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Austin -- We are losing this place

DalTxHornFan

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Patricio Swayze

Patricio Swayze 17058

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One of the coolest things to me about Linklater’s Slacker was capturing the Drag at the period of time I think a lot of y’all are describing. I wish I could’ve experienced it like that (was on campus late 00’s).

My brother entered UT in 1991, so I had been there near the time it was filmed. When I got there in 1995, it hadn’t change a ton. In the scene where the conspiracy theorist walks from the drag into west campus they stop at a house and a couple walks by that he tries to talk to. They walk through the “backyard” of the efficiency apartment and the adjacent house. That I lived in for two years at UT (My older brother had lived in the house a couple of years earlier as well). /csb.
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Macanudo
Macanudo

True story....   I lived in an apartment on Nueces right where it splits off of Guadalupe there where Ken's was and Dirty's is for a year my junior year (91-92.)   I ate a shit ton of both.   But the

Biff Tannen
Biff Tannen

I went into Ken's one night on mushrooms and when I went to get water from the fountain the lever stuck and I couldn't figure out how to make it stop so water was just pouring out all over the floor a

jimmyjazz
jimmyjazz

We went to Dan's because of this thread.  Cheeseburger, fries, onion rings and milk shakes.  I'm gonna die Elvis Presley style on the shitter.

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South Austin

South Austin 51681

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I got to UT in 1994.  I was a pretty sheltered conservative small town kid.  I thought The Drag was awesome, even if I wasn't fully on board with a lot of the weird shit going on there.  It gave me the sense that I was part of a university environment that was truly unique, in addition to all of the other great parts of the on-campus experience at the time.  I miss Sound Exchange.   

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chainsaw

chainsaw 9668

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On 7/21/2022 at 6:16 PM, Patricio Swayze said:


My brother entered UT in 1991, so I had been there near the time it was filmed. When I got there in 1995, it hadn’t change a ton. In the scene where the conspiracy theorist walks from the drag into west campus they stop at a house and a couple walks by that he tries to talk to. They walk through the “backyard” of the efficiency apartment and the adjacent house. That I lived in for two years at UT (My older brother had lived in the house a couple of years earlier as well). /csb.

That really is a cool story! I think a big part of it is that back then "Bohemian" type people were able to make a dignified living working in the service industry while pursuing artistic (usually musical) passions. It also meant they could open small businesses. And not just hippies. I remember there was a Burger Tex in the north campus area that was run by a Korean family (or it seemed like it was). West campus and even the Dobie mall all had these small Mom & Pop businesses. That's basically gone now.

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ftf82

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36 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

That really is a cool story! I think a big part of it is that back then "Bohemian" type people were able to make a dignified living working in the service industry while pursuing artistic (usually musical) passions. It also meant they could open small businesses. And not just hippies. I remember there was a Burger Tex in the north campus area that was run by a Korean family (or it seemed like it was). West campus and even the Dobie mall all had these small Mom & Pop businesses. That's basically gone now.

Guy that owned the Burger Tex on Guad was a member at Onion Creek when I was in the mid 90s and played in the Saturday morning men's group. Great guy. Sucks that it closed down. One of the best burgers in town.

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45209

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On 7/24/2022 at 2:14 PM, ftf82 said:

Guy that owned the Burger Tex on Guad was a member at Onion Creek when I was in the mid 90s and played in the Saturday morning men's group. Great guy. Sucks that it closed down. One of the best burgers in town.

 

On 7/24/2022 at 4:40 PM, HenryJames said:

That was the Airport location.

 

On 7/24/2022 at 4:53 PM, Deej said:

I had one at the Guadalupe location. They even had a sign for them outside the building. 

It was definitely Guadalupe, though Airport could have had it too.  I frequented the Guadalupe location until it closed down.  Man, that was some good shit.

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DalTxHornFan

DalTxHornFan 3071

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22 minutes ago, Patricio Swayze said:

At some point a Korean family bought the Guadalupe location and offered the bulgogi burger. They kept it running right for a long time. Even when I was back there in 2002-2005 it was one of the better burgers in town. But they sold it off and then eventually closed.

I think that this is a pretty accurate story about both locations: 

North Loop Burger Joint Is Closing After Almost 50 Years

No more bulgoki burgers from Burger Tex after this month

https://austin.eater.com/2020/3/12/21176057/burger-tex-closing-austin-airport-boulevard

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hornian

hornian 5166

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1 hour ago, utee94 said:

Open since 1984????  Old Austin is dying!!!

 

 

(I'm mostly kidding, I always liked that place, on several occasions I rented from them for Halloween or for costumes for high school drama productions)

TBH, something that has been around since the early 80s qualifies as "old Austin" at this point. 

Signed, a person who was born in the early 80s. 

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utee94

utee94 15722

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4 minutes ago, hornian said:

TBH, something that has been around since the early 80s qualifies as "old Austin" at this point. 

Signed, a person who was born in the early 80s. 

That's the exact point I'm making.  Old Austin is whatever someone remembers fondly from a time when they were probably more carefree than they are now.

When that placed opened up, it replaced something that I'd probably consider Old(er) Austin.

And THAT place probably replaced Old Austin from my parents' college days in the early 60s.

There's no such thing as Old Austin.  It's a myth.  It's Shangri-la.  It's whatever any individual associates with the good old days.  In the case of UT students, it typically coincides with their college years, for obvious reasons.

But I was born and raised in Austin by two UT grads.  I went to pre-school, elementary, junior high, high school, and college undergrad at UT here.  Then I stayed and worked here.  Then I got my MBA from UT here.  Then I stayed and worked here again.

I've seen Old Austin come and go a dozen times.  It'll come and go a dozen more before I die, Lord willing.

 

 

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chainsaw

chainsaw 9668

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On 8/2/2022 at 7:20 PM, D_Goose said:

That Lucy in Disguise storefront certainly represents more of the funky and weird character that Austin was known for than whatever upscale boho-chic handbag boutique that takes its place will.

Did they give a reason why it was closing down altogether rather than just relocating?

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19445

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https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/09/19/austin-police-arrest-arson-suspect-acused-of-setting-15-fires/69504270007/

Well I didn't believe Surly would have anything to do with this shit, but I saw the mugshot and am pretty sure he posts here.  

fucking tragic though.  So fortunate more folks weren't injured (just some local smoke inhilation bothered some neighbors).  But this many fires could have enveloped several city blocks.  Glad they caught the fucker so soon.  

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chainsaw

chainsaw 9668

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On 9/19/2022 at 4:03 PM, YGIFS said:

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/09/19/austin-police-arrest-arson-suspect-acused-of-setting-15-fires/69504270007/

Well I didn't believe Surly would have anything to do with this shit, but I saw the mugshot and am pretty sure he posts here.  

fucking tragic though.  So fortunate more folks weren't injured (just some local smoke inhilation bothered some neighbors).  But this many fires could have enveloped several city blocks.  Glad they caught the fucker so soon.  

did we lose another towing law expert?

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45209

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On 9/19/2022 at 3:03 PM, YGIFS said:

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/09/19/austin-police-arrest-arson-suspect-acused-of-setting-15-fires/69504270007/

Well I didn't believe Surly would have anything to do with this shit, but I saw the mugshot and am pretty sure he posts here.  

fucking tragic though.  So fortunate more folks weren't injured (just some local smoke inhilation bothered some neighbors).  But this many fires could have enveloped several city blocks.  Glad they caught the fucker so soon.  

You think THAT guy posts on the internet?  I'm not sure he knows what it is.

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MagicSoccerSpray

MagicSoccerSpray 1725

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On 7/18/2022 at 3:20 PM, gsoda3 said:

what was the name of that coffee shop in between eckerd's and the co-op?  it had a loft.  

 

the great memories i have involving the drag were great because of the people or circumstances.  i can't really say i spent a lot of time in any one singular establishment.  and even back then the food on the drag was not great.  

 

On 7/18/2022 at 9:00 PM, Foggy Notion said:

Before it was Metro, I believe it was Insomnia which was also open 24 hours. I lived at the Woo 94-95 and spent a lot of late nights at Insomnia. The kid who played Hirschfelder in Dazed and Confused worked there. 

 

I streaked Insomnia/Metro spring 98. Damn I miss the Austin I grew up in.

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Duane Moore

Duane Moore 5236

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On 7/18/2022 at 10:02 PM, Armybrat said:

The Drag wasn’t much in the 1960s either.

But I saw the Albert Finney film Tom Jones at the Texas Theater just south of the Coop. Saw The 400 Blows there too.

I can remember seeing Beetlejuice, Last Temptation of Christ, and Sea of Love at the Varsity. Lots more at the Dobie Theater like Heavy Metal (not in first run) and Near Dark. 

On 7/21/2022 at 7:16 PM, Patricio Swayze said:


My brother entered UT in 1991, so I had been there near the time it was filmed. When I got there in 1995, it hadn’t change a ton. In the scene where the conspiracy theorist walks from the drag into west campus they stop at a house and a couple walks by that he tries to talk to. They walk through the “backyard” of the efficiency apartment and the adjacent house. That I lived in for two years at UT (My older brother had lived in the house a couple of years earlier as well). /csb.

The historic house at the corner there of W. 22nd Street and Rio Grande that was a frat house back then is now a Starbucks, surrounded by a huge condo building.  New Austin in one picture. There used to be a Moon Tower in the adjacent parking lot but that’s gone too. 

D80261EB-669F-493C-BCBE-8A1CF2A3BFDC.thumb.jpeg.c661df6343d2ffa18cc2171551c99881.jpeg

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YGIFS

YGIFS 19445

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It's insanely different than it was just 5 years ago.  The density is just surreal.  There are blocks where you can't see the sun.  Only surprise is there's not more retail./restaurant stuff going in on the first floors.  Not that it was terribly iconic, but it was a 'near-campus' fixture---Trudy's off north drag.  Demolition has finally begun.    

Speaking of losing this place, I wonder what's gonna happen to Nau's after it's demo'd.  Nobody in the Austin hushed circles of real estate seem to know either.  I would imagine the height restrictions are gonna be tested, and attempted to be modified.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 103648

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2 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I spent a not insignificant amount of time drinking Bloody Marys at Trudy's Central on Friday mornings when I should have been at class, so this hits close to school.

 

 

I never got the Trudy's love.  We went there to get our drink on from time to time in law school, but that was usually at the choice of the girls.....who I listened to, because I'm not stupid.

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utee94

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4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I never got the Trudy's love.  We went there to get our drink on from time to time in law school, but that was usually at the choice of the girls.....who I listened to, because I'm not stupid.

In my experience Trudy's gets a lot more hate than love, especially on hornfans/shag/surl.

I liked Trudy's for a few things.  Standard Tex-Mex brown chile gravy enchiladas, was never one of them.

But their chipotle sauce is delicious and their pecan-smoked chicken enchiladas with the chipotle sauce was an excellent dish.  Their beef tinga chile relleno was also very good.  I liked their migas quite a bit, and their gringo breakfast and burgers were always tasty.

They're really more Aus-Mex than Tex-Mex I'd say, and that's not such a bad thing.

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ftf82

ftf82 481

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Their Texas Star Tacos at both the Central and South location (South Lamar outpad in the Ray Hennig's Heart of Texas store) were my introduction to brisket tacos. And they were outstanding. Unfortunately they took them off the menu in the early 90s. 

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Judge Roybeanbag

Judge Roybeanbag 11730

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On 7/21/2022 at 6:16 PM, Patricio Swayze said:


My brother entered UT in 1991, so I had been there near the time it was filmed. When I got there in 1995, it hadn’t change a ton. In the scene where the conspiracy theorist walks from the drag into west campus they stop at a house and a couple walks by that he tries to talk to. They walk through the “backyard” of the efficiency apartment and the adjacent house. That I lived in for two years at UT (My older brother had lived in the house a couple of years earlier as well). /csb.

My brother started in 1981, my first trip to the drag resulted in an “eat shit and die” t-shirt from Aaron’s and a cheeseburger from GM.  I moved here 2 years after that.  

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