OT...what to do in Austin?

Dyal_SC

My wife and I will be here tonight and tomorrow. We ate at Black's earlier today. Incredible! Now we are trying to figure out what to do tonight and tomorrow night. We are fuddieduddies, so we aren't looking to party it up. But we still want to have a good time while we are here. Any suggestions?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

where are you staying?

Dyal_SC

We are at the holiday inn express...but have a rental car.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

We are at the holiday inn express...but have a rental car.

what part of town? do you like sushi and are you on a budget?

Dyal_SC

Love sushi. We are in North Austin and don't mind spending a reasonable amount on good food. We were actually looking at a sushi place on urban spoon earlier.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

for the best meal of your life, go to Uchiko on N. Lamar., Warning- we spent $200 for the 2 of us last time we went.One of the best chef's in america-this is a special meal.he also owns Uchi which is his sushi place on S. Lamar (30 min max for you). Best sushi I've ever had (and I travel all over and eat at all the good spots) for a more reasonable option, Mikado is a great sushi place on 183 not far from you. Great food but nothing you can't get elsewhere. If you guys can muster it, I would do Uchi or Uchiko .................. other good options for casual stuff: North at The Domain (it's an upsacale outdoor mall) is awesome........... North By Northwest is a great brew pub with good food and my buddy makes all the beer............. Roaring Fork is an all wood grilled upscale place not far from you............. Trudy's on Burnet has good tex mex.................. any of that sound good? I can give you tons more. You are in a great spot for good food.

Foghorn

Are the bats there yet? If you haven't seen them before - you should do it.

MisterM

There's a Big Lebowski quote-along at the Alamo Drafthouse on slaughter tomorrow night.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

MisterM said:

There's a Big Lebowski quote-along at the Alamo Drafthouse on slaughter tomorrow night.

might be better than anything else you could do in Austin. This is a score

Dyal_SC

Thanks for all the great tips! We ended up hitting a food truck on Rainey Street and then went to see the bats at Town Lake. Had a great time! Taking a trip to Smitty's tomorrow.

NecessaryIndulg

So, which one was your favorite: Black's or Smitty's?

krames

Tell me you went to Franklin BBQ? 

Smitty's fell off Texas Monthly's Best BBQ places BTW.

Griffin

Wish things would have worked out and we could have met up with you. We didn't hit one bbq place the whole weekend and believe me I tried. I did hear that you can pre-order food at Franklin's and skip the line. You have to order a minimum of 5lbs and pick it up by 10:35. Glad I could give you some suggestions on things to do in Austin. Oh, and on a side note, my brother went to Austin this weekend as well and went to Uchi and said it was amazing.

Dyal_SC

@NeccesaryIndulg, we haven't gone to Smitty's yet, but will be going this afternoon. I'll letcha know!

@krames, we aren't able to go to Franklin this time since they are closed on Monday. I did eat at Franklin last year though, and you are right, it was great! I did hear that Smitty's fell off the list, but figured it would still be neat to go to such a historic restaurant, Plus, I feel the need to give it my own quality control review.

@Griffin, sorry I forgot to give you credit for the ideas! I gave you credit on the other forum, but just realized I failed to do so here! Thanks a lot for your help yesterday!

I'll post up a bunch of pix when I get back home.

NecessaryIndulg

OH!  and don't forget to stop by Gourdough’s for the Flying Pig! :x

Dyal_SC

@NecessaryIndulg, that looks incredible! I wish I could have just one more day so I could have room to try it. LOL. Just found out though that my wife's aunt and uncle are treating us to Austin Land and Cattle Company tonight. =P~ The menu looks great and @Griffin just informed me that they are on some list for top steaks in Austin! I might die before making it back to SC! If I do, I'm leaving my BGE to @Chubbs.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Dyal_SC said:

Thanks for all the great tips! We ended up hitting a food truck on Rainey Street and then went to see the bats at Town Lake. Had a great time! Taking a trip to Smitty's tomorrow.

The Mexican truck at Lustre Pearl? That's my fave down there. Sounds like you had a great Austin night which is what it's all about. Love rainey street. 

Dyal_SC

Oh, and BTW, we thought Black's brisket was a tad better than Smitty's. But the atmosphere and experience was better at Smitty's. We are happy we got to try both!

Dyal_SC

@The_Cen-Tex_Smoker, not too many trucks were open. We ate sliders at the Beef Cake Shop.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

haven't eaten there yet. Garaj Mahal is right donw there and it's really good indian food out of a trailer. It has a permamnent structure but it's still a trailer.

NecessaryIndulg

Dyal_SC said:

@NecessaryIndulg, that looks incredible! I wish I could have just one more day so I could have room to try it. LOL. Just found out though that my wife's aunt and uncle are treating us to Austin Land and Cattle Company tonight. =P~ The menu looks great and @Griffin just informed me that they are on some list for top steaks in Austin! I might die before making it back to SC! If I do, I'm leaving my BGE to @Chubbs.

YUM!  I ate at Austin Land and Cattle Company last year... delish!

And I know what you mean, both of my visits to Austin were nonstop eating (& drinking) just to fit it all in . . . and it was so worth the pounds!

Dyal_SC

We thought about eating there, CTS, but my wife isn't fond of Indian food. So we kept it simple.

Dyal_SC

@NecessaryIndulg, the way I see it is that I need to play lots and lots of golf when I get home...that way I can burn off all these calories.

Smitty's was super cool. Here are a coupla teaser shots for now.

NecessaryIndulg

Great pics!  Standing by that fire while waiting in line was *H O T* !

HERE are my pictures & writeup from my visit to Black's. 

I liked the food at both Black's & Smitty's (Black's more), but I think the guys were way friendlier, funnier, & sweeter at Black's... and I'm a sucker for that.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

glad you guys enjoyed Blacks. It's the only one down there that can really be hit or miss. I remember the first time I went...best I've ever had. Went 2 more times and it was really middle of the road. didn't go for like 5 years then went again, really good. people that go down there a lot say the same thing. I don't love the brisket at Smitty's or Kruez (they cook them too fast for me). Black's can be as good as anybody's anywhere.....or not.