BIRTHDAY BOWL-A-RAMA

Thanks to daughter Alexis' scouting out the perfect place for celebrating her birthday, we have discovered one more weird yet wonderful thing to love about Austin - The Highball! I believe it is owned by the same people who brought us Alamo Drafthouse, and is located just a few doors down from their location on S. Lamar. Walking through the doors is like walking through a stargate, or taking a ride in Dr. Who's telephone booth, and winding up back in some mid-century modern Vegas nightclub, complete with sparkling gold upholstered barstools, Starlite-lounge-style light fixtures, semi-circular booths, and with members of the Rat Pack crooning in the background. That's because the owners found a vintage bowling alley from that period, still intact down in New Orleans, and had the entire contents installed here (or so I'm told). They even have vintage skee-ball machines, whose tickets can be used to purchase anything from candy cigarettes to a bowling nun statue, or even "Uncle Rico's" very snazzy two-toned, pointy-toed shoes - if you can fork up about forty thousand tickets.

There are a few modern touches as well, including themed karaoke rooms, a room with dance floor and stage, and an impressive menu that utilizes locally sourced ingredients. All in all, we had so much fun that I didn't even mind bowling a 59. Well, maybe a little. Just one tiny warning: If you go on a Saturday, get there early! We got there at 5:00, and only had to wait a half hour for a lane. Those who didn't get there until 7:30 or 8:00? More like 4 or 5 hours. Oh yeah, and you might want to brush up on how to keep score manually!