Date ideas in Austin?

August 17, 2007 6:58 AM

The wife and I moved from Dallas down to Austin just last week. As this is our first weekend in the new city without the burden of unpacking, we would like to go out and do something romantic in celebration of a new chapter in our lives.

The only problem is, we don't know what to do! My query to you then, dear MeFites, is what sort of fun and romantic things exist for a late 20's couple in Austin. We generally like offbeat sorts of things, and cheap is a plus (as we've been hemorrhaging money from the move).

Any suggestions?

posted by kaseijin to Grab Bag (10 answers total)

When I lived in Austin, we used to love to go down to Town Lake and rent a canoe. It's super cheap, and we'd drift out into the middle of the lake or a shady part and smooch. May be a little hot for that right now, though.
posted by ColdChef at 7:11 AM on August 17, 2007

My wife and I like to eat at Castle Hill Cafe when we're celebrating. For the quality of the food, it's not really that expensive and it has a great atmosphere.
posted by picea at 7:16 AM on August 17, 2007

Swimming at Barton Springs, a picnic dinner and evening with the bats, music on 6th Street....
posted by caddis at 7:22 AM on August 17, 2007

I think you should go to Mount Bonnell and watch the sunset, and then go get some coffee and nice little munchies at Mozart's, which is right down the road and is on Lake Austin.

Beautiful, and Mt. Bonnell is free, and coffee is cheap.

You can also picnic up on Mt. Bonnell.

This is obviously, just my opinion, but I think Castle Hill is totally overrated.
posted by mckenney at 7:55 AM on August 17, 2007

We have history behind this, but when we're in Austin every year for sxswi, we go to the 1886 Cafe in the Driskill Hotel and share a peanut butter fantasia sundae. You don't need two, and you don't really need drinks (though an iced coffee wouldn't be so wrong), and the cafe and hotel are gorgeous. It's an excellent part of an afternoon or early evening downtown. Drinks on the roof of Iron Cactus are also nice, but not when it's this hot.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:01 AM on August 17, 2007

Have you considered going to see the Congress Avenue Bridge Bats? I never had a chance to see them, myself, when I was in Austin, but I imagine an evening cruise with the bats could be quite stunning.

(..Of course, if either you or yours are afraid of bats, this probably wouldn't be too romantic.)
posted by Ms. Saint at 8:41 AM on August 17, 2007

Definitely the bats. One of the all-time coolest thinngs I've ever seen.

And what's Hippie Hollow like these days?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 8:45 AM on August 17, 2007

Seconding:
Mt Bonnell sunsets
Sunday afternoons at Barton Springs (I prefer hanging out on the south slope, what I call the "hippy side"), followed by dinner on the patio at Shady Grove. I consider this the quintessential Austin experience. I recommend riding bikes there if for no other reason than so that you can work up a monstrous sweat. This makes the sensation of being chilled to the core one femtosecond after you jump into the water all the more amazing.
posted by adamrice at 8:54 AM on August 17, 2007

Response by poster: Well, we've seen the bats, though we wouldn't be opposed at all to going again. As for tonight, it's liable to rain, so we're probably going to stick with something indoors.

For a future date, Mt. Bonnell sounds awesome.

Anything else that's primarily indoors for a potentially drizzly evening?
posted by kaseijin at 9:08 AM on August 17, 2007

Yeah, go see a movie at the Drafthouse. Get a bucket of beer +1 (makes 6) and watch a movie! That's pretty cheap, and better than just seeing some dumb movie at some dumb regular theater. You could even go see the Master Pancake guys do Conan the Barbarian which will be funny.
posted by mckenney at 9:15 AM on August 17, 2007