Although I have not lived in Austin in 30 years (and only visited twice since leaving), I felt it was time to come back to see what I have missed. For me, this consisted of three things: Friends, Food and Fun. It was suggested that a good central meeting place was Manuels. I had never been there but had heard many good things about the food, the atmosphere and the service. Manuels did not let us down. The friends were invited. Check. The food was fantastic. Check. The food was as varied as much as the friends that came. We had Canadians, Texans, Germans and even a Vegetarian. We all had two things in common: 1) our love for Mexican food 2) our love of tormenting a restaurant staff. That was our fun part. Check. We had made our reservations and were seated promptly. The server offered us a complimentary first round of chips and salsa. We told the server that we would all move to another table when we were ready for our second complimentary round of chips. At this point, the server knew what she was dealing with. Whatever the case, the drinks (margaritas) arrived promptly. And consumed promptly. And we re-ordered promptly. Well, you get the idea. The food of course was outstanding (and yes, I wondered why I did not frequent Manuals on a regular basis when I had lived in Austin…) Anyway, we all had a great time. In my opinion, we did not destroy the atmosphere with our boisterous stories and outrageous behavior. Then again, that is only MY opinion. Hardly any people left because of us. I do remember that the staff seemed genuinely relieved and happy when we left. We are looking forward to another reunion at Manuels. We promise not to wait another 30 years. We just need to wait long enough for the Manuals staff to forget us before we can come back. #LoveManuels #Manuels40th