This past weekend I took a trip to Austin with a couple of girlfriends. That was my first trip to Texas, and I found Austin to be a great city! It was big enough to keep us busy, but small enough that we could walk to most destinations. Austin is a great city for eating too! We ate at quite a few restaurants, not to mention a food fest, as well as the flagship Whole Foods (which was amazing). Below are the culinary highlights of the weekend.
South Congress Cafe www.southcongresscafe.com
This was by far one of my favorite meals. Great mix of things on the menu. Between the three of us we had butternut squash soup, shrimp quesadillas, duck & oyster gumbo, and a shiitake & blue cheese certified Angus burger. All were amazing.
Z’Tejas www.ztejas.com
Great, fresh tasting margaritas and tableside guacamole! I love anything prepared tableside. I’ve been to the Z’Tejas in Scottsdale and it was great as well. Good bet for a chain restaurant.
Stubb’s www.stubbsaustin.com
Apparently an Austin institution, we made the pilgrimage. In reality, we had every intention of making a trek out to the Salt Lick, but were without a car. The Salt Lick was featured on Man vs. Food and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Despite the lure of the open pit in the middle of the restaurant and BYOB, we couldn’t justify the $100 rental car for less than one day. So Stubbs it was! Meat was tender, sides were tasty, and the beer was cold. What more could we have asked for?
Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival www.gypsypicnic.com
We were very excited to stumble upon an advertisement for this event. After all, we had heard very good things about some of the many food trailers in Austin. So what better way to culminate our culinary experience than a one-stop shop of 30 trailers? Well, we weren’t the only ones with this idea. The lure of free entry and free music brought hoards of people to Auditorium Shores park. The lines for each trailer averaged about 45 minutes…but the wait for beer was less than 5. There was so much we wanted to try, but so little patience to wait. So two beers and two sandwiches later – we left. This brisket sandwich with mashed potatoes was really tasty, as was the beer.
Bess Bistro www.bessbistro.com
Sandra Bullock’s restaurant in Austin, Bess Bistro, was a lovely little place with a great menu. French fare with a bit of the South mixed in. The fried green tomatoes served over a crab salad and drizzled with sriracha were absolutely delicious, as were our entrees which included steak frites, croque monsieur, and buttermilk fried chicken. Honorable mention will also go to one of my favorite wines – Chateau Lamothe, a white Bordeaux.
A few other places we also enjoyed!
Hey Cupcake www.heycupcake.com
The Ginger Man http://aus.gingermanpub.com/
Whole Foods http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar/
This was truly the mother of all Whole Foods – a true mecca for WF lovers!
Great post! What a fun and delicious weekend. My dad asked why we all don’t weigh 300 lbs after the trip. Because of all the walking.
Can’t wait to read about your / our future travel eats…. Jackson Hole. Dubai. Charleston. SOF (?) 🙂
That is awesome looking smoke ring on the ribs from Stubb’s. Lucky you.