Violet Crown Cinema: King Of Film

One of Austin’s oldest nicknames is “The City Of The Violet Crown,” and that unlikely moniker gives this exceptional independent movie theater its name. Austin has long been known as a city that fiercely supports the arts, and the Violet Crown Cinema is one of the city’s best places to catch independent, foreign and documentary films on their first run. And they offer a number of amenities to make seeing movies here even more pleasant. Most interesting is reserved seating for every show – when you buy your ticket, you can pick your seat. Buy early enough and you can snag the super-comfortable front row seats. Prices are on par with other city theaters, and the concession stand is excellent. In addition to the typical popcorn and soda, the café features some truly awesome food, including the ginger pork tapas and some really good paninis. They also have a full cocktail bar with a top-notch beer and wine selection.

Violet Crown Cinema
434 W. 2nd Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 495-9600
http://www.yelp.com/biz/violet-crown-cinema-austin

Central Market: “An Amusement Park for Food Lovers”

Grocery shoppers in the Austin area know that there’s a superb spot to visit when you’re looking for the best bread, produce and other edible goods, and that’s Central Market. The popular chain actually started in Austin with a mandate to bring as much fresh food from all over Texas to local shoppers as possible, describing it as “an amusement park for food lovers,” and it’s grown significantly since the early days. Now customers rave about the excellent selection and fair prices. The produce section here is absolutely enormous, featuring both the staples and some more unusual products, all kept fresh. If you’re feeling peckish, stop in at the store’s café for some excellent pre-cooked food. The tamales in particular are quite popular, but everything here is great. Some complain that the aisles are too narrow, but with the sheer volume of stuff they pack into this store, it’s kind of a necessity.

Central Market
4477 S. Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78745
(512) 899-4300
http://www.yelp.com/biz/central-market-austin

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