Elevate Your Burger Experiences

I love hamburgers. I love French fries even more. Sometimes, I eat a burger just for the experience of eating the fries.

Burger joints in Austin are aplenty. From the famous to the infamous, the Capitol city seems to have it all. Of course, ACS took its own burger tour last year since these American creations are so darn tasty.

The experience elevated my sense of burger appreciation. Since the tour, I've been able to enjoy many more burgerr joints, including Elevation Burger (9828 Great Hills Trail) near the Arboretum.

This is some place I never thought I'd lend my money or time to because it just didn't sound so appealing.

But being a lover of fries, I'd give this place an A-. They are cooked in olive oil, which gives them a new and exciting flavor. Plus, olive oil is a healthier oil with omega-3 fatty acid.

The burgers, too, are great. Patrons may choose one patty, two, all the way to ten! (Hence, elevation). But vegetarians, fear not. There is also a menu for you to choose between at least two veggie burgers: I believe one was a roasted flavor, and the other regular. You may also choose an appropriately named guilty free option and get one veggie patty and one beef. On my last visit I tried this burger, and have to admit it was a little weird. My philosophy is if I'm going to get a burget, get a (real) burger.

Elevation may not be out of this world, but I always like trying new things and elevating my experiences. I have yet to try the shakes and other menu offerings, but give it a whirl! Who knows, you might elevate your senses to a whole new level. And isn't that what it's all about?

Could you live with fewer than 100 items? That's the question Jeff Glor tried to answer Tuesday in his piece for the CBS Evening News. As Glor walked through the spartan home of Everett Bogue, I wondered if I could do it. But a look at the bare walls really struck me - I like having pictures around, things to look at besides, well, the walls.

But I will admit, our family could definitely benefit from a healthy dose of decluttering. Even blogger Dave Bruno, who started the challenge, allows for some leeway. For instance, all of your underwear counts as one item. Glor points out in his reporter's notebook for Couric & Co. that minimalists are trying to avoid being wasteful, not to be gross. If I could get down to 100 items in each room in our home - including closets! - I think we'd be on to something. I recently got fed up with being unable to move around in our laundry room and threw away a bunch of stuff. I don't even remember what it was. It was just stuff that I thought I needed to save.

Austin-based kitchen designer Cindy Black suggests on her blog, Hello Kitchen, a way to declutter your kitchen. This sounds like something I really need to do before the next time we move (there will be a next time, trust me). But looking at the long list, the allowances for "specialty" items and her suggestion that anything not on the list should be added to your wish list, maybe I'd better not. I think I might end up with things I didn't even know I wanted or needed - which means, really, I don't need them.

Some people really swear by the Fly Lady - a woman who has built a benevolent empire of decluttering and cleaning the home to restore order to the family. She even offers, in her online store (everybody's got one), a De-Clutter Kit consisting of three collapsible bins for organizing the Throw Away, Put Away, Give Away items. I don't think a lack of bins is my problem.

As the holidays approach with the promise of more stuff coming into the house, maybe it's time to get a handle on the clutter we already have. How do you draw a line between the sentimental and just plan taking up space?

Survivor of Domestic Violence Reaches Out To Other Victims

While October is perhaps most recognized for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is also the month of awareness of a serious issue - indeed, a disease that pervades many homes in Texas and across the country - domestic violence. The Texas Advocacy Project offers free legal services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. Austin Citysphere received the letter below from Austinite Brenda Larcom, herself a survivor of domestic violence and a client of Texas Advocacy Project, and we are happy to share it below.

Dear Editor:

Last year, 111 Texas women lost their lives to domestic violence. The youngest was only 13 when her boyfriend killed her.

Every October, we observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This year I think of that teenage girl who won’t go to her first homecoming game. I can’t help but think that at age 19 that could have been me.

I know I am lucky to have gotten out alive. I am a survivor. I chose to leave. You are probably asking yourself why those 111 women didn’t.

The next time you wonder that, put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself what you would do if you were forced to leave on foot, without a dollar to your name. Ask yourself what you would do if you feared leaving because you thought he would find you and kill you, or worse yet, take your children from you.

Domestic violence kills but there is hope. If you are ready to leave but are scared, there are resources available. Texas Advocacy Project and the Allstate Foundation have teamed up to make financial and legal help available to help women and their children get and stay safe. To learn more, visit www.TexasAdvocacyProject.org.

Contact:

Brenda Larcom
Domestic Violence Survivor

Cafe Canela: Build a Burger or Order Tex Mex, It's Up to You

Cafe Canela (9070 Research Blvd. Ste 303) replaces the former Geaux Burger, formerly Mooyah Burger.  When I learned Mooyah closed, I was devastated!  But later, because of ACS's 7 Best Burgers of Central Texas Tour, I learned Cafe Canela is the same place but with a little extra on the menu.

Owner Alvaro Valencia managed Mooyah and Geaux.  But this time, he's doing things the way he wants because he owns and manages Cafe Canela.  Valencia put Tex Mex options on the menu, so customers aren't limited to just burgers or hot dogs.  But we highly recommend getting a burger and loading it up with toppings, which come free!

Some burger joints offer the plain Jane burgers; others do theirs up a little more gourmet style.  At Cafe Canela, you'll order a simple burger.  You have the option of dressing it up how you like, but it doesn't come to the table overloaded.  The burger is juicy and the bun is outstanding.  Valencia told us he orders the bread from Sweetish Hill Bakery.

This concludes the ACS burger tour.  Which burger joint on our list is your favorite?  Tell us what we didn't try that you highly recommend.