One of the things I like the most in Texas is to get out of Houston and drive around in the countryside. You can find such interesting and pretty places, within a couple of hours of the big city, so even a day trip can be great. I know I've blogged on some of these small towns before, but I never get tired of exploring them, so expect more from time to time!
Recently we made a great discovery - the newly renovated Sengelmann Hall, in Schulenburg (Schulenburg features in my Off the Map post, back in 2008 - you can actually see the unrenovated Sengelmann Hall in the first Schulenburg photo in that entry).
Apparently, the guy who bought it has spent many many dollars on it, and the result is a charming blend of old and new:
A big open eating area, with a low stage and what looks like the original backdrop,
walls scraped back to their original colours, and the shop next door turned into the kitchen (the open doorway in the far wall leads into the kitchen),
a Biergarten out the back - with fully-grown trees brought in to grow and shade it...
...and a perfectly reproduced copy of the original, elaborate bar, serving (among other things) a menu of 'Pre-Prohibition Cocktails' (Dave tried the Corpse Reviver #2; I had a Floridita and later a Moscow Mule).
The food is great, German and Czech inspired, and made from local ingredients where possible... and they have regular live music, both downstairs in the dining room and upstairs in the dance hall. Read more about Sengelmann Hall on their website; don't forget to check out the menu, and of course the photos of before and after!
I hereby issue a standing invitation: anyone who comes to visit us will be taken to Sengelmann Hall (time and inclination permitting) and regaled with some of the best food and drink Texas has to offer. Come one, come all!
* Just a reminder that you can click on any of my blog photos to see a larger version of the picture - I know some of the details can be lost in the smaller versions.
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