Austin Restaurants List (Spring, Paris, Liberty: bars, sushi, food)

[bgrn198]

There's also places like El Patio (tex-mex) on Guadalupe which has been here forever also Guero's Taco Bar there's also Hula Hut on Lake Austin Blvd which is a pretty fun place to go.

Hula Hut - Lake Austin - Austin, Texas

Guero's Taco Bar | Home

Green Mesquite BBQ and more

Texas Chili Parlor

North by Northwest Restaurant and Brewery

Shady Grove Restaurant - Austin, Texas

Brunch Austin, Desserts Austin, American Bistro, Holiday Events, Happy Hour

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by NC to Austin

My wife just informed me what I want. She said I do want to consider some dives as well because this is an adventurous trip. I wish she told me what I wanted before I made the no dive comment in the first post.

Gotta go to Ciola's for the best Italian in Austin.

And Sazon for the best Mexican pork dishes.

For great local small chef owned restaurants, you should try Zoot and Wink. They have really nice continental style food.

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by atxcio

I notice no trailer eateries are on the OP's list.

You should try at least one, they are the big thing here right now. I'd suggest Torchy's for an easy intro, then on to something like maybe Odd Duck or Franklin's BBQ.

I really, really , really dislike the trailer concept. Go to Hudson's- get a cab. Worth it!

[TexasHorseLady]

I disliked the trailer concept until I actually ate at a couple. Now, having expanded my horizons, I like Hudsons AND some (not all) of the trailers. Just like I like some (not all) of the non-trailer restaurants. I was stereotyping! Go figure!

[teachertype]

The first time I was ever in Austin my friends took me straight from the airport to Fonda San Miguel for the cabeza. I'm pretty sure they already knew I'm vegetarian when the waiter brought that cow head out. A few of them left early so I had to pick up most of the tab myself.

They definitely knew I'm a vegetarian by the time they took me to Driftwood for BBQ at the Salt Lick but I brought my own car that night, finished my ribs and pretended to head for the rest room, put a pecan pie and a bottle of their peach BBQ sauce on the tab and snuck out, leaving them stuck with the tab. We're all musicians so we think of things like that to do to each other every now and then.

What I enjoyed most was the little hole-in-the-wall places we found traveling with the band that always seemed to have their own fresh made salsa and a decent enchiladas verdes or huevos rancheros. Eating japaleno peppers till we broke out in a sweat and, me being vegetarian, the smoothies at Whole Foods back when it was good.

[achtungpv]

I love the trailers. You could not support a restaurant on a single menu item...for example a Cuban sandwich like at the Texas Cuban. But, with a trailer they can focus on a single item and execute it extremely well. It also allows the trailer owners to be a lot riskier (Gordough's, Odd Duck) than they could ever be with huge monthly bills hanging over their heads.

[NC to Austin]

Opal Divines Penn Field
3601 S. Congress

Opal Divines Freehouse
700 West 6th Street

Jalisco's Restaurant & Bar
6601 S Congress

Judges' Hill Restaurant
1900 Rio Grande

Bess Bistro on Pecan
500 W 6th St

Siena Ristorante Toscano
6203 Capital of Texas Hwy.

Botticelli's
1321 S Congress Ave

The Landmark
701 E. 11th St.

Marker 10
208 Barton Springs Rd.

J Black's Feel Good Lounge
710 West 6th Street

[capcat]

If I took visitors out for a meal (people I didn't know well ), I'd take them to either:
Austin Land and Cattle
East Side Cafe
Fonda San Miguel
Perry's (maybe - if they were splitting the tab with me )
Hudson's on the Bend
Guero's on South Congress
Salt Lick BBQ in either Driftwood (1st) or Round Rock (2nd)

With close family visiting, we'd go to:
El Patio
Dirty's
Hyde Park Bar and Grille
Hoover's (maybe)
El Gallo
We'd still go to Guero's
We'd still go to Salt Lick BBQ
We'd also stop by Upper Crust Bakery and get something good to go along with a cup of coffee.
Oh...and we'd find some reason to go to the Tavern. Food's even good there.

[mimimomx3]

I'm sorry, but I think I'd rather eat take out than sit at a hot, dusty trailer. I'm always shocked at people willing to sit and eat at the trailers on S. Congress. It's 150 degrees and the smell of car exhaust does nothing for the food. To me, eating is an experience, not just a way to stop being hungry.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

I'm sorry, but I think I'd rather eat take out than sit at a hot, dusty trailer. I'm always shocked at people willing to sit and eat at the trailers on S. Congress. It's 150 degrees and the smell of car exhaust does nothing for the food. To me, eating is an experience, not just a way to stop being hungry.

And to me, as well. However, there are many different kinds of experiences.

Perhaps it's because I was a very picky eater up until about 20, when I started expanding my horizons, and thus I know what I missed, but now I try not to write something off until I've tried it twice (which was the rule in our house regarding new foods when my kids were growing up: you have to take two bites before saying you don't like something - the first is just to get over the shock value of a new flavor, the second to see what you really think about it. Thus, I ended up with relatively adventurous eaters right out of the box). Doesn't mean I don't choose my time of day to eat at outdoor eateries (not just trailers, but restaurants with patios or sidewalk seating, say). Just means I don't write them off without trying them.

So, have you even tried any of the trailers, mimimomx3?