Why is getting together with friends to have some drinks and show strangers how much (or how little) you know about nothing so much fun?

We’ve scoured the internet forums and all the trivia company pages to build a one-stop shop for finding trivia in town. We even threw in a color-coded map so you don’t have to read if you don’t want.

Please help us keep up-to-date on this. If a new one shows up or an old one goes away…please let us know.

MONDAY

Up north at the aptly named, North by Northwest Brewery starts asking questions at 7:30.

Central Austin has questions at 8 PM at Pinthouse Pizza

Near campus, you can check out Sholz Garten at 8 PM. In downtown, Lucy’s Retired Super Bar at 7 PM and the Iron Bear at 8.

Over on the east side, Shangri-La trivia starts at 7.

Just south of the lake, The Upper Decks sports bar has trivia starting at 7 and Gourdoughs Public House starts at 8 PM.

TUESDAY

There is lots of trivia on Tuesday night.

Up in Cedar Park at Dig Pub they start with questions at 7:30. In Round Rock, Westside Alehouse starts at 8 PM. A little further south, Brick House Tavern + Tap starts at 8.

Central Austin has The Goodnight at 8.

Flying Saucer (7:30) is in the Hyde Park area.  You can get started on their selection of over 200 beers while you answer questions.  And right on The Drag near campus is the Mellow Mushroom (8 PM) and the appropriately named Drag Bar (7 PM).

The downtown area has several options.  Opal Divine’s (Freehouse) (8PM) and Fado’s Irish Pub (7:30 PM) are both in the heart of downtown.  Side Bar (8 PM) is a little closer to 35 and Third Base (Downtown) (7:30 PM) is real close to MoPac.

Once you cross over Lady Bird Lake, you can head to Gibson (8 PM), Corner Bar (8 PM), Ego’s (8 PM). Jo’s Coffee Shop (7 PM) has trivia on South Congress.

Finally, if you head all the way south you check out Red’s Porch (8 PM), the South Austin Baker St Pub and Grill (8 PM) on Lamar, Doc’s Backyard (8:30) on Brodie, or Moontower Saloon (8 PM) at Manchaca and Slaughter.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday is by far the most popular night to host trivia.  Every Pluckers (7:30) location is doing trivia and they have locations all over Austin. One is near you. The only exception is the Lakeline location, they don’t do it.

Up in Round Rock, you can head to HomeField Grill (8 PM). You can also check out Twin Peaks (8 PM).  I really like their steak and their queso.

In central Austin, you can head to Mister Tramps (8 PM) right off of 183.  You can also check on Billy’s on Burnet (7 PM) right off of….well….Burnet.

Closer to campus, Posse East (7 PM) is an option.

A little closer to downtown is The Tavern (8 PM) which is relatively popular sports bar in town.

Several places do trivia in downtown proper as well.  BD Riley’s (8 PM),  Ginger Man (8 PM), and Trifecta on 3rd (8 PM) cover the west side of downtown. Gourmands (8 PM) and Violet Crown Social Club (8 PM) have you covered on the east side.

Just south of downtown Rockin Tomato (7 PM) does trivia and way down south Waterloo (Southpark Meadows) does trivia too.

THURSDAY

Trivia options really start to decrease on Thursday. Canary Roost (8 PM)  and Wings N More (7 PM) are up north.

Near Hyde Park, the Waterloo (on 38th) (8 PM) is an option.

Nomad Bar (8 PM) and in.gredients (7 PM) are a bit more central and just east of 35.

Hickory Street (6:30) is in the heart of downtown and The Grackle (8 PM) is on east side of downtown.

400 Rabbits (8PM) is down south in the Slaughter Alamo Drafthouse

SATURDAY

The only two places on Opal Divine’s (Marina) (10 PM) way north and Opal Divine’s (Penn Field) (10 PM) way south

SUNDAY

The Black Star Co-op (8 PM) is a neat brewery concept in central Austin

Hole in the Wall (8 PM) is a dive bar right on The Drag where you can get your trivia on.

Ego’s (8 PM) is normally a karaoke spot but they turn the mic over to questions on Sundays on South Congress.  El Mercado (7:30)
is also just south of the lake

Even further south is Strange Brew (7 PM).

Map of Trivia Locations

Its color coded by day of the week.

Dark Blue – Monday
Red – Tuesday
Green – Wednesday
Light Blue – Thursday
Yellow – Saturday
Purple – Sunday

Again…PLEASE let me know if I missed anything

View Pub and Bar Trivia in a larger map

This was a more ambitious project than I expected.  Its taken quite a bit of time to track it all down. So let me start by saying if there is an Austin blog or forum that isn’t on here, please, send me an email or drop something in the comments.  If it meets the rules I’ve set up then I will gladly update.

Rules?  That’s right.  This is not the first time someone has tried to collect up Austin blogs.  But I haven’t found one that has been exactly what I hope this one is.  So this is how you get included…

• It has to be about Austin.  Which is not the same as a blog by someone from Austin.  There are a lot of great Austin bloggers, but many of their posts aren’t about Austin proper.
• A similar note…an Austin business blog is only included if the information in it is relevant to people besides your customers.  If it is only specials, deals or feature updates, I didn’t list it
• Has to be updated within the past 6 months or so.

I think that’s fair.  So lets get to it.

What to do Blogs

What are we going to do today? The question never really seems to go away. These will help you figure out the answer.

Food Blogs

This was a difficult section because there are many people in Austin blogging about food, but very few blogging about ‘Austin food’

Drinking Blogs

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Austin has several blogs dedicated to drinking. I was surprised to see how many were dedicated to beer in Austin (or that there is that much to know about local beer).

Neighborhood Blogs

Public Policy Blogs

Similarly, this are blogs are about issues specific to Austin. Blogs about state or national issues are not included.

Entertainment/Social Scene Blogs

These blogs are about the people in the local scene, not necessarily things to do.

Miscellaneous Blogs

There isn’t much to explain. Marvel in the variety of things that people will blog about.

Austin Forums

Each of these have their own flavor and etiquette. You may want to lurk for awhile before you jump in and start posting.

That’s all I know.  Again, please let me know what I (inevitably) missed. Of course all of the blogs/forums here are included in our Austin Search Engine. There is also lots of non-blog information about Austin here too.

It can be hard to keep up with all the things going on around town.  There are plenty of sites that aim to help you  figure out what is going on in Austin any night of the week (In fact, here is our list of them).  But that isn’t what this post is about.  These are the classic timeless things that you need to do before you can say you have ‘done Austin’.  The things that two people from Austin who meet somewhere else ask each other about and the things you should definitely do if you only have limited time in our fair city.

Consider this a Cliff Note’s version of Austin.

As always, please let me know in the comments if you think I should add anything.

Anytime things (Weather Permitting)

From the super-touristy to more local spots

Observation Deck of the UT tower

Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History

See a movie at Alamo Drafthouse (ideally a Master Pancake show)

Underground Caverns in Georgetown

Chicken S**t Bingo every Sunday at Ginny’s Little Longhorn

Tour the Capitol

Hike the Greenbelt and the Hike and Bike trail at Town Lake

Umlauf Sculpture Garden

Catch a show at Esther’s Follies

Climb Mt Bonnell – Count the stairs

Have a Honky Tonk night at the Broken Spoke

Putt-putt at Peter Pan mini-golf – Cash only, BYOB (no glass)

Spend some time at Hamilton Pool – Parking is limited so get there early

Wander around Zilker Park and take a dip in Barton Springs

Tubing down the Guadalupe (the party river but can get low when it doesn’t rain for a while) or Comal (more cops but can still be float-able in a drought).

Of course, you should spend at least one night going from bar to bar on 6th Street

Seasonal Things

These may require a bit more planning since they are only available at certain times of year

South by Southwest – March. This three part festival is almost overwhelming.  You’ll have to hang on and see how much free stuff you can get into.

Celebrate Eeyore’s Birthday Party – April

Root for the home team at a Round Rock Express minor league baseball game – Spring.  I think this is one of the highest ratios of fun/money spent activities in town.

A concert at Blues on the Green – Summer starting in June

See the Congress St Bridge Bats – Best during late summer/early fall.  No bats during the winter.  Wouldn’t be a bad idea to wear a hat.

Austin City Limits music festival – September. Practically an official holiday in Austin.

See a UT Football Game – Fall.  Even if you don’t go to the game, check out the tailgating. Its hard to imagine.

Christmas Lights on 37 1/2 St – December.

Christmas Tree at Zilker – December.  Get under and go spinning.  At least watch other people do it.

Food

What and where to eat before you leave

Have a Don Juan taco for breakfast at Juan in a Million

Sunday Brunch at Stubb’s Gospel Sunday Brunch with make your own Bloody Mary bar – you need reservations

Do the Trudy’s Triathlon ( A Mexican martini at each of their locations) – This is killer.  Have a DD.  Seriously.  I’m not kidding.

Get Breakfast at Magnolia Cafe or Kerbey Lane Cafe very late at night

Salt Lick BBQ in Driftwood- Cash Only, BYOB.  Pretty good chance you will see a wedding reception there.

Spend a weekend hitting as many of our famous food trailers as you can

Grab a burger at Hut’s – Their onion rings are unbelievable

Make a day trip to Lockhart to try all three of their world famous BBQ spots

For the purposes of this post, we are defining late night as after midnight.  We eliminated the places that have kitchens but don’t serve food after midnight. Let’s start with the places that are open 24 hours a day. Most of these places have multiple locations so you can click the links to learn more

Also, you should go ahead and bookmark/share with your friends cause you may not remember this when you need it the most.

24 Hours

Just to be thorough – here are the fast food chains that are open as well.

24 Hour Fast Food

What if you can’t drive (or you just can’t bear to walk away from Conan or Letterman)?  Depending on where you live you could be out of luck.  All of these are accurate but they often have limited delivery area so check before you get too excited.

Late Night Delivery

The rest of the list is broken down by closing time and location.  Each entry goes like this:
Name of the place, (Days it is open till that time if not all week), Type of food if it isn’t obvious

Open till 1 AM

Open till 1:30 AM

Open till 2 AM

Open until 2:30 AM

Open until 3 AM

Open until 3:30 AM

Even later

Please leave a comment for whatever I have inevitably missed or gotten wrong.  I will continually update.  Also, may want to go ahead and bookmark.  You may not remember how to get here when you need it.

While the dates change, there are plenty of annual events that happen in every month.  The dates will obviously change every year so please check the link and/or the phone number before you head out.

January

Red Eye Regatta – The Austin Yacht Club rings in the new year with boat races on Lake Travis

FronteraFest – Hyde Park Theatre does five weeks of alternative theatre

Austin Boat Show – Exactly what it sounds like

February

Carnaval Brasilero – Austin has the largest Carnaval celebration outside of Brazil

Mardi Gras – Another big transplanted party.

March

South by Southwest – The music, film, and interactive conference that has become one of the signature Austin events

Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo – Probably exactly what you would imagine.  Rodeos, livestock, carnival rides, and heart stopping  food

Zilker Park Kite Festival – Professional and amateur kite-flyers gather once a year to show off their wares

Texas Guitar Show – Consumer guitar show

April

Eeyore Birthday Party – An outdoor celebration of the grumpy Winnie the Pooh character.  A bohemian festival that has become a way of raising money for non-profits.

Austin Reggae Festival – Music, arts, and Jamaican food all weekend on Auditorium Shores

May

O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships – Yeah.  Its a competition for the  best pun.

Old Pecan Street Arts Festival – Biannual live music, arts, crafts, and food show on Sixth Street.

June

Republic of Texas Biker Rally – The state’s largest rally attracts Harley riders from all over the country

July

Austin Symphony Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks – The biggest concert and fireworks show in town attracts thousands to Auditorium Shores every year

August

Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival – If August wasn’t hot enough, you will get plenty of opportunities to taste and buy hot sauce from pros and amateurs

Austin Ice Cream Festival  As if you need an excuse to eat ice cream.

BatFest – There is always a reason to have a multi-stage music festival in Austin.  The return of the bats is as good as any.

September

Austin City Limits – This weekend of music is arguably what put Austin on the map for most people.  Whatever time of year you are reading this…go ahead and try and get your tickets.

Old Pecan Street Arts Festival – Biannual live music, arts, crafts, and food show on Sixth Street

Chilympiad – Men’s state cookoff championship.

Austin Shakespeare Festival – Just what it sounds like. Professional theatre with an emphasis on the plays of William Shakespeare.

October

Austin Film Festival – One of the top film festivals in the country – it shows top billed movies as well as indies.

Halloween on Sixth Street – It will  be crowded but I guarantee you will see some of the most imaginative creative costumes ever.

November

Fun Fun Fun Fest – This music festival features underground music of rising stars.

Austin Celtic Festival – Two days of all things Celtic

Wurstfest – Week long celebration of all things sausage.  Funner than that may sound.

December

Trail of Lights – a mile long display of lights and your chance to spin under the largest Christmas tree in Austin.  Budget cuts threaten this every year, so make sure you go while you still can

Armadillo Christmas Bazaar – Like everything else Austin….live music, arts, food and gifts.

So this is another way to judge how good an apartment is. Again, it is tough to tell if a place is worthwhile without talking to some people that live there currently. These places may only be good at winning awards, but it is probably a good bet they don’t totally suck.

These places won awards based on staff and staff designations, physical/visual inspection and a blind shop of the property. Judges for the staff and physical inspection categories were members of the Austin Apartment Association. The blind shop was performed by an independent entity.

2009 Lease Up Winner
Winner of this year’s Lease Up Award (conventional or affordable properties less than 18 months old as of April 1, 2008 and less than 70% occupied as of November 15, 2008)
Alexan Palm Valley
56% recommended at Apartmentratings.com

2009 Sapphire 300+ Units Winner
Great Hills Apartments
41% recommended at Apartmentratings.com
36 % approve at Apartmentreviews.net

2009 Sapphire 50-299 Units Winner
Sienna Ridge
70% recommended at Apartmentratings.com

2009 Ruby Winner
Northwest Hills
27% recommended at Apartmentratings.com

A pretty good idea from the city.  A map of road closures and city events.  Assuming it stays up to date should be a good way of planning trips around town.

Austin Road Closures

UPDATE: This city site is no longer maintained, I have asked on the City’s Facebook page and Twitter account for a replacement and have not received an answer

Courtesy of an article from KXAN. The article is only marginally helpful. I redid the map of all 20 speed traps.  Be careful on 183.

You have probably seen this a couple different places….MSNBC Loves Austin.

All in all not that horrible of a list.  I have no idea where they got #4 though.

What would you add to the list?