EDITOR’S NOTE: NATY officially closed, with the last truck leaving July 8, 2013. We were sad to see it go and feel that North Austin really needs a permanent home for the food truck community.
Last Saturday, the North Austin Trailer Yard (NATY) opened up at W. Anderson and Lamar Blvd. – in the Planet Fitness parking lot.
Austinites swarmed to the city’s newest food truck conglomeration to exercise their taste buds and see the haps.
The food trailers currently located at NATY are:
Johnny T’s BBQ (Mouthwatering Texas BBQ)- Snarky’s Moo Baa Oink (sandwiches)
- KraK2 (gourmet doughnuts)
- Genuine Joe (coffee and fresh smoothies)
- Big Fat Greek Gyros (traditional Greek food)
- The Dog House (hot dogs and shaved ice)
- Michi Ramen (authentic Japanese noodles)
As I walked around the 10,000 square foot area, all I heard were food recommendations and compliments. Though the day was on the warm side, the shaded tables kept the sun from outshining the food, and allowed visitors to mingle and converse.
(What’s that? You want my food recommendations?! I will say that the fragrances coming from Big Fat Greek Gyros carried all the way to Town Lake…and that Michi Ramen has 5 stars on Yelp. But seriously, I’ve heard nothing but good things about every food truck at NATY.)
The North Austin Trailer Yard has features that many other yards don’t.
Here are a few that you might be interested in:
- A fenced play area for children
- Bathrooms (well, Porta-Potties)
- A huge parking lot with no meters to mess with
- Free wi-fi
The parking and wi-fi are a huge plus for me. Finding parking down on E. 6th for a CoolHaus sammie or Way South Philly is totally hit-or-miss. And what other trailer yards have free wi-fi?
This place is a big hit, and folks in North Austin are really happy to have a quality Trailer Food park in their neck of the woods.
The hours of operation for NATY are Monday-Saturday, 7 AM-9 PM. I definitely encourage you to check it out soon!
I’ll be stopping by for sure sometime soon!
The gyros there not only looked amazing the scent was enough to drive any Greek food fan insane. Let us know what you think when you check it.
Have a gyro for me!
We hit up the NATY grand opening too. Sorely disappointed by Michi Ramen, which had logistical nightmares that resulted in me getting my money back after waiting 45 minutes for ramen (with no end to waiting in sight). So we got one chicken and one beef/lamb gyro from Big Fat Greek Gyros and both were great! I had eaten at BFGG previously, so I can say that the food is consistently good. I’ve also had Snarky’s a number of times and would recommend the Cuban (w/ pork), though you can’t go wrong with anything there.
I’ll have to let some time pass before going back to check out Michi Ramen again. But a very cool space and much needed in North-Central Austin. And you’re right, big plus that they have all the extra amenities.
Your talk of Big Fat Greek is making me salivate! Sorry you had a bad experience at Michi. @tastyprawn:disqus had a totally different experience on the same day…I guess it’s a lesson to businesses to be prepared for events like this.
Haha I think I was there next to you when you requested your money back! Yeah I think they don’t have the capacity to do that much more than 50 bowls an hour/shift, so you gotta get there early. I believe they’ve been selling out everyday.
For what it’s worth, it’s easily the best in Texas, and stylistically, it’s no less authentic than anything else you’d find in Japan, so give it another shot if you can.
My husband and I tried Michi Ramen on Saturday around noon (the grand opening day). I guess we got there before the rush because we only had to wait 10 minutes total (that included “being in line”-time and “waiting after we placed the order”-time) before we had our food (only one group was in front of us and all they ordered was desserts). It was a little more pricy than other places I usually go to for lunch (total
ended up being around $23 for two bowls of ramen and two drinks), but good and worth the price as an *occasional* treat. Despite being really, really close to where I live, it won’t end up being my go-to lunch spot because of the price and the fact that the weather will probably soon be too hot for me to want to wait in line and eat outside during the day. But I loved the noodles! The portions are large and I was full before I could eat the whole bowl of ramen.
Heads up for vegetarians: There are no vegetarian choices at Michi. The broth in all of the dishes is pork-based and there are two big slices of pork in the veggie ramen.
Glad you enjoyed, but that’s definitely on the pricey side! Really appreciate your heads-up for our vegetarian readers.
Here is Krak2’s doughnut menu:
PB&J: grape jelly and whipped peanut butter
Black & White: chocolate and cream cheese icing, topped with chocolate rice crispy puffs
Krak-A-Toa: cream cheese icing and habanero peach jelly
The Brunch: whipped peanut butter and maple syrup, topped with bacon bits
Thanks, Rubberman! Those are some exciting options. 🙂
I would love to try it, but doesn’t sound like there are any gluten free options. I am glad to hear the trailer scene is moving north.
Paso, thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m not sure about the gluten-free options at NATY, but you may be right. Is there a resource online for you to find gluten-free dishes to eat around Austin? I feel a guest blog post brewing…
to answer the question about eating gluten-free in austin you can use LocateSpecialDiet.com – locally run and helps people find gluten free or vegetarian businesses in Austin and in 25 other cities.
Great concept, Jessica. Thanks so much for sharing. Are you affiliated with them, or do you know who runs the site?
We’re planning to visit and experience what sounds like a big, bright new addition to the North-Central Austin foodie landscape. Especially a shout out to Big Fat Greek Gyros (traditional Greek food): Ya’sou!
@facebook-1057958059:disqus it is a nice addition to the neighborhood. We hope it continues to grow. Tell us what you think after you go. We’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Finally decided to look this place up and put it on my “To Eat” list… thanks! E&B!
http://www.thenaty.com/
Awesome, Troy! We were just driving by the other day and it’s busy as ever. Let us know what you think after you go!