Post Punk Kitchen Forum

my husband always loves/loved running around town lake (downtown area). it's a paved trail and pretty popular.

I think Town Lake/Lady Bird Lake and the Barton Creek greenbelt are what you want. [Note: do not expect to see either a lake or anything green.] But I would PM Laser Ox, who is our resident runner.

Meh, lakes, schmakes, I see plenty of lakes and green here. I'm just hoping to see some sun!

I agree, Town Lake (Ladybird Lake) is the best place in town to run. It's a 3 mile loop & the local running stores have water stations set up. From there you can head north on the Shoal Creek trail which is parallel to Lamar for more crushed sandstone surface. Also from Town Lake, you can also head down the Greenbelt west of Zilker Park, but it gets really rocky after a while. If you are venturing away from the main loop, carry water.

I agree! There are a lot of great trails, thehike in bike trailthat goes around town lake is exactly what you are looking for.

I also love the Barton Creek Greenbelt which starts right by Barton Springs.

Don't worry you will UNDOUBTEDLY see lots of sun.

Lovely Austin people, I have another question for you. We are going to take a detour to San Antonio on Tuesday. Does anyone know any good places to eat there? I haven't checked Happy Cow yet because the PPK is way smarter.

Also, I'm having a hard time figuring out which is the three mile loop you guys speak of (mainly, I'm having a hard time figuring out where I'm supposed to park/start.) If anyone sees this before tomorrow morning, can you clue me in? Otherwise I will figure it out.

Monkeytoes- there are a bunch of places to access the hike and bike. If you are downtown just keep heading towards the river and you will see it. It goes right under all of the bridges. The pedestrian bridge between Lamar and Guadalupe/south first is a part of the trail. You will see all the joggers when you get close. There is a new vegan Mexican place in SA that's supposed to be good Vegeria that's supposed to be really good, but I haven't been there yet. They also have a place called greens which is pretty good. Check out Mollyjade's TX guide http://www.lonestarplate.com/restaurant-guides-by-city/

Yay! Thank you!

I'm thinking of moving to Austin and had a couple of questions!

Is it difficult to find an apartment/housing? I'd like to rent out a room somewhere, but would prefer to live with fellow vegans/vegetarians.
Which neighborhoods are the most bike friendly?
What is the public transportation like?
Is it really really dreadfully humid and hot during the summers?
How is the economy of the city? Would it be difficult to find a FT job? (Even something like a server/store assistant)

I visited last spring and really loved it there and would like to relocate soon. I almost died after trying the gluten free dark chocolate muffin from Mr. Natural's. And really enjoyed my Wheatsville po'boy!
Thanks in advance.

It's pretty easy to find housing. If you just want a room, there are a couple of vegan/vegetarian coops in the city, if you don't mind living with lots of people.

If you want to bike, I would say live south of 183. The university area and Hyde Park are probably the most bike-friendly. http://habitatsuites.com/sites/default/ ... 121409.pdf

Public transportation is OK. It's the best in Texas, but that's faint praise. The train system is pretty much useless. The bus system is better, especially if you live south of 183. North Austin (north of 183) is just really hard to navigate by bike/bus/foot, though I know people who do it.

It really is dreadfully hot in the summer. But it's actually not that humid. We're not near a big body of water like Houston. And there are lots of swimming holes to cool off in. And no one expects you to wear real clothes in the summer. Flipflips are acceptable footwear at most offices.

The Austin economy is doing better than most places. Service industry jobs and tech jobs are pretty easy to find.

Thanks for that bike map! It's really useful.

I didn't even think about coops, so that's such a great idea to me to look into.
I don't know anyone in the city, so it would be a good way to establish some roots. Particularly if they have similar life style habits as me!

Hey. So I'm in town for South By, and I'm the worst at planning these things out. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions/must-dos/must-eats, I'd love to hear them. We're here through the Monday, the 19th. Hit me!

Also, totally last minute (told you I was the worst), but my boyfriend's band, Samantha, is playing at Thirsty Nickel at 6.30 Thursday. It's free! Come!

Kara kara, lazysmurf has two brilliant guides. This one is specifically about SXSW. It's from last year, but still really relevant. [url=http://lazysmurf.wordpress.com/a-vegan-tour-of-austin/[/url]This one[/url] is a general travel guide for Austin. She also has a longer guide that lists over 100 vegan-friendly restaurants.

And here is a calendar of events, if you want to hang around with other vegans and vegan it up.

I don't know if you're traveling by car or bus, but just for traffic and planning reference, everything downtown and south is pretty slammed, but north of downtown things aren't so busy and it's easier to get into restaurants and things.

I'll be in Austin in May (weekend around 12th to see Eyehategod!). I will drive over from Nola where I will be spending my vacation.
Since the drive is quite long I won't have much time for sightseeing etc, but I will have some and I will need to eat and sleep.

Can anyone recommend a nice hotel (b&b-style maybe or some not too expensive funky hotel?)? What are the must eats? I don't necessarily need restaurant recommendations, more deli-style places with sandwiches/salads, and baked goodies (!!!) or ice-cream. :) Any must-sees for a little sightseeing?

Thanks!

The Austin Motel is definitely the place for funky, not too expensive. But book a room fast because it fills up quickly. http://www.austinmotel.com/

For deli/to-go/baked goods, you'll want Wheatsville Coop. They have sandwiches and a hot bar, plus tons of prepared foods. Whole Foods downtown is second best for this. For ice cream, hit Sweet Ritual.

For sightseeing, and general travel advice, Lazy Smurf has an awesome guide: http://lazysmurf.wordpress.com/a-vegan-tour-of-austin/

Oh, and there's not much vegan-friendly food on the road in between NOLA and Austin. So either bring food with you, put up with Taco Bell, or plan to stop for lunch in Houston.

Thank you, Mollyjade. The motel looks good - will send them an inquiry now. :)

We are having a vegan bakesale next Sunday April 29 at MonkeyWrench books from 12-6. Bake! Share! Come!