Yeah I know SoCo pretty well, and I did spent quite a bit of time bopping around into small shops or meeting up for food and stuff. It's definitely a different vibe than North of the river, I agree. I think a lot has to do with the dated architecture, as in, there's not much new around there and people are happy to keep it that way.
One thing that I didn't mention but thought important (at the time) was Austin was one of the first places in Texas to institute a smoking ban. In restaurants, I thought that made sense - both as a former waiter and cig smoker - but when the ban started applying to bars and live music venues, I thought it was stupid. Oh, so I can kill myself with this poison water, but off to hell with the stinky, heavily sin taxed tobacco? Pffffft. That right there clued me in that Austin couldn't be the live music capitol anymore, because musicians like to drink and smoke, and the ones that don't can play coffee shops or church camps, of which there are plenty of in Texas.
And while I do have fondness for Alamo Drafthouse, it was kind of a one-off thing. Rudy's isn't remotely close to the best BBQ in the area (Franklin's) and Chuy's is, well, tongue-in-cheek referred to as 'white-people TexMex with extra grease' because it's just kind of middle-of-the road. This is kind of the overall issue with Austin, in that it's got this image and reputation of being unique and clever, but really, the things it's known for aren't actually top flight. Austinites pretend they are, but long time Texas residents know better.
One thing that I didn't mention but thought important (at the time) was Austin was one of the first places in Texas to institute a smoking ban. In restaurants, I thought that made sense - both as a former waiter and cig smoker - but when the ban started applying to bars and live music venues, I thought it was stupid. Oh, so I can kill myself with this poison water, but off to hell with the stinky, heavily sin taxed tobacco? Pffffft. That right there clued me in that Austin couldn't be the live music capitol anymore, because musicians like to drink and smoke, and the ones that don't can play coffee shops or church camps, of which there are plenty of in Texas.
And while I do have fondness for Alamo Drafthouse, it was kind of a one-off thing. Rudy's isn't remotely close to the best BBQ in the area (Franklin's) and Chuy's is, well, tongue-in-cheek referred to as 'white-people TexMex with extra grease' because it's just kind of middle-of-the road. This is kind of the overall issue with Austin, in that it's got this image and reputation of being unique and clever, but really, the things it's known for aren't actually top flight. Austinites pretend they are, but long time Texas residents know better.