3 Days in Austin

I couldn't have been more excited to meet up in Austin, Texas with friends from all over the country (including Dallas, Chicago, St. Petersburg and San Antonio) for a weekend of food, music and way too many good vibes and even better energy.

We started the planning process for this trip nearly a year ago and any expectation we had was surpassed. We targeted the 1st weekend of the Austin City Limits music festival for our trip but we only planned to attend the festival for 1 day. As excited as we were for the festival, we were there to explore and soak up all things Austin.

Upon arrival on Friday in late morning, it only took us an hour or so upon arrival to check into our Air BnB. We quickly began to and catch up and began sharing stories (the best part of any friends weekend trip) before our appetites brought us to our 1st Texas BBQ experience of the weekend.

Blacks BBQ was 2 miles from where we were staying so we decided to have lunch there. There is Blacks BBQ and Terry Blacks. I've been to Terry Blacks in Dallas twice but Blacks was closer to where we were staying so that was our choice. The restaurants represent two branches of the same family legacy, with distinct offerings and both with strong reputations.

We weren't disappointed in the brisket, giant beef rib and terrific jalapeño cheddar sausage which was packed with good sized green pieces of jalapeño that really popped along with the cheesy pork it was mixed with. Our dining groups consensus standout side was the green beans which were full of flavor thanks to all the garlic and onion the beans were cooked with. This terrific late lunch carried us through most of the rest of the day and we found another cool spot right next door, Hopfields, for a post meal drink over some terrific background music as the bartender was quite the DJ with his song choices and variety.

We continued to catch up over the afternoon that slowly transitioned to evening, waiting for our friend Andy to meet us from Dallas. After Andy arrived, we made our way to Stubbs to listen to some live music.

With an amazing band shell and plenty of outdoor bars to satiate the concert goers (it has a 2500 outdoor capacity and also has a smaller indoor live music space that holds 200-300), this is quite the spot to enjoy live music. On this beautiful early October night under the stars, we enjoyed the performance by the pop band Lawrence. They have quite a following and have toured and performed as an opening act for the Jonas Brothers and the Rolling Stones in the past. After their impressive performance, we headed inside to the indoor venue to catch an act by indie psychedelic band Molecular Steve.

Late lunch meant no dinner so we hit up the Red River Cultural District Food Court, one of many food truck courts in Austin, for a late night snack (a shawarma and rice plate and some empanadas) before calling it a night.

The next day began with an hour long walk as we acquainted ourselves with more of Austin including a walk around the periphery of the University of Texas campus and took us through Waterloo Park. Eventually, we all met up at Sour Duck for a nice brunch in the restaurants excellent indoor/outdoor space which features a huge outoor patio and and two different indoor dining structures. They feature an on the healthier side menu of interesting dishes including a terrific sweet potato salad and a pulled goat dish over a corn masa which was a winner.

After brunch, Andy suggested we take some time to appreciate the natural beauty Austin has to offer and we made our way to Mount Bonnell to take in some scenery. At 775 feet above sea level, this is one of the highest points in Austin and also one of the best from which to appreciate the beauty of the surrounding area. Specifically, the view of the Colorado River from this vantage point is pretty terrific as we watched boats speed by, while others paddleboarded and kayaked their way down the river.

Our day of exploration and walking continued as we made our way through the main University of Texas quad where we were able to appreciate the impressive University buildings, the manicured grounds and the terrific views of the state capitol building. We all walked away from our short self guided walking tour of the campus with the same opinion - I cant imagine anyone not enjoying the college experience at UT Austin given all that the city, and what we saw of the campus, has to offer. We ended our time doing some souvenir hunting at the bookstore which featured all sorts of UT themed clothing and gear.

Leaving with hats and T shirts in hand, we ended our afternoon with a couple of pre dinner drinks at 2 different venues. After a drink at Caroline's upstairs under an open air roof, we headed to Central District Brewing for a beer. With our appetites primed for dinner, we headed to KG BBQ for more barbeque, with a unique twist. The Egyptian and middle eastern spices and flavors integrated with Texas BBQ at this spot really blew our taste buds away. We were particularly impressed by the amazing smoked lamb chops, the pomegranate molasses glazed pork ribs and the pulled lamb served with a mint chimmichurri. The mint chimmichurri was a perfect match to both the lamb chops and the pulled lamb.

Sunday was pretty much all music all day. We began another warm and beautiful day with a nice brunch at Counter Cafe as we soaked up the good energy of the many smiling faces of those who presumably were discussing their previous night of music fun at the fest or were reviewing the Sunday lineup at Austin City Limits (ACL).

Founded in 2002, ACL is one of the biggest and most revered music festivals in the United States. It stands out because its held over 2 four day weekends in the fall with mostly the same lineup over both weekends. Thats pretty unique! This festival, inspired by the long-running PBS series Austin City Limits, showcases a diverse mix of artists across rock, alternative, country, hip-hop, folk, and electronic genres. It takes place in Zilker Park, offering eight stages of live music, and draws tens of thousands of attendees from around the world.

ACL has amazing grounds with plenty of shady spots to escape from the sun, intermixed with smaller under the tent acts and headliners performing under the sun and stars at the large band shells located throughout the park. The awesome Zilker Park has a great layout for a music festival offering a terrific variety of food vendors, neat bars and cool merchandise. We enjoyed Richy Mitch and the Coal Miners, we're blown away by the vibe of Flipturn and enjoyed the house music of San Holo. Knowing little about Queen Herby as we walked up to the stage, she rocked our world with her costumes and her incredible dramatic performance of strong language hip hop rap mixed with humor and cynicism. The energy of her performance pulsated through our bodies, which didnt stop moving, until she left the stage. Queen Herby to Sturgill Simpson is quite a transition, but Sturgill and his band are nearly unparalleled in what they do. His version of instrumental Outlaw Country has taken this music sub genre to a level not scene since the days of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. He capped the evening with an incredible performance that featured long guitar and drum solos in almost every song, accented by powerful vocals. I've only witnessed such strong technical music at this level in a live setting a few times in my life. As his performance came to a close, I only felt gratitude for the level of mastery I had just witnessed.

It had been way too long since my last visit to Austin and our fun and busy trip, filled with laughter, music and barbecue only whet my appetite for a return visit to explore more of the city and the surrounding area.