re: Austin, Texas...are there any must do’s or must see’s?

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The secret to Austin is to lower your expectations. It has become wildly overrated. People act like its so amazing but in reality its just a cool spot with some good scenery, good food, and good bars. If you don’t fool yourself into thinking youre embarking on something special you will really enjoy it.

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It WAS special at one point

It’s just another city now

I just came back. You will be shocked by the homeless downtown. I suggest checking out UTs hall of fame at the stadium. It was pretty cool.

Solid post.

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Thanks! Happy to be here. Let me know if you have a spot to hunt anything around here and looking for someone to join. My closest spot is the in-laws up in China Spring.

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my hunting is on family land in west Texas.

as far as "public hunting" i've had some fun duck hunts on still house just West of you. some not fun ones that involved filled waders and tickets.

there's a lot of leases near you in Salado that "used to be" affordable, but i'm not sure now due to all the Austin escapees.


ETA: have you been to the Stagecoach? We went a few times after it reopened and really enjoyed it, but i just don't want to mess with going down to Salado that often. Temple Downtown now has enough restaurants to keep me local.

I like live music vs just a bar.

If you like honky tonk, none better than the White Horse in East Austin. Just skip Fri / Sat nights or you have to avoid the hipsters. Thurs night 2 step lessons and lots of talent.

The Continental is awes...looks like they have a good slate of blues this weekend and Dale Watson is there Monday night. Damn.

And I always like to see a city from the water if possible. You can rent kayaks cheap down behind the Hyatt Regency. Of course, go early or really late to avoid the heat.

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Look, I’ve been to all the bbq spots outside of Austin.

For history’s sake, and then experience it may be worth it. But for the actual bbq all the stuff in austin is better than anything you can find out there in Lockhart or wherever.

Terry blacks, Valentina’s, La Bbq, and franklins are all just as good as anything you can find on the outskirts.

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I agree with this. The "Texas BBQ trail" is so cool and worth a trip if approached correctly. But the actual BBQ is just as good or better at much more accessible spots now.

"The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, located in the heart of downtown Austin, hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world, estimated at 1.5 million bats."

go at dusk, and you can see them fly out to feed for the night. pretty cool and quick thing to do while in town.

Kerbey Lane Cafe For some damn good breakfast

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Look, I’ve been to all the bbq spots outside of Austin.

For history’s sake, and then experience it may be worth it. But for the actual bbq all the stuff in austin is better than anything you can find out there in Lockhart or wherever.

Terry blacks, Valentina’s, La Bbq, and franklins are all just as good as anything you can find on the outskirts.

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I live here and have been to all of them. Couple of notes:

1. Founder/pitmaster of La Barbecue just died. No idea if the restaurant will be GTG in the short term.

2. Terry Black's does live up to the hype, but is pricy. Don't confuse it with Black's BBQ, same family but NOT the same Q. Terry Blacks out in Lockhart is a good bit cheaper.

3. Franklin's is overrated. Fight me.

4. If you go to Salt Lick, try the bison rib and get a side of moist cut brisket. Bear in mind that the Lick was founded by an actual trained chef, which means the sauce, rubs and sides are properly flavor palate matched. What that means to you rubes is that you should drizzle a bit of sauce on the sides too and try them.

5. If you're going to drive out of town, I'd take Louis Mueller's BBQ up in Taylor over City Market. City Market is good, but Mueller's is better.

6. The Southside Market BBQ location in N Austin is seldom busy - they stuck it in a strip mall that doesn't attract Q eaters - and can be as good as anything downtown.

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Hard to beat that lifestyle

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yeah it's fun. my kids are a bit older and the novelty of that wore off. i used to say lat's go to Barrow and y'all play in the creek but that doesn't fly with teenagers as much.