The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2014

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34  /  the tasting panel  /  june 2014 A LONE STAR LIFE A bout 20 years ago, a friend took me to the Dry Creek Café, a beer-only joint stuck out in the boonies (at a time when most of Austin was still the boonies). The yellow paint was fading. There were only metal folding chairs to sit in under the hot Texas sun, and no A/C. The bartender was the single most ornery woman I ever encountered, and she looked me square in the eyes as she handed me my change—every single round—and growled, "I'm not going to sell you any more if you don't bring me your empty bottles first." This was the very first bar I ever walked into in Austin—and needless to say, I adored that place. This past May I returned to the Dry Creek, only to discover that almost nothing has changed. Still no pretension and just beer. Only this time, instead of that ornery bartender, there was an Angel. Angel Altenhofel. "That was Sarah Ransom, the owner," Angel explained, when I told her of my past experi- ence. "Crazy Sarah. She died about five years ago, but she still haunts the place." It seems Sarah, who'd owned Dry Creek since 1956, had a problem with just about anyone who had the nerve to walk through the door in the first place. And if you left a tip on the bar (instead of in the ceramic pig tip-jar) or—god forbid—left your empty beer bottle upstairs on the deck, that was likely the last mistake you ever made here. Apart from the most-gracious Angel tak- ing care of business these days, there are a few other changes to the Dry Creek, most notably the table up front with complimentary beer koozies for your drinking pleasure, and a hand-written sign by the register politely requesting that patrons return their empty beer bottles. Plus, this joint doesn't sit in the boonies anymore; there are some really ugly mansions cluttering up the formerly pretty countryside. But I swear the jukebox was the same. "Probably the last jukebox in Austin that plays 45s," Angel said, passing me a bottle of Lone Star with a smile. Then, with her contagious laugh, she added, "And it probably plays the same shit that was playing when you were here last." Of course it does. Crazy Sarah wouldn't have it any other way. You Never Forget Your First Time AUSTIN'S DRY CREEK CAFÉ HASN'T CHANGED MUCH OVER THE YEARS— AND THAT'S JUST FINE by Anthony Head / photos by Kirk Weddle ISLAND GIRL 1 1/2 oz. Blue Chair Bay Coconut 1 oz. orange juice 1 oz. pineapple juice 2 oz. lemon-lime soda DIRECTIONS: Build ingredients directly into a tall glass with ice. Stir and flirt. Want produce? Add an orange slice and cherry. DIRECTIONS: Blend in a blender and serve in tall glass. Garnish with whipped cream and cherry. PB&B 1 1/2 oz. BCB Banana Rum 1 oz. BCB Coconut Rum 1 cup vanilla ice cream 1 tsp. peanut butter INSPIRED BY THE ISLAND LIFE OF MULTIPLATINUM SINGER-SONGWRITER KENNY CHESNEY Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum 26.5% ABV imported and bottled by Fishbowl Spirits, Rochester, NY. TP0614_034-71.indd 34 5/23/14 9:22 PM

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