My Empty Stomach & I Go to Austin, TX

The lack of posting lately is due to the fact that a lot of hotels in Texas don't offer free in-room wifi. Hello! McDonalds even offers free wifi now…. like what year in the 2000s are you stuck in that you have yet to install this necessity? Anyway, my mother and I went to Austin for a few days to visit family in the area and see what the city is all about.

The food of course was the best part of the trip. Seeing that eating is one of my favorite activities why would I not enjoy exploring Austin's palate? Austin is well-know for pretty established food truck businesses, but my mom was not into the whole idea of that so unfortunately I didn't get to experience any of them. The restaurants that we did go to my empty stomach & I were very satisfied.

Nancy's Sky Garden located in a very cute, small town called Georgetown, TX was absolutely my favorite place we ate. The town itself is rich of character and small, local shops and is totally worth driving out of the city to walk around in for an afternoon. The food at Nancy's is to die for. It is all asian inspired dishes that will make your mouth explode with flavors. It is also super fresh and all the dishes are very healthy options. It doesn't help that they decorated the restaurant to look adorable.

Hummus Roll 

Spicy Tofu with Avocado 

Back in Austin, our concierge recommended the local, higher-end, "tex-mex" staple: La Condessa. We went for lunch and the restaurant was relatively empty and the service was quick and friendly. The decorating was very fresh, modern, and well done. The food was very delicious here as well but I didn't get the small, local, mom & pop vibe like I did at Nancy's. Still definitely recommend it for a yummy meal at an interesting and modern eatery. 

Chips, Guacamole & Seasonal Salsas

Aguacate Tostada 

(sliced avocado, black bean puree, poblano rajas, chipotle mayo, arugula, tomatoes)

For dinner, I got my mom to try sushi for the first time and she actually enjoyed it! Piranha Killer Sushi is where we went, again on a weeknight, and it was very empty - therefore, good service. We ordered saki and I tried that for the first time, all by myself, because my mom doesn't drink. Lets just say I was a little buzzed by the end of our meal. Oops. The sushi was good, especially because the seaweed itself was crunchy instead of adding the crunch to the fish itself - something I have never experienced before. 

Crunchy Tuna Roll, Edamame, & Tozai Snow Maiden Saki

On our final day, we traveled to the Counter Cafe. Featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives, the food is fresh, local, and delicious. The restaurant itself is basically the size of a small cardboard box, but the vibe is inviting and friendly. You walk in and immediately feel like you've been coming here every Sunday morning with your parents since you can remember. My meal was delicious and the prices are very reasonable.

Breakfast Tacos (bacon on the side), In-House Made Salsa & Mimosa

I enjoyed my time there and enjoyed spending time with my mom, but would I go back to Austin? I don't think so. The city has a really weird vibe, yes, that is their saying, "keep Austin weird", but that's not the vibe I'm talking about. The new side of the river just constantly felt like I was walking in a newly built outlet mall. It was very barren and the buildings and shops felt too "big-box store"-ish, uninviting, and overall were lacking character. 6th street, filled with bars and live music was the only interesting part on that side of the river worth going to.

On the older side of the river, South Congress is the place to explore. It has a lot of shops and restaurants that are unique and fun to roam in and out of. My favorite part was going to the "Cathedral of Junk". Basically, its a guy who decided to make "sculptures" in his backyard. It was a great photo opportunity for me and my photography and totally fun to explore and see everything. It might have freaked out my mom a bit but it was awesome. I'll post later in the week some of the images I took on my actual camera instead of just my iPhone. Hope you all have been well!