Before my current (daytime) job, I had never even been to Texas before. Now, once a quarter, I get to travel to Austin; a colorful city that is known as the Live Music Capital of the World. Seriously, you can always find great live music playing somewhere. With miles of bike trails and more than 200 parks, Austin’s residents are able to take advantage of the 300 days of sunshine that warms this great city year round.
I love the carefree, artsy vibe of Austin. The people are warm and friendly, and the shopping and eating is out of this world. Austin is filled with so many little gems; a bevy of boutiques, cafes and even Airstreams parked along South Congress chock full of goodies that are sure to please your palette.
Today I am filling you in on my favorite places to dine in Austin. The rest of this week I will give you an inside view to my favorite shops and boutiques. It gets better. These gracious owners will be offering all Kiki’s List followers discounts on their products this week.
This one’s for the foodies. Here’s the Austin Eats that made it onto Kiki’s List:
1. Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue– Upscale Barbecue in downtown Austin. Delish cocktails and live music upstairs. It’s so good your hair smells like BBQ when you leave this place.
3. Rudy’s– Another franchise, what’s even more shocking, each restaurant is attached to a gas station. The creamed corn is AMAZING. Oh, and don’t expect any fancy china here. Your food is served to you on good old-fashioned wax paper. My lunch was modeled above by Jewel. Tell them that you are from out of town and you’ll get a free sampling of all of their meats… and tell them that Kiki sent you!
4. Hey Cupcake! What’s being served out of this little Airstream will knock your socks off. I highly recommend the Vanilla Dream, but the Michael Jackson is their best seller. Thanks to Vince (above) who gave us our cupcake on the Airstream.
6. Roaring Fork– Part of the Eddie V’s Restaurant group. There are only four restaurants nationwide. I can’t get enough of their fried avocado and the lamb and butternut squash fondue pot.
7.Torchy’s Tacos– Cheap and damn good!
8.South Congress Café– The food is great, but what I really love is their infused Bloody Marys. My mouth is just watering thinking about it!
9. The Salt Lick– This is always my last stop at the Austin Airport for a little taste of Texas. The best part, they sell their amazing BBQ sauce, so I can bring it home to share.
10. Hula Hut– Definitely one for the family. Great chips and salsa, and even better fish tacos!
Check out Kiki’s List this week for my favorite Austin boutiques as well as discounts only for Kiki’s List Followers!
Hey! I love your blog! I live Austin too! In fact, my husband and I had our rehearsal dinner at salt lick-so fun! Fun fact – chuys and hula hut are owned by the same company! You should check out z tejas next time – love it! Thanks for the great reads!!!
ooh thank you! My family and I just moved to Fort Worth back in January and we’ve wanted to check out Austin but didn’t know where to start. Looking forward to your other posts. Just found your blog btw…it’s great!