2008 Austin Eating Tour Questions

Hoping for some "inside" information on the city of Austin as I have never been there...

Excluding the stops on Friday night and Saturday on the bus, what are the must visit restaurants in the area? I'll have a car and 2 and a 1/2 days before and the Sunday morning after.

I'll be staying at the Downtown Sheraton along with some of the group on Friday and Saturday nights. Any recs for Wednesday and Thursday nights and why...close to a restaurant district, close to entertainment, etc?

With regard to Austin City Limits, does anyone know if they will be taping that week (the schedule online does not go out that far) and if so, how do you get tickets?

Any must see historical, architectural, or just plain cool sites?

Thanks for the help...

Gregg,
Here's the Trip Report from our Austin Meeting in Feb 2007. Skip over the areas too far to go from the city...but consider- Pages 9 and 10 for direct info.

Salt Lick BBQ,
Shiner brewery in Shiner Texas AND
The Czech Villages around Schulenburg (about an hour or more east of Austin)

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17265

Shiner and the Czech stuff is a bit out of town, but interesting to compare to the Slavic culture of your part of Chicago!! Add Fredericksburg and the Nimitz Home for some Hill Country German Food.

I don't know what your penchant is for walking, but you can see the campus of the University of Texas from the hotel - so, in my mind, that is walking distance. There is some neat stuff to do there, and I believe that includes the LBJ Library (if you are a Presidential historian?). I am not sure if I am doing the math properly, but you may arrive in time to catch the Longhorns baseball team play on Wednesday night against UT-San Antonio (6:05 pm). I have seen a game at Disch-Falk Field and it is a great place to watch one of the country's premier teams. If you are not careful, you will be the only one in the stands not wearing burnt orange. Unfortunately, the Round Rock Express (AAA affiliate for the Houston Astros) will be out of town that weekend.

I also walked to the Sixth Street entertainment district, but it was a pretty good poke. You could also cab it - cabs seemed plentiful and not all that expensive.

A little further south is the[url='http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/ware_map.htm']Warehouse District[/url], which many in Austin seem to believe is the more upscale/mature version of Sixth Street. No doubt, Sixth Street is loaded with great live music, but it is also packed with teens and 20-somethings who act like they are tasting beer for the first time.

If you have never seen it before, head down to the [url='http://www.austincityguide.com/content/congress-bridge-bats-austin.asp']Congress Bridge[/url] around dusk and see the bats.

Enjoy Austin...it is one of my favorite cities.

Also close to Austin are the LBJ ranch and the LBJ boyhood home in Johnson City. The Hill Country Cupboard in Johnson City is supposed to have some of the best Chicken fried steak in Texas.

CTD-
I HIGHLY recommend at least one meal at Hoover's Cooking. This is one of my very favorite Roadfood places.

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=506

And if you enjoy history or architecture, the state capitol building is a real beauty and is the largest state capitol in the country.

Hoover's on Manor Rd.
Hut's Hamburgers on W. Sixth (I think Wed is 2 for 1 night)

Al - Travelin Man - mr chips - buffetbuster - signman - Thanks for the tips. I'll be planning my trip out in the next few weeks and wanted to get some must stop places. I will be visitng some place like the capitol building just to keep walking it off! Keep the ideas coming...

I was talking with my cousin Johnny, who will be with me in Austin for the bus tour and he is concerned. Since we will be driving around the great state of Texas for a full week before we even get to the tour day, he is worried that we will have already eaten so much, that we won't have any appetite left.

I guess we could hold back over the course of the week, but I think we both know that ain't gonna happen.

Cliff,
Tell little Johnny, If he wants to play in the Majors, he needs to be able to go Nine Innings !! Remember the choices of Margaritas in Nashville..Only WIMPS went for the 16 oz size !

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen


Cliff,
Tell little Johnny, If he wants to play in the Majors, he needs to be able to go Nine Innings !! Remember the choices of Margaritas in Nashville..Only WIMPS went for the 16 oz size !

I confess, I was the wimp. I could have never consumed the large one that you and the rest of the group did.

BB: The BBQ in Texas is so good that you will never get tired of it.

I may forgo the bus trip and ride along in my rental.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen


Cliff,
Tell little Johnny, If he wants to play in the Majors, he needs to be able to go Nine Innings !! Remember the choices of Margaritas in Nashville..Only WIMPS went for the 16 oz size !

Knowing my cousin, he will be up to the challenge! Like Poverty Pete said over the weekend, Johnny would eat a boot if you put bbq sauce on it!

By the way, I just talked to my cousin Johnny and since he couldn't join us in Mobile, here is how he spent his day on Saturday.

Sausage sandwich at Helen's Sausage House in DE
Italian hoagie at Casapulla's in DE
Roast Italian Pork w/ broccoli rabe at Tony Luke's in Philly
Bobbie at Capriotti's in DE
Charcoal burger and black & white shake at Charcoal Pit in DE

all this was by 2:00! And he stopped for ice cream on his way home!

Yeah, I think he will be okay on the tour!

What on Earth is a Bobbie?

Michael Hoffman-
I've never had one myself, but it is apparently Thanksgiving dinner on a sub. He loved it, by the way.

http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Writeup.aspx?ReviewID=4462&RefID=4511

Ah, thanks. I remember seeing that. I didn't recall the name.