this is exactly the type of **** i'm talking about.... yeah, there isn't a damn thing to do here in a city of 5.5 million and the 8 straight days of 70/40 weather we've had sure does blow. the weather here is perfect 9 months out of the year. and yeah, the crime.... oh my gosh!!! nevermind the top 5 ranking in dining and the arts, or the excellent economy, or the friendliest people.
What a stupid thread. It's a pissing contest on the same level as what your favorite color is. I would hate traveling w/ most of you, you probably just spend your whole time trying to point out stuff that doesn't live up to your city of choice.
Apparently you didn't read the thread. I mentioned Houston's better restaurants twice. I'm just defending Austin against the outdated criticism that our restaurants suck (which I would have agreed with for the better part of the last 30 years). The Austin food scene has changed drastically, even over the last 5 years or so. Here's a realistic ranking of Top 10 Best Restaurant Cities. Houston ranks 6th behind the powerhouses of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Oreleans. http://www.forbestraveler.com/food-...slide-1.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=20000
Thanks for the link. I would rank Houston above LA, having lived in both, but it is tough to beat NYC, SF, New Orleans and Chicago in restaurants. Damn I'm getting hungry...
I would prob rank above LA also, but it's tough to make it to many of the many many LA hot spots (both geographically and financially) so I would have to discount my opinion on LA. And yeah, the HISD school issue would be a sad thing, but more than likely we would live in Kingwood if we were in Houston so I think those schools are still ok. Our daughter attends Kiker in Austin, a recipient of repeated 'Exemplary' ratings.
Yep. Kingwood, Woodlands, Ft. Bend, & Katy schools are all superior to HISD. All but two of my friends with school age kids live way out because of that, or if they live in the city, send their kids to private schools. It's really sad.
No doubt about that, the difference from the 90's to now is quite apparent. I just found it funny that they ranked Austin a better foodie town than NYC & others. Along those lines, what are a few of your favorite places now? My bro's moved on to Sonoma so I won't have my usual hookup for places & dishes. And just for the record, none of my criticism of Austinites earlier was prompted by or directed at you.
The 25 cities were predetermined. How Travel & Leisure originally determined them, I do not know, but this is from the magazine: "Earlier this year, Travelandleisure.com and CNN Headline News polled travelers and residents on what they like (and don't like) about 25 top urban destinations in the U.S. Turns out that people have some pretty strong feelings about New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, and other hot spots—we received nearly 60,000 responses." So, in this particular survey, Houston was not even an option.
Yikes! As a product of the Kingwood school system (Creekwood MS and KHS), I would recommend proceeding with extreme caution. Of course, it's not the 80s anymore...
I think you come on a little strong, and obviously all of this is opinion based, but I do agree with a lot of what you're saying. Weather = sucks. sure, you get a few weeks here and there in spring/fall of good weather, otherwise, not good. frankly, you get a minimum of a few good weeks of weather in most places you'd consider living. and the humidity is unbearable. i just got back from vegas, which is pretty much the exact same temperature wise right now, but feels a lot better. Scenery = sucks. again, you are coming on a little strong. get off I-45 and you actually have a decently green city. but no mountains, no landscape changes, etc. so on and so forth. But I think people tend to overstate how much better other places could be. I've never lived in Phoenix, but have visited a few times, and it has a bunch of the same issues. Weather? Pass. Scenery? Pass...maybe for some people, I'm just not too into the desert, even if there are some mountains. Heck, El Paso looks pretty much the same, but you don't see it making these lists regularly. So it's all just personal taste at the end of the day. You can find fun things to do anywhere. Houston has access to the Gulf, for example, as well as the hill country. The Gulf doesn't have Miami's beaches, but it has a great laid-back feel, awesome fishing and is much more affordable. I've always liked Austin as a Texas city, I'd put it at the top of my list. But why is Austin on there and not, say, Madison Wisconsin, or Columbus, Ohio? Why are Dallas, San Antonio, Atlanta on there but not Houston? Who knows, who cares? As to my personal taste, I've always preferred the Rockies. Santa Fe, Alberquerque, Denver, Boulder, Durango, Ft. Collins, Jackson, Montana, Idaho. One day I'll move to one of those places.
I hate Dallas as much as the rest, but this is not a very valid knock on the largest city in Oklahoma. I'm pretty sure Dallas knows a thing or FIVE about championships. Jus' sayin'...
Sonoma? Well your brother will certainly have some great options there. I recall an excellent meal some years ago at Mustard's in Napa. As for Austin restaurants, we have a long list of highly recommended ones that we have not made it to yet (we have 2 little ones), and the list grows. Uchi's is at the top of many rankings w/ the chef named one of Food and Wine's best new chefs in '05. I'd also like to try Aquarelle's, Bellagio's, Cafe Caprice, Mirabelle, Capitol Brasserie, Siena, Wink... and more that I can't recall at the moment. Fogo de Chao opens in November. As for restaurants I have been to, Driskill Grill (another nationally recognized chef) is still my favorite. Cibo's is impressive but the portions are tiny, even for a little noveau eatery. I have a love-hate relationship w/ Vespaio; can be great or mediocre on any given night. Trulucks has good food (stone crabs are awesome when in season) but not unique enough to warrant the price, imo. Mandola's Market has outstanding gnocchi (as does Cibos). The pizza offerings have improved greatly w/ Home Slice on SoCo one of my new favorites; Cipollina's is also good and their house Chianti was excellent. Chuy's is still my facvorite TexMex, esp during Hatch Chile season. Bistro 88 on Bee Caves is pretty reliable. If you're on 35 and craving sushi, Umi Sushi (in a strip mall) was surprisingly good. What are your favorite Austin restaurants? Thanks, but I take no offense. I understand the comments.
Some good stuff on that list -> especially the Driskill. I've also heard rumors of Fogo's setting up shop downtown. You also forgot to mention: III Forks South Congress Cafe Reed's Jazz and Supper Club Fleming's Sullivan's Eddie V's Roy's Shoreline Bar and Grille
Fogo's is being built downtown. III Forks is great, even though it originated in Dallas. Roy's is a chain, but great.
Austin has some pretty good ethnic foods as well these days: Tan My (Vietnamese - Pho) Sunflower (Vietnamese - non-Pho) Madam Mam's (Thai) Tino's (Greek) Uchi (Japanese) Madras Pavillion (Southern Indian - originated in Houston) Fonda San Miguel (interior Mexican) Sampaio (Brazillian) Sasha's Deli (Russian) Dracula (Hungarian) Aster's (Ethiopian) ...and many more. I realize this still doesn't hold a candle to Houston's vast ethnic cuisines, but it's pretty outstanding for a city as small as Austin.
Ranch 616 is my favorite restaurant in austin.... by far. excellent food decently priced in a very ecclectic and fun atmosphere. their margaritas are fantastic, and i'm not even a fan of ritas. vespaio and south congress cafe are also very good, as is castle hill. la traviata on congress between 2nd/3rd has perhaps the best spaghetti w/ ragu i've ever had and is a steal at lunch for $8. never been to uchi, but i have well traveled family and friends who say that it is the best sushi they've had anywhere. austin is coming a long way, i'll definitely give it that.
