Uncle Billy's Brew & Que on Barton Springs Road in Austin Texas

This is a new place in Austin that will eventually grow into an old established South Austin Hangout. They have the two most essential ingredients for instant sucess, beer and meat. They brew their own beer in big kettles behind a glass wall and they serve up some pretty decent Barbeque, Barbecue, Bar-B-Q, smoked meat. On Tuesday's any house brewed beer is two bucks a pint. That's only about 75 cents a pint more than it costs me from my kegerator and I get to have a little variety in my life. They have a pretty good sized parking lot and the place can probably handle about two hundred people or more between the inside and the patio. The traffic in the area is pretty heavy and very noisy but it's close to the hike and bike trail and if you sit towards the back of the patio it is easy to pretend you are out in the country somewhere. They have big flat screen T.V.'s for the people who can't live without them and the decor is mostly wood glass and metal. The bar is a good size and seats lots of people. I like that feature in any bar and there aren't that many of a comparable size in town. I dropped in about 4:30 in the afternoon and when I left forty five minutes later the place was starting to fill up. It's a recent addition to restaurant row where places come and go but I think this place will be around for a good long while. http://www.unclebillysaustin.com/

Jo's Coffee on South Congress Avenue in Austin Texas

Even though this is a Coffee shop it qualifies as a bar for the purposes of this blog. In fact, anyplace that sells beer for on site consumption lives up to the rather low standards I set for myself before I began this project on January 1st, 2008. That is not to say that Jo's isn't a very cool and popular place on South Congress Avenue because it really is. When the weather is nice there are people scattered all around the place and there is usually a pretty good crowd all bundled up when the weather is cold and rainy as well. During SXSW they have live music in the parking lot and there is often something or other going on around there on nice weekends and evenings at various other times of the year. They serve coffee, food and beer and it's one of the few places around the area where you can still buy a pack of cigs if you feel like it. I would call the crowd it attracts kind of bohemian. You know, people who read books, write poetry and have deep discussions about things more important than what's on television or that stupid Fox News network. It pretty much anchors the north end of South Congress Avenue and a lot of people who live in the area would be totally lost without its presence. I consider myself one of them. http://www.joscoffee.com/index.htm

San Jose Hotel on South Congress Avenue in Austin Texas

The San Jose Hotel is one of the best located mom and pop style places to stay anywhere in the City of Austin. It is located directly across the street from the Continental Club and just a short walk from Guero's Taco Bar. It's a slightly longer jaunt to downtown but easily within walking distance and it's close by all of the strange and wonderful places to shop on South Congress Avenue. The bar is tiny but the lounging area poolside is spacious and comfortable. They only serve beer and wine but that's fine considering the proximity to several full service bars in the immediate vicinity. This was the first time I have ever ventured beyond the gate and really had a look at what a great place this really is. The people were friendly and the service was fine. I swear I would pick this as my destination of choice for a stay in the area if I didn't already live here. In fact I was kind of tempted to jump in the pool even though I was fully clothed and not registered as a guest at the hotel. If I had, I might have not been treated so friendly but who really knows? http://www.sanjosehotel.com/

Opal Divine's Freehouse at Sixth and Rio Grande in Austin Texas

This is the original location of Opal Divine's in Austin. Prior to their occupancy of this fine old home it was several different bars that couldn't make a go of it even with its central location in downtown Austin. Those days are long gone and this place is hopping on most afternoons and every weekend evening. It is located right across the street from an Austin institution called Katz Deli whose motto is: "Katz's Never Closes" which means you can get a bite to eat long after the kitchen at Opal's is closed. However, that doesn't mean that Opal's doesn't serve up some good grub, it just means the kitchen closes at 11 p.m. because the cook like to sleep at night too. The parking in this part of town is kind of difficult, depending on the hour, but it's worth the effort if you ask me. There are at least a half dozen other food and beerjoints in the immediate vicinity so it makes for a fine stop on a barhopping night. During SXSW the place gets packed and they have live music with some regularity year round. There are outdoor decks on two floors and all kinds of little knooks and crannies in the many rooms inside. Unlike some big open bars in Austin this place retains the original flair and coziness just as the architect envisioned it, when it was built a couple of hundred years ago. In fact, I doubt an architect was even consulted, this is an old stone structure that hasn't had many modifications other than what it took to bring it up to code. The decks are added on, of course, but it still drips with Old Austin charm. I'm proud to admit that it is one of my favorite beerjoints in the entire city and I believe it will be one of your's too after your first visit. http://www.opaldivines.com/freehouse/index.html

Little Woodrow's on West Sixth Street in Austin Texas

Little Woodrow's is a chain, or at least they have four Houston location as well as three in Austin. Sometimes that's a bad thing, as in mass produced Mexican food, and sometimes it is not. In this case I don't think it is a bad thing at all. With over 100 beers to choose from and cool stuff on the walls to look at, Little Woodrow's is a welcome addition to the neighborhood and the community in general. During the previous decade this former gas station was a coffeeshop where you could go in and purchase unglazed cups, bowls and plates and then glaze them yourself to be fired in a kiln and picked up several days later. They did a fair business, for a while, but it falls under the category of "niche" and the "niche" just wasn't big enough. I mean, I could even see myself going in once or maybe even twice but how many friggin' homemade coffecups does a person need? Not to mention that the rents in this area are out of this world. I'm really suprised they lasted as long as they did. Now, Woodrow's on the other hand could still be around in twenty years. Beer sells and this place sells a lot of beer. On Thursdays three bucks will get you a huge mug filled with your choice of over 100 selections and one beer too many is the difference between a great time and barfing your guts out. I recommend two at the most but I can't say that I always take my own advice so be like me and don't hesitate to have the waitress call you a cab if you should find yourself passing over into a state of mind commonly referred to as wasted. It's a big old joint with some comfortable seating and very cute girls delivering beer to your table or you can just walk up to the bar and plunk yourself down, if you so prefer. The jukebox is one of those MP3 deals so I didn't even bother taking a look at it, they usually have little condensed snippits of songs and there isn't much that pisses me off more than getting cheated by a jukebox. Maybe I'm being hasty but I've been down that road before. O.K. I've said enough, go on in and see what I mean. I doubt you'll be disappointed. http://www.littlewoodrows.com/

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.