Discover the Best Things to Do in Austin, Food & Drink deals and more!
Avery Harris and the SAvery Grilled Cheese team serve up awareness and heart (Credit: Avery Harris)
We all have our list of guilty pleasures–the things we love though we know they’re not the best choice. As a trashy TV addict and baker, my personal list is at least a mile long. Thankfully, Avery Harris of Austin’s SAvery Grilled Cheese food truck has found a way to take the guilt out of one America’s favorite comfort foods, one cheesy bite at a time. [Read more…]
Aerial view of Trailer Food Tuesdays at The Long Center (Credit: Trailer Food Tuesdays)
By occupation, The Long Center is no stranger to large indoor and outdoor events. Whether it’s a large-scale musical act or a summer treat like Sound & Cinema, Austin residents and visitors suffer no shortage of entertainment on these active grounds.
Now in its fifth year and going strong, Trailer Food Tuesdays is no exception. As a segment of The Long Center’s “All Summer Long” series, this free event features over fifteen food trailers, live music and other entertainment provided by local vendors. [Read more…]
A look at the Chi’Lantro food truck in Austin
I’m new to this whole food truck thing. The Boston idiot in me always ignorantly associated food trucks with low-quality, 2 AM sausage carts one accidentally staggered upon amidst a night of heavy drinking. Since moving to Austin, I stand corrected.
I now associate food trucks with magical, utopian dreams filled with unicorns and happiness. Seriously though, I’d approximate that food trucks now represent over 90% of my diet. Where have they been all my life?
As if I couldn’t be more captivated by the enchanted universe of street food, I recently sat down with Jae Kim and Eric Silverstein, founders/owners of Austin’s Chi’Lantro and The Peached Tortilla, respectively. Now with brick and mortar locations as well as food trucks, both Jae and Eric offered an insightful behind-the-scenes take on what it’s like to grow a successful business, through a long road of early struggles in a relentlessly dense market.
More insightful than the business side of things, however, was the story of their friendship, and how the competition between one another was perhaps the most critical ingredient to their shared success. [Read more…]
Top: Garbo’s lobster roll with half an ear of corn
Below: Dock & Roll lobster roll with habanero vinaigrette sauce and salad
As the event began at 11:30 AM, representatives from each food truck introduced themselves before cooking started. Dock & Roll served their lobster roll with habanero vinaigrette sauce and a cucumber, blueberry, watermelon salad. Garbo’s took a basic approach to their lobster roll, with half an ear of corn on the side, covered with cheese sauce and bacon. [Read more…]
This Sunday, August 23rd, Garbo’s Lobster Truck and Dock & Roll Diner go head to head over who makes the best lobster roll in Austin. Now in its second year, Mobile Food Throwdown, produced by FoodTrailersAustin.com, invites ticketed attendees and a panel of local judges to settle the score once and for all. At Austin Beerworks this weekend, be part of history in the making while reveling in fabulous food, local beer and good company. [Read more…]
Austinites enjoy Trailer Food Tuesdays with a view of the downtown Austin skyline
(Credit: David Ingram via Flickr CC)
Boston has chowder. Philly has cheesesteaks. Austin has food trucks. Mobile, independent and wonderfully weird, mobile eateries are what make this city different. To celebrate Austin’s diverse food truck offerings, Trailer Food Tuesdays is back at The Long Center for another summer season of good eats and great fun. [Read more…]
The Peached Tortilla food truck (Credit: Megan Heller)
This past weekend, SXSW Southbites gathered four of the brightest, most inventive and hard-working individuals among food truck royalty to talk about more than just their food. The panel was about the legacy their brands will leave behind and what goes on behind the curtain when you’re talking food trucks.
Eric Silverstein, founder of The Peached Tortilla, was Austin’s local voice. He shared candid details about his path from street food to brick and mortar, and his story is one of the most interesting I’ve heard in recent years. [Read more…]
Follow this strange creature to East Side King
East Side King was created by Paul Qui and Moto Utsunomiya as a side project when the chefs worked together at Uchi and Uchiko. Since that time, the number of East Side King food trucks has multiplied, and two brick and mortar locations have opened up as well.
Paul Qui is perhaps best known for winning Top Chef Texas in 2012. To the advantage of Austin foodies, he has continued to dig his creative roots deep into Austin’s food scene.
Additional media exposure has spread the word about East Side King, benefiting the business itself and Austin’s reputation as a foodie attraction. The trailer empire was featured on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. One of the newest trailers, dubbed Thai-Kun after chef Thai Changthong, was ranked 8th on a national list of best new restaurants in 2014 by Bon Appetit.
However you heard of it, there are now 5 places in Austin to experience the Asian-inspired street food of East Side King. [Read more…]
All you need for season is salt and pepper–anything more and you’re cheating
It’s 11 a.m. in Austin, Texas and you can almost hear the collective sound of BBQ pits across the city creaking open. This is BBQ Rush Hour.
Most BBQ aficionados are still waiting in line, tempted by the aroma of smoked brisket and brontosaurus beef ribs. But if you’re at Micklethwait Craft Meats, there’s a good chance you walked right up to give your order.
Opened in 2012, Micklethwait Craft Meats is a BBQ trailer on E 11th Street about half a mile from the current BBQ gold standard, Franklin’s. I always get a kick out of watching people wait in line for hours as I make my way to Micklethwait. [Read more…]
Smokey Denmark’s food truck
According to Bill Dumas, head pitmaster at Smokey Denmark’s, “Barbecue is the most bastardized word in the English language.” And it’s true. When most people hear the word barbecue, they imagine the Fourth of July with burgers, hotdogs and pool parties. But if you live in Texas, you know better – or at least you should.
You might not be totally familiar with the name Smokey Denmark’s, but I’m certain you’re familiar with their product. They’ve been smoking sausages and other meats since 1964. Their smoked sausages are served in several restaurants around town, such as Banger’s Sausage House on Rainey Street, where you can get Smokey Denmark’s andouille sausage.
After smoking meats for 50 plus years, they’ve decided to venture into the food truck world, taking their meats to the open road. Or in this case, right next to their meat shop at 3505 E 5th St. [Read more…]