Austin, TX

[Devil2]

My wife, son, and I are going to Austin, Texas this week. I woudl appreciate any suggestions regarding restaurants, music venues, and any general places to go or things to do.

This weekend and next is the Austin City Limits Music Festival

[rthomas]

Stubbs is really good for Texas style barbecue, a little touristy, but often great music.

[OldPhiKap]

Glad you started this thread, I may be in San Antonio and Austin next spring and was wondering the same.

[wilson]

Shopping along South Congress Avenue is always fun. The bar in the Driskill Hotel downtown is great. The Barton Springs area is fun for outdoor exploration; really, anything along the river. Austin has tons of great food of all kinds and a fantastic live music scene. Read up and/or ask around about your preferences in both. It's pretty hard not to have a good time in Austin. It's one of my favorite American cities.

[A-Tex Devil]

How old is your son? And are you going to the festival? Are you staying in the downtown area?

Folks are right that you can't really go wrong. First pro tip -- uber/lyft/cab around town. If you are going outside of town, a car will work. But traffic is bad, Austin drivers are badm and there is lots of construction.

BBQ - Skip Franklins unless you want to spend a morning in line. It is great, but Louis Mueller's, LA Barbecue and Micklethwaites (in that order) are all almost as good and you can get there around 11:00 AM and get plenty of good Q. Franklin's is fun, but it's your whole morning and you need to get there around 7:00.

Mexican/Tex Mex - Please do not go to Chuy's, Baby A's, Pappasitos or any other chains. I'd recommend Guero's (in the aforementioned South Congress area), Matt's El Rancho, Polvo's (more interior), and Takoba (also more interior mexican), all reasonably distanced from downtown

Other Restaurants - There's plenty of good stuff centrally. Almost too much to recommend. Trust austin.eater.com, and Yelp. You probably can't go wrong. If you have any particular interests (hip/nice/kid friendly) I can provide some recs.

If you are looking to get out of town, and like beer, head out to dripping springs to the Jester King Brewery. It's a "farmhouse" style brewery, and the beers are a little off the wall. But it's a great location, and there is a little pizzeria right there for food. There are a few more breweries, cideries and wineries all out in the area to make date of it. There are also a lot of breweries and brewpubs in town. Would recommend Austin Beer Works & Brewery, Pinthouse Pizza, Hops & Grain, Austin Beer Works, in that order. First 2 are brewpubs, second two are breweries and tasting rooms, so make sure to check that the tasting room is open. Oasis Brewing out by the lake is also a place to check out on Lake Travis.

Music Venues -- If you are going to the festival, there are late shows every night at most of the big venues (Stubbs, Moody Theater, Emos, Mohawk). If you want to just catch some local music, Continental Club, Saxon Pub, Broken Spoke are a lot of fun. If you kiddo is under 21, call ahead to make sure he can get in.

Rent a kayak/SUP board on Town Lake (several places). That's a ton of fun, and easy!

[OldPhiKap]

"Well I wish I was in Austin,
Mmm hmm
In the Chili Parlor Bar
Drinks mad dog margaritas
And not caring where you are"

-- Guy Clark, Dublin Blues

I want to have the above-referenced drink at the above-referenced bar, then see James McMurtry at the Continental Club if he is in town. (Will "settle" for Junior Brown though have seen him several times).

Is that too much to ask?

[A-Tex Devil]

"Well I wish I was in Austin,
Mmm hmm
In the Chili Parlor Bar
Drinks mad dog margaritas
And not caring where you are"

-- Guy Clark, Dublin Blues

I want to have the above-refenenced drink at the above-referenced bar, then see James McMurtry at the Continental Club if he is in town. (Will "settle" for Junior Brown though have seen him several times).

Is that too much to ask?

The first one is easily done. The second one: http://www.continentalclub.com/Austin.html. He's here this week!

[Devil2]

My son is 26 and a dedicated griller/smoker of brisket. The trip to Austin is sorta a make-up trip. He was supposed to come with me and his older brother to this year's Final Four in Indianapolis, but just got a new job and had to pass

We are going to do Franklin's because our son is a dedicated viewer of their TV show. WE also want to try some of the other top flight BBQ places.

WE love all kinds of food and all kinds of music except Country. Unfortunately, when we bookeds the trip we didn't know the Austin City Limits Music Festival was that week and the following week. By the time we realized it, it was sold out.

How old is your son? And are you going to the festival? Are you staying in the downtown area?

Folks are right that you can't really go wrong. First pro tip -- uber/lyft/cab around town. If you are going outside of town, a car will work. But traffic is bad, Austin drivers are badm and there is lots of construction.

BBQ - Skip Franklins unless you want to spend a morning in line. It is great, but Louis Mueller's, LA Barbecue and Micklethwaites (in that order) are all almost as good and you can get there around 11:00 AM and get plenty of good Q. Franklin's is fun, but it's your whole morning and you need to get there around 7:00.

Mexican/Tex Mex - Please do not go to Chuy's, Baby A's, Pappasitos or any other chains. I'd recommend Guero's (in the aforementioned South Congress area), Matt's El Rancho, Polvo's (more interior), and Takoba (also more interior mexican), all reasonably distanced from downtown

Other Restaurants - There's plenty of good stuff centrally. Almost too much to recommend. Trust austin.eater.com, and Yelp. You probably can't go wrong. If you have any particular interests (hip/nice/kid friendly) I can provide some recs.

If you are looking to get out of town, and like beer, head out to dripping springs to the Jester King Brewery. It's a "farmhouse" style brewery, and the beers are a little off the wall. But it's a great location, and there is a little pizzeria right there for food. There are a few more breweries, cideries and wineries all out in the area to make date of it. There are also a lot of breweries and brewpubs in town. Would recommend Austin Beer Works & Brewery, Pinthouse Pizza, Hops & Grain, Austin Beer Works, in that order. First 2 are brewpubs, second two are breweries and tasting rooms, so make sure to check that the tasting room is open. Oasis Brewing out by the lake is also a place to check out on Lake Travis.

Music Venues -- If you are going to the festival, there are late shows every night at most of the big venues (Stubbs, Moody Theater, Emos, Mohawk). If you want to just catch some local music, Continental Club, Saxon Pub, Broken Spoke are a lot of fun. If you kiddo is under 21, call ahead to make sure he can get in.

Rent a kayak/SUP board on Town Lake (several places). That's a ton of fun, and easy!

[AtlBluRew]

I'm new to Austin, and have been getting great recommendations on www.do512.com. I particularly like the food trucks. There are a lot of really great food trucks here! The quality of the food is usually really high.

I'll definitely check out A-Tex's recommendation of austin.eater.com

[A-Tex Devil]

My son is 26 and a dedicated griller/smoker of brisket. The trip to Austin is sorta a make-up trip. He was supposed to come with me and his older brother to this year's Final Four in Indianapolis, but just got a new job and had to pass

We are going to do Franklin's because our son is a dedicated viewer of their TV show. WE also want to try some of the other top flight BBQ places.

WE love all kinds of food and all kinds of music except Country. Unfortunately, when we bookeds the trip we didn't know the Austin City Limits Music Festival was that week and the following week. By the time we realized it, it was sold out.

Franklins will be fun. Bring a styrofoam cooler of beverages for the wait and get to know your neighbors. The other BBQ places I mentioned are all in the same area and worth visiting too if you want to try some other places. I'd stay away from Salt Lick and Stubbs if you want real quality Q. They are fine, but J Mueller, LA Barbecue, Micklethwaites, and even Blacks beat them by far.

Even if you don't like country, the Saxon Pub or COntinental Club are worth checking out - and you might run into a folk or rockabilly show instead. Broken Spoke is a (er... *THE*) honky tonk. It's a blast, but definitely country. I'll also posit that the country music in Austin is miles better than the schlock coming out of Nashville. You are not going to hear the Florida/Georgia Line/Luke Bryan garbage in any respectable Austin venue.

Pick up an Austin Chronicle (they are free) and see if you can find show you like. Like I mentioned, a lot of the ACL bands play late shows Thursday-Sunday which may be more accessible than the festival itself.

Have fun!!

[Devil2]

Thanks a lot to everyone, especially A-Tex Devil, who has answered. My family and I have found it very helpful.

Franklins will be fun. Bring a styrofoam cooler of beverages for the wait and get to know your neighbors. The other BBQ places I mentioned are all in the same area and worth visiting too if you want to try some other places. I'd stay away from Salt Lick and Stubbs if you want real quality Q. They are fine, but J Mueller, LA Barbecue, Micklethwaites, and even Blacks beat them by far.

Even if you don't like country, the Saxon Pub or COntinental Club are worth checking out - and you might run into a folk or rockabilly show instead. Broken Spoke is a (er... *THE*) honky tonk. It's a blast, but definitely country. I'll also posit that the country music in Austin is miles better than the schlock coming out of Nashville. You are not going to hear the Florida/Georgia Line/Luke Bryan garbage in any respectable Austin venue.

Pick up an Austin Chronicle (they are free) and see if you can find show you like. Like I mentioned, a lot of the ACL bands play late shows Thursday-Sunday which may be more accessible than the festival itself.

Have fun!!

[ricks68]

The above posters know their stuff. Trust in what they have recommended and you will have a great time.😊

ricks

[YmoBeThere]

Folks are right that you can't really go wrong. First pro tip -- uber/lyft/cab around town. If you are going outside of town, a car will work. But traffic is bad, Austin drivers are badm and there is lots of construction.

I would put San Antonio drivers as among the worst collectively as I've encountered. There is a lot of construction here also, so not sure if it is the drivers, the roads or too many drivers for the roads we have available.

[YmoBeThere]

How was the trip? It looks like Franklin's "outlawed" line sitters at their restaurant in the last week or so.

[cato]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has updated recommendations. My wife and I may visit in April.

[cato]

Most hotels in downtown are booked. Where is more going on for random visitors. Downtown? South Congress? Other?

[FadedTackyShirt]

Staying, dining, and drinking at the Driskill is always great. Guero's is tasty and as a bonus has a terrific selection of Tequilas.

Not likely they run out of TX barbecue in Austin, but a side trip to Lockhart, TX is worth it.

[ricks68]

Check out the blooming schedule for the wildflowers. You may be very lucky and find out you hit it in the Austin area. Then find out the best scenic areas to drive out to. It's worth the effort.

ricks

[ricks68]

Get a rib or two as part of your order at Kreuz Market in Lockhart.

ricks

[rthomas]

I like staying in the hotels along the river near the bridge with all the bats (Congress Avenue Bridge).