Susi R.'s Profile

Hey internets, what is up?  Am I some kind of hamburger plebian?  I saw the plethora of 1 and 2 star reviews, tried the place out anyway, AND I  LIKED IT.  I found the burgers to be flavorful and juicy.

I didn't find it to be super expensive for the quality of the burger.  Most burger places I've tried that are cheaper are greasier.  I also really liked their buns.  (Ha HA, double entendre!)

The hook for this place is that they're environmentally and "health" conscious, as others have mentioned.  It's not quite as over the top as Terra Burger (where even the straws are made out of corn, people!) but the quality of the meat and toppings was nice.  I don't really understand the "health" angle unless you're getting a veggie burger, but once again I'll remind you that I am CLEARLY a burger plebian.

Also they have Cherry Coke on tap, which is almost worth an extra star on it's own.

WOW.  Just...wow.  I think sometimes at these events the hosting venue underestimates Yelp Austin's ability to rock, but Max's was READY FOR US.  The wine was flowing nonstop and the food was making regular rounds all night.  The DJ was wooing me with Daft Punk and 80's classics.  I had a great time seeing people and meeting some new folks.  Thanks, Kevin!

I've lived down the street from the Hideout for over two years now, and just got around to checking it out a couple of weeks ago.  I am kind of mad at myself that it took me so long to come here, but in my defense it is kind of a weird location.  However, now that the dark days pre-Hideout are behind me, I am happy to report that I have visited it at least 7 times in the past two weeks.

Here are some things that make this place awesome:

1) I have seen them play the following movies on the TVs above the bar: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hard Target, Aliens, and Roadhouse.

2) The patio is amazing.  Gigantic picnic tables for larger groups, smaller bistro tables for smaller groups, and lots of both to make sure everyone can get a seat.  And considering that it's right next to Mopac there's not very much road noise (unless some idiot is revving their car in the parking lot)

3) The jukebox is pretty well stocked and only has a few things that suck or are incredibly inappropriate for the bar setting.  (Note to everyone in the entire world: please don't play Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" unless you REALLY want to kill the mood in a place.)

4) Clean bathrooms in a bar?  Yes please.

5) The beer selection is not huge, but what they do have on tap is cheap and good.  $3 pints of Blue Moon are love in the Texas summer.

6) The crowd is...diverse.  I have seen hipsters, goths, and punks here all at the same time without any kind of turf war breaking out.

7) They're open until 2am EVERY NIGHT.  I have not seen another bar this far north with hours like that, so as far as I'm concerned they should be given a medal or something.

8) I can walk here if necessary.  And if I drive, there's plenty of parking that does not require me to parallel park.

Kickass jukebox?  Check.

Cheap drinks?  Check.

Awesome patio?  Check.

Cool and speedy bartenders?  Check.

Not pretentious?  Check.

Three thumbs up, so either I'm a mutant, bad at math, or I just really, really like this place.

6:52 pm - Recreate the parallel parking scene from Austin Powers, using a spot directly in front of the bar.

6:56 pm - Get the vapors from the terrifying act of parallel parking.  Fan myself dramatically while in line.

7:02 pm - Recover from said vapors by consuming pizza and beer.  Delicious.

7:14 pm - Recognize the movie playing as Holy Mountain, which I have not even seen yet.  People nearby are struck dumb by my random film knowledge.

7:23 pm - The massive crowd is daunting.  I retire to the back patio for the rest of the night to chain smoke and watch a John Waters film with no sound.

Oh hey, they're open for dinner now, too!  Try the Longhorn burger with BBQ sauce...it requires at least a half dozen napkins.

There is a serious lack of true arcades in this town, so I was really excited when I heard about this place.  The building is a little small but they've done an impressive job with the space they have...It's chock full of games without being too cramped.  Most of the games are in custom cabinets so there's a nice uniform look to everything, and everything is clearly marked with the type of coins they require (quarters or dollars).

The main focus here is fighting games.  They have the best new fighters plus all the classics.  I'm not a fighting game expert, but from what I understand if an arcade has MVC2 and Street Fighter 3S they know what they're doing.

I mostly come here for ITG2 so I can play all my old DDR favorites.  If they add another music game or two this will automatically upgrade to a 5-star review.

I went here for a show during SXSW, so I can't tell you if my experience is the standard or not.  As it is, I wasn't hugely impressed with the place.  A velvet rope and red carpet out front?  COME ON.  My guess is that the usual crowd there is not one that I would enjoy being around.

Pros:
- The decor is nice and dark.

Cons:
- $5 for a bottle of Blue Moon makes me twitchy.  Maybe I'm spoiled, but so be it.
- A stripper pole?  CLASSY.  This makes me even more sure that the usual crowd there would not be something I would enjoy.
- Bathroom attendants make me nervous.  I'm a chronic tipper, but even I don't want to give someone money to turn on the faucet for me.

Pros:
- Free beer!  And it was a stout, too.  Niiiice.
- Many excellent and witty shirts
- Good company
- Every time someone mentioned the Firefly vodka my brain went to a different place first.
- I actually won something for my shirt!  People appreciate my sense of humor!  WOO!

Cons:
- My CDs wouldn't play, because I insisted on making them data CDs so I could cram more songs on there.  Poor planning on my part.
- I wasn't able to play Mortal Kombat because I had no quarters.  D:
- It was a Tuesday, so people didn't get too crazy.  Please crank up the debauchery levels for the next one, guys.

These guys are amazing!  They publish some of the most creative, weird, and funny comics I've ever seen.  Jhonen Vasquez started his mainstream career here.  My current favorite indie titles (Ubu Bubu and Rex Libris) are published here.  I can honestly say that I have never been disappointed when picking up a random SLG comic.  Plus, their website has most back issues (which can be hard to find in stores) AND sometimes you can get comics for free.  Yes, FREE!  It's a great way to try out a new series and I always tuck a few freebies in whenever I order something.