Garage

If you are standing on the northeast corner of 5th and Colorado in Downtown Austin, put the food trailers on your right and walk forward.  You'll clear the wall of the parking garage.  Look to your right.  You'll see something that looks a little like an Airstream trailer. 

That's the Garage lounge.  It's on the Hidden Bars of Austin list I'm determined to work through this year.  That list is here.  I wouldn't call this location *hidden* so much as *subtle*.  You certainly need to know where it is, but there aren't the hoops to jump through such as the ones The Midnight Cowboy or the Firehouse Lounge have in place. You just go up the walkway and follow it around.

Once you've gone through the curving, patio entry to get inside, the word that really applies is *intimate*.  The space is small, the lights are low and the seating is clustered into compact groups.  This is a great place if you want to sit close together and lean in to talk.  The interior is heavily influenced by the clean lines of the early 1960's.  The right angles and neutral colors are pleasing.  I happen to really like the curving bar with the under-the-surface lighting.

My dining companion and I have really good counter karma, so we were able to snag a spot at the bar.  I like to watch the bartenders and barbacks do their thing.  My dining companion has the firm belief that you get better service at the bar. He's very picky about bartending.  He bartended for a long time, developing his own set of quirks and pet peeves.  When he's not sure the staff knows what they're doing he orders a single malt scotch neat since that can't be messed up. 

As in most of the upscale places in town, the staff leans heavily towards the hipster side of things.  They're attentive though.  They've got the non-verbal, bar service communication down. When my glass was empty, one of the guys behind the bar picked it up and raised his eyebrows at me.  I understood this to mean "Do you want another?"  I shook my head and asked for an Indian Paintbrush.

The Indian Paintbrush was named the Official Drink of Austin in 2015 at The Austin Food and Wine Alliance Competition (Check that out here) The Indian Paintbrush is a riff on a Greyhound, vodka and grapefruit juice with lime, rosemary syrup, bitters and a garnish of fresh rosemary.  The whole thing is shaken and served in an old school, shallow champagne glass.  It's a delicious libation.

It's also heavily ordered so the show behind the counter is a lot of shakers being shaken by almost everyone who is available to shake. 

I did, as a part of my Quest for the City's Best Martini, have a martini.  It was very good.  I enjoyed it very much.  The last few I've had around town have been underwhelming, so this was a refreshing change.  I like the martini at the Midnight Cowboy a little better, so they're still in first.  But, Garage's impressed me.

Garage is small and seating is limited.  It's a good idea to get there early and avoid standing. 

Basically, this is a cool place with an old-school vibe that I like very much.  I think we'll be getting drinks here on a regular basis.