Hosers for The Horns, my group of Torontonians coming to Austin for our annual visit on Halloween weekend are looking for a lively Mexican Restaurant to hit. We've done Guero's the past three years and would like to try somewhere new. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Hook Em! Mick
Mick, check the Around Austin and Rusty's Grill forums. There is a good sampling of reviews and opinions on just that as well as a host of other eateries you may want to check into. Near the stadium is Mi Madre's and El Chile. Nearby is the taqueria version of El Chile, El Chilito. There is also Vivo which some like and others don't. Across the street from Mi Madre's is Hoover's southern cooking. It is delicious and minutes from the stadium. You can walk there if you want to. Hope this helps. Your question is going to get a myriad of responses and may not help you as there will be so many.
Trudy's on 30th will be "lively," and the food is good, though not the best in Austin. If you want upscale, hard to beat Fonda San Miguel.
If they want lively they should hit the Maudie's on South Lamar instead of the one on Lake Austin... For 'lively' I'd go either there, Guero's or the Trudy's by campus. None of these are in my top 5 Tex-Mex places in Austin but they're pretty good, and the atmosphere (ie hot chicks getting drunk) is excellent. You could go to the Chuy's or Baby Acapulco on Barton Springs, but the food at those places really sucks...