When I first moved to Austin I was young and it was a different town. As the city and I have grown – we don’t always see each other as often as I’d like. Sure, I make it pretty regularly to Town….I mean “Lady Bird”…..Lake. And I still make the live music rounds when time permits, but Austin is the poster child for the FOMO syndrome. So many places, so little time.
When I’m feeling a little out of touch – there are a couple stand-by itineraries that I pull out of the bag to reconnect myself. One of those touchstone places would most certainly be an afternoon on South Congress. It’s sums up so much of Austin – both old and new – within a couple miles of road.
Old standby restaurants like Guero’s hold court next to the hotspots like Hopdoddy and both compete with the new trailer sensations. Austin music venues have come and gone, but Continental Club connects Austin past and present. So, whether you’ve lived in Austin since Willie had red hair, just moved here, or are merely passing through – give “SoCo” a bit of your time and you’re bound to walk away smiling.
Post Script – I realized as I was publishing this that I just wrote about a couple places in SoCo earlier this year. I really do go to other parts of town, I promise. Next time, I’ll talk about Rainey, East Sixth, North Loop, or one of the many other great places around town.