Texas
Gabriel Luna's weekend guide to Austin, Texas
Entertainment 360Since attending the 2016 US Grand Prix, Austin’s own Gabriel Luna is a huge F1 fan. Ahead of the 2024 race, the actor shares his Bat City picks, from live music to breakfast tacos.
Austin, Texas, is known for its barbecue, cowboy culture, breakfast tacos, rollicking music scene and its defiant slogan: “Keep Austin Weird.”
The SpeciaList
Gabriel Luna is an actor who was born and raised in Austin, and studied at the city’s St Edward’s University. He rose to prominence with his role as Ghost Rider in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, before appearing as the villainous Rev-9 in Terminator: Dark Fate. Luna currently portrays Tommy Miller in the critically acclaimed HBO series The Last Of Us opposite Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
Actor Gabriel Luna fell in love with the sport when he was invited to the 2016 United States Grand Prix. “Just the speed, the sounds, meeting all of the drivers. It was really exciting,” says Luna.
After striking up a friendship with the Haas F1 team, Luna has since attended races in Budapest, Monza and Montreal. He’s also returned to his home city of Austin, where he was born, raised and attended university, to watch the United States Grand Prix live on three more occasions.
“I just fell in love with the sport. I’ve seen it grow exponentially year after year,” says Luna, who credits the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive for bringing more US attention to the sport. While Miami and Las Vegas now host their own races, Luna believes that Austin’s distinctive free-wheeling spirit and party atmosphere make it the best place to watch Formula One in the US.
“Having the race in Austin is a great way to show off the city,” he says. “It’s a truly beautiful part of the country. But also the city is built on music, food and enjoying life. We attract a lot of bon vivants who just want to live a good life and they can get that in Austin.”
Here are Luna’s favourite ways to experience his hometown.
Alamy1. Best way to experience everyday life: Barton Springs Pool
Located within Austin’s bustling Zilker Metropolitan Park is the scenic Barton Springs Pool, where for just a small fee, visitors can relax on the grass and jump into its water all year-round. For Luna, this three-acre pool fed by underground springs is the “centre of culture and life” in Austin. “You get to see Austin’s youth, its old-timers, its hippies doing their yoga, people playing guitar. Everyone is just jumping into the water, which is perpetually 68 degrees.”
When Luna is home in the summer months, he loves relaxing by the water, jumping in, drying off and jumping back in – on repeat. “You can just lay out on the hill on the far side of Barton Springs and see the whole city. It’s the heart of the town.”
Alamy2. Best cultural experience: Emma S Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center
While Austin is renowned for its food, booze and music scenes, it also has a bevy of fantastic museums. Luna’s favourite is the Emma S Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, located in Rainey Street Historic District right by Lady Bird Lake. “It’s in this beautiful building, which itself is a work of art,” says Luna, whose parents were both of Mexican descent. “But it also has a theatre, a gallery and their rotating exhibits celebrate Mexican American arts and heritage.”
Luna also points visitors to The Blanton Museum of Art at the Austin chapter of the University of Texas, which has more than 21,000 works of modern and contemporary art from Europe, the United States and Latin America. It’s also home to renowned American artist Ellsworth Kelly‘s immersive art building Austin; famed for its natural depiction of light and colour.
Alamy3. Best for live music: Broken Spoke
Austin, which bills itself as the “live music capital of the world“, has a wildly diverse music scene rivalling those of Nashville, Memphis and even New Orleans. “Culturally in Austin, it’s all about the music. You just have to get out there, catch a band and listen to the music,” says Luna.
Insider tip
Austin – aka Bat City – is home to around 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats, who roost under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Between early March and late October, people gather at the bridge an hour before sundown to watch the bats swarm away for the night’s prowl.
Luna’s bat watching tip: head to The Four Seasons. “The Four Seasons on [Lake Austin] is always beautiful. But you also get a great view of the bats when they come out from under the bridge on South Congress. You can just sit on the back lawn and watch them fly off.”
The actor and sometimes musician loves Broken Spoke, an old-school spot that’s been serving beer and chicken-fried steak and hosting bands since 1964. “It’s protected by the National Registry and is an incredible little honky-tonk bar that can’t be touched,” says Luna. “The community gathered together to acquire enough signatures to stop it from being purchased.”
Another venue Luna calls his “personal headquarters” is Antone’s; one of Austin’s most iconic blues venues. Antone’s, now found on Fifth Street, might have moved locations a few times since the original location opened in 1975, but that hasn’t stopped the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown, Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan from playing its stages. “It’s really home for me when I’m back in Austin.”
For even more live music, Luna also suggests The Continental Club and the juke joint C-Boy’s Heart & Soul, both found on Congress Street; one of downtown Austin’s premier shopping and entertainment districts.
Erin Holsonback4. Best place for breakfast tacos: Juan in a Million
Luna can’t help but get nostalgic when asked about breakfast tacos; a Tex-Mex dish of scrambled eggs, cheeses, veg and meat wrapped in a tortilla that’s become known as an Austin specialty. He laments a number of places which have closed, in particular Maria’s Taco Express on South Lamar Boulevard, which shut its doors in September 2020. Luna also insists that the best breakfast tacos in Austin are at his grandmother’s house, which he ate every morning for 12 years before school.
Rather than badgering her for them, Luna heads to Juan in A Million in East Austin. “It’s a great Mexican restaurant that has fantastic breakfast tacos,” he says. Juan in a Million’s menu features a full array of breakfast taco choices, from chorizo (sausage) to migas-style (with soft scrambled eggs and crispy fried tortilla strips). If you’re in the north of the city, Luna suggests Tierra Linda Taqueria, a wonderful no-frills eatery located in a gas station serving huge orders.
Alamy5. Best for BBQ: Franklin Barbecue
The great state of Texas is barbecue country, and Austin takes the craft very seriously. For great central Texas-style barbecue, Luna says visitors can never go wrong at Austin cult favourite Franklin Barbecue; a turquoise-and-white roadside stop on 11th Street instantly recognisable by its massive queue. Founded in 2009 by Aaron Franklin, the spot was named the best barbecue in the country by Bon Appétit in 2011. “Aaron is a legend who has created an incredible legacy for himself,” says Luna. “I’ve lived in Los Angeles since 2011 and I always get his [barbecued beef] brisket shipped out for my Super Bowl parties.”
Luna also recommends Black’s Barbecue, founded in 1932 and located in Lockhart; a 30-minute drive from Austin. But he quickly adds that Terry Black’s BBQ is also worth a visit; explaining that the two restaurants have been engulfed in a family rivalry since the latter was opened by twin brothers Mike and Mark when they didn’t approve of their Uncle Kent’s cooking techniques at Black’s. “They’re both great,” says Luna. “The brisket in particular at Black’s is fantastic.”
Ultimately, Luna says, “There’s lots of great barbecue across Austin. At a certain point it’s a little but like splitting hairs because so much of it tastes so good.”
Courtesy of Magnolia Café6. Best casual and fancy bites: Magnolia Café, Uchi and more
When to visit
South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin is a massive nine-day festival celebrating culture, film, music and technology that brings the city to chaotic fever pitch each March. Luna believes the best time of the year to visit Austin is a few weeks afterwards: “The weather is getting great. Everyone is getting back to normal.” He also suggests asking around for where the next party is. “The party doesn’t end when the bars close. There’s a lot going on in town. You just need to ask around, find the right people, and you’ll find some really cool stuff.”
One Austin dish that Luna thinks is underrated is a good bowl of queso; a creamy dip made of melted cheese. “People do it in a really artful way,” he says. “Then you just get some tortilla chips and dip them in there. It’s like a fondue.” Luna calls Magnolia Café – a vintage Tex Mex-influenced diner on Congress Street – the best place to eat queso in Austin, as they mix in avocado, beef, salsa, pico de gallo, black beans and jalapeño to create their own signature take on the dish. “It’s the perfect thing to eat after a long night of drinking and when you’re really drunk,” he says.
Noah Chang7. Best bar: Whisler’s
Austin’s Sixth Street is renowned for its long stretch of bars, which Luna says you can stumble between with ease: “They all have different personalities. You can pop into The Jackalope [a dive] or Maggie Mae’s [massive event space]”.
Nowadays Luna prefers a more laid-back vibe, which is what you get when you head farther east on Sixth Street to his favourite watering hole: Whisler‘s. “It’s got a really cool little secret Mezcal bar,” he says. “You go up this little spiral staircase and there’s a very small room and a tiny bar. They have a fine collection of mezcals up there.” The nearby White Horse honky-tonk plays great country music, and Luna also suggests the Uptown Sports Club for a classy yet still casual ambience.
BBC Travel’s The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.
Tristan Jernigan, a Texas A&M sophomore linebacker who was a four-star prospect in high school, has signed with Cal out of the transfer portal.
Jernigan comes to Berkeley with three years of eligibility after seeing action in just two games this season. He played against Notre Dame without any stats and had three tackles, including one tackle for loss, against Samford.
He is the second members of the Aggies’ squad to join the Bears, following defensive end Solomon Williams, who signed last Sunday.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder from Tupelo, Miss., also drew interest from Tennessee, Memphis, Louisville, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Baylor and San Diego State.
Jernigan played eight games as a true freshman in 2024, primarily on special teams. He had 11 tackles, including five against McNeese State, and was named the team’s defensive scout team player of the year.
At Tupelo High School, Jernigan had 177 tackles with 11.5 sacks his final two seasons. Those teams compiled a two-year record of 22-4 with a Class 6A state semifinal appearance as a junior in 2022.
He was rated by 247 Sports as the No. 28 linebacker prospect in the class and the No. 9 recruit in the state of Mississippi.
He is not related to former Cal linebacker Myles Jernigan, who was from Grand Prairie, Texas, and spent five years in Berkeley through the 2023 season.
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DALLAS – Starting in February, some American Airlines passengers will have the option of eating authentic Texas barbecue as their in-flight meal.
The airline said they’ll be partnering with Pecan Lodge restaurant to serve Texas barbecue on board.
American Airlines to serve Texas BBQ
The meals will be available to first-class passengers on flights from DFW International Airport to LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The meals will be available for preorder starting on Jan. 11 through aa.com or American’s mobile app.
What they’re saying:
“As we celebrate American’s centennial anniversary in 2026, we’re looking forward to delighting our customers in new ways that honor unique regional tastes, beginning right here in our home state through one of the most beloved barbecue restaurants in Texas,” said Rhonda Crawford, American’s SVP of Customer Experience Design and Strategy. “Our customers deserve nothing but the best, and Pecan Lodge is certainly that.”
Pecan Lodge meals
February offering: Pecan Lodge barbecue platter
Smoked brisket and smoked sausage, paired with creamy mac and cheese, crisp coleslaw and a side of pickles, onions and barbecue sauce
March offering: Smoked chopped brisket sandwich
Chopped brisket on a fresh brioche bun, served with roasted green beans, creamy potato salad and a side of pickles, onions and barbecue sauce
The Source: Information in this article comes from American Airlines.
HIDALGO — During a visit to the border Friday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said changes in immigration laws should wait until the border is completely secure, a contrast from Republican lawmakers who are willing to explore legal status for immigrant workers to address labor shortages prompted by enforcement efforts at work sites.
Cornyn was part of a group of Republican U.S. senators and Senate hopefuls who flocked to the Rio Grande Valley to praise President Donald Trump’s border policies as they attempt to promote their achievements and shape political narratives ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Aggressive enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has prompted some unauthorized workers to stay clear of job sites, leading to labor shortages in construction and restaurants. The Valley has been among the areas hardest hit by the worker shortage, prompting a group of local builders to call for solutions to economic struggles in their industry.
U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, an Edinburg Republican, met with the group and expressed support for a visa program for construction workers, akin to the H-2A visa program that allows foreign nationals to work in the agriculture sector.
Cornyn, though, said it was too early to consider such an option.
“The first thing we need to do is secure the border,” Coryn said during a news conference along the border in the city of Hidalgo. “There is no way that the American people, and certainly my constituents in Texas, would allow us to take another stab at reforming our immigration laws until we’ve got the border secure.”
After securing the border, he said, the next step would be to remove people who “never should have been here in the first place.” Only after that had been accomplished, Cornyn said, should lawmakers delve into changing immigration laws.
Much of Trump’s border policy has been set by executive action. The Republican Congress passed $170 billion in funding for immigration and border enforcement through 2029, making ICE the best-funded law enforcement agency in the country and giving the agency unprecedented recruitment, enforcement, deportation and detention powers. But the effort did not codify many of Trump’s changes to border practices.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who stood beside Cornyn during Friday’s news conference, said he was open to legislation that would address the need for qualified workers but also said the first priority was to secure the border.
“I think we can work in a constructive way on how we come up with a mechanism whereby people who come to this country legally can contribute and be members of our work force,” said Thune, R-South Dakota.
ICE activity at construction sites has intimidated workers — those unauthorized to live in the U.S. and those with legal authorization — from accepting work, builders say. This labor shortage has prompted construction delays that economists suggest will drive up housing costs.
Absent a change in immigration laws, Cornyn suggested job sectors would benefit from cuts to assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, saying it would encourage people to work.
“If you are an able-bodied young adult, you can’t qualify for food stamps, you can’t qualify for welfare benefits like Medicaid and the like, in order to encourage more people to get off the couch,” Cornyn said. “That’s good for them, good for their families, good for their communities.”
For Cornyn, who is locked in an expensive primary race with Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston, the news conference was also an opportunity to tout a major provision from Republicans’ 2025 mega-bill — reimbursement for Operation Lone Star.
Cornyn publicly stated during spring negotiations that his vote in support of the package was contingent on reimbursing Texas for Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security initiative. Ultimately, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July with support from nearly all Republicans and no Democrats, included $13.5 billion in two funds to reimburse states for border security spending.
Abbott had requested $11.1 billion, and the vast majority of the bill’s money is expected to go to Texas. But six months after the bill’s passage, the Trump administration has yet to allocate funding. State Republicans, led by Cornyn, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, sent a December letter asking the departments of Homeland Security and Justice to prioritize Texas in the disbursement.
“That money will now soon be flowing into the coffers of the state of Texas, to the tune of roughly $11 billion, to do justice — which is to reimburse Texas taxpayers for stepping up and filling the gap when the federal government simply refused to do so,” Cornyn said Friday. “That would not have happened without the leadership of the majority leader and the whip and the direction of the president of the United States, to whom I am very grateful.”
The Cornyn campaign and allied groups have spent more than $40 million in advertising, helping to close Paxton’s initial polling lead. Polls have shown no candidate close to the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff in the March 3 primary.
Cornyn has the backing of Thune and OneNation, a group aligned with the Senate Republican leader that organized Friday’s border trip after spending millions in pro-Cornyn advertising.
Thune on Friday praised Cornyn, whom he beat out to become majority leader in 2024.
“He has been such an advocate through the years on the issue of border security — foremost expert on it,” Thune said. “Most of us, what we know about the border, we know from him.”
Part of Cornyn’s campaign strategy has been to emphasize his support for Trump in ads and on social media. Thune, Cornyn, other Republican senators and Senate hopeful Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee from North Carolina, praised Trump’s border actions, with Cornyn expressing his gratitude for Trump’s leadership in getting the One Big Beautiful Bill passed and for his Border Patrol leadership appointments.
The president’s endorsement — or lack of, thus far — has factored heavily into the state’s Senate primary. It is one of a handful of Republican contests for Senate where Trump has yet to put his thumb on the scale, and the president has said that he likes both Cornyn and Paxton.
Cornyn and Thune have appealed to Trump for his endorsement.
The border trip was also an opportunity for Cornyn’s opponents to press their cases.
Paxton preemptively criticized Cornyn’s visit in a Thursday statement that noted the senator said a border wall “makes no sense” in a February 2017 speech in Weslaco, among other instances of wall skepticism in early 2017. At the time, Cornyn said technology and personnel are more effective than physical barriers in some areas. On Friday, Cornyn praised the border wall and its outfitting with cameras, sensors and other technology.
“His 40-plus year career has been spent fighting for amnesty for illegals, cutting deals with Democrats, trying to stop President Trump, and standing in the way of building the wall,” Paxton said in the statement. “Texans aren’t going to forget how Cornyn’s betrayed our country, and no last minute trip to the border to try and act tough is going to change that.”
Hunt posted an ad on X criticizing Cornyn’s previous apprehension for a border wall.
“Now that Trump’s secured our border, John Cornyn wants to take the credit for the wall he tried to block,” the ad said.
Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
Disclosure: Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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