Black and Sun

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??!

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…

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!