Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > September > 07 > Entry
Sixth Street x 8
Clambering around M Two, searching for a lost item, Josh Allen turned his head to find me sitting at a high table. The director of 6ixth Street Austin — yes, that’s how the nonprofit group spells it — smiled and delayed his search of the Fourth Street canteen to discuss downtown nightlife.
West Sixth, we agreed, booms. The newer club district, located between Shoal Creek (the actual creek, not the boulevard) and San Antonio Street, is not part of Allen’s promotional domain, which extends from Interstate 35 to Congress Avenue.
It came to me in a flash: Why doesn’t Allen’s group represent all of Sixth Street, from its ignoble cusp under MoPac to its eastern terminus at the redundant-sounding Calles Street? 6ixth Street Austin (groan) could market eight fantasized mini-Sixth Streets.
Far West Sixth — Despite the suburban feel of the office buildings and garages in the shadow of Mopac, street life has grown up around the Third Base sports bar. Some of it spills over past El Arroyo to the Mean-Eyed Cat, Sushi Zushi and other West Fifth Street magnets.
Near West Sixth — This collection of galleries, bakeries and genteel shops, stretching from North Lamar Boulevard to Pressler Street, pumps up sidewalk trade on art nights. Z Tejas is the fulcrum. Nearby, find Cafe Josie, 24 Diner, Amy’s Ice Cream and Counter Cafe, among other spots.
West Sixth — Whatever rises behind the Whole Foods Vatican will include retail, hopefully linking Near West and West Sixth. The fresh addition here is the novel Dogwood. On any noisy night, revelers make a circuit of a dozen bars and restaurants, fading out at Sandra Bullock’s Bess.
Middle Sixth — The new Dakota, formerly the Belmont’s back bar, tipped the scales. No longer just an outpost of the Warehouse District, this zone enfolds redone Belmont, District 301, Maiko Sushi and Betsy’s Bar. Too bad easterly Ruth’s Chris and Athenian Bar & Grill are separated from Middle Sixth by a nightlife gap.
Upper East Sixth — No way can we list all the watering holes between Congress Avenue and Neches Street in this space. The Driskill Hotel reigns, majestically, at the uppermost end. Alamo Drafthouse, Iron Cactus and Maggie Mae’s anchor the other end. Neophytes Bikinis and Aces join battle-scarred night spots.
Lower East Sixth — We draw the boundary along Neches because everything east barrels downhill (terrain-wise) to music-flooded Red River Street. Esther’s Follies is here, as are El Sol y La Luna and Casino El Camino. High-sales Jackalope gets lost in a packed field of visitor-friendly bars.
Near East Sixth — Even more so than Rainey Street, this is the feverish hang-out for hipsters. Shangri-la, East Side Showroom, Cheer Up Charlie’s, the Brixton, the Good Knight, Rio Rita and food trailers join indigenous Nuevo Leon and older neighborhood bars.
Far East Sixth — The sidewalk energy peters out east of Comal Street. Lounges, coffee shops and eateries pop up, but not in a connected way. A replacement for Peacock at Pedernales, however, could plant a prominent pole for our imanginary Sixth Street pedestrian axis, 3.5 miles long.
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