The New Boutique Hostel from Budget Travel

Times are tight and we all need to save our pennies. Here is a great article from Budget Travel about boutique hostels. Apparently these are not your parents hostels. Private baths and nice clean beds?! Sounds like our kind of place. The SSBDT crew is hoping to check out Stay in L.A. in the Spring. If it all works out we will make sure to give you our thoughts. Until then...go somewhere. JJ

BAR NUN-Mohawk Austin, TX

Mohawk

Here in Austin TX USA we find ourselves a fine ol’ place called the Mohawk. Not exactly a dive bar, yet it is muy fantastico. As you can see, I’ve placed their web address above for you to click upon. I don’t wish to seem as if I’m bragging, but here goes – that lil’ window that keeps popping up on the upper right corner of their site - I was at that show in the picture. It you look real hard, you still won’t see me on the roof of the bar watching the Murder City Devils 2007 reunion. That, dear friends, was the reason I found myself in what I thought would be the Elvis-forsaken wastelands of Texas. But guess what? Texas ain’t so bad, really.

Thing about Austin that I quite like, & I wish there were more of in LA, are outdoor bars. Austin is warm & most places where folks congregate have outside areas. Yay for drinking outdoors! The Mohawk is no exception. In fact, the space outside may be close to double the indoor area. This makes the whole place seem huge. The “yard” includes a large concrete area with a medium sized stage at the end opposite the building. There is a”2^nd floor” that wraps around the side of the “yard” & stage, or follow the staircase up to the roof. You can watch bands playing from either vantage point. The stage view is swell! There is rustic outdoor furniture for your lounging pleasure.

I don’t know if they have food, but if you get hungry, there is a Tex-Mex restaurant up the street called Jaime’s Mexican Village that has a sign in front about how they welcome breast feeding in their establishment. I swear I’m not making that up.

The Mohawk serves Texas booze, of course. Lone Star tallboys for sure & probably Shiner & I saw a Texas brand of vodka, too. That was kind of weird. It’s fun there & a lot of good bands come through because it is an excellent place to see a show. Outside. FP

912 Red River St. Austin, TX 78701

BAR NUN-Pints & Pies Seattle, WA

Pies & Pints
In Seattle the weather is frightfully cold. Might as well be part of the Yukon Territory. Therefore, there is an undeniable need for warm, cozy bars. Some even have fireplaces. Pints & Pies does not, but it does have a wood burning stove. I can’t tell if it’s real or one of those electric deals, but it’s toasty enough.

Pints & Pies is a decent place, but it’s not far from a major university & it’s in a semi-residential neighborhood. You may find grungy college dorks or sock & mandal wearing dads here. Not always, though. You might also find dirty punks & a pack of bears just off their shift at the firehouse (I’m guessing that’s where they came from, they had suspenders on) on Saturday afternoon. They make me feel safe.

One thing I don’t like about this place is that the front portion allows the underage. You might trip over a couple ankle biters if you arrive before happy hour. Just head straight for the back, settle into a comfy armchair or vinyl booth & for Elvis’ sake order a Rasputin Stout from the friendly, relaxed staff. They won’t pester you, you can lounge like a fool.
The main thing, the best thing, you should know is that they serve absolutely incredible individual size homemade savory pies. Served fresh from the oven, they go with beer like nothing else. I swear to Elvis it’s better than nachos. Once you taste one, you will cease to view that last statement as sacrilegious. I especially care for the beef burgundy pie. If you feel gluttonous, you can have yr lil’ pie crowning a pile of mashed potatoes or floating in gravy or soup. Genius! They have Guinness chocolate layer cake, too. It’s damn good. No jukebox, but they’re usually playing perfectly acceptable mix of rock/punk/alt-country music. You won’t hulk out over it.

So during the rainy time, go there, snuggle up with the paper, enjoy many delicious rotating beers (they have cocktails too, of course). Play pool. EAT PIE. FP

1215 NE 65th St. Seattle, WA 98115

Happy New Year Year from Same Same But Different-a travel spot.

Now go somewhere!