It’s the kind of place where you remember the servers and they remember you. And if we’ve learned anything, one thing the UT community has liked for decades, and probably will continue to like for decades more, is a massive plate of enchiladas. In knowing these spots, we might also learn a bit about the character of the university, namely its collective likes and dislikes. ¶ Using this criteria, a few exemplary businesses can be identified. That is, it should remain open for at least several years before shuttering-flash-in-the pan favorites will have to wait. It should primarily serve the university community, and it should last through the machinations of student preference and economic vacillation. But first, let us define our parameters: A campus institution should be within walking distance of the main campus. After the emotional rollercoaster of El Patio’s cl-opening saga, we felt compelled to check in on our most beloved campus haunts and take their collective pulse. ¶ The places that stay in our memory, places that last for decades, have something different, something ahistorical and enduring. And, ultimately, their cries were answered-more on that later. They raged against the dying of the neon, sombrero-shaped light. ¶ Institutions belong to the community, and the Austinites and Texas Exes that strolled the Drag for years on their way to that Tex-Mex beacon weren’t satisfied to let the crispy tacos and combo plates go gently into that good night. It’s a rarity on the periphery of campus, an area that has seen many cafes, taverns, and movie theaters open and close amid a few mainstays. UT students had come and gone, but they all remembered the same place, same feel, and same melted yellow cheese. This past summer, when the news that one of these institutions, El Patio, would be closing its doors after 66 years, there was a multi-generational outcry. Restaurant isn’t just a restaurant after six-plus decades-it’s an institution.
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