Let it be known that Austin is known for it’s bats, tacos, and BBQ. We made sure to experience all of the above, but this post will be all about the tacos and BBQ (and everything else) we ate in Austin.
Read more about how I surprised Travis with a trip to Austin, Texas in the first place HERE, all the details of our trip HERE, and check back later for a breakdown of how much money we spent on the trip (and tips on how we can save money next time), our Austin Texas video, and how to make the most of your time at a Formula 1 event!
Austin isn’t know to be a foodie city (think LA or New York), but they have their fair share of delicious food and hipster places to eat. I especially loved the food truck trailer parks with picnic style seating all throughout the city. Here’s where we ate while we were in Austin!
Bangers Sausage House and Beer Garden
After we landed in Austin and got settled (aka took naps) we headed downtown for our first Texas dining experience. Bangers is everything I imagined when I think of Texas dining: barn style restaurant, friendly people, outdoor family-picnic style seating, and insanely delicious food. Bangers makes their sausages and bratwursts in house, so we couldn’t go wrong with anything on their menu. We started with the poutine to share, then I got the Italian Sausage with peppers, Trav ordered the Jalapeño Cheddar bratwurst, and we split a side of the life changing jalapeño mac n cheese. The rest of the meal was pretty dang good, but the mac and cheese… there are no words. You just need to try it for yourself!
Forthright Cafe
Good food, not the best service. Before beginning our day exploring downtown Austin we hit up Forthright Cafe for breakfast and our morning drinks (latte for her and hot chocolate for him), and some food (avocado toast for me, and a waffle sandwich for Trav). The location was perfect – right in downtown and close to the river, food was decent, we’ve had better drinks, and the customer service could have been much better. And I’ll leave it at that.
Terry Blacks BBQ
When doing my research in preparation for our trip I read that Franklin’s BBQ was the place to get BBQ in Austin. But, I found out that they were temporarily closed due to a recent fire in their restaurant (I looked this up in October of 2017). Part of me was relieved it was closed because I read that people wait HOURS in line for their BBQ (seriously, Franklin’s BBQ line has it’s own twitter account!) and I wasn’t mentally prepared to spend half of our only free day in Austin waiting in line for BBQ.
Terry Blacks was on a lot of lists, so Terry Blacks BBQ it was. OHMYGOSH. I’m not even that big of a BBQ person but this was so good. I mean we didn’t do a full BBQ tour of Austin, but I think I’m ok with saying that Terry Black’s BBQ has the best BBQ in Austin. Our first true Texas BBQ experience, and man was it delicious. We ordered the brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and got sides of mac n cheese, beans, and the peach cobbler.
PRO TIP: If you’re a newbie at ordering BBQ, you order each pice of meat by the pound (or fraction of a pound)
Voodoo Doughnuts
I know it’s probably sacrilegious to first try Voodoo donuts somewhere other than their original Portland location, but we saw the opportunity and pounced. And hey, no lines for the win! We got the old dirty bastard (aka oreo and peanut butter deliciousness), the loop, and a sprinkle cake donut because we are suckers for the simple sprinkled donuts. I can now see why Voodoo doughnuts are so popular. The doughnut bases are perfectly dough-y and flake-y. As a tip, their donuts are best eaten fresh. We saved ours and slowly nibbled on them the morning after we got them and they were already on the stale side.
Gordoughs
On our bike ride we passed Gordough’s food trailer on our way to wherever we were going, and we couldn’t stop thinking about it so we headed back later on that day. Gordough’s turned an airstream into donut heaven, and it’s set in one of Austin’s many foodie trailer parks. It seems like Gordough’s has a couple brick and mortar shops throughout Austin. Man was this delicious. We split the nutty valentine which is one of their flaky donuts topped with nutella, cinnamon and sugar, and strawberries.
Frescas Chicken al carbon
After adventuring down the Colorado River to see some bats we decided to head to Fresa’s for a light dinner. I kind of wished we had bigger appetites and we weren’t sea sick from the boat to enjoy more of their food. The entire menu looked delicious. I mean queso dip topped with chorizo, black beans, guac, pico, and salsa?! YES PLEASE! We ended up splitting two tacos – the La Fresa, and El Santo, with charro beans and Mexican rice on the side. We will definitely be back if/when we ever make it back to Austin because that queso has my name written all over it!
VISIT FRESA’S CHICKEN AL CARBON
Amy’s Ice cream
Visiting Austin and not making a stop by Amy’s ice cream would be like visiting Austin and not trying any BBQ. Amy’s ice cream has multiple locations throughout Austin, and there just so happened to be one close to our hotel. You need to try the Mexican Vanilla if you ever find yourself at an Amy’s ice cream!
Veracruz
Breakfast tacos for the win! Their tacos are made on home made corn or flour tortillas and are to die for. We ordered, and split, two migas originales and two el traditional tacos and that was more than enough for the two of us. Also, don’t pass up the house made salsas!
Paperboy
Another trailer converted into a food stand with plenty of outside picnic style seating. Travis got the sausage and egg sandwich and I ordered the texas potato hash. Both were perfection and worth a trip if you’re in need of breakfast in the downtown Austin area. A block away from Paperboy is Hillside Pharmacy (an old Pharmacy turned restaurant) that I read rave reviews about but never got around going to.
Cow Tipping Creamery
This was South of downtown Austin, and our hotel was on the North side of Austin. After seeing a couple pictures of the desserts from this place and we were convinced we needed to make the trip to test it out for ourselves. We split the ‘it’s your birthday’ stacker. And I’ll just leave the review at: the trip was well worth it.
Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill
After the main event on Sunday at the track we met up with friends for dinner in downtown Austin at Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill. On the table was popcorn waiting for us when we sat down. Think popcorn instead of chips and salsa?! GENIUS IDEA! Travis ordered the chicken and waffles and I ate the backyard chicken sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries; both very tasty. Also, ask for a side of their corn muffins, you won’t be disappointed.
VISIT MOONSHINE PATIO BAR AND GRILL
We spent most of our Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the track (obviously), so we snacked on food they had there. Some worth mentioning including pomegranate, and strawberry lemonade popsicles from the Steel City Pops stand, and a Waylon and Willie grilled cheese from the Burro cheese kitchen pop up stand. Also, Monday before we left we took advantage of the continental breakfast at our hotel, and Saturday night we didn’t get back to our car until most places have closed for the night, so we ended up at Taco Bell for tacos and called it a night. #reallife
Best Breakfast: Veracruz breakfast tacos
Best Lunch: Terry Black’s BBQ
Best Dinner: Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden
Best Dessert: Cow Tipping Creamery
Also, I’ll leave you with a few instagram profiles I referenced when picking out places to eat in the Austin area:
@atasteofkoko
@bestfoodaustin
@eateraustin
@austinfoodmagazine
So there you have it – our foodie tour of Austin Texas! Something tells me we will be back for future Formula one races, which just means more time to try more of Austin’s food scene! And heading back to some of the above places because they were so good (I need that chorizo from Fresca’s in my life!)
Have you been to Austin, Texas? What’s your favorite restaurant?
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