My husband and I are making a very last-minute decision to move to Austin in two weeks after he received a job offer. We're both really excited about the move, but I know very little about Austin (I've only been once for a long weekend). We're coming from New York City, and although we're not into the bar/club scene here at all, we are interested in finding good restaurants to frequent in Austin. Any suggestion on nice places to eat?

I'd also appreciate any other advice you think would benefit a brand-new Austinite! (Austintonian?)

And more randomly, we're bringing our pug with us, but I'm concerned she'll have difficulty handling the heat. Anyone with a dog (particularly one with breathing problems) who can reassure me?

Thanks!

There was a recent thread (last entry was yesterday) on this very topic. Scroll down through the archives till you find it (it's currently numbered in the 60's) or type in "Moving to Austin" in the seach feature.

kmb, welcome to Texas! You will love Austin. When you say "nice" do you mean upscale, or are you just looking for good food?

Will your dog be an indoor or an outdoor dog?

You can get a lot of good information from locals here:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/austin/

As long as your Pug stays indoors during the heat, she will be fine. EVERYTHING down here is air conditioned!!

Howdy kmb116

Welcome to Austin! We're so happy to have you! <)

My daughter just got a dog, and she talks a lot about this special place just for dogs, where they can wander without a leash and mingle with other doggies. It's near Zilker Park.

If no one else knows what it's called or where it is, I'll give her a jingle and find out specifics.

Also, the Hike and Bike Trail around Town Lake (well, now it's Lady Bird Johnson Lake) is a great place for doggie to take a walk with you.

And there's lots of creeks 'round town where dogs are known to take a swim to cool off.

There's also some apartments that have doggie happy hour once a week, with treats and all.

There's lots of good eats. But as fyb says, what do you consider nice? Me, I love anything lakeside with a margarita or a big slab of BBQ ribs. Plenty of that in town. But there's all sorts of restaurants, all ethnicities. We just need some suggestions of your preferences.

Just remember it's Austin casual. Keep it weird!

And it's definitely Austinite. Better yet, Texan. It's a whole 'nother country, yee haw!

looks like swisshiker has started early with those margaritas!

Some good restaurants would be:

* Eddie V's for awesome seafood and steaks
* Hudson's on the Bend for "Texas style" fare.
* Manuela's downtown on Congress Ave for authentic Mexican
* The Clay Pitt on Guadalupe for Indian

Thanks for the tips!

The pug is definitely an indoor dog, but even on short walks in the heat she doesn't do very well. Their breathing is notoriously bad and it's hard for her to stay cool. She does love to wade in the water, though, so I'm glad to hear there are creeks she can go in. Are there any areas of water in which dogs are NOT allowed to wade? I would love to get the name of the leashless area, too, if anyone has it. I'm sure she will be fine during the winters; it's mostly August I'm worried about!

Thanks for the restaurant suggestions. I'm looking for all kinds- which places are waterfront, which have the best food, which are most romantic, and which have healthy options! DH and I love Mexican and barbecue, but I'd like to hear about restaurants of any kind that offer "healthier" alternatives. We went to Kerby Lane (sp?) while we were there and that was delicious and didn't make me feel guilty Would also love reccs for good seafood!

Also, we're still looking to secure housing. We'd like to find a short-term lease on an apartment till we can get to know the area better and hopefully buy a house this winter. One place DH found was Barton Springs apartments. They have a month-to-month corporate rental that is furnished. Anybody know anything about those apartments?

I don't know if you're a fan of BBQ, but I posted a review of Austin's options. My personal favorite was Lambert's.

http://www.luxepacker.com/files/barb...ed_states.html