I’ve been going absolutely cockamamie crazy the last few times I haven’t had to work in the afternoon.
I’ve tried to write but I quickly grew bored. I’ve tried to watch some things on netflix, but I’ve seen them all. I’ve tried to go on walks, but it’s just too freaking hot.
By last night, after two afternoons of not being needed at my afternoon job, I was literally one political news article away from major head explosion.
When I found myself with yet ANOTHER “nothing” afternoon, I decided I had to do something different or I might DIE. Seriously.
Now, if there is one thing I regret about my 10+ years spent in the Dallas area, it’s that I neglected to get to know the city well enough to love it until my last year there. When I left, I was just beginning to appreciate the holes in the walls, the outdoor areas that were open for exploration, and the vibrant artistic community and live music scene.
When I moved to Austin, I swore I would do it differently. Some days I think I’m doing a pretty good job. I see a lot of live shows, both comedy and music. My boyfriend and I have spent many a weekend hiking and swimming in local watering holes. But yet, on weeks like this, I feel like I’m wasting so much time. Why should I sit idly when there is still so much to do in this wonderful city? Even on my poorest of days, I should be out seeing the world, right?
Today I decided to take myself out to lunch to somewhere new. I drove around for about twenty minutes when I landed, sweaty from not having ample air conditioning in my car, at House Pizzeria.
Before I go any further, let me make something very clear.
*Someone who has survived most of their life on McDonald’s sausage biscuits, chicken nuggets, and ketchup (and was completely satisfied) should never be called a food critic.
*I am that person.
Nevertheless, I’m going to tell you about my experience because I can.
On first walking in, I really dug the vibe. (That’s how restaurant reviewers speak, right?) It’s fairly small, and had a jukebox… and unfortunately that’s all I can remember. Have I mentioned I’m the least observant person in the world?
You have to order at the counter, which seemed a little strange for a “nicer” kind of place. I had no idea what to order, but the nice lady at the counter told me that the “Blue” pizza was the most popular. Blue cheese is the only kind of cheese I despise so I opted to ignore her and ordered the sausage and mushroom pizza instead. I was starving and I wanted to be healthy so I also ordered a mixed green salad. And a Black Cherry Italian soda.
I’m not used to eating by myself, and I was a little disappointed to find the restaurant nearly completely empty. I didn’t bring a book and they don’t have wi-fi, so I took my seat at the bar so I could at least plug my perpetually-dead phone in.
It didn’t take long before my salad and drink arrived. 
The salad was pretty tasty. It had fruit, which I don’t usually love on a salad, but the delicious creamy goat cheese made up for it. Also? That piece of bread was the most delicious thing I’ve ever had.
They also brought me this.
A cup of bread. You might be thinking, “Hey! Cool! A cup of free bread! What luck!” Nope. Not lucky at all. More like pukey. I’m not sure what went into that bread, but I’m thinking it might be rosemary, and if that’s the case then I really don’t like rosemary. It took every ounce of my will not to spit it out into my napkin. And this is coming from a girl who ate silk worms just two days ago.
Then they brought out the pizza.
I was really happy that it was thin crust, because thick pizza turns my stomach into an earthquake. It was pretty tasty… Unfortunately that’s the best adjective my untrained pallet can come up with. It wasn’t quite delectable… Is that better?
The only thing I noticed is that it had a very distinct burnt-ey flavor. I have no idea if that was on purpose or if everyone likes “burnt” as much as I do, but I had no complaints. Again, this is coming from someone who loves burnt popcorn and toast, mostly because I had to learn the things I cook.
The verdict? Besides the fact that I accidentally left the whole box of leftovers at the restaurant, I was plenty pleased with my experience, despite learning that I am not as much fun alone as I had hoped. I do think I’ll attempt to take myself out on more dates to explore Austin.
But right now I’m nursing my food baby… which I’m actually OK with. Especially since my only assignment for work this afternoon is to record myself passing gas for a radio bit. That’s right, I’m probably the only person in the entire history of persons who had their boss order them to record a fart.
So in case you wonder what I’m doing the remainder of the evening, I pretty much look like this.
