Heading to Austin for my 60th!

dstearn · May 2016

My lovely wife is taking me on trip to Austin TX for my 60th bday! If fact we are at Ohare as I type this. Plan is eat a lot of BBQ including Franklins and Salt Lick.
Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Photo Egg · May 2016

Austin is such a cool city that I would not bother hunting down BBQ joints until I visited the other sites unless you are going to be in Austin for many days.

Austin Egghead · May 2016

If here for weekend recommend Snows in Lexington. Go early it is a holiday weekend and they are only opened on staurdays. Salt lick ok but not my first choice. Franklins is worth the wait.
Enjioy your birthday

Legume · May 2016

Valentina's. It's a trailer in a suburban part of south Austin in front of a liquor store, gas station and vape/head shop. Not a destination really, picnic tables with flies between a parking lot and busy street, but the best BBQ I've had (never been to Franklins). Make it a lunch stop. Brisket, carnitas and beef fajita taco are insanely good. So is the corn and the potato salad.

Salt lick is great atmosphere. Cash only and byob. Order by the pound, easier and cheaper usually. You can order burnt ends. Go early, sit under the trees and listen to the music with a few beverages first.

Lots of great food, not just BBQ. Enjoy your visit.

cazzy · May 2016

Salt Lick isn't the best, but it's a cool experience if you've never been. They have great sauce. Pick up a cooler and take your favorite alcoholic beverages while you wait at Franklin and Salt Lick.

Battleborn · May 2016

A short drive from Austin is town called Lockhart. Excellent BBQ in that town.

Austin Egghead · May 2016

Dont forget Austin has some very good Mexican food and if you have time and want some pork then either Salty Sow or Salt and Time are an experience

tonyled · May 2016

i agree with @Photo Egg i woudnt spend half my vacation waiting in line. too many other great places

dont miss lockhart! 30ish minute drive and you will hit kruez's as soon as you roll in. excellent brisket, chops, sauerkraut and the sausage is a MUST! then roll over to blacks for the best beef ribs!

dstearn · May 2016

Photo Egg said:

Austin is such a cool city that I would not bother hunting down BBQ joints until I visited the other sites unless you are going to be in Austin for many days.

We are going to be in Austin for a week so lots of time

Hook_emHornsfan_74 · May 2016

Go to a place called La Condessa for lunch/brunch. Wu Chows for chinease. Its a new place that just opened up downtown. Really cool place and good food. Swifts Attic on South Congress has fantastic drinks as well. Perlas on south congress has amazing sea food and a great raw bar. Torchees tacos are amazing. Gotta go there. If you want true Austin, go check out Magnolia's Cafe. Great place. Will have to wait in line. Hula Hut is pretty good on town lake as well. Ranch 616 is a cool place to eat with good food and drinks as well. Smitty's in Lockhart, TX is worth the drive. Franklins is as advertised.

dstearn · May 2016

Hook_emHornsfan_74 said:

Go to a place called La Condessa for lunch/brunch. Wu Chows for chinease. Its a new place that just opened up downtown. Really cool place and good food. Swifts Attic on South Congress has fantastic drinks as well. Perlas on south congress has amazing sea food and a great raw bar. Torchees tacos are amazing. Gotta go there. If you want true Austin, go check out Magnolia's Cafe. Great place. Will have to wait in line. Hula Hut is pretty good on town lake as well. Ranch 616 is a cool place to eat with good food and drinks as well. Smitty's in Lockhart, TX is worth the drive. Franklins is as advertised.

Thanks we are staying downtown so thanks for the advice

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2016

dstearn said:

Photo Egg said:

Austin is such a cool city that I would not bother hunting down BBQ joints until I visited the other sites unless you are going to be in Austin for many days.

We are going to be in Austin for a week so lots of time

awesome. Hit up Franklin on a tuesday/wednesday. get there by 8 and you should be fine.

Where are you staying?

For Q I like Franklin, Valentina's , Mickelthwait Craft meats, and possibly La Barbeque- even though Valentina's is better and one Q trailer is enough for one week.

Here are some other spots you should hit up if you love food:

Uchi- James beard award wining sushi joint. some of the best I've ever had anywhere. (South) expensive

Uchiko- same group but more Japanese fusion farm to table. Crazy good place. (North) expensive

Perla's on South Congress for Oysters and cocktails for Happy Hour. Make sure to take a stroll up and Down SoCo (South Congress) while you are there. They are still keeping it weird down there and it's awesome). (south) expensive

Matt's El Rancho on South Lamar for TexMex- The real cheesy greasy original and our favorite. (south) cheap

Maria's Taco Express on S. Lamar for quick stop-in tacos (definitely keeping it weird at Loca Marias- fun spot) (south) super cheap

Sway- very fun Thai fusion with family style dining room (communal tables) (south) Moderate

Hopdoddy Burger Bar on S. Congress for lunch (south) cheap

Barley Swine- (North- by Uchiko) Expensive

Buffalina or Buffalina Due for pizza (buffalina is East and Buffilina Due is North by Uchiko and Barley Swine) cheap

Odd Duck-(south Lamar by Loca Maria's and Matt's) expensive

Day Drinking:

Margarita's at Matts on the patio
Perla's on the patio
Doc's Garage- on SoCo kind of across from Perla's

Night drinking

Driskill Hotel Bar
Mosey around the 4th street and 2nd street disricts. Tons of good places to nosh and grab a drink

Stay away from 6th street downtown. We call that "dirty 6th". Lots of college kids, puke and fights. stay on the west side of Downtown and you will be in good shape at night. There are exceptions but if in doubt of where to go downtown, go west.

Highly recommend getting out in the hill country for a day. The original Salt Lick is out there and that is the one to go to. It's byob but they have a winery on site that you can buy a bottle. While you are out that way visit:

Duchman Winery- It's rigght by salt lick and fun property. They have a good (very good) Italian Restaurant run by the guy that financed the Johnny Carino's chain of crap food. Don't be fooled by that it's really good. IT's called Trattoria Lisina.

We also love Stanly's Farmhouse Pizza- only open on the weekends. They are on the property of the Jester King Brewery which is a fun place to do a tasting. They make mostly Lambic Styles but they carry other people's stuff too. Grab a pizza at Stanly's and do the tour at Jester King.

Twisted X Brewery is also out that way. Cool place and fun guys.

Depp Eddy Vodka Distillery in Dripping Springs- fun place to grab a few cocktails out there

Proof and Copper- great food and a great bar in this same area.

All of these are very casual and cheap. You would find me out here at any and all of these places on any given weekend day

There are a million other places and you can't go wrong with most. As I think of more I'll add them to the list.

Give us a shout and we will tour guide you one afternoon or meet you for a drink in town. I can take you to the good cue spots if your wife is tired of eating half a cow every meal

512-565-0109 (john)

dmchicago · May 2016

+1 on Sway. Even if you think you don't like Thai. Try the Tiger Curry and the Son-In-Law.

The street side bar at the JW Marriott is great people watching.

+1 on Perla's but there's their "sister" (brother?) place called Clarke's.

Get the lobster roll. You're welcome.

dstearn · May 2016

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

dstearn said:

Photo Egg said:

Austin is such a cool city that I would not bother hunting down BBQ joints until I visited the other sites unless you are going to be in Austin for many days.

We are going to be in Austin for a week so lots of time

awesome. Hit up Franklin on a tuesday/wednesday. get there by 8 and you should be fine.

Where are you staying?

For Q I like Franklin, Valentina's , Mickelthwait Craft meats, and possibly La Barbeque- even though Valentina's is better and one Q trailer is enough for one week.

Here are some other spots you should hit up if you love food:

Uchi- James beard award wining sushi joint. some of the best I've ever had anywhere. (South) expensive

Uchiko- same group but more Japanese fusion farm to table. Crazy good place. (North) expensive

Perla's on South Congress for Oysters and cocktails for Happy Hour. Make sure to take a stroll up and Down SoCo (South Congress) while you are there. They are still keeping it weird down there and it's awesome). (south) expensive

Matt's El Rancho on South Lamar for TexMex- The real cheesy greasy original and our favorite. (south) cheap

Maria's Taco Express on S. Lamar for quick stop-in tacos (definitely keeping it weird at Loca Marias- fun spot) (south) super cheap

Sway- very fun Thai fusion with family style dining room (communal tables) (south) Moderate

Hopdoddy Burger Bar on S. Congress for lunch (south) cheap

Barley Swine- (North- by Uchiko) Expensive

Buffalina or Buffalina Due for pizza (buffalina is East and Buffilina Due is North by Uchiko and Barley Swine) cheap

Odd Duck-(south Lamar by Loca Maria's and Matt's) expensive

Day Drinking:

Margarita's at Matts on the patio
Perla's on the patio
Doc's Garage- on SoCo kind of across from Perla's

Night drinking

Driskill Hotel Bar
Mosey around the 4th street and 2nd street disricts. Tons of good places to nosh and grab a drink

Stay away from 6th street downtown. We call that "dirty 6th". Lots of college kids, puke and fights. stay on the west side of Downtown and you will be in good shape at night. There are exceptions but if in doubt of where to go downtown, go west.

Highly recommend getting out in the hill country for a day. The original Salt Lick is out there and that is the one to go to. It's byob but they have a winery on site that you can buy a bottle. While you are out that way visit:

Duchman Winery- It's rigght by salt lick and fun property. They have a good (very good) Italian Restaurant run by the guy that financed the Johnny Carino's chain of crap food. Don't be fooled by that it's really good. IT's called Trattoria Lisina.

We also love Stanly's Farmhouse Pizza- only open on the weekends. They are on the property of the Jester King Brewery which is a fun place to do a tasting. They make mostly Lambic Styles but they carry other people's stuff too. Grab a pizza at Stanly's and do the tour at Jester King.

Twisted X Brewery is also out that way. Cool place and fun guys.

Depp Eddy Vodka Distillery in Dripping Springs- fun place to grab a few cocktails out there

Proof and Copper- great food and a great bar in this same area.

All of these are very casual and cheap. You would find me out here at any and all of these places on any given weekend day

There are a million other places and you can't go wrong with most. As I think of more I'll add them to the list.

Give us a shout and we will tour guide you one afternoon or meet you for a drink in town. I can take you to the good cue spots if your wife is tired of eating half a cow every meal

512-565-0109 (john)

Thanks for all the great info!
We are staying at the DoubleTree Suites downtown on W 15th. Will call you once we are in town. Right now
we have been stuck on the runway waiting for the weather to clear.:-(

buzd504 · May 2016

Damn. Time to go back to Austin.

dmchicago · May 2016

Also don't drive on I-35 at night.

Google Austin rock throwing.

FearlessTheEggNoob · May 2016

Probably too late to download.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/2016-05-20/

NPHuskerFL · May 2016

No experience to the geo. Just chiming in to wish you a Happy Birthday.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2016

My favorite restaurant is right around the corner from your hotel and the "best restaurant in austin is too. I love The Clay Pit Indian restaurant we go there all the time. If you like Indian (or just like Chicken Tika Masala and the basic stuff) go here. You will love it. Get the Malai Kebab and a bunch of sides

Olamae was voted best restaurant in Austin last year. and you could walk to both. I haven't been to Olamae yet but it's highly recomended

dmchicago · May 2016

I've been to Olamae and while very tasty, it's a bit stuffy.

xfire_ATX · May 2016

dmchicago said:

Also don't drive on I-35 at night.

Google Austin rock throwing.

Just stay on the upper level, seems to be safe

Legume · May 2016

Cocktailing on Rainey St. is always good too, nice place to walk around, lots of good places for drinks and food. Pretty good hike from where you're staying, but it's walkable.

FYI, no Uber or Lyft here, they both quit Austin a few weeks ago.

dstearn · May 2016

Any thoughts on Ironworks?

Hook_emHornsfan_74 · May 2016

Have heard good thinks. Forgot to mention Peche, fantastic food and one of the best whisky selections I have ever seen and isla, right next door. Great Tiki bar. There is a bar between then called ceder street. Really cool place with great cover bands.

xfire_ATX · May 2016

You couldnt have picked a worse 1st two days- they are talking some really good storms so go figure out some inside stuff to do-

But when it stops raining this weekend- get out early to the lakeway area and have lunch on the patio at Lucy Fried Chicken on Lake Travis and enjoy the view now that the lake is up 60'. My fav is the burn it bowl and cold beers- really spectacular.

In town my choice for eats- Eddie Vs, Hopdaddys on S Congress- really most stuff in that area is good. For night life go to Elephant Room for Jazz and the 'warehouse district'. 6th street is good for entertainment factor but not to do anything on.

dstearn · May 2016

Just arrived. Time for some late night Chili Pie!

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2016

Ha ha. Gettin down and dirty right off the bat. Love it.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2016

So guy Clark died this week. Download the song "Dublin Blues" he sings about "drinking mad dog margaritas In the chili parlor bar" in that song. One of my faves

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2016

http://youtu.be/DXCCvBzZxmE

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2016

dstearn said:

Any thoughts on Ironworks?

No need. So many better choices. Although all of them require waiting and or eating outside. Looks like we are in for another sh!t storm tomorrow and maybe Friday too. It's been nonstop for 6 months.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2016

xfire_ATX said:

You couldnt have picked a worse 1st two days- they are talking some really good storms so go figure out some inside stuff to do-

But when it stops raining this weekend- get out early to the lakeway area and have lunch on the patio at Lucy Fried Chicken on Lake Travis and enjoy the view now that the lake is up 60'. My fav is the burn it bowl and cold beers- really spectacular.

In town my choice for eats- Eddie Vs, Hopdaddys on S Congress- really most stuff in that area is good. For night life go to Elephant Room for Jazz and the 'warehouse district'. 6th street is good for entertainment factor but not to do anything on.

I live in lakeway so if you go to Lucy's hit me up. The warehouse district he's referring to is the 2nd and 4th street area I mentioned. All focused around lavaca street as the intersection.

Heading to Austin for my 60th!

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