A Shifty, dahlin'

A few weeks ago I received an email invite for friends and I to join Fado's Irish Pub for a "shifty" (a round of pints after work) on them! So excited, I immediately invited my best girls to join me - Miss KT, Mai, and Dani. Mai's best girl, Dilly, happened to be in town and joined us as well.
I even got Brando to join in on the party!
I was so excited, but wasn't sure how it was going to be. I reserved a table for six of us and we showed up a little past 6:30pm. I'd experienced Fado's before way back when we moved to Austin and wasn't too impressed. Maybe it was because I was missing the California atmosphere so much. Or maybe it was because they've changed since then. Either way, I was happy to get the chance to experience them again and decided to go Irish with my beer. I followed the very sweet waitresses' recommendation of Harp Lager and was so glad I did. It was light and flavorful without any of the bitterness.
Brando followed my lead and ordered an Irish staple - Guinness Stout. Either I thought I didn't like Guinness, or this was a different kind of Guinness altogether because it was amazing. So rich and full of flavor, but without the normal overbearing taste that dark beers tend to have. We were also treated to a delicious sample platter, that was so good we had to order another when we finished the first. The potato pancakes were so yummy they were the first to go, the chicken quesadillas were not your normal quesadilla - they were packed full of chicken and cheese with the tortilla so thin and a delicious creamy sauce drizzled over it that all you tasted was a mouthful of delicious flavor, and the chicken strips were so lightly breaded and dipped in whatever the sauce was in the middle was were absolutely perfect.We had such a good time drinking, talking, laughing, and really, seriously unwinding on a Friday evening after a looooooong week. Brando and Dani clicked in their strange interests (to me) - i.e. Eddie Izzard, and TV shows I can't even remember the names of because I'm that interested in them. I'm pretty sure this is Dani impersonating an Eddie Izzard joke. It was fun to watch him laugh and have such a good time with friends that I enjoy so much.He doesn't often kick back and just have a really good time! Fado's definitely proved me wrong in my previous opinion. The staff were lovely, including the very first person we spoke to who had a very appropriate Irish accent. They sat us right away, brought us our drinks, and appetizers and constantly checked in. I can't wait to go back for another shifty soon : ) . In fact, I'm smiling to myself thinking about it.

We ordered a few more rounds, made sure to leave a hefty tip (hoping it was hefty any way!! I'm never really sure!), and went on our merry way to another event at Austin Handmade. That event post is to come, but here's a sneak peek (literally) of an adorable dress I found and the picture keepsake we made a tradition of taking if we didn't actually buy it. Wish I could remember the designer's name because it was oh so adorable with the lace ruffles sewn in under the skirt where they would just peek out, thus the picture. Whee!!