Girls trip to Austin help please
 

My friends and I (mid to late twenties) go on a girls trip every year. We've been to Miami, Vegas, New Orleans, cruise....This year we are heading to Austin for a weekend in late spring/early summer. I've been trying yo do my research but I can't find a good website that has forums that are just about Austin so sorry for the wide variety of questions but any info will help.

1. two good lunch spots (maybe burgers, mexican or BBQ?)

2. two good dinner spots (we'd like to do at least one upscale type place but something trendy or just a place with really good food that can't be missed is also good)

3. Are there any specific bars that we should hit? I know there are two hot spot areas (6th st and the other area for a slightly older crowd)

We are going to stay downtown (thinking the Omni or one of the Hiltons maybe? but are open to recommendations). We aren't really sightseeing people but I hear the bats are something to see. We are open to other ideas if there is something we should see while in Austin. We normally try to see at least one local sight. We mainly want to eat some good food, have some drinks and listen to music.

Thanks for your help!

I live in Austin, and I highly recommend the San Jose Hotel. https://www.sanjosehotel.com Its a cool, funky spot right on South Congress in the middle of all the "Austin" action you are coming to see. And there are amazing restaurants in immediate walking distance. The Omni is nice (I was married there), but its on 8th St and a bit far from the action. The W hotel would be my second choice, based on location. 6th Street is mostly for college kids. 2-4th Street is more adult, and there are lots of music spots along South Congress, South 1st, and South Lamar. Have fun!

I've stayed at the Omni, it's a good hotel. The Four Seasons and Radisson are also good and close to the bats and to the 2-4th street area.

I just did a girls' trip last month, and we basically ate our way through town. Here's a list of what we did:

- Lunch Friday: Magnolia Cafe (yum), then walked down South Congress
- LBJ library
- Dinner Friday: Casino el Camino on Sixth, only because we had to be at the venue next door to try for standby tickets for Esther's Follies. It was fine, but I wouldn't make a point of eating there. Very dive-y, which you might like or not.

- Breakfast Saturday: flagship Whole Foods on Lamar (delicious... and impressive)
- drove through Hill Country, stopping at Gruene Hall to hear a band - really fun stop
- Dinner Saturday: Salt Lick barbecue in Driftwood, about 30 minutes out of town. Great experience. We had about an hour and a half wait even though we got there at 4:30 in February, so plan accordingly!
- Dessert Saturday: Lick ice cream, I think on 1st - it was good, but I preferred Amy's
- Bars: We went to Lustre Pearl on Rainey and liked it a lot. There were tons of places on that street - good place to bar-hop if you want to.

We also went to the "Totally 80s Singalong" at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz on Sixth at midnight (very fun). We got out of the show around 2am, just as everyone was leaving the bars on Sixth Street, and it was madness.

- Brunch Sunday: Gospel brunch at Stubb's. I'd definitely recommend it.
- went to Barton Springs/Zilker Park, then to Mozart's coffee/bakery on the way to Mount Bonnell. Mozart's has a great view and patio, but the food and drinks were just fine/good to me. Nice stop, not a must-do. Mount Bonnell was great if you have good weather.
- Guero's on South Congress for Tex-Mex. It was fine, but you could probably find better.
- Amy's SoCo location for dessert. Delicious, and the servers are lots of fun.

Some of us watched the Downton Abbey finale before heading back out to find the rest of our group; they had found a bar called the Yellow Jacket Social Club in this industrial area that looks deserted on a Sunday night. By the time we got there, the live music had shut down and it was pretty chill, but they said it was a lot of fun while everything was going on.

- Breakfast Monday: 24 Diner. Chicken and waffles. Amazing. (everyone else liked their meals too!) Shopping at BookPeople and Waterloo Records, hung out by Lady Bird Lake in 80-degree weather before we headed back to winter.
- Last meal: Stopped at the Torchy's Tacos trailer on our way to the airport. I still think about that taco.

We rented this condo on vrbo.com and loved it. The location was great - a five-minute drive from downtown, walkable to South Congress. If you plan to be downtown most of the time, I'd stay in a hotel there, but we were kind of all over the place and this was perfect. The owner was great to work with, too.

http://www.vrbo.com/441369

Wow, jent. Great information!

If you've never done a Segway tour, I highly recommend it and I think it would be especially fun for a girl's getaway. Even though I spent many years in Austin, I learned a lot about the city on the Segway tour. I'd recommend going on a Sunday morning (like we did). You'll avoid the workday crowds and the grounds of the Capitol, where we got to play around riding the Segways, were virtually empty. We did our tour with Segway Nation and they were a fun bunch!

Also, plan a little retail therapy in the shops on South Congress. Some really fun and funky stuff!

Yes, great info from everyone. I'll looking into everything mentioned here. Thanks.

Paul Qui (winner of Top Chef Texas and an altogether great guy) has three food trucks that are outstanding.

http://eskaustin.com/

His new restaurant, QUI, will be opening in April so you might want to check that out. He started out working for Tyson Cole and his two restaurants in town, Uchi and Uchiko, are great and would be a good splurge:

http://www.uchiaustin.com/

There are plenty of other food truck options, including the South Austin Trailer Park on S. 1st Street. Definitely visit Torchy's Tacos. They now have locations around town but for some reason the tacos out of the trailer still taste best.

One of my favorite restaurants right now is Elizabeth Street Cafe:

http://elizabethstreetcafe.com/

Great French/Vietnamese and a fun atmosphere. There are literally tons of restaurants in Austin so choosing can be difficult.

I second the Segway suggestion, especially on the weekend. I lived here for years before I did it and we really had a blast.

Sixth Street (East) is worth seeing but definitely is not what Austin's all about. Most people your age hang around the West Sixth, Warehouse (Fourth), Second, and Rainey Street districts. Also lots of cool happenings on the East Side of town (that's where QUI and EastSide Kings are).

Don't miss walking the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, where Austin goes to exercise. It really is a gem right in the heart of downtown.

If you want one of the best photo ops in town, head to Mount Bonnell. Ask anyone and they'll be happy to take your picture, which, no doubt, will end up on Facebook!

Two other forums I recommend for Austin info are TripAdvisor and City-Data.

Have a great time in Austin. You've picked a great city, especially for your age group.

I can second rec for Magnolia Cafe (it's a TripleD find, fyi). The omelettes were amazing!

Also had a pretty good meal at Malaga. Tapas place on 2nd. Here is their website: http://www.malagatapasbar.com/ (we ordered a cheese tray that came with a serving of mixed olives in olive oil. I swear we came very close to just drinking that OO- it was soooo good!)

One note: Parking in downtown is via boxes placed many spaces apart. We were trapped by this. The signs indicating that the street parking is not free were placed like 10 feet up on poles only at the end of the streets. We totally missed the parking meter boxes. I personally think the parking spots should be painted with numbers. That would actually give you a clue, I think. The ticket is expensive- so make sure you pay for your parking if you're on the street.

Great city for a girls' weekend! Have fun!

Are there good wineries in the area? We thought that maybe a good to get out of the city see some of the countryside.

Flat Creek is my favorite winery in the area. Address is in Marble Falls but they are located closer to Lago Vista. Very beautiful winery.

Although there are lots of wineries in the Hill Country, please don't expect much from the wine being produced. Sorry Texas wine enthusiasts, if there are any out there!

You might enjoy going to Fredericksburg. It's a small town where you basically walk around looking at little shops. Plenty of places to stop and get a glass of wine and something to eat.

If you enjoy a little hiking and want a beautiful view of the Texas Hill Country, head to Enchanted Rock, about 20 minutes north of Fredericksburg. I would go there first and then head to Fredericksburg for lunch and the rest of the afternoon. It's an easy 1-1/2 hour drive back to Austin.