TL;DR

Austin

• Stay
  • The Tommie Austin, 506 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701
    • A charming hotel with the feel of a boutique. Some really cool amenities like an indoor driving range simulator (which was not intuitive to use), a lovely bar, and a topnotch breakfast in the Grey Market, but its rooms were awkwardly small.
• Eat/Drink
  • Cooper’s Old Time BBQ, 217 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701
    • Sadly did not partake in the food (I was here to buy a t-shirt) but people rave about the food and it smelled so damned good.
  • Polvos Downtown Central, 360 Nueces St, Austin, TX 78701
    • The downtown location of this Mexican restaurant did not disappoint, with fajitas steaming on the table and some damned good chips and margaritas.
  • Houndstooth, 401 Congress Ave. #100c, Austin, TX 78701
    • Fancy coffee shop tucked into an office building. Good for an iced coffee respite from the onslaught of an Austin summer.
  • Clive, 609 Davis St, Austin, TX 78701
    • Multi-level bar with lots of open-air areas to drink and socialize in. I have no idea how people live across the street and around the corner from this and other nearby bars.
  • The Grey Market (CLOSED), 501 Brazos St, Austin, TX 78701
    • Mashama Bailey owned and operated this restaurant, which sadly closed in July 2024 😦 But before it closed, it was a damned fine breakfast spot inside the Tommie Austin.
  • Gus’ Fried Chicken, 117 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701
    • Casual and delicious restaurant (no reservations) slinging – what else – fried chicken. Oh and get a slice of pie.
  • Fulton Restaurant at the Fairmont Austin, 101 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701
    • The wedge salad with chicken was beautifully presented and tasty.
  • Fulton Bar at the Fairmont Austin, 101 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701
    • It’s a hotel bar, so I am not going to dedicate a poem to the place. It’s got drinks. They’re well made and not cheap. And if you’re here for a conference, it’s worth stopping in.
  • Anthem, 91 Rainey St Ste 120, Austin, TX 78701
    • They call it Texasian grub – that was enough to sell it for me. Lots of impressive cocktails, a solid food menu with bbq sliders up the wazoo, and a great split indoor/outdoor private space with misters and fans. Great for a social event.
  • Superstition, 110 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78704
    • If you need a venue that goes “unz unz unz unz unz” with bright lights, then boy have I found your spot. Cocktails, shots, a premium place for a DJ – it’s your club in Austin.
  • Halal Austin Shawarma (via Uber Eats)
    • Honestly this is where I get embarrassed. I got home late – maybe 2 AM. I ordered some food and passed out before it arrived Don’t even know what it tasted like.
• See/Do
  • Congress Ave. Bridge Bats, Congress Avenue Bridge, S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
    • I don’t know how one controls the bats but if you can, go when they’re cooperating. Otherwise you stand around for a long time hoping to see the bats, and seeing blurs at twilight.
  • The Common Interest, 8440 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78757
    • Dive bar and karaoke joint, which has a mainstage for common singing, and a set of private karaoke rooms in the back. Pro tip: get here early and get one of these rooms!

Trip Background

Every summer, the nonprofit organization Ascend hosts its national convention, which features three+ days of leadership development programming for pan-Asian business professionals in corporate America and Canada. I’ve been the Midwest chapter co-president since 2021, and 2022 was the first convention post-pandemic. As a result, I was excited to return to Austin since it had been four years since I’d visited the city last and it would entail seeing friends from other Ascend chapters all over North America. I made sure to plan out a few places to eat at while in town and was quite excited at the prospect

Day 1 (July 16, 2023)

I landed at Austin Bergstrom Airport at 11:15 AM and took a Lyft to the Tommie Austin, where I would be staying the next few days. The hotel gave me high end boutique vibes, from the free drink certificate at the classy bar upstairs to the indoor driving range simulator. Upon getting into my room, I found a sink sitting awkwardly in the middle of the room – and while it was an amusing set up, the room felt small. The built in bottle opener above the minibar was a cute and thoughtful piece though.

The last time I was in Austin was 2019, when it was already built up – but not this much. As I wandered the downtown area, I spotted Indeed’s glass-encased headquarters and a number of highrises under construction.

First stop: Cooper’s Old Time BBQ, but not for food – to get some branded merch for my wife and I (given our first born son is named Cooper!). From there, I walked to Polvos Downtown Central (in the sweltering 99 degree sun, I might add) to meet my friend Vijay for lunch. We’d met through a DEI community I built and hadn’t yet met in person, so this was a nice way to proper connect face to face, over a plate of sizzling and delicious fajitas and several margaritas.

I met my other friend Leilani whom I hadn’t seen in several years as well for a coffee at Houndstooth before heading over to the convention for the pre-convention gathering of chapter leaders.

After a few hours of joyful reunions, hugs, and discussions about chapter issues, several of us headed down to the riverside to see the famed Congress Ave. Bridge Bats. And we saw maybe 5 or 10 – given they weren’t feeling cooperative and by the time they started coming out, the sun had already set. I wish I could have seen what everyone raves about!

I went over to Clive for a round of drinks with some of my board members, and as the younger attendees started pouring in, I felt my old man status ring true and headed back to my hotel to get some sleep.

Day 2 (July 17, 2023)

The day began with breakfast at The Grey Market, the restaurant inside the Tommie Austin. One of the best benefits of Hyatt globalist status is the free breakfast at hotels with top notch eateries inside (see the Thompson Washington DC in an upcoming post for a similarly indulgent breakfast experience). The Hash and Eggs and a side of braised greens was a delicious way to start the day. I was getting the stink eye from the guest near me and didn’t know why – and later that night, it dawned on me – it was my friend Alfred whom I had met at the convention the previous year! Sorry Alf for giving you the stink eye too! 

I decided to walk to the Fairmont Austin for the first day of the convention proper, which featured some incredible sessions and experiences, including discussing the ramifications of the Harvard Admissions decision by the Supreme Court, meeting the purple M&M (Mars is one of the convention’s sponsors), and even playing badminton on the indoor court that was set up.

Because it was easier to stay in the hotel for food, I met two friends for lunch at the Fulton Restaurant at the Fairmont Austin and had their wedge salad with chicken.

For dinner that night, two of my Midwest Chapter board members and I went to Gus’ Fried Chicken for their famed (you guessed it) fried chicken.

Day 3 (July 18, 2023)

Breakfast on the second day began with a bacon egg and cheese and some pancakes, with an iced coffee (yeah I was feeling gluttonous). If you wind up staying at The Tommie, the breakfast at the Grey Market really can’t be beat. The service was excellent, the food top notch, and the place gives diner vibes with a super classy feet. I walked to the Fairmont again and turned my head at some of the things which keep Austin weird (the Texas Selfie Museum?).

While everyone else wore business casual or suits, I decided that this day would be a jorts kind of day. And honestly when it’s 100+ degrees in Austin, shorts are way more comfortable. That comfort led nicely to our chapter happy hour at Anthem, where we partnered with our colleagues in the Southeast Chapter (Atlanta, Florida, Charlotte) and we had over 100 people show up to connect with their peers from our two chapters.

This place offers “Texasian grub,” an impressive cocktail selection and food menu, and a great split indoor/outdoor private space with misters and fans.

Somehow, I got persuaded by my chapter board members to join them at The Common Interest for a long night of karaoke. This place turned out to be a lot of fun, as we got there early which meant we got a private room in the back. The rest of the party showed up and the main area for singing was packed, while we comfortably sang out hearts out away from the public eye.

Day 4 (July 19, 2023)

The final day of this convention usually results in me showing up with no voice – this has happened for two years running now. Well, actually I had a voice – but with an incredibly low register, which brings up comparisons to my father who has a low voice from his five decades of smoking cigarettes. This has earned me the nickname “Papa Fung” whenever I have that low/no voice.

The last hours of formal programming were as thoughtful as the previous two days before going back to my hotel to rest a bit, get some dinner, and take a nap. This is where I discovered the hotel had a golf simulator, got my free drink from the hotel (a frozen margarita), and changed into my evening attire.

I joined my fellow chapter leaders at the Fulton Bar at the Fairmont Austin for one drink before the conference gratitude dinner kicked off, with 2000+ attendees in their finest outfits. The rest of the evening was dedicated to colleagues who were no longer with us, programming to inspire, and then we migrated to Superstition – this is one of those venue that goes “unz unz unz unz unz” with bright lights. It was a proper club and I stayed out late.

I walked back to my hotel and crashed in my room, but before I did, I ordered some food on Uber Eats from a placed called Halal Austin Shawarma – and I passed out before it arrived I don’t even know what it tasted like! Some might call that sad – I call it the end of a good night (that could have been better with some food in my stomach).

Day 5 (July 20, 2023)

Remember how I told you I passed out without eating? Well I also slept through my alarm, which resulted in a frantic scramble to pack my bag and high tail it to Austin airport. In the chaos, I wound up leaving my electric toothbrush behind (which I got back through a nifty service called “Forgotmyitem” which generated a shopping label that I paid for and within a few weeks, I got it back).

I barely made it to the airport in time, whizzed through security, and by some miracle made it onto my plane – where I had been upgraded and even got served a hot breakfast!

Final Thoughts

My first adventure in Austin since 2019 was a load of fun. And while I cannot in good conscience recommend going to or living in Austin during the summers (the heat…), I ate well, saw friends, and learned a ton. The city continues to grow well beyond what residents could have envisioned even in the last 15 years and it’s clear the city knows how to have a good time.