Where’s my hand tossed?

San Antonio, Texas is beginning to be known for more than just great Mexican food. In the last few years several pizza parlors have cropped up, which makes talking about San Antonio and pizza seem more and more natural. Freetail Brewing, Miss Ellie’s, and Dough Pizzeria have each made a splash lately, bringing folks back to small batch pizza and away from the national brands. One such small batch pizzeria with a flair for the creative, is Pizza Italia on Thousand Oaks near Jones Maltsberger.

Pizza Italia has been around for several years and many locals in the area will attest to its focus on creative pizzas and a wide selection of craft beer. Involved in a fire in 2009 that destroyed the building, the restaurant showed its resilience by re-opening in 2010 across the street from the old location.

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Don’t let the lack of gifts fool you. The holiday season is still in full swing (for about 48 more hours, giver or take).

This display in Austin, Texas reminds us that we should keep Christmas and/or the holiday of your choice in our hearts, always. Or at least until the credit card bills arrive. Then you can pack it until next year.

How long do you keep your holiday decorations up?

This post is part of UpTake’s Family Friday Series. This month the emphasis is on holiday lighting. If you see a display worth mentioning send us a photo via the contact link in the sidebar.

Photo: el_eduardo via Flickr

Austin, Texas has long been a favorite destination of mine for many years. Having lived there for a few years, and now living in San Antonio, I’ve had ample opportunity to enjoy all it has to offer. It has great restaurants, plenty of places for outdoor recreation, and a laid back vibe. However for many years the craft beer industry was small, with only a few bright spots.

Black Star Co-op

The scene has changed a lot in the last ten years with breweries and brewpubs, like Uncle Billy’s, NXNW, 512 and Independence Brewing. It’s great to see this renaissance unfold. One of these recent additions to the brewing scene is Black Star Coop. I had been wanting to head over and check them out and on a recent day trip, finally got the chance.

Black Star sits just off North Lamar and Airport Boulevard in Central Austin in a mixed-use building known as the Midtown Commons, which seems right off the bat to be in line with their business approach. As the name suggests, they operate on a co-op model. A co-op usually means that they, the patrons and members of the community, either own or have the opportunity to own membership shares in the business. Since all who work at Black Star are member owners, they have a vested interest in its success.

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If you’re heading west on Interstate 10 through the heart of Texas (between San Antonio and Houston) you might be surprised to see a dinosaur on the side of the road. Or maybe you won’t. I don’t know what surprises anyone anymore. Besides, there might be dinosaurs all over Texas, I don’t get down there very often.

Irregardless (see what I did there?), this T-Rex is one of the many fabulous roadside attractions along the I-10 corridor. Don’t worry, it doesn’t bite. Anymore.

This post is part of UpTake’s Roadside Tuesday Series.

Photo: CortneyMartin82 via Flickr