Last Saturday Brent and I went on the Austin Modern Homes Tour. It was pretty awesome and I was very impressed with most everything we saw! Fortunately/ unfortunately, due to my raging headache from the night before, I had to go with the old "hair of the dog" remedy and indulge in a free margarita from El Chile on Barton Springs. Along with the grub it way helped in my sickly stomach feeling.
Free Margarita at El Chile on Barton Springs
Ensalada de la Casa: Romaine lettuce tossed in a spicy chipotle-caesar dressing. Topped with poblano-corn relish, escabeche, tortilla strips, and queso añejo.
The margarita was so strong that the girl next to me sent it back, but I'm a trooper and "roughed" it out. The food is consistent at El Chile. It is never mind blowingly great but it's always good. The salad was pretty tasty but the dressing was a little sweet in my opinion. That was easily fixable however by dousing it in their salsa.
Nachos: Classic bean-and-cheese nachos topped with jalapeños. Served with pico de gallo.
I could be wrong but I don't think their refried beans on these nachos are vegetarian friendly. I ate them regardless as I needed some serious sustenance but next time I'll ask before I order if they are made with lard. They were tasty though with a crisp chip and melty cheese, mmm. I have had their veggie enchiladas before and I do recommend those pretty highly.
Alma’s Sopa de Tortilla: Rich chicken-and-ancho pepper soup. Topped with avocado, queso fresco, tortilla strips, and crema.
Brent said his soup was good and we'll be back. El Chile is relatively inexpensive and they do always have strong margaritas!
The houses we saw on the tour were amazing! We didn't actually go in to see the house pictured above but it was cool enough that I had to get a picture. The neighborhood where this particular home was surprisingly, to me, was just off south congress. What a crazy cool neighborhood that I had no idea existed!
I love the way they organized their dishes. It's the details that really blew me away!
This house was designed spectacularly. The house was really long and had a nice long hallway. Two things rocked my face about this place: 1) the entire long hallway was lined with storage space and closets and still retained an ultra modern look that was clean and crisp 2) the upstairs floor was made of recycled rubber. It was black and smooth like a well worn car tire. I liked the texture and slight bounce and of course the use of recycled rubber. Genius, I tell you!
I loved the wide, deep bowl of this sink. Do you think clear glass would be easier to keep clean?
There was lots of red and black kitchen color combinations. That must be the 'in' thing right now... I liked it.
Elixer coffee truck was at the last house we toured. These people are geniuses and made a really good cop of joe! It's basically a moving truck outfitted with an espresso machine and all the necessities for coffee and tea.You can also rent them for private events and such and the owners were super nice. Anyways, I needed that last caffeine jolt for the final and most fabulous house we toured.
It's hard to see but that overhang is a lap pool. It has a glass bottom and end so when you are swimming forward you can see out beyond the cliff. So freaking cool!
The tour was amazing and I just couldn't get all the pictures I wanted so here's a link to Cory Ryan's professional photos for you to check out.