1. The Coxville Zoo 601 W Yager Ln 2. The Bullhead Inn 12138 N Lamar Blvd 3. The Owl Club Austin 12415 N Lamar Blvd 4. The Skyline Club 11306 N Lamar Blvd 1. Mi Sabor Oaxaqueño 10601 N Lamar Blvd 2. Tacos El Charly  9306 N Lamar Blvd 3. Tacos La Bendicion y Pupuseria 408 E Rundberg 4. Taqueria La Chilanguita 408 E Rundberg  NOTHING LEFT BUT THE GHOSTS 60,000 cars a day pass through the Braker/Lamar intersection, almost all on their way to somewhere else. But that wasn’t always so. This was where people came to let their hair down, or maybe set it on fire. A bit out of town, as described by country singer Johnny Bush. “When I was coming up, a honky-tonk was a bad place to be. They were on the outskirts of town. You didn’t want people to see you go in. They were made out of scrap lumber and tar paper. They had beer bottle caps thrown out in front of the place to serve as gravel or paving so you wouldn’t get that mud all over you or get your car stuck. This was a Honky-tonk. There’s two reasons why people went to honky-tonks. They were either looking to forget somebody or looking to find somebody.” Johnny Bush, Local Memory Here’s to The Coxville Zoo, Owl Club, Bullhead Inn and all the other clubs clustered along a mile and a half stretch of North Lamar starting at what’s now a CVS Pharmacy. It sits on the site of the Skyline, where Hank Williams played his last show. As Michael Corcoran detailed in an excellent read , that’s just scratching the surface.  “(The Skyline’s) also where Elvis Presley performed in 1955, and where noted Austin noise-punks Scratch Acid passed out half-hits of LSD before their first show ever with singer David Yow in March 1983 (on a bill with the Butthole Surfers, Big Boys and TSOL). Both Honeysuckle Rose and Roadie filmed their honky tonk scenes at the Skyline.” Michael Corcoran, Clubland Paradise, Overserved courtesy Copperfield/Northeast Austin History Project. Photos courtesy Michael Corcoran’s Overserved, Scotty Moore. “It was a small place. You were right there with the audience, and they’d just all gang around. The ceiling was low and the stage sat only a few inches higher than the hardwood dance floor.” Hank Thompson, Singer/Songwriter Hank Thompson at the Skyline Club,Photo courtesy Ger J. Rijf, ScottyMoore.net The club was opened by Charles Stark, a local grocer, and managed by son Warrren and two siblings. Conservative folks. Warren Stark drew the line at profanity, making it an offense worthy of ejection to shout “bullshit!” during “The Cotton-Eyed Joe.” Warren was also not a fan of the counterculture, displaying a bathtub on a pole outside the Skyline “for flower children.”   Michael Corcoran, Clubland Paradise, Overserved Hank Williams played the Skyline in December 1952. Steel player James Grabowske was in the house band. “We would open the show, and then the guest headliner would make three special presentations. They would come on and play 30 minutes, then they would leave, and we would play. They would come back three different times. Hank barely made it to the first show. He tried to make the second stage appearance, but was shaking too bad. And, of course, we all felt sorry for him. Then Warren saw what was happening and came and got him.” James Grabowske, Musician Williams died less than two weeks later. The Skyline closed in 1977, and in 1979 Soap Creek Saloon moved in for two years after losing its original location west of town. Willie Nelson’s Honeysuckle Rose features a performance scene inside the venue. Willie Nelson onstage at the Soap Creek Saloon (Skyline) in Honeysuckle Rose - 1980Photo © Columbia Records/CBS Inc. courtesy Scottymoore.net Soap Creek moved out in 1979, and the building became an event rental space before shutting down for good in 1988. It was razed a year later when Braker Lane was expanded. THE SAGA OF THE GIANT CONCRETE GUITAR Remember Leon Carter? From the original Rolling Stones? He bought the Owl Club in 1958, turned it into a country western bar named The Spur Club, and then eventually into the “Texas Notables Museum.” The main attraction was the giant concrete guitar out front, which today lives on at another historic watering hole in New Braunfels. (Clockwise from top left) Leon Carter poses in front of his Texas Notables Museum; 1986 Austin American-Statesman article, A 1960 ad for Carter’s Rolling Stones, who pre-dated the better known group; and New Braunfels historic tavern Riley’s, current home of the giant guitar. The Coxville Zoo closed in 1969, but popped up in a Butthole Surfers experimental video (weren’t they all? ) in 1988. THE TACO MILE: Rundberg and North Lamar “Where immigrants go and eat. Out of that one mile, there’s over 40 places to get yourself a taco. But it’s not just that. It’s also taco cousins — immigrants from Mexico, Central America. You got pupuserias, quinceañera shops, tire shops, abarrotes Mexicanos. So, in a sense, it’s the barrio, if you will, that’s still kind of unnoticed a lot of times because they’re not trending on Instagram or what have you.” Mando Rayo, James Beard nominee and Tacos of Texas podcast host, on KUT’s Texas Standard, Jan 31, 2023. Austin’s Taco Mile is characterized by perpetually gridlocked traffic and the robust, aromatic warmth of tempered spices and charring peppers that lingers in the air, spilling out of every Chevron and Shell gas station parking lot: melty, cheese-stuffed gorditas; glistening beef tacos, and crunchy white street corn topped with so many bright and spicy accoutrements you’d swear it was plucked straight from a Mexico City vendor’s cart. Trey Gutierrez, Eater Austin, May 26, 2021. “(The neighborhood’s) a place where working families can still pay the rent, while not being isolated or alienated from their culture and their communities.” Austin City Councilmember Greg Casar, Eater Austin, 2021. Here’s a few snapshots of food trucks that pop up repeatedly on food blogs, reddit, yelp…a starting point. Mi Sabor Oaxaqueño 10601 N Lamar Blvd Austin “The burrito melts in your mouth.” “The Pollo Tlayudas might be one of the best menu items in Austin. No joke.” Tacos El Charly  9306 N Lamar Blvd Yelp Tacos La Bendicion y Pupuseria 408 E Rundberg I came here strictly for Pupusas! After visiting El Salvador, and having indulged in way too many, I was still craving them when I got home. Just be aware it is a long wait as they are freshly filled, patted, and grilled to perfection right there when you order it. They are made with love! Yelp, Dec 2023 Taqueria La Chilanguita 408 E Rundberg  AUSTIN’S TRUE MELTING POT While the neighborhood is predominantly Latino, over a dozen nationalities live and work in the area. In addition to census data, evidence of this cosmopolitanism can be found in the eclectic storefronts of otherwise homogenous and seemingly banal beige-stucco shopping centers that line the street. Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Pakistani, Indian, Palestinian, Israeli and Iranian investors finance a migrant-commercial bank located in North Lamar that supports local businesses. The North Gate Shopping Center boasts Mexican, Indian, Pakistani, ‘Middle-Eastern,’ Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese restaurants. Sarah Lopez, The End of Austin, 2016 . That was written eight years ago. Here’s a snapshot from three months ago, when The Austin Chronicle’s Taylor Holland explored the area. I was warned: Northgate Shopping Center is a little sketch. But so is the P. Terry’s at Sixth and Congress, so don’t let that stop you. Where else can you have your eyebrows threaded while wiring money? Get halal Mexican food stuck in your new mouth grill? Gaze at a cool dictator over a warm pupusa? Taylor Holland, The Austin Chronicle, June 28, 2024 . As exotic and specialized as the taco mile feels, on some level much is still familiar. Food we’ve been eating around here a long time. What’s the best of the rest? Halal, pho…what else should we hold up? Send suggestions, we’re ready to explore! Photo courtesy Sarah Lopez, The End of Austin, 2016 . On we go. Alan Berg, Publisher *quotes edited for concision and clarity. How are we doing? We want to hear from you. Take this quick survey and help us make Happy Heat better. Go see something, tell us about it, we’ll share more stories next week. Let’s build something together. We’d be forever grateful for your help, and an easy way to do so is by subscribing to the Happy Heat Substack. What comes in goes right back out in artist commissions and live shows. 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