Catch a Movie near Lamar Union at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

Situated in South Austin, the Alamo Drafthouse is a distinctive movie-going experience near Lamar Union. Sure, you'll still find the multiple screens characteristic of a multiplex, but Alamo Drafthouse also has a full menu of food and drink to enjoy. It isn't the usual popcorn-and-soda stuff either; the food here is high quality and often made from local ingredients, with options like burgers, wraps, salads, and pizzas. Drinks like milkshakes, floats, and craft beers are available, too.

The schedule of films screened here is distinctive, too. The theater shows first-run films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Boyhood, but it also shows cult movies, thoughtful documentaries and arthouse films, and even Hollywood classics like Ghostbusters! The space has reserved seating, making it easy for cinema-goers to ensure that they've got a perfect vantage point on the film.

Visit the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's website to learn more about this Austin theater!

Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
1120 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 861-7040
www.drafthouse.com/austin/south_lamar

Specials and Events are Always on Tap at Gibson Street Bar Near Lamar Union in Austin

With 16 craft beers and many more brews bottled up, Gibson Street Bar is a destination for beer lovers. This Austin establishment, though, has a lot more to offer. Patrons can enjoy a bite to eat as well as entertainment and specials that are offered every day of the week.

Stop by for Mustache Mondays to take advantage of special deals on cocktails and beer — if you sport a mustache. If you don't have an authentic mustache, the bar will provide you with a replica. Play Texas Trivia on Tuesdays or visit on Wednesdays to receive a free plate of cheese with your purchase of a half or full bottle of wine. On the weekends, the place's TVs draw football fans.

Food near Gibson Street Bar is provided by Luke's Inside Out, a food trailer that is located outside the bar. Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives stopped by back in 2012 and raved about the sandwiches. Since the place is so close to Lamar Union, it's easy to find out for yourself whether all the praise was deserved!

Gibson Street Bar
1109 South Lamar
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 386-1345
www.gibsonstreetbar.com/
www.yelp.com/biz/gibson-bar-austin

Yoga Yoga: Practice Yoga in Austin Near Lamar Union

When Yoga Yoga started, it happened in a space measuring a mere 250 square feet, and it could only hold about seven students at a time—uncomfortably. That didn't stop people from showing up, though. Before long, the proprietors of this Austin yoga studio were teaching yoga classes back-to-back in that teensy space to a steady 65 people per week.

It soon became clear that the studio's popularity had outgrown its space, and so the owners leased their first space on South Lamar in 1997, dubbing it "Yoga Yoga" for the two types of yoga they taught. That flagship studio spawned four others around Austin, including a second location near Lamar Union on South Lamar.

The owners have now trained a team to help them teach various modes of yoga all over Austin, including their signature Hatha and Kundalini as well as restorative, Vinyasa, and deep relaxation. Today Yoga Yoga offers classes suited for everyone from beginners to experienced yoga practitioners. Visit Yoga Yoga's website to find out more!

Yoga Yoga
4477 S. Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78745
(512) 358-1200
www.yogayoga.com
www.yelp.com/biz/yoga-yoga-westgate-austin-2

Odd Duck: Locally Sourced Food near Lamar Union in Austin

Odd Duck started with a simple question: shouldn't you be able to eat delicious food that comes from local farmers? Since their opening, they've answered that question with a resounding yes. Just a quick drive from Lamar Union, they offer seasonal, farm fresh ingredients and great tasting cuisine, provided by farmers surrounding the Austin area. Relax and enjoy your meal in their modern and sophisticated interior, or head outside with friends and family, and dine under the sun or stars in their patio seating.

Try customer favorites, like their savory black olive pasta with braised goat, sage, and parmesan. Or, consider their chicken fried eggs, crunchy on the outside and runny on the inside, on a bed of greens. Be sure to look at their excellent list of wines, beers, and cocktails, which have a seasonal Texas influence to their flavor. For a full menu, visit Odd Duck's website.

Odd Duck
1201 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 433-6521
oddduckaustin.com
www.yelp.com/biz/odd-duck-austin-2

Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum: See Art near Lamar Union in Austin

If you're looking for a relaxing way to spend your weekend afternoon near Lamar Union in Austin, consider visiting the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum. In 1991 this land was transformed to a gorgeous and inviting park, filled with brilliant and artful sculptures. For colder days, Umlauf also has indoor exhibits housed in an expertly designed facility that is filled with natural light. It's perfect for outings all year round, and is just a short distance from Lamar Union.

All the outside artwork is laid perfectly into a natural background of grass, trees, and native Texas flora. Stop by the many bronze sculptures, or see the exquisite and abstract stone works. Umlauf also rents its space out to events, and offers an atmosphere suited for weddings, corporate events, parties, and more.

Visit the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum website to see a calendar of current and upcoming exhibitions!

Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum
605 Robert E. Lee Road
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 445-5582
umlaufsculpture.org
www.yelp.com/biz/umlauf-sculpture-garden-and-museum-austin

See “America’s Test Kitchen Live!” at The Long Center Near Lamar Union in Austin

If you're a fan of watching the show at home at Lamar Union, consider seeing America's Test Kitchen Live! when it visits The Long Center in Austin on August 13. The PBS cooking show is one of the most popular of its kind, and the stage show aims to let you see a bit of what goes on behind the cameras.

Chris Kimball, the star of the show, will give guests a glimpse of what happens on set. You'll learn about the food tastings, science experiments, and equipment testings that take place. Also making an appearance — via video and audio — are Mrs. Patmore from Downton Abbey and Mary Roach, who has studied the digestive system. After the show, Kimball will hold a q-and-a session with the fans. Tickets are reasonably priced and available on The Long Center's website. Special VIP Tickets even include a signed copy of the America’s Test Kitchen Cooking School Cookbook and a meet and greet after the show.

If you haven't been to the Long Center before, make sure to check out the schedule of events. The folks here take pride in featuring local art and talent, In fact, local artists are involved in 80 percent of the performances. The building is just as appealing as the shows considering it offers impressive views of the Austin skyline.

America's Test Kitchen Live!
The Long Center
701 W. Riverside Drive
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 474-5664
www.thelongcenter.org/event/americas-test-kitchen/
www.yelp.com/biz/long-center-austin

Trailer Food Tuesdays: Endless Food Near Lamar Union

Don't get us wrong, we're not knocking restaurants. We have our favorites. But sometimes you don't want the trouble — heck, when you live in a place like Austin, sometimes you just want to stay outside.

That's where food trucks come in. We have a lot of 'em, and each has its own cult; but can you decide between tacos and lobster rolls? And do you want to head across town to satisfy your craving?

Let Austin's Long Center help. The cultural titan near Lamar Union hosts Trailer Food Tuesdays all summer on the last Tuesday of each month. From 5 'til 9 p.m., a rotating cast of Austin's best food trucks will be waiting for you. Let the gorgeous skyline view stand in for a restaurant — there will even be live family-friendly tunes and entertainment.

Not bad, eh? And there's no catch — just show up and relax. Click here for more information.

Counting Crows: See the 90s Stalwarts Near Lamar Union, July 30

If you're, say, between 30 and 40, Counting Crows need no introduction.

They were the coffeehouse darlings in the mid-90s alternative boom, the jangly, sensitive bunch among the flannelled hordes. If Kurt was punk-meets-Pixies, Counting Crows' Adam Duritz was Dylan and Van Morrison, hungover and spiritually hungry on a sunny California afternoon.

'Mr. Jones' still sounds great when it comes on in a bar, and perhaps you canoodled — or cried — to their album track 'Colorblind,' featured on the Cruel Intentions soundtrack.

They're playing with fellow 90s rockers Toad the Wet Sprocket at ACL on July 30. Don't think of it as re-living your youth, Lamar Union — it's a great musical moment that hasn't ended.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: The (New) Man in Black Near Lamar Union, July 19

Johnny Cash is dead and Tom Waits doesn't record much anymore. Luckily we still have Nick Cave.

Yes: the Anglo-Australian Man in Black — if we're allowed to use the term — is still going strong, gaunt, whiskey-voiced, sexy, vaguely threatening, the poet of four o'clock in the morning. Would we have it any other way?

He's a novelist too, you know. (Reportedly pretty good, too.) To anyone who knows the records this is no surprise: Cave is as much storyteller as musician, your guide through the filthy and the forgotten parts of yourself, an adventure and nightmare, a dark barroom of the mind moments from Lamar Union.

He's at ACL in Austin on July 19.

Everclear, Soul Asylum & More: The Nineties Are Back Near Lamar Union, July 9

Call it back to the future.

Everclear — 90s purveyors of jangly, disaffected, and infectious California pop-punk — are still with us. As are Soul Asylum, whose 'Runaway Train' single lit up MTV in 1992 with its stark images of missing children. And Spacehog, who ripped off the best bits of Bowie and Bolan and repackaged them for the millennium.

They're on tour with fellow 90s stalwarts Eve 6, and we're not sure what to call it — an alternative revival? Nostalgia? The best live bar jukebox you'll ever see?

It's all that, really. Don't think of it as getting older — think of it as the persistence of youth, the inevitability of summer guitar music, all the reasons why you loved 'em in the first place.

The Summerland Tour is at ACL near Lamar Union on July 9.

Public Domain/Public Domain

Pin It on Pinterest