We are spending 3 days in Austin visiting Presidential libraries. Would like recommendations for favorite restaurant in downtown area? We love all types of food...more on the casual side.

Austin has so many new restaurants opening all the time. I would use Yelp and just see what looks good to you in the area you are staying. If you want tacos though, do not miss Torchy's.

We went to Torcy's Mexican when we were there and really liked it. But Austin Traveler is right there are so many great places.

Are most of the good restaurants and sights in downtown area? Should we stay downtown?

Wth is "Torcy's Mexican"?

There's Torchy's Tacos, which is a chain, and that's what A-T is talking about above.

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Good restos are randomly spaced - despite its politics, Austin is still in Texas and is still a Texas city. That means it's spread out and is more of a car city than a walking city.

Austin is also one of the 20 largest cities in the country, it's not a town that happens to be a state's seat of government (Santa Fe) and it's not a jumped-up flyspeck that houses the governor (Pierre, Montpelier). Your inquiry of "most of" the good restaurants and "most of" the sights is meaningless. There are good restaurants downtown. There is the Sixth Street area that's known for live music, bars, and entertainment venues. The LBJ library isn't downtown.

The "sights" aren't necessarily downtown. Some are. Others aren't. Depends upon which sights you want to see. The nature attractions are not amidst the concrete jungle.

You should definitely stay in the downtown area. A hotel along the Town Lake Trail would be ideal (note: it is officially called Lady Bird Trail).