Austin Trip for Teen Boy - Things to Do?

[NinaBella]

Hi,

So any suggestions on things to do for a teenage boy in Austin, TX? Looking for the "do not miss" list of things to see or do.

So I guess #1 places that allows teens inside (most of my friends went to Austin to see bands at clubs).
#2, no "chain" restaurants unless it's a Texas only chain.
#3, no tacky tourist things like Ripley's Believe it or Not type places.

Dates:
San Antonio June 30-July 6th staying with a relative. We don't really need suggestions for SA.
Austin July 6-10 staying at a hotel near the convention center. Just father and son on this trip there for the gaming/internet convention but need a few other filler things to do. http://www.rtxaustin.com/

He did tell me that Uber is back in Austin! I know there are a lot of cool sights to see, I just need to start making a list. He says he is looking forward to the food. He has found a highly recommended Ramen House. http://ramen-tatsuya.com/ He also wants to find a BBQ place. Looking for the best the area has to offer (not the least expensive).

This is my kid who has ended up in the ER with pneumonia or sick with another illness on every past trip to TX. He hasn't been to TX since elementary school so hoping he has a great trip this time.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

There are so, so many good restaurants in Austin, it is hard to limit recommendations.

If you will have a car, I would recommend Salt Lick for BBQ. It is south of Austin in Driftwood, TX but it is definitely my favorite place. If you don't have a car, then maybe Stubbs. If you like Tex/Mex, I recommend Maudie's (a Texas chain). You can also find some great restaurants on Rainey St., which is close to the convention center. Banger's Sausage House is a great choice there. I also like going to Moonshine Grill during happy hour. It is right across from the convention center and the shrimp corndogs are amazingly delicious. If you want a good "fast food" burger, check out Mighty Fine. I can't leave Austin without eating there at least once.

And like restaurants, it is hard to narrow down things to do in Austin because there is so much. Something fun and quintessentially Austin is to see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse- the Ritz branch is on 6th St so within walking distance from the convention center. You can go see the bats at the Congress Ave. bridge. You can walk around South Congress or 6th St at night to get some local flavor. Touring the capitol building is pretty cool too. It is the largest state capitol building in the country and the grounds have some interesting monuments. You can visit some landmark local businesses like Book People or Waterloo Records, both great just for browsing around. They often host interesting events, so you can check out what is happening when you are there.

 

[TXMNie]

Hi! My husband and I went to school in Austin (and I'm actually from San Antonio!) so maybe I can help think of some things. Does he have any special interests or hobbies? There is a great university there if he wants to tour it haha

You will probably get a lot of good Tex-Mex in San Antonio, but Matt's El Rancho and Chuy's are both good (although Chuy's has spread outside of Texas now and is becoming more of a chain). It will be hot so kayaking or stand up paddle boarding on Lady Bird Lake could be fun. Barton Springs is also nice and refreshing! Definitely go get Amy's Ice Cream if he is an ice cream fan! They do tricks with their scoops and it is the best ice cream I have had! For BBQ, Salt Lick which is a bit outside of town is a really fun, very "Texan" experience. Rudy's is good if you want to stay local. There is also a Graffiti Park at Castle Hill near downtown where people are encouraged to create their own little masterpiece that would be fun to grab some spray paitn and let him have at it!

My sister still lives in town and was a concierge at a hotel downtown - I will ask for her suggestions as well!

 

[TXMNie]

Agree with all of Jen and Ashwin's suggestions! Looks like we may have a gathering of Texans. I would also add P Terry's or Whataburger to the list of quick fast food places that are authentic and local. Whataburger is all over the state but their items like a honey butter chicken biscuit are something I can't quite find anywhere else now that I have moved up north!

Banger's Sausage House

Banger's also has a great beer menu if I remember correctly, so that is a bonus for you if you are a beer drinker!

Alamo Drafthouse- the Ritz branch is on 6th St so within walking distance from the convention center.

This is also really fun if they have any special events going on like a quote along or sing along - you can see if they have anything during the time you are there.

Maudie's (a Texas chain)

Maudie's is also delicous!

Excited for your trip! We will actually be in SA for a wedding the week before.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Hi! My husband and I went to school in Austin (and I'm actually from San Antonio!) so maybe I can help think of some things. Does he have any special interests or hobbies? There is a great university there if he wants to tour it haha

You will probably get a lot of good Tex-Mex in San Antonio, but Matt's El Rancho and Chuy's are both good (although Chuy's has spread outside of Texas now and is becoming more of a chain). It will be hot so kayaking or stand up paddle boarding on Lady Bird Lake could be fun. Barton Springs is also nice and refreshing! Definitely go get Amy's Ice Cream if he is an ice cream fan! They do tricks with their scoops and it is the best ice cream I have had! For BBQ, Salt Lick which is a bit outside of town is a really fun, very "Texan" experience. Rudy's is good if you want to stay local. There is also a Graffiti Park at Castle Hill near downtown where people are encouraged to create their own little masterpiece that would be fun to grab some spray paitn and let him have at it!

My sister still lives in town and was a concierge at a hotel downtown - I will ask for her suggestions as well!

I forgot to mention Amy's, but as @TXMNie said, it is delicious and also a must when I am in Austin! Lick is another popular Austin ice cream shop. There is also a great bakery that I love called Sugar Mama's Bakeshop with great cupcakes. It is a little ways from downtown, but might be worth the trek if you have a car. Just so many possible things.

 

[allsaintsatx]

Swimming in Barton Springs Pool. Ice cold and amazing! It's the "heart of Austin".

Torchy's Tacos. Local chain that is pretty amazing.

P Terry's. Another local chain with really good fast food- burgers fries shakes.

Walk on South Congress - lots of small hip shops, food, Homeslice Pizza. Good for people watching.

Walk the 6th St Entertainment District. It's definitely something to see, your teenager probably can handle it! Only blocks from convention center.

Museum of the Weird on 6th St

Voodoo Donuts on 6th St.

Franklin's BBQ. Show up early! Best in Austin, but always a line.

Iron Works BBQ. Really close to conv center. In an old iron working mill, now surrounded by skyscrapers, good old time Texas atmosphere, and solid Texas BBQ. Been there for decades.

Pinballz gaming arcade (it's on outskirts of town, but so awesome!)

Austin Toy Museum; vintage toys, arcade games https://austintoymuseum.org

Game Over Videogames - vintage video game stores, found throughout Austin. www.gameovervideogames.com

Music venues: Emo's (all ages but mostly mid-level touring bands. Austin institution.), Continental Club (another Austin Institution. Americana music)

If your kid likes Ramen (lucky you!) there's a good place near you called Daruma Ramen on 6th St. http://www.darumaramen.com

Ramen Tatsua is the best though! And it's fairly close to the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar.

VIA 313 Pizza trucks - one on Rainey, and one on 6th St on the Eastside. Great pizza! Local.

Tamale House East - great place for late breakfast. Very good, and very "Austin".

The Congress Avenue Bats should be out when you are there. It's pretty spectacular, but can take a huge chunk of time because you are at the whim of the bats! And it's outdoors, sitting in the grass for hours. I personally would skip it, but it is close!

The Cathedral of Junk

The Museum of Natural and Artificial Ephemerata http://mnae.org

Peter Pan mini golf - old school mini golf! Lots of weird sculptures. Been there since I believe the 60s?

 

[jsternad]

Such great ideas! They also have Duck Tours that go all over downtown and in Lady Bird Lake. Nice way to tour the downtown area. I second going kayaking or paddle boarding on Lady Bird Lake! Alamo is so fun when they have their special showings. I love museums, so I would suggest The Bob Bullock Texas History Museum, but I'm kind of a history nerd lol. Jack Allens Kitchen is special to Austin and it's delicious and lots of locally grown ingredients, Salt Lick is awesome, Black's is awesome BBQ, Franklins will have a 3-5 hour line and you're not even guaranteed to get any when you get up there, so it's not my first choice. Torchy's is SO GOOD - THE QUESO! Hopdoddy's Burgers are awesome, but I don't know if they're unique to Austin. Mighty Fine has amazing burgers and shakes. If you don't have any natural caves near you there's a good one North in Georgetown. It's really neat and something my kids and I like to do every summer. He could go South to New Braunfels and float the river, but that's quite a drive, but so fun. Nutty Brown Cafe, Blues on The Green, Stubb's are all great for live music. I love living here!

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

My favorite place to eat in Austin is the Hula Hut. The restaurant is neat & the food is great!

 

[sk!mom]

Hi! My husband and I went to school in Austin (and I'm actually from San Antonio!) so maybe I can help think of some things. Does he have any special interests or hobbies? There is a great university there if he wants to tour it haha

My nephew graduated high school last weekend and is headed to that great Texas institute of higher learning come Fall. My gift to him was gift cards to many of the restaurants around UT mentioned on this thread- Torchys, Amys, etc... I googled it to get a list but should have asked here.

Sorry for the highjack, OP. I also recommend the Bob Bullock for a dose of Texas history. One of the best museums I have ever visited. Definitely take photos in Graffiti park. That's a very Austin "thing" for that age group.

 

[NinaBella]

Thank you for the great suggestions!

 

[TXMNie]

My nephew graduated high school last weekend and is headed to that great Texas institute of higher learning come Fall. My gift to him was gift cards to many of the restaurants around UT mentioned on this thread- Torchys, Amys, etc... I googled it to get a list but should have asked here.

Great gift! I would have loved that in college!

Seconding a lot of the things on here. The Cathedral of Junk is a good one - really quirky and a good photo opportunity. Torchy's Tacos are also great! Let us know how it goes! I am excited for you all!

 

[NinaBella]

Just an update. My DH and son got back from their 11-day trip to San Antonio and Austin yesterday. They had a great time! The first day there they went to Salt Lick BBQ and DS said it was the best! They ate at another BBQ in downtown Austin later in the trip that was "just okay" compared to Salt Lick. They also ate at Home Slice Pizza which was recommended here. I think they just walked past it and decided to stop there for pizza. They liked it. I know they ate at a burger place too, but I don't recall which one. Unfortunately, they didn't make it for Ramen. They didn't get to everything on their list as they didn't have a lot of free time once the convention kicked off.

They did see the bats at Congress Bridge, toured the Capital area and a few other things they suggested. They did the Duck Adventure Tour as well. DH must have talked to a lot of locals cause several told him how Austin has changed over the years. They stayed with DH relatives while in San Antonio and did the typical San Antonio things like Riverwalk, Market Square, Natural Bridge Caverns. DS left San Antonio saying no more Mexican food since the relatives fed him Mexican three meals a day (because they are Mexican). The last night in SA they did have Whataburger. They have Whataburger in other states too, and I know we have ate at a Whataburger before outside of Texas.

The most expensive part of the entire trip was the five nights at a Hotel in Austin. When planning the trip, I called every hotel within a 2 block radius of the convention center and booked the least expensive using a military discount rate, it still added up to be quite a lot. I am still glad I booked the hotel within walking distance over the AirBnB I did look at that was a bit farther out. DH and DS said the hotel was a great location and they were able to walk to everything they wanted to see/do. It was a Hampton Inn and they offered free breakfast. DH said he noticed the last day they were also offering a free snack packs to guest that had snacks and a powder flavor pack to add to a water bottle, etc. That would have been good if he noticed a bit earlier. The first day of the convention they at breakfast at the hotel but was so busy at the convention and lines were so long, that they didn't eat again until late that evening after they left the convention center. So lesson learned for next year they have to take snacks inside with them to the convention center. DS of course wants to go to this convention every year... we shall see. The convention tickets were $95 for a weekend pass, that is not a bad price, it's the airline tickets and hotel stay that adds up. If they just go to Austin and not San Antonio, then they can skip the rental car expense.

I booked a departure flight for 1:00 P.M. DH found a bus that took them from downtown to the airport for $1.25 a person. He said it was about a 30 minute bus ride. He did have to walk from the hotel two blocks to the bus stop with their suitcase. He probably got this tip from a local as he is not much of an on-line researcher for these type of tips. The airport shuttle was $30 a person. He probably would not have attempted the bus if he had an early morning flight, so this worked out well for him.

 

[NinaBella]

Also, DH was telling me that one reason this convention is in Austin in July (other than the company is headquarters out of Austin) is because it is so hot, no one wants to go to Austin in July, so the company got a deal with their contract with the convention center. But just like going to Disney you want to check the WWoS calendar and such to know about crowds, it may be beneficial to check convention center calendars when going to different cities. As a competitive cheer family we often crowd various towns during major competitions. DH was in the elevator with a senior couple who was talking about how they didn't expect Austin crowds. Specifically they had a to go box from a restaurant and were saying how "it is worse tonight, than last night" and comparing their observation of how packed everything became for the weekend. I just pulled up the convention center calendar and it states the anticipated attendance this past weekend at 15,000. https://www.austinconventioncenter.com/calendar/2017/07/ This particular company holds this convention in Austin for the past several years already expanded to a convention in Sydney, Australia and has plans for a London, England convention as well. Yea, my son would love the Sydney one, but lucky for me, they hold that one during the school year where he can not miss that much school to even consider going.

The Austin convention center also shows an upcoming Brick Fest Live LEGO Fan Experience event that expects 10,000 in attendance. That sounds cool. I know a lot of people love those LEGO conventions.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Just an update. My DH and son got back from their 11-day trip to San Antonio and Austin yesterday. They had a great time! The first day there they went to Salt Lick BBQ and DS said it was the best! They ate at another BBQ in downtown Austin later in the trip that was "just okay" compared to Salt Lick. They also ate at Home Slice Pizza which was recommended here. I think they just walked past it and decided to stop there for pizza. They liked it. I know they ate at a burger place too, but I don't recall which one. Unfortunately, they didn't make it for Ramen. They didn't get to everything on their list as they didn't have a lot of free time once the convention kicked off.

They did see the bats at Congress Bridge, toured the Capital area and a few other things they suggested. They did the Duck Adventure Tour as well. DH must have talked to a lot of locals cause several told him how Austin has changed over the years. They stayed with DH relatives while in San Antonio and did the typical San Antonio things like Riverwalk, Market Square, Natural Bridge Caverns. DS left San Antonio saying no more Mexican food since the relatives fed him Mexican three meals a day (because they are Mexican). The last night in SA they did have Whataburger. They have Whataburger in other states too, and I know we have ate at a Whataburger before outside of Texas.

The most expensive part of the entire trip was the five nights at a Hotel in Austin. When planning the trip, I called every hotel within a 2 block radius of the convention center and booked the least expensive using a military discount rate, it still added up to be quite a lot. I am still glad I booked the hotel within walking distance over the AirBnB I did look at that was a bit farther out. DH and DS said the hotel was a great location and they were able to walk to everything they wanted to see/do. It was a Hampton Inn and they offered free breakfast. DH said he noticed the last day they were also offering a free snack packs to guest that had snacks and a powder flavor pack to add to a water bottle, etc. That would have been good if he noticed a bit earlier. The first day of the convention they at breakfast at the hotel but was so busy at the convention and lines were so long, that they didn't eat again until late that evening after they left the convention center. So lesson learned for next year they have to take snacks inside with them to the convention center. DS of course wants to go to this convention every year... we shall see. The convention tickets were $95 for a weekend pass, that is not a bad price, it's the airline tickets and hotel stay that adds up. If they just go to Austin and not San Antonio, then they can skip the rental car expense.

I booked a departure flight for 1:00 P.M. DH found a bus that took them from downtown to the airport for $1.25 a person. He said it was about a 30 minute bus ride. He did have to walk from the hotel two blocks to the bus stop with their suitcase. He probably got this tip from a local as he is not much of an on-line researcher for these type of tips. The airport shuttle was $30 a person. He probably would not have attempted the bus if he had an early morning flight, so this worked out well for him.

So glad that they had a great time. I have a very special place in my heart for Austin and loved living there for 3 years. Maybe some day I can move back. And I am especially glad that they made it to Salt Lick. It is definitely the best imo. I made a stop every single time I am in the area.

 

[TXMNie]

Didn't realize they were there for a Rooster Teeth thing! My husband watches those videos all the time! haha Glad they had a great time! We were just in SA a few weeks ago. Austin and San Antonio are definitely warm this year, but have lots of fun things to do!

 

[NinaBella]

Didn't realize they were there for a Rooster Teeth thing! My husband watches those videos all the time! haha Glad they had a great time! We were just in SA a few weeks ago. Austin and San Antonio are definitely warm this year, but have lots of fun things to do!

Yes, all three of my boys (15, 23, and 24) watch Rooster Teeth. The 15 year old is a First member and some of the Sunday panels were reserved for First members only. He enjoyed all the panels. Although there were a lot of complaints about the lines being longer than past years, he got to sit in on all the panels on his list. He plans to go back next year, although, they will probably just fly into Austin on Wed or Thur before the convention and fly back late Sunday or Monday and skip the San Antonio part next year.

DH is actually sick now. So he picked up something somewhere as he never gets sick.