One of my favorite restaurants in the world is in Austin, Texas. And I learned from my boss Rex this morning, and from an LA Times article, that they’re likely going to tear it down to build a 3-hotel megacomplex. I discovered Las Manitas by happenstance a couple of years ago. I was at SXSW-Interactive and the food in the convention center was pitiful. I had about an hour before my first session started, so I asked the lady at the information desk where I could get a decent breakfast. She said, "Well if it were me, I’d just walk the four blocks to Las Manitas." So I did and it was fantastic. I went back later for lunch. The restaurant’s food is incredible…simple, homecooked Mexican cuisine…but the atmosphere of the place really adds to the experience. It’s got a lunch counter, a front room crowded with booths and tables [Nashville, think Vandyland --another great restaurant gone -- with great Mexican food], but the coolest part is the open-air courtyard in the back. You walk through the kitchen to sit there.
Hopefully this isn’t the end for Las Manitas, but it doesn’t look good.
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