Austin OOT'ers: Need Help

[btmagnetw]

rudy's and saltlick for BBQ. saltlick if you're really want to eat.

[cbloom]

The best thing to eat in Austin is the french toast at Chez Zee.

Stubb's is pretty mediocre food but the atmosphere and shows can be very fun. But yeah, Austin isn't a great BBQ town, Houston is much better.

Lambert's is new since I lived there but sounds like good brisket in a fancy place. (the one on S Congress not the one downtown)

Fonda San Miguel is indeed excellent, the moles are authentic and complex the way they should be.

I used to go to this place in south austin that had only a small fixed menu, it was in an old house converted to a restaurant, that place was tops. Can't find it for the life of me though.

Castle Hill is really typically Austin food I would say; it's sort of a hippie tex-mex new american health food fusion thing that's really common in Austin. It's alright, some people love it.

[Johnny Hughes]

How about the Broken Spoke?

[Badger]

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How about the Broken Spoke?

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I went to the broken spoke once and the food was awful, especially their world famous chicken fried steak. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's one of the worst I've had.

My favorite thing to eat in Austin might be the Green Chile Black Bean Enchilada at Shady Grove. I'm not positive that's exactly what it's called- but order it with BRISKET. It's not an option on the menu.

Rudy's would be a pretty decent stop for lunch the next day.

Another of my favorite Mexican places is El Chile. The Mole Enchiladas are pretty outstanding. I think the fish tacos are pretty good there too.

[Badger]

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I think Austin is more of a mexican food town than BBQ. Don't drive all the way out to Driftwood just to go to the Saltlick for BBBQ. They are susposedly the best BBQ, but there is no music, and it is boring and a waste of time.

I think you really need to just walk around. You're likely to hear good music coming out of a lot of places, but it won't be anyone famous on a Tuesday night, and you're not going to find a schedule anywhere. I mean, we don't even know what music you like.

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Austin's got plenty of good BBQ. I already mentioned some of my favorite places to eat, but The County Line has pretty good BBQ. A lot of people seem to like Iron Works, but I'm not too fond of it. The Salt Lick 360 I think gets the same BBQ as the Salt Lick in Driftwood, but it's a completely different atmosphere, much classier. No all you can eat menu option the time I went. Not that that matters as their servings are plenty big. Same goes for the County Line.

Here's a semi-comprehensive schedule of some of the better places to go for music. Rhett's right though, you might be better off just walking around, since most of the names on this list don't mean much to me, I doubt they mean much to you either. You're likely to hear some mediocre bands walking down 6th street on a Tuesday night. Antone's, The Elephant Room, Continental Club are some decent places. There's tons of places to catch music though, and I'm really not the person to give you a solid recommendation on what are the best venues in Austin. Austin360.com, is another good resource. Music Page. Have fun, it's a great town.

[nyc999]

Thanks for the replies. I'll make sure to post a follow-up.

I think Shady Grove is right next to my hotel, so that may be the choice for dinner. I'm also having lunch with a client on Wednesday, so I'm sure they'll take me somewhere good.

The Salt Lick sounds ideal, but I might save that for SXSW next year.

As for live music, I may find a local paper and do MySpace searches, etc. and see if I can find something good. Blues, indie or southern rock would all be cool.

[Aces McGee]

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I liked Austin Land and Cattle when I was there. Good steak house, and the ribeye was great. I typically hate ribeyes.

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I liked this place a lot, as well. I was there for a bachelor party and this was the only nice meal we ate. Very good.

-McGee

[bwana devil]

for live music i dont think you specified your musical taste. as mentioned tuesday will be quieter than normal though. here is the tuesday night listing of some featured bands playing from the chronicle:
auschon

if you name bands or music you like, people can tell you about what venues/bands would be a good fit.


edit: oh and same for food. there are some good recommendations in this thread but there are waaaay too many. if you havent picked one yet, give us more feedback to narrow down what youre looking for: stereotyped texas steakhouse, tex mex, authentic mexican, bbq, etc

[Quanah Parker]

Tuesday Night at Emo's looks real good. (6th street/Red River)
DMBQ is playing.
"The Tokyo underground blew open faster than you can say Godzilla when DMBQ pulverized America with their debut album in 1995. The quartet’s paisley, blues, rosemary, and acid-leanings blend garage with psych in the most unnatural of ways, coupling Zeppelin-strength riffs with polyester shirts. "

[TomCollins]

Go to Trudy's. Get the Stuffed Avacado or Chorizo Chicken.

Get a Mexican Margarita (or 2).