Memories of Our Austin - Restaurants

Ski Shores... another one bites the dust

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:24:14 -0700

Well, I really received a shock the other day. We had some guests from out of town who had spent enough time in Austin to know the cool spots. It was decided that we would all trek to Ski Shores for an afternoon of burgers, beer, and old-time Austin vibe. I suppose two out of three ain't bad but that vibe is long gone. Ski Shores has turned into little Disneyland with a bar... kids everywhere.

I don't fault the management for making a decision that will probably keep the business afloat and with us for many more years to come. It is just another notch on the list of "long gone" Austin places that personified the culture of our town. What passes for Austin culture these days seems to come out of a mayonnaise jar. Whether it's the artificial Bohemia of South Congress, the hipster popularity contest of East-side cocktail bars, or plastic playscape-themed conversions of previous dives, it all seems a little desperate.

Back in the 80's, Dallas seemed to "wake up" to what was happening in Austin and tried to manufacture hip culture: South Greenville, Deep Ellum, etc., were 100% contrived attempts at cool. I would look upon these with the smug satisfaction that here in Austin, we had the real thing. I look around now and and it seems that the pre-fab forces are gaining on us.

Dodge City Steak House

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:57:18 -0700

Anyone remember Dodge City Steakhouse out Lamar I beleive? They had sign saying if you have long hair you dont eat here. It was a riot. We would always mess with em' and try to get in. Then there was the Stallion, and the great 2 chicken fried steaks for like a buck and a half

Music second to none!

Mon, 03 May 2010 22:03:16 -0700

The Black Cat Lounge, i believe they sold $2.00 Lonestar beer. and The Armadillo, saw patti smythe, Frank Zappa, Cars. greatest place nothing like that in NJ.

The Treehouse Restaurant

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:31:16 -0700

The Treehouse restaurant was a fairly highbrow eatery, its name came from the fact that the main dining room was built on stilts, in the treetops. You parked below.

You can still see the remains across from the Doughetry Arts Center on Barton Springs near South Lamar. It was open in the 70s, closed, then reopened briefly some years later. Its been shuttered for a very long time now.

The Jasmine Isle in Buda

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 08:21:14 -0700

Jasmine Isle in Buda - Wahoo! Long before Buda was the center of the universe and popularized on the "You Won't Believe This Sh*t!" TV crime show, with wives killin' husbands and stuff, Buda was a tiny near-ghost town relic of old time Texas.

In '72 or there abouts, a bunch of hippies who had enough money to travel to Java or some such far off hippie place (maybe India), came back to Travis County and decided (probably in the throes of some un-Christian drugs or Eastern philosophy), to start a hippie restaurant in bootiful downtown Buda, in the top floor of an old hardware store.

Whoa! Shades of Alice's 'you know what', and doggone it, the food was great, and the ambiance was straight out of Pier One (maybe The Cadeau), with tied dyed bedspreads for drapes, and giant wire spools for tables, etc.

Me and Charles John Quarto went there several times and had good food and good vibes, you know?

Just another Bozo on this bus...

the Magic Time Machine and others

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:07:54 -0800

I moved here at the age of 5 and grew up in the suburbs off Northwest 183, but going downtown was such a treat. This is the 80s, so I'm a little behind... but I bet at least some of you worked at The Magic Time Machine. I know it's a chain and that there's one in San Antonio, but I have a feeling the Austin version was, of course, the best.

That place made me want to grow up to be a waitress. It looked incredibly fun-- you got to dress up in costumes and entertain your tables-- to a kid it was extremely magical. We went only a few times, when people came to visit or for a friend's birthday party... but what a great place.

I remember one time coming out of the bathroom stall and finding Wonder Woman and Tinkerbell standing there bitching about someone while primping. I think it was the first time I'd ever heard the f word.

Others:
Mad Dog and Beans - a bus trip to the drag with my friends at thirteen and a quest for this place in a summer downpour, then freezing while finally downing our millkshakes while soaking wet...

Steve's Ice Cream - I still have a sweatshirt, stained with chocolate ice cream which I had won by playing Madonna's "Cherish" on the piano.

Showplace Pizza Parlor? (Not Showbiz) I need help with this one-- don't remember where it was or even what it was called but man that place was incredible-- 1920's era silent movie theater with an actual organ player, nickelodeons and a creepy mummy behind yellowed glass-- and I remember the taxidermy cappuchin monkey with the little cymbals... it was so great and I barely remember it now...

And that big boat my bus always went by on the way to school- right at 183 and Mopac now I think-- the Showboat for a little while? Hazy memories... I always wanted to go there and then it shut down. Maybe that pizza place was near there.

I don't suppose anyone else ever lived North enough to frequent the Mr. Gatti's on 183 near Anderson Mill Road? This was our post swim meet party room and those old wooden booths were so caked with graffiti and carvings I can still see them. How many little swim team kids can you cram into a booth at Gatti's? Something like 60 I think. I might be exaggerating...

Austin's Famous Mexican Restaurant

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:17:23 -0700

Can anyone enlighten me about the name of the Mexican restaurant where it was all you can eat - and when you wanted more - you just raised the flag on your table - and here came the seconds, and thirds, and on and on! Of course, being on a student's budget, the "all you can eat" feature was great - and boy, could we put it away back then! I just remember Ron Franklin's creative advice that if you start with the sopapillas, you'd have no problem -- (like a plug for the drain!) Classy...

More old austin restaurants

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:57:32 -0700

Not going back as far, but in the late 70s, early 80s you could find:

The Red Keg out 183 (almost to TI)
People's restaurant (on Anderson in the Village)
Hambergers by Gourmet (downstairs from the video game place on the drag)
Hilberts on Lamar (recently moved)
Mike and Charlie's (ok, really a bar, now a parking lot)
Chez Fred (couple of locations out north)
San Francisco Steakhouse (recently died, but lived for a very long time)
Nighthawk south I35
Tumbleweed Steakhouse/BBQ (on top of Tumbleweed hill on 2222)
Haufbrau Steak house (across from Katz's Deli)
La Tapatia Mexican food on 2nd
Jorge's Uptown Margarita Bar and Grill on Lavaca
Hut's of course (still going strong)

Hippie Food

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:14:23 -0800

In early 1970, I went into the Maverick Steakhouse on South Congress, in Downtown Austin. After waiting about 15 minutes with no service, the manager came to our table and asked us to leave. He kindly explained, "Sorry, we don't serve Hippie food here."

The good old days!

Top Notch Burgers

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:32:06 -0800

Last week we lost yet another one of those things that you just rely on being there: James Stanish passed on. If your had ever eaten there, "Mr. Top Notch" surely either took your order and/or cooked your meal. Everyone seems to mention the Dazed and Confused connection with Top Notch as if that is the defining attribute. It's not. Top Notch has always been a place where you walked in and felt like family. We don't know yet whether they will re-open and try to keep going without James. I hope so but in either case we will have lost a part of our Austin family.

Update: the family has decided to re-open the restaurant and keep going. Give them your support.

Les Amis

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:10:23 -0700

As Joni Mitchell said "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone", and so I feel about Les Amis. I never really hung out there beyond the occasional lunch or afternoon beer. The crowd there was always a little too artsey, too east-coast bohemian, and the menu was expensive! Looking back though, "Les" was a cultural nugget for old Austin and especially for campus culture. It was there during the riots, during the fawning disco days, during the punk scene, and it had a place and purpose in each of those.

The film "Viva Les Amis" should be required viewing for anyone on this site. Good history and snapshots from our time gone by. Here's one for you... look familiar?

Green Pastures

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:54:35 -0700

I recently had the occasion to have dinner at Green Pastures with a fairly large group. It really brought back memories of this Grande Dame of Austin dining. The house and grounds were excellently maintained, the food was outstanding. It was a bit jarring to have a reflection of our modern times juxtaposed with the older standards: our waiter's tatoos clashed with the floral wallpaper.

However, I'm always happy to see a non-changing constant in our little town of rapid change. Green Pastures with its peacocks, its dark oak antique furniture, its grounds now in the epicenter of So. Austin gentrification does remain steady and as elegant as always.

Catfish Parlor & Coors beer

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:23:40 -0700

Trying to remember where the Catfish Parlor was heading out by Lake Travis. Remember heading out there back in 1976/7 and thinking it took hours to get there. Also - trying to recall the name of the little store (again somewhere out by Lake Travis) that was the first in the area to sell Coors beer. Hey, when you're 21 ya did stupid things like drive 45 minutes for a 6-pak!

Virginia's Cafe

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:05:12 -0700

I used to love to go to Virginia's Cafe down on S. 1st about half way btwn Barton Springs and Ben White. Around about 74-75 used to eat some of the best chicken fried steak, pork chops etc. with the usual vegetables; Virginia, whom was very old, would cook it, serve it and run the cash register. You could get along just fine as long as you didn't try to strike up a conversation with her. She was damned busy and did not mind telling you so. So just eat your damned food or talk to someone else.

Salvation Sandwiches

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 07:57:19 -0800

When I first moved to Austin, one of my best friends was a vegetarian. Since I was new in town, I followed him around for awhile. That meant eating vegetarian meals, something very new to the Texas carnivore. There were a couple of places that I recall but mostly it was the "avocado and sprouts on whole wheat" that we would get at Salvation Sandwiches. That was the complete experience: the hippie food, the hippie food vendors, the hippie mentality. All in all, a very proper lesson in the culture of my new home.