Austin may be famous for its Texas BBQ but it’s not the only food worth eating in the Lone Star State’s capital city. Start your culinary exploration with barbecue but don’t stop there. Keep going until you experience all of the food favorites in the weird but wonderful Texas city.
1. Texas BBQ
Texas Barbecue is legendary and Austin’s location in Central Texas puts the city in the epicenter of the state’s BBQ action. Crowds queue for hours to eat copious amounts of brisket, pork ribs, chicken and sausage at Franklin BBQ, often making the wait part of the dining experience. Unlike barbecue in Memphis, Kansas City and North Carolina, Texas Barbecue doesn’t rely on sauces and rubs for flavor. Instead, Texas pitmasters cook meat low and slow in a hardwood fire pit to achieve melt-in-your-mouth juiciness. Sides like pickles, onions and white bread complete the meaty meal.
Dig Deeper: The Best Texas BBQ in Lockhart
2. Bar Food
Finding a place to drink is Austin is the opposite of a challenge. As a college town and home to a constant stream of 20-somethings moving to the city, Austin has a multitude of bars, beer gardens and music clubs serving all kinds of potent potables. You can chow down on sausages and beer at aptly named Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden or hunker down at a spot that serves pizza, Tex-Mex or BBQ. The bar food options in Austin are practically endless.
3. Healthy Food
As home to the original Whole Foods Market, Austin has been ahead of the health food movement for decades. Since Whole Foods opened its first shop in 1980, both the store and Austin’s healthy food options have grown exponentially. Dozens of fast-casual and sit-down Austin restaurants serve food appropriate for vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free diets. These menus aren’t limited to smoothie bowls, but you’ll find the same acai bowls in Austin that you’ll also find in Asia.
Dig Deeper: Great Salads Around the World
4. Tex-Mex
When you eat Tex-Mex in Austin, expect Mexcian classics tweaked to include lots of cheese as well as spices not typical in Mexico. Pair your enchiladas or chimichangas with refried bean, rice and a Spicy Margarita. Why? Because you can!
Dig Deeper: Spicy Margarita
5. Food Trucks
Plan to travel the world when you eat at Austin food trucks. In just a day, you can eat food from Brazil, Vietnam and the Middle East or you can keep it local with BBQ and Tex-Mex. More than a thousand food trucks roam the streets of Austin with many of the best clustered in parks around the city. These clusters provide ample choices as well as tables for those who want to sit while they eat. The city rivals Portland when it comes to its food truck scene.
Dig Deeper: Portland Food Favorites
6. Brunch
The question isn’t if you should eat brunch in Austin. Rather, with so many restaurants serving the breakfast/lunch hybrid weekend meal, the question is where to find the best brunch for your mood.
Dig Deeper: Great Brunch Cities
7. Sushi
In Austin, you can eat sushi at various price points and in different ways. This is a city where you can select sushi from a revolving conveyor belt or settle down to a ten-course omakase meal. As for us, we’re heading straight to Lucky Robot Japanese Kitchen for a dose of sushi fun when we return to Austin.
8. Upscale Dining
Consider the money you save eating at Austin food trucks as an investment in a special meal or two while you’re in Austin. Maybe you’ll want to splurge on sushi at Uchiko or at the Barrey Swine chef’s table. Or maybe you’ll choose to fulfill your Top Chef Kristen Kish’s Arlo Grey.
9. Donuts
Donuts aren’t new to Austin. Bakeries like Round Rock Donuts have been hand-rolling donuts for decades in the weird but wonderful city. But fancy donuts are a newer entry to Austin’s dessert scene. Gourdough’s opened its first location, a food truck, in 2009 and sells wildly creative donut creations like Funky Monkey, Porky’s and Baby Rattler, each big, fat and delicious. Voodoo joined Austin’s donut party in 2015 with their colorful creations including our favorite, the colorful Marshall Mathers donut topped with vanilla icing and miniature M&Ms.
Explore More: The Best Donuts in the World
10. Cocktails
Austin is a city where you can satisfy your liquid passion at dive bars and classy lounges. We recommend The Roosevelt Room if you’re in the mood for an upscale mixology session. Otherwise, head straight to casual Curra’s Grill and order a wickedly tasty Avocado Margarita.
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