So I will be down in Austin from April 8-14 to see the MotoGP race at CotA. Friday through Sunday will be spent mostly at the track, but that still leaves us with a few days and evenings to check out the city.
So what ate the musts to see/do/eat/drink in and around Austin?
The Salt Lick has awesome BBQ. There are several other good BBQ places, but I'm kind of partial to the Salt Lick.
Also the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is awesome.
It's a little early in the season, but the bat bridge is pretty cool. Just don't stand under it when they start flying. You will get pooped on. Definitely by a bat, possibly by an Austin hipster.
http://austin.about.com/od/austinattractions/p/Bats_in_Austin.htm
COTA's amazing! Make sure you go up the tower. And don't be a Bob Costa and take the elevator :-)
The food is unbelievable in Austin - lots of good brisket and BBQ. My best memory is walking along the riverside, and sitting on a dock to wait for the bats to come out from under the bridge. Hundreds of people gather for this ritual, on boats, in canoes, playing guitars and such... it's pretty cool. Lots of hipsters there though. Only place I've ever seen Paleo energy bars (turkey, lamb, rabbit - barf).
Was just there for a night last week. Check out "Frank" on 5th/Colorado for some amazing hot dogs. http://hotdogscoldbeer.com/
Go by the Austin City Limits venue and see a show there if you can. If you have a chance, swing up to Gruene and check out Gruene Hall and have dinner at The Gristmill. Awesome bbq in a great spot.
You probably won't get ACL tickets. There is a pretty long wait for those and very limited amount that actually go public. Here is the site if you want to try: http://acltv.com/upcoming-tapings/
That doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of great places to catch a show. There are just a ton of venues. www.do512.com and http://www.austinchronicle.com are good lists of the shows in the area if you like live music.
For BBQ, J mueller's blows Salt Lick Away. Just make sure you bring cash and don't let John talk your ear off. Lockhart is another good place with Blacks and Smitty's
There really isn't a lot of touristy to see things here. If you like Kayaking or paddle boarding, Town Lake is interesting by water. There are a lot of great hiking, biking, and running trails here.
The allergies are strong this time of year. (Some of the worse in the nation) so if you have pollen allergies, pack the pills and sprays.
I'd show you around town but I'll be in Ft. Worth working the Nascar event that weekend.
Forgot to mention, If you have any questions just ask either about Austin or COTA. I've worked every race but MotoGP out there for the last 2 years(Conflicts with Nascar and I'm part of the TMS track services team) and know the facility well and have lived in Austin for 13 years now.
We did one of these. Lots of good food. Did not leave hungry. Austineatsfoodtours.com.
We did go to the aforementioned grist mill for lunch one day and it was very good.
During our week stay we got bbq from blacks bbq (a 1.25 lb beef rib. Yeah. One rib bone), and la barbecue (brisket and pork) and both were good. La barbecue was part of the food tour.
bmw88rider wrote: There really isn't a lot of touristy to see things here.
I'll disagree.
6th street is worth a visit, especially on a Saturday night, just understand that it's a $1 shots\undergrad crowd. The trip out to Hamilton Pool is absolutely worth the visit. UT campus is amazing. Go check out Mt. Bonnell, it's a short hike and you get a panoramic view of the downtown skyline.
There are also a TON, and I mean a TON of local breweries to tour. Jester King is the best, but I also like Austin Beer Works as well.
Franklin's is the 500lb gorilla of BBQ in Austin. It's good, but it isn't worth the 3-4 hour wait that accompanies it. I'd recommend Nutter Buster (yes, it's a real business). Incredible BBQ out of a trailer, almost never a line. I'll second the trip out to Lockhart, the entire town is predicated on BBQ tourism.
I'll be at COTA on Sunday for sure, perhaps Saturday as well. Maybe we can meet up the week before?
Those of you from the area... recommend mountain bike trails and/or rentals? I may head back to the area at some point on business and wouldn't mind seeing what it has to offer from a biking standpoint.
See...I gave up drinking when I quit smoking. I couldn't do one without the other. I know there are a lot of craft breweries but I never go there.
ProDarwin,
http://www.austinbike.com has all of the local trails. I trail run on most of them. I think REI has bike rentals. You may check out Mellow Johnny's too. They are closer to downtown. I just bum a buddies bike when I go off road. I do more road biking.
In reply to bmw88rider:
PM sent your way.
Austin Speed Shop.
Gordough's for doughnut-based cuisine. The Lyndon B. Johnson presidential library. I'll second Alamo Drafthouse. There was a food truck in SoCo serving stuffed crapes. Get the basil tofu if you see it. The walking trails on the river are really great. Black Star coop has great food.
Awesome, I appreciate all of the feedback. bmw88rider and calteg, I will be sending you guys PM's as my trip gets a little closer. I would totally be up to meet up at some point while we are there.
If you're a runner, you have to run Town Lake (Ladybird Lake) Trail. It's amazing, and not too hot this time of year. See the bats, eat Tex-Mex at Chuy's or Baby A's (get the purple margarita). Eat queso, lots of queso. Franklin's BBQ or hit up Rudy's BBQ to avoid the stench of Hipsters. Go down 360 (Capital Tex Blvd) and park beside the road before you get to the Pennybacker Bridge. Climb up top and look at the most amazing landscape in the country. Go to Barton Springs to see the natural springs pool. Like nothing else I've ever seen. Drink a Ziegenbock Beer for me, because "only Texans get it". The part of Austin that the COTA is at isn't much to look at, but head to west Austin and see Lake Travis. Just driving out that way is worth the price of admission. Texas country music. Hands down better than anything ever played on the radio hailed as country music. Check the schedule at Stubbs or the Nutty Brown Cafe. I know KVET (country station) does a free Texas Country music concert series every year, but it may be a bit early for that, and it's crowded, damn crowded.
God, my soul belongs back in Austin. I miss that city every day. Wife and I are heading down in October for her bday trip to take a tour of the Hill Country, but that's another thread.
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: The Salt Lick has awesome BBQ. There are several other good BBQ places, but I'm kind of partial to the Salt Lick. Also the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is awesome.
This. There is a combo of everything at Salt Lick--you want that, otherwise you might not know the sausages are incredible. And get the beer milkshake at the Alamo Drafthouse. I know, yuck, etc. just get it.
The Driskill hotel has a fabulous bar, and is loaded with character--parts of "The Shining" were filmed here. Get a drink, a cheese plate, and watch the characters.
Margie
If you're into live music in an intimate, no-frills atmosphere, check out Red 7: http://red7austin.com
Interesting that all of the out of towners like the Salt Lick. It has never even cracked the top 50 list.
http://www.tmbbq.com/
Funny little bit of history on the Driskill, The original owner Colonel Jesse Driskill built the place and then lost it in a card game a year later. Oh....and it's considered haunted.
The only thing worth eating at Salt Lick are the baby back ribs, and they only serve them on Sunday. The rest of the menu is exceedingly mediocre. Though the atmosphere is pretty good, and it's BYOB
Matter of fact, I typically only go once a year...right after MotoGP.
Ether's follies is a pretty fun revue, and there's Broken Spoke if you want to go Honky Tonkin'...though it's surrounded by condos now.
If you have any leanings towards Japanese food, you absolutely have to hit up Uchiko and Ramen Tatsu-ya. The latter has the second best Ramen I've ever had, it's incredible.
Highly recommend Butler Pitch'n'Putt. It's 9 holes of dirtbag golf in the heart of downtown. $8, No dress code, BYOB. Great way to kill an afternoon, especially on a weekday when no one else is there.
@toad - once I get your PM, I'll send you my Yelp profile. Could help narrow down your eating & entertainment options. Or it could make things way more confusing.
ScreaminE wrote: God, my soul belongs back in Austin. I miss that city every day. Wife and I are heading down in October for her bday trip to take a tour of the Hill Country, but that's another thread.
I hear ya brother. Lord willing, I'll be put in the ground in Austin, TX.
dangerously delicious pies
Alex Jones Infowars headquarters so you can get your fill of filters and colloidal silver.
You used to get a lot of free beer if you did the Celi's Brewery tour. I don't think they give you so much anymore. All the best BBQ places in Austin are out of town. There are a couple places in Lockhart that are good, Kreuz's and another place, can't remember the name. City Market in Luling is pretty all right. You want to plan your day a bit for that sort of work. Skip breakfast for sure.
There was a place on the North side of Houston, on the wrong side of I 45 about as far North as Gunspoint Mall(AKA Greenspoint) It was near a free clinic I worked at on Fridays. Turn right pulling out of the parking lot, the direction they specifically told you the first day at orientation not to go. Turn right at the stop sign with the convenience store where the gangbangers play dominoes, then about half a block on the left; don't go if it is starting to get dark. There was a very faded little hand painted sign in front of the house, PARKING. I thought I was in the wrong place, crappy looking pale yellow house with a picnic table in the dirt front yard next to a dead tree, but the sign was as described. Normal looking house, I knocked on the front door even. The house had pretty much been gutted, door opened into a room about 10 by 35 feet, no tables inside. Lunch counter separates this from the kitchen. 300 pound woman asks me, "What can I get for you sugah?" Two racks of ribs, sausage. quart of coleslaw and a quart of beans for $20. Guy cooking in the back was maybe 120 if his overalls were soaking wet, smoking a cigarette while he is working the pit. I picked up two racks of ribs and some sauce on the way to the airport one time when I was going back to California for a visit. Guy offered me $100 for one of those racks of ribs when I got to Phoenix, no sale.
Best food like that I ever had was in Huntsville. There was a church that sold food on Sundays until they ran out, kind of a fund raiser deal. Pretty much had to get there before noon or you were out of luck.
Appleseed wrote: Austin Speed Shop.
Yea go by and see if Jesse James really is the douche he seems to be.
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