An Adventure in Art and European Cuisine

Last weekend, after the UT/OU game (Hook 'Em!), we found ourselves without plans for the first time in at least a month, and decided it was high time for a date that wasn't just a trip to Which Wich and the local Cinemark. Randy had done some digging during the week, and turned up the Georgetown Arts Festival.

This was a real pleasure. Despite living about twenty minutes from Georgetown, we've sadly never spent a lot of time there. An hour or two for Republican events, or last year's New Year's Eve day trip to the square (in the cold - not doing that again), that's it. So this was a big treat, as we had the chance to check out a lot of artists, get some ideas for Randy's photography hobby, and browse the fabulous shops on the square in Georgetown.

Georgetown is the county seat of Williamson County, and despite a lot of recent growth (disgruntled Austinites, or transplants looking for a deal on property and not particularly enthralled with Austin culture), it maintains a great small town atmosphere. The great find of the day was the Georgetown Winery, which we weren't previously aware of. No tastings there, but a $5 glass of any of their wines, live music (we weren't that far from the Live Music Capital of the World, after all), and a warm atmosphere. Just outside, there was a gentleman with what I took to be an eastern European accent sitting with his dog, a friendly shepherd mix who was eager to make friends.

We opted to forgo dinner in Georgetown (every place was packed, and the Down the Alley Bistro was closed for the wine tasting happening that evening), and headed back toward Austin - using the tollways that everyone hates, but which afforded a break from the awful I-35 traffic and beautiful views of rural Williamson and Travis Counties.

We don't live far from Pflugerville, and it was on our way through the town that we decided to see if the European Bistro was open. I feel like the great tragedy of Austin is that there is a great selection of food, but very little European food (for a city surrounded by Czech, German, and Swedish settlements, I find this very sad). Prior to last weekend, the best German food I've found in central Texas is in Fredericksburg (I haven't been to Walburg for food yet!). The European Bistro is even better, really, because they serve chiefly Hungarian, German, and Russian food.

It wasn't crowded, and the food was AMAZING. I had the jaegerschnitzel (breaded veal with a mushroom sauce) with red cabbage. Randy had turkey cordon bleu and sauerkraut, and a Hacker Weisse beer. We were very quickly in love with the European Bistro. The food reminded us a lot of what we found on our honeymoon in Solvang, California (there is a wonderful Danish restaurant there that we visited twice on a four-day trip - too good to pass up!).

We highly recommend both the Georgetown Winery and the European Bistro in Pflugerville. All in all, last Saturday evening was a great example of what Austin's surrounding communities have to offer, and how it doesn't take a lot of money to have a relaxing and creative date night.