On Valentine’s Day, I found myself at Amy’s on Burnet getting a bowl of Belgian chocolate to-go for my Valentine. As I was walking back to my car, I noticed a half-built bar on the other side of the building with two brand new shining taps. Boy, do I love living here.
So here is a short list of the businesses around here that make Crestview a great place to live, and here’s hoping there will be a few more on the old Huntsman land.
Burnet Rd. (Burn-it! Dad burn it!)
Amy’s. Yea!
Brentwood Tavern. The very first time we went there, they weren’t open yet. But the second time, we decided we were regulars and we told them so. We thought the hay in the playground was brilliant, until six months of trampeling ground it into a fine dust. Both kids had asthma attacks.
The Breakfast Land Quad-fecta:
Austin Diner. We are regulars here. Our excuse? We are restaurant-training the kids.
Elsie’s. Fastest breakfast tacos in town, even when they’re packed!
The Omelettry. An Austin classic.
Curra’s. Say “Wah-hawkin’” Coffee. This is the coffee we keep at home. They sell it by the pound at the bar.

Dog Almighty. We discovered Dog Almighty after the hay-dust incident. Hot dogs in an old City of Austin machine shop. They still have the engine lift in there.
El Mercado. Wednesday is enchilada night.
Lamar
What’s up with Lamar? Are we missing something?
Ray’s Garage. I took my old Bronco there for years. I like that it’s local. And I like that it’s owned by a woman.
Great Hall Games. Chess club on Wednesday nights. They just built out new rooms with quiet and not quiet areas.
Habitat Restore.
Anderson Ln.
Genuine Joe’s. We finally got a good local coffeehouse. Just a couple of things. 1) Sometimes the music is spectacularly bad. Like Kenny-G-does-the-theme-from-Titanic bad. 2) A full two thirds of that building is not coffee shop and all the windows are painted. What the heck is going on in there…?
Terra Toys. Because birthday parties happen.
Zinger Hardware. God bless them and all their cool stuff. What kind of guts does it take to open an independently-owned hardware store?
The Tile Guy. I got all the tile for the downstairs bathroom here. Kevin taught me how to say “cove base” and “mud cap” with confidence. The two new bathrooms are spec’ed out with Tile Guy tile.
ICI Paints. They have the best color-picking system, hands down. And the biggest paint chips.
Alamo Drafthouse Village. Thank Quentin Tarantino for that scene in Pulp Fiction. Now you can get a real beer in a glass in a movie theater.
Discount Electronics. Buy and sell cheap tech stuff. Every high-tech shopping trip starts here.
Crestview Triangle
Crestview Minimax. They have soy milk!
Little Deli. Turkey Mozzarella on a Kaiser, no tomato. (Christiane adds: Turkey on French, no onion, no cheese. Extra pickle, plz.)
Justin Ln.
La La’s Little Nugget. We had to write off La La’s for the sheer, choking volume of smoke, but I just realized the new smoking ordinance puts them back on our list. Or, at least, after the baby arrives.