Tags
Austin, Bullock Texas State History Museum, cuisine, Freestyle Language Center, French, French food, French language, Sojourner Tours, Texas, tours, travel, wine
Recently I had the opportunity to take part in a special version of the “Francophile View of Austin” tour offered by Sojourner Tours. Because this day of cultural and culinary treats was offered to current and former French students at Freestyle Language Center, our guides, Dr. Francis Mathieu and Lisa Gustavson, the husband and wife team behind Sojourner Tours, conducted the tour en français.
There were seven of us on the tour, including several I had been in classes with, plus Freestyle owner Elizabeth Mack, who encouraged us to speak in French as well. I’ve taken classes at Freestyle off and on for about two years as time and budget allow so I was pleased at how well I kept up with my listening comprehension. My ability to actually form coherent sentences in French still needs a lot of work but, of course, that is the most challenging aspect of language learning and just requires lots of practice. I have to admit my brain was rather fried by the end of the day but I loved it!
It was lovely to spend the day with both old and new friends, including Lisa and Francis who put on a fantastic tour. We started at Freestyle near downtown Austin for a midmorning cheese course and received a lesson in etiquette when serving different types of cheeses from Francis, a native Frenchman.
Then it was off to the Bullock Texas State History Museum near the University of Texas campus to view the special exhibit on La Belle, a ship that was part of French explorer La Salle’s doomed expedition to find the mouth of the Mississippi. He overshot and wound up at Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast. Texas students learn about this in Texas history class so it was a nice refresher for me. This time, though, the lecture was in French. Our guide was Toni Turner, co-author of From a Watery Grave, a book about the ship, which sunk off the coast during a storm stranding La Salle and company in what was then Spanish territory. After its discovery in 1995, La Belle underwent excavation and preservation, and is being reconstructed at the museum, where it will go on display next year.
With the weather cooler than anticipated for early March in Austin, we had to forego a round of pétanque outdoors and instead headed to Austin Wine Merchant for a wine tasting. Sacrifices must be made sometimes! The tasting was for French wines, bien sûr, and Francis gave us a quick lesson in reading French wine labels, which focus on location or terroir rather than the grape varietal. Suitably fortified, we headed to our lunch spot, the downtown wine bar/resto Cru for more wine and some delicious cuisine—the chèvre (goat cheese) beignets were a highlight.
Next came a palate cleanser of sorts at Con’ Olio Oils & Vinegars, which is right around the corner from Cru. While not a French place per se, Con’ Olio is dedicated to using the finest products as a way to highlight and not hinder the taste of your food—very much a French concept. Owner Jeff Conarko gave us a tour of the shop, demonstrating how to properly taste olive oil—he is an olive oil sommelier (who knew there was such a thing?)—and what to look for in a good olive oil. The balsamic vinegars were a revelation as well—I didn’t realize so many flavors combinations were possible and am now completely in love with pear and cranberry balsamic vinegar. I think pretty much everyone in the group made a purchase or two.
After a quick stop at Serve, a new gourmet cooking utensils and gift shop, for a little shopping, we walked over to Chavez, a restaurant from local restaurateur Shawn Cirkiel located in the Radisson on the shores of Lady Bird Lake (aka Town Lake). We were there for our salad course, which comes after the main meal in French homes. The tour visit is timed for early evening so, at the right time of year, the tour group is able to see the bats leaving Congress Bridge. It was still a little too early in the year to see the bats, but our salads were exceptional, and we had more time to converse in French—or attempt to, in my case!
Our evening was just getting started, though. We still had another cheese course and dessert awaiting. We walked over to 4th Street and the fin de siècle-inspired absinthe bar/restaurant Péché (meaning sin because, you know, absinthe). I did try a sip of absinthe, but as I don’t care for licorice flavor, I wasn’t a big fan. The cheeses and bread on the other hand were quite good.
For our next stop, we were back in the van to head to East 6th Street and Easy Tiger Bake Shop. It also houses a beer garden downstairs, but upstairs you can watch the bakery in action as the bakers prepare breads for the next morning—Easy Tiger distributes to a number of local restaurants in addition to selling its own wares. They had a few croissants and other pastries still available, so I picked up a couple of croissants to enjoy the next day (they were delicious—just popped them in the microwave for a few seconds to freshen them up). Francis very adamantly asserted that this is the best French bakery in Austin and while I don’t doubt him, I feel I must go back and sample some more baked goods before I can be absolutely sure! Again, sacrifices.
Enfin, we ended our evening with dessert at LaV, a Provence-inspired French restaurant that opened last year to great fanfare and still makes all of the “best of” lists. A beautifully elegant place, it is known for its tremendous wine list and its equally tremendous desserts. After much deliberation (champagne sorbet? lemon crêpe cake brûlée? chocolate turtle delice?), I chose the brioche doughnuts, LaV’s signature dessert item and for good reason—not too sweet and very light, they are impossible to stop eating!
By the time we returned to Freestyle Language Center to head our separate ways, it was about 9:30 p.m. It had been a long day full of good food, French, and friends—just a wonderful experience and one I’d highly recommend to anyone needing a touch of France to tide them over until they can experience the real thing.
Photos by Judy L. Marchman