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The Zanorita
Location: 1100 E. 6th St, 3 blocks east of I-35
Phone: (512) 467-4280
Cost: $$ ($=Under $10; $$=$11-30, $$$=$31-60, $$$$=$60+, avg cost per person including 1 drink, tax, and tip.)
Website: www.eastsideshowroom.com
The Informed Drinker is Austinist's new cocktail column. Each week, the city's bartenders tell us what to drink when.
Open less than a month, East Side Show Room has managed to make Austin's hipsters, foodies, and interior décor enthusiasts all terribly weak at the knees. The vibe. The precious entrees. The steampunk-meets-Amelie aesthetic. Oh, and they support local farms! (Of course they support local farms). Can you help ESSR's diners from becoming near-evangelical?
Co-owner Mickie Danae, the disturbingly talented force behind Danae Design, actually opened the original East Side Show Room many years ago—in Brooklyn. On the east side. (Some of Danae's handmade chairs and wall pieces have been, in fact, transported from the first iteration of ESSR). But an interior designer and a welder by trade, Danae's vision for an art space / restaurant actually originated during a four-year stint in Spain, where she cultivated an appreciation for those grand pre-World War II ballrooms and lounges scattered around Europe. “I was attracted to those beautiful, old spaces that had been through war,” says Danae. “When we made plans for East Side Show Room, I wanted to keep combine the soft and pretty look with something rougher.” There are several nods to that around the current East Side Show Room here in town, such as the window with a bullet hole on the east wall that they deliberately chose not to replace.
Danae returned to Texas in 2006 from Brooklyn. More recently however, an interesting thing happened: in the same week, she and her long-time boyfriend broke up, and her parents got a divorce. Danae, her mother, and sister all got a house together, and pooled their assets to create Austin's very own East Side Show Room, selecting an old, broken-down property across the street from Shangri-La on east Sixth to renovate. When the economy evaporated, the crew's friends and family came out and finished building themselves.
Medina Martini
It's summertime. What East Side Show Room cocktail would you suggest for a vacation (either real or imagined)?
“The Rhum Punch,” says Bryan. Prepared with eight year Barbancourt Rhum, Creole Shrubb Liqueur and nutmeg, the Rhum Punch is Bryan's ode to '60s Tiki drinks. “The Brat Pack, that perpetual summer-in-Palm Springs thing. This is a drink designed to get you in 'living large' mode.”
Flip side: It's the end of a long work day, and we just clocked out. What should we throw back?
“The Medina Martini is nice for Happy Hour - i.e. Attitude Adjustment Hour,” laughs Bryan. “I like martinis simple, and want to restore some honor back to the martini name. I make it with Junipero Gin and Vya Vermouth, garnish with our house pickle. We pickle different vegetables depending on what's in season. Also, we're located on Sixth and Medina Street, so it's a namesake cocktail.”
It's Friday night. What drink should we begin the evening with?
“Austin is very addicted to the Margarita, but we make a slightly healthier version,” says Bryan. The big twist? Carrots. “I make ours with fresh carrots, Repasado [Tequila], cilantro, agave, and Turkish salt. It's delicious.” Quite a nice fit indeed for the city that invented both the Mexican Martini and Whole Foods.
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Great review. These women have done an amazing job. I have been following them for over a year and I am so happy and amazed at what they have done. Be sure to check this place out.