South Austin

I went up to Austin to visit my son and his girlfriend on New Year's Day. He picked out the restaurant...a place he found by mistake when he was having his truck fixed at a nearby repair shop. He knows his mom after my visits to Mexico. It was perfect...I could tell right away by the nativity scene on the roof. I don't even need to say what this reminds me of.

Here's the non-descript restaurant sign. A very low-key, authentic Mexican place on the south side of Austin. Many of the waitresses didn't even speak English.

I loved the tables.

And here was lunch. Muy delicious! And look! A sure sign of an authentic Mexican restaurant...they wrap their utensils VERY tightly in the thinnest napkin you can find.

"Famous" patrons.

And here is the cute couple. (Sidebar to Jeffrey and Erica...take advantage of the time you still look cute when you're munching on food. Just to let you know, that doesn't last forever.)

I've been to Austin a few times, but this is the first time I've been in this area. I loved it! Very eclectic and nostalgic. A lot of the places kept the old vintage signs of the 50s which I can appreciate. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Being a Route 66 kind of gal, I had to take pictures on my way back.

This one made me laugh out loud. If you can't read it, the little warning sign below says, "Hey big truck drivers. Look up. There's a sign. Please don't hit it again!" Too funny.

This is Threadgill's...a landmark restaurant that's been around for about 75 years. According to a website, "Janis Joplin, The Police, Van Halen, Jimmy Buffet, Journey, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Bob Seger, and Fats Domino are just a few of the thousands of musicians who developed their talents and whose memorabilia grace the walls of the restaurant. Despite a curfew law enacted in 1942, Threadgill's continued to provide a music-loving culture for rednecks, longhairs, beatniks, and hippies. Somehow, this business changed the social culture of the times, and in the 1960's, it was peaceful at the party when the rednecks met up with the longhairs. During this otherwise tumultuous time, Janis Joplin attended the University of Texas at Austin, and it was at Threadgill's where she exploited her hybrid country and blues style that would begin the movement to cross country and rock n' roll."

Threadgill's has its own website (threadgills.com), but every time I tried to access it, it wouldn't work...so I got this information from this site.

Just a couple more pictures from the area. I'm betting this Mexican bakery has some pretty sweet treats.

And I'm thinking this guy might have put away too much at the Trailer Park & Eatery.