About the Food

When we told previous Austin-ites that we were traveling in and around the Austin area, they quickly responded with a To Do List. And on each list were several restaurants that we just had to visit. Since we are fans of eating and real foodies, we gladly stepped up to the challenge.

Our first night we grabbed some Mexican food pretty late and ate out on the patio. I had a cup of amazing taco soup, served up with the right amount of cilantro, avocado and award winning salsa. Voted Austin's best two years running according to the menu and the banner hanging below the marquis.

The least favorite of our dining experiences were at Hula Hut and Aussie's Grill and Beach Bar. Let me just clarify by saying perhaps if we would not have chosen 6:00pm on a Friday night to dine at the Hula Hut we probably would have had a more pleasant experience. As the name suggests this was a very happening, single friendly "bar on the deck" atmosphere with lots of families seated indoors. A take on Joe's Crab Shack- with much better food I'm sure. We just didn't want to wait and couldn't find a seat, so we took our tiny cups of frozen Margarita, Chris served us up some chips (I'm still not completely convinced it was self-serve chips and salsa) and we headed past the "Strictly Prohibited/ Employees Only Beyond This Point" sign and found our own little dock to sit at an watch the sunset.

Aussie's provides a great spot to play sand volleyball, or in our case watch sand volleyball. Sand volleyball in February... only in Texas. Our waiter, who must also be a manager/ partial owner or something (and hailed from Rye, New York), told us from March- November they have league tournaments and that it's a pretty happening place. I'm sure it is more exciting in the sunshine and in flip-flops than in a hoodie perched underneath a humming outdoor heater. But we stayed, and sat and ate our food while watching a couple games of five on five in the moonlight.

Chris's top pick may have been Torchy's Tacos. The sign looked, well, pardon my expression, but pretty bad ass. The marketing worked, as I exclaimed, "Chris, that looks like somewhere you'd like to eat." And the marquis read, Damn Good Tacos. So, there you have it. Good cheap tacos made fresh. We ate there more than once. I had the Mr. Pink and Chris enjoyed something called the Doublewide: chicken fried steak in a taco.

Other adventures lead us the "trailer park" where several vendors park, well, trailers and serve fare straight out of the window. These eateries serve anything from pizza, barbecue, tacos, Thai food to cupcakes and pies. The best thing about eating at these trailers- besides the inexpensiveness- is that you can sit outside, under an umbrella or at a picnic table or like I chose to, straight in the direct sunshine- and people watch. I know that from June - August sitting outside eating a meat filled pita from a cone may not be enjoyable, but in late February it was so, so nice. We visited two trailer parks (you don't know how much I HATE typing that!), one after dark on our last night in Austin. At this particular location twinkle lights were strewn throughout the tree limbs and there was a quite large covered, patio area to dine in.

I love this idea: cheap food, a covered area to sit and be. So chill. There were friends meting up who had brought their own bottles of wine or beer. There were kids and families as well as younger folks. There were restrooms that were maintained and somewhat of a stage/ elevated area where I'm sure there is live music from time to time. And possibly the best thing (besides the tacos) was that in exchange for your ID you could get the foosball or the ping-pong ball & paddles. I got beat, but it was still fun!

Of course we dove head first into some Barbecue at Rudy's. This is a restaurant in a gas station. (Again, what am I saying? I ate in a gas station, willingly...) The guys cutting the huge hunks of meats were so nice and provided samples and tastes. For a more traditional BBQ meal we dined at County Line Barbecue. Amazing BBQ'ed things. ( I had the veggie kabobs... don't judge!) Huge quantities. Traditional sides. As soon as we left Chris asked if we could go there again, before we left.

We also caught a gorgeous sunset at Oasis a very popular tourist attraction which provides breathtaking views of Lake Travis. It is a beautiful restaurant but completely overpriced. So we had pre-dinner drinks and were on our way after the sun slipped below the horizon.

Okay, now for what I enjoyed in Austin: Grabbing a quick bite at Wheatsville Co-op after stating, "Please can we stop. I'm starved. I want some vegetables."

That's the thing with boys (well, the two men I've been around the most in my life, my dad and my husband) they eat when they are famished, even if that means not eating a bite until 2:30 in the afternoon. I, on the other hand, prefer to eat a nice breakfast with protein and a grain or a fruit. Then I eat every four hours. Period.

I ate a beet/ carrot salad, broccoli covered in an almond/ basil dressing, and grape leaves stuffed with brown rice-- Yum. Chris hit the taco truck in the parking lot next door and we sat outside under a covered area provided by Wheatville Coop. Complete with biodegradable spoons and forks.

Another favorite was walking through the Holy Land: Whole Foods Flagship store and headquarters. Amazing. We got to sample about twelve various foods and talk with local farmers and cooks who's products are sold in Whole Foods, not only in the Southwest, but across the US. I can't do the experience justice in this post, but trust me, it was almost spiritual. And Chris enjoyed it too- he got to buy a beer and drink it while we walked throughout the store. This could revolutionize grocery shopping, not only in the Chambers home, but across the country!