Star Bar at Sixth and Nueces towards Lamar in Downtown Austin Texas

I've been here exactly once before today. I came here for a cocktail on a Friday evening almost eleven years ago because it was Valentine's Day and my lovely wife and I had reservations at Jeffery's in West Austin at trn thirty. I was wearing a three piece suit and weighed forty pounds more than I do now. My darling wife weighed thirty pounds less, but what the hell. I wanted to get a drink in a nice place and this was one of the classiest joints in town back then and it hasn't lost much of its charm, as far as I can tell. However, there are many other choices in the immediate vicinity now that didn't exist ten years ago in Austin, Texas. We are such a vibrant city that the speed at which things are changing is getting out of hand. SXSW visitors, who were here last year, may feel lost if they don't come back for a year or two. Luckily, not everything is being demolished to make room for towering skyscrapers and a few places with charm and grace have managed to weather the storm. This is one of them. I think vinyl covered, foam rubber padded, booth type seating is the best any bar could ever hope to offer, and when I can find a corner seat it is as if I had died and gone to heaven. I was able to do that in here because it was early in the afternoon and the high class people don't come out until later, except me and a few others, so I had the run of the place. I really enjoyed talking to the bartender who seemed like just a regular guy. He pointed out to me that if I sat near the front entrance I would be able to see the star theme in the building's design architecture. Sure enough, as the pictures show. Go on in and check it out, they have a full bar and they only serve bottled beer which is great when I don't really want a twenty four ounce mug of brew. Of course, when I do I only need to cross the street to Little Woodrow's, a much more casual competitor. I like having lots of choices and I'm glad I chose the Star Bar on this particular afternoon. Woodrow's is fun when you're hanging out with the boys but the Star Bar fills the bill when you have a date you want to impress. It's a very nice place; maybe I'll even bring my better half with me again, the next time I stop in.

The Crown and Anchor Pub on Speedway North of U.T. in Austin

The Crown and Anchor is a fine place to relax and have a couple of pints of premium beer after a hard day of work or school at the University of Texas in Austin. It is only a few hundred yards down Speedway from the campus and they have plenty of room indoors, on a weather protected outdoor patio or on the open air deck out front. It appears they have standard pub food although I can't recall ever ordering any myself. The parking lot isn't huge but if you get lucky it's not that hard to find a parking place and if necessary there are usually lots of open parking meter slots right across the street during the day that are free after 5:30 in the afternoon. They have pool tables, darts and a large screen television plus the most extensive collection of cool neon beer signs I have ever run across. It's a college bar in a sense but seems to cater to a slightly older crowd than some of the other places close by the University. I've been in there many times over the years and never had a problem finding a seat or getting service. It's not my favorite bar in Austin but it ranks pretty high on the list and beats out plenty of others that also have merit. During the 80's it was called the Beach and doubled as a music venue. Timbuk3 and Daniel Johnston got their start there as well as being a regular performance venue for Kathy McCarty and Glass Eye. They don't do music anymore but that doesn't take away from the charm and ambience that make a great bar great.

Waterloo Ice House at Sixth and Lamar in Austin Texas

If you like shopping for music at a world class record store and then walking a few steps away for lunch and a couple of brews, there may not be a better place in the world in which to do it than the corner of Sixth Street and North Lamar Boulevard in Austin, Texas. The Waterloo Ice House is a music venue by night and a very cozy and casual dining establishment by day. Parking is sometimes scarce but that is only because both the music store and restaurant are so popular. The menu is basically of the burger, sandwich and salad variety but the service is good and the prices are reasonable. Once night falls the restaurant transforms itself into a music venue where some very fine Austin based folk type acts perform. I've never seen the place empty and I've seldom seen it very crowded either. They appear to have found the perfect balance and who could ask for more in the hectic world that is Austin, Texas. Right across the street is a sporting goods store called REI and an excellent bookstore called Book People. Kitty corner is the flagship location of Whole Foods Market and, of course the strip shopping center where they reside is shared with Waterloo Records, the King of all music stores in the world. If you come to town for SXSW and don't drop into Waterloo Records you might as well have stayed home. http://www.waterlooicehouse.com

Draught House Pub and Brewery on Medical Parkway in Austin Texas

This place has Old World charm and lots of neat stuff all over the walls. They have dozens of beers on tap and they give out goldfish crackers during happy hour. It qualifies as a neighborhood bar but a lot of the patrons are people who work in the immediate vicinity who stop in for a couple of beers after work before heading home. They have their own small brewery in a corner of the bar and you can look at it through a glass window. The tables are full of names carved into the wood over the course of several decades and there are dart boards if you feel so inclined. It used to be called the Draught Horse but somewhere along the line, fairly recently, they changed their name to the Draught House. Draught Horse, Draught House, either way it is still the same place it has been for at least twenty years and probably a lot longer. It is located at 4112 Medical Parkway which becomes Burnet Road about another half a mile to the north, in North Austin. I've been in there a few times in the past but this was the first time in a long time. Not to be confused with the Alamo Drafthouse, a movie theater that serves food and beer.

http://www.draughthouse.com/

Stubb's BBQ at 801 Red River in Downtown Austin Texas

What goes better with a cold one than a plate of Barbecue? I'm sure there are a few things but not many and when it comes to Texas Style Brisket and Ribs there are very few places that serve it up any better than Stubb's on Red River in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. This place is named for C. B. Stubblefield a BBQ chef originally from Lubbock. You might have heard Joe Ely talk about him on film or video, at least I have. Stubb's had a nightclub and BBQ joint in the bottom floor of a rundown motel along Interstate 35 in the middle of town, during the eighties, before lending his name and reputation to this place but he passed away shortly after. Apparently somebody was taking notes though, because the way they prepare the meat in this place does the old boy proud. The building has a long history and once housed The One Knite, a music venue where Stevie Ray Vaughn honed his chops. It went through some rough times where it was a used furniture store and then a hang out for bums but those days are long gone and it has been restored to its originally glory, plus some. There is a bar upstairs, a bar downstairs and a couple more outdoors in an amphitheater that can hold a few thousand people. It's a popular destination during SXSW and almost every other night of the year. So much about Austin is changing before my eyes so it does a body good to see that some things remain the same or have even gotten better. Stubb's is one of those places that fits that description well.

http://www.myspace.com/stubbsbbq http://www.stubbsaustin.com/index.php

Home Slice Pizza on South Congress in SoCo Austin Texas

How fortuitous that my favorite pie in the city comes from a pizzaria in my favorite part of town. Located deep in the heart of SoCo South Austin, a yuppie term (of which I am not), is Home Slice Pizza on South Congress Avenue near Guero's and Continental Club. Be aware that they are closed on Tuesday, that could be a bummer if you were planning on going to the Continental or Guero's but were really craving a pizza, as I once was. Yeah, I was bummed and ended up going home hungry. It takes a while to get a pizza, which is why most people including myself call up the best delivery pizzaria in their area, but sometimes I want more. Home Slice gives me more and reminds me of a Western New York Style Pizza. It probably reminds everyone in the place of some other type of pizza but it is obvious that they have something going, that much cannot be denied. When I don't mind driving across town and then arriving home with a lukewarm pizza you know you are serving up a winning product. http://www.homeslicepizza.com/

Shoal Creek Saloon on North Lamar Blvd. at Ninth in Austin Texas

I've always liked this place and it just keeps on getting better and better. They have a bar area with a shuffleboard and seating. There is also live music area with a pool table and lots of seating and an additional bar. The deck in the back is pretty large and the fact that it is enclosed in the winter, (for an Austin, Texas winter that is) is a big bonus. They have a sports theme of sorts although they are all over the map. There are skis and wakeboards, bicycles and sports memorabilia, huge fish both mounted and faux and even a ski lift chair.
About half of the building they occupy now was formerly an Irish products only store with Emerald in its name. I bought stuff in there for my Irish wife's birthday and Christmas a couple of times until Shoal Creek flooded again, like it has done so many times before. But, that was the low side of the building and it sits four or more feet below the main bar and restaurant. There isn't much parking in the lot and I don't like pulling in because I have a land cruiser type car that is difficult to maneuver, so I approach from the backside and park on the street. They have music frequently and the service and food are great. http://www.shoalcreeksaloon.com/