In the spirit of Nerd Nite, let’s talk Austin. Austin is what one probably would call a cool city. And by cool I mean genuinely cool, not like Portland and Seattle that really want to be cool but aren’t. Austin is vibrant; people in the streets any time of day or night at any time; a happening downtown area with a huge park and river running through it. Think Spokane on a whole lot of steroids and with more of a “European” bend, and you get the picture.

Worth checking out if you’re interested in a good beer and some barbecue is Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que. The beer here is actually pretty good, and the smokey porter goes well with the fairly average food. Not bad, just average. The spot sort of reminds me of The Elk in vibe, just with mostly outdoor seating. It’s definitely a good place for people watching.

Uncle Billy’s sister spot is called Austin Java, which not surprisingly is a coffee shop. The coffee was good and all, but Austin apparently hasn’t quite figured the whole coffee culture out yet. When I asked for a 12oz Americano I was met with a blank stare and attitude informing me that they usually just put the coffee in their standard cups which they aren’t sure how big are. Well, fair enough, I suppose, but if they don’t know the size of the cups, how do they figure out their ratios? Short answer: they don’t. They just pour how they’ve been taught. Kinda like robots.

What else… Austin is the home of Whole Foods, so if that’s your thing, then their main store is gigantic. Think the size of a Fred Meyer, centrally located downtown.

6th street downtown is worth checking out. It’s full of bars and restaurants.

And if you want a Clinkerdagger like experience head over to The Oasis. It is truly a strange and not very wonderful experience, food wise.

I like Austin. They’re very centered on keeping things local there, which I suppose is what they’re slogan indicates, with “Keep Austin Weird.” Because it’s not weird. But it is great.