WELCOME TO AUSTIN! - greenleafauthorsummit.com

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AUTHOR SUMMI T
™
EMPOWERING AUTHORS + EXPERTS
WELCOME TO
AUSTIN!
greenleaf
guide
to
T
austin
he GBG staff has put
together this guide
to introduce you to the city
and give you a true taste of
life in Austin. We’re happy
to elaborate on any of our
picks or comment on some
of the surprising facts that
we’ve gathered.
we hope you enjoy
our recommendations!
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R E S TAU R A N T
GUIDE
Barley Swine
Address: 2024 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78704
Phone: 512-394-8150
Cuisine: Contemporary American Small Plates
Attire: Casual
Reason for recommending: A rustic adventure in dining from
one of Food & Wine’s best chefs of 2011. The seasonal menu
features locally sourced ingredients and a robust regional beer
selection.
Advice/Tips: No reservations. But while you wait for them to
call your cell phone and notify you that your table’s ready, you
can shoot some pool and play some Willie on the jukebox at the
Horseshoe Lounge next door.
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Trudy’s
Address: 409 West 30th Street, Austin, Texas 78705
Phone: 512-477-2935
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Attire: Casual
Reason for recommending: Trudy’s is the original home of the
“Mexican Martini.” The spot also boasts tasty food, great service,
and a kitchen that’s open until 2:00 a.m.!
Advice/Tips: If you sit at the bar, you get a discount on your food,
but better yet, you get a creamy avocado salsa with your chips
that you don’t get at the tables. It’s quite delish!
Z’Tejas
Address: 1110 West 6th Street, Austin, Texas 78703
Phone: 512-478-5355
Cuisine: Southwestern Grill
Attire: Casual
Reason for recommending: The restaurant offers great appetizers,
and fantastic fresh food and drinks.
Advice/Tips: Must-order items include the jalapeño margarita,
shrimp bites, skillet dumplings, and the ancho chile fudge pie.
The Salt Lick
Address: 18300 FM 1826, Driftwood, Texas 78619
Phone: 512-858-4959
Cuisine: Texas Barbecue
Attire: Very casual
Reason for recommending: The Salt Lick is an Austin tradition.
It’s about twenty minutes outside of town and worth every
minute of the drive. You’ll sit at picnic tables and eat some of the
best barbecue in the world.
Advice/Tips: The sauce is notorious for its addictive qualities.
Cash only, and no reservations.
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Fonda San Miguel
Address: 2330 North Loop Boulevard West, Austin, Texas 78756
Phone: 512-459-4121
Cuisine: Interior Mexican
Attire: The nice side of casual
Reason for recommending: Unique and outstanding Mexican
dishes—a real departure from the Tex-Mex most people
are accustomed to. The atmosphere is also interesting and
beautiful—the place would be worth seeing even if the food
weren’t excellent!
Advice/Tips: Get the Ancho Relleno San Miguel!
Perla’s
Address: 1400 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78704
Phone: 512-291-7300
Cuisine: Seafood
Attire: Casual/Business casual
Reason for recommending: Perla’s offers some of the best
seafood in town. They also have a great patio that is wonderful
for taking in the goings-on of South Congress.
Advice/Tips: Parking can be difficult on Congress, but there is a
garage directly behind the restaurant if you don’t mind a really
short walk. Valet parking is available on weekends.
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South Congress Bridge
Easy Tiger
Address: 709 East 6th Street, Austin, Texas
Phone: 512-614-4972
Cuisine: German-ish/Bakery/Beer Garden
Attire: Casual/Business casual
Reason for recommending: Chef
Andrew Curren (of 24 Diner and Top
Chef: Texas fame) takes house-made
soft pretzels and artisan sausages to a
whole new level.
Advice/Tips: Take advantage of the beer
garden seating along Waller Creek and make
sure to start with a pretzel and beer cheese.
The Oasis
Address: 6550 Comanche Trail, Austin, Texas 78732
Phone: 512-266-2442
Cuisine: Southwestern
Attire: Casual
Reason for recommending: While the food at the Oasis is good,
the real draw is the beautiful views of Lake Travis that can be seen
from their sprawling patio.
Advice/Tips: The Oasis is a go-to spot to see the sunset, so
make sure to get your table early, and perhaps pass the time
with some margaritas.
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La Traviata
Address: 314 Congress Avenue, Austin,
Texas 78701
Phone: 512-479-8131
Cuisine: Italian
Attire: Business casual
Reason for recommending: La Traviata offers a
lively ambiance and a first-rate food and wine list.
Advice/Tips: The Bolognese is fantastic, and worth it!
Hopdoddy
Address: 1400 South Congress Avenue, Austin Texas 78704
Phone: 512-243-7505
Cuisine: American/Burgers
Attire: Casual
Reason for recommending: Hopdoddy offers a wide variety of
specialty burgers that feature fresh ingredients and delicious (and
perfectly toasted) buns. They also have a full bar and substitute
pint glasses with goblets of beer.
Advice/Tips: If you’re feeling adventurous, order the ahi tuna
burger. The restaurant often has lines out the door, so consider
stopping by during non-peak hours.
Roaring Fork
Address: 701 Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-583-0000
Cuisine: American
Attire: Casual
Reason for recommending: The Roaring Fork has terrific food
and an inviting atmosphere. You won’t be disappointed.
Advice/Tips: If you like large portions and burgers, don’t miss
the “Big Ass Burger”—it’s a memorable plate. The fish dishes
are also delicious!
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AUSTIN
FUN FACTS
Looking for a fun alternative to the nighttime insanity of the
Sixth Street district? Check out Rainey Street for a hip vibe and
unique atmosphere. The street boasts converted bungalow
bars that feature ping-pong tables, hula hoops, and an eclectic mix
of patrons.
As Austin continues to grow, so does the number of food trucks
popping up in the ATX. The most recent count records well over
1,500 eateries on wheels.
Do you like to laugh? If so, make
sure to see a show at one of the
many improv venues around town.
The Austin improv scene has
been steadily growing since 1990
and has developed into a thriving
community of players. Check out the
Hideout Theatre, ColdTowne Theater,
Salvage Vanguard Theater, or The New
Movement Theater for some on-the-spot
entertainment.
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While Austin might not be exactly what you expected a Texas
town to be like, it is home to a bar and restaurant that thrives on
cowboy and honky-tonk culture. The Broken Spoke considers
itself the “last of the true Texas dancehalls” and also serves up a
mean chicken fried steak. Put on your cowboy boots and
get ready to witness some impressive line dancing.
Barton Springs is another must-see: the pool is spring fed,
over 900 feet long, and has an average water temperature of 68˚ F.
It most likely won’t be long until you’re feeling that Austin heat, so
cool off in one of Austin’s most popular spots.
Although Austin has continued to expand, it remains the largest
city in the United States without a professional sports team. In
lieu of a big-city team, many Austinites support the University
of Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns have a stadium that
seats over 101,000 fans, so it’s fairly easy to forget that you’re
rooting for a college team!
Barton Springs Swimming Pool
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Austin has two local newspapers worth taking a look at. The
Austin American-Statesman is an awardwinning daily newspaper that features
primarily local news but also offers
national and international stories.
The Austin Chronicle is a weekly
publication that largely focuses
on happenings and culture
around Austin.
Austin is home to the University
of Texas, one of the largest
universities in the United States.
UT has several famous alumni,
including Laura and Jenna Bush, Walter
Cronkite, Matthew McConaughey, Renée
Zellweger, Farrah Fawcett, and Roger Clemens.
Austin was the third-fastest-growing city in the United States
between 2000 and 2006. To Austin residents, the rapid growth
is no surprise. The city is currently leading the nation in job
growth and is frequently lauded for its great qualities; Austin
has been voted the second-best big city in the country by
Money magazine, the “greenest city in America” by MSN, and
the city with the best people by Travel & Leisure magazine.
Austin also ranks as the fifth-safest city in America. Austin
residents also read and blog more than the citizens of any other
U.S. metropolitan area, according to Nielsen. Great place for a
publishing company, eh?
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Austin was recently voted one of the country’s most dogfriendly cities by Forbes. Austin boasts 122 acres of parks
per every 1,000 pets and employs the third most veterinarians in
the country. Got your pooch in town? Some great places to take
Fido include the Lady Bird Lake hike-and-bike trail, Red Bud Isle,
and Turkey Creek Trail in west Austin. Many local restaurants
and bars also allow dogs.
At the time of its founding, Austin was actually named Waterloo.
Given its current name in 1839, it’s also picked up the nicknames
“City of the Violet Crown,” “Silicon Hills,” and “Clean Air City.”
Austin’s official slogan is “The Live Music Capital of the
World,” but many residents prefer the local motto, “Keep
Austin Weird.”
Don’t believe that everything is bigger in Texas? Just take
a look at the dome of the capitol building in downtown Austin.
It stands seven feet higher than the dome of
nation’s capitol in Washington DC.
Texas is home to thousands
of native plant and
wildflower species.
Visit the Lady Bird Johnson
Wildflower Center to walk
the trails and learn more
about Texas flora, or if you’re
up for a day trip, stop by
Wildseed Farms on the way to
Fredericksburg.
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Mexican free-tailed bats
Austin is currently going through a skyscraper boom, with
more than thirty high-rises proposed for construction. The
Austonian is the tallest building in the city and is also the
tallest residential building west of the Mississippi River.
The world’s largest urban population of Mexican freetailed bats lives in Austin. About 1.5 million of the them live
in horizontal grooves under the Congress Avenue bridge. Head
to the bridge at dusk during the spring and summer to watch as
the bats emerge to look for insects. Their nighttime flight is so
massive that it’s detectable on weather radar.
Austin is the only city in the world known to still use moonlight
towers to light the city. This lighting system is comprised of 165foot towers designed to illuminate large portions of the streets
below. Fourteen of the original thirty-one towers remain active.
The towers were erected in the 1890s, purportedly in response to
the serial killer known as the Servant Girl Annihilator.
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Austin is home to a thriving film community and has
served as a filming location for a long list of movies, including
Dazed and Confused, Office Space, School of Rock, and True Grit.
If you’re interested in tapping into your cinematic side
while you’re in town, check out showtimes
at the Alamo Drafthouse or the Violet
Crown Cinema. Be sure to order a
drink and food during the show.
austin averages about 19 million visitors
a year. we’re glad that you’re one of
them. welcome to austin!
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