SXSW Interactive Community Blog

Last weekend while I was at a party in San Francisco, I never knew my culinary knowledge of downtown Austin would be useful. The party’s host had an agenda—good grub. Suddenly my new friend handed me another Newcastle and started writing down names of restaurants and my favorite meals in his Treo.

You might try to feed yourself on heavy hors d’oeuvres at official parties, but any budding Web developer knows you can’t make it on jalapeno poppers for three days in a row.

Here are some of my favorite places to go Downtown or nearby Downtown in Austin. [Disclaimer: I have not received compensation from any Austin restaurant to make these recommendations]. The favorite BBQ discussion has already begun, so why not focus on the most important meal of the day. BBQ is far too political. If the stale bagels, limp watermelon slices, and flaccid bacon strips at your hotel breakfast bar buffet got you down, rock that corporate card at these places.

Breakfast/Late Night

Las Manitas
211 Congress Ave
(512) 472-9357
Open ‘til 4pm daily.

Especially on weekend mornings, this is the place for Mexican breakfast. And if you come to Austin, you must eat Mexican breakfast. The unofficial hangover outpost of most SXSW attendees, you might even spy former Texas Governor Ann Richards or Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith holding court. My early adult Sunday mornings would have been sorely lacking without scarfing down Las Manitas’s migas with friends.

Migas are the Austin breakfast specialty. Migas con hongos is my favorite dish. Ask to substitute the black beans for the refried beans. It’s a heart attack on a plate anyway, you’re not fooling anybody. The Chilaquiles are also pretty darned good.

Magnolia Café
2304 Lake Austin Blvd., 512-478-8645
1920 S. Congress Ave., 512-445-0000
24 Hours

My buddy Jeff from L.A. makes a run to Magnolia for Gingerbread pancakes after a hard night of listening to the newest bands at SXSW. Filled with a mix of slackers, students, and bands unwinding from a gig, both the Lake Austin and South Congress locations of Magnolia provide Austin’s weirdness over cups of coffee. The pancakes are great, the migas aren’t bad, and for those short on cash, the various “Landscapes” on the menu are a tasty and cheap choice.

Star Seeds
3101 N. Interstate 35
(512) 478-7107
24 Hours

If I they had a frequent buyers program here during my college days, I would have gotten several free toasters at Star Seeds. Basically, just good greasy spoon diner food here. Though they do black beans just like Las Manitas and Magnolia, the focus here is on blocking arteries quickly. Essentially, a good feed.