Austin, TX - Bachelor Party

[lielec11]

My buddies and I will be traveling to Austin Texas for my bachelor party at the end of July for a long weekend.

If anyone here lives or has visited this city, any input would be great. I'm looking for good restaurants/lunch trucks (bbq, tex mex), decent bars that won't be crowded with college kids, best live music spots, etc. We don't have much of a plan yet other than the dates. Will most likely  rent via airnb, vrbo, or homeaway due to the cost of hotels for 10 of us. The recommendations don't have to be mustachian, just want to experience what Austin has to offer.

[GizmoTX]

Find a location near downtown, maybe on the south side of Lady Bird Lake, formerly Town Lake. You want the Sixth St. area (north of the lake) for the live music, & downtown has many great restaurants at all price points. There's a good food truck park on the south side on Barton Springs Rd (try The Mighty Cone). The lake (really the Colorado River, dammed at both ends) has a nice running path on both sides, leading to Zilker Park. You can also rent kayaks, canoes, water bikes, & standing paddle boards along the lakeshore. Austin Duck Adventures is a corny but fun way to get a land & water tour of downtown Austin & Lake Austin (a dam separates it from Lady Bird Lake); the "duck" vehicle is amphibious.  At sunset, watch the world's largest urban bat colony fly out from the Congress Ave. bridge -- grab a spot on the lawn near the Austin-American Stateman or a boat trip to see them. While the University of Texas is north of the Capitol & St. Edward's University is south of the lake, college students are not likely to be much of a factor in the summer.

[hodedofome]

Trailer Park & Eatery is a cool place https://foodtrailersaustin.wordpress.com/south-austin-trailer-park-eatery/

I've only eaten at Torchy's, which is really good but pretty dang spicy.

Texadelphia is my favorite although they shut down the original location next to UT campus I hear (sad face). I think there's another one a few blocks away. I get a Philly Cheese steak with the mustard blend sauce. It's all I've ever gotten, no point in getting anything else.

Franklin BBQ is pretty popular

Amy's Ice Cream is the local favorite

Hula Hut doesn't have texmex that will have you writing home to your friends, but it's pretty good and the location on the river is awesome. The whole scene of that location is a lot of fun.

Alamo Drafthouse is a popular place to watch a movie in an old style moviehouse and eat dinner at the same time

I've eaten at County Line on the hill (original location) and the view is pretty awesome. Food was good too. There's also a location along the river http://www.countyline.com/CountyLineHill.html

The Oasis on Lake Travis is a bit of a tourist trap. The food is not anything to write home about but you probably want to experience it at least once in your life. View is awesome. During sunset it's pretty incredible. Expect to wait a long time.

 

[lielec11]

Thank you both for your input. The trailer park eatery seems cool for a greasy pick-me-up after some drinking. I've heard unless you want to wait in line at Franklin's for 2+ hours for a chance (not even guaranteed) at some food then it's great. That does not seem seem worthwhile to me. There are a bunch of other BBQ places that I'm sure are just as good for us northerners who don't know any better.

[hodedofome]

The County Line place is good for BBQ without the long wait of Franklin's. View is really good.

Rudys BBQ is a chain but is pretty good with no wait lines if you are just wanting BBQ in a hurry.

Salt Lick outside of town is the all you can eat BBQ that usually makes it on tv shows. I've never eaten there but everyone loves the experience. It's probably a 30 minute drive though.

I'm sure, like you said, you can find plenty of BBQ places that I've never been to that are pretty dang good. I haven't even tapped the local eating scene in Austin.

[GizmoTX]

More BBQ choices: Green Mesquite on Barton Springs Rd, Stubbs (Red River St), Iron Works (Red River), Lamberts (W. 2nd St). Both County Lines are west of downtown.
Tex-Mex: Chuy's (Barton Springs Rd)
Italian: La Traviata (downtown)
Japanese/Sushi: Uchi (wonderful but expensive, make reservations)

[lielec11]

More BBQ choices: Green Mesquite on Barton Springs Rd, Stubbs (Red River St), Iron Works (Red River), Lamberts (W. 2nd St). Both County Lines are west of downtown.
Tex-Mex: Chuy's (Barton Springs Rd)
Italian: La Traviata (downtown)
Japanese/Sushi: Uchi (wonderful but expensive, make reservations)

I've heard Uchi is great but not sure if the rest of my group are all sushi lovers.

[Saving in Austin]

You need to be in line by 8am or 8:30am to eat at Franklin's. Check their web site because they are not a 7 day a week operation.

Uchi will cost you at least $50 per person. Its sister restaurant Uchiko has happy hour prices at the bar. It is still an expensive place to eat.

The best pizza in town is at Home Slice on South Congress. Put your name in and walk around for an hour. It is a great part of town to hang out. There is free music outdoors on Wednesday evenings across the street at Guero's Taco Bar. The Continental Club is down the street and is a great place to see live music.

Chicken Shit Bingo is every Sunday late afternoon at Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon. It is not a great activity for animal rights folks but the music is good and the beer is cheap.

You shouldn't be too impacted by students in July as summer vacation will be going strong and most will be out of town. Check out the Congress Street Bridge around sunset to see the bats. There are million of them and that is the best time of year for it. Great free activity.

Check out the Austin Chronicle for events: http://www.austinchronicle.com/