Austin, Texas

I spent 4 days in Austin, Texas, and thought it was the perfect amount of time for a quick getaway. I'm sharing some highlights below. :)

Food highlights:

Brown's BBQ - Since Terry Black's BBQ had an hour wait and we did not want to wait, we opted for this bbq food truck. It did not disappoint! Easily the best brisket sandwich I ever tasted. 

Kinda Tropical - This place has a cute atmosphere and outdoor patio. Their fried chicken sandwich and mango margarita were easily enjoyable on a lovely sunny afternoon. We went on a Monday afternoon with no crowds or wait. 

Bar Peached - This place is known for its Asian fusion food and reservation is a must. The pricing I thought was a pretty good deal for the food quality. We ordered the charred brussel sprouts, Taiwanese duck roll, and peanut scallion pork ssam. If you are sensitive to spice, a word of caution since every dish we ordered had a spicy kick to it! 

Soto - After eating here, I was surprised this place received such high remarks and ratings. My opinion would have changed had we eaten inside the restaurant. It was a cold night and sitting outdoors even with a patio heater unfortunately worsened the food experience. This place is not cheap so would recommend eating indoors since you are paying for the experience especially if you have omakase. 

Alchemy Juice Cafe - We stopped by here for a juice drink before our walk around Lady Bird Lake. Their drinks are refreshing with a boost of organic fruits and vegetables in them if you are looking for a healthy drink. Their drinks are costly but worth trying once if you are around the area. 

Amy's Ice Cream - As an ice cream lover, Amy's is a must if you are in Austin. They have fun flavors and it is a perfect stop on a warm day that we had at South Congress. 

Things to do highlights: 

South Congress - This walking district has shopping stores, boutique shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues that are nice to see and explore. There are also cute murals to take pictures with.

Lady Bird Lake - This lake sits at the heart of downtown Austin and was beautiful to walk around. It is a popular and clean trail/hike where you can find runners, strollers, dogs, and walkers. 

Austin Bouldering Project - It has been years since I have rock climbed. My favorite part was coming on a Monday late morning when it was more empty. There were beginner climbing paths that were manageable and fun. The facility was very clean and had friendly staff. 

Austin Tennis Center - This tennis/pickleball center is well-maintained and has organized programs running every day. I had a blast playing pickleball for the first time with friendly and experienced locals. 

Cheers,

Kimberly 

“I’ve been surprised by Austin. I had a cowboy image of the place. It’s a pretty sophisticated city – in some ways, more sophisticated than Boston. And there’s a lighter feel to the place. It’s very good for my spirits.” – Tim O’Brien

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seattle, Washington

Image
Seattle became one of my favorite cities over the weekend. Here is a snapshot:  Day 1:  We flew into Seattle from Orange County in the evening. Our Airbnb was located in the heart of downtown Seattle and was a great location to walk to nearby bars, restaurants, and Pike Place Market. We had dinner at Shiro's Sushi, a cozy omakase and sushi restaurant. It was perfect timing because we could not get a reservation but the restaurant luckily accommodated us. Since it was Seattle Restaurant Week, they offered $65 for a 19-piece omakase over 5 courses. The meal was exquisite and the omakase experience was the most fantastic start to our trip.  Highlights: Shiro's Sushi Day 2: We walked to Macrina Bakery, where our favorites were the Morning Roll and CATE Sandwich. After breakfast, we packed some water and bars for our hike that day. We drove about an hour from downtown to Wallace Falls State Park to hike the Walls Falls via Woody Trail. It was an out-and-back trail that spanned...
Read more

France and Italy

Image
Day 1 We landed into CGD at 11am and then took a taxi to our Airbnb in Paris. After we arrived in front of our Airbnb building, we were early for check-in so we decided to eat at a pizzeria downstairs at La Commandarie. We had escargot, calamari, and onion soup. It was a nice warm meal but we were exhausted from our flight. After we checked in at 2pm and freshened up, we walked to Champ de Mars and Eiffel Tower, only a 10-minute walk from our Airbnb. We went ahead on a pre-booked 1 hour Seine River cruise. It was a good value to see landmarks quickly without the effort of walking. It did start raining pretty hard so we didn’t stay outside at the top. It’s very touristy to do but why not when you only have 2 days in Paris. By the time we left the river area for our dinner reservation, it started REALLY pouring. We had dinner reservations at a restaurant called Vesper right around the corner from our Airbnb. We were dripping from our raincoats when we stepped into this swanky and classy ...
Read more

Stunning Switzerland

Image
What started as a dream, turned into one of the most breathtaking and captivating countries I have ever had the privilege of journeying. Here is a snapshot of my week in Switzerland. Day 1:  After flying a red-eye, we took the train from Zurich Airport to our hotel for check-in. Since it was already evening, we decided to try a recommended restaurant,  Zeughauskeller located in Old Town. Old Town is a historical center with narrow-winding streets where you can find restaurants, shopping stores, and bars. This area is worth seeing if only once just to walk around and be enamored by its quaint charm. As far as trying Swiss food, Zeughauskeller is a nice choice and we opted to dine outside for a richer experience. I ordered roasted pork with rosti on the side, also known as fried grated potatoes or hash browns. This was our first experience ordering a bottle of still or sparkling water for 6 CHF. Some restaurants will allow for tap water which is free but this one did not give us...
Read more