Chili Peppers. I thought that was a band. I don't think about Chili Pepper dishes much but it was a new category in this year's Chronicle 2000 Best Restaurant Poll. I'll need some help with this topic for those more knowledgeable. Curras is the runnerup and that calls for a first hand report. Yes, I�ve been there. I used to work with a Brazlian lady, Theresa (�tee ress a�) who was as saucy as Brazlian ladies come. We taught at a school for kids in trouble on Austin�s East side. And she had a delightful accent. And I will never be able to erase the memory of her pronoucing the name of one of South Austin�s major arteries, Oltorf. �Or torf�. It�s still ringing in my mind. Well, Curras is on Ortorf street and it sports a delightful outdoor patio. The chips are great. The food was pretty fine and reasonably priced. I remember there were a lot of large black birds and I had great fun teasing them with chips. I would put them on a railing and they would grab them and fly across the street to a convenient fenced in yard. I remember one picking up a chip so heavy that you could tell it�s flight was altered. You�ll find your most laid back, slackeresque, austinesque crowd imaginable at Curras. It�s not trendy or upscale. Not many Beamers or SUVs in the tiny parking lot at Curras. Guero�s Taco Bar (one of my favorites, another South Austin hot spot), Z Tejas and Thai Kitchen got runner up. Thai Kitchen? In this category?

On the latter mentions, I should have said they got honorable mention, not runnerup.

You will hear more about Guero's, I promise.

Can you give us some idea of what sort of food we are talking about here, other than that it is incandescant and remains same all the way through?!

Citysearch sez' Guero's is usually teeming with taco-craving Austinites, who with one glance at the menu, wholeheartedly opt for the queso flameado appetizer--a bowl filled with melted cheese, as well as mushroom and onions if you so request, and served with flour or corn tortillas for handy wrapping. More Mex than Tex, Guero's prepares spectacular marinades, particularly with any of the chicken taco dishes. I recently devoured two chicken especiales--shredded meat sauteed with onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms, decadently served in a flour tortilla (or corn, if you so choose.) Another option are the tacos filled with diced chicken breast marinated in orange juice. Tastily tender, but not quite as juicy as the especial version. My only peeve with this restaurant, is that you have to order your chips and salsa. Sure, it'll only add $1.25 to your total bill, but like rolls and olive oil in Italian venues, there's just something wonderfully happy about a little food-freebie brought out the moment you sit down....

And more on the http://www.musicaustin.com/country/texanadames.html page: As the cover of Months of Sundays points out, Texana is pronounced "Teh-HA-nah." That is a good clue that what you'll find inside their albums is a mix of English/Spanish, country, jazz, and salsa. If there was a Tex-Mex music genre, Texana Dames would be in it. Months of Sundays was recorded live during the group's regular Sunday gig at Guero's on South Congress. Conni Hancock, Charlene Hancock and Traci Lamar Hancock are the three dames, joined by players like Tomas Ramirez, John Reed, Joel Guzman, and Paul Mills. Listen to the Texana Dames music clips. Months and Months of Sundays is their second album of live recordings from Guero's. They've been regulars at Guero's for years, at La Zona Rosa before that. Conni Hancock calls the gigs Sunday parties and says these live albums, while not perfect, are full of the fun, spirit and freedom they feel in their Sunday gigs.

Gueros is on South Congress, and if you thought South Congress with kind of lackadaisical and laid back, check out this little compendium (which mentions Gueros) from the Convention and Vistors Bureau. Start your pursuit of fine purchases with New Bohemia at 1714 South Congress, a retro-resale cooperative with many different dealers specializing in a bright cross-section of the vintage and resale spectrum. Then continue with the Armadillo Market at 1712 South Congress, in which you'll find an exquisite selection of vintage jewelry as well as other resale odds and ends. Next on your list should be Terra Toys, where you can let your inner child run wild while you look at all the toys, puzzles, puppets, books and games. (Be sure to put a quarter in their huge gumball machine--the entertainment is well worth the expenditure of your hard earned two-bits.) Off the Wall at 1704 South Congress has some refinished vintage furnishings and many little decorative items, both old and new. Round out the block by walking around the corner, and checking out what Mi Casa, at 1700-A South Congress has to offer. Mi Casa's small entryway belies the wonders you'll find within, with their 11 rooms of art, home furnishings, and gifts from the Americas. On the next block, you'll find Tinhorn Traders at 1608 South Congress, with their emphasis on ethnographic items, primitive and Native American art. Simply Divine-All Cotton Clothing is next door at 1606 South Congress--at least buy a good T-shirt for your friends back home. Scoot your boots over to Allen's Boots at 1522 South Congress, and you'll find yourself in Austin's premiere Western wear store (and remember, the Travis County Stock Show and Rodeo is also going on this week). Then mosey on in to Uncommon Objects at 1512 South Congress, another antique/resale space with many different dealers housed under one roof, and all offering their own collections of artful and glorious junque. At 1510 South Congress you'll find Yard Dog, the definitive purveyor of folk, visionary, and outsider art of the American South, while Antigua at 1508 South Congress presents a separate vision with its antiques, santos, folk art, and jewelry. With a costume rental from Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds at 1506 South Congress you can assume a whole new identity, or you can buy it outright at their sister resale store, Electric Ladyland. And Rue's Antiques at 1500 South Congress offers some unusual twists on their usual fare of antique furnishings--furniture crafted in Indonesia, and antique iron s ars made in an iron foundry in Mexico. And right behind Guero's at 110 W. Elizabeth is Therapy. Shop there for the latest in women's fashions and at the adjoining Eco-wise for earth-friendly products. Eats: Guero's El Sol y La Luna Magnolia Cafe Shaggy's Fran's Hamburgers Texas French Bread Vespaio Music: Rock 'n Roll Rentals Custom Sounds Other: Avenue Florist The Austin Motel The Herb Bar Next you'll find two more resale stores that make the danger of crossing South Congress worthwhile--Aqua at 1415 South Congress with its specialization in 20th century modern furnishings and decorations, and Out of the Past at 1413 South Congress with its selective inventory of the old and the odd. We end our tour of South Congress with what brought you here to Austin in the first place--music. You'll find vintage instruments at One World Music and Graphix at 1313 South Congress. They CVB didn't mention everything, there's Ecoware, a great little store behind Gueros and some of the best antique stores in town and are surprising for their low prices.

Wow! I thought it was *just* Taco chips and some form of inflamatory salsa. About the boot scootin' *sigh* I am bootless. I guess my life will not be complete without obtaining boots from the Motherland of Boots, Texas. Thai food uses some of the hottest peppers on earth for flavoring. When they are so hot nothing else tastes. I wonder what they are trying to cover up?!

Yep, the boot outlet is right thar down on S Congress.

Off topic, but are those pointy-toed boots really comfortable? My foot is not shaped that way - especially after being out of confining shoes in Hawaii for so many years...

Nope, not for me. I'm bootless, shoeless and dressed down. I was once infaturated with boots and cowboy hats, as a little kid.

...when you still lived in Springfield?! Good to know there are other unshod and comfortably-dressed people in the world! Welcome to sanity.

I lived in Houston back then and went to Horn Elementary.

My son, at about the same time visited Tucson where my parents had retired, and he became a boot-wearing, hat bearing son of the Southwest just about when the plane touched the ground there. He could not keep the old cowboys names straight in his head and kept calling one "The Buffalo Kid" What to guess what name his grandfather called him for the entire visit?!