Foodie Does Austin
Last weekend went to visit friends in Austin.
Apparently there are more restaurants per square mile in Austin than in any other US city.
As luck would have it our friends love food as much as we do!
We arrived about 7pm Friday night and headed to Chuy’s for Tex Mex.
I ordered the Friday Special which was a pork burrito with tomatillo sauce.
We can’t get anything close to this good at home.
They also have a creamy jalapeño sauce that you’ll want to drink.
The next morning we picked up kolaches from Lone Star Kolaches.
Kolaches originated in Eastern Europe. It is a slightly sweet pastry filled with deliciousness.
John had a couple stuffed with chorizo, egg, and cheese:
I had a bacon and cheese:
And a jalapeño and cheese:
After breakfast Jeff and Mindy took us for a drive and showed us a little bit of Austin.
Our first stop was The Oasis on Lake Travis.
It has the largest outdoor restaurant in the state of Texas and is located on a cliff 450 feet above the lake.
From there we went to Mount Bonnell, the highest point in Austin.
We checked out the food trailers on South Congress for lunch, or as the locals call it, SoCo.
Everything smelled so good and it was hard to decide which one to choose.
We ended up at Coat & Thai for shrimp spring rolls and chicken wings.
There isn’t a photo of the wings. We inhaled them before I even thought about it.
That night we went to Austin Land and Cattle for Jeff’s Birthday Dinner.
We started with beef prosciutto with capers, onions, and shaved parmesan:
And escargot:
Their steaks were delicious!
Unfortunately none of those pictures turned out so you’ll just have to take my word for it — they looked and were amazing!
They claim to have the best steaks in Austin and I’d place a bet that says they’re right.
Breakfast the next morning was the kind you’d expect after celebrating a friend’s birthday Downtown Austin.
We started with chips and queso at Torchy’s Tacos.
John had chorizo, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos.
I went straight for lunch and ordered the Crossroads Taco with smoked beef brisket, grilled onions, jalapeño, cilantro, jack cheese, and a slice of avocado.
I wish there was a Torchy’s Tacos near us. I would be their best customer.
After lunch we went to Bull Creek for a casual hike.
We called that our exercise for the weekend and headed to Salt Lick for BBQ.
You may have seen Salt Lick on Man v. Food or The Food Network’s show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”.
John and I both had the Pork Ribs and Brisket Burnt Ends.
The burnt ends are a delicacy in my opinion.
Seriously good eats!
I can’t wait to go back and try all of the other must-do BBQ places.
On Monday morning we went to Gourdough’s Food Trailer for breakfast.
I was told there was a bacon donut there that I had to eat.
Well, okay… if I have to.
I was expecting a bacon donut but I wasn’t expecting THIS bacon donut.
The Flying Pig is a donut with the best maple icing I’ve ever tasted on top, and then 6 slices of crispy bacon on top of that.
Heaven. On. Earth.
John had the Slow Burn — Habanero Pepper Jelly with Cream Cheese.
It was good but the Flying Pig blew it away.
They have several interesting donuts on the menu but I doubt I’d ever order anything else.
We flew in and out of San Antonio and had a couple of hours there before our flight home Monday afternoon.
We went to the Alamo and walked around the Riverwalk.
A good friend of ours went to school in San Antonio and recommended Boudro’s for lunch.
They prepare a Guacamole for Two at your table.
Diced avocado, roasted tomato and serrano pepper salsa, cilantro, and fresh lime and orange juices.
Yes. It was as good as it looks.
I had the Gulf Coast Seacakes with fresh lump blue crab, roasted corn sauce, jicama slaw and serrano aioli.
John had Ropa Vieja — Braised beef flank steak with sofrito, capers, matchstick radish, cilantro and grilled pineapple on fresh mini corn tortillas.
Another delicious meal and a great way to end our short visit to Texas.
There are so many places we still need to try and I can’t wait to get back there and do just that.
Huge thanks to Jeff and Mindy for showing us around Austin, and to Meisje for recommending Boudro’s in San Antonio.
This was my first trip to Texas and I can see why Texas loves Texas.
It’s the food!