Bama vs Utex

TexasBama

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Hmmm... Can't comment there since I just drive from Houston. Never have flown to Austin and only flew to SA once for business. But a solution could be to fly into and out of Austin, but still drive to and stay in SA if you can't find airfare you don't like to SA. I think we drove from Austin to the river walk in just under an hour (of course, going the typical 5-10 MPH over the posted limit ;-) ). Actually, San Marcos may even be a good call. Less of a drive, easy to Austin and back on gameday. Do the river walk one night, and the Salt Lick the other night (really popular BBQ place, but it's probably PACKED on game weekends).
I lived in Austin a couple of years, and I think Salt Lick is overrated. I'd drive down to Lockhart - it's not much further from downtown Austin. Or for that matter drive over to Louie Mueller's in Taylor. There's several new BBQ joints in Austin, I think a couple in the East Side.

Actually, a cool option IMO is to stay in New Braunfels and go to Gruene Hall Friday or Saturday night.
 
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81usaf92

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I lived in Austin a couple of years, and I think Salt Lick is overrated. I'd drive down to Lockhart - it's not much further from downtown Austin. Or for that matter drive over to Louie Mueller's in Taylor. There's several new BBQ joints in Austin, I think a couple in the East Side.

Actually, a cool option IMO is to stay in New Braunfels and go to Gruene Hall Friday or Saturday night.
Am I misremembering this but isn’t UT just right off the highway kinda out of town and DKR is literally right off the exit.
 

C2Ag93

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Jul 25, 2021
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Looks like you guys are in good hands actually with some of your own. A few responses -

1 - Salt Lick is well-known and good, but it is the "go to" when telling tourists where to go (even though many locals still like it). But I am sure the other options mentioned in the thread are good too.

2 - New Braunfels and Gruene Hall (depending on who's playing that night) are great options too if you're looking for small town feel. Love it there. Grist Mill restaurant next door is convenient and good. Got in the habit of going there annually in the summers to float the river.

3 - Totally agree with 81's comments of going to the Alamo - go only if you know the history and are interested from a historical standpoint, but aesthetically underwhelming. It's a stop on a trip to Texas, but don't plan your trip around it. A "must stop" only if you're in San Antonio. If in the area and it would be inconvenient, only go if you are an avid fan of history and want to check it off.

4 - Totally agree with comments about the bar scene in Austin; if it's not your thing, then choose something else. If it is your thing and a game weekend means also seeing the opponent fans, it should be okay to go THIS YEAR.

5 - Yes, UTw stadium is literally right off the highway, and is connected to their campus. IMO, sort of detracts from the overall experience. I personally like the smaller, college town feeling for away games. Loved the trip to Clemson, for example.
 
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TexasBama

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Yeah I’m driving so that won’t be an issue. But I’ve always hated flying to SA. For whatever reason you start to jump up in prices with SA and EP compared to Houston and Austin.
Where would you be driving in from? It can be a major pain trying to drive through Austin on IH35 if you're trying to get to San Antonio from the north. There's a toll road that bypasses Austin, but its EZ Tag.
 
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81usaf92

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Where would you be driving in from? It can be a major pain trying to drive through Austin on IH35 if you're trying to get to San Antonio from the north. There's a toll road that bypasses Austin, but its EZ Tag.
Ocean Springs, MS. Dad wanted to do a road trip so I said “ I’ve done way longer than this to get to a game so why not”. Otherwise I would have done a one day flight in and out of Austin for the game. I really have no desire to stay in Austin. It’s just never been my kind of city. I just prefer Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and College Station better.
 
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TideMan09

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It's time for Coach Saban too go on another winning streak, against HC's that's been on our coaching staff at one time, on another NC run & next year too cause we're going too be reallyyyy good then as well..RTR!!!..
 

TexasBama

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Ocean Springs, MS. Dad wanted to do a road trip so I said “ I’ve done way longer than this to get to a game so why not”. Otherwise I would have done a one day flight in and out of Austin for the game. I really have no desire to stay in Austin. It’s just never been my kind of city. I just prefer Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and College Station better.
I guess that’s a nine or ten hour drive. As long as you get to downtown Houston by 330-400pm it won’t be too bad getting through here, wrecks aside.

when I lived in Austin, there was still some “cool” to it. The view from my patio was literally the backdrop from Austin City Limits. But it’s built up, and anymore I find it to be contrived.

One option driving from San Antonio to Austin - take US 281 north from San Antonio to Blanco. Then take FM 165 towards Dripping Springs, where you’ll run into US290 and come into Austin from the west. A more scenic drive than IH35, and maybe 15-20 minutes longer.
 
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Toddrn

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Where would you be driving in from? It can be a major pain trying to drive through Austin on IH35 if you're trying to get to San Antonio from the north. There's a toll road that bypasses Austin, but its EZ Tag.
I was out there a few years ago and somehow wound up on one of their toll roads. Did not see a sign when I got on but did while driving it. A few weeks later I got a bill in the mail. Traffic in Austin is awful. I would hate to see what it looks like with Bama and UT playing.
 

81usaf92

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I guess that’s a nine or ten hour drive. As long as you get to downtown Houston by 330-400pm it won’t be too bad getting through here, wrecks aside.

when I lived in Austin, there was still some “cool” to it. The view from my patio was literally the backdrop from Austin City Limits. But it’s built up, and anymore I find it to be contrived.

One option driving from San Antonio to Austin - take US 281 north from San Antonio to Blanco. Then take FM 165 towards Dripping Springs, where you’ll run into US290 and come into Austin from the west. A more scenic drive than IH35, and maybe 15-20 minutes longer.
The only thing I really liked in Austin was Stevie Ray Vaughan type and Austin city limits stuff. I guess if I had a day to spare then I would go to the LBJ library to get another one off my list but other than that it’s just a capital city to me. But for whatever reason I’ve just never liked going to bars and going around Austin. So to say the least this is more of seeing Alabama whip Texas trip as Austin is concerned.

As for traffic… One thing I learned quick in Texas… it’s very important that you plan for what time you are going to drive through Houston and Dallas and stick to it. It’s some of the worst traffic I’ve ever seen and I’ve been to Atlanta and DC during rush hour.
 
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TexasBama

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As for traffic… One thing I learned quick in Texas… it’s very important that you plan for what time you are going to drive through Houston and Dallas and stick to it. It’s some of the worst traffic I’ve ever seen and I’ve been to Atlanta and DC during rush hour.
Austin traffic is pretty horrible now, at least as bad as Houston, if not worse. I have no clue what it would be like on a gameday, but was there on a Saturday in mid-December and the non-freeway traffic was pretty bad.
 

BhamToTexas

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I lived in Austin a couple of years, and I think Salt Lick is overrated. I'd drive down to Lockhart - it's not much further from downtown Austin. Or for that matter drive over to Louie Mueller's in Taylor. There's several new BBQ joints in Austin, I think a couple in the East Side.

Actually, a cool option IMO is to stay in New Braunfels and go to Gruene Hall Friday or Saturday night.
Agree with Lockhart BBQ. Kreuz Market is good too.
 
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Cowtown Bama

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Aug 29, 2007
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Be prepared for seeing more homeless people than you’ve ever seen. There is good bbq in Texas but I definitely wouldn’t rate it above the pork in Alabama. It’s going to be beef here. There are some pretty girls around there but you’ll run into some gals who don’t shave their armpits and wear combat boots also.
 

BamaMoon

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Be prepared for seeing more homeless people than you’ve ever seen. There is good bbq in Texas but I definitely wouldn’t rate it above the pork in Alabama. It’s going to be beef here. There are some pretty girls around there but you’ll run into some gals who don’t shave their armpits and wear combat boots also.
I thought Abbott was running the homeless people out from under the bridges in Austin?

I never understood why so many homeless people gravitated to Austin anyway.
 

C2Ag93

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Jul 25, 2021
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Be prepared for seeing more homeless people than you’ve ever seen. There is good bbq in Texas but I definitely wouldn’t rate it above the pork in Alabama. It’s going to be beef here. There are some pretty girls around there but you’ll run into some gals who don’t shave their armpits and wear combat boots also.
Austin has always been weird. In fact, they have a t-shirt for it "Keep Austin Weird". Been around for decades. Not sure if Leslie is still around as well. Really a stark difference between cultures in Austin vs College Station.
 

TideEngineer08

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I get this is a lot of why Texas/OU hates their current predicament. But the noon kickoff games has made Fox a lot of money. A lot depends on how things shake out going forward, with continued realignment and new TV deals. But the big game at noon deal is not going away. It's not out of the realm of possibility that it is scooped up by Disney or whoever owns the rights to the SEC games in the future.

I guess for a time, though, Texas and OU will be spared from these kinds of things. I mean look at us. We've hated what we were getting out of the SEC Network when almost all of our 3rd tier games were getting stuck in their 11 AM time slot.
 

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