Austin City Limits Kicks Coachella's Ass

Two weekends ago, we headed to Austin, Texas to rock out.

I enjoyed myself far more than I had during past experiences at Coachella.

Austin City Limits is so well run. The lawn is lovely. There are free filtered water refilling stations. And litter is scarce because staff is constantly cleaning.

The only bad thing is that DSLRs are not allowed, but you can't bring those to Coachella either.

Most of the food at ACL is pretty decent.

This is not your ordinary array of carnival-type food. At ACL, noteworthy Austin restaurants showcase their best festival-friendly finger food at reasonably priced stands.

Torchy's Tacos.

Smoked brisket taco ($5) and green chile pork taco ($4). Really really liked the latter.

The Mighty Cone.

Hot and crunchy chicken avocado ($8). Looks a lot better than it actually was. Chicken was dry. Avocado was bland.

Kerbey Lane Cafe.

Sausage pancake on a stick ($6). Best thing all day, hands down. This ain't a corndog. This is the lovechild of funnel cake and a bratwurst. Yum yum yum.

The Salt Lick.

Ribs and slaw ($8). Very disappointing, given all the raves I'd heard about this place. Really tough and difficult to eat. Maybe they couldn't handle cooking for the masses.

Lavaca Street.

Hatch green chile cheese tots ($5). Meh. Waste.

Aquarelle Restaurant Francais.

Steak 'n' frit sandwich ($7). Only ok. Had the potential to be great, but it was a little cold.

The Gaslight Anthem



Here's Looking at You, Kid

Broken Bells



The High Road

The Temper Trap






Fader, Fools, Love Lost, Sweet Disposition.

Matt and Kim





Daylight, Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare, Let Me Clear My Throat.

Matt Bellamy of Muse.

We were really far away for this one, and my little camera's SD card was full.

By the end of the night, I was tired but not exhausted or sick like I always get at Coachella. I may never go to Coachella again after this.

We hopped on one of the many free, constantly running shuttle buses back to our hotel. The festival impressed us from beginning to end.