Discover the ten things you must eat when you travel to Austin. Start your culinary exploration with barbecue but don’t stop there. There’s lots of great eats in Texas’ capital city!
1. Texas Barbecue
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.
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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 a 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.
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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!…