Katz’s, of course, was (and is) open, but with long lines. Nix that. We did make a quick pass at Book People (open until 6 pm today) and burned some of that book money. Cards go on sale tomorrow. Out-of-towners picked up some of that Austin Weird merch. The Driskill Cafe was open and with waits. So it was the Mimosa Cafe on Barton at 2 pm that was the first open place without a line.

And it will be open continuously until 10 pm this evening. It’s also going to open on New Year’s Day, by the way. There were people drinking beer and conversing at the bar. There were people dining outdoors under the trees. There were a half-dozen people at the sushi bar, with two to attend them. There was a party of over a dozen dining with tables pushed together. There were several two-tops and several groups of three, four, and five.

The televisions were on mute and the sound of lively human conversation was a lovely accompaniment. One person at our table ordered seafood tempura and was very surprised to find eleven generous items on the plate, two each of everything but shrimp, of which there were three. The miso, that citrus-dressing green salad, and iced green tea were popular with most. This was a lucky find for us on a day when so much is closed, and very good people-watching for visitors to Austin.