Making the Most of 48 Hours in Austin

Other than our epic Franklin BBQ experience, our time in Austin was rushed and haphazardly executed. The trip only happened because Tom had a last-minute work event. Because I’m able to work from anywhere and my cousin lives in Austin, it was a no brainer–that I tag along. We really only had 48 hours to experience the city, but we were determined to make the most of it. Though short, the trip was a sweet little introduction and can’t wait to return someday soon for a more lengthy visit.
The things we did make time for turned out to be pretty great. Without further ado (since the trip was almost two months ago) here are some of the best things we got into in Austin.

48 Hours in Austin – What To Do, See and Eat

A Casual Night at Easy Tiger

Easy Tiger is located on a relatively quiet strip of Austin’s infamous 6th Street. It happened to be located right next to our hotel, so we stopped in for a casual dinner the night we arrived.
Easy Tiger has an awesome outdoor patio and beer garden, of which we happily took advantage. The temperatures turned cold for the remainder of our trip, so we were grateful for an opportunity to take advantage of the momentary warmth. We ordered a couple of beers and a snack board that came loaded with pretzels, beer cheese, chex mix and beef jerky.
Every thing was very good if a bit too salty. The beer selection was lengthy, varied and affordable. This would definitely be a go-to outdoor drinking spot if we lived in Austin. They also have a coffee shop and café open during they day, where we stopped in for coffees the following morning. Rumor has it the fresh-baked bread is top-notch.

A Stroll Around Downtown

I’ll be honest, I’m not too incredibly familiar with Austin’s geography and didn’t become any more familiar during this trip. There just wasn’t enough time to venture too far from our hotel. We did get out for a few walks around downtown during breaks from work. We enjoyed checking out the architecture, the cheeky food truck park on Rainey Street and walking alone Lady Bird Lake. We didn’t rent a car for this trip, and had no trouble getting around mostly by foot and occasionally by Fare (an Uber/Lyft type app since Uber is not allowed inside Austin city limits).

Eat Tacos – Duh

I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t eat more tacos while we were in Austin. We still managed to get our hands on a few whenever convenient. The two we had from the Taco Wey stand on 6th Street on our way back to the hotel late one night really hit the spot at the time.
The next time we’re in town, this will be a top priority.

Do the 6th Street Thing

Love it or hate it, Dirty 6th Street is an unavoidable in Austin. Tom’s work event was at the Austin Convention Center, so we stayed right on 6th Street in the middle of the action. Our first night in town, we walked up and down the street for a bit taking in the sights and sounds. I loved that every bar you passed had music streaming out the front door. Although we didn’t end up going to any shows, most places we went had live music going on in some capacity.
The next night I was able to meet up with my cousin Jennifer, who is truly one of the coolest people I know, to experience Austin like a local. She took me to the gorgeous Driskill hotel for drinks one night, where I failed to take any pictures because we were too busy catching up (family > blogging). The next night we all went out again and Tom and I attempted to keep up with two twenty somethings bar hopping around all of Austin’s coolest bars. We did pretty good until the next morning, when my already sensitive stomach was all “stop feeding me tacos and alcohol or I will rebel against you forever”.

Eat Things Besides Tacos – Maybe

I would say a trip to Austin would be successful if all you did was eat tacos and barbecue, but the fact is there’s a really awesome food scene happening in Austin. Why limit yourself? We had two other especially notable meals during our very short trip. On was an epic dinner at incredibly chic Juniper in east Austin with cousin and her boyfriend. Do not leave without trying the puffy potatoes, they are life changing.
We also had a cheap and delicious lunch at Koriente near our hotel. They offer fast, healthy Asian inspired cuisine with no msg and high quality ingredients.
Tom and I each ordered the japchei, but realized we easily could have split one order. They also offer complimentary miso soup, salad and pickled veggies with the purchase of an entrée. Such a good deal!
I can’t wait to get back to Austin and see more of the city, catch a couple of shows and spend more time with my cousin. In the meantime, I’m just happy to have been introduced to such a quirky and fun place (even if their football team sucks).