Cote’s Weblog

Summary: Try it Out

We always complain that there’s enough good, low-key bars in town. Lala’s is exactly the type of place we’re looking for, esp. during the week. It’s a dark, smoke-stank place, but the drinks are cheap, the staff and patrons are welcoming, and it’s plenty-comfortable. If you’re someone who tries to avoid Target and Wal-mart ’cause you feel like you’re slumming it when you shop there, you’ll feel like a rich-boy in the ghetto at Lala’s. Otherwise, I’m sure you’ll like it.

It’s Christmas All Year!

Just up the street from me is Lala’s, otherwise known as Lala’s Little Nugget. It’s a nice little bar where the motto is “it’s Christmas all year.” As Lunt noted last night, they’re not kidding about that: there’s Christmas lights strung up everywhere, decorations, and a year round Christmas tree with wrapped presents.

The Layout

Lala’s isn’t too big: it’s about the same size as a large living room/dining room combo. There’s a few half-walls dividing the place up with those spiral-lathe-cut, dark wooden pools going from half-wall-top to ceiling. The tables and chairs have that same mid-80’s dark wood thing; the chairs have the padding tacked on with brass-colored nail-tops, and they creak if you move around too much.

Along with all the Christmas bric-a-brack, there’s plenty of what you might call “blue collar” decor. You know, trucker hats, old booze signs, tourist posters of Florida, a bar video game, foosball, a pool-table, etc.

The Drinks

It’s just standard booze and beer at Lala’s. I usually get the Wild Turkey with either a beer or, as the bar-tender called it last night, a “water-back.” There really isn’t any fancy beer, but it’s all cheap, so who the fuck cares? There’s always The Gingerman if you want something exotic.

A glass of Wild Turkey was $3.25, leaving plenty of money for a good tip and still keeping it under $5.

The older, Hispanic ladies who tend the bar always use a little metal shot-glass to measure out your drinks. So while you might not score “bonus booze,” you know you won’t get jipped.

The bar-tenders are plenty nice, and later in the evening there’s usually a waitress who comes and collects your cups and smokes in the back room, doing this and that, and waiting to get more cups.

The Crowd

The crowd that Lala’s draws ranges from the hipsters and sceansters to the regulars. We usually go during regular hours — week days between 5 and 9 or so. During that time, there’s usually 3-4 older folks sitting at the bar, watching TV, playing the video porker machine, occasionally muttering to each other, and, of course, drinking.

Yesterday there was an older lady and a guy sitting at the end talking to each other. The lady had what looked like Virginia Slims, along with a whisky and soda:

Guy: “I was thinking about the Monday night football situation the other day.”

Lady: “John Madden?”

Lady: “Yeah. He signed a contract… move to Sunday in 2006.”

Lady: “Yeah, and then it won’t be on the network anymore.”

Guy: “Monday Night Football is moving to ESPN.“

Another time we were there, a blonde lady was sitting at the video poker game, smoking and drinking. There’d be an occasional, low “bo-doo-doo-doo!” sound from the game when she won, and the cookie-duster-bearing dude next to her would say, “we have a winner,” and then take a sip from his drink and go back to watching the evening news.

The hipster set that comes in fits your typical image of Austin hipsters: Lone Star shirts and hats, Converse, Ashton Kutcher and neo-Betty Page hair, 60’s scientist glasses, and a kitch-love for Dean-o, Sinatra, and all the other standards that are packed into the juke-box. They tend to play pool and foosball.

Parking

Since it’s not in downtown, there’s plenty of free parking all around Lala’s. In the back, in the front, in the parking lot next door, all over the place! And for me, it’s walking and biking distance, so much the better.

More Info

Open Tue-Sat 4pm-2am, Map,
More Links.

Tags:
lalas,
austin,
bars,
divebars.

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