Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds)
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Planning a Tex-Mex trip next year, mid-to-late-Feb. A piece of the puzzle which needs to fall into place yet is the NBA schedule (to be announced in the next 24 hours) which will dictate how much time is spent in Houston and SA.
That aside, am keen on first-hand advice with regards these cities plus the likes of Playa del Carmen (?) and Puerto Vallarta (?): where to eat, what to do and what not to do, where to stay, transportation etc etc
Thanks
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If I ever got to Austin it’ll be to check out this place that’s on my bucket list.
I was working with a guy from Austin last month ( his name was Austin too ffs) and he said you have to get there really early because the queue is always very long and because of the way they cook they can’t make extra . Once it’s gone it’s gone .
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@jegga said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
If I ever got to Austin it’ll be to check out this place that’s on my bucket list.
farking jelly
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Only been to San Antonio and Cancun about 7 years ago. SA is not a bad city, very "Texas". If doing it over, I would certainly go to Austin and Franklin BBQ is a mecca for all Texas (American) BBQ... Low & Slow.
There are BBQ places all over Texas, some better than others.
From my personal experience, Cancun sucks. Over priced... way way over priced (everything is priced and paid for with USD$$$) and you may as well just go to the Gold Coast or Honolulu.
You would be much better off going to Playa Del Carmen or the other beach side towns (anything starting with "Playa" and your good to go as it means beach in Spanish) and then making your way to Cozumel. Which has the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world behind the Aussie one.
If you do make it to Cancun, use that as a jumping point for trips into the Yucatan and some of the amazing Jungles, swim in the senotas and definitely visit Xcaret Park, Chichen Itza and other Mayan ruins.
Also worth considering, that side of Mexico, especially Cozumel, is very very close to Cuba and that's definitely worth a trip. It's so close you can day trip.
Nothing like smoking a good Cuban cigar which has been rolled on the thighs of a virgin whilst drinking a mojito... or so I've been told.
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Well not the most exciting games in SA and Houston while we're in the 'hood with Spurs VS Pistons and Rockets VS Hawks. Frustratingly in mid to late Feb both teams have some great away games. Worse still, I mis-read the schedule for a start as the first team name being the home team and cracked a fat over Spurs VS Raptors and Rockets VS Lakers until I clicked that it was 'at' as opposed to 'VS'. Oh well, at least getting tickets shouldnt be a drama.
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Beyond Casa Rio in San Antonio (get a Riverwalk table if you go) and Gruene on the way to Austin, which I mentioned in the other thread, here are a few other joints to try for drinks, food etc., mainly in Austin because I've spent a lot more time there. Some are great, some just fun. Franklin BBQ is amazing, but it's a total fluffybunny to visit, so unless you are a true aficionado, I'd consider giving it a miss and trying other places, which are not quite as good, but you can usually rock up to. Otherwise, you may lose a morning or half a day trying to get into Franklin.
Stiles Switch BBQ is a bit out of town, but is amazing.
La Fruta Feliz makes, without doubt, the best tacos (soft ones), I've ever tasted. Try the goat taco, and don't worry too much about the scary area. It's an eye opener out there compared to downtown though..
House Park BBQ is closer to town and also delicious.
La Barbecue is also close to downtown, and is newer, but pretty good. A bit hipster.
Iron Works BBQ is also meant to be OK, but I haven't been.
And, just for fun, go to Uncle Julios (It's a standard texmex joint, but drink four swirl margaritas and I'll buy you a virtual beer)
If you want to take the wife discount shopping, there is an outlet here.
Plenty of bars to visit too (see here) and I can recommend the hole in the wall bar - although I was there nearly 15 years ago and the clientele were pretty young. So, take that on board.
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Boy, this fizzled out in a hurry didn't it.
Anyway, the plan changed. We pushed the trip back to October / November largely so I can go to an NFL game as well as NBA. Can't book until April when the NFL draw comes out though as that'll be the tricky one to tie in and get tickets to with a maximum of two games we can attend in around six days. At least with the NBA we have three cities we can get to a game in over the same period and potentially multiple games to choose from in one or two cities.
So now we're looking at driving the Texas Triangle with less time in Mexico. This'll mean 1-2 nights in each of Dallas, Austin, SA and Houston. And the good thing about this is we get to stop at places in-between and see more of the country.
Having revived this thread now, any further advice etc would be happily received.
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@shark said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Boy, this fizzled out in a hurry didn't it.
Anyway, the plan changed. We pushed the trip back to October / November largely so I can go to an NFL game as well as NBA. Can't book until April when the NFL draw comes out though as that'll be the tricky one to tie in and get tickets to with a maximum of two games we can attend in around six days. At least with the NBA we have three cities we can get to a game in over the same period and potentially multiple games to choose from in one or two cities.
So now we're looking at driving the Texas Triangle with less time in Mexico. This'll mean 1-2 nights in each of Dallas, Austin, SA and Houston. And the good thing about this is we get to stop at places in-between and see more of the country.
Having revived this thread now, any further advice etc would be happily received.
With regards to Franklin BBQ my brother in law beat the queue by ordering his food to go online
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Not so much recommendations as the main stuff is covered but just general advice having been to those places:
Downtown Houston and Dallas shutdown big time on the weekends so factor in accordingly. Possible to book a hotel that seems central but is really near bugger all.
Blue laws are around so don't always assume you can go for a beer or shopping or what not Sundays everywhere.
A couple of things interesting places in between - Waco has some unique stuff including the eerie Branch Dividian compound. Some good places to watch College Football that time of year if you are passing through on a Saturday morning - College Station, Waco but Austin would be best if timing was right.
The BBQ is covered but from a fast food perspective Whataburger is a must have in Houston, In-N-Out in/around Dallas.
And say hi to Peter Snell while you are down there... -
Booked this trip a little while ago now, and head off in October.
Three nights in SA, two in Austin, two in Dallas and then off to Mexico. Houston is a hub only.
We're in Austin when the two QFs that could include the All Blacks are on. Both would be 5.15am. Where the heck can I watch our game??
We'll be in Playa del Carmen for SF1 and in the air over the Pacific for SF2
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@SammyC said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
I’m in Mexico for 2.5 weeks in October too.
Looking like Mexico City for the quarter finals and Cancun area for the Semi Finals (or maybe Tijuana).
Always a bit of a stretch with these things, but if the ABs are in SF1 (is that possible/likely, I haven't looked that far ahead?) and we're both in or near Cancun......
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@shark said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Always a bit of a stretch with these things, but if the ABs are in SF1 (is that possible/likely, I haven't looked that far ahead?) and we're both in or near Cancun......
That'd be a vast improvement on a flat above a Night & Day on Riccarton Road at 8am on a Sunday morning...
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@Smudge said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
@shark said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Always a bit of a stretch with these things, but if the ABs are in SF1 (is that possible/likely, I haven't looked that far ahead?) and we're both in or near Cancun......
That'd be a vast improvement on a flat above a Night & Day on Riccarton Road at 8am on a Sunday morning...
And someone eating some garbage for breakfast
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@Hooroo said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Terry Blacks BBQ is the business in Austin Texas apparently. A few pitmasters have been there from NZ and while they do it basic the bbq is brilliant.
If there is a queue, there is someone serving beer and Marguerites (Sp)? while you are in line.
Ended up going to la Barbecue in Austin. Epic food. Epic queue. 35 degs and an hour and a half, but you can leave the queue to buy icy cold beer in cups. And repeat. Amazing food experience.
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@shark said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
@Hooroo said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Terry Blacks BBQ is the business in Austin Texas apparently. A few pitmasters have been there from NZ and while they do it basic the bbq is brilliant.
If there is a queue, there is someone serving beer and Marguerites (Sp)? while you are in line.
Ended up going to la Barbecue in Austin. Epic food. Epic queue. 35 degs and an hour and a half, but you can leave the queue to buy icy cold beer in cups. And repeat. Amazing food experience.
Excellent! Photos would be nice. I feel like drooling at my screen!!
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@Hooroo said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
@shark said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
@Hooroo said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Terry Blacks BBQ is the business in Austin Texas apparently. A few pitmasters have been there from NZ and while they do it basic the bbq is brilliant.
If there is a queue, there is someone serving beer and Marguerites (Sp)? while you are in line.
Ended up going to la Barbecue in Austin. Epic food. Epic queue. 35 degs and an hour and a half, but you can leave the queue to buy icy cold beer in cups. And repeat. Amazing food experience.
Excellent! Photos would be nice. I feel like drooling at my screen!!
If only i still knew how to upload pics on TSF!
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@shark said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Can i browse and upload or do i have to copy in?
Are you on your phone? If so there is a little icon you have to swipe towards (on the right hand side) that lets you upload photos
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@shark said in Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Cancun (and surrounds):
Can i browse and upload or do i have to copy in?
Under reply, there is a cloud icon at the end on the right where you can upload images. Probably a size limit, so if they are big images you can post them to Imgur.com and link to them.
Franklin Barbecue | Austin, Texas
