A Perfect Saturday on East MLK
We are at MLK and Chicon, and we have been on this corner since 2012. This is the Saturday we would actually send you on, not the one a tourism brochure would.
The short version, which is what most people want: get coffee at Bennu, eat at ADP, then have a drink at The Wheel. Everything below is the longer version.
Start with coffee
Bennu Coffee is our coffee recommendation, full stop. Independently owned, close by, and open 24 hours, which matters more often than you would think.
If you want a slightly longer walk, Figure 8 Coffee is a café and roastery at 1111 Chicon. Dear Diary Coffee is a vegan coffee shop with local art on the walls, gifts, and community events, and it has a different energy than either of the others.
If you want breakfast tacos before any of this, we send people to El Chilito on Manor Road. It is not close enough to walk, but it is worth the drive and we are not going to pretend we do breakfast.
Take the mural photo, get it over with
You're My Butter Half is at 2000 E MLK, essentially next door to us. It is one of the most photographed walls in Austin and there is usually a small line of people waiting their turn.
Go early on a Saturday if you want it without a crowd. Then come eat, because you are already here.
Lunch, obviously
We open at 11am. Our weekdays are about twice as busy as our weekends, so Saturday is the relaxed version of us. It starts slow and builds to an early-to-mid-afternoon peak. Come around 2pm if you want the patio at its liveliest, or at 11:30 if you want a table to yourself.
Order the Canadian Tuxedo and a side of jalapeño hushpuppies. That is the first-timer order and we will not be talked out of it.
The patio is six picnic tables, 30 to 40 seats, fully shaded, with fans and misters. Dogs welcome, water bowls out. No indoor seating, so check the forecast, though we are open and cooking regardless.
Walk it off
Paws on Chicon is an independent pet supply shop with a self-service dog wash, which is a very good idea if your dog just spent an hour under a picnic table.
Alamo Pocket Park at 2100 Alamo Street is a small neighborhood park, useful when you need somewhere to sit that is not a restaurant.
Vain Salon at 1803 Chicon is the neighborhood salon.
End with a drink
The Wheel is directly next door, and it is where we send people for cocktails and for beer. It is 21 and up and it opens later in the day, so this is genuinely an end-of-afternoon move rather than a lunchtime one.
Here is the useful part: our food is welcome on The Wheel's patio. Our menu hangs over there with a QR code, so you can order from your barstool and walk over and get it. It does not work the other way around, so please leave their drinks on their side of the fence.
King Bee on East 12th is the move if you want cocktails with live music instead.
If you are going to a show or a game
Moody Center is at 2001 Robert Dedman Drive on the UT campus, a short drive west of us. UT's baseball and softball fields are the closest venues to this corner, and the football stadium sits over by Moody Center. We get a lot of people before and after shows and games, which is one of our favorite parts of being on this corner.
Two honest notes.
We are not affiliated with Moody Center or UT, and Moody Center and the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park are two different venues. People mix them up constantly.
And on parking: our lot is for customers of the four businesses on this property, which are us, JuiceLand, The Wheel, and Monarch Liquor. You cannot leave a car here and walk or ride to a game. We need the spaces for people who are actually eating. The venues have their own lots and there are surrounding lots near them. Street parking around here follows normal neighborhood rules, and some blocks are resident-only, so read the signs.
If it is an event day and you want to eat with us first, order ahead online. It is the fastest way through.
Common questions
What is there to do around East MLK and Chicon?
Coffee at Bennu, Figure 8, or Dear Diary. The You're My Butter Half mural at 2000 E MLK. A pet shop with a self-service dog wash at Paws on Chicon, and Alamo Pocket Park. Lunch at Austin Daily Press, ice cream at Zed's, and a drink next door at The Wheel or over at King Bee.
Where is the You're My Butter Half mural?
2000 E MLK, right next to Austin Daily Press at 1900 E MLK.
Can I eat Austin Daily Press food at The Wheel?
Yes. Our menu hangs on their patio with a QR code for ordering. Their drinks cannot come onto our patio.
Where should I eat before a Moody Center show?
We are a short drive east of Moody Center and we get a lot of pre-show and post-show guests. Order ahead online if you are on the clock. We are not affiliated with the venue and cannot hold parking for eventgoers.
Is this area walkable?
The MLK and Chicon corner is. Bennu, JuiceLand, The Wheel, the mural, and Vain Salon are all right here. Figure 8, Dear Diary, Paws on Chicon, Zed's, and King Bee are short trips rather than a stroll.
Where do I park?
Our free lot, or behind the building off Poquito. Street parking follows neighborhood rules and some blocks are resident-only, so read the signs. The lot is reserved for customers of the businesses on this property.
Come make us part of your Saturday. Order ahead or just show up.