A recap of all the food I had in 3.5 days

Wow, Austin is an amazing destination for food alone. I wanted to share a recap and short review of all the food I ate in 3 and a half days here. It’s a completely personal and unfiltered view from an out-of-towner, so please don’t take my opinions too seriously. I indulged pretty hard and definitely feel a couple pounds heavier even after such a short visit.

I got BBQ every day for lunch and was able to hit 3 places, Franklin, La barbecue, and Terry Black’s. I ordered the same meats every time: moist brisket, ribs, and jalapeño cheddar sausage.

Franklin was my favorite, but also the heaviest out of the three places. You feel the queasiness on the palate after you’re done and it persists. The brisket is exceptionally tender and moist, plainly seasoned with just salt and pepper to let the pure flavor of the meat shine through, but not as smoky as I had expected. The jalapeño sausages are also the best I’ve had, bursting with liquid cheese and perhaps lard. Was it worth the wait? Yes, but I probably wouldn’t do it again if it were a 3+ hour ordeal. I got there around 15 mins before opening and ended up waiting a bit more than an hour on a Tuesday.

La barbecue had no line when they opened on a Wednesday. Their brisket is smokier and more peppery in flavor, but pales in comparison to Franklin (though it’s still very good). The mac and cheese is fire though. Their ribs are saucier and the jalapeño cheddar sausage is much grittier.

Terry black’s was the weakest of the three. Everything was a little bit over-salted for my liking. The brisket is drier yet still tender, but thankfully not as greasy. The jalapeño cheddar sausage lacks cheddar.

Also got to try some tacos.

Suerte’s suadero fell short of my expectations, but it was still objectively great (especially with that black magic sauce) and perhaps because I expected nothing short of exceptional coming in. The confit suadero is saltier and stringier, losing the tenderness and fattiness compared to CDMX style suadero. The ejotes asados were surprisingly good though.

I was a bit disappointed by Nixta. Even though the masa is nixtamalized in house daily I honestly wouldn’t have noticed it. I ended up liking the cauliflower taco more than the duck carnitas taco. To me the duck was too salty, and I wish there was more salsa crudo for balance. I feel the prices don’t justify the value at Nixta.

The Suadero at cuantos though are standout.

Other meals I had worth mentioning:

I really liked Kemuri Tatsu-ya. It’s probably the hallmark of Texan Japanese cuisine. Everything I got from the jellyfish salad to the scallop skewer was good, and like Texan food, quite heavy on flavors. The smoked bbq eel is iconic for the restaurant and its thesis, while the Tsukemen bbq is delectable.

Also really liked Lenoir. The crab fingers are a must – it brilliantly combines a curry leaf leche de Tigre (so good by itself already) with a rich chili oil. The sweet crab meat is the perfect backdrop.

Jewboy sliders are deliciously juicy and greasy. Whataburger was a disappointment – the burger has 0 redeeming qualities and the cheese isn’t even melted.

For desserts, I loved launderette’s summer peach shaved ice. It is excellently composed; the peach shaved ice is masterfully paired with a lemongrass toasted rice ice cream as a complement. The rhubarb and creamsicle syrup are the metaphorical cherry on top.

Top quality ice cream otherwise was a bit lacking in Austin. I tried dolce de neve, lick, and also Jeni’s.

There is perhaps no better dessert that epitomizes Texas than Gourdough’s. The Fat Elvis is a huge deep fried donut drenched in syrup, spread generously with peanut butter, then topped with bacon and banana. For my own health I was scared to even finish half of the donut.

Wolf and wheat, which just opened a couple weeks ago, is doing some interesting stuff that’s worth checking out.

For drinks, you must go to Here Nor There. It’s one of the top bars I’ve been to in the US; their technique is impressive and the drinks are executed very well. The current menu is based on familiar memories like a first kiss or going to the beach, but I found their classics to be truly exceptional.

Tiki Tatsu-ya was solid, while Equipment Room is a great place to check out especially if you’re into vibey record room bars. In Plain Sight (from the team at here nor there) was also very good, serving slightly simpler cocktails with a focus on aperitifs.

As a side note, I noticed that there is local theme at different bars to add saline to many drinks. I may steal this for some of my own recipes.

by meechos