Sixth Street Sector Roundup: Dirty Sixth Part 1

It took exactly a month to finish the first half of Dirty Sixth. I had originally planned to take a breather during SXSW to avoid the madness, and as luck would have it we scored the very last missing bar right as SXSW was starting. My pace was aided by some marathon nights - at my ancient, decrepit, crippled age of 33, six bars in three hours with two drinks each on average counts as a marathon, and I felt every step.

I have to admit that I was not looking forward to Dirty Sixth, on the whole. Most of the people I know don't really go there, and I think the same is true of a lot of Austinites. Sure, we'll catch a show on Red River, and maybe grab a quick pre-show drink or a bite to eat on Sixth, but for the most part, Dirty Sixth is the province of newcomers, college students, and out-of-towners. It's funny that such a well-advertised part of the city's identity would be so infrequently patronized by the people who actually live here, but I think that's the case for most things you see promoted to tourists. Some markers of Austin identity like Town Lake and Zilker Park get used by locals frequently, but others like the State Capitol or the Congress Avenue bats get visited during elementary school, maybe, and then rarely if ever again. When I was just starting out as a young drinker, it was a truism that you could go to Sixth and be guaranteed to run into at least one person you knew. Now, most of my friends drink at their neighborhood bars, and only go down to East Sixth (or, God forbid, Rainey) as infrequently as possible.

And maybe we're missing out, at least a little. Dirty Sixth contains the whole spectrum of nightlife: dive bars, music venues, speakeasies, dance clubs, and even a movie theater. And, to an even greater degree than on West Sixth, I visited on weeknights, weekends, and afternoons to capture a fuller picture of the drinking life. I still recommend going on a weeknight, but I realize that most of the time this isn't possible. And in terms of the experience, even though I had a terrible experience at 311 Club, for the most part I found fun bars, decent drinks, friendly people, and good times. Despite being biased towards my hometown, one of the things that makes Austin stand out among all the other midsize cities I've been to is its friendliness - no matter who you are or where you're from, you'll find people ready to welcome you. I found that to be true no matter if I was in a swanky cocktail lounge or in a college bar. Ultimately a city is its people, and the thing that make Austin's bars so much fun is the Austinites. Not that I'll be pounding Lone Stars at many of these bars on the regular, but it's nice to know that I could, if I wanted.

And now for some statistics!

Top 5 Bars

Using a completely subjective formula that takes into account the quality of the drink, the ambiance of the bar, the friendliness of the bartender, and my own level of intoxication, here are my top five bars:

1. Driskill Bar
2. Parkside
3. The Four Horsemen
4. Midnight Cowboy
5. Shakespeare's

Booze Brothers participating

Total: 28

• Aaron: 28
• Travis: 23
• Rome: 18
• Vince: 11
• James: 6
• Geoff: 6
• Elijah: 6
• Cat: 6
• Sonali: 5
• Kathryn: 5
• Nick: 5
• Davis: 5
• Ben: 3
• Brent: 1
• Anthony: 1

Establishments visited

Total: 28

• Bars: 23
• Restaurants: 3
• Clubs: 1
• Theaters: 1

Drinks consumed

Total: 28*

• Cocktails: 18
• Shots: 6
• Beers: 3
• Other: 1
• Wines: 0

* Obviously I drank WAY more than that.

Money spent

Total: $211.25*

* That doesn't include taxes, tip, or the food or extra drinks I bought.