Our visit was a packed showing of the third installment in the X-Men series, and we had to attend the 10:10 screening because when we arrived ten minutes early for the 7:35 show, we discovered there were only two seats available on opposite sides of the auditorium. They graciously let us exchange the tickets we purchased online for tickets to the later show for which we vowed to return early.
Suddenly, we had some free time on our hands. En route to The Tavern a little further north on Lamar, I made a last second decision to whip into the Shoal Creek Saloon a couple blocks south of our intended destination. In past visits to Austin I had noted the place mainly because of the gigantic New Orleans Saints helmet which graced its front awning. This time, I was intrigued by the sign touting catfish AND color T.V.
The catfish and hushpuppy snack we ordered hit the spot. I was also happy to discover that the televisions were, in fact, in color, but my favorite feature of this place besides the back deck which overlooked what I can only assume was the... um... Shoal Creek was that our beers were brought to the table in koozies. Next time we're looking for a place to land on a hot summer night in Austin, you can bet I'll remember that.
I wish I could say that the movie later that night was just as memorable, but it was lackluster. It had more action set pieces than you could shake a stick at, but it didn't have the heart of the previous movies. It was style over substance, which was a shame, because in more able hands, there was substance to spare. In fact, it made our order of cheese sticks at the beginning of the movie seem prescient.
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