Austin prepares to say 'Adios' to Las Manitas
If you've ever lived in Austin -- or visited there very often -- you probably have stopped by Las Manitas at 211 Congress Ave., just north of the river. Maybe you've even made it a regular stop, as my husband and I always do. It's been at the same address since opening in 1981, and is sometimes called Las Manitas Avenue Cafe because the sign from the site's previous restaurant is still up on the front of the building.
The little Tex-Mex eatery is one of the city's most beloved gathering spots for breakfast migas, cafe con leche or an enchilada lunch plate. Its loyal patrons have included everyone from first lady Laura Bush, Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith and the late Gov. Ann Richards to musicians such as Los Lobos and Freddy Fender. Singer Alejandro Escobedo gives a concert there every year, during the South By Southwest music festival.
But its fans know the restaurant's days are numbered.
After a vigorous battle to save the current location, Las Manitas is due to be bulldozed sometime in the spring, along with all the other businesses on its block, to make way for a Marriott hotel complex. (It'll be the 20th Marriott in Austin, btw.)
The cafe's owners, sisters Cynthia and Lidia Perez, plan to move their business to a historic building they own, one block away at 227 Congress Ave. The restaurant's regular patrons already have twinges of nostalgia as they contemplate a Las Manitas where you might not have to walk through the kitchen to get to the dining patio -- or the restrooms.
But the old Las Manitas will be immortalized in more than collective memories. HARP, the music magazine, says that filmmaker Jonathan Demme will shoot a concert-documentary film with Mr. Escobedo at Las Manitas in late January.
If you have to have to say adios, that's a mighty cool way to go.
Comments
Its Alejandro Escovedo........Escovedo
Posted by: Bob | December 23, 2007 10:50 PM