March 27, 2009 - The Austin Chronicle

CALENDAR ( COMMUNITY SPORTS ARTS FILM MUSIC) LIS TINGSBY GERALD E. MCLEOD daytripsSandstone Cellars Wineryand Santos Taqueria aren’twhat you would expect to find ina small town. But Mason isn’tyour normal small Texas town.In a rather remote corner ofthe Hill Country, Mason grewup at the base of a hill whereFort Mason was built to protectearly settlers and travelers.For the next 150 years,the town prospered as aranching community. In 1949,native son Fred Gipson put thetown on the map with the publicationof Hound-Dog Man andlater Old Yeller.In the winter, the area is popular with deerhunters, spring brings wildflowers along thehighways, in summer the bats emerge fromEckert James River Bat Cave, and in fall theapples are ripe at Sonlight Apple Orchard.Over the last couple of decades, Mason hasbeen discovered by artists and retirees whosupport a barista, an 81-year-old theatre, anda golf course. The area also has been discoveredby grape growers, and that inspired twofriends to plant roots in town.Manny Silerio and Scott Haupert were bestof friends while attending college in SanAntonio. After graduation, they met up againin Mason. In 1998, they opened SantosTaqueria in an old gas station building usingManny’s mother’s recipes.An immigrant from Durango, Mexico,Santos Silerio raised eight children and lotsof their friends on her cooking. The food atSantos Taqueria is inexpensive, fresh, anddelicious. This isn’t your usual Tex-Mex enchilada.Rather, the cafe offers taquitos, gorditas,and salsas made the Old World way.| MANNY SILERIOAfter you’ve placed your order at thecounter and grabbed a table inside orunder the covered porch, you can thencheck out the wines next door at Sandstone Cellars Winery. This isa dry county, so Santos can’t sell alcohol, but the winery can.GERALD E. MCLEODIn 2004, the business partners brought inwinemaker Don Pullum to take advantage ofthe vineyards around Mason County. Pullumhas had success in blending Syrah, Primitivo,Mourvèdre, and Grenache grapes. “All of thegrapes we use are locally grown,” Mannysays. In addition to their own wines,Sandstone Cellars also stocks a nice mix ofTexas’ best wines.Sandstone Cellars Winery and SantosTaqueria are at 211 and 205 San AntonioSt. (U.S. 87), respectively, across from thesoutheast corner of the county courthouse.The cafe is open Thursday throughSaturday, 11am-9pm, and Sunday, 11am-2pm, and can be reached at 325/347-6140. The wineshop is open Thursdaythrough Saturday, 11am-6pm, and Sunday,11am-2pm. For more information about thewinery, call 325/347-9463 or go towww.sandstonecellarswinery.com.Mason is about two hours northwest ofAustin. There are more than two dozen innsin the area, many on the Llano River. For alist of activities around Mason, call325/347-5758 or go to www.masontxcoc.com.925th in a series, Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of“Day Trips” 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax.Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.68 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E MARCH 27, 2009 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m*