Austin Texas RFI

Maybe I will stay at the vaunted Double-Tree next time I am in Austin because honestly the Sheraton is a little ghetto. Not even a fridge in the room, let alone a bar. Weirdos inviting me to drive down alleys and then crazy punks spilling out of Built to Spill down the street WTF with that dude???

Ha well dude that's downtown for you. Can't say we're much better in the weirdo dept, but we do have a bar and fridges and a restaurant and shit. Just remodeled too.

I can't afford to stay here at the regular rate, but ay you (or anybody else!) hit me up if you're coming into town, I can hook a dude up like $79/night.

"Friends & Family Rates" are a wonderful thing.

This is all business trip shit and I don't really give a fuck what my company's paying, but the "negotiated rate" is $210/night and this is definitely not a $210/night hotel. For 1/2 that in LA I get a minibar and snacks which are v. important traveling amenities.

Damn skippy.

btw

fucking rain already.

-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, March 3, 2008 5:33 AM

I TAKE IT ALL BACK OH GOD

I'm an hour NW of Austin now, and can't work because the wind is blowing 50mph. This shithole little town has nothing to do, and I can't even buy episodes of the Wire on iTunes.

Trying to decide whether I want to learn to love Lost or One Tree Hill.

out in the burbs?

ps only go lost if you are willing to invest a bunch of time

only go one tree hill if you want to watch something terrible

one tree hill goes better with drinking alone.

rural - building a lodge on the Llano River (near... Llano)

Georgetown/Round Rock might be South Dallas... but I would gleefully take either of them over this area

STAY AT HOOS'S HOTEL

This winter has been so awful in Chicago. I am thinking of taking a schoolbus to Austin and spending a few days writing in my journal at a table outside the Taco Cabana on south Lamar, surrounded by grackles.

doooo it

TACO CABANA? you're better off at Hoos's hotel's hot breakfast buffet.

So, the gf and I find ourselves in Austin until Sunday. In addition to the fine suggestions found upthread, anything particularly unmissable going on this week Austin ilxors would suggest?

i hear good things about the doubletree hotel

^ lyar

nothin real big happening that i'm up on, just regular stuff. good jazz @ the elephant room. whereabouts you at?

I don't know of anything super-special happening this week either. I can't even say offhand if the bats are back from Mexico or if Barton Springs is open.

If you have the time on Sunday afternoon you should def. visit Ginny's Little Longhorn for honky-tonk music and Chicken Shit Bingo.

We're at the Crowne Plaza on I-35, thanks to hotwire and very last minute planning.

We ate at Polvo's last night. I dug it, the better half not so much.

Oh, and wtf is with your buses being so cheap? Paying fifty cents feels like I'm in a magical time warp. Or Pleasantville.

Yeah it's a beautiful thing dude. A buck and you ride all day!

drove into SW Austin looking for a guitar store (and/or because I was bored)

The 71/290/1/360 highway cluster is a fucking disaster.

yessir

i once spent an hour trying to get from one corner to another

How do you feel about the 183/360/1 interchange in North Austin?

so both NPR stations (89.x, 90.5) are mostly music? Do you get Fresh Air or the Diane Rehm Show at all?

http://kut.org

http://koop.org

schedules on sites

koop does Fresh Air - I forget when

I mean, kut has Fresh Air. Sorry.

afternoons booooo

Yeah Fresh Air 3-4pm. I don't hear Diane Rehm at all?

They ran Radio Lab during Terry's vacay last week and I think I have a new favorite show.

Dude the worst thing about leaving DFW is leaving KERA. (Well KTCK too). But you can listen on the www

No www in my truck/on the job, unfortunately. And even if I get Sirius for NPR, they have Rehm and Fresh Air on at weird times.

KERA has ruined me for all other NPR stations.

Is there a good bar in Austin where you can actually talk, no loud music?

The Grand!

Oily got me going there now.

Yeah, I like that joint. Crawling distance from home, too.

Wound up at Spider House which did the trick volume-wise (and there was an adorable cat monitoring the order pick-up window). But good to know about The Grand - I'm constantly searching for relatively quiet places to talk.

Check out the bar at the Driskill Hotel. Sometimes there's a piano player, it's always quiet... eternally anti-scene. De rigeur attire: starched white oxford shirt, new jeans, cowboy boots.

Anybody been to The Nomad bar yet?

Nope. But I'm a homebody.

it's too fucking hot to do anything. at all.

Me too, Hoos, and ryan otm.

There's a birthday/karaoke thing there soon for a friend I hardly get to see, and it's within reasonable staggering distance home. I should probably go.

I like Nomad! They've got a nice patio. Plus they're open until 2am now. Pints are a bit pricier than average, but being able to walk or bike there makes up for that easily.

I just went to Nomad for happy hour! I am drunk.

awez

being able to walk or bike there makes up for that easily.

This is an important trait, absolutely. But the last time I walked home from Carousel there was a car accident that looked like it was going to escalate into a murder as I was crossing 35 on 51st.

Continuing this weekend's drunkfest, tonight I went to the Poodle Dog Lounge! They were so friendly! It was so empty! Yet smoky. I drank a lot, but that's OK... I wasn't driving.

You can probably talk some Zydeco and/or Southern Soul at Antone's Record Shop (if the right clerks are on duty).

You might also want to squeeze in a breakfast at Victory Grill: http://www.thevictorygrillatx.com/

Sorry, this link: https://atxhistoricvictorygrill.org/

My favorite place for burgers is the downtown bar Casino el Camino on 6th Street.

Good summary of live shows:

https://austin.showlists.net/

If you find yourself on the north side of town Interstellar for lunchtime BBQ and El Dorado for tex-mex.

Oh yeah, El Dorado is legit. I was just in town for the Lone Star Roundup, and it's becoming tradition that me and my best friend and her husband meet up to have dinner & drinks there.

We’re staying on south side . Had Veracruz Montopolis food truck tacos last night at Radio East. Went to the Capital building, then the Music exhibit and more at LBj Museum and we’re at Terry Blacks Barbecue now

Which Terry Blacks? If Guadalupe, get a drink next door at Hopfield's, they have delicious frites. Veracruz is good stuff, well played.

No, the other one. Went to the Continental after & saw some of free Hot Club of Cowtown texas country jazzy swing music & then West Texas Exiles (were supposed to be an homage to Flatlanders but maybe more like a country take on Rolling Stones circa Exile w/ a tad of modern sounds)

Victory Grill East (old-school r& b & soul food restaurant) was sadly closed when we there. It's interesting to look at with faded murals on the side, near street w/ Black Lives Matter painted on it and a park next door with a Jamaican food truck, faded "Black Artists Matter" paintings, not for from newly gentrified buildings , and old ones . Park also has a banner on a fence that says: "What Do you Miss About East Austin" and underneath someone spraypainted "Brown people, Mi Gente"

Saw a bit of the U T campus the other day in late afternoon with just a handful of protesters sitting on lawn down below the clock tower. We also went out to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower park . Butterflies, some baby owls and lots of flowers. Headed down to San Antonio today and then on to my wife’s other niece down in Harlingen, Texas . Didn’t do it all in Austin in the little time we had, but enjoyed what we did do.

My partner's in Austin from NZ for SXSW. Food-wise, a friend has recommended Torchys/Magnolia Cafe/Homegrown Pizza/El Alma/Joe's Bakery/Paco's Tacos; going a bit cross-eyed looking at bands playing during this week but hopefully they can catch Water Damage.

Casino El Camino has a very good buffalo/blue cheese burger.

― JacobSanders, Monday, May 9, 2011

Torchy's and Magnolia aren't really any good anymore, assume Homegrown means Home Slice which is very tasty pizza (I prefer Via 313 Detroit style, also ), Joe's is great but for Tex Mex breakfast also try Fruta Feliz or Mi Madre's (my fav for chips and salsa), Vera Cruz All Natural too, also hit up Hopfield's for delicious frites and good beer or Golden Horn is a cozy bar with snacks

Ooh, thanks!

I heard a big explosion about 50 minutes ago, reports that it was heard and felt for many miles around, looks like a house about a mile from me exploded, NW Austin near 183 and Spicewood Springs

yep, I heard it too!

https://www.chron.com/culture/celebrities/article/joe-rogan-friends-austin-texas-20790258.php

Another Rogan associate was more direct with his criticism of Texas.

"Texas f--king blows," comedian Shane Gillis said in a June episode of the Andrew Schulz podcast, recalling a storm that left his Austin home without power for three days. "It's hot as f--k. The second we ran out of power, the house was 90 degrees and bugs came in immediately."

...

But besides learning all about Texas' bizarre love affair with electrical independence, Gillis has complained about Austin's homeless population (whom he's called "screaming runners") and the number of emergency alerts the state of Texas sends out.

"Texas goes wild with Amber Alerts," he said on a 2024 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. "It's a really depressing way to start your day."

https://a.pinatafarm.com/320x196/bbcd9d3933/skinner-pathetic.jpg

First visit to Austin this week, I have some free time, what should I do? (Including local parks and nature stuff as well as food/drink/arts/culture)

(I am scrolling back thru the thread for recommendations too)

I can recommend many food/drink places, depending on what you're looking for and where you'll be staying. Would also be happy to grab a drink if you have the time.

This doesn't help, but I wanted to mention I screened Songwriter (the Willie/Kristofferson film) last night, which was shot in Austin in '83 or so, and it has a ton of lovely shots of the old downtown and other since-retooled landmarks, like the Austin Opry House (currently Arlyn Studios and office spaces) and the Palmer Auditorium.

Used to be a Scientology center right off campus if you want to pop in for a reading.

I love Songwriter, I’ll have to watch it again after the visit.

Moodles, would love to grab a drink! I’ll message you on FB. I’m staying in the Zilker area, fwiw.

Are you going to the ACL festival?

I’m actually not, weirdly enough, just Monday-Friday. This just worked out as the best week to go for me.

Prepare for it to be a challenge to get around on Friday!