Delivery

This mural on the side of a building on West Fifth puzzles me a bit.

Monkeys

Self-portrait in the window of UrbanSpace Interiors on West Fifth Street. Me, the monkey and a barely visible FFP on the right.

Stubbs To Go

The Mean-Eyed Cat Bar on West Fifth serves up Stubbs Barbeque. Jackie has been partaking when she's in the neighborhood. She says:

The brisket plate, with cole slaw and serrano cheese spinach was ample and photogenic. I later discovered it was all delicious.

Now I have to try it.

This sign is always good for a laugh

What more can I say?

Good idea.

Hard to argue with logic like this. Probably not what you'll hear in a high school commencement speech, though.

The Ride

Saw this parked across the way from a bicycle shop on West Fifth. So...when they aren't pedaling???

Keep Calm

I have seen this stencil graffiti several places. It appears to be Queen Elizabeth II in a gas mask? It reminds me of the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' message recently unearthed from World War II. This was on a pillar for a Mopac ramp at Fifth. Soon it will be covered by a random rectangle of neutral paint. I like the abstract paintings the paint overs make...maybe if they used more colors and shapes...oh, wait. What's art and what's vandalism?

Magical thinking

We were walking on the bridge that connects the lakeside trail to West Fifth a couple of days ago and saw this thought someone had painted in two colors.

Gallows Humor

El Arroyo (a fine purveyor of Tex Mex, particularly barbecued chicken Tex Mex) has this sign where they offer amusing sayings. Caught this one a few days ago.

Truth is the Thing With Feathers

Snapped this on West Fifth near Mopac. The bird is crowned and says 'truth.' Don't know what to make of it.

Moods

Another cow...in front of Whole Foods.

There's Always Some New Bar

We mostly drink to accompany food, but there always seems to be a new bar somewhere. On Fifth this joint is going up with a fancy rooftop bar and an unusual name and logo.

Front of the Mean-Eyed Cat

Seems we'd danced all around it but not really ever shown the front of the Mean-Eyed Cat. And this view seems important to represent its 'landmark look' status amidst the apartments and office buildings.

Grilling Chicken

This handsome fellow is grilling chicken behind El Arroyo (The Ditch) on W. Fifth Street. The succulent meat goes into several dishes...my favorite is BBQ chicken enchiladas.

Old Bar in a New Setting

The venerable Mean-Eyed Cat bar survived the construction of an office building on one side and an apartment/retail complex on the other. It's now incorporated into the latter with nice landscaping. It would be easy to miss the mural on the south wall if you weren't afoot as we were on Sunday, walking from our place down W. Fifth almost to Mopac. It was too early for the bar's 2PM opening so we opted for BBQ chicken enchiladas across the street at El Arroyo. The bar is run by Chris Marsh and we featured a nice portrait of him here on Austin, Texas Daily Photo quite some time ago.

Mean-Eyed Cat Holds Its Own

The Mean-Eyed Cat is a bar named for a Johnny Cash song run by Chris Marsh. Currently it is snuggled up against some new apartments going up (sign on left) which necessitated the temporary sign that says to potential patrons "we're still here!"

Pile of Junk or....

I have a weakness for found object (junk?) sculpture and collages and such. This appears to be a gentleman in a sombrero playing a bass drum. It is at El Arroyo, a venerable Mexican restaurant on West Fifth close to Mopac. (They barbecue their own chickens and make enchiladas and tacos and they are yummy.)

Plastic Bag Art

Along the walk on the south side of our massive Whole Foods Market (on West Fifth) are art work circles made from discarded plastic bags.

Donn's Depot

At first glance it does look like a train depot with some cars on a siding, but the whole complex is a bar that has live music and dance floors. You saw the interior here. Donn's is on West Fifth.

Mountains Greet You as You Go Downtown

On West Fifth (a main artery to downtown from the west since it's one-way east) there is an old lamp shop that has resisted the influx of new apartments and shops. They provide a nice bucolic mural of "purple mountains majesty" for people headed into the urban hustle-bustle.