Eat Your Way Through Austin

It's no secret that eating is one of my FAVORITE pastimes! Austin is in my opinion one of the best places to eat. The city focuses on fresh and organic. We ate out all weekend but left like we hadn't. Every thing was so fresh and yummy.

If you will fasten your seat belts we will now take the food tour!

Friday Night Dinner: Chuys Mexican Restaurant

Wow! I have never had Tex-Mex like this before. The chips were light and crisp and went so well with the just made salsa. I ordered "The Vegetarian" (Finally a city that truly caters to all eating habits) It came with a Veggie Enchilada that had squash, potatoes, corn, spinach, serrano, onions all in a blue corn tortilla with red sauce and cheese. I also had a cheese chili relleno (my favorite). All that with rice and vegetarian refried beans. It was all good. I topped my freshly made meal with a light margarita. I had "The Dot" margarita which is margarita with a dot of strawberry margarita on top. Ingenious! It was not heavy and perfect for a hot evening.

What the others had: The Classic Tex-Mex Enchiladas and Big as Yo' Face Chicken Burrito

Saturday Lunch: Dirty Martin's

We were looking for a cheap place to eat for lunch. You know burger and fries. I actually found this place online weeks before we went. It has been featured on the documentary "Hamburger America". This was definitely a dive. It was full of students or fathers and sons. Not a place you would take your mom. Too greasy! With that being said they still have a Veggie Patty burger! You better believe I got that! It reminded me of the veggie patties I would get at the school cafeteria...in a good way...a nostalgic way. We each ordered a different side and taste tested. The tater tots, fries and onion rings were soooo yummy! We all topped it off with a to go shake like mom would make! Very cheap. Still yummy. Not overly greasy. The gut held up well for an afternoon in the hot hot sun!

What the others had:

O.T. SPECIAL - large bacon cheeseburger with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato

D.H. SPECIAL - Hamburger patty with grilled onions between two pieces of cheese on toast with tomato and pickle

Saturday First Dinner: Torchy's Tacos

Ok. So we had two dinners! We didn't eat lunch and we knew we would be eating a LATE dinner because of the events we had planned (you will have to check out the next post for events) We were in our swimming gear when we walked up to this deliciously smelling trailer. The keyword here again was FRESH! You wouldn't think that at a trailer right?!?! I ate 2 tacos because I couldn't decide! I had the fried avocado taco which had carrots, vegetarian refried beans, tomatoes, lettuce and poblano ranch! I also had the "Taco of the Month" Magic Mushroom. It was wonderfully magical with portabella mushrooms, carrots, lettuce and chipotle sauce! To die for! I wanted more but I resisted! I would eat there right now if I could. Fresh cheap food doesn't get any better! We spent less than at a drive thru and ate more and ate better!

What the others had:

Beef Fajita Taco:Marinated and grilled skirt steak with grilled onions and peppers and topped off with shredded cheese and pico de gallo on your choice of tortilla and salsa

Trailer Park: Fried chicken, green chili’s, lettuce, pico, and Cheese served on a flour tortilla with poblano ranch.Get it trashy! Take off the lettuce and add queso!

Saturday Second Dinner: Homeslice Pizza

We didn't eat until 10:30 PM but it was well worth the wait! This was surreal to me because you don't even have the option of eating past 8:30 PM in Nacogdoches. Yet there was an hour wait at 9PM!!! Now I will tell you I am not a fan of pizza. I like food so I will eat it but given a choice I would always choose Mexican over pizza. Or at least pasta over pizza. You could say I am a pizza snob! I like "different" flavors other than your typical pepperoni or cheese. Homeslice and I were a fit when I saw the menu. We enjoyed sitting out on the back porch while Sierra and Carl had a pitcher of Fireman's #4 and I went all out and had diet Dr. Pepper (really that is going all out). We shared some hot garlic knots to help our hunger stay in check while we waited. We ordered a medium classic “white” pie with ricotta, olive oil and spinach. It came on it's own stand and had gobs of spinach and ricotta. Very yummy. I had about a slice more than I should have! We even had 2 slices left over. Of course Carl didn't eat it! He is your average pizza eater and got a couple of slices of pepperoni. This was a perfect choice for a late meal because I wasn't miserable and unable to go to bed. Freshness points here!

Sunday Brunchy Lunch: Kerby Lane Cafe

This is an Austin Institution. Now I know I have beat down the word "fresh" but seriously. This place has it's own farm! Not lying! They have tons of vegetarian and vegan options. We could have eaten here all weekend! I went with having eggs Benedict Florentine in mind because more people should have that on their menu! When we opened up the menu I had to have something that NO ONE else would have on their menu. I went for the "Paris Texas Platter" It was an awesome combo of french toast and migas (vegetarian migas no less!). My taste buds were doing a happy dance! Spicy and sweet what a combo! I just watched everyone else in the restaurant and what they ordered. They even have Vegan pancakes! Made with tofu! I don't know about all that but at least they have it for anyone who wants it! The coolest part was that they have artist original paintings for sale and the artists change frequently!

What the others ate:

Carl had Carl's Breakfast: English muffin with all natural Canadian bacon, a fried egg and cheese. Served with home fries and fruit.

Pancake stack of the day: Raspberry