South Austin, Texas

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Austin's the best part of Texas and South Austin's the best of the best.

How is South Austin different from the rest of Austin? In the vehicle department, could it be the high pickup to SUV ratio? Could it be the H-E-B or The Pit BBQ or Allens Boots or the Continental Club on South Congress? Could it be that more people walk or ride bikes to work?

Could it be that more people have no air-conditioning in their houses? Or in their vehicles (if they have four-wheelers at all)? Or heat in either, for that matter? Could it be that there are more non-power push-mowers than riding lawnmowers? And a lower percentage of people who ever even consider having lawns, let alone mowing them at all if they do? Could it be that you're just as likely to hear tejano as conjunto as urban contemporary as C&W pouring from the open window next to you at the stoplight?

Decide for yourself. In the meantime, we'll be standin' at the big hotel with (se afinan y reparan acordeones; mas de 40 años), Delbert McClinton, Alvin Crow, Ramón Ayala, Don Walser, la Tropa F, Rubén Vela, Joe Ely, Billy Joe Shaver, Junior Brown, Tish Hinojosa, Jaime y los chamacos, Marcia Ball, Eddie González, Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Joe "King" Carrasco, James Brown, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Paycheck, Freddy Fender, Alvin Ailey, John Coltrane, Willie Nelson, Lydia Mendoza, Thelonious Monk, and Bobby "Blue" Bland.



Did you know? Austin Chronicle Best of Austin issue 2004, South Austin was named as the best part of town, and the Chron went on to say: "For a great summation of this hallowed land, may we recommend the following web site?" The web site, Dear Reader, is this one, making it a sort of by-blow Best of Austin winner. It's all at page 38 in the 10/1/2004 issue. You have reached Austin del Sur, your guide to daily living south of the river.

 
On the calendar
Austin Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo
March 1 through March 16, Travis County Exposition Center; music, rodeo, cowboy breakfast, events for children, carnival rides
South by Southwest (SxSW) everything
March 7 through March 16; interactive March 7-11, film March 7-15, music March 11-16
HONK!TX festival of community marching bands
Events throughout Austin on March 21, 22, and 23; one of the very best community events in all of Austin; absolutely free / gratis, although sponsors are welcome
Texas relays
26 March - 29 March; watch for party news
Urban Music Festival
March 28 and 29; music at Auditorium Shores
Elixir of Love
Thurday, 1 May, 7:30 pm; Saturday, 3 May, 7:30 pm; and Sunday, 4 May, 3 pm; Long Center
Cinco de mayo
Saturday, 3 May, and Sunday, 4 May, at Fiesta Gardens; food, fun, and music, including the Johnny Degollado conjunto festival; the schedule is still forming, but expect Gary Hobbs, Joel Guzman and Sara Fox, Baraja de Oro, and Sonny Sauceda y Todo Eso
Juneteenth / Emancipation Day
Saturday, 21 June; Freedom Walk at 9:30 am, followed by 10 am parade from Comal and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, with picnic thereafter at Rosewood Park
Travis Heights Art Trail
Saturday, 8 November, and Sunday 9 November; from 11 am to 5 pm; visit artists and craftspeople in their homes and studios in historic Travis Heights / Fairview Park
First Thursdays in South Austin
Every first Thursday of each month, in the evening; special events, including open shops, music, and more


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    Austin as you know it? New York Times Sun 20 Aug: "Austin, We have a Problem"; Wired on-line magazine, 13 October: "Austin Suffers Growing Pains"
    Check 'em out Metropolis writes about the Dutch wax batik prints so fashionable in parts of Africa; Fast Company tells you all about Necco wafers and conversation hearts

    Favorite listens
    "Monk's Dream"
    Thelonious Monk (vinyl)
    "Y llagaste tu"
    Banda el Recodo
    "All That Meat and No Potatoes"
    Louis Armstrong
    "King and Queen"
    Carla Thomas and Otis Redding, Stax vinyl 1967, "When Something is Wrong with My Baby," "It Takes Two," "Bring It on Home to Me," "Are You Lonely for Me Baby?"
    "Corazón herido"
    La tropa F
    "The 'West Side' Sound Rolls Again"
    Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers: all cuts (vinyl), 1983
    "John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman"
    1963 Impulse sessions; ballads
    "No tengo dinero"
    Kumbia Kings; what a hook and what an accordion riff

             

    AUSTIN . . . it's not just a ZIP code . . .

    Nowhere but here Food & drink Listening Art All the news
    Too Much Coffee Man
    Saving the world every day, with the undiluted power of caffeine and a little boost from nicotine
    Waterloo Records and Video
    Where local music still matters
    Eyebeam
    Ratliff’s the guy who turns up the sound on commercials and Sam Hurt dreamed him up
    Terra Toys
    Intelligent toys and books for people of all ages; now gone northward
    Austin Mama
    Modern-day motherhood examined with a clear eye, plus an active on-line community, right here in Austin, for thinking people only
    Book People and Bookwoman
    Austin's own, and among the last left standing; now you can order books on line and search a giant universe of reading material
    Wildseed Farms
    Bluebonnets! Firewheels! Natives grown and sold
    Gardening Austin Links
    Austin-specific; also South Austin's own Great Outdoors and Zanthan, a South Austin garden weblog, and Plantx, a site in the making with lots of garden images and a knowledge of "low-fuss" gardening in Austin, plus John Dromgoole's Natural Gardener
    Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
    Watch them grow
    Easy lawn-mowing
    Noise-free and good for your conscience; did you know that South Austin's Eco-Wise will sharpen? or rent a mower so you may try one?
    Armadillo World Headquarters
    Geographic center of Shiner drinking
    Geezinslaws
    Musical ambassadors on perpetual world tour
    Bike Stuff by Bluejay
    Humans powered by vegetarian cuisine powering two-wheeled transportation in Austin
    South Austin + AstroFish
    Another look at 78704; check out that weblog
    Urban Dentistry
    Located at Penn Field Center, close to Ruta Maya and on the South Congress bus line; Amy Urban, DMD, brings modern methods to convenient South Congress
    South Austin pub crawls
    Read about them or join them yourself (or both) and check out this affiliated South Austin weblog
    Craig's List Austin
    Free classifieds; community
    Sun Dragon Martial Arts and Self Defense
    Woman-friendly martial arts; child-friendly, too: karate and self-defense; no contracts ever; now no longer on Riverside, but at Towers West across from Central Market South; a non-profit that's a long- time institution, serving Austin since 1989; summer camp for girls 6 to 12
    NiaSpace
    Use it, whatever you have; and use it joyously; move dance play; at convenient 3212 South Congress, with space available for event rental
    Body Vida
    Fitness, wellness, expressive arts for all ages, fitness levels, and backgrounds, right on the Avenue; watch for special events; first class always free
    Austin Metroblog
    Read it straight from those who know
    Chez Nous
    Best fish in town, perfect pommes dauphine, French wines only; open for lunch weekdays; open for dinner at 6 pm; come as you are; very favorable mention in the Sunday New York Times of 10 January 1999, but the reviewers failed to take advantage of the prix fixe; Austin Chronicle review (10/8/04; prices have advanced slightly but all is otherwise the same or even better)
    Sweetish Hill
    The bakery for dough fanatics; the very best of ingredients and techniques; challah, petit pain au chocolat, croissants, dinner rolls, ginger cookies, butter cookies; special orders; catering
    Fresh Plus/Kash-Karry
    Best butcher shop in Austin (map to West Lynn store), local organic produce, Pederson's natural jalapeño sausage; sophisticated takeout; since 1920-something
    Wheatsville Co-op
    Owned by its shoppers; non-members welcome
    Matt's El Rancho
    The King of Mexican food
    Beverage World
    Friendly people, family-owned, meeting all your convenience needs (the Whip In is right next door), with South Austin's (and the entire state's) finest selection of imported and craft beers and ales, fine cigars, and an extensive array of the world's finest wines and spirits
    Nueva Onda
    Friendly food place in the heart of South Austin, just off Congress; San Antonio tamales; vegetarianfare; aguas frescas and cerveza; monthly Wednesday movie night; congeniality; knightly statuary
    Jo's Coffee on South Congress
    Where the elite wake up, starting at 7 am, 7 days a week, with food, and beer, too; all dogs welcome; movies in the parking lot
    Ruta Maya coffee house
    Smoking parlor and fair-trade coffee at old Penn Field off South Congress
    Ventana del Soul coffee house
    And performance space plus community center
    Lamme's Candy
    Hometown confectioners since 1885
    Hill's Cafe
    Back on South Congress; beer garden, down-home favorites; KVET free music on Wednesdays
    El Galindo
    The best tostadas of all, and pure corn tortillas made of just corn, lime, and water (none of that coloring, preservative, dough conditioner, sweetening stuff, not even any salt)
    Threadgill's
    Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Neon
    Central Market
    Food as tourist attraction
    Maudie's
    Recuerdos de Casita Jorge's
    Independent Austin
    Alliance of locally owned businesses; what makes Austin Austin
    Austin Lyric Opera
    Bringing the dance of the seven veils to Austin
    Jovita's
    Food and great music, not to mention a jukebox
    Gilbert & Sullivan
    Jolly music for all
    Broken Spoke
    CFS and music
    Continental Club
    Where the elite meet and greet
    Czech Melody Masters and Czech Melody Time
    Music from Texas only
    Los Pinkys
    Rancheras, polkas, cumbias, boleros! and don't forget the Gulf Coast Playboys, playing Thursdays at Ego's
    Saxon Pub
    South Austin landmark
    Larry Monroe, a/k/a Phil Music
    Lord of Segway City reveals his playlists
    Dime Store Poets
    For you8r listening pleasure, all over South Austin, including the Saxon Pub, Maria's Taco Xpress, and Zax, plus the Sunset Valley Farmers' Market on Saturdays
    Cerronato
    Soulful vallenato music; listen at El Sol y La Luna, early Sunday shows at Jovita's, Flipnotics on Barton
    South Austin Jug Band
    Need we say more?
    KMFA Radio 89.5-FM
    Metropolitan Opera broadcasts
    KUT Radio 90.5-FM
    Twine Time, Phil Music, and you can listen live over the 'Net
    KOOP Radio 91.7-FM
    Music you won’t hear anywhere else
    KAZI Radio 88.7-FM
    Don't miss the Friday morning Breakfast Club, 8-9 am, for lively discussion about Austin politics and the world beyond from an African American perspective, courtesy of Akwasi Evans, NOKOA, and Tommy Wyatt, The Villager, and others
    KKLB Radio 92.5-FM
    Send in your Tejano requests by e-mail; format has changed; live streaming audio currently disabled
    KQQQ Radio 92.1-FM
    Tejano, grupero; Top 20 exitos listed at site ...format has changed ... (same for 106.3-FM)
    Red River scene
    brought to you by Rank and Revue
    Mexic-Arte
    A real Austin museum
    Austin Museum of Art
    Goodbye Venturi, hello ???
    Vulcan Video
    Hong Kong and all other flavors; on-line catalogue
    Art 78704 by Ismael Cavazos
    Featuring links to Austin comic artists
    Bobby's bone tree sculpture garden
    In the heart of South Austin, by the director of the Austin Sculpture Center (formerly Elisabet Ney Sculpture Conservatory)
    Ten Thousand Villages
    Handicrafts from around the world, right on South Congress, all handmade, 70% woman-made; 0% child labor; toys, household items, textiles, cermics, musical instruments, see for yourself!; fair trade; open late on First Thursdays; otherwise M - S 11 am to 7 pm; Sun 1 to 5 pm

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    Education

    St. Edward's University
    South Austin's own
    Huston-Tillotson University
    Still producing community leaders
    University of Texas at Austin
    Bigger stadium but no more room for opera or film showings
    Austin Community College
    So UT students from all around the state can be parasites on Austin taxpayers

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    Government

    City of Austin
    Official stuff
    Travis County
    More official stuff
    Travis County Appraisal District
    Are you paying more than your neighbor? Find out!
    Greater Texas
    The Lone Star in Austin and units of gov't statewide
    Austin Chronicle
    Updated guide to "SoCo" or "Congress" as South Congress neighbors call it and guide to South Austin in issue of Thursday, 4 December 1998
    In Fact
    The dish on local politics
    SoulCiti Austin
    Complete Austin-specific African-American infosource; events! e-mail notification list!
    Austin Tejano music
    bring back to the airwaves the music we love; news and schedules
    Hispanic Connect
    Community site
    Crime in South Austin
    Police reports by neighborhood
    South River City Citizens and Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association and Dawson Neighborhood Association and Zilker Neighborhood Association and South Lamar Neighborhood Association and Zilker Neighbors and Travis Green Condomiumns HOA and Barton Hills-Horseshoe Bend Neighborhood Association and Galindo Elementary Neighborhood Association and more neighborhood associations
    Not in the Statesman
    Austin American-Statesman
    The official journal of the new millennium
    Deja Usenet Archives
    Austin.general, Austin.food, Austin.music, Austin.gardening; search the discussion groups; gone to Google and searchable faster
    Austin Business Journal
    Not entirely puff pieces
    KLRU-TV
    Perpetually raising funds
    KVUE-TV
    ABC 24 (warning! registration required)
    KEYE-TV
    CBS 42
    KXAN-TV
    NBC 36
    KNVA-TV
    Warner Bros. 54
    KTBC-TV
    Fox 7
    News 8
    Cable local news
    Austin City Search
    Small-business web pages and more, including South Congress Avenue merchants (check out Off the Wall), restaurants, and bars, and check out the domains for our favorite lodgings (alphabetical order): Austin Motel and San Jose Hotel
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