Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Brooklyn of Texas.

Kids, I'm psyched. I'm headed down to Austin, Texas tomorrow to visit my dear friends Nick and Louisa.

They moved down there earlier this year, and this is the first time I'm going to be seeing their new home! I'm excited to see them, of course - especially for Christmas and New Year's - but I'm also seriously pumped to explore Austin for the first time.

So, come on, readers! Tell me all about your favorite Austin haunts. Coffee? Barbecue? Live music? Other stuff?

'Fess up in the comments!

Photo by Texas to Mexico on Flickr.

5 comments:

Kevin72 said...

Wink is a lot of fun; it's a local seasonal restaurant. But you probably have those left and right in NYC.

The food truck scene has absolutely exploded in Austin so that's worth a look.

Lockhart, the barbecue mecca of Texas, would be a must: Kreutz, Smitty's, and Black's. Enormous, fatty chunks of meat smoked to perfection. No sauce!!!!

It's impossible to have bad breakfast tacos in Austin, so just pick some divey tacqueria and go.

The Curmudgeon said...

Jo's Coffee, on either South Lamar or South Congress - delicious! Also, there're two theaters that serve drinks and food while you watch - the Alamo Drafthouse, I think - which are amazing.

Man, I cannot WAIT for SXSW this year! Love to L&N.

Alex Rothenberg said...

You should listen to Wyatt Cenac's story on This American Life for a little "brooklyn of texas" vibe http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/422/comedians-of-christmas-comedy-special

Merry xmas
--alex

Anonymous said...

OK, as an Austinite living in Boston I apologize if this is my wish list and not what you need... But I promise you it's the best!

Uchi for Sushi, then run next door to Moss, it's a consignment store that just open and sells incredible name brand stuff.

South Congress aka SoCo. The highlights are the yellow fin tuna salad or the shrimp and grits at south congress cafe, hudsons on the bend has a trailer with an incredible meal in a cone, Guerros has fantastic margaritas, Perlas is great for seafood, the Turquoise Door has turquoise drop earings that you'll never find anywhere else. I have three pairs. The highlight is Hotel SanJose (shares property with aforementioned Jo's Coffee) redone by Liz Lambert. She also opened Hotel St Cecilia on Academy, but they won't let you on the property without a room reservation, it's incredible though. Stop by the San Jose after 5 for a drink. Be ready to star gaze. SoCo is where I generally see all those people you hear live in Austin. Also check out this website to whet your appetite for Liz Lambert's design it's rumored she's looking at buying the Chelsea http://www.bunkhousemgmt.com/

For an authentic BBQ experience any true Austinite will send you on the 45 minute drive to the original Salt Lick. You won't regret it.

Food Heads, Chuys, Hula Hut, Abel's on the Lake, Magnolia Cafe (magmud), all delicious.

z Tejas on 6th street is the second home of my parents. Jerk Chicken Salad or Chicken Fried Ribeye are amazing. Shrimp tostada bites are delicious.

Also Home Slice Pizza on South Congress.

Downtown Annie's (Sandra Bullock's sister runs this), La Traviata is a family favorite. Stubbs has an incredible Sunday Gospel Brunch. It's really fun.

Matt's El Rancho is delicious. Huts Burgers. The Upper Crust Bakery, 34th Street Cafe, Star Bar, the Belmont (love the ambiance here on the weekends), Key Bar - I'm an East 6th girl. Starlight on West Lynn is also delicious.

There you go, if that doesn't help. Nothing will. If you check out one place snoop St Cecilia and have drinks at the San Jose, they are the best of Austin.

Meg Blocker said...

You guys, thank you SO much! This is truly awesome. Can't wait to try these out.

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