After a Fashion
Cruising the highways and bar-ways in search of a stiff drink and a late-night enchilada
By Stephen MacMillan Moser, Fri., Feb. 20, 2009
DRINK All right, I'd seen the ads and was not deeply impressed by the campaign, which features a rather carnivorous Russian spokesmodel named Svetlana. Svetlana, from the extensions on her head to the tip of her stilettos, clearly has the power to make most men melt at her feet. And I'd get to find out all about that at the launch party for VÖD, a new alcohol-based beverage. The party was at the always-fabulous Estilo. The bartender presented a thorough product-knowledge seminar (I, of course, was thinking about a tumbler full of vodka). I chose the VÖD Citrus, a thoroughly delightful-looking concoction with a twist of lemon. It appeared that the bartender tried to make a drink with a bite to it, but when I tasted the drink, I was underwhelmed by the weakness of it. "More vodka, please," I asked the bartender. That's when I realized the secret; it was not vodka we were drinking at all but a "wine-based" beverage. So that's why the vodka tasted so weak. I'm sure the bartender had explained this before, but I'd been too busy pawing through Estilo's fabulous sale rack instead. We also tried the VÖD Sour Apple and Cranberry Lemon drinks (I couldn't bring myself to try the vanilla flavor). They were indeed more flavorful than the Citrus, but overall, I came to the conclusion that I simply don't care for wine-based drinks. But wait! We weren't done yet! Soon the owner of the company was introduced, and he announced the hotly awaited arrival of ... of ... yes, Svetlana, the man-eating Slav. We whirled around to see this vision of loveliness exit her Mercedes limo and stride through the door. Upon closer inspection, the spokesmodel, clothed in stretch pleather and leopard print, looked like Donatella Versace. Her face was that of a woman who long ago had waved goodbye to her youth. Her weave was stupendous: a veritable mane of synthetic hair. Her accent was thick. She came across as a cross between Zsa Zsa Gabor and Charo. Even if she was (perhaps) from Pomona or Kansas City. She opened the floor for questions, but everyone else in attendance was just as mesmerized as I was, and no one asked anything. Moments later, she informed us that she was off to New York and disappeared with a wave of her hand.
EAT It's true: I've raved about my very favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Maudie's, dozens of times in this column. But when we showed up at the South Lamar location – a place I'd been to hundreds of times, literally – I didn't recognize a single member of the staff. Then we were told, "Sorry, it's too late to eat; our kitchen closes at 9:30pm." ¿Qué? 9:30? I'd thought the kitchen closed at 10pm, I said, but the man said no. Flummoxed, I walked away in sadness, knowing that Maudie's divine enchiladas would not be passing through my lips that evening. It was when I got back into the car and looked at my watch that I realized it was 9:26pm. Hmmm. I checked my iPhone, and it said the same thing, as did my two companions' watches. If the kitchen closed at 9:30, why couldn't we be seated and place an order? But since it did appear to be near the witching hour for restaurants, we drove away. Coming up South First, I spied Jovita's. Now, when I first moved back to Austin almost 10 years ago, Jovita's was my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. I'd written about it then, but after dropping in for lunch one day and being served by a waitress who chatted on her cell phone while taking our order, I decided not to return. That's when I discovered Maudie's. But since Maudie's wasn't an option on this night, we decided to go in. Oh. My. God. Jovita's service was so welcoming and friendly that we were all very pleased. Our server (who turned out to be the floor manager) was extremely gracious. Aradia Puckett is her name, and she explained that Jovita's had been through many changes since I'd last been there, including having a new chef, the truly talented Caesar Ortiz. The food was truly divine. I was dumbfounded. You mean, I could have been at Jovita's all along? Well! Scrumptious. Simply scrumptious. We dropped by twice more over the next few days and were pleased again every time.
PARTY It's almost time again for AIDS Services of Austin's glamorous 16th annual Viva Las Vegas benefit, this Saturday at the Austin Music Hall. This is definitely one of my favorite benefits – a riot of fun, music, and faux gambling. It's true that I can't be there this year, but there's no reason for you not to be! Tix are available at www.asaustin.org and BookPeople.
