| It's the joke around Austin that no one is actually | | | | This little sandwich shop with locations across the |
| born and raised here; it's just a great place to end up. | | | | globe got its start in Austin. Yes, a chain of |
| But when it comes to the restaurant business, there | | | | restaurants around the world would normally be |
| are some unmistakable Austin originals. Here is a | | | | against the grain that gives Austin its originality, but |
| sampling of just a few of the restaurants that keep | | | | Schlotzsky's has been doing something special with |
| Austin weird and well fed. | | | | sandwiches since 1971. There is something deliciously |
| Hut's Hamburgers | | | | unique about sour dough bread oozing with cheese |
| This West Sixth Street restaurant's art deco | | | | that makes this place worthy of its Austin original |
| architecture dates back to 1939. Homer Hut Hutson | | | | inclusion. |
| opened Hut's Hamburgers in 1969 and it's been going | | | | Shady Grove |
| strong ever since. Hut's does hamburgers like Austin | | | | Not too many restaurants aim to look like a state |
| does live music: plenty of them with unusual twists to | | | | park built in the 1940s, but that is just what you get |
| the terrific basics. Among the 20 different kinds of | | | | at Shady Grove on Barton Springs Road. Complete |
| hamburgers are the All-American Buddy Holly and the | | | | with its campy stonework building and literal camp of |
| Fats Domino. | | | | Airstream trailers, Shady Grove does its part to keep |
| Hyde Park Bar & Grill | | | | Austin weird. There is actually more seating under the |
| The Big Fork is one of those unmistakable quirky | | | | shade of the pecan trees on the patio outside than |
| Austin landmarks. University of Texas alum Bick | | | | there is inside this circa 1992 restaurant. |
| Brown opened Hyde Park Bar & Grill in 1982 in a | | | | Shady Grove has it all, from fabulous food to live |
| funky pink house on Duval Street. And it really does | | | | music. There is the Unplugged at the Grove weekly |
| have a huge fork as part of its sign. The restaurant | | | | concert series and classics like the chili cheese fries |
| not only showcases high quality cuisine, but also the | | | | that make Shady Grove a place you have to |
| work of local artists adorns the walls. The restaurant | | | | experience to fully appreciate. Unlike other Austin |
| is loved in particular for its unique fries and wide array | | | | originals that have replicated elsewhere, there is only |
| of wines by the glass. | | | | one Shady Grove location. Some magic just can't be |
| Magnolia Cafe | | | | duplicated. |
| Magnolia Cafe has the tag line "Everybody knows. | | | | Threadgill's |
| Everybody goes." This seems fitting for this | | | | This healthy home cookin' restaurant started as a |
| restaurant that gives its own enigmatic glamour to | | | | country music jammin' gas station in 1933. Only in |
| breakfast food. From the "Sorry--We're Open" sign | | | | Austin and only with Threadgill's inviting hippies to sing |
| to the promise of 24/8 service, Magnolia Cafe is | | | | along with its country crooners could Janis Joplin hone |
| completely Austin. People are lined up out the doors | | | | her style and voice to blur the lines between country |
| around the clock at both locations for food that is | | | | and rock music. And there is the food. Threadgill's |
| comforting and delicious. | | | | opened its doors as a restaurant in 1981, serving |
| Schlotzsky's | | | | southern cuisine with a healthy Austin twist. |