Globe Corner Blogs

The verdict on Texas: HOT. With lots of nice folks, though! You can’t let that whole “Don’t Mess With Texas” bit fool you. I happened to meet several born ‘n’ bred Texans who not only procured veggie burgers AND sausage for me (reportedly after several confusing trips to the grocery), but even tried it with me!

More importantly they made sure the air conditioning was on extra-high at all times and didn’t roll their eyes when I yelled, “Oh, hothothot!” each and every time we walked outside.

If I have my stereotypes right, though, big trucks and oil derricks in the backyard belong to Houston; Austin is a whole other matter. As the capital of Texas and the home of the US’s largest university, Austin is therefore also the hipster capital of the state.

Even that lone blue spot in the sea of red can’t help but be Texas, though. And by that, I mean big: one-way streets with four lanes (unheard of in New England!), a school with its own zip code…even the statue of Cesar Chavez is twice life size. And now, I’m not a very big person myself — and I never did get myself a good pair of cowboy boots — but I squinted my eyes to the sun, spat in the dust, and tackled Austin and the Hill Country like a drunk guy on a mechanical bull.

…

Austin is, first and foremost, a college town. Even in the middle of August, crowds of kids who look like they shouldn’t even be able to drive legally are milling about on Sixth Street. One of the main arteries through downtown, Sixth Street is seemingly made of nothing more than block upon block of bars, ATM machines, and the occasional pizza joint (Death Metal Pizza Parlor being my personal favorite). Though navigating the sidewalks through popped collar-boys and girls teetering on heels, it was worth it to nab a seat at The Library and pay two dollars for beers that I’m used to paying five bucks for.

…

Austin is, first and foremost, a college town. Even in the middle of August, crowds of kids who look like they shouldn’t even be able to drive legally are milling about on Sixth Street. One of the main arteries through downtown, Sixth Street is seemingly made of nothing more than block upon block of bars, ATM machines, and the occasional pizza joint (Death Metal Pizza Parlor being my personal favorite). Though navigating the sidewalks through popped collar-boys and girls teetering on heels, it was worth it to nab a seat at

In order to shut up the whiny Northerner, we were also sure to hit Barton Springs, the coolest place in Austin — literally. The Springs is basically a 750-foot-long swimming pool with slightly more greenery floating around than your average backyard in-ground. The fresh water spring that feeds into it is so cool and refreshing on those 100-degree days…I nearly wept with joy. But I didn’t have my contacts in and couldn’t see anything and knew that crying and wandering about lost could only lead to trouble.

…

Austin is, first and foremost, a college town. Even in the middle of August, crowds of kids who look like they shouldn’t even be able to drive legally are milling about on Sixth Street. One of the main arteries through downtown, Sixth Street is seemingly made of nothing more than block upon block of bars, ATM machines, and the occasional pizza joint (Death Metal Pizza Parlor being my personal favorite). Though navigating the sidewalks through popped collar-boys and girls teetering on heels, it was worth it to nab a seat at

My other favorite place in the city was what I learned is referred to as the Warehouse District. The area down

around Fourth and Colorado, formerly a “real” warehouse district, has been built up into a slick dining and nightlife neighborhood full of cavernous, downright warehouse-like establishments. It was emptier than Sixth Street (though surely not during the school year) and had a, well, more grown-up, less I-bought-this-fake-ID-so-I-could-slam-Jager-Bombs-and-look-at-me-now!-feel to it. I thought I would have plenty of time to explore but, frankly, liked the first one a little too much to leave before closing.

The Ginger Man, Austin (yes, like the one in New York, but if I understood correctly, no longer under the same ownership) is one of several Ginger Mans in Texas, the original having been cooked up in Houston. This bar had a wonderful feel — all wood and bigness — as well as a great beer selection, as illustrated in the blurry line of taps in the photo. I asked the bored bartender to recommend some Texan or Austin beers for me, and he had great taste: 521 Pale (Austin) and St. Arnold Elissa IPA (Houston), both cask conditioned and original. While on the subject of Texan beers, I should also mention Real Ale in Blanco, Texas. The Pale was superb!

…

Austin is, first and foremost, a college town. Even in the middle of August, crowds of kids who look like they shouldn’t even be able to drive legally are milling about on Sixth Street. One of the main arteries through downtown, Sixth Street is seemingly made of nothing more than block upon block of bars, ATM machines, and the occasional pizza joint (Death Metal Pizza Parlor being my personal favorite). Though navigating the sidewalks through popped collar-boys and girls teetering on heels, it was worth it to nab a seat at

Lastly, the Hill Country. Beautiful in a way I hadn’t expected. Curly, short trees with little undergrowth mimicked the comically curvy road, occasionally giving way to monstrous mansions. After a tornado’s worth of winding around, I really did feel in a land different than the flat city twenty miles away. The country was

extremely dry, fire alerts on the side of the road warning us, and Lake Travis was obviously low. This did not deter us from swimming though, and we spent the afternoon floating, watching dark clouds roll in. None of them let loose any rain until much later, though. And we were able to sip margaritas and eat queso at The Oasis and applaud the setting sun.

More Austin favorites:
Mr. Natural (veggie Tex-Mex)
Hyde Park Grill (classic Austin restaurant — gotta try the fries)
Crown and Anchor Pub (good, cheap food and beer and lots of outside seating)
Kerbey Lane Cafe (best queso EVER)
Magnolia Cafe (another classic)
Spider House Cafe (coffee house/bar with large and eclectically decorated outdoor seating)

Read more: Austin, Beer, Food & Wine, South US, Texas, Travel


Llalan specializes in all things Ohio, but has funny stories from all over the US and Canada, plus a few snort-inducing ones from Thailand. And not only does she read books from around the world, she also samples beers in as many languages as possible. Favorite style: the multi-national American Double IPA.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS