Austin Texas - What to do for 1 night?

[numberlady]

I am going to Austin next week on business and will only be staying one night. I am going to be there with several ladies from my office, so we would like go someplace nice, but not too expensive for dinner & drinks. I understand we will be staying near the Lakeline Mall. Any recommendations?

[bluberry]

Will you have a rental car? Lakeline mall is pretty far north (30-40 mins from downtown) but I would suggest you drive downtown and check out the nightlife (if you're into that sort of thing) on 4th and 6th streets.

If you want an authentic Texas meal, then you should consider BBQ for dinner. Some nice BBQ places include County Line (http://www.countyline.com) and Salt Lick on 360 (http://www.saltlickbbq.com/). Each place should run you about $12-16 per person depending on what you order.

[villanelle75]

I had a wonderful meal in Austin at a Cuban restaurant. I can't remember the name, but it was fabulous and if I'm ever in town again, I will look up that place. If you find it, try the apple mojito!

[houseblend]

The OASIS has great food and wonderful lakeside views with a beautiful sunset if you go at the right time. The prices are very reasonable, too. According to their site http://www.oasis-austin.com/ they had a bad fire in 2005. I haven't been there since then, so I don't know if seating is inside as well now if it happens to be cold, but definitely worth checking out!

[wander_woman]

The Oasis is open with plenty of outdoor seating. I was there a few weeks ago. The Oasis is the typical fun tourist place to go. Definitely get there in time for sunset. I wouldn't go there if the weather is bad or it's cold b/c it's only worth it for the outdoor seating (the food is ok, but you can definitely find much better food in Austin; it's all about the experience there). The Salt Lick is the other "famous" Austin restaurant. It's the best BBQ ever (and I'm not a huge BBQ person). But it's a far drive (probably 45 minutes from where you are). Lakeline is really far north, I almost don't even consider it part of Austin proper. If you have the time, come into downtown for the nightlife. Sixth street is more of the college student partying street; fourth street has a slightly older crowd. One of the most fun things to do in Austin is go to Esther's Follies (http://www.esthersfollies.com/), a really fun comedy show. The website is a little hokey, but the show really is wonderful. I guarantee you'll have a great time. You have to reserve tickets ahead of time. Places to eat downtown that I like are Guero's (http://www.guerostacobar.com/), Hula Hut (http://www.hulahut.com/), and Truluck's (http://www.trulucks.com/home.asp). The first two are very informal and very "Austin." Truluck's is swankier and more expensive. Another place to visit, if the weather's nice is Zilker Park (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/zilker/) and Barton Springs Pool. The Trail of Lights (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/tol/) opens next Sunday, so if you're around then, you might want to check it out. It's one of my favorite things to do in Austin around the holidays.

Have fun!

[numberlady]

Thanks for the info ladies. I will definately check out all the recommendations. It looks like we will have to drive downtown. I didn't really want to, but it seems like thats where the best places are. I wish we were staying closer to downtown, but since the meetings that we are having are taking place in that area, that is where we are staying.

[numberlady]

We ended up going to Hula Hut, which was delicious and then we went to the warehouse district and ended up seeing a band called the Spazmatics. They played 80's pop songs and were dressed up like Revenge of the Nerds. We had a great time and I really enjoyed Austin.

[wander_woman]

I love the Spazmatics! And Hula Hut. So glad you had a good time in Austin. :)