"Darn good poutine. Ice cold beer. Big, burly sandwiches." This is the tagline of Austin's Haymaker, a local restaurant near Elan East inspired by the neighborhood bars of the Midwest and Northeast. Chefs and bartenders both adhere strictly to the eatery's motto in everything they do, whether they're pouring a pint of craft beer, making poutine, or piling together a towering sandwich.

Set up shop in front of a TV and watch whichever game plays that evening while you wait for your food. According to Yelp reviewers, you can't really go wrong with any of the sandwiches, since they're all stuffed with natural meats and whole ingredients—no preservatives, artificial ingredients, or fillers. The sweet potato waffle fries are actually the best item on the menu, say regular customers. So whether you get a 1/3-pound burger, a grilled cheese, or the namesake Haymaker with rare roast beef, fries, gruyere sauce, tomatoes, slaw, and a single fried egg, add an order of sweet potato waffle fries for the full Haymaker experience.

Haymaker
2310 Manor Road
Austin, TX 78722
(512) 243-6702
www.haymakeraustin.com/
www.yelp.com/biz/haymaker-austin

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/slgckgc

Wholesome family fun can be a little tricky to come by after dark, but we have a suggestion: Splash Movie Nights! Hosted by the Deep Eddy Pool in Austin, Texas, this kid-friendly event shows blockbuster hits on an inflatable movie screen that stretches high into the sky, offering event-goers young and young at heart an unobstructed view of their favorite movie characters.

This Saturday, Deep Eddy Pool's movie night will bring the affable characters from Despicable Me 2 to this municipal pool near Elan East. As you take in the flick, you can lounge on a blanket spread out on the grassy hillside, float lazily on a raft in the historic, 600,000-gallon pool—or do both! Be sure to bring your favorite snacks and refreshments; you might work up an appetite wading around during the 98-minute movie. And don't forget to pack some towels!

Splash Movie Night at Deep Eddy Pool begins at dusk—around 8:45 p.m.— Saturday, August 2. Admission is a bargain, priced between $1 and $3. See the Deep Eddy Pool website for complete details.

Splash Movie Night at Deep Eddy Pool: Despicable Me 2
401 Deep Eddy Avenue
Austin, TX 78703
For more information, visit www.austintexas.gov/event/deep-eddy-movie-night-august-2-2014

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/mahidoodi

Texas has always had a proud and iconoclastic microbrewing scene, and one of the latest additions is Hops and Grain. They brew craft beers with a focus on sustainability. That translates into making sure that they package all of their beers into easily-recyclable aluminum cans, making dog treats from spent brewery grains, and giving back a portion of their profits to local environmental groups. They also work to source as much raw materials from community farmers and growers around Austin.

None of this would matter if the beer wasn’t good, but thankfully the brewers have excellent taste and produce some very well-regarded beer! Some of their most popular include the Half Nelson IPA and the bourbon-barreled Brown del Roble. At the on-site tap room, you can get pours of just about everything they offer for a very nice price, as well as take home some beer for later.

Hops and Grain
507 Calles Street
Austin, TX 78702
(512) 914-2467
http://www.hopsandgrain.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hops-and-grain-austin-2

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/jchapiewski