Elda's was one of those places that was a legitimate "hidden gem". It was the personal residence of a married couple from Mexico, I think, and they opened their home as a restaurant. The other bonus was that they were open on Friday night until past 2:00am. Cabrito and guacamole, amazingly good. The old man taking your order to the old woman sitting at her dinette table and both of them disappearing to the kitchen to cook it, even better. I can't remember where they were located except it was on the East side on a hill.

Make mine a double with a Shiner. The CFS was good (and cheap) but the Stallion was one of those places that you just wanted to go to. The waitresses stuck in 50's, the kitchen off to the side belching cooking smoke out that vent that you had to drive by, upstairs bar, it was funky but good. N. Lamar was an interesting neighborhood at that time... We've lost a lot of Austin history there.

Ahhh... Jorge's off of Pleasant Valley. Loved the Margaritas. Loved the enchiladas. Loved the whole bohemian Tex-Mex experience.

Remember Jake's? They had a typical "beer joint" style menu but the fried oysters were the best... you just didn't want to watch them being dipped out of the bucket in which they were stored.

You could count on a celebrity sighting on any given night at Jake's. For some reason, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw seemed to frequent the place. Darrell Royal was also a regular.

When they announced the closing, I made it a point to visit one last time. I sat at the bar near the door, ordered up a fishbowl, drank it, and proceeded to the door, empty fishbowl in hand. I still have that massive piece of glass.