Austin for the Weekend..

[texman]

I'm going to Austin tomarrow on a PALS trip with my school (Peer Assistance and Leadership). My teacher is kind of a joke and is letting us do what we want. Anything interesting ya'll would recommend? I've been to Austin of course, but I'm sure someone on here knows of some good restraunts and attractions not in the typical travel guide. Thanks.

[Columbus Civil]

If you want to check out some cool scenery without travelling far, check out Mt Bonnell (http://austin.about.com/cs/tours/l/blvt_a_mbonnell.htm)

You might want to see the bats fly out from under Congress Avenue bridge at sunset (I think it's overrated).

Waterloo Records at 5th and Lamar is a pretty cool independent music shop. There are lots of independent stores like this in Austin, but this is the most accessible.

There is the Barton Creek swimming pool in Zilker Park that is fed by a spring and is 68 degrees year round. It will be too cold for this, but it's neat to see in the summertime.

Try to locate a moontower (http://austin.about.com/library/weekly/aa110300b.htm) if you're in the downtown area. It's not worth going out of your way to see it, but I guess it's cool to run across it if you know what it is. This is probably lame.

I think they give tours of the tower at UT now (should be great views from there). Be sure to deface something if you go.

Most of the stuff I enjoyed in Austin was outdoors type stuff like hiking, mountain biking, etc. and there are tons of beautiful greenbelts and trails you can go to.

A few scenic drives are FM 2222 from Mopac to Loop 360 and Loop 360 from 183 South to Mopac.

There's a nude beach (http://www.hippiehollow.com/) at Lake Travis. It's pretty rocky, so be careful where you sit ;)
Too bad the Oasis burned down, because that was a cool place to go.

Ummm...I'm drawing a blank right now..I lived there for two years, so I'm sure some other stuff will pop up.

My favorite places to eat in austin..
Z'Tejas (http://www.ztejas.com/) on 6th west of Lamar
Katz's Deli (http://austin.citysearch.com/review/10202488/?order_by=recent&p=&type=11) - open 24 hours!
County Line BBQ (http://www.countyline.com/)
Hyde Park Bar & Grill (http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/10232530/)
Hut's Hamburgers on 6th, west of Lamar
Guero's at 1412 S. Congress - Bill Clinton's fave...great tacos..very "Austin"
Trudy's (multiple locations)..I always went to the one at Burnet and 183...incredibly awesome breakfast buffet -- really horrible interior decor
Little City coffee house at 916 Congress..one of my favorite coffeeshops
Hula Hut 3825 Lake Austin Blvd. -- not very good food, but really cool atmopsphere..right on Lake austin -- BEAUTIFUL

[Geaux Tigers]

Definetly hit Moonshine Restaurant near the Hilton and the Austin Convention Center. That might be some of the best food in Austin and the place is a hole in the wall. I'd also recommend Rudy's Bar-B-Que out on 360 north of Mopac. A good breakfast place is Kirby Lane on S. Congress. I'll give you $5 if you can finish a stack of pancakes there!

[tamtagon]

Just get a convincing fake ID and head to Sixth Street.

Continental Club on South Congress for live music.

[sterling]

What kind of things to do? Museums and the like? Or just Austin partying stuff? And do you know where you're staying? That might make running around easier too.

[sterling]

My personal list (suitable for all ages):

Budget-minded breakfast at "Juan in a Million" on Cesar Chavez in East Austin. Order the Don Juan Taco. Everything one might normally order for breakfast. One is enough to feed a small family. Luckily they give you extra tortillas so you can make more tacos out of all the eggs and bacon and cheese you spill. The chips and hot sauce are superb as is everything they serve for breakfast (and lunch, for that matter).

If you want a more gourmet dinner or lunch, go to Castle Hill Cafe (not near a castle or a hill) just off West 1st, west of Lamar. And the cuisine at Castle Hill resembles that of the legendary Chef Elmar from the Four Seasons, but is light years less expensive.

I'm not sure if the ice skating rink is open on the roof of the Whole Foods Store a block or two east, but that might be fun too. Lots of new construction in that area, from low-rise mixed use with cute shops, to higher rise luxury stuff. Anyway, the view from that roof would be interesting I think.

I would definitely drop by the intersection of MLK and Congress to see how the Blanton Museum of Art is coming along. The first building of a two building complex is set to open April 30.

Feeling "TEXAS PROUD"? Afterwards, cross MLK to the Texas History Museum on the southwest corner of MLK and Congress Avenue. See the huge screen movie extravanganza and other "educational" exhibits which chronicle our rise from the apes. Then go south of 15th street and enter the labrynth of skylit corridors of the HUGE underground portion of the capitol building. Hard to believe you're underground.

The Long Center for the Performing Arts is being constructed on the south side of the river in a large park as well. The cross section of Austinites who jog and ride bikes and play with their dogs in this park along Riverside, is always interesting to me.

Also, you can go to auschron.com the website for the Austin Chronicle (alternative paper) and see what's cooking in the club etc. scene. And even in lieu of entering actual clubs, a walk up and down Sixth Street at night is enough to make you think you've been to the fair.

[hamiltonpl]

Saltlick BBQ

[RobertB]

I'm not sure if the ice skating rink is open on the roof of the Whole Foods Store a block or two east, but that might be fun too. Lots of new construction in that area, from low-rise mixed use with cute shops, to higher rise luxury stuff. Anyway, the view from that roof would be interesting I think.
Shoot, even if the ice rink isn't there (it looked more like a snow skating rink, anyway -- no zamboni after all), that Whole Foods store is simply amazing. There's a moving sidewalk alongside the escalators from the main floor to the parking garage, so you can roll your basket to your car. And then, right across the street is the biggest independent bookstore I've seen -- at least, it felt bigger than the Half Price Books flagship in Dallas, and I didn't even make it to the second story.

If you're into tattoos and piercings at all, you'll definitely want to check out another joint on Guadalupe: Diablo Rojo at 2604 Guadalupe Street (according to Superpages). They've got the largest selection of gauge-sized piercing jewelery I've seen (and if you don't know what that means, trust me... you're probably better off). In fact, the entire Guadalupe Street strip is a great drive, kinda like Lower Greenville or Deep Ellum, complete with the growing pains -- teardowns are rampant, with independent joints either selling out or getting fed up with the corporatization and leaving for more bohemian digs. Check it out while you still can.

I wish I could remember the name of the cool art gallery restaurant in one of the West Austin suburbs. I'm pretty sure it's in the center at Bee Caves Rd (FM 2244) and Westbank Dr., the green buildings on this Google map (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=austin,+tx&btnG=Search&ll=30.2786,-97.80776&spn=0.003993,0.007113&t=h), but I could be wrong. But if you find it, you'll love the gluten-free and vegan selections (meat also available). Definitely something different.

For a more traditional Texas meal, you could check out the Frisco Shop restaurant in north Austin. It's one of the last remaining vestiges of the once-famous Night Hawk diners, now immortalized as a microwavable TV Dinner brand (and a mighty good one, I might add). Steaks, breakfast all day, big-haired waitresses and all. More details in this review (http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/10236475/austin_tx/frisco_shop_restaurant.html), and a great historical perspective is here (http://rachel.auschron.com/issues/dispatch/2001-01-26/food_feature.html) -- among other notable things, the Night Hawk was one of the first integrated restaurants in Austin.

The funny thing is that I found out about most of these places by just asking around! My daughter and I went to Austin to visit an old high school friend, now an Austin artist. We asked her some places we might want to check out, and when we got there we asked about other places, and pretty soon we had more places to visit than we could ever do in a weekend. Austinites are obviously very proud of their town, and love to show it off. It probably helps that so many folks haven't been there long themselves, since it's a college town *and* the state capitol. The joy of discovering a new home town is still there.

[tamtagon]

Threadgills Cafe... do they still let people look at the Gutenberg Bible at that UT museum? LBJ Library. I really dig the diminutive Statue of Liberty reproduction on the northside of the Capitol building. If you want the full on city view, try not to miss Mt Bonnell, beautiful panorama, and will make you want to live in Austin.

[Columbus Civil]

Did you take any of our suggestions?

[rantanamo]

If you like southern bbq, Hoover's is great, right on Dean Keaton(26th) I believe, just east of I-35. Many prefer Texas bbq(beef bbq), but I grew up eating pork bbq, and Hoovers is great to myself and many others. Eastside Cafe across the street is pretty good as well.

[sterling]

Hoover's is about the best comfort food in town these days. At least for a central commercial joint. I used to like Good Eats on Barton Springs for that, but alas is no more. East Side Cafe also a great suggestion for "cuisine" with a Southwestern slant. Love both places.

Yeah, yeah so he's already back in town FROM the weekend and didn't have time for anything but peering and leadershipping. Just being self indulgent. Please forgive.

[texman]

Did you take any of our suggestions?
Thank you for all of the suggestions! From what I see on ya'lls list, We ended up going to Hula Hut, Waterloo Records, and Threadgills. I also saw the Art Museum that Robertb spoke of. Austin is really an amazing place, I need to go back without my PALS class, haha!

BTW, I support local business all the way (as in Austin's case), but when products are 3 times more expensive than what it would be at a chain store AND you scream at me for taking one picture inside your establishment, I'm probably going to head over to Target.

[Columbus Civil]

BTW, I support local business all the way (as in Austin's case), but when products are 3 times more expensive than what it would be at a chain store AND you scream at me for taking one picture inside your establishment, I'm probably going to head over to Target.

Where did that happen?

[texman]

Where did that happen?
I number of places for the prices-->Antone's Records, Buffalo Exchange, Tasaro's.
Now for anti-photography, it was a place called Toy Joy, and 2 stores(i don't remember the names) on South Congress.

[hookbilledkite]

Don't you mean SoCo!

[disruptivehair]

I number of places for the prices-->Antone's Records, Buffalo Exchange, Tasaro's.
Now for anti-photography, it was a place called Toy Joy, and 2 stores(i don't remember the names) on South Congress.


Toy Joy yelled at you for taking pictures? WEIRD.