Galaxy Cafe

It's outta this world. (Actually, it's in Austin, but that's close enough.)

Website: www.galaxycafeaustin.com

You might as well know right up front, I didn’t make it to the Korean place this week, either. If they are relying on me to pay the rent, they’ll be out of business soon. Of course, they’ve been doing just fine without me, I guess, so they’ll probably be there next week.

Instead we went to the Galaxy Café. The Woman and I were short on time, shopping after work in a torrential downpour, and needing a quick bite. (And of course, you don’t do full yakiniku Korean quickly.) The Galaxy was just around the corner and we only got slightly drenched running from the parking lot.

I first went to the Galaxy Café in December 2004 while writing “Hell in a Briefcase.” We were in from Honolulu for 3 weeks to inspect The #1 Grandson. (He passed inspection.) But you can look at a 1-month-old kid only so long before the mind begins to wander. (Others, who shall remain unnamed, can look for a loooong time, so your mileage may vary.) Besides, I had a novel to write and a deadline 3 months away.

I spent most of my time in the guest cabin at the double-in-laws, writing like a maniac. (Dang, these folks are so nice that they almost reach The Woman status!) But the cabin had no Internet access and I got tired of sitting on a boulder by the neighbor’s house at night in 30-degree weather, slipstreaming on their wireless access to check for emails from Phil and some do quick-and-chilly research. So I started catching a ride to Mozart’s (review coming one day) and ingesting high-test caffeine while writing like a maniac.

But one evening it was cold and wet and I needed some Net, but the boulder was out. I didn’t want to drive all the way out to Mozart’s. That’s when The Good Daughter told me about the Galaxy Café, with decent wines by the glass and free Internet access. I was on it like stink on a dog. Now, a few years later, we are in a position to make the quick trip to the Galaxy while shopping.

In Austin, places like the Galaxy Café pop up like zits on a teenager. The unfortunate gastronomes in the provinces would trade five Dairy Queens, seven McDonalds and a Golden Corral for one trendy café like this. Regular readers of this blog will recognize the phrasing on the “About Us” page as a common description for several of the places I’ve reviewed, with comments like “high quality homemade food,” “freshest ingredients,” “gourmet flair,” “moderate pricing,” and “breads baked fresh daily.”

In my attempts to be a good boy, I’ve restricted my choices to lower fat and glycemic index items. I can vouch for the grilled chicken chipotle wrap on a spinach tortilla, the club wrap on a wheat torilla and the hot shrimp salad with baby spinach. The sweet potato fries are the side of choice. Several of my trips to the Galaxy have been in groups of those of the younger persuasion and I have heard nothing but sounds of contentment as they grazed on items that didn’t fit my profile, such as the bleu cheese bacon burger, the chipotle-apricot glazed pork chops and the grilled skirt steak with chimichurri sauce. They also have Odwalla specialty juices, herbal iced tea, and a nice selection of wines and beers.

I’ve never done breakfast at the Galaxy, but I’d certainly like to try it. In addition to a wide variety of breakfast wraps and the traditional breakfast options, they have “Breakfast from around the Galaxy” with American (eggs, bacon, sausage, toast), Mexican (migas, beans, tortillas), Mediterranean (eggs with roma tomatoes, feta cheese and basil, toast and fruit) and French (quiche, fruit, toast) options. And since they serve it until 11:30 during the week and until 4:00 on weekends, I might actually be awake and ambulatory in time to try it.

By the way, I did 30,000 words of first draft in 3 weeks on The #1 Grandson Inspection Tour. It gave me a great start and I finished “Hell in a Briefcase” by April. And the Galaxy Café helped.