Two of my favorite people on the planet live here and my old list of to dos is still missing, but here’s some recent winners to help us rebuild while I try and find the rest!
Breweries/Bars: It’s usually hot as balls in Texas so you need to stay hydrated, and what better way than to hit a bunch of the town’s breweries and bars? Live Oak Brewery had a really nice spread of European style suds and a really nice outdoor area (it’s out by the airport so a little bit of a hike), while Zilker Brewery downtown had some really solid IPAs (also a nice patio). Pinthouse Pizza probably has the most winners per capita available (and pretty solid pies too) while Meanwhile Brewery has some solid offerings popping up on taps across town — worth keeping an eye peeled.
Speaking of bars, Mean Eyed Cat remains in my dive bar top five (a Johnny Cash themed delight with nice bartenders and a solid selection on tap). Donn’s Depot is a close second, though — place is a time warp in the best possible way with its sprawling maze of an interior and cringe/kitsch carpet. Pool Burger has some really good “from scratch” tiki drinks, as does Tiki Tatsu-ya. (Also had some pretty tasty nibbles — try the kalua pork or pu pu platter to round out any of the retro cocktails you try.) Bar Peached has some unique cocktails that’re worth a look (I liked the Beetlejuice, which mixes tequila, beet juice, cilantro, and lime) and some tasty nibbles, too. (The crab toast was bonkers and the gochu pork fries were really tasty as well.) Same goes for Elizabeth St Cafe, which is a French Vietnamese bar/restaurant/boulangerie with lots of treats to choose from. (The Joji of the Jungle was fantastic — Japanese whiskey, banana, lemon, and miso — as were the ginger chili dumplings, the double pork pho (meatballs and belly), and several of their banh mi.) And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention High Horse Triple Sec — made by one half of the aforementioned beloved humans and sold at several of these fine establishments — it’s quite simply the best domestic way to kick up your margaritas. (Suck it, Cointreau!)
BBQ: similar to Chicago with its pizza places, rating BBQ in Texas is a bit of a fool’s errand as there’s a ton of really good, comparable places. A couple I really enjoy are Black’s (their enormous beef rib is delicious, as are both of their links) and Rudy’s (normally a go to from when I was down in San Antonio, but I’ll never turn down a chance to eat a gallon of their creamed corn, along with their pulled pork and links and wash it down with some sweet tea, so if I see one I’m swinging in). KG BBQ is a relative newcomer, but an excellent addition to the mix with its Egyptian take on the classics. Their renditions of brisket, kofta, and sausage were really good, but the pomegranate-glazed pork ribs will knock your socks off. (It’s also located right next to Oddball Brewery so you can wash it all back with some solid suds — they had a nice variety of lagers on tap worth checking out.)
Tacos: another thing Austin is drowning in (particularly for breakfast tacos), but you’ll never hear any sane person complain “there’s too many good taco places around!” Some faves include Masa y Mas (their meats were outstanding — particularly the barbacoa and carnitas, both of which were crazy juicy — and they had really good salsas (loved the manzano, as well as the jalapeno avocado)), Nixta’s duck carnitas was great (nice outdoor area to sit and relax in, as well), and Mi Tradicion is an old school bakery/restaurant that has a little bit of everything. (Solid breakfast tacos, LOADS of killer pastries — conchas, palmitos, etc. Stock up on both and bring em back to the fam.) And then OG food trucked Torchy’s is also good (solid breakfast tacos, love the nookie balls).
Breakfast: Magnolia Cafe was sadly a casualty of COVID, but thankfully we’ve got Bird Bird Biscuit to help soothe our pain (and our pangs). Their breakfast sandwiches — all atop freshmade biscuits — are delicious. Try the Firebird or Queen Beak, as well as the biscuits and gravy. Sour Duck also had some solid offerings — really nice French-style pastries (really good kouign-amann, chocolate croissant, and cinnamon roll) and I loved the Diego Nuevo (fried chicken thigh, cheesy grits, pickled okra, shaved jalapeno, sunnyside egg). Voodoo Donuts has a veritable bounty of sugar O’s for you to choose from — the Butterfingering, Memphis Mafia, and classic blueberry cake/old fashioneds/apple fritters were all solid.
Random recs: I always love going to Uncommon Objects, which is a giant vintage store with some truly epic/weird offerings inside. They’ve moved from their downtown location, so it’s a bit of a trek to get there now, but always is stuffed with a bunch of really unique, interesting things for you to eyeball and/or take home to spruce up your house. Room Service is a similarly quirky joint closer to town that has an equally impressive range of random treats to take home — go geek out and wander back in time at one/both.
(On the list to try next time — Easy Tiger)