2 Days (more like 1 Day) Till SXSW09 – Still More Cool Places to Go While in Austin

More links to cool places… Same as the other list, you’ll need a cab or car (designated driver)….

Near City Hall

Lamberts – Downtown BBQ and Live Music…

West 6th St and (on) Nueces St

Ranch 616 – Cool Austin vibe, great food and bar… live music too…

West Lynn, North of West 6th St

Galaxy Cafe – Cool place to eat…

Near UT on the Drag  (Guadalupe) 

Texadelphia – Austin’s own Cheese Steak (no, it’s not Pat’s or Geno’s, but they are damn good)… 

Kerbey Lane – 24/7 Breakfast

Dirty Martin’s (Dirty’s) – Classic Austin burger and beer joint…

Mangia Pizza – Austin’s own Chicago Stuffed Pies…

Boomerang’s Pies – Meat and veggie pies and beer from down under – I live on these pies during ACLMF…

Triangle (45th and Lamar)

Galaxy Cafe - Cool place to eat…

Mandola’s Italian Market – Great Italian, enough said…

Flying Saucer – Beer, beer, beer, food, beer, beer….

North of Downtown (central city – west of Lamar, on Burnet and/or west of Burnet)

Kerbey Lane - 24/7 Breakfast…

Draught House – Beer drinkers’ wet dream…

Blue Star Cafeteria – Very cool place – great food…

Billy’s on Burnet - Great burgers and beer…

Fonda San Miguel – Special place – great interior food and drink…

Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon – I love this place (cash only, no liquor) - cold beer and live music six days a week – 42 on Mondays  - Sundays are very special…

 

Please be safe, and have a great time…

As always, comments welcome…

4 Days Till SXSW09 – More Cool Places To Go In Austin

Here are additional cool places to buy things, eat, drink, and/or listen to great live music while in Austin over the next two weeks.  Depending upon where you are staying, you may need a cab or car (designated driver) to visit many of these places….

SOCO (South Congress)

Ego’s – Funky bar (with live music) in the basement of office building

Doc’s MotorWorks - Sit outside… great bar, with good food

Amy’s Ice Creams – Austin’s best ice cream…

Jo’s Coffee – Great place to sit outside to watch Austin go by…

Continental Club – My favorite live music venue – Great bands, cool vibe, quality/cool staff, and cold Lone Star beer

The Gallery (above the tattoo parlor next door to the Continental Club) – Has just reopened and I can’t wait to start spending time upstairs…

Botticelli’s – Chicago Italian food and music on their patio in the back… I’m now thinking about the Italian beef sandwich…

Perla’s Seafood and Oyster Bar – Great seafood and oyster bar with cold draft beer… life is good…

Guero’s Taco Bar – If you have ever read this space, my Tumblr space, or any of my tweets (Twitter), you know how much I love this place.  Great Austin vibe, the best people watching, quality/cool staff, unbelievable margaritas and cool beer, and delicious  food… They also have live music in the Oak Garden… Be prepared to wait…

Home Slice – My favorite pizza in Austin (pies or slice and cold beer) – I love sitting at the bar, eating a couple of slices and watching the talented staff make pizza… Be prepared to wait….

Allen Boots – Everyone needs a good pair of cowboy boots… you really do….

Vespaio/Enoteca – Two Restaurants -  Great Italian Food – call ahead…

Magnolia Cafe – 24/7 – Good Breakfast

Trophy’s – Another funky bar with live music

South First

RunTex – Best running store….

Threadgill’s (Between South 1st and Congress on Riverside) – Comfort food and live music

WHATABURGER – Closest WHATABURGER to the Convention Center (this link is for Merlin Mann)

Jovita’s – Fun Live Music Venue – If you are in town on a Thursday night, please do yourself a favor by going see/hear Cornell Hurd, you will have a great time…

Polvo’s – Great Mexican food

G&S Lounge – Cool (dive) drinking bar

West 5th Street (west of Congress)

Lucky Lounge – Live music, cool cat walk behind bar

Red Fez - Hookahs, cold beer, live music and/or DJ (and sometimes belly dancers)

Antone’s – Home of the blues – great live music venue

West 6th Street (East of Lamar)

Katz’s Deli - 24/7 – Good Breakfast

Wahoo’s Fish Tacos (6th St. and (on) Rio Grande) – Another one of my favorite places in Austin… Fun bar (full bar) and the best food…

Dirty Billy’s (6th St and (on) Rio Grande) – Fun new bar, cool juke box connected to the web can play just about anything…

La Zona Rosa (5th St and (on) Rio Grande, south of 5th) - Cool Live Music Venue

Opal Divine’s Free House on 6th – Good drinking bar, decks, and restaurant….

Mother Egan’s Irish Pub – Fun place

Hut’s – One of the best hamburger joints in Austin… Beer, wine, and shakes… Great rings…

West 6th and Lamar Blvd

Whole Foods World Headquarters – The mother of all Whole Foods store…

Book People – Cool, independent book store…

Waterloo Records and Video – Simply the best place to buy music…

Waterloo Ice House – Good food and cold beer…

Amy’s Ice Creams – Best ice cream in Austin…

Cheapo CDs (a little north of the intersection) - Best place to buy used CDs…

Screaming Goat Tacos y Cerveza – Great tacos and more… daily cold beer specials…

Austin Java (a little north of the intersection) – Good coffee and food…

Austin Land and Cattle Company (a little north of the intersection) - STEAK!!!

West 5th Street (at West 6th and Mopac)

Mean-Eyed Cat - Cool drinking bar – cold draft beer and live music

El Arroyo – Good food, cold beer, and margaritas

Barton Springs (west of Lamar)

Barton Springs Saloon - Funky bar… sit inside or out…

Green Mesquite BBQ – Fun place

Shady Grove – Sit outside, drink cold beer, and eat great food… they have the best queso/cheese fries….

Uncle Billy’s - Cold beer and good food – can you say pulled pork….

Chuy’s Tex-Mex – Pure Austin Fun!!!! Great food and drinks…

East Side

Hoover’s (Manor Rd) – Comfort/Home Cooking….

El Chili Cafe – Great food and drinks…

Vivo – Great food and drinks…

Odds and Ends

Cuatros – Great bar, with good food… sit inside or out… fun bar near UT…

Hole in the Wall – Great bar, with live music… on the Drag – across the street from UT…

Okay, that’s enough for now… I’ll update this post over the next few days (I think I left some fun places off the list)…

Please be safe, and have an insanely great time in Austin…

As always, comments are welcome….

I knew this was a bad idea… I’m hungry now…

I like to eat, and I feel lucky to have access to so many great places in Austin that serve tasty food. The following list (with links) provides a nice sampling of my favorite places:

Breakfast

Kerbey Lane Cafe – great breakfast, expect to wait

Magnolia Cafe – great breakfast, expect to wait

Katz’s – good breakfast, big menu – great sandwiches too

Manny Hattan’s – tasty, good quality, many choices – great lunch and cheese cake too

Comfort/Home Cooking

Hoover’s - unbelievably good, great desserts too

Threadgill’s – great food and music – home of the chicken fried steak

Burgers

Mighty Fine – Burgers, Fries, and Shakes  – Currently my favorite – no beer

Huts – the standard by which all burger joints are judged – huge onion rings

Phil’s Ice House – regular burgers and little baby burgers – beer and wine – very kid friendly

Billy’s on Burnet – great selection of beer too – I hear the veggie frito pie is very good – nice selection of pub grub

Five Guys Burgers and Fries – new joint in town – great burgers, cajun fries, and bacon-cheese dogs – no beer

Casino el Camino – you better be hungry – these are great big burgers – think Texas BIG – great bar too

Frans – the one on South Congress – tasty – great hangover burgers

Doc’s Motorworks – cool outdoor place, good menu choices

Shady Grove – sit under the trees and enjoy, great menu, the queso fries are the real deal

Pizza

Home Slice – simply the best, stopped ordering delivery after tasting this pizza – this is a special place

Reale’s – this is also a great pizza

Mangia Chicago Stuffed Pizza – the double crust pizza stuffed with goodness is great

Mexican

Guero’s – one of my favorite places of all time, great good, tons of choices, great drinks – stay away from the wine

Fonda San Miguel – a wonderful place to celebrate special events in your life

Chuy’s – fun place, great food

BBQ

Rudy’s Country Store – great BBQ, ice cold drinks, that damn cream corn – great breakfast tacos too

There are tons of great BBQ joints across Austin and the surrounding communities.  Ranking BBQ is a state sport, and I’m not packed for a BBQ discussion.  I don’t eat that much BBQ because it is so damn good and it has become so difficult to choose between brisket, ribs, chicken, turkey, links (sausage), cole slaw, potato salad, onions, pickles, the sauces, and that damn cream corn from Rudy’s, so we eat it all and way too much and generally need a nap afterwards.

Italian

Vespiao and Enoteca – Vespiao is another nice place to celebrate something special in your life, great food – Enoteca is more comfortable, less formal, great bar

Botticelli’s – new kid on the block – great food – the Italian beef sandwich tastes like my Mom’s recipe

Mandola’s Italian Market – great food, great desserts

Seafood

Perla’s Seafood and Oyster Bar - New on South Congress (in Mars’ space) – great oysters and seafood… cold beer…

Different

Wahoo’s Fish Tacos – I love this place – I could eat there everyday – great healthy food, good beer selection, they serve Pearl Pomegranate Flavored Vodka, Hideous Liqueur, 32oz CB in the paper bag

Cuators – another new kid on the block – fun place that brings the outside in – great beer selection, good fun food – dog friendly

Screaming Goat Tacos y Cerveza – Cool Austin vib… tasty tacos and daily cold beer specials…

Texadelphia Texas Cheesesteak - unbelievably good

Dog & Duck Pub – great beer selection and great pub grub – the best fish and chips

Mother Egan’s Irish Pub – great beer selection, very good food – fun places to sit alone or with friends

Opal Divine’s – fun place, great menu, lots of choices, great beer selection and other drinks

Boomerang’s Pies – not your frozen pot pie – great food – I live on these pies during the Austin City Limits Music Festival

Galaxy Cafe – great food – love eating lunch at this place – get there early parking can be tuff

Ranch 616 – fun place, cool small bar, great creative food – pure Austin vibe

Dessert

Amy’s Ice Cream – invented fun – tasty – an Austin original

Hey Cupcake! – way too cool to describe – wonderfully tasty – they help turn the dial to 11

I will continue to update this post overtime. Please let us know your favorite places to eat in Austin through the comments…