
The University of Texas is a cool place to wander if you don’t have time to get out of town. The often unlocked limestone buildings provide a myriad of opportunities to have semipublic sex with the record-label manager from Minneapolis you met at the Long Branch Inn. It is the only American campus that can rival Montreal’s McGill for most free-ranging beauties. The Hole in the Wall (2538 Guadalupe) A legendary storefront venue for live music, where locals gather for the Sunday night “Rock & Roll Free-For-Alls,” as well as Monday’s “Unplug This” showcase. This old bar has done more damage to the health of Austin musicians than just about any other club in town. Ask the Hickoids. The Texas Showdown (2610 Guadalupe) This large watering hole, formerly known as Raul’s, is where bands like the Skunks started Austin down its path to punkdom. You’ll find pool tables, games, and numbered mugs behind the bar for regulars, which makes the curt “take a number” a bit more palatable. Famous for their Happy Minutes, from 3:00 to 3:15 PM every day, when they serve 40-cent draft beer. Crown & Anchor Pub (2911 San Jacinto) A classic student joint in the shadows of UT’s mysterious engineering department. Nearby, in an unmarked basement, lurks a small critical-fission nuclear reactor. For fun, purchase a cheap Geiger counter and send the annoying girl from New Jersey in the terry-cloth tube top to look for it while you order another pitcher and some burgers. Scholz Garden & Saengerrunde Hall (1607 San Jacinto Blvd.) This tree-lined beer garden and Bohemian hall dates from 1862. The complex was designed, built, and used by the original German freethinkers who founded central Texas. Order a Shiner Bock, and imagine yourself an enlightened Tex-Czech émigré. There is bowling in the Saengerrunde Hall, if you have the gift of the language and a free afternoon. All the pins are hand-set. NORTH AUSTIN is a monstrous region, spreading upward from the Colorado River almost all the way to Bubya’s ranchette in Crawford. Its quirkiness, though a bit muted, can still be experienced by pushing past the endless strip malls and fast-food drive-thrus to these three outposts. The Carousel Lounge (1110 E. 52nd) This joint is a bizarre world of rat-packy musicians and circus figurines. Bands play beneath a huge pink papier-mâché elephant, while Swingin’ Stella serves beer and setups in a hip hideaway. Think Twin Peaks meets Dallas. Lala’s Little Nugget (2207 Justin) Every day is Christmas at this earnest strip-mall dive brightened by holiday lights and a decorated tree complete with presents. They’ve got 45s on the juke and dancing for the ladies. Put on the song “T for Texas,” and work on Jimmie Rogers’s dream of getting more women than a passenger train could haul. Ginny’s Little Longhorn (5434 Burnet Road) The only true honky-tonk in North Austin. This family-run joint specializes in classic country music. They’ve got pickled eggs on the bar, Merle on the jukebox, and there is no better place to indulge in a hankering for some boot-scootin’ action. Pay close attention to Ginny’s posted rules while visiting, however. THE “SPAGHETTI” WAREHOUSE DISTRICT lies west of Congress Avenue on 4th Street and is recognized primarily for its cheesiness. It once housed a number of infectiously dangerous gay discos and Liberty Lunch, but today it is essentially one extended outdoor fern bar for the cigar-and-scotch crowd. Alamo Drafthouse (409 Colorado) This is the coolest spot in the SWD by light years, and one of the best places in the U.S. of A. to drink alcohol while watching rare and quality movies. It’s also home to Quentin Tarantino’s yearly Fall Festival.
