I’m not going to Austin anytime soon, but inevitably someone asks me for a list of things to do and places to see in Austin, and I find myself re-creating this list. So, here, I’m posting it in a more formal location so that I can’t lose it in my email archives.
Places to Stay:
The goal is to situate yourself near downtown where you are a short walk, drive or bus ride from campus, restaurants, movies, interesting (thrifty/artsy) shopping, the hike and bike trails, and the bats of summer.
– Hotel San Jose – I’ve never stayed here, but I’ve walked past it a million times on shopping sprees in the area or while waiting for a table at Gueros, a favorite place to get Mexican food. This is where I would stay if I didn’t have family in the city.
– The Driskill, or any of the chains (Four Seasons, Omni, Intercontinental)
Places to eat:
– Guero’s Taco Bar Traditional interior mexican. Good margaritas. And to be honest, as a poor college kid I lived off of a side of rice and beans and tortillas. YUM!
– Curras Grill You’re going to think all I did was drink, but the avocado margaritas are a treat, and the cuban/mexican is delicious.
– Magnolia Cafe Not the best food in the world, but very Austin and always open. Anything tastes great when the bars/computer lab close. (Anything but “Katz I gotta tell ya it never kloses”. … is that guy still making commercials?)
– Frank and Angies A pizzeria with creative and delicious sandwiches named after famous people. The pizza is good, too.
– The Salt Lick BBQ A short drive south of Austin to a dry county, this place focuses on the food while you focus on bringing your own cooler of beer (because that’s what “dry” means – can’t sell beer). The food is good and the scenery is laid back ranch style Austin. With hummingbirds!!
– Polvos Authentic Austin Tex-mex experience. A slight trek south of the heart of town, but definitely worthwhile for the food and real margaritas.
A cheap date:
Alamo Drafthouse A movie and dinner all in one! (and now all over the city)
Where to Lounge:
Lovejoys If the coffin is not a compelling enough reason to check it out, perhaps the small batch brewed beer will be. The scene is what coffee shops used to be before Starbucks sterilized them. The furnishings look Goodwill, the ambience is comfortable. I’d recommend Lovejoys if you just want to slide into a chair, sit back and have a few beers with friends.
Carousel Lounge A honky tonk, circus themed kind of place just north of campus. You don’t come here to get a fancy drink; you come here for some good old eclectic Austin vibe in a bar where everyone knows your name.
Don’s Depot Free popcorn, old retired couples in fancy two-stepping duds, and a women’s bathroom that looks like how I always expected a C&W starlette’s dressing room would be – replete with red carpeting! There is no room for pretentious behavior in this place, and it is far away from the meat market of 6th street.
Lala’s little nugget I always envisioned this is what Miss Havisham of Dicken’s Great Expectations’ life would have been like if she had been looked over by Father Christmas instead of her left at the wedding altar. Time stopped at Lalas on Christmas day sometime in the 50s. The result is a bar that kind of feels like having a beer at Grandma’s, but for some reason you won’t be able to shake the overwhelming urge to have some eggnog.
Where to get coffee:
The Spider House I didn’t know coffee in college, but I did know the importance of a place one could go doodle in a sketch pad or relax with a Sunday paper, and this was that place. (Around the corner from the original Trudys which has good Mexican Margaritas… but not for breakfast!)
Flipnotics A tad bit indy feeling (or it was years ago), but the coffee is good.
Austin in general is a friendly town with diverse pockets. South Congress (just south of the river and the capital) where Gueros is located, has always been a little artsier and laid back than the rest of town. I used to stroll the area’s vintage and antique shops. Closer to campus on the west side is the requisite Campus shopping with a few boutiques sprinkled in amongst the book and tchotchke shops. What used to be way out, but is now just another part of north Austin – the Arboretum – is newer stores and more mainline boutique shopping. Lamar (north and south) is somewhat of a mainline of random shopping.
If you are in to nature, plan to check out Barton Springs or Deep Eddy, two of Austin’s springfed swimming pools. Many Sundays of mine were spent lounging on the poor side at Barton Springs reading the NYT while my dog swam with the neighborhood kids. Or wander around the grounds of Laguna Gloria, a teensy art gallery and sculpture garden where you might run into live armadillos. (If you stand still, they’ll come up and sniff you). Trek outside of town to Enchanted Rock and go for a hike. There are countless places to picnic on a river – the least populated ones escape me – but could be stumbled upon close to City Park or further outside of town. If you’ve got a mountain bike in tow, City Park has a rugged short circuit to test your single track skills. If you look closely you might see some of my missing DNA on the trees and rocks. Beware of the occasional motorcross. For an easier path, saddle up and ride the greenbelt – North takes you creekside through neighborhoods; South takes you under bridges and across parkland. If you’ve never seen a true Texas grocery store, head over to any of the Central Markets and pick up some snacks. And if you happen to be in the area on a hot summer evening, walk over to the Congress bridge and wait. At sunset the sky fills with the hundreds of bats who reside under the bridge during the summer. (They won’t get ya!)
If you visit in April, try to make it to Eeyore’s Birthday Party and in March or April, hit up SXSW.
Basically, if you are going, have a good time, and don’t tell me – it would make me homesick.
