We 2nd That.

We have to admit, we were a little skeptical when we first heard about the 2nd Street Shopping District redevelopment a few years ago. It sounded great, but we envisioned another vacuous, conspicuous consumption festival like Dallas' Mockingbird Station which, even with the West Village, light rail, and a preponderance of lofts, still doesn't do much to help make Dallas a real city. Boy, were we wrong!

We started our evening at Jo's Coffee Shop and, although we may have spent more than we wanted to ($31 with tax and tip for a burger, fries and two glasses of a really nice Semillon) but the flavors, the friendly counterstaff, the Death Cab on the radio and the air conditioning made it completely worth our while.

We bumped into Mayor Will Wynn's right hand man, Matt Curtis, and headed to sometimes-Austinite Lance Armstrong's new bar, Six, for the Pinkdome party.

On the way, we ran into We Manage Stuff's Rose Russell and UT super-scientist Roman Caudillo, who were eating on the patio at the new Laredo Cantina and supplied us with mixed reviews. The margaritas? Good. The food? Good after at least one Margarita. The patio? Fun, with possible peep walk-bys.

That's when it hit us - maybe this 2nd Street thing isn't just another place for Westlake Soccer Moms to get their shop on (although it does well in that capacity.) We ate! We drank! We ran into people we knew! Genius. Just like a real city.

When Six proved too crowded (No one should ever have to wait in line for anything, not even in the new Austin) we all trekked past an also-crowded Sullivan's to Taverna, caddy-corner to City Hall, for Prosecco, some amazing olives, our new favorite bruschetta, some fair-to-middlin' mortadella, a fantastic soppressata and one of the best things about the new downtown - people-watching.

Photo courtesy mcaserta

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Sam Armstrong in Food on April 24, 2006 3:31 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

bret

as a recent dallass transplant, i must say the 2nd street district does remind me a bit of the West Village. West Village is ok though..It actually does wonders to nudge Dallas into the "real city" realm... Taco Diner has amazing food. And the area is hopping all the time if you can stand the uptown types. look closer, and you'll see normal people enjoying it as well. Actually all kinds of people enjoy it. Art house flicks, they got a Paciugo, too. It's like a real city! Dallas! wow...

must say i'm finally home in ATX but west Village actually seems to be a shot in the arm for a dead city. perhaps 2nd street can be too?

oh, and Nuevo Laredo is a front for the Dallas chain El Chico... enjoy..

Bre

Next time, hit Paciugo (across the street from Taverna) for some rather tasty gelato.

buddha_is

I agree with feeling " a little skeptical when we first heard about the 2nd Street Shopping District redevelopment" but it is turning out nicely.

I especially enjoy the fact that City Hall is so beautiful and approachable after that glass of Prosecco. What a view.