no chain

I'm not against chain restaurants, hotels, or food shipped in from way out wherever. What I am against, is not being local when you are local. For example, it's just not right to go to Austin and eat Chilis, PF Changs and Taco Bell. I have these places at home. Why would I drive 190 miles south, to go to someplace that's less than 5 miles from my home? That's a waste of money and time, and shows a lack of imagination. If that offends you, then it's time to reassess your travels outside of where you live. Anyplace, I mean, not just Austin! (Used here as an example since I just returned from there.)

This brought my wife and I to this coffee roaster in Austin. We have never been there and it was in the back of a bookstore. Yep, a bookstore and a coffee roaster. Speaking my language. It's temporary for them and hopefully they will have a more permanent location around the corner soon.

What ended up being most interesting was that the roaster, Matt, was from Fort Worth. Not only that, he knew my friend who owns Avoca and he used to roast there. Such a small world. In fact, he was one of seven different people who I met this Austin trip from Fort Worth. I wore my Fort Worth Flying Saucer shirt, which I wore both days because I foolishly forgot to pack a second shirt, and this shirt I believe caused all of the "hey I love Fort Worth, I'm from there!" Though I would take a guess they love Austin more, because they live there and not here.