Black and Sun

Tonight’s adventure took me back to Wholefoods. Central Market is fabulous, but Wholefoods is my happy place. Wholefoods is to me what Tiffany’s is to Holly Golightly. Always has been, even back in Boston. But the Bowie’s Barbecue counter at the Lamar Street Wholefoods is my very, very happy place, full of happy people and chatty counter assistants who give me free cobbler, free frosted mugs of root beer and free smiles and conversation. It’s my favorite place to eat when I’m in Austin alone. Which I am for another 3 days.

Dinner tonight: a brisket wrap with so, so hot fresh green chilies, pickles and onions; a frosted mug of organic rootbeer; lots of sampling and education on tea varieties (particularly the ancient pu-erh variety) across the way at the tea counter; and then, because even after all the tea and rootbeer my tongue was still sweating from the oh-my-god-so-hot chilies, a cup of fig orange/chocolate chipotle gelato (there are so many yummy flavors you have to sample at least two at a time).

Walking back with a full belly, I paused as I crossed over Shoal Creek on 5^th Street…the sound of the cicadas and the warm, soft air on my bare arms suddenly made my heart leap. I’m home. imhomeimhomeimhome, beat my heart. imhomeimhomeimhome, chirped the cicadas. All this time in my head I’ve been thinking I’m a northerner, but my heart knows I’m…I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Where the cicadas chirp in the summertime, where the air is warm and velvety soft, where people are kind, even if they do talk kind of funny…even if I’m starting to talk kind of funny again too…

It may just be about finding contrast. I went to Burlington, Vermont in search of a home away from Lafayette. And Burlington with its beautiful mountains and hardy hippies was a gracious, gentle home to me in my college years. I went to Boston to find a home when I retreated lost and heartbroken from New Zealand. But Boston was all hard knocks and tough love and never could find it in itself to be a home. I came to Austin to find a home away from cold, surly Boston. And I’m home again. Back where I started. Go figure.

I’m in my happy place.

1. I moved to Texas. ?! I’ve been telling people that we’re moving to Austin. Austin, which is the liberal oasis of the south. The dot of blue in a sea of red. Austin which is hip and funky and smart and cultured, and the number 3 film city. But since I’ve been down here I’ve started to notice a lot of references to Texas. Which I’m finding somewhat horrifying. Holy shit! Did I just move to Texas??!

2. There are more Taco Shacks than Starbucks. Which isn’t to say there aren’t a lot of Starbucks. But there’s a Taco Shack of some sort on nearly every corner. Plenty of cheap food in these parts. I’ve heard that Austin perhaps isn’t as strong on the food scene as some other cities – meaning the chichi variety, not the taco/margarita bar sort, which are great. And apparently there are no good Italian restaurants. But there’s a reason for that. Rather than going to restaurants, the foodies just go grocery shopping…

3. Home of the Whole Foods mothership…and then there’s Central Market. Good lord. It’s like nothing I’ve ever encountered. Ever. They say that when foreigners visit America for the first time the thing that really bowls them over is our supermarkets – the sheer variety and endless options they offer, aisle after colorful aisle. But the average American supermarket is like a CVS next to the Austin variety. I thought I was dazzled by the Whole Foods (barbeque bar! Gelato bar! Beer alley! Chocolate fountain! rows and rows of nothing but chile peppers!), but people kept saying that Central Market is where it’s at. So I ventured out tonight for a few provisions. All I can say is that I was lost for an hour and a half, dumbstruck, wandering around in circles. I emerged with a basket of very expensive, very unnecessary gastronomic delights: fresh unpasteurized lemon juice; warm cranberry, walnut and apple bread; Beurre D’Isgny butter (salted with coarse rock salt); coriander goat cheese; and rooibos, chocolate and coconut tea. We thought we were moving to Austin for a lower cost of living, but I suspect our grocery bills will prove to be ginormous!