Tell him not to change the Bat Wings!
Say hi to Kinky!
Too bad* Nothing Strikes Back* is long gone…
The LBJ Library/museum is there if you’re into presidents & history. Also, I could sit and look at the TX capitol building for most of a day…the pink granite is awesome.
I am a foodie-obsessed Californian who just came back from a vacation in Austin and I was THRILLED to explore the food trailer culture. I had some of the most amazing food (at really cheap prices) than I’ve experienced in some time.
East Side King and Odd Duck report
Texas Cuban, La Boite, and Frigid Frog report
Not in a trailer, but damned amazing was Salt Lick BBQ.
And for some pretty amazing doughnuts, Gourdoughs, Ken’s, and Mrs. Johnson’s.
Personally, I can’t wait to go back. It seems there are HUNDREDS of food trailers and I see no reason to go to a regular restaurant! The prices and quality are truly amazing.
Been living here for about fifteen years now. Ignore all the BS about hipsters. UT has an undergraduate population of around 40,000 students, and you’re going to see them out and about. In the past couple of years people have become weirdly sensitized and inexplicably afraid of them. I don’t know why, because they’re the same as they’ve always been.
If you’re into wine, there’s the Texas Wine Trail on the drive out to Fredrickberg.
I lived in Austin for ten years and have been in Round Rock for the last ten years. Austin has changed a lot in the last 20 years, but it is still a great place to live.
Austin is truly becoming a big city. It hasn’t lost all of it’s small town charm, but make no mistake, it is trending towards big city. The traffic will be your first clue. The gentrification of everything will be your second. Having to wait in lines will be your third.
That being said, the food in Austin is amazing. You can get just about anything you want here. Everyone in Austin is from somewhere else and they all bring their culture with them. Makes for some awesome, unique restaurants.
Someone else pointed out that trailer food has caught on big time here. I haven’t tried much of it yet, but they are everywhere. People are always happy to share the names of good restaurants. Ask a complete stranger on the street where to eat and you just made a friend who will spend twenty minutes filling you in on his or her favorite places.
I think someone else mentioned the Austin Chronicle. It is published once a week and is free. You can pick it up pretty much anywhere around the city. It is great for listing most of everything going on in the city for the week. It also has great food and movie reviews, as well as updates on all the local political issues.
:dubious:
Um, breakfast tacos are far from unique to Austin.
I went to school at UT a decade ago, and whenever I hear that people are going to Austin I still recommend Kerbey Lane Cafe. They used to be open 24 hours; I don’t know if they still are, but damn they have the best pancakes in the universe.
And the Kerbey Queso–a mound of guacamole covered in queso–is one of my fondest memories.
Great summary. There’s ALWAYS something going on, it seems, and even if Blues aren’t your thing, you can almost always find a bar that either has a band or a playlist that will suit your tastes. I’d also add that Darwin’s Pub is a great casual hangout and I have some good memories that originated there.
I’ll bet you also remember when there was a Posse before there was a Posse East.
There are millions of trivia nights here. It’s great. I do really like the Geeks Who Drink ones, and they have a few of them at different venues on different nights. But you can look in the Chronicle and do512.com to find one in whatever area of town you want on pretty much any night. Try them out and see what you like.
Here are a few:
Good eats:
Threadgills (Riverside Dr)
Jovita’s (S. First)
Things to See:
Steve Ray Vaughn Statue on Town Lake
Bats at Congress Bridge (March / April)
Coffee:
Flipnotics (Barton Springs)
Joe’s (South Congress)
I can’t thank you all enough for these suggestions. We’re big foodies (the Food Network is probably the only channel we watch consistently), big wine fans, and coffee buffs too. And we have a tiny baby dog that loves to go with us wherever we go. You’ve really got me psyched about the move!
Okay, now that you are committed, remember, no bitching about the heat. The whole nation had a little pity party for the North East last week because they got a few days of high temperatures. Here, we deal with that kind of thing 6 months out of the year. It’s hot here, we already know it, so no whining. And it’s not a dry heat either, it’s the regular old hot heat. Drink your fluids and deal with it.
Actually, I never lived in Austin, but my Aunt and Uncle are long-time fixtures (neighbors of Ann Richards, etc.). They took me to Nothing Strikes Back when I visited them as a kid, and I thought it was the most amazing place. The only thing I could compare it to was the Psychedeli in Bethesda, MD.
I’ve always enjoyed visiting Austin - it has great “energy.”
For some idea of what Austin used to look like… courtesy of The Clash:
(Except for the part with sheiks dancing through the city.)
The very best thing about Austin is Miles of Chocolate. Oh Mah Gawd it is tasty!
So I’m curious… where was the Posse? Presumably somewhere to the west of Posse East.
As far as trivia is concerned, I attend a monthly team trivia game at Neuva Onda on College, off South Congress, just north of Oltorf and Congress. It’s a small restaurant with great food (hmmm chicken gorditas) and even better prices that stays open for dinner for the trivia crowd. There is no minimum or maximum for team size, and it’s a great environment where every one is just interested in having fun. It’s usually the third wednesday of the month, but apparently for this month it’s tomorrow. It’s a lot of fun. Check it out sometime!