Daniel_Williams

Hi,

I'm going to be exploring Austin TX for the first time ever at the end of the month and wanted some ideas of lunch/dinner establishments that would be comfortable for solo dining.

I won't have a car and will be staying within walking distance of downtown (12th Street), so either downtown or easy access by public transportation or foot from downtown is a must. Reasonably-priced ($20 or less/meal, I can forgo the alcohol) would be nice but I'll pay more for an interesting or uniquely Austin experience. I like holes-in-the-wall that serve good food.

Mexican I'm thinking would be quite good given the proximity of Austin to Mexico. I like trying to eat healthily; I don't know if Tex-Mex is possible combined with healthy (last time I went to a popular Tex-Mex place in Houston, the portions of that burrito I think I could honestly describe as obscene!) but if it is, that would be great as I would like to have some Tex-Mex, given it's a specialty in that part of the world. Any favorite vegetarian joints would also be appreciated.

Thanks, Daniel

WillTravel

Manor Road is a good spot for interesting eateries. It has the famous El Chilito, for example (very cheap and very good).

Magnolia Cafe is a classic spot on South Congress. Not extraordinary, but quite nice.

You can get to both these places by bus.

I think Trudy's is known for Tex-Mex, but it's not so much my thing.

CounterCulture is a cute vegan place on East First.

Daniel_Williams

Thanks WillTravel,

I've jotted down these places.

Best wishes, Daniel

AustinTraveler

You need to post your question on this forum:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/austin/

Cranachin

Two places I recommend you try are Easy Tiger (709 E. 6th St.) and 24 Diner (600 N. Lamar; corner of N. Lamar and W. 6th).

Hut's (807 W. 6th) is an Austin institution for hamburgers. Ditto for pizza at nearby Frank & Angie's (508 West Avenue).

Here are some searches that might help you.

http://www.zagat.com/p/austin#vertical[]=46&city[]=95995&city[]=1014&neighborhoods[]=Downtown&neighborhoods[]=Clarksville&cost[]=25&sort[]=desc

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/s...best-food.html

http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/sx...ind-cheap-eats Note: most of these are not downtown but you could take public transit to most of them

http://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=vege...=p:TX:Austin::[2nd_Street_District,Downtown,East_Austin,Market_Di strict,Sixth_Street_District,So-Fi_%28S._1st_St._District%29,SoCo_%28S._Congress_A ve.%29,Warehouse_District]

http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/11/1004/...?expanded=true

http://tastytouring.com/2013/03/25-r...n-restaurants/

emd3

Go to the original Threadgills restaurant. Excellent TX home-cooked style food and wonderful vegetable sides.

Daniel_Williams

Thank you austintraveller, cranachin, and emd3!

Looks like I have some terrific dining options in store!

I was already looking forward to seeing Austin but now I'm looking forward even more!

Best wishes, Daniel

cd

Hi Daniel! For a day trip from Austin, let me recommend Gruene Tx. It is about 45 min from Austin but you would need to rent a car for the day as I understand there is no public transport. http://austinot.com/gruene-texas

musicfan

Daniel--when I was in Austin a year ago, I ate here for breakfast:

http://www.waltonsfancyandstaple.com/

It's owned by Sandra Bullock, which isn't a big deal for me, but I was looking for someplace unique I could walk to from my hotel. I loved it--the food was delicious, the staff was super nice and it was a cool building. I adore Austin--you will have a wonderful time.

longhorn55

Our "go to" place for Tex-Mex in Austin is El Mercado. Since our family lives in South Austin, we always go to the one on South 1st Street (which I've heard is the best one anyway). But, there's one downtown at 1702 Lavaca St. and the menu's the same, so I'm sure it's worth visiting as well.

Daniel_Williams

Longhorn55, musicfan, cd,

Thanks for the additional suggestions! Sadly I'll only have 3 full days in Austin so won't get to try them all! Reading all your posts, I'm looking forward more & more to ringing in the New Year in Austin.

Best wishes, Daniel