My vote would have to go to Deep Eddy Cabaret @ Lake Austin Blvd & MoPac. Beer so cold it'll crack your molars. Great neighborhood bar. Summers are great after you take a dip in Deep Eddy Pool. Walk up to the DEC and beat the heat. No 6th street prices. No kung FU-FU drinks here!
Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon -- Burnet Road, just south of Koenig/Allandale/Northland/2222 (Hey, my house backs up to that street, I can call it whatever I want). Cold beer in cans and bottles. In the name of all that's holy, they have Pearl in a bottle -- I can drink and do the little puzzles under the bottle cap. A good place to break out the bones and play a little moon. I also like the Poodle Dog -- pool tables and an old-school jukebox selection. Beer by the can. Saaaweeeeet. orngbld "Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand." -- Cool Hand Luke
I have been to both. Loved Ginny's. The dog is good. The Dry Creek Saloon(Mt. Bonnel Rd) is the archetype of many. Freezing beer. Sara is great when she's rude. REAL country music on the record-playing juke. Cold beer and a view of the lake while listening to Willie,Johnny, Buck, Waylon,George,Conway,Tammy, and Hank.
The Cedar Door and Lala's both rank high as bars. Love them both. However, liquor is also offered. Not true BEER joints. Looking for places where mugs, not rocks glasses, rule supreme. Cool bars would make a great new topic! mmmmm?
Glad to hear that the Little Longhorn is still around. Buddy of mine lived around the corner at the Paddock and we lived at that bar while hiding out during the Rowel/New Man semesters at UT. Poodle Dog was a biker bar that got popular with the frats in the early 80's. It was not a good hideout. The beer at the Little Longhorn was 90 cents a can back then. They were happy with a 35 cent tip.
what about the horseshoe lounge on south lamar. Is that still open? I used to go there alot when I was in school and just in a beer drinking mood? I would kill everyone in this room for one drop of sweet beer. -Homer J. Simpson
orngbld, did you say they have Pearl beer in bottles? I thought they quit making Pearl in bottles. I will be there soon if thats the case. Tell me, are they the little stubby bottles like my grandad use to drink 15 years ago, or those regular bottles/long necks? HOOK EM!!!
Wow...Lalas, Poodle, and Ginny's are all 5 mins from where I used to live. Were these hang outs decent in the late 70s? My mom told me she had a few at Lalas from time to time.
Great new find...The C-Hunt. Yes, that's the real name! Head North on Burnet road past 183. Take the next right on McNeil Road then take the left fork in the road. Cold beer, Elgin sausage, and good service. No A.C.! You're going to have to drink a lot of that very cold beer to stay cool. Only open M-F until 11-12.
Yeah, Ginny's has Pearl in bottles, but it's not the stubbies. I think the stubbies are just for Pearl Light, which actually destroys the lining of my stomach. Gotta have straight up Pearl. Still, a cold Pearl, Faron Young and Floyd Cramer on the jukebox -- hard to beat.
Skip the Deep Eddy. Rude place; rude employees. They don't really want you to be there, no matter what Texas Monthly says. They're not friendly to strangers. Don't take credit cards. Go to the Cedar Door; or Donn's Depot.
My top 3: Deep Eddy Shoal Creek Donn's Depot That I work within about 5 blocks of each of them is a huge plus.
In the Arboretum area, it's gotta be B.B. Rovers. It's like a Gingerman north, except you can order food there. And it's pretty damn good food to boot. Hook 'Em
It's way the f**k up on Research, 12000 block or something. It's in a little strip mall type of deal around the back. Unfortunately, it seats about 5, and the bathroom mirror only comes up to your waist. But they got a lot of beer which cancels everything else out.
It's on Jollyville in a strip mall, just north of the Kerbery Lane up there. As far as the seating, I have never had a problem at all, but I sit outside most of the time where there are a ton of tables. They easily have as many beer types as the Gingerman, if not more. I like the place quite a bit. Very relaxed. Hook 'Em
I like the Draught Horse when it is nice and chilly outside, Waterloo on 38th when it is warm. I've heard Deep Eddy is cool but I've never been there. I also like Dry Creek. A little too fratty maybe but still cool. Crown & Anchor is still a fave of mine. Used to live just down the street from it in school so I spent many an afternoon there. There is a place on the Drag called Texas Showdown that is not that bad. I always thought it would suck being on the Drag and all but it is actually pretty cool.
Showdown. I have gotten stinky drunk there a few times. We used to organize events there, and I was the organizer. We used to bring in pizza from conan's (which sucks, but it was next door). We would cut some silly deal that we would drink for 2 hours and we would get pitchers for $5. These two hour deals that started at 6 would often go until midnight or people started puking. Showdown was a drunk fest. They tried to throw me out once, so I said "******* fine, I will drive my *** home now to far west blvd" I had been drinking non-stop, so they decided to call my wife for me and ask her to pick me up. ******* law school rules.
Nobody's mentioned G&S on Oltorf and 1st? Great place. 2$ any bottle beer anytime. Pool tables, darts, Golden Tee, free popcorn. It looks shady on the outside, but its cool once you get in.
You guys freaking rule. But there needs to be more input and more selections. Surely there are more beer joints than these worth 2 shites in Travis Co.
Anybody ever been to the Clachan Inn at 71 and 183 (by the airport)? It looks like a great place to end up in a fight involving pool cues and broken Bud bottles.
I've been to the Clachon Inn twice: (1) a double date with two sorority girls - my buddy and I made them dance with every biker that came up and asked (as in, "Do you mind if we dance with your dates" - Animal House), and by the end of the evening we were looking pretty good as an alternative. (2) Second time, went to see a friend playing in a band, and ended up staying till closing and learning to drive a Harley in the parking lot. That being said, I am still waiting for a knife fight to break out over there. The crowd is pretty rough.
Okay, sounds like I've gotta hit the Clachan Inn. I'm a fan of drinking in any establishment built out of cinderblocks.
