Taverna is in downtown Austin, catty corner from city hall. Kitty corner? kat-a-korner? Whatever.

We were the first to arrive and the host said we could sit anywhere we liked. Brian picked a table by the window where we could watch a workman welding the new "W" hotel together.

They have a lunch menu (PDF) with fairly reasonable prices (for an upscale italian neighborhood restaurant). There are several dishes centering around risotto and another several with various pastas. I ordered the Paglia e Fieno, which is thin pasta with chicken, wild mushrooms and a truffle oil and cream sauce. I mentioned to Brian that I was a little worried that it would be rubbery chicken, but he'd been there before and assured me it would be good chicken.

Brian got the Fettucine Frutti di Mare. I think because he wanted to say "Frutti." It had fettucine with shrimp, mussels, clams and scallops in a brandy crustacean cream sauce.

While we waited for our food, Brian took off-kilter pictures of the restaurant. Here's one of the bar area where we could watch food porn on the TV. God bless Paula Dean.

Here's another of the kitchen.

They serve focaccia bread with a small bowl of olive oil and vinegar. The vinegar is already poured into the olive oil, and it's great fun trying to get the vinegar to stick to the bread with the oil. The bread is wonderful like a light pizza crust covered with parmesan cheese.

The food arrived, and much to my relief, the chicken in my pasta wasn't rubbery. We both enjoyed our entrees. Brian asked about dessert, and they had the standard italian fare: panna cotta, chocolate cake, tiramisu, creme brulee. We didn't get any, but I'm sure it would be as fabulous as everything else.

After lunch, we went next door to "Jo's Hot Coffee" where neither of us got hot coffee. Brian got iced coffee, and I got an iced mocha. My only complaint about the mocha is that the whipped cream was really whipped topping from a can. I scraped it off in an immature fit.

We enjoyed our lunch at Taverna. Here's an off-kilter picture of Brian at Taverna.

There's a store called the Fallas store in the same shopping center, and Brian says that no store in Texas should ever be called the Fallas store.

Brian and I usually go to lunch at 10:50 to beat the crowds, and we arrived at Amaya's at about 11:10. It was already crowded, though, because the breakfast crowd was still there. It's good to go early anyway because if you arrive much later, you have to wait for a table.

We got right in and started studying the menu. The Mexican plate looked good to me with a taco, enchilada, tamale, rice and beans. Brian ordered the Deluxe dinner which is the same except with an added chalupa.

When we ordered, the waitress asked us many questions. Things like "Do you want onions on that?" and "Beef, chicken or cheese enchilada?" and "Beef or chicken taco?" and "Red or green sauce?" The choices were plenty.

While we waited for our food, we talked about college mascots. I told him how goofy the Nebraska mascot is... a big, dorky, inflated, cornhusker kid with a sideways cap. Brian said the Ohio State mascot is pretty goofy, too, but at least the buckeye candies are good.

The food arrived, and it was yummy and filling. The corn tortillas are fantastic, and I don't usually like corn tortillas. They're homemade and thick.

The bill arrived and there was a problem. Brian had asked for fajita meat on his chalupa, and the waitress told him it would be an extra charge, and he was okay with that. But the bill had two extra charges: Add picadillo 1.79 and add fajita $4.99. It seemed it cost $7 to upgrade a chalupa to fajita meat. We were about to call the Guinness Book of World Records people for the costliest chalupa upgrade, but the waitress reviewed the bill and with a cute grin told us she must have pressed the wrong button. She offered us separate checks when she went to fix the bill, and we always appreciate that.

While we were waiting for her to press the right button, Brian pondered a business opportunity for an upscale chalupa restaurant where the chalupas range from $7 - $30. We could serve a variety of things on chalupas like escargot (snails!) or foie gras (fatty goose or duck liver). We're not sure the world is ready for that yet.

• We went to Cantina Laredo and did NOT get guacamole made right at our table.
• A piece of chicken from Brian's chimichanga tried to escape from his mouth, but only made it as far as his lip before his reptilian tongue reeled it back in.
• I poked a hole in my chin with my thumb nail gesticulating. (That means I injured myself talking with my hands.)
• Brian was rubbing his foot on the bottom of the table leg until he found out it was really my foot. I thought he was playing footsie.
• As we were leaving, Brian couldn't take his eyes off a man with a salt and pepper wannabe fauxhawk and walked smack into a guy entering the restaurant.
• I was deep in conversation with Brian when the waiter asked, "How was your lunch?" I started to answer, but then I realized we hadn't been served yet, so my reply was, "Uhhh... wait... what?" He asked again, "How was your lunch?" I said, "We haven't gotten it yet." The waiter said with a smirk, "I know. It'll be right out." Huh?
• Derrick, another waiter, has a cowlick.
• Feliz Navidad was playing over the sound system. Christmas comes so early now, I'm going to write a song. It'll start, "On the 45th day of Christmas, Brian gave to me, footsie under the table."

We delighted in our first opportunity to park using what Brian calls a "P" box, which sounds like a relief station for the homeless, but is really a solar powered parking sticker dispenser.

There were guys out front painting the awning purple and gold. Throw in a darker green, and it would have looked like Taiwanese Mardi Gras.

We made our way inside without walking under a ladder to find what Brian called Taiwanese hip hop playing over the sound system.

I ordered pepper steak with rice, egg in blanket and a watermelon bubble drink. The tapioca pearls (bubbles) were still cooking, so they offered to put pudding or gelatin in my drink. I told them I'd wait for the bubbles. Brian ordered fried chicken and rice and was going to order a bubble drink, but didn't want to wait or have pudding or gelatin in his drink.

They have free soup! You have to serve yourself, so I didn't realize it was there at first. Brian is a seasoned Coco's patron and let me in on the secret.

The egg in blanket came out first, and it was wonderful. It was served with soy sauce. I accused Brian of putting my soup spoon in the soy sauce, but then I found my spoon hiding under the edge of my plate. I apologized to Brian. I have a bad habit of accusing people of taking my things. When my scissors go missing at work, I accuse everyone around me of stealing them, but then I find them in one of my drawers later.

They have good chopsticks at Coco's. They are smooth, wooden ones. Not the splintery kind they have at Panda Express, and not the plastic, slippery kind they have at P.F. Chang's.

When our food came, we found ourselves listening to a Taiwanese version of the Pet Shop Boys. I didn't like my pepper steak. It was gelatinous in a way that pleased Brian, but not me. Brian's fried chicken was quite good.

My watermelon bubble drink came later. I always think bubble drinks are going to be delicious and fun, but then I get tired of dealing with the tapioca balls before they're even half gone.

The cup had a very wise suggestion that I abide by to this day: Don't eat children under 5.

Children under 5 not suggest to eat

We met our friend Sarah and Brian's brother Hunt. Being Fancy Friday at an upscale restaurant, Sarah and I dressed up. I wore my black jacket and some fancy naturalizer shoes. Sarah wore a skirt she got for $15 at a bridesmaid sale.

Hunt was worried he didn't follow the new solar-powered, ticket dispensing parking meter procedure correctly. Parking downtown is hard.

Perry's front door has a handle shaped like the letter P. Or a nose, depending on how you look at it.

While we were waiting for Hunt to figure the parking out, I told Brian that I wondered if I could get fries instead of whipped potatoes. The fries looked better than the whipped on the sign out front. Brian said if I did, I should call them pommes frites since that's the fancy name for fries.

They seated us next to the wine which was walled off by glass. It was quite an impressive display.

Big band standards were playing overhead. The kind of songs you might hear on a fine day at the retirement home.

The pre-meal bread was wonderful. White bread and salty butter. Yum. The butter was chilled and a little hard to spread. Brian said they should invent a butter laser to make spreading chilled butter easier.

The waitress was quite aggressive with the table clearing. I had my Lunch with Brian tools (camera and electronic note taking device) on the table, but they were in her way when she drew out the bread crumb razor to shave the crumbs from the table cloth. I said, "Oh, let me get that crap out of the way." And then red-faced, "Whoops... I just said 'crap' in a fancy restaurant."

When Hunt saw her nimble wrists pushing the crumbs about with the bread crumb razor, he thought we might be getting ready to do lines of bread crumbs.

Then there was the meal. Oh yum.

The pork chop was huge and had a dollop of blue cheese butter and a lime on top. The waitress explained the anatomy of the pork chop. It's made up of the eyelash, the loin and the baby back ribs. I think Aesop wrote a fable about that.

My pommes frites weren't anything special, but the ketchup (or is it catsup at a fancy restaurant) came in a gravy boat. The whipped potatoes that the others got weren't anything special, either, but the pork chop was super-extra special, so no complaints.

Sarah said she felt like she was living in a commercial for the other white meat. Hunt said, "What these people call a pork chop, my folks would call a roast."

While we were eating, the waitress asked if we'd like to start thinking about dessert. It seemed early, but she had good reason. They make a chocolate cake with a molten fudge center and a scoop of Amy's vanilla ice cream that takes 20 minutes to prepare. It takes so long because they bake it while you eat your entree. We ordered it!

While we ate and waited for our chocolate cake, the conversation was entertaining. Brian talked about people at work who always burn their popcorn. He wonders how they ever learned not to mess their pants.

Brian and Hunt also talked about a trip they took to Corpus Christi.

Brian: Hunt and I were in a hotel room in Corpus Christi and our TV remote was broken.
Hunt: Because you broke it.
Brian: Be that as it may ...

The freshly baked cake arrived, and Brian was reminded of Pillsbury's Tunnel of Fudge Cake. Except gourmet style.

After sharing luscious chocolate cake and receiving a small shopping bag with his leftover chop, Hunt said, "I'm so full, my back hurts," at which point Brian belched audibly. I think they knew to seat us in the corner behind a wall.

In a rare swapping of roles, Brian, the writer, used math to figure up the bill while I, the accountant, took notes to prepare for this write-up. You can see evidence of his long division and borrowing the one for subtraction:

Perry's is definitely on track to becoming a Fancy Friday favorite.

The sign out front is eye-catching. We'd seen it before, but thought it belonged to Max's Wine Dive next door. Now it makes more sense.

We were early and had the restaurant to ourselves for a while. We had the choice of sitting at the sushi bar or at a table, and we chose a table. Brian said it looked like Ikea threw up in there (that's not a bad thing).

Brian and I both ordered the sushi bento box. I also got the miso soup and a dessert dubbed Tower of Chocolate. I told the attractive waiter to bring the dessert out with the meal. Brian got a salad and eel roll with his bento. While we were waiting for our food, I thought I heard a dolphin in the back, but I'm sure it had to be something else that just sounded like Flipper.

The miso soup was the best I've had anywhere. It had lots of tofu bits, seaweed and green onion. Most places I've been just have cloudy liquid with a smattering of other bits. Brian liked his salad with ginger dressing.

The bento boxes were marvelous with 5 kinds of sushi, a tuna roll, cucumber and hearts of palm salad and a spicy seared tuna salad. Brian was taken with the tuna salad and asked the attractive waiter if that was available as a full meal. Yes. Yes it is. I enjoyed the cucumber and hearts of palm salad far more than I thought I would.

The tower of chocolate was really a tower of puff pastry leaning against some chocolate mousse. Brian said it was a dramatic dessert, but we both agreed the chef could have used a pastry tube to make it more interesting. I liked the idea of chocolate cream, whipped cream or vanilla cream. Brian was thinking outside the box and suggested ginger cream.

The chocolate mousse was tasty, and I would have licked the plate if I hadn't felt like being lady-like that day.

I was curious about the bento boxes. I asked the waiter if they were difficult to clean because they didn't seem to be dishwasher safe. He assured me they were easy to clean. They're fun, but I think I'll stick with my good old corel dishes anyway.

At the end of the meal, the attractive waiter asked if we'd like separate checks, which Brian and I agreed is a question that's asked far too rarely. Our checks came with a card to fill out that said we might get a special surprise in our e-mail. It asked for our birthdays and anniversaries. I asked Brian what our anniversary was, but we don't really have an anniversary, so we made one up. March 1. Yeah... that's it.

We also agreed that Piranha Killer Sushi is on it's way to becoming a Lunch with Brian All Star.

Jennie and I are former bosses of Brian. One of my first acts as Brian's boss was to help him land another job. I mean... it wouldn't be right for us to be going to lunch all the time if I were his boss. It would precipitate a "she plays favorites" morale problem among the staff.

When we got to Mandola's, Brian grabbed several free samples of fancy ham and cheese. He offered one to Jennie, but she was being kosher that day.

We all ordered pasta (which is spelled "Paste" on Mandola's menu). Jennie ordered the gnocchi which she said was the safe word on a naughty episode of Family Guy. I ordered the basil pesto pasta (with whole pine nuts, of course).

Brian ordered the spaghetti carbonara. I thought the bread that comes with the meal wasn't as good as usual, but Brian thought it was better. You just never know.

Jennie works in a building that also houses people who work for the same employer as Brian and me. Jennie says our people make nasty bathroom messes by washing their dishes in the sinks. I already knew our people were prone to doing that, though, because the day before, we got an e-mail from the head of our administration division admonishing us for cereal in the drain pipes. She said, "Coffee grounds, tobacco and other materials (Corn Flakes) should be disposed of properly."

Jennie and Brian have backgrounds in the newspaper industry. They spoke of their favorite newspaper photograph captions or kickers or cutlines (whatever you'd like to call them). Brian's was a picture of a circus elephant being given a bath with the line "Greatest Shower on Earth." Jennie's was of two judges hugging that said "Embracing Justice."

Mandola's is reminiscent of a giant italian kitchen where the dining tables are in the kitchen. There's even a kid's table that's shorter than the rest. Jennie said she'd like to steal one of the kids sitting at that table. I asked her why, and she gave two reasons: 1) Maternal instinct, and 2) she'd like to start a sweat shop.

On past visits to Mandola's, Brian has noticed a lot of men with bad hair. When Jennie left the table for a bit, I asked Brian to survey the room and tell me if he saw any bad hair. We both agreed there was only one instance of bad hair. Big, black, spikey hair. Brian characterized it as anime hair.

After the main course, we visited the gelato counter. A pushy lady next to Jennie asked that several flavors be stuffed into one tiny gelato cup. We think the flavor she was concocting was "vomit rainbow." We only ordered one flavor apiece. I got mint chocolate chip, Brian got hazelnut and Jennie got lemon.

We sat on the patio to eat our gelato. Jennie noted that she could have done well with a small instead of the next size up. It's hard to know how to order, though, because the containers are deceptively small, and they overfill the cup like you would an ice cream cone.

I hope Jennie wasn't disappointed with her behind the scenes Lunch with Brian experience. I think she learned that when you join Brian and I for lunch, you think you'll be entertained, but you actually become the entertainment. If I've left anything good out, I hope Jennie will fill in the blanks in the comments. I definitely enjoyed lunch with Brian and Jennie, and hope we can do it again soon.

Brian and I agreed that the chicken at Athenian Grill is the best chicken of all the greek places we've been. It's thinly sliced and perfectly spiced.

Brian told me a recipe for a drink that's almost like a mimosa, but without champagne so it's cheaper. It's equal parts vodka, pulp free orange juice and sprite. Since it's almost like a screwdriver, too, I dubbed it the screwmosa.

Just before Hunt arrived, a staff member assigned us table 55. Table 55 was a good because it was close to the drink machine and fortune cookies. I ordered the Mandarin Kung Pao Beef. Brian ordered the Pad Thai with beef. Hunt ordered something with the word Mongolian in it.

Before the food was served, Brian got ready by mixing sauces on a plate. Hunt called it a Soy Puddle. Brian poured soy sauce on the plate and then spooned some chili paste in the center. Then he poured some more soy sauce on top. Then mixed it up and dripped orange oil on it to make a polka dot soy puddle.

A waiter brought Brian some egg rolls with a tiny bowl of whatever kind of sauce comes with egg rolls. So Brian poured that out onto a different plate and then poured his polka dot soy puddle into the small bowl. He told us that everything was the way it should be now. Hunt told Brian he was a smart man.

Hunt told us that when he arrived, he started to pull into a parking spot, but saw it was marked for To Go Customers only. He wondered if Pei Wei would tow a car that parked there. That would be pretty bad for Pei Wei to tow a dine-in customer's car because they parked in the to go customer spot. Hunt's not convinced that To Go customers deserve privileged parking.

Hunt told us about some Harry Potter events at the museum where he works. Apparently, you could get your picture taken with people dressed up like Harry Potter characters. There was also a Harry Potter tribute band that played songs about Harry Potter. We figure, with two more movies coming out, the band will have a market for a while yet. It couldn't hurt for them to start planning their exit strategy now, though.

We got two fortune cookies each in case we needed do-overs. The ratio of non-fortunes to true fortunes was 5:1. Brian got the true fortune: "Soon you will be sitting on top of the world." I think that was referring to the fame and riches soon to come to us because of all the great Lunch with Brian ideas we have. I'd tell you what they are, but then you'll be sitting on top of the world instead of us.

The non-fortunes were:

• Always surround yourself with true friends.
• Face any problem with dignity.
• A great man never ignores the simplicity of a child.
• Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
• A single kind word can keep one warm for years.

On the back of "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." was the word "advertisement." On the back of "A single kind word can keep one warm for years." was "banana."

When we got to Marrakesh, Sarah was waiting for us. She said I looked great, but I couldn't have because my hair is at that awkward stage where I either need to get it cut or commit to an unkempt look while it grows several more inches. I enjoyed the compliment just the same.

Marrakesh is in one of the old buildings on Congress Ave just south of the capitol.

They serve Mediterranean food. Brian and I ordered Shawarma. I got gyro meat. I think Brian got gyro meat, too. Brian ordered some falafel on the side because he heard it was good there. Plus, it reminds Brian and Sarah of Parker Posey's movie Party Girl. Brian and I had never had falafel. Before it was served, Sarah said it was like chicken nuggets, only made with chick peas. I liked it okay, but I don't think I'd order it on my own.

Sarah ordered the chicken with cous cous. It came with green bean salad, hummus and some rolled up pita bread.

Brian shared some of his wisdom with us. Apparently, most of the gyro meat in the U.S. comes from the same place in Chicago, and gyro makers do well during a recession. It's no wonder since gyro meat is just a big round Mediterranean meatloaf on a spit.

While we ate, the conversation ranged from our jobs to our dogs. Sarah's a foster dog mom! We also talked about ways to annoy people at work. One of Brian's tricks is to go to an online dictionary and listen to word pronunciations over and over. A favorite is "schadenfreude" which is funny on a couple of levels. If you don't know what I mean, I'll take pleasure in your misery while you look it up yourself.

Brian said he was going to a pool party this weekend. He said he wasn't going to wear a speedo, though. Sarah said she might go to a big birthday party. She mentioned keg stands and outside drunken karaoke, but I got the impression she'd be looking for more dignified activities in which to participate. I'm just boring. I'll be doing laundry and other chores.

After lunch, Brian and I stopped by the Old Bakery and Emporium where he'd been told old people work. I was relieved because, with a name like "Old Bakery..." I was worried old people were baked there. Sock monkeys greeted us at the door, and we found lots of trinkets and gifty things that neither of us wanted to buy.

It was fun catching up with Sarah. She charged a hawk a while back defending her dog. She's also writing a novel. She's a wonderful writer. Sarah wrote an article about me once with quotes that I didn't say but wished I had. They even sounded like something I would say if I'd thought of them first.

We enjoyed lunch with Sarah at Marrakesh and look forward to doing it again soon!

Note: Brian called it to my attention that the restaurant name is actually Marakesh with one 'r'. But the city is spelled Marrakesh. It's been around longer. Maybe Marakesh should change it's name to "Marakesh (sic)" so people know they did it on purpose.

As we entered The Rio Grande, Brian noticed they have new couches at the bar. Gone are the terrible tall cafe chairs.

Brian wasn't very hungry because he ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. That was good for me because I got to eat some of his food.

I ordered the Mahi Mahi tacos which were on special because it was Friday. Brian ordered the nachos grande with steak. He asked them to hold the lettuce. I never thought to ask that before, but I think I will in the future. Lettuce really doesn't add much, and I've found that it's pretty good at slipping out of your mouth when you try to take a bite of nacho.

We both enjoyed the food while we listened to Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas singing about love overhead. Also overhead were about 90 different kinds of light, some of which don't give off much light at all. Not that that's a bad thing.

When the bill came, we were quite pleased to receive 10% off because I have a Go Local Austin card. Lunch is pretty much always good at The Rio Grande, but it's even better with 10% off!

We were the first customers of the day. I noticed some backless chairs just inside the door. They were like ceramic stumps with the tops molded such that they hug your butt. I sat in one and marveled at how comfortable it was. Brian brought me a menu, and my eyes went straight to the desserts. My heart skipped a beat when I didn't see chocolate cheesecake. I asked Brian, "Does 'Postres' mean dessert? Because I don't see the chocolate cheesecake on here." He didn't see it either.

One of us asked the guy behind the counter, and he said they didn't have it anymore. They replaced it with Flan. FLAN! I didn't know what to do. The chocolate cheesecake was the whole point of the visit!

So I told Brian I didn't want to eat there. In a show of protest, I raised myself up from the uncharacteristically comfy butt chair and walked out.

We didn't pull off the boycott as well as I'd have liked because we ended up down the street at Galaxy Cafe which is owned by the same people. But at least they have good food like fish wraps and sweet potato fries. They also have a decent chocolate torte. I made it known that I was not happy that Zocalo had dumped the chocolate cheesecake. The cashier said something like, "Oh yeah... they replaced it with flan." FLAN!!!! I let her know that I'd written a song about that cheesecake. She just laughed at me, though.

I'm going to miss that chocolate cheesecake.

First, we came upon some legislators apparently waiting for a committee room to free up.

As we headed for the grill, we saw someone delivering Central Market catering going the other way. Then we saw someone delivering flowers. The last day celebrations were beginning.

At the grill, we found the special of the day was all-you-can-eat catfish. That was a little disconcerting because it was Monday, and catfish is usually Friday fare (because of Catholicism and all).

There are several food stations at the grill. The first is cafeteria style where you choose an entree and veggies. They also have Tex-Mex, Grill, Deli Sandwich and Salad Bar stations.

Brian went to the Tex-Mex station for a burrito and the Salad Bar station for a salad, of course. Salad is priced by the size of the dish, so Brian got a salad that was mostly egg and turkey. His burrito made him exclaim, "Mmmmm, this tastes like Mexico."

I went to the Grill station to ask if they would make me an off-menu item, Tuna Melt. They did, and I told Brian, "Mmmmm, this tastes like Atlantis."

While getting his food, Brian overheard some young staffers say they needed to eat real well when the Chik-Fil-A meal was delivered so they could drink a lot that night.

We also overheard some guys talking about the crisis of the day. A key piece of legislation that would allow several agencies to continue operating was getting held up, and there was a real possibility it wouldn't get passed before the end of the day. So these guys were talking about how the agencies could just start to dismantle themselves slowly, and then put themselves back together again when the next legislative session rolls around.

Then we got the inside scoop from The Lone Star Report's Mark Lavergne. Brian went to school with him.

On the way back to work, we passed a couple of 20-something people with a dollie. Another young person asked where they were going, and they said to the ATM. I don't know whether they were going to steal it or just get a lot of money out of it.

Here's a guy with with his head on a buffalo's snout:

Neither of us had eaten in the restaurant, and on the way over there, Brian said he thought they had Chicken Fried Chicken which I always think is funny because the name comes from Chicken Fried Steak which means steak fried like chicken. But Chicken Fried Chicken is chicken fried like chicken fried steak, so I think they should call it Chicken Fried Steak Chicken. All that was moot, though, because they didn't have it on the menu.

The special of the day was Pulled Pork Tacos. I paid extra to get Onion Rings as the side dish. The cashier assured me they were worth the extra $1. When Brian ordered the same as me, I thought we weren't managing our risk very well. If we ordered different things, and one of us didn't like what we got, we could always steal food off the other person's plate. But if we both didn't like the Pulled Pork Tacos and Onion Rings, we were out of luck.

I thought the tacos were okay, but not outstanding. Neither of us was impressed with the onion rings.

I saw on the board that yesterday's special of the day was Apple and Chorizo Stuffed Pork Loin. I asked Brian what Chorizo was, and he said sausage. Mmmm... pork stuffed pork.

The music overhead was "Don't Rock the Jukebox." Brian said that if Hell was a bar, it would be a country bar that plays this song over and over.

At Jaime's, we parked right out front at a meter and for the second lunch trip in a row, the meter didn't steal one of our quarters.

According to Jaime's Web site, they've been serving food since 1931. On the way in, we saw a sign that lead us to believe they'd lost their liquor license. We wondered why, but we weren't going there to get boozed up, so we weren't bothered.

Inside the restaurant, the ceiling was low, and it was dark until they turned on one of the neon beer signs. Then it was dark with a red/orange glow. The menus were both hard to close and hard to keep open, permanently bent at that perfect angle a choir member holds the music folder during a performance. Because it was dark, I found myself trying to read the menu as if I had bifocals. Tilting my head up, but looking down. This was even more odd by the fact that I don't wear glasses at all.

We didn't order an appetizer, but noticed the half orders seemed pretty high priced and wondered how they define "half." For example, the full order of Beef, Beans & Cheese Nachos was $8.95, and the half order was $7.75. Maybe most of the cost is in the labor?

Madonna was on the radio singing about a holiday. Then Rod Stewart was singing about a reason to believe. We think it was the hit parade that is Austin's Magic 95 radio. There weren't any people there at first, so I tried to annoy Brian by singing loudly with America's "Sister Golden Hair," but Brian's pretty hard to annoy or hides his annoyance well. I kept singing loudly when other people came in, but not for long because I grew bored with being obnoxious.

The chips and salsa were good. They were both warm. Brian ordered the special of the day, Quesadillas Supremas Beef. I ordered the Chicken Enchiladas. I also ordered some flour tortillas and butter, but it took a couple of requests to get the butter. The butter turned out to be liquid butter in a squirter. It reminded me of the time I went to a Mexican restaurant in Texarkana, and they served something pale orange in a squirter. I thought it was queso and ate some on a chip, but it turned out to be thousand island dressing. Not so good on a chip.

Elton John came on the radio singing "Tiny Dancer," so I sang along some more. I checked to see if they had free wi-fi and was pleased that they did.

The longer we were there, the less impressed we were. We were held hostage waiting for the bill and then our credit card receipts while listening to Bruce Hornsby sing "That's Just The Way It Is."

I think it was one of those times when we were glad we went, but really don't have to ever go back. Brian called it "Tex-Mex for those who don't know better."