New Year's in Austin

I%26#39;ll be in Austin Dec 30-Jan 1 this year, staying at the Four Seasons. Any ideas on what to do? Any good New Years parties/events? Or certain restaurants that might have good New Years dinners? Thanks!

New Year's in Austin

Howdy! Well, of course the Four Seasons will have an excellent New Year%26#39;s dinner (as well as New Year%26#39;s Eve). I%26#39;d recommend the Driskill if you are looking for a spare-no-cost blowout meal. I haven%26#39;t seen any ads yet for New Year%26#39;s Eve parties so it may be a bit early yet, but keep checkin%26#39;. Anything particular you have in mind (types of music or food)?

New Year's in Austin

Here%26#39;s one internet listing

http://austin.citysearch.com/roundup/39168/

Thanks for the list of events on citysearch, poodleone. ttlms, my boyfriend and I want to go to one really nice dinner over the weekend, but thought we might do that on saturday night and just go to hear some music on New Years Eve. We%26#39;re having brunch at the Four Seasons on Dec. 31 so probably won%26#39;t want to eat dinner there as well that night. We like all kinds of food and all kinds of music, just generally looking for a fun New Years experience-any specific suggestions? we%26#39;re both mid-20s.

There was a good thread recently about where to celebrate a birthday with some good restaurant receommendations.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g30196-i229-k87686鈥?/a>

I like McCormick and Schmick%26#39;s for the fresh fish.

As far as entertainment goes, I would go to the Robert Earl Keene show at the Austin Music Hall on New Years.

Octoboy kindly typed the websites for some good clubs recently. These would be a good start for checking on New Years shows. Almost all the music venues will have New Years parties. We also like Antones.

Broken Spoke http://www.brokenspokeaustintx.com/

The Continental Club http://www.continentalclub.com/

Emos http://www.emosaustin.com/

There%26#39;s also the Austin Night Out, which will be held for the second time this year, hopefully with balmy weather like we had last year. There will be more news about that later in the month, but there was a blurb in today%26#39;s American-Statesman.

www.statesman.com

As for restaurants, it just occured to me --- why doesn%26#39;t Austin have any restaurants atop any of its ';skyscrapers'; anymore? The bank at 15th and Guadalupe had an expensive French restaurant way back in the 80s but it%26#39;s long gone. The reason I ask is I was going to suggest the Hyatt, which has a nice restaurant on the top floor. But I don%26#39;t know if that will hold up to the Four Season brunch the next day.

Otherwise, my list of special places to eat (downtown) would include the restaurants at both the Driskill and the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental hotels; Castle Hill Cafe; Figaro%26#39;s on Congress Avenue; Eddie V%26#39;s, and Sullivan%26#39;s and III Forks (steakhouses). Outside downtown includes Vespaio (on South Congress, not far from downtown); Mirabelle%26#39;s; Asti; Uchi; Z-Tejas (south location is just west of downtown but hard to get seated on Saturday night); Truluck%26#39;s (seafood); and P.F. Chang%26#39;s. If it were me, I%26#39;d choose Castle Hill Cafe, which is a little less expensive than the others and has never disappointed me with either its food or its service, but like the others, it will be very crowded the day before NYE.

BTW it just occurred to me you might want to get lakeview rooms at the Four Seasons so you can see the fireworks, but it%26#39;s a bit far east so it may not make a difference.

Thanks to both of you for all the great suggestions, now I have lots of ideas. Please let me know if you hear of any updates on this topic! Thanks again!

I%26#39;ve done New Year%26#39;s at Hudson%26#39;s on the bend and would highly recommend it, if money is no option. It was awesome. But then it%26#39;s not downtown, so after you finish your four-hour meal, you%26#39;ll need to hike back to town for some action.

Hi TN -

I noted your age and realized that the suggestions passed along for live music were likely a bit off - we seem to be a little older and likley have taste differences in musical styles ....

here is a shortcut for finding out where / what / when -

google up :

XLENT ( statesman.com )

Austin Chronicle

then, stream live :

KUT 90.5 FM

these sources will help you reliably locate in advance the right joint to have fun at on NYears ....

my reliables for a swing by during the night include ....

( local joints for the MUSIC )

along Red River ; Beerland, Emos%26#39;

DownTown : Antones , Elephant Club , Lucky Lounge , Shoal Creek Saloon- roadshows will be at , Austin Music Hall, La Zona Rosa

along S Congress Ave : Egos, Continental Club

along S Lamar : Saxon Pub , Marias%26#39; Taco Express , Artz Ribhouse , Broken Spoke

along N Lamar : Ginnys%26#39; Little Longhorn , Poodle Dog Lounge

I confess, I always make the final stop my joint of choice for decades, the Continental Club at around 145 AM ....

GOOD LUCK = Let us know how you enjoy time spent - and FIrst Night Downtown will be another wonderful experience ( alchohol free events ) if the weather holds mild and all events are free

Slytx

Can anyone recommend any of the hotel parties downtown? What kind of crowds to expect? Thanks..