Letter 99: TLC Travel Guide: Austin
When we visit Andie
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Happy Wednesday!
Welcome to the second installment of our new TLC Travel Guide series! We asked several of our friends and fellow writers to share their favorite parts of their cities with each of you. Last week was Boston with Hannah, which you can read here.
This week, we’ll visit Austin, Texas, with Andie Smith. You might remember Andie from her letter “Stop, Wait, and Start Again” in which she mentioned living in Denver. Welp, Andie moved back to Texas (as living in Texas is a calling for many of us) and you will LOVE her recommendations. Oh, to be 24 again! —Emily
“There’s a freedom you begin to feel the closer you get to Austin, Texas.”
Willie Nelson
Favorite Restaurant
I saved this part for last as I was writing this because I have been so distraught trying to pick just one answer. People recognize the iconic Austin food spots pretty easily these days (I’m looking at you, Jo’s Coffee “i love you so much,” wall), but arguably my favorite thing about living here is the sheer VOLUME of amazing, inventive food to try outside of the well-known spots in town. I mean, we’ve got it all - food trucks, swanky rooftops, hole-in-the-wall restaurants in strip centers with peeling leather chairs where you know you’re about to get the best meal of your entire 24 years on the planet - cue Stefon from SNL gasp.
I digress. I decided to base my criteria for picking my favorite restaurant as being something fun, delicious, adventurous, and uniquely ~Austin~ feeling.
With that being said, I charge you with going to Patrizi’s at The Vortex. You’ll enter through an outdoor space that looks like a movie scene—a beautiful half-junkyard half-Secret Garden utopia. Walk a little further and you’ll encounter a lovely family-owned pasta joint operating out of a silver camper van, with plenty of outdoor seating and little wooden coves to enjoy your food in. Everything is handmade daily - the pasta is delicious (the cacio e pepe is SO good), the vibes are immaculate, and there are few things I love more than finding a spot in town apt for good red wine and conversation. Patrizi’s checks all these boxes.
Favorite Bookstore
I would be a #fake #Austin #fan if I did not use this space to fervently tell you to check out Book People. So, readers, I am fervently telling you: check out Book People!
Located right off West 6th in Downtown, Book People is *the* local Austin bookstore - you could spend hours weaving through the labyrinthian corridors of bookshelves browsing all things Colleen Hoover to Ray Bradbury, not to mention they have quirky gifts throughout the store and a coffee shop inside!
Book People is right across the street from Waterloo Records and Amy’s Ice Creams (two VERY important places for me), and you could even pop into the flagship Whole Foods next door for a quick bite as well. But of course, bring your book along with you. :)
Outdoor Activity
The outdoors are abundant and one of my favorite things about living here. Austin is one of those cities where not only does everyone have a dog, but everyone insists on doing increasingly more human-specific activities with that dog (often, dogs are inside & sitting around the table at cocktail bars). With that being said, I’ve broken this out into SANS DOG and WITH DOG activities:
SANS DOG: Truly, truly, nothing fills me with more serotonin than spending the day basking in the sun with my friends and a good book at Barton Springs or Deep Eddy Pool. After getting sun-tired and STARVING in the way that only being within feet of a swimming pool can make you, it is an absolute requirement to schlep it over to Pool Burger off Lake Austin Blvd. It’s as if a poolside bar from a sandy beach was Command+C, Command+V’d directly in the middle of the city with amazing ambiance, delicious food, and inventive cocktails to boot.
WITH DOG: At least once a week I can be spotted walking my outrageously giant dog on the Lady Bird Boardwalk, dog leash in one hand, iced coffee in the other. On your journey, you’ll walk past the Noble Joe’s coffee truck, where you must order the iced Noble Joe, one of my favorite coffee drinks in the city (and the world, for that matter). I get to enjoy an iced treat, my dog gets a nice two-mile walk, and all is right in the world. If you’re still parched afterward - grab your pooch and head over to De Nada Cantina located off Ceasar Chavez, where you can enjoy a magical margarita with some chips and queso on their dog-friendly patio. Told you we were getting too human with these dog activities!
Indoor activity
Drinking!
Totally kidding! But speaking of jokes: easily my favorite indoor activity is attending comedy shows throughout Austin.
I recently found a real love for stand-up after realizing that any good comedy routine, at its core, is just someone who has a true love of storytelling and a keen eye for observing the little things in life (and, of course, a RAGING dose of cynicism).
The comedy show scene here in ATX is ha-ha-HUGE (should I star in my own!?), and I’ve had the most fun when I’ve rounded up a few of my friends to go on an adventure somewhere new.
If you wanna catch some IMPROV: Check out the Fallout Theater downtown! They offer improv shows every night of the week, most are BYOB, and there are super cute murals and easter eggs painted all over the walls as you peruse the venue. Grab a bottle of cheap red with your friends from the CVS down the street (or plan better than my friends and I did) for a night of giggles guaranteed.
For a sit-down stand-up show: Definitely swing by the East Austin Comedy Club. The venue is tucked away on an unassuming side street, and you’ll know it when you see the red carpet lined with tiki torches that leads to the entrance. The venue itself is ridiculously cool on the inside - intimate and small, but with theatrical red velvet curtains and string lights lining the ceilings as if you’ve stumbled upon a full-fledged production. The whole thing feels like some sort of jungle-theater-themed fever dream in the best way possible. Each ticket includes a complimentary open wine bar where the comedians also serve as your bartenders, which is a really good bit IMO.
If you’re feeling BRAVE… check out The Buzz Mill’s comedy open mic nights on Tuesdays at 8 pm. Most of the local acts you’ll see at shows around town soft-launch their new material at this outdoor coffee shop/bar concept over in the East Side, which either makes for the most hilarious or cringe-inducing two hours of your life, should you feel courageous enough to find out.
Side note: if you’re feeling MASOCHISTIC…take up the host’s offer at the beginning of the show to sit in the front row. You get a free drink ticket from the bar (you will need it), and it is all sorts of exhilarating and hilarious and terrifying to subject yourself and your friends to be victims of crowd work at an open mic show.
Andie’s Favorite Part of ATX
I remember making a big trip out here last April to visit my friends and make the final decision on if I wanted to move here—we were driving down Barton Springs Road to go see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse on a sunny, perfect spring day, and as I looked out the window passing all the restaurants and places I had grown up visiting that held so much sentiment throughout the years, I couldn’t stop thinking about how content and perfect I felt in such a beautiful spot with the people I loved the most in the world sitting in the car with me.
Needless to say, my mind was made up that day on Barton Springs, so being on that road holds a very special place in my heart. Not to mention, Juliet Italian Kitchen has one of the most criminally underrated happy hours in the city.
Favorite shops/market
We could argue the pros and cons of social media for probably at least three more The Learning Curve submissions, but I will say this: through apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok, Austin has amassed a sprawling pop-up/arts/clothing/vintage shop ecosystem throughout the city.
There are legit SO MANY that pop up every weekend, so I encourage anyone reading this to do some internet digging to see if there are any weekend pop-ups that tickle their fancy to check out! Places like Uncommon Goods in South Austin are always a great place to start. One of my favorite ways to spend a weekend is getting an iced coffee and strolling through a flea market—it typically makes for a great time or a great story!
If scouring the internet for markets isn’t your thing, I’d recommend checking out the Mueller Farmers Market (my favorite - so much fresh produce and awesome food trucks) on Sundays or the South Congress market tents that pop up on the weekends. Both are fun ways to completely evaporate a paycheck on food and treats!
What to Wear/Bring?
Two things to note about your visit to Austin:
It is hot.
It is weird.
And that’s all you need to know! The amazing thing about living here is that most of us march to the beat of our own drum. Wear and bring whatever makes you feel comfortable, confident, and ready to have some fun!
With gratitude,
Andie Smith
P.S. Do you love Austin too? What would you add to this list? Share with us in the comments.
I visited my brother in the Austin area a few years ago and clearly did not scratch the surface of all the fun things. Looking forward to my next visit where I hit up some of these great recs! One of my faves when we visited was taking my kids to see the 40,000 bats fly out of the bridge one evening. It was pretty magical for them!