2tone

iTrader: (3)

well, i've been here in austin for about a month and a half now. it's awesome. driving is so much more fun (coming from dallas) and i get better gas mileage here!!

my girlfriend and i are wondering though ... are there any cool bars that are NOT downtown? we like going down there, but it'd be nice not to have to go there every time we want a nice bar!! if anyone here has been to dallas, what i'm really looking for is a "loon" replacement. the loon is quite possibly the best bar i've ever been to - it's a dive-y kinda bar, very chill, cheap but good food, and strong *** drinks! every drink is a double basically - you can eat a nice dinner and get drunk off 3 drinks and walk out paying less than $25 (which in the heart of "uptown" in dallas is unheard of!!). the loon will get busy on thurs-sat nights, even trendy with pretentious dallas-ites showing up, but you're always welcome in t-shirt and flip-flops, no matter what night it is. oh, and it's relatively safe - i want a dive bar with strong drinks but i don't want to worry about my car (my precious car) getting broken into or getting jumped in the parking lot!

anyway, we live in nw austin. again, downtown is ok - it's not necessarily the commute that bothers me - i'm more looking for that cool, chill bar that's not over crowded on 6th street. maybe we can get a list going? we just went to the waterloo at 2222 and 360 - i had three mixed drinks and couldn't even taste alcohol!

Chrisbert

Sherlocks Pub - sort of a sports bar
Dallas Night Club - strange mix of Country with some rap in between sets
Grahams in Pflugerville - all types of music

Be very careful though; the bars that are known for partying hard and are not downtown are also favorite hangouts for The Man.

Mordacity

I'd be interested in knowing this as well... every time I go out it's to Darwin's Pub on 6th.. sigh..

WTB something with not so many damn people.

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

I would definitely stay away from Dallas nightclub if I were you, seems every time I go by that place there's cop car lights flashing in the parking lot, and I wouldn't trust their cooking either. Waterloo has good food, but they're more of a restaraunt/beer hangount than what you're looking for. I guess it depends on what you're priority is, food or alcohol? Lotsa places here do one or the other really well, but not a whole lot (outside of normal restaraunts like Friday's etc.) do both at a high level.

Chrisbert

LOL, I never knew Dallas NC had food! But yeah, not the best place to drink even just a littel bit without a DD to get you home.

Chrisbert

When I do go downtown I only go to 6th if I have visitors in town. I find the Warehouse District to be an older crowd. Gingerman's Pub is a nice Irish pub to hang out in. I've not had anything to eat there other than bar food, which was not bad.

Also pretty cool is the area South of the river on Congress. Riverside has some really cool places too.

If you want good food and are into Tequila, Z-Tejas is a good afterwork place to go. It's by the Arboretum, and there is one downtown.

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

I think they did at one time but maybe not now? Whatever the case,
I have never set foot nor will I EVER be caught dead there, something about being in a room filled with drunk urban cowboys and the stupid women that fall for them that has just never appealed to me, not to mention the horrible music they play...ugh. I'd rather spend my $$ at a better place listening to real music and maybe even getting some kickass food to boot (like a place like Threadgill's on Riverside or Hill's on S. Cingress) then go there, but that's just me. The area you're referring too on congress is now known as "Soco", it's definitely the trendy hangout, pretty much where all the austin newbs go to try and be all cool and hip and stuff. I'm not really into that, I set the trends rather than follow them

Chrisbert

I guess I'm still an Austin newb then; only been here 2 years. I didn't know it had the rep for that though. Funny. I started going down there to see Big Smith at the Continental Club. My buddy's daughter is married to their lead guitarist.

My favorite place to just get my drink on - Jardin's in Liberty Hill. I live across the street so I'm good to go. :-)

2tone

iTrader: (3)

i thought south congress might have some cool hangouts.

the food is a bonus - more looking for a good place to get strong drinks - enough of those and any food is good food . i've been to a couple places in the warehouse district - cool area but still a little too much effort to pay for parking and fight the crowds. it's fun somethimes tho for sure. i'll have to hit up hills and check that out.

it definitely seems like austin is more of a restaurant & bar city as opposed to a bar-that-serves-food (with the exclusion of 6th st of course). places like z tejas or threadgill's or trudy's - great places to drink but definitely a restaurant before a bar.

keep 'em coming - i'll check out what i can and let you know what i like.

avenger

Dallas NC ain't that bad. It's actually a pretty popular place to hang out ... and cheap booze to boot.

I tend to stay up north. Little Woodrows at McNiel and Parmer, Sherlocks, Trudy's, Baby A's (thought Trudy's and Baby A's are more restaurants that bars).

There's also BB Rovers ... pretty chill place. I can't think of anything else right now ... probably will when I drive past them.

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

yeah the rep has grown over the last 2-3 years, it's funny to go down there and people watch and see all the folks trying so hard to look all whatever. I can always spot the locals, thr tourists, and the transplants lol
Continental Club was there lonnnng before the SoCo trend started so it's pretty cool to see them benefit from it (I hope) as they've been around the Austin music scene forever and gave a lot of bigger bands their first breaks etc. One of the places I like since a lot of the smaller venues have since long vanished, places like Liberty Lunch and the Austin Opera House etc. used to be such a blast when they were still here, but a lot of those places died off due to development and/or competition from places like the Austin Music Hall etc. Come to think of it, The BackYard might be a place to check out, not to mention some of the other venues along Barton Springs road. (Peter Pan is a hoot, I watched my friends play a whole game there while they were completely trashed, funniest thing I think I've ever seen in my life )

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

i dunno man, everyone I talk to bitches about that place, those other spots you mentioned however are hugely popular here at the office.

Drew42

How come no one has mentioned Lovejoy's? I know it is downtown, but it is what I would definetely call a Texas dive. It is located between 6th and 7th on Neches. They make some of their own beers, have a funky jukebox and strange murals. I can't really speak for the drinks, as I always enjoy the beer selection. Lots of imports too. Certainly not your typical Austin crowd. And lack of smoking makes it easier to tolerate. For a good Irish pub, B.D. Reilly's on 6th. Or Mother Egan's on W. 6th. Right across the street from that is Opal Divine's. Have you tried those clubs on Red River? Bull McCabe's is an authentic Irish pub. Small and intimate. I can email you a long list of some of my personal favorites.

Andrew.

jpmoney

Unless you're really in to country and such, I'd stay away from Graham's. If you like strong drinks you'll laugh at them measuring out shots for your drink. I had to go there for a work function with the girlfriend and it was depressing. Also like others have said, Dallas is a DUI waiting to happen.

Sherlock's is ok, but there are a lot of d-bags there and the parking sucks for us

Trudy's on Burnet/183 is highly recommended - good strong drinks and good food to boot. Note that if you go for the Mexican Martini don't try to get more than two because they really stick to that rule... and all the staff talks to each other. At least 20 good beers on tap as well (yay Fireman's 4).

I like dives as well. While I went to UT I spent a lot of time at the Showdown on Guadalupe. Since I'm in NW Austin though I'd recommend:

The Watertank on McNeil
C Hunts on Burnet
The Canary Roost on Metric

There are a few others, but those are my favorites right now. I've been in Austin since fall of 2000.

2tone

iTrader: (3)

thanks drew42 & jpmoney! i'll have to look into those soon - we like going downtown but we're in nw austin too so those last 3 could be good places to check out.

when is austin having another meet? i'm hoping someone with a revi intake will show up so i can hear that damn thing once and for all!

Chrisbert

I'll have to try some of those mentioned by Drew and JP.

mtrevino

This is what I get for not visiting the region forums in a while.

What's funny is that I've been to the Loon before in Big-D. My friends lived not very far from there and it definitely was pretty cool.

Okay 2Tone, I would recommend the following. You have to know that I'm not a spirit drinker, just beer and wine. So most of the places I hang out at are those kind of places.

The Parlor
http://www.myspace.com/theparlor
There's actually two locations, there's one on North Loop, which has a stage for music. But the one I've been to is in Hyde Park, (43 and Guadalupe). This place is more chill... like a full bar that serves food, coin pool table, beer, and some neat pizzas to eat inside or on the deck.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ogID=204688197

Draught House
http://www.draughthouse.com/
Good food and good beer, with some darts inside, and some outdoor evening places to hang.

Opal Divine's
http://www.opaldivines.com/
Good beers and decent food. I've had a few of the mix drinks and they're not to shabby. I've only been to the West 6th street location.

That's all I can recommend for outside of downtown. Hope that helps some,
michael