with ceiling-high picture windows to assure the same exquisite vista, lengthy bar, raised band platform and ... [more..]

Alvin Starkman  M.A., LL.B.   Campesinos working the land or tending flocks in the river valleys and hills of the Sierra Norte would stop, fish for trout, or perhaps gather lobster-like langostinos after the first rains in May, and then cook their bounty in an unusual way.  They would place their catch in a half-gourd filled with river water and freshly picked aromatic herbs, heat rocks from the banks to red-hot, then place them in the bowl and watch their meal quickly poach in a boiling broth.     Caldo de Piedra, located a few minutes outside of Oaxaca on the highway leading to Santa María el Tule, ceremoniously replicates the age-old custom before your eyes. The restaurant is a large, simple palapa with an open kitchen.  The menu is effectively non-existent since all that is served are generously filled quesadillas and similar appetizers, your choice of three soups (the ... [more..]

Going for the best Sunday brunch in AustinEvery Sunday from 10:00 in the morning, until 2:30 in the afternoon, enjoy a great brunch for less than sixteen dollars. Top it off with Mimosa or a Bloody Mary for a dollar and fifty and your Sunday is almost done. If you want to while away the day, stay on for a little more grooving and start your Sunday evening with great cocktails and fine wine. Happy hour starts from 3:30 until 6:30 in this great spot which just won the Favorite Sunday Brunch accolade from the Austin Chronicle. Consistently, this place has been garnering restaurant poll awards from the Readers’ Sunday Brunch to the Readers’ Favorites in 2008, to the Best of Austin Awards and Critics Best Bar Snack in 2007.That’s Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill for you, right at the corner of Red River and 3rd Street in downtown Austin. ... [more..]