Just Grubbin Series: Austin, Texas
Some of the Just Grubbin crew made its way to Austin, TX.
**Some of the Just Grubbin crew made its way to Austin, TX. While there, they got to experience some of the local attractions and of course the delicious grub.**
The Jackalope
The weekend started off downtown, on Dirty Sixth Street. Our first stop was The Jackalope where we tried the Bacon & Brie Burger: brie, bacon, caramelized onions, pickles, and house-made caesar dressing; the Honey-Jalapeño Bacon Burger: house-made honey jalapeño sauce, jalapeño jack cheese, bacon, pickles, and spicy mayo; and the Jack Basic Burger: lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and spicy mayo. I recommend the Brie Burger, it was seriously the most unique burger I have ever tried.
Torchy’s Tacos
On Saturday, we started our day off with brunch at Torchy’s Tacos where we tried the Fried Avocado Taco: hand-battered fresh avocados fried with vegetarian refried beans topped with pico de gallo, lettuce & freshly grated cheddar jack cheese with poblano sauce on a corn tortilla; the Baja Shrimp Taco: hand-battered fried shrimp with cooked cabbage slaw topped with pickled onions & jalapeños, cotija cheese, cilantro & a lime wedge with chipotle sauce on a flour tortilla; the Trailer Park Taco: hand-battered fried chicken, green chiles, pico de gallo & freshly grated cheddar jack cheese with poblano sauce on a flour tortilla, and served “trashy” with queso; the Democrat Taco: shredded beef barbacoa, fresh avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, onions & a lime wedge with tomatillo sauce on a corn tortilla.
The Dirty Sanchez Taco: scrambled eggs with a fried poblano chile, guacamole, escabeche carrots & freshly grated cheddar jack cheese with poblano sauce on a flour tortilla; the Crossroads Taco: smoked beef brisket with grilled onions, jalapeños, cilantro, fresh avocado & freshly grated jack cheese with tomatillo sauce on a corn tortilla; and we topped it all off with the Hillbilly Queso: homemade chips & torchy’s green Chile Queso served with Texas chorizo. The tacos were delicious but I would’ve been satisfied with the chips and queso alone.
Barton Springs Pool
After brunch we went to Barton Springs Pool, a recreational outdoor swimming pool that is filled entirely with water from nearby natural springs. The water was FREEZING but it was really cool to see in person.
Rainey Historic District
On Saturday night we made our way to Rainey Historic District, a street of historic homes, many of the bungalow style that have been converted into themed bars which included one made completely of shipping containers.
Kung Fu Saloon
On the way, we stopped at Kung Fu Saloon where we tried the Cheeseburger Eggrolls served with spicy Sriracha ranch; the Chicken Lettuce Wraps: shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, scallions, wontons, served with a sweet soy dipping sauce; and the Kimchi Cheese Tots: bacon, cheddar cheese, Korean ribeye, smoky queso, and scallions.
Rudy’s BBQ
On Sunday, we decided stopped at Rudy’s BBQ where we tried both the moist and lean Brisket, creamed corn, coleslaw, and banana pudding. I highly recommend the moist brisket, it literally melts in your mouth. The staff was very helpful and even allowed you to taste the menu items before making your decision.
Texas Tubes
After lunch we made our way to Texas Tubes in New Braunfels to a natural lazy river. We rented tubes and floated down the Comal River while drinking beers and enjoying the local scenery. Halfway down the river they had a tube shoot, a bar, and rock jumping. The tube shoot was so much fun that we climbed out and went down two more times. After a few jumps off the rock we finished our float down the river.
The Congress Avenue Bridge
On the way home we stopped to see the world's largest urban bat colony emerge from under The Congress Avenue Bridge. This was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Millions of bats fly out at sundown every summer night and hundreds of people are watching. It’s definitely a must see!
The Domain
From there we made our way to The Domain which is a community of restaurants, office spaces, upscale retail stores, apartments, and a hotel. The most interesting part of The Domain to me was that if you work and live here, you literally don’t have any reason to leave. It includes a Whole Foods, fitness center, retail stores, and a strip of restaurants and bars. Also, a section of The Domain looks like an exact replica of West 6th Street.
Tacodeli
On Monday, before heading to the airport, we stopped for breakfast at Tacodeli where we tried the Frontera Fundido Chicken Taco: Grilled chicken breast, jack cheese glaze, sautéed poblano-onion rajas.
Hope Outdoor Gallery/Graffiti Park
For our last stop we made our way to Hope Outdoor Gallery/Graffiti Park where an abandoned, failed condominium foundation is now used for local artists to showcase their work.
As Always...
If you enjoyed this, check out more posts from the Just Grubbin team here! Also make sure to listen to The Just Grubbin podcast to hear us go into further detail about this and to hear all of our random irreverent takes on food, drink and whatever else.
About the Creator
Just Grubbin
We’re not professional chefs or anything like that, just a group of friends that absolutely love food. No, seriously, we have a problem! So, of course, we decided to start a blog and document our food adventures.
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