orbitmic

Thanks so much! I'm going in early April (hopefully, the students will all be on Spring break in Cancun or whatever! ) and at this stage not planning to rent a car. Houston is where I used to live in TX so you get my sympathy re-traffic!! Please say hi to the city for me!!

aztimm

I'm pretty new to the Austin area and I'll be near downtown this weekend with friends. Does anyone have suggestions for a place to eat dinner on Friday night?
Looking for almost any kind of food, casual, and prices no more than $20 for dinner.

I found this place that seems to fit:
https://locu.com/places/la-condesa-austin-us/#menu

Has anyone been there? Thoughts?

DetailsIM

Going solo or with others? VOX Table was amazing. It's more of a tapas/share style. Really high quality stuff and great drinks.

ftnoob

Go to Salt Lick for the BYOB or for the atmosphere; don't make that trip for the food, though. Salt Lick is not on Texas Monthly's most recent (2013) list of Top 50 BBQ joints. Several places in Austin (in addition to Franklin) do make the list--and that list was compiled before three heavyweights opened here (Black's; Terry Black's; and Cooper's). If your goal is to find great BBQ, a trip to Driftwood should be pretty far down your list.

Back in the day we used to say that in Austin you can get "both kinds of food in the world: BBQ and Tex-Mex." It was always in jest, and new locals of cosmopolitan Austin would probably be completely puzzled to hear it. Still, any short-term visitor should make BBQ and Tex-Mex (or interior Mexican, something quite different), their first and second priorities.

The Fearless Critic website's current "Most delicious in Austin"list (regardless of cuisine type):
Scores are for "food" only. See the website for other scores and price categories.

aztimm

I asked some people in the office today; one has a friend who is a foodie and goes out to downtown Austin about weekly. The recommendation was for Banger's, and I think that's where we'll go. From their website (and Google satellite images), it looks like a perfect place (weather permitting), and the price is right too.


I have some good local Mexican, Tex Mex, pizza, Chinese, and a few other restaurants that I've found here....but they are all up in Round Rock, Cedar Park, or Georgetown. It is rather surprising that there's good food even out suburbia.

EmailKid

I first dined at Gloria's Restaurant when it was a hole in the wall in Oak Cliff section of Dallas. I've eaten in their new location as well as one of two others they opened in Dallas and was quite pleased with the food.

Now I see they have a location in downtown Austin as well. If it's as good as Dallas then I recommend this Salvadoran / Tex Mex establishment.

aisleorwindow

Other than downtown/6th street, does anyone have recommendations of other neighborhoods to either stay in or explore?

CMK10

Rainey Street is absolutely worth exploring. I love killing an afternoon there, drifting from bar to bar drinking good beer and cocktails, checking out the food trucks that always cluster there, playing some games etc.

aztimm

I'd consider Rainey downtown. Pretty much anything from the I-35 to the Mopac for about a mile either side of the river. And some goes to the east of the 35.

It really depends what you're looking to do. I'm not sure where you're from to give any comparisons... (I Googled, "Rahmistan," and came up with some Chicago neighborhoods).

The Domain area is nice, but it is basically just an outdoor mall. There are tons of shops, restaurants, and even a few hotels. But it is all chain stuff that you can find in nearly any American suburb.

I actually like downtown Georgetown. It has enough to fill an afternoon, possibly going into dinner and drinks. But there aren't any hotels in walking distance (the Hampton Inn would be a hike, not sure if they have a shuttle/transport).
Similar could be said about downtown Round Rock. Perhaps enough to fill a few hours, but not much more. There are some hotels not too far, you could check on shuttles.
Staying out here would be far less than staying in downtown Austin, but you'd definitely need a car.

You could go out near the lakes. Travis is the closest, and there are some restaurants and things nearby. But by far I really liked Marble Falls. Seemed more manageable, with a downtown area.

aisleorwindow

Thanks all. We ended up staying at the Hilton downtown, which was perfect as it was walking distance to East 6th, Rainey street, the Capitol, and SoCo.
We also visited Barton Springs and went out one night in Zilker. We used the RideAustin app (identical to Uber) to get around when not walking.
Great first trip to Austin!

(And yes, Rahmistan is Chicago - a reference to Mayor Rahm Emanuel)

GreekDeno

I know (but still can't believe) no uber or lyft in Austin. Do I need to rent a car for a 4 day vacation? Hotel's not set, but will be downtown. 4s-fine points, Hyatt Regency-points+cash, Hilton- points or pay are my tops, but am open for other ideas. Plan is relaxation and bar hopping, eating good food, etc. We have family there so will see them one day and I'm sure they'll come pick us up if we don't have a car.

aisleorwindow

Use RideAustin: http://www.rideaustin.com/

Exactly the same as Uber/Lyft.

JDiver

I enjoyed a blowout dinner at Truluck's with freshly flown in stone crab claws (the medium to large seemed more flavorful than the larger ones) and Alaska king crab legs. Ouchy expensive, a couple of the servers can be pretentious, but oh my, what a sea feast we had.

armature

RideAustin is one. A couple others are Fasten and Fare.

You can use RideGuru to see which rideshare would be cheapest for you.

livebetter_travelmore

Uber and Lyft officially resumed services in Austin on Memorial Day, May 29th, 2017.