BEST BARS IN AUSTIN

 This place is on the 2nd floor of a building located at 5th and Congress. The owner is from Shiner, and its the second oldest bar on the block besides The Speakeasy.

 You walk into this place...see the couches, video games, standard bar with college twenty year olds hanging out, and conclude the veneer is all there is to offer. You're wrong. There's a warmth here.

 You notice the bartender's friendliness first, and then realize the student-age clientele are genuinely here to enjoy the company, and the music.

 They have a kitchen that's open til 2AM, and they're serious about the food. Try the Shiner Dog which, if you can't eat the whole thing, you'll find yourself devouring the chili they put on it because its delicious.

 This bar is one of those "without judgment" places...meaning that interspersed with the students are bar staff hanging on their night off, ex-military, black folks, office workers, and straight up outlaw looking types. And for some reason the number of cute girls consistently outnumbers the dudes.

 The first night I walk in the bartender slides me a shot of whiskey because I'm cool with switching brands of a beer they'd just run out of...does that happen everywhere?

 In closing, this is a place you can walk in solo or come with a group...so before you walk in and turnaround, give the bar a minute or thirty. You'll find it has both charm and substance.