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Austin is Texas Perfect

by Paul Gerald

I knew I was in the right place when I found myself sipping a mango margarita at a lakeside restaurant on a 60-degree January day, trying to decide if we should hike in the hills or go hear a band. After the sun went down, the whole restaurant stood and applauded, and I said to myself, "This is Austin--the grooviest place in Texas."

Austin is Texas done perfectly. It's the most computer-literate town in America and the second-fastest growing, but it's still young, laid-back, and charming. It's halfway from Dallas to Houston but right on the edge of the sprawling wonderland of the Texas Hill Country. It's a place where a person can spend the day having just about any kind of outdoor fun you can imagine, then go out at night and wallow in live music, good food, and cool micro-brewed beer. In other words, if you can't have fun in Austin, it's your own damn fault.

How varied is the fun to be had in Austin? A top-10 list of activities--according to readers of the Austin Chronicle--includes watching a colony of 1.5 million bats take flight; touring the nation's largest state capital building; checking out Sixth Street--six Victorian-era blocks with several dozen bars and clubs; swimming in the always-68-degree Barton Springs Pool ("a favorite local swimming hole for 10,000 years"); and hanging out in 485-acre Zilker Park.

That variety also shows itself as a sort of zaniness that Austin is quite proud of. This is a town, after all, which counts among its biggest annual festivals a birthday party for Eeyore, the donkey from Winnie the Pooh. They also have a Spamarama--celebrating the potted meat--and an O. Henry Pun-Off.

So when we were sitting on the patio, trying to decide what to do, it almost became an argument. I wanted to hike, but to my Austin friends that seemed old-hat. One guy knew a "killer" disc golf course that winds through a stand of live oak trees. Another one wanted to do some rock climbing--in town, mind you. Another was a mountain-biker and wanted to check out the new jumps the city had put in.

As it was, we gave in to the power of tequila and sat until the sun went down over Lake Travis. Then we headed into "The Live Music Capital of the World." Rock, country, jazz, blues, Tejano ... Austin bleeds music from 100 or more venues.

Country music, of course, has been there forever--Willie Nelson himself calls the Hill Country home--but along the way Austin got the blues, too. Austin has a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was raised in Dallas but got his start musically at Antone's Night Club, the most famous of the local night spots.

The legendary Threadgill's, famous for down-home cooking and red-hot live music, was the launching pad for Janis Joplin. And then there's what can only be called Austin Music, personified best by local resident Jerry Jeff Walker, whose birthday is also celebrated by, it seems, the whole town.

After my three days in town, I still had a list of places and activities that we hadn't gotten around to, so I sent emails to my friends there, seeking advice on where to hang out in Austin. Here are some selections from their responses. Note the preponderance of margarita references.

Places to Eat

Chuy's is total Elvis kitsch, plus pretty good Tex-Mex. Don't forget to have a swirl, which is a lime margarita swirled with strawberry margarita.

The Shady Grove is a converted trailer park that has an awesome patio with live music and occasional late-night movies projected onto a screen that drops out of the trees.

Hula Hut is on Lake Austin, which is a great place to watch the sunset and enjoy mango margaritas while sitting on a pier checking out the hills and munching on Polynesian/Mexican food.

El Arroyo features barbecue chicken enchiladas and spinach queso with an atmosphere to die for. Dollar margaritas at happy hour once led to 13 stitches for an unnamed contributor.

Refreshments Only

At Baby Acapulco visitors choose from 14 kinds of enchiladas, but no one seems to remember which are best because "the margaritas are lethal." Voted best in town by Chronicle readers three years in a row. The banana berry margarita is a must.

Cedar Door specialties include Mexican Martinis (no details offered) and lemon drops as well as complimentary ponchos in case you feel the need to sit on the patio in the dead of winter.

Hole In The Wall sells more Shiner Bock beer than any other place in the world. Mojo Nixon sings here when he's in town.

General Hangin'

Calle Ocho is a Mexican restaurant downtown. Upstairs on Thursday and Friday nights you can take free salsa/merengue lessons.

Emo's is the place to hang on weekends if you've got tattoos, piercings, and an alternative attitude.

The Backroom proves that the leather/Spandex crowd of the '80s still likes to rock. This is considered one of the most famous heavy-metal clubs in the world.

Liberty Lunch has always been voted one of the best places in town. It features an intimate mosh pit or love fest, depending on the show.

Outside Austin City Limits

And when city life starts to get to you, go see the other great treasure of life in Austin--the Hill Country that's right outside it. You can hike streamside strolls down flat, rocky canyons or climb through hilly pine forests. Go on the short hike to Hamilton Pool, a collapsed grotto at the end of an easy hike along a cypress-lined creek, then head down to the Pedernoles River and sun yourself on a rock.

Another great visit is the famous Enchanted Rock, a 100-foot dome of pink granite with unsurpassed views. Or jump on your mountain bike for a pedal at Rocky Hill Ranch, where 1,200 acres of single- and double-track riding await.

If all these options have confused you, well, welcome to the club. The whole problem with Austin is deciding what to do or where to do it. I would recommend you either call Visitors Information at 800-888-8287, or check out the Web site http://www.Austin360.com . Or you can do what we did, which works for many people in Austin: relax, have another margarita, watch the sun go down, and then just go with the flow.

Copyright © 2000 by Paul Gerard. All rights reserved.

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