78704 - South Austin

For all of my beloved family and friends beyond the boundaries of the state of Texas, if you haven't already heard, Austin has a saying.... "Keep Austin Weird." This is really not so much a saying as a way of life. South Austin is the epitome of this mantra.

We live in southwest Austin, which is on the fringe of True South Austin. True South Austin is as iconic to this city as 90210 is to Beverly Hills, except the "True South" zip code is 78704. Look it up - on the Yelp website, it is listed as an area of town "78704 - South Austin." It took some time for us to realize what no one seemed to be able to explain with words.

Visiting shops and restaurants on South Congress is an excellent introduction to 78704. A perfect "First Date" with SoCo might go like this:
1. Book a room at Hotel San Jose
2. Eat at South Congress Cafe
3. Walk the shops on "SoCo"
4. Catch the stunning view of the capital as you look up Congress - I still just love it
5. Grab some pizza at Home Slice for lunch
6. Go to the Continental Club and hit a show
7. Go to one of three of the top rated salons in the city, located on SoCo
8. Enjoy a evening dinner outside at Guero's

The list seems cool enough. What it doesn't capture is the vibe.

Hotel San Jose is a boutique hotel that we almost couldn't find - even when we were looking for it. We had been down South Congress maybe 50 times, heard that San Jose was a great place to visit with friends, drove down South Congress to find it, passed it TWICE, then finally just parked and walked down the block we knew it had to be on - and found it. It is cozy, chic, and charming. Not stark and new, or pretentious, but chic.

South Congress Cafe is pressed between funky shops with weird stuff. Again, you really have to look for this place, and the exterior fits in with the other old looking buildings with somewhat of a "hippie" feel. BUT, you step into this restaurant and, while you get a nod from the old building, it has uber cool, retro decor and AMAZING food.

The shops on SoCo are hard to put your finger on as well. One block you'll find the funky old shops with high end products, old dirty antiques, amazing imports, art galleries, or any number of other surprises inside. The next block may have a brand new development, camouflaged by a sleek, artistic facade. Our favorite block showcases stores like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Casa Mia, Farm to Market, and other cool, funky stores.

Stepping outside the door of many of the stores re-introduces you to fresh air after breathing musty, weird-smelling air. Then you HAVE to glance towards the city. As South Congress gently descends, then slightly ascends again, the grand view of the beautiful capital building is striking. It's such a stark contrast to the surroundings you are in, yet it represents Austin just as much as the funky SoCo shops.

I still do not understand the relationship this city has with food joints. Across the street from my favorite shop block sits an unassuming pizza parlor. There are always people sitting outside on the sidewalk, and inside is really .... well .... no disrespect (please, if you're from Austin, don't get mad at me) but it's a little bit of a dive. But - it's probably some of the best pizza in town (just eat it hot - we don't like it re-heated). People are willing to wait in line for over 30-45 minutes just to place an order! Now, I should tell you that there are probably 4-5 pizza places within a mile, so everyone is waiting for this pizza because it is good.

And the Continental Club. This was the first place we went to specifically check out the "night life" in Austin. We went before we knew it is a truly cool icon. It is like one of those seedy old bars that our grandparents went to, but it is full of people of all ages. It's not huge - but even for a terrible show (which we happened to be blessed with that night), it is a packed house. About 20 of the maybe 150 people have a place to sit - everyone else stands. We later found out that the paintings on the wall are originals that were salvaged by the new owner. The history behind this great little place is pretty interesting.

Guero's is what I think of as pretty typical Austin. It has a huge outdoor eating area under trees. Nothing is fancy, nor does it seem particularly clean. But - every time we go by, it is full and the music is phenomenal. We've heard mixed reviews on the food - but everyone has a great time. It's a restaurant, not just a bar, which is a plus.

So, SoCo, you may be funky, you may be (sometimes) dirty, you seem very "hippie" and I wonder about some of those smells. But SoCo - you rock. Well done.

After the first date, if you're like us, you'll love South Austin more every day.