VinDivine - Living it Up John & Janine Style

Flying tips from J&J

So we just got in from a marathon flight from JFK to SFO on Virgin America. JHC the jet stream musta been in overdrive it seemed like 6 1/2 hours. Plus it took off about an hour late to boot. Anyhoo, I'm not gonna  whine about all the cheap overpriced wine we drank. Not even gonna whine about the one-armed old man sitting next to me that asked me to 'buckle him in' every time he returned to his seat. Hell I'm not even gonna whine about the TVs being on the fritz during the Italy-Spain match on the way out. Nope. No sirree. That's not what you're here for.

We love Virgin America. Not as kick-ass as Virgin Atlantic, but then again they don't require that you fly into Heathrow either. Virgin America is the new 'Blue', and it's the first time we cheated on Blue to get from Sf to NY. Cool mood lighting, awesome entertainment mod called Red, and dirt cheap to boot! Groovy experience all-in-all. So we have not one, but TWO tips for you today!

1. Seating: Yeah you can score pretty cheap 1st class sometimes, but whatever. It's easy to see those when you book online. We're gonna tell you where NEVER to sit. Ready for it?? Row 8. Holy crap what a agonizing experience. I mean, I'm only 5' 8" and a buck-fifty and I felt like human origami trying to fit. My tall drink o' water babe Janine was folded up like a yoga instructor. It's just before the first exit row, so the seats don't recline, you get zero legroom in that part of the plane anyway, PLUS row 7 basically reclines onto your lap. And not in a sexy way.
2. Food: I dig you can order whenever you want. Cool beans. Get the Turkey-Bacon wrap (mmmm) and the Antipasti plate. Both killer for plane food.
3. There is no three! If you were reading before, I said two!

Well that's it for now, sorry for the random post but I had to get that off my chest!

2005 Sequel Syrah

I know what you're thinking: 'Syrah? How desperate were you guys?! Must've been down to that or the 40 of Olde English in the back of the fridge!" Yep, any 'o you VdVers that follow us know we don't have a ton of praise for most of this varietal, reminiscent of Vick's Formula 44 in at least color and finish. Eww.

But I went into a great wine shop the other day (Ha, I can almost hear the K&L people's anticipation: "We made it! They really do like us!" Nope, suckas it's Time for Wine in Tahoe City. If they had a website I would link to them) to get a gift for a Syrah fan, and figured "hey I like the label on this one." That's right, even stewards of the wine-tasting world like us are not immune to a great label to help make the buying decision.

Hey, this Columbia Valley (that's in Washington) wine is pretty damned good! Beats the pants off of just about any Aussie Shiraz I've had, that is 4 sure. Why? Well grab a drink, pay attention and I'll tell ya!

This puppy is refined for a Syrah. So many are hot, over-extracted with awful taste. The Sequel is loaded with dark cherries and chocolate, but with great balance and minerality. And slightly oaky tannins that don't overpower the fruit. I know only rookies typically use the term 'smooth' to compliment a wine, but I cannot resist (or maybe as some of you more snarky types have accused, maybe I am just a rookie!).

This wine is made by the same winemaker that made the legendary Penfold's Grange for fifteen years - John Duval. Glad ya learned a few things and made a tamer, more well-rounded wine this time around, Duval!

Oh yeah, that 'gift' never made it to its recipient! Bad for him, good for us!

Goes for about $50 bones. And like Time for Wine, Sequel doesn't seem to have a website either! Google it, you'll find a retailer to get it from.

The Alcoholics Guide To Austin

I mean, why else would anyone visit this barren, Bush-infested hellhole of a state if not for Austin?! Wird. One of the J's actually did some time here (no, not in a prison lock down or in Waco, it was semi-voluntary) a few years back so We Speak From Experience. As y'all know, bitches!

Anyhoo, so we had a decision to make last weekend - I was in L.A. and the the other J was in Austin, we're both yip-yappin' in front of people about our respective bidnesses. People actually pay us for that stuff (as opposed to our VdV gig...look for a Tip Jar soon). So, do we stretch the  weekend in smelL-A or George Bush's backyard? I can almost smell your anticipation...and your disgust as I say...and my disgust as I smell your anticipation (eww)...yippee kiy yay Mo-Fo we mosied on in to Austin! Yee Haw! Texas that is, big hair, fake boobs, flop sweat and fortunately home to an oasis called Austin.

But I'm tellin ya here and now, as gospel..AUSTIN ROCKS. This town is the f'ing bomb! Holy crap. We LOVE IT HERE. And it wasn't even SXSW or Austin City Limits. This was just a typical kiln-hot weekend. That's all. I mean, some of the most friendly and cool peeps, sun, tons o' (air conditioned) bars and...oh yeah that live music scene. Jesus H Christ.

So let's break it down. We want to make sure you don't make a wrong turn and waste any timing lookin' when ya could be drinkin'! This is a loooong post but like they say, everything's bigger in Texas! So here's the 411 on the 512:

• Stay: The Driskill (until the W opens in a couple years in the warehouse district). 2 words - Old School Texas. For lack of a better word, 'Grand' comes to mind. Not really J&J's style but it's nice, located right off 6th (read: New Orleans-ish party street) and supposedly occupied by ghosts! Hard as I tried though I couldn't scare one up.
• Breakfast: B'fast?! Like we get up in time! Room service, sucka!
• Lunch: Now we're talkin'! Hit Cantina Laredo for some scrump-dili-ishous tex mex. Try the Botanas Platter (we're usually not platter people but this is all killer no filler) loaded with yummy stuff including Pork tacos, chicken quesadilla, chili con queso (mmmm...cheese) stuffed jalepeños and beef, shrimp and veggie skewers. Christ that's a mouthful even to say! And it's only $14 to boot. Also good, the Soft Tacos and...you guessed it that's why we ate lunch here both days, the Chips & Salsa! Oh yeah, and they mix a kick-ass 'rita (even 5 or 6!)
  
• Drinks: (Most of these are located off 4th in the cool, hip little-more-upscale area than 6th street)
  
  • For solid live blues, hit the classic in Austin, the Continental Club baby! Small, dark (and I don't think ya want to be there when the lights come on if you get my drift) bar with a little bit of dancing room. Awesome. We saw the Blues Specialists, they kicked ass. This place isn't in the WHD, it's just across the river.
  • Screw Texas, wanna taste of Havana? Check out Cuba Libre for a cool vibe, pretty people and a killer Mojito!
  • Molotov. Well, how can you not go to a place with a cool name like that?!  Funny thing is, a friend of a friend of mine called me and gave me a couple insider places to go - he mentioned this place, but I thought he said Mullet Top. What a retard. I wondered why the taxi driver gave me such a weird look when I told her to take me there. Fun night spot, groovy and modern. Ask for Brian he's the owner and super-cool dude, we had a couple shots with him. And I like the little molotov cocktail that follows your mouse pointer around on the website - I just couldn't figure out how to throw it! And when you go, get a Molotov t-shirt. And get one for me too, size M, I spaced out and forget to buy one.
  • For a rat-pack classic vibe you have to hit Belmont. We love love loved this place. It's only a couple years old but you would swear that Sinatra prolly hung there. Dark, retro-clubby, and A/C that'll freeze your nipples off. I can't even count how many Vodkas we downed at this place - go! Ask for Dave he was awesome.
  • Ya gotta give props to Lance A., so hit Six Lounge. This is a cool warehous-ey spot in the...you guessed it...in the warehouse district!
  • Hey let's make our way around the world, eh? Cuba, Mexico, Vegas retro, Russia, and now...Ireland! Hit Fado one of the most authentic Irish pubs I've caught a buzz in for a long time. This place is insane, I think they actually brought pieces of 3-4 different Irish pubs over on a barge and re-assembled them here. Get a Guinness of course!
• Supper (that's what they call it down here). We scored both nights.
  
  • Some of the best sushi ever at Uchi. "WTF, you proclaim? Are you on crack? Austin is landlocked!" Noper, and we were kinda skeptical as well. But we rolled them dice and god damn if we didn't come up boxcars. It's a Japanese Fusion style place, very hip, full 'o pretty people. Sleek, dark design and the chef is an Iron Chef winner I think. Awesome, creative rolls, excellent sashimi, and what rocked Janine's world? Wagyu Beef 'Sushi'! Woo Hoo!
  • Visiting Texas without eating BBQ is like...well...nothing comes to mind right now but you get it. And Lambert's Downtown BBQ serves up some killer BBQ! What'd we pig out on? Spicy Deviled Eggs, Green Chile Cheese Grits (mmmm, grits!), then we moved on to Oak-smoked Maple Crusted Pork Ribs and Oak-smoked Achiote & Lime Rubbed Chicken. Dessert? No f'ing way!

• Sideshow: It gets a tad hot down in these parts, and the cool thing is there's rivers and lakes everywhere. The place we like? Barton Springs. It is literally a mile or so from downtown Austin, and is an awesome place to hang out and dip into some ice-cold H2O.
• Shopping: Hells yeah, this is a complete blog post!
• Hip duds for guys and chicks at Estilo, in the warehouse district. I scored HUGE with some Modern Amusement stuff all 40% off! Yeowsa. Janine didn't make out quite as well, but it's about time more places carry cool guy's stuff!
• Mellow Jonnhy's! Even if you're not in the market for a bike, stop by Lance's other spot and pick up an uber-cool Mellow Johnny's T!

OK, if that doesn't keep y'all busy and buzzed for a couple days, we're scared! Oh yeah, a big +: JetBlue flies direct from SFO!