eats (part one)

http://www.guerostacobar.com/

We went here on the Saturday after we found our apartment. I had the Tacos Al Pastor and a margarita. They make them with real lime juice, no mix involved, so they're very tart and tasty. The food was delicious and I'm anxious to get back to try their breakfast tacos.



The atmosphere is very hip. It's in the trendy SoCo (South Congress) area near our apartment. (Frommer's identifies it as "the once-derelict stretch of Congress Avenue that...started becoming gentrified--or at least 'trendified.' It's now lined with cutting-edge art galleries, antiques boutiques, and retro clothing shops." Guero's apparently draws a decent amount of local celebrities and politicians too (see what I found on flickr below).

The Clintons like the tacos.


Keanu likes a taco.



Because of this star traffic the restaurant can be a little busy, but we only had to wait 20 minutes on a weekend. Special treats: they make their corn tortillas by hand and, like every other place in Austin that serves alcohol, have live music.

Renting in Austin: Secrets Revealed

There are several secrets I discovered about Austin while I was there last weekend.

1) Do not try to rent an apartment in the heart of downtown or next to the UT campus. I found this out quickly by searching craigslist:

$1475 / 2br - 2 bedroom 2 blocks from UT law school (north university) (map)

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Reply to: mailto:hous-748718934@craigslist.org?subject=$1475%20/%202br%20-%202%20bedroom%202%20blocks%20from%20UT%20law%20school%20%28north%20university%29
Date: 2008-07-09, 4:22PM CDT

PostingID: 748718934

Yipes. It seems to me that half of the entire state of Texas has been built in the past 10-15 years. This has yet to be disproved.

2) I-35 will get you anywhere you need to go...slowly. It is best to find ways around it. We will be living in the Riverside area. It's a five minute drive from downtown and much cheaper than the posting above (we're talking HALF the price).

View Larger Map
This area is a little sketchy, but seems to have a nice mix of shady characters and students (read: will be completely gentrified in approx. two years).

3) Pictures of the bats fleeing the Congress Ave. bat bridge are best taken with a professional camera. My photo didn't exactly capture the glory.

This was just wonderful. We got there early and were able to snag a nice spot right by Town Lake. It was even more heart-warming to see the crowds that turned out. Instead of drinking on Sixth Street, hundreds of people withstood the heat and craned their necks at dusk to see a bunch of flying mammals hop out to party.

4) Austin is great. There are wonderful restaurants, fabulous bars, AND an amazing natural landscape. Plus music. Lots of live music. Go ahead. Pick out a band and tell me when you're visiting. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Calendar/MusicListings

Austin fun fact #1

from www.austincityguide.com:

The Congress Avenue Bridge spans Town Lake in downtown Austin and is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. The colony is estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats. Each night from mid-March to November, the bats emerge from under the bridge at dusk to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food. This event has become one of the most spectacular and unusual tourist attractions in Texas. The most spectacular bat flights are during hot, dry August nights, when multiple columns of bats emerge. There are several points from which to view the event, and an information kiosk is located on the north bank of the river, just east of the bridge.

Zach and I will be in Texas this time next week viewing places to live. Next blog: a report on apartment-hunting in Austin.

Deep in the Heart of...

In August, I will move from Columbia, Missouri (pop: 95,000) to Austin, Texas (pop: 710,000). We all know that everything is bigger in Texas, but my hope is that my time in The Lone Star State will allow me to investigate myths and educate my readers about what it's like to live in a place that, on February 1st, 1861 seceeded from the union to be the charter member of the Confederate States of America. Ultimately, I want and expect to come up with some misconceptions about Texas. I imagine that living in Austin will challenge all of my perceptions and stereotypes about ten gallon hats and big hair (see:http://www.keepaustinweird.com/). I'm hoping that messing with Texas will have many interesting and positive results. Because, to quote Kinky Friedman, "I just want Texas to be number one in something other than executions, toll roads and property taxes."